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LAT Festival Of Books: Sunday Cooking Stage Highlights

Candice Aman |
May 5, 2011 | 11:57 a.m. PDT

Staff Reporter

Hundreds of food lovers flocked to the University of Southern California on Sunday to watch a line-up of celebrity chefs that include the likes of famed restaurateur Thomas Keller, Ace of Cake’s Duff Goldman, and Top Chef’s Fabio Viviani share their secrets on the industry, their fame, and of course, their food.

Thomas Keller

Thomas Keller interviewed by Russ Parsons. (Photos by Kristin Yinger)
Thomas Keller interviewed by Russ Parsons. (Photos by Kristin Yinger)

Russ Parsons, dining editor for "The Los Angeles Times," interviewed award winning chef and world renowned restaurateur, Thomas Keller at the outdoor Cooking Stage to kickoff Sunday’s panel of culinary guests.

Hundreds of people gathered under the blazing sun to hear the master chef’s advice on how he got to where he is today.

“I was fortunate to be able to have restaurants at a very early age,” Keller said. “For them not to be successful. That’s how I learned to be better.”

Keller also talked about the evolution of restaurants once chefs began to own their own places.

“Chefs owning their own restaurant were very courageous,” Keller said. “There was an enormous shift in how our restaurant began to operate. All you foodies are interested in food and you were the ones who inspired us because of the demand for food.”

After his interview, people rushed in line in order to get the chef to sign his newest cookbook, “Ad Hoc at Home.”

Duff Goldman

“I’m moving to LA!” Duff Goldman said excitedly to a crowd of screaming foodie fans.  

Although he did not spill the beans on the exact address just yet, the star of the Food Network show, “Ace of Cakes,” has finally announced his plans to open a west side location of his famous custom cake shop, Charm City Cakes located in Baltimore.

He hopes this move will spark the premise for the newest season of his hit show.

And while Goldman tried to talk about some other projects he has in the works, the topic of discussion always kept coming back to his unique custom cakes.

One audience member even asked him about the biggest cake he ever made, to which he proudly said it to be a 750lb rendition of a life-sized baby elephant.

“We made this cake two weeks after we stopped filming,” Goldman said. “The cake was elephant flavored, just kidding it was club baby seal. I’m just kidding, it’s actually vanilla!"

Fabio Viviani

Fabio Viviani may not have not have taken the title for "Top Chef" or "Top Chef: All Stars," but he can certainly capture the attention and appetite of hundreds of people simply by making fresh pasta.

The Italian born chef demonstrated the ease of making pasta using few ingredients, but not without running into some minor mishaps first, like cutting his finger in front of the cameras and choking from the wind blown pepper.

“There will not be 60 miles per hour winds in your kitchen, I can guarantee that!” Fabio said after winning a battle with flying granules of pepper.

Along with his reality show fame, Viviani has gone off to write four cookbooks as well as successfully open two restaurants in Los Angeles.

“Top Chef” fans were delighted to see that the contestant that they watched on the show was the same charming and personable chef that that won him the “Fan Favorite” award in his season.

Viviani went over time to make sure he answered every question from audience, even one that includes having to address his on screen friendship with another male contestant on “Top Chef: All Stars.”

“There is nothing wrong with a ‘bromance’,” Viviani said in his defense, “I kiss hands and shake babies, I’m Italian.”

Currently, Viviani is in talks to develop another reality show. Although, he cannot give too much detail away just yet, the new show will focus the chef more as a host rather than a competitor.

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