Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — When Katie Weinner moved to Salt Lake City five years ago, she had no idea she’d be Utah’s first contestant on "Top Chef."
Although Weinner got her degree in English and psychology, it was her job in a California restaurant that created her real passion.
After spending two years cooking Italian cuisine, Weinner decided to get her culinary degree, and fused her talents of teaching and cooking when she started teaching at the Art Institute of Salt Lake City.
“Every day is different,” Weinner said of the Art Institute. “I teach a different subject every week and we change our menu at the student restaurant each week, so I’m constantly teaching myself new things.”
Weinner caught a bug for learning new things, which fueled her desire to start a pop-up restaurant, which is a temporary restaurant that can “pop up” in any previously used space.
“A pop-up restaurant is very different, because it’s very adaptive,” Weinner said. “You have to be very flexible and think quickly.”
Pop-up restaurants can exist for as short as one day, but Weinner’s SLC POP found a home at the Nata Gallery in Salt Lake City for a year and a half.
I think the ability to go beyond your boundaries of what you think is possible is my favorite part. Sometimes, you think 'man I can't believe I just pulled that off.'
–Katie Weinner
“It was so neat to have a home after running around,” Weinner said. “Having to jump into something so blind and challenging as putting together a mock restaurant all came down to having phenomenal people around me helping.”
It was SLC POP’s website that drew "Top Chef" to Weinner.
Unlike some contestants, Weinner didn’t apply to be on the reality television show.
“A production company sent me an email one random April day,” Weinner said. “They saw I was doing modern style cooking in Salt Lake City and asked me to be on the show.”
Weinner has found that her experience has helped her as a "Top Chef" contestant, but she hasn’t been exempt from challenging days.
She said coming up with an incredible dish in 20 minutes has been a great challenge.
“You can’t have a bad day,” Weinner said. “You’re up against 16 other contestants that have phenomenal backgrounds, and you have to be confident in your ability to meet intense timelines.”
The timelines and pressure have pushed Weinner to improve.
“I think the ability to go beyond your boundaries of what you think is possible is my favorite part,” Weinner said. “Sometimes, you think ‘man I can’t believe I just pulled that off.’ ”
“Top Chef” season 12 premiered October 15, and will air Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. on Bravo TV.
