Top Chef All Stars

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Barack Obama's Roots

Michelle Obama's Roots

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"Who Do You Think You Are?"

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Top Chef All Stars

USS Monitor

Top Chef All Stars - Season 8 - Episode 12

As a long time fan of Top Chef, I'm delighted to have had the opportunity to use my sleuthing skills for a roots-inspired episode of the All Stars season. The elimination challenge was for each chef-testant to create a dish representing his or her heritage, and I'm the genealogist who peeked into each of their pasts to provide a bit of a spark! I'm delighted that part of the episode was filmed at Ellis Island (a favorite place of mine) and thrilled to see genealogy finding its way into a popular, Emmy award-winning series like Top Chef!

• October 13, 2014 - Huffington Post - "The Most Ellis Island-y Celebrity Ever: Tom Colicchio" by Megan Smolenyak
• January 6, 2012 - Cinema Blend - "NBC's Who Do You Think You Are Procures A Season 3 Lineup" by Jessica Grabert
• June 17, 2011 - Los Angeles Times - "Top Chef shows it has the recipe for success" by John Horn
• March 5, 2011 - The Jersey Journal - "With Hudson County as a backdrop, TV chefs, stars learn life lessons from their genealogy" by Daniel Klein
• March 3, 2011 - Medil Reports - Chicago - "Branching out on the family tree" by Leslie Trew Magraw
• March 3, 2011 - Marian's Roots and Rambles - "Top Chef Genealogist: Megan Smolenyak" by Marian Pierre-Louis

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