The “Top Chef: Chicago” contestant dishes about reality show life and beyond

By Stephanie M. Kim

Prominently displayed in the window of 24 Prince, a quaint American bistro in the heart of NoLita, are laminated orange-and-silver signs that read: “24 Prince Proudly Presents Cooking Classes by Chef Nikki of ‘Top Chef.’”

The recognizable “Top Chef” logo has been a fixture at 24 Prince since 2008, when head chef Nikki Cascone, 37, appeared as a contestant on the wildly popular Bravo TV series.

The foodie-centric show pits 16 trained chefs against each other to compete for a grand prize of $100,000 to launch their own restaurant among other favors. Each show features a familiar formula: A quickfire challenge, where the “chef’testants” compete to impress a guest judge, an extravagant elimination challenge, and a judging panel that orders one chef at the end of every show to “pack their knives and go.”

Sitting in the basement of her small, yet inviting bistro Cascone proudly relates her extensive resume to her present success. Weaving in and out of business conversation with her staff and adjusting her apron, she says that she is a certified sommelier who has studied under acclaimed chefs like and Anne Quatrano, fellow female chef known for spearheading the organic food movement.

Although she received her formal education at the School of Culinary Arts in Atlanta, Ga., Cascone’s thick accent immediately gives her away as a born and raised New Yorker. She moved to the city from Staten Island when she was 16, anxious to enter the work force.

After a brief stint working as a sales associate on Wall Street, Cascone landed a job as a hostess at the now famed Casa La Femme. “Back in the day there wasn’t even a sign on the door, and it was like the hottest place,” she said. “I remember the first night I was there, Jack Nicholson walked in with an entourage of models and Cindy Crawford and Forrest Whittaker, and all these people and I was so intrigued by the glamour of it.”

By 2005, she moved to New York permanently and became the Director of Food and Beverage for the New York Yankees. Cascone was in charge of overseeing more than 260 employees and executing the distribution of stadium sweets, restaurant food, and managed the menu for the Yankees. While the business-end experience was rewarding she said it was not her ultimate goal.

With the desire to work in a more intimate kitchen, Cascone partnered up as a consultant at 24 Prince. Managing Partner and Cascone’s fiancée, Brad Grossman remembers her transition to head chef and partner as a seamless one. “It just made sense,” he said.

Grossman also remembers Cascone being courted by a casting director at the Food Network because of her well-rounded experience. Eventually, Grossman sent Cascone’s resume to “Top Chef” producers and she was cast in season 4, “Top Chef: Chicago.”

The casting process for the show consisted of several face-to-face interviews with producers. “You can’t just get a bunch of trolls from the kitchen—because most of us are not that cute, believe me—and put them on TV and expect people to like it,” she said. “They want characters. They want interesting people.” Cascone said they also look for ethnic diversity and a balance of male and female competitors.

While varying levels of competition kept things “fun” and “interesting,” the grueling schedule and sequestered environment took its toll. “I got up some days and I was angry because maybe I didn’t want to go into a 48 hour challenge—you know I thought it was abusive. But that’s part of ‘Top Chef,’” she said.

One of the most difficult parts of the show was learning to take criticism in front of cameras and judges for some underwhelming dishes—Cascone was almost kicked off the show for producing a bad batch of mushrooms. “Sometimes I think she was upset that they highlighted some of the bad things she did and not the good things,” Grossman said.

Another negative aspect of participating in the show was being branded “pasta-girl” on the first episode in the presence of acclaimed New York chef, Rocco Dispirito. Grossman said that actually getting Cascone to make pasta is like “pulling teeth.”

Transitioning out of such a high-stress, yet sheltered environment after nine weeks of competition was difficult psychologically on Cascone, “I remember everything would make me cry, but not necessarily because I was sad or upset—just because my emotions were so heightened,” she said. “When I got off the plane and I saw my brother I just fell to my knees.”

Ultimately, the competition only helped improve her skills as a chef, heightening her awareness and her expectations inside and out of the kitchen, she said. Shortly after arriving home from the show, Cascone remembered letting loose on the dance floor at a wedding: “I didn’t care what anyone else thought about me. I just wanted to have fun.”

Today she is making the most of her Bravo persona. In April she will be opening “Top Chef: The Tour,” which invites former chef’testants to travel and showcase their cooking in cities across the country. Cascone also hosts cooking demonstrations once a month at her restaurant and soon she will be exhibiting her skills while traveling to Brazil on the Holland America Cruise Line.

Eventually Cascone would like to host her own cooking show on HGTV or The Green Channel promoting a healthy lifestyle. Grossman said her true passion lies in promoting organic foods like the Kinwa salad she often demonstrates in her classes.

Though she loves being affiliated with Bravo and “Top Chef,” Cascone hopes to one day break out of the “Pasta Nikki” mold. “It’s kind of like when you play a role in a movie and everyone remembers you from that role and you kind of can’t break out of it,” she said. “You want to be more than that.”