The chef/partner of Wynwood's Alter had agreed to cohost with Allen Susser a seafood dinner prepared by Sam Gorenstein and Aaron Brooks at South Beach's Books & Books. He was also scheduled to film a segment of Bizarre Foods that day.
Kilgore describes driving back and forth from his Wynwood restaurant to Miami Beach: "I rushed over to South Beach to prep my course and came right back."
Zimmern was in Miami to film a Florida-focused episode of his show. The episode, which airs August 22 on Travel Channel, will see Zimmern travel down the state and land in Wynwood and Alter's kitchen.
Although Kilgore couldn't divulge exactly what he prepared for the show, he says he and pastry chef Soraya "highlighted ingredients from Florida farmers and fishermen."
Brad Kilgore and Zimmern met when Kilgore worked at Azul at the Mandarin Oriental and have maintained a relationship. When Zimmern wanted to highlight a restaurant that would give local produce and seafood an innovative spin, he turned to Kilgore. Zimmern also took to Twitter to thank the chef for his hospitality.The honor was ALL mine
— Andrew Zimmern (@andrewzimmern) March 8, 2017
https://t.co/VSmAOcBrPK
While the crew was setting up, another fortuitous coincidence occurred. Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur and host of Kitchen Nightmares, called for a reservation. The call was unplanned, but, naturally, Kilgore accommodated the chef, who was "nice, gracious, and cordial."
Though it hasn't yet been announced which other Florida eateries will be featured in the episode, Zimmern tweeted a photo of a dessert from Hale Groves in Wabasso, Florida. Until then, we'll just have to wait for August to find out where he ate.Hale Grove serves a home made vanilla custard swirled with fresh orange custard... and the… https://t.co/7xfKLQ9D1k pic.twitter.com/TJ3lu9ul3k
— Andrew Zimmern (@andrewzimmern) March 9, 2017
