Manny Barella is getting married in Lyons next month.
But after making it into the top five on Bravo’s “Top Chef” season 21, he has a few new names to add to the guest list. “We are friends for life,” Barella said about some of his fellow contestants on the show. “I talk to some of them every day.”
Like Kévin D’Andrea, for example, who Barella paired up with throughout the season before D’Andrea was eliminated in episode seven. “The other day, I was trying to develop this dessert recipe, and called Kevin for some tips, and he called me before my soft opening in Raleigh to wish me good luck,” Barella said.
In August, Barella plans to head back to Wisconsin, where season 21 was filmed, for a collaboration dinner with chef Dan Jacobs, the owner of James Beard-nominated DanDan in Milwaukee. Jacobs, who’s still in the running for “Top Chef” champion, will also be at Barella’s wedding.
Unfortunately, Barella was eliminated on last week’s “Top Chef” episode after his red snapper à la Veracruzana failed to impress the judges. Even though he pocketed $5,000 “for his honeymoon” in the episode’s “Quickfire” blind taste test of ingredients, his undercooked fish was a miss for chefs Tom Colicchio, Kristen Kish, Gail Simmons and Paul Bartolotta.
“Before every challenge, I’d say, ‘We’re always one pinch of salt from going home or taking it all,’” Barella said.
Barella previously worked at Michelin-starred Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder. He was also a sous chef for Uchi and executive chef and partner at the now-closed Bellota in Denver. He is now the culinary director of Camp Pickle, set to open in Denver next year, and Jaguar Bolera in Raleigh, N.C. Both are “eatertainment” concepts from Punch Bowl Social founder Robert Thompson, who also owned the now-closed downtown Denver restaurant Three Saints Revival.
The Colorado chef placed fifth out of 16 contestants and left the “Top Chef” kitchen with some wins under his belt, including the very first competition. “I took it one challenge at a time,” he said. “Not getting eliminated on the first challenge was my first milestone. Restaurant Wars was my second, and I thought, ‘Whatever happens after here are just cherries on the top.’”
As for the most mentally difficult challenge, Barella felt like he had “writer’s block” during episode nine. Judges tasked the chefs with creating a modern dish using Indigenous ingredients native to America (no dairy, pork, chicken or beef). “I was mentally drained and barely slept the night before trying to come up with a dish,” he said.
But Barella said the experience of competing against and serving some of the most talented chefs in the industry has shaped him into a more confident leader ahead of his new job. He’s now more focused on flavor when developing his menus instead of being methodical with every measurement. “It helps you trust in your palate and abilities when you’re forced to step outside of the box,” he said. “In ‘Top Chef,’ you’re pushed off the nest to fly.”
Last week, Barella had a soft opening event at Jaguar Bolera. And 10 minutes before he was supposed to start serving guests gravy, the power went out. But he ignored the stress coursing through him to set an example for his team. “It was nothing compared to the stress of ‘Top Chef,’” he said. “It levels your resilience for pressure and time management.”
Barella might not have been crowned the ultimate title, but he’s grateful for the platform it gave him to showcase his Mexican heritage and “dad jokes,” he said. Even if every time he makes a dish, he can’t shake “how would Tom [Colicchio] describe it or what would Tom say about this? Look at the balance, look at the temperature, the cook,” out of the back of his head.
