Yes, Chef
The backstory on how I ended up on this week's "Top Chef," along with nuggets on FSU's passing game, Gio Lopez, Virginia's new star DT, Pat Narduzzi, Prince, the draft and lots more.
At the behest of my then-girlfriend/now-wife, I first started watching “Top Chef” in 2009 during the show’s sixth season, which was filmed in Las Vegas. It’s still regarded by many fans as the best year in the show’s history, and for good reason: It was chock full of exceptional chefs — Brian and Michael Voltaggio, Jen Carroll, Mike Isabella and Ron Duprat among them. But our favorite — heck, most people’s favorite — was Kevin Gillespie.
At the time, we were living in Athens, and Kevin had a restaurant — Woodfire Grill — in Atlanta, and his cooking was a showcase of all the South had to offer that, in the fine dining world, was overlooked back then. My wife, who’s from Alabama, appreciated a chef who could finally showcase Southern culture. I appreciated his quality beard.
By the end of that season, Kevin was a finalist and I was ready to pop the question. It only made sense that I’d do it after dinner at Kevin’s restaurant.
So, I planned out the big night. We had a nice hotel room in Atlanta1. I had champagne on ice. We went for a walk around Piedmont Park before dinner, and my wife, insightful as she is, joked that “this feels like the type of thing you’d do before you propose. You’re not going to propose to me in the park are you?” Um, no. But close.
Anyway, we went to dinner — a reservation I’d booked weeks in advance — and enjoyed an amazing tasting menu with a top-tier wine pairing.
It might’ve been a perfect night except for one big problem: After dinner, before the big question… the check came and my credit card got declined.
Now, I should note that a) I was just a lowly beat writer for a mid-tier newspaper at the time, so I didn’t have much extra scratch, b) this was the most expensive meal I’d ever had to that point and c) I’d just spent a bunch of money on a ring2. These items all conspired against me. Thankfully, my wife was fine with picking up the tab and having a good laugh at my expense.
So, the night ended with us retreating to the hotel bar. With my metaphorical tail between my legs, I chickened out of the proposal altogether. It wasn’t until the next morning, when my wife found the champagne in the hotel fridge and asked why I’d bought it, that I finally decided it was time for a much less romantic gesture, and luckily for me, she still said yes.
Flash forward to fall of 2025. Thanks to some excellent work by the Charlotte Regional Visitor’s Authority (CRVA), “Top Chef” was filming here in Charlotte. And, as luck would have it, a good friend of mine was on the CRVA board, and so he had special access to “Top Chef” taping invites. One of those involved filling out a questionnaire about your “Top Chef” fandom for an episode that would allow “super fans” into the “Top Chef” kitchen to mingle with the chefs and try each of their desserts before voting on the winner.
Guess which story I shared on my questionnaire.
Yes, my proposal disaster at Chef Kevin’s restaurant got me a “Top Chef” taping invite, and the producers found the whole thing quite funny. So funny, in fact, that they set up a scene in which I’d retell the story to the episode’s eventual winner while he was prepping desserts, just so my misery could be appreciated by millions of viewers at home, too.
After we shot the scene, the producer was thrilled with it, he insisted. And yet… there was another sad ending to the best-laid plans. My scene didn’t make the final cut. The only dialogue was literally the last three words I said.
But, if you watched Monday’s episode, I was in it a good bit. As a background player, which is just as good. My rugged good looks are really my best quality. I think the camera was just naturally drawn to me. That, and I strategically placed myself behind the judges as often as possible so I’d be on screen.
All of this resulted in a number of texts from friends of mine shocked to see me on the show this week, as well as one awkward conversation with Andrea Adelson when I remarked that it was cool to be on TV and she reminded me that, in fact, the two of us do a TV show together each week. Is it really TV though if it’s on a channel that doesn’t have a single Real Housewife? But I digress.
Being in the chef’s kitchen, talking to all the chefs — and we got to spend like 20 minutes with Chef Lawrence, who was awesome — and seeing how the whole show was put together was genuinely a bucket list experience. Getting to meet Tom, Gayle and Kirstin during the weeks they were filming in Charlotte was amazing. And it’s funny how the ripples of one of the most embarrassing moments in life can wash up ashore in places you never imagined.
What was David working on this week?
I had a big feature this week on Wake Forest QB Gio Lopez, who endured a miserable eight months in Chapel Hill before transferring to reunite with his former OC, Rob Ezell, in Winston-Salem.
For me, the story had two overarching themes:
1. Lopez thought he’d struck gold when he transferred to UNC, but the grass isn’t always greener on the other side of the portal. I thought this quote was good advice for anyone looking to move on:
"It's about more than money," Gio said. "You've got to see the plan. You have to follow how you really feel. Do you feel like you really should be there or are you going for one reason? If you feel like it's all about external gains, maybe you shouldn't be there. The second time in the portal, I felt like I just wanted to play football and enjoy myself. If you're having fun playing football, you won't question your decision."
2. The professionalization of college football is not for everyone — and certainly not for Lopez. Gio and his dad, Barney, talked about a brutally unpleasant culture under Bill Belichick in Chapel Hill that certainly echoed a lot of other stories I’ve been told by folks who lived through last year’s 4-8 disaster. From classical music being played before workouts to Gio getting “berated” for scrambling out of the pocket, making college football more like the NFL sounds a lot like taking all the joy out of a game so many of us love dearly. Again, from Lopez:
"Back at the other school, it felt like there's no air," he said. "Here, it's fun again. They're moving us in the right direction, energized, and guys are enjoying football. It's like fresh air."
Now, I should make a couple more points here.
First, Lopez said he truly liked working with QB coach Matthew Lombardi and said he does not regret playing for Belichick and considered it a good life experience.
Second, Lopez was not good last year.3 That could be because he’s not capable of playing at a high level against Power Four defenses. It’s hard to say. He was so hamstrung from utilizing his unique skill set that I’m not sure there’s any fair way to judge what he might’ve looked like in an offense that was a better fit.
But Lopez also got paid a lot of money to go to UNC, and it’s entirely fair to suggest someone making seven figures to play football is, in fact, supposed to be doing a job, not having fun. So I don’t think he’s without blame here — though, for what it’s worth, Jake Dickert did tell me that he talked to multiple people inside UNC’s building who said Lopez always showed up for work with a smile on his face, encouraged his teammates, said all the right things to the media, and played through some really tough injuries.
Most people who read my story, I think, understood all of the above. I don’t think many people are surprised that it wasn’t a great environment at UNC last year. But I did get a sliver of criticism from some Tar Heels folks who have noted that, by and large, what I’ve written about the Belichick era so far has been nearly universally negative.
I’d push back on that a bit. I’ve noted that Steve Belichick’s defense had a pretty solid season — at least post-Clemson. I also made a point, about this time last year, of suggesting the coverage of Jordon Hudson was sexist at best and perhaps much worse.
But here’s the other thing folks need to understand: Belichick is not allowing anyone to get an insiders view of his program. There is virtually no information shared. And that’s fine. That’s his prerogative. But without any context provided from him or his staff or players, what we’re left with is the product on the field and the perspectives of those who will talk to us.
The product on the field was awful. We all saw it.
And virtually every single person I’ve talked to on or off the record willing to actually open up some about what was going on behind the scenes has told me stories similar to what Lopez said — and often much worse. I’m certain I’m not the only reporter who’s heard some outright horror stories that we’re not comfortable reporting because they lack context or confirmation from additional sources, but there’s enough smoke there that it’s hard to believe there’s no fire. Yes, some folks have an axe to grind. But even if that’s the root cause, it’s fair to ask: Why so many axes after just a year of this experiment?
My guess is, whenever Bill Belichick decides to step away — and I do think it’ll likely be his choice, not UNC’s — there will be countless folks eager to share more of those stories. Some will be jilted former employees and players eager to get some revenge. Some will be click bait akin to much of the Jordon Hudson “reporting.” But a lot of it will be a true, fair and accurate accounting of an experiment that hasn’t shown much signs of working.
As for other reporting this week…
I helped out a bit with our “biggest strengths and weaknesses” reports for each of our way-too-early top 25 teams.
On this week’s Inside ACCess, Andrea and I welcomed Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi, who said he’s been really pleased with how QB Mason Heintschel has progressed throughout the spring.
We also welcomed Virginia defensive tackle Chase Morrison, who dominated the Hoos’ spring game and has also been dominating the team dining facility.
You may have seen the story of the skydiver who slammed into the Virginia Tech scoreboard before the Hokies’ spring game. Well, he wasn’t the only skydiving disaster last weekend. Ms. Adelson also finally paid up on our 2025 ACC picks bet by jumping out of an airplane. We’ll have a full recounting of it on our May 13 show from Amelia Island, but, of course, I had to have some Photoshop fun with it right away.
Next week’s Inside ACCess will be from the Mothership in Bristol, where we’ll welcome Bill O’Brien and Andrea and I will break down the most important non-QB for each ACC team based on our reporting and conversations with coaches. Should be a great show.
And just to be sure you don’t miss any of the fun, make sure you’re subscribed to the Inside ACCess podcast HERE.
Lies, Damn Lies & Statistics
Last week’s newsletter on Florida State’s high school recruiting and development got a lot of attention and, as a result, a bunch of new subscribers here. First off… welcome! And thanks for following along. It’s possible you’ll be horribly disappointed by the regular content here, but I’m glad to have you, and as a thank you, let’s start with another FSU nugget.
Andrea Adelson got to spend some time with Mike Norvell in Tallahassee last week, and in discussing the QBs — Ashton Daniels was named the starter this week — Norvell said the one thing they really need to see from him is accuracy in the short/intermediate passing game.
I looked up the numbers so we could discuss on this week’s show and — yeah, it’s an issue.
Castellanos vs. FBS last year by air yards
Behind LoS: 22.6 QBR (63rd out of 67 qualified), 62.3% completions, 3.6 yd/att, 0 TD, 1 INT
1-5 yards: 57.2 QBR (55th), 76.7%, 5.9, 1 TD, 1 INT
6-10 yards: 79.4 QBR, 55.2% comp, 4.91 yds/att (65th), 4 TD, 0 INT
11+ yards: 87.6 QBR, 50% comp, 13.6 yd/att (9th), 7 TD, 7 INT
So, good that FSU has identified a legitimate problem. Did they find an answer though? Daniels’ career stat line so far doesn’t suggest they did. But, he also might be a good bit better today than he was at Stanford.
Ashton Daniels career vs FBS
10 or less: 52.3 QBR, 67.2%, 4.9 yd/att, 7 TD, 9 INT
11+: 63 QBR, 41.6%, 10.1 yd/att, 14 TD, 12 INT
Andrea and I have been doing a bunch of reporting the last couple weeks getting end-of-spring roundups from nearly every ACC coach and a handful of assistants. I’ve still got a few calls on the docket, but I figured I’d share a few tidbits I’ve found interesting so far.
Clemson: I asked Dabo Swinney for the most pleasant surprise of the spring and he said, without hesitation, QB Tait Reynolds. While he said Christopher Vizzina remains the “clear” No. 1, he also noted Vizzina hasn’t proven it on game day yet, and that he’ll have to continue to “earn the job.” I asked if folks comparing this spring to 2014 — veteran QB who waited his turn, talented freshmen who might be ready to start, Chad Morris at OC and a big SEC game to open — he said it was a reasonable analogy. My guess is CV starts the opener, but I wouldn’t be at all shocked to see a Deshaun Watson or Trevor Lawrence-like switch after a few games if Reynolds keeps progressing.
Pitt: Pat Narduzzi raved about the two transfers Pitt added at linebacker -- Alex Sanford from Purdue and DeMeco Ward from Memphis. No disrespect to the two really good players departing (Kyle Louis to the NFL and Rasheem Biles to Texas) but Narduzzi said he thinks these two are “probably bigger and more physical than the two we lost.”
Georgia Tech: One guy who drew raves from Brent Key is sophomore Dalen Penson, who moved from corner to receiver this spring to fill a need. By the end of spring, there was a case to be made he was Tech’s best option. Key said he has “no doubt” that Penson will be a starter for the Jackets this year.
Virginia: Beau Pribula seems like the clear favorite to ultimately win the Hoos’ QB job, in large part because of his mobility. Yes, there’s still a good bit of work being done to develop his passing — his reliance on a lower arm slot makes for some tricky mechanics — but his ability to create adds a needed dimension for the Virginia offense. But, Eli Holstein did finish spring on a strong note after a somewhat shaky start to his UVA tenure. His last two weeks were his best two weeks. He’ll stay in the mix, but given how different their skill sets are and how this Virginia team is built, it’d be a bit of a surprise if Pribula isn’t the guy.
Lastly, my buddy Matt Fortuna wrote a bit this week on QB turnover in the Big Ten, which made me curious…
Who was the last home-grown (i.e. HS recruit) QB to start back-to-back seasons at each ACC school?
Or, who was the last to do so without later transferring?
This list really puts into perspective how rare it is to sign a guy, get legitimate production from him, and have him finish his career without transferring at that position.
Let’s go crazy
My pal Tommy Tomlinson has a good post on his Substack this week on lessons to be learned from Prince, who died 10 years ago. It’s some really good advice, but also offers an opportunity to note a few other tangentially related items:
Tommy notes the great Prince guitar solo on “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” in his piece. If you’ve never read the oral history of the performance, it’s worth your time.
I was in New Orleans for Jazz Fest not long after Prince’s death. We took an Uber out for dinner one night, and our driver was listening to Prince. We started chatting. She called out of work for two weeks after Prince’s death because she was so distraught. I get it.
I caught up with Georgia Tech coach Brent Key this week and, believe it or not, the subject of Prince came up. Key immediately decided he needed to put some Prince music on in the background while we talked. He first clicked on “Little Red Corvette,” then switched it up to “Let’s Go Crazy.”4 Why? “I can’t stand the color red.” He even repainted the fire extinguishers in his house to gold. That’s some clean, old-fashioned hate right there.
If you’re in Charlotte, Tommy’s going to be at Park Road Books on Monday to interview the great Tom Junod, who has a new book out — “In the Days of My Youth I Was Told What It Means to be a Man.” In addition to the title getting “Good Times, Bad Times” stuck in my head, I’m excited to crack this one open. Junod is an all-timer, and his story on “The Falling Man” is on the Mt. Rushmore of feature writing.
Also randomly ended up talking about Jared Lorenzen with Andrea while taping this week’s Inside ACCess, and she’d never read Tommy’s great profile of the Hefty Lefty. Just ridiculously high level writing with heart and compassion and humor.
Also, I’ve got 5 gift subscriptions to Tommy’s Substack. If you’re interested, shoot me a note and I’ll send you one. Tommy is a terrific follow and I always find something interesting or fun as a result of reading his newsletter.
Haven’t seen for a while
Lastly, I hit three different concerts in the past week. Last Friday, I saw the reunited Alabama Shakes in Asheville. Brittany Howard was remarkable as always.
On Sunday, I saw Pat McGee at a small club — The Evening Muse — in Charlotte. As I mentioned to Pat afterward, the Pat McGee Band was effectively the soundtrack to college for me. I saw the band no less than two dozen times over the years, had a few too many beers on the tour bus, had drinks on the roof of the Bottle & Cork with some of the guys once, and ran in New Year’s 2001 at a PMB show in D.C. that I don’t remember well. They were fun times — even if I probably filled them with way too many poor decisions.
It was a bit crazy to see Pat again after more than 20 years since my last show. He was solo(ish)5 and neither of us has aged all that gracefully, but he played so many songs that felt like time capsules to a simpler life.
And on Tuesday, I headed back to the Evening Muse for a sold-out Fantastic Cats show. It was one of my favorite live performances from any band I’ve seen in years. The guys are all incredibly talented, and the energy and humor throughout makes the show uniquely theirs, but what really stands out from listening to Fantastic Cats is that they sound the way great rock-n-roll used to sound. They’re throwbacks, I guess, but it also feels refreshingly new. They’re not trying to be ironic, they’re not trying to be twice as smart as their listeners, and they’re not trying to reinvent an artform that dominated popular music for a half-century. They’re just doing a thing that has waned from the mainstream, but doing it at the highest level. I love the new album, the band was super generous with their time after the show, and if I could go see every show remaining on their tour, I’d do it. I can’t recommend highly enough.
Well, as nice as my then fledgling Marriott point accumulation could manage.
I actually provided the backstory on how I’d saved up enough to buy the engagement ring in a piece I wrote for ESPN in 2017 on Clemson’s famed Esso Club. Give it a read HERE.
That said, Lopez’s performance wasn’t actually all that bad down the stretch.
First 4 games vs. P4 (TCU, UCF, Clem, UVA): 38.2 Total QBR (66th), 60% completions, 5.6 yards/attempt, 2 total TD, 6 turnovers
Last 5 games vs. P4 (Cuse, Stanford, Wake, Duke, NCSU): 66.5 Total QBR (36th), 70% completions, 7.7 yards/attempt, 7 total TD, 1 turnover
My personal Prince top 5:
1. Let’s Go Crazy
2. Darling Nikki
3. Purple Rain
4. I Wanna Be Your Lover
5. Seven
He played with Patrick McAloo, who provided backing vocals and rhythm guitar.
Sign me up for Tomlinson. I’ve heard you mention his writing prowess enough that he must be pretty darn good.