Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Molokai Mia




Top Chef’s Mama Mia is now calling Molokai home.

Former reality show contestant Mia Gaines-Alt has joined the staff of Hotel Molokai as chef. A contestant on season 2 of the popular Bravo reality show, Top Chef, Gaines-Alt is now sharing her culinary talents at Hotel Molokai’s oceanfront restaurant, Hula Shores.

You might remember Mia as the country-music loving chef, who cooked barbecue and other home-style foods for cowboys at her restaurant Feed the People in Oakdale, Calif. She was that season’s self-proclaimed comfort food expert, who failed to win a single Quickfire or Elimination challenge.

Mia was also (in)famous for her judges' table meltdown after the Holiday Spirit Challenge in episode no. 8. She railed against stone-faced Cliff, gave a woe-is-me monologue before throwing herself on her santoku, saving Elia (her team’s leader) from elimination. A noble but bizarre gesture.

So, in other words, if you visit the Hula Shores and don’t like the food, don’t tell the waitstaff. Just send an e-mail.