Former 'Top Chef' competitors face off for NBA Finals food showdown
Leah Cohen and Dale Talde create a dish to represent their favorite NBA teams.
Before the Cleveland Cavaliers or Golden State Warriors taste NBA finals victory, two esteemed chefs pulling for their respective teams are making a full-court press to dish up food fit for a champion.
Two former "Top Chef" competitors -- Leah Cohen and Dale Talde -- faced off in the kitchen once again, this time on the "Good Morning America" mid-NBA finals, where Golden State leads the series 2-0.
Cohen, the chef and owner of Southeast Asian New York City hotspot Pig and Khao and Piggyback Bar in New Jersey, is a self-proclaimed Stephen Curry fan and said her dish perfectly represents the Warriors.
Her Southern Thai "Curry" chicken wings with garlic waffle fries combines the flavors and namesakes of the Bay Area basketball team and its star point guard.
Cohen said this basketball-inspired dish is right up her alley because she has been “obsessed” with the sport since childhood.
“I started playing basketball when I was really young. I had a basketball hoop in my driveway. I went to basketball camp,” Cohen said. “I was a captain on my basketball team. I'm just like obsessed with that sport.”
Check out the full recipe here.
Talde, a Chicago native raised by first-generation Filipino immigrants, uses his signature East meets West mix of flavors and techniques to create his "King James" cut prime rib sandwich and Cavalier potato and cheese pierogies.
He is also a basketball superfan, but his inspiration in these NBA finals, he said, is more about seeing Cohen’s team lose.
“My passion for basketball and LeBron James and the Cavs is more about my disdain for the Golden State Warriors,” Talde said. “
Get those recipes here.
The NBA finals continue Wednesday with Game 3 at Cleveland airing on ABC at 9 p.m.
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