Local chef battles Food Network star Co-owner of Uchi makes plans for new restaurant and talks about painting By: J.J. Velasquez Posted: 4/3/08
Tyson Cole, executive chef and co-owner of Uchi restaurant on South Lamar, used to tread the 40 Acres musing about his future, which resulted in him changing majors "four or five times" in the one semester he attended. Fifteen years later, Cole was on the set of Food Network's "Iron Chef" musing about ginger, the secret ingredient Cole and his challenger, Iron Chef Morimoto, incorporated into dishes as the two competed head-to-head. Although he lost, his accolades, including his meteoric rise from a lowly dishwasher to a head chef, make him worthy of the crown as Austin's iron chef.
Daily Texan: You cite painting as a former hobby of yours. Talk about the differences between creating a dish and drawing, say, a portrait.
Tyson Cole: Painting is similar to food in the preparation aspect. But when I paint a painting and I say it's done, it's done. Every day I see it, it continues to laugh at me. I always want to change it or make it better, but when it's done, it's done. The thing about food is you get so many more chances.
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