FACT:
In early September 2007, the FOR SALE sign comes down from 2637 North Paulina Street, a house that has been on the market for months. Neighbors report seeing production crews (“Not your normal movers,” one neighbor notes. “These guys looked like they were from New York.”) loading piles of equipment into the home. Upon interrogation, one member of the moving crew admits it is the Top Chef house. Intrigued, the neighbors vow to keep an eye on the house every second of every day (barring bathroom breaks and their kids’ playdates).

FACT:
Shortly after the equipment is moved in, Christmas lights appear on the house. The block erupts in mass confusion until it becomes clear on September 22 that a Top Chef Christmas reunion special is being shot in the home.

FACT:
On September 26, 2007, the 16 chefs competing on season four move into the home. Local runners start changing their routes to include the 2600 block of Paulina.

SPOTTED:
After being kicked off the show, ex-contestants are seen hanging out together at Small Bar, HotChocolate and the Map Room. “They were relieved” to be free of the house, our source tells us. Also according to our source: Valerie, a contestant and Chicago chef, introduced the chefs to the local bar and restaurant scene.

SPOTTED:
Throughout the filming of the show, neighbors report seeing many chefs on the roof deck, smoking and sitting (but not exercising) on a medicine ball.

SPOTTED:
Employees at Second City report seeing the chefs and crew at their facilities, possibly for a challenge—but possibly because they just really love improv comedy.

SPOTTED: On October 17, judges Ted Allen, Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio arrive at the Top Chef house for what neighbors assume is an in-house challenge. Also seen that day: chef Rocco DiSpirito, who, in front of the cameras, repeatedly opens the front door of the house saying, “So glad you could make it! Come on in!”—even though nobody is there.

SPOTTED:
While watching the number of contestants in the Top Chef house dwindle, neighbors report two chefs making it fairly far, possibly even as far as the finale: Stephanie (a.k.a. “the girl with the curly hair”) and Andrew (a.k.a. “the one with the beard”).

FACT:
The crew moves out of the house on October 31. “It’s trashed,” the crew tells the neighbors. “It will need a lot of work.” Soon thereafter, a FOR SALE sign returns in front of the house. Only this time, the sign says HOME OF TOP CHEF!

Exhibit A

Interview with Chicagoan and Top Chef contestant Stephanie Izard

Photo: Donna Rickles

Tuesday, February 19: Suspected TC finalist Izard—former chef-owner of Bucktown’s Scylla—calls the Time Out offices. Her voice sounds rough and raspy; suspect says she is recuperating from a long vacation in Mexico, but this has yet to be verified. A public-relations agent, advocating on Bravo’s behalf, insists on listening in on the conversation. Investigator Tamarkin makes several unsuccessful attempts to co-opt the PR agent. Below is the transcript:

Time Out Chicago: Let’s jump in with something that people aren’t quite clear about. Some say you closed Scylla to be on the show.
Stephanie Izard: No, and I would definitely like to clarify that, because that would be something that is just ridiculous in my mind. It just happened to be really good timing.

TOC: How did the fact that it was filmed in Chicago influence the way you approached the show?
Stephanie Izard: I think it helped a little bit. Obviously, it makes me more comfortable. It made it sort of fun to see what [the producers] were going to do to show off our city as a culinary city.

TOC: And did you always agree with them?
Stephanie Izard: Um, yeah. Before I went on the show, I tried to come up with things I thought they should do, or things I thought they might do. There were a couple I was right about, but there were definitely some of them that they really were able to catch us off guard with.

TOC: What was your strategy for winning?
Stephanie Izard: My strategy I’m sure is most people’s, which is to make food that tastes good. Of course, with cameras around and knowing that millions of people will be watching it, it’s going to bring out a little nervousness…but I just wanted to try and get over that as quickly as possible, and just try and make food that tasted great.

TOC: Will people that were fans of Scylla recognize your cooking style?
Stephanie Izard: I think so.

TOC: You work with a lot of fish; I know that’s your preference.
Stephanie Izard: Yeah, I would have liked to work with a little more fish. I’m not sure if I can go into detail with this.
[PR rep jumps in: Yeah, we just can’t get into any specifics.]

But if I say this generally? Generally, I would say I didn’t work with as much seafood as I would like, just because we’re shopping at Whole Foods.

TOC: I don’t think people think about that—that part of the challenge on the show is shopping at Whole Foods.
Stephanie Izard: Right. If I had thought of something I had at Scylla, and I wanted to make it for a challenge, once I got to Whole Foods I realized a lot of those ingredients weren’t available.

TOC: When I watch this show I often think, Are the challenges really geared toward judging what makes a top chef? Or are they just good challenges to watch on TV?
Stephanie Izard: They try to not just have challenges that are about cooking, but also about being able to work well with others, which is important in a restaurant. Being able to be a leader. A chef’s not going to have to cook out of only one aisle of the grocery store—I think [the show] did that a couple seasons ago. But a chef is going to have to just think on their feet and make quick decisions and make it work if things aren’t going exactly their way.

TOC: On the Bravo press site, there is a list of episodes and it sort of does go through vaguely what some of the challenges are. So I don’t know if you can answer this question…
[PR: Eh…yeah. We can’t really talk about any of the challenges.]

TOC: Well, Stephanie, let me ask you this. Is it hard to stay quiet about all this?
Stephanie Izard: Yeah, it is. I’m excited to, when the episodes start airing, to watch them with friends and family. Of course, even afterwards you can’t talk [to people about what happens on future episodes].

TOC: When did Valerie get eliminated?
[PR: Yeah, we can’t talk about anything like that.]

TOC: It’s rumored you are in the final three or four.
[PR: It’s something we cannot talk about.]

TOC: Is there anything else you can talk about that I didn’t ask you already?
Stephanie Izard: I…I’m just waiting for [the PR agent] to chime in and sort of comment….

Read more in our extended interview with Stephanie here.

Exhibit B:

In this photo, chef-testant Spike is seen climbing into a red Highlander. But do not be fooled. The neighbors who took this photo report that while Spike and the rest of the chefs are filmed entering the vehicles, they rarely—if ever—use them. Instead, they travel en masse in a big ol’ white van.

Exhibit C:

This photo, which the neighbors took on October 11, shows the chefs leaving the house for a challenge. But where’s Erik, Nimma, Nikki and Manuel? Oh yeah, they’re not in the picture. Because those suckers had already gotten kicked off.

Exhibit D:

During the filming of the Christmas special, neighbors report seeing Jimmy John’s delivered to the house. Producers decline neighbors’ offers to run and get deep-dish pizza instead.

Top Chef premiered March 12 and airs Wednesdays at 9pm on Bravo.