Chef Matthew L. Block. (Credit: submitted)
Matthew L. Bloch, 51, of Ambler Borough, is hoping to be your “favorite chef.” With
With a chance to be on the cover of “Taste of Home” magazine, a cooking experience with professional chef and television personality Carla Hall, not to mention rake in $25,000 cash, Ambler resident Matthew L. Bloch needs your vote!
Bloch, 51, of Ambler Borough, is hoping to be your “favorite chef.” With the first rounds in online voting now, the former Wall Street trader turned chef is no stranger to the pressure. As he heads into this first round of public voting, he’s hoping to perform well on Carla Hall Presents Favorite Chef. The “Top Chef” and “The Chew” star won’t be the first time Bloch might rub elbows with celebrities, either.
Bloch was a participant on Season Four of “Hell’s Kitchen.”
“I got a black jacket,” he said. “I love Gordon [Ramsey]. But working with Robert Irvine, who was my boss at Caesar’s [Palace], and Keith Mitchel, the former head chef there, really helped me to grow as a chef. I owe a lot to them.”
Bloch said he landed in Atlantic City after growing up and working in New York City, being born in Brooklyn and raised in Staten Island. He said a transition from the boardroom to the kitchen wasn’t as different as one might think.
“You just have to suck it up, and don’t take it personally,” said Bloch. “I thrive in that environment. I wasn’t sure I wanted to leave Wall Street, because I thought I’d be a servant for the rest of my life, working in a kitchen.”
But soon, the love began to grow. Bloch was trained professionally as he attended Peter Kump’s New York Cooking School, which is now The Institute of Culinary Education. Working in the city’s industry, Bloch also became familiar with the James Beard Foundation, a sponsor and benefactor of Favorite Chef. In addition to issuing the coveted awards, a tax-deductible donation to the foundation is also used to promote its programs, geared at creating a “more equitable and sustainable future in the restaurant industry.”
Voters can cast a single vote each day for Bloch, but with donations to the foundation, you can purchase bonus votes, too. Funds raised via Favorite Chef have already committed $4.7 million to the dedicated work. Bloch said he is dedicated to the work the foundation does, from member dinners to scholarships.
“I love the James Beard Foundation,” said Bloch. “Peter Kump was a student of James Beard, and it was Beard along with Julia Childs that created the foundation. I was able to volunteer at a dinner there, giving a hand to Wylie Dufresne and ‘wd~50’ doing prep work.”
Bloch worked for years in the New York City restaurant scene. In fact, it was after experiencing 9/11 from a perspective that was a little too close for comfort, that he had to rebuild outside of the city.
“I was working for Restaurant Associates’ Lehman Brothers in 3 World Financial Center,” said Bloch of 9/11. “We opened for breakfast, but no one was coming in. Then we heard a plane had hit the tower.”
Bloch said he immediately began dialing his sisters’ phone numbers, as both worked in Tower 2, on the 110th Floor.
“I ran to the window, and that’s when I saw the second plane come in and hit the building,” he said. “It wasn’t until late that night that I found out [my sisters] were still alive.”
Bloch said, following 9/11, he had to rebuild his career.
“Everything became a standstill in New York,” he said.
But soon, Bloch found a new love.
“We share the same birthday,” said Bloch of his wife. “She ID’ed me on our first date, though she is younger.”
As their dating became more serious, Bloch said he knew meeting one very special woman might make or break their future together.
“It was her grandmother,” explained Bloch. “She suffered from dementia, and when we visited her, I just couldn’t believe the food they were feeding these people. It was horrible.”
This special lady inspired Bloch’s most recent career, to work in elderly care facilities, especially with those with memory care needs. Today, Bloch works at Haverford Estates’ Brandywine where he prepares gourmet meals for its residents each day.
“I had done a lot in the rest of the industry,” said Bloch. “But I love working with them. I crack jokes. I get involved in the activities. I do cooking demos. They appreciate it.”
Bloch said that he’s had amazing role models and teachers throughout his career, including his wife’s grandmother, not to mention Gordon Ramsey.
“Gordon just gave me some really good life pointers after the show was done filming on the last day,” he said. “He told me to ‘take the mad man out of the food, simplify it.’”
At the time, he wasn’t sure what Ramsey meant, but soon after he’d seen a cookbook that helped it all make sense.
“I’m trying to think about how to simplify my food. I saw this cookbook, and I thought it was by Michael Richards,” laughed Bloch. He soon realized it was famed chef, Michele Richard, and not the actor made famous playing Kramer, a character from Seinfeld.
“There is a salmon dish that he does,” said Bloch. “It was a salmon, stuffed with asparagus, sliced. It had maybe three ingredients in the dish. And it clicked. ‘This is what Gordon is talking about!’ Not everything has to have truffles or 10 to 15 ingredients.”
Today, Bloch applies his life lessons from the boardroom, kitchen, and beyond for those that need it most, the elderly in the area’s assisted living facilities. He said he saw the Favorite Chef contest on Facebook, and it caught his eye.
“It just popped up,” he said. “A chef I am friends with had posted it, and I decided to sign up.”
Should Bloch win, he said he’d like to use the money to get into creating more content about his cooking.
“I have a passion for cruising,” said the chef. “I’d love to do something with that element, involving ships and food. I like cooking at my house, making videos, and simplifying elegant meals.”
To vote for Bloch in the Favorite Chef contest, click here. The first round of voting ends on May 30 at 7 p.m.
