Marco Island chef's big personality lands him spot on 'Top Chef'

In Gerald Sombright's kitchen, there's no room for error.

As the chef de cuisine, he's calculated, efficient and tough on his colleagues.

But there's still room for some banter.

His big personality — an amusing laugh and snarky wit — aside from his extensive culinary résumé, is what he says landed him a spot on this season of Bravo's "Top Chef," which premieres Dec. 1

"It was awesome," said Sombright, who runs the kitchen at Ario restaurant in the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club and Spa. "I’ve never pushed myself in that way as a chef."

But it almost didn't happen.

For years, former employers and colleagues urged Sombright to audition for "Top Chef," sending him links to the casting call information, and he always declined. But in February, he finally took a flight to Los Angeles to audition. He showed up at the LA hotel and found it empty.

That's when he realized the link with the casting information was from last year's season.

He didn't give up.

Sombright tracked down the right location — two days late — and several Uber rides and phone calls later, he eventually handed his application to the production company.

"It’s the persistence," he said. "It has to be the thing that made me stand out, to be that persistent. What’s the point of not making the trip and at least throwing your hat in the race?"

Sombright was cast as one of eight rookie chefs who will compete against eight returning chefs for season 14's title of "Top Chef."

For him, it's been a long time coming.

Humble beginnings

Sombright, a native of St. Louis, grew up around food. When his single mother left for work, Sombright was responsible for turning on the crock pot before school.

His remembered fondly his mother's green bean casserole, same with her beef and noodle dinner, a concoction of soy sauce, beef stock and Worcestershire sauce.

And then there was his grandmother's corned beef hash.

"My grandmother’s house was always a communal place," he said. "My grandmother had seven kids, and they would all weave in and out with my cousins. There was a lot of people all the time, and you had to eat really fast or it’d be all gone. So that sense of cooking and the dinner table and presence of family was always around me."

When Sombright was 19 or 20 years old and working as a dishwasher and prep cook at the Clark Street Grill inside the St. Louis Westin, he was intrigued by a black-and-white photo hanging on the wall of the restaurant.

"I asked (the chef), 'Is this your grandfather or something?' and he was like, 'No, you should know who that is,' and he charged me with the responsibility of finding out who it was."

It was Auguste Escoffier, the French chef, restaurateur and culinary writer who set the standard for French cooking methods.

"For some strange reason the fact that somebody felt so connected to something that they would have a photo of 'the grandfather of cuisine' ... became very intriguing to me," he said. "I really romanticized it and fell in love with it."

'Edible nostalgia'

Sombright never went to culinary school but instead earned his chops at award-winning fine dining restaurants and working alongside esteemed chefs.

His résumé includes the Cielo Italian restaurant at the St. Louis Four Seasons; the historic Annie Gunn's in Chesterfield, Missouri, under the tutelage of James Beard Award-winning chef Lou Rook; the Wit & Wisdom restaurant at the Four Seasons Baltimore Waterfront led by celebrity chef Michael Mina; and most recently as restaurant chef for PB&G at the Four Seasons Resort in Orlando under the direction of award-winning chef Fabrizio Schenardi.

Back then, he said, cooking was serious business, and he learned from the best.

"When I started cooking, people were crazy," he said. "It was a reverential fear. I grew up in urban America, so I didn’t necessarily fear the chef, but I did have a certain reverence between his action and his actual ability."

At Ario, where he's been developing the menu and managing the kitchen staff for the last year, Sombright practices his own version of tough love.

"Cooking is a very honest craft," he said. "You can either do it or you can't. I do a lot of coaching and energetic banter to engage and inspire speed and accuracy. ... I teach a lot and attempt to get people to understand the whole picture, not just their stations."

Sombright's cooking style pays homage to his personal and culinary history, he said, like the sous vide beef tongue he prepares with green beans and shallots, a nod to his mother's signature green bean casserole.

"My food philosophy is 'edible nostalgia,' because every meal is evocative of the past, present and future," he said. "Some people tease me because they say how can I say you have a memory in the future? If you go to the Caribbean and I make you a dinner before you go to the Caribbean, it’s looking forward to that memory, and I’ll try to incorporate those flavors."

An 'epic' season

Earning a spot on "Top Chef" wasn't really a surprise, Sombright admits.

"People talk about how ridiculous my personality is in the kitchen but also my skill set, and everyone is like, 'You would crush top chef, you would crush it,' because of how jovial I am and how serious I can be."

And there are many personalities on season 14 of "Top Chef," which awards a $125,000 cash prize, a feature in FOOD & WINE magazine, a showcase at the annual FOOD & WINE Classic in Aspen, Colo., and, of course, bragging rights. Filming took place in May in Charleston, S.C.

Bravo announced the "cheftestants" for season 14, which includes the tatted men with beards, the "nerdy" guy in retro-looking glasses and the cursing "badass" woman. Watch a promotional video from Bravo introducing the eight rookies, including Sombright.

The show premieres at 10 p.m. Dec. 1 on Bravo, and Sombright's colleagues and friends in Marco are planning a watch party. Although he couldn't reveal any results, he said season 14 promises to be quality reality television entertainment.

"It’s pretty epic," he said.

The contestants will cook for BBQ king Rodney Scott, for judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons and Graham Elliott, and for a room full of culinary greats in hopes of landing the highly lauded prize of serving their winning dish at the coveted James Beard House in New York City.

Another promo video from Bravo leaves fans with a cliffhanger when host Padma Lakshmi claims one plate "is the best meal I've ever had on 'Top Chef.' "

"It was awesome," Sombright said of the experience. "I honestly think the biggest takeaway from the show for me personally has to be the people I was on the show with, to be still connected with that community.

"It was a good way to challenge yourself as a person and grow and do something outside of your comfort zone."

Season 14 of "Top Chef"

Premieres on Bravo at 10 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1

Visit bravotv.com/top-chef for more sneak peek videos.