NYCWFF: The Iron Chef Experience Slideshow

Food Network stars gather around the secret ingredient of the day..."Squash!" (Said in Chairman Mark Dacascos's voice)

What restaurant openings are you most excited about? 

 I haven't been paying attention to Fall restaurants. I've been working.

What are your favorite fall dishes? 

Jerusalem Artichokes, the different squashes, the gourds, pumpkins then I like to get into the game; partridge or squab.

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for? 

 Truffles.

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

Hung at Catch. Interested to see what it's like when it opens on Saturday. Couple places in San Francisco   – Craig Stoll's Locanda, Jose Andrés is redoing Jaleo in D.C. I'm a big fan of Spanish food. 

What are your favorite fall dishes?

Figs, tomatoes, the first of the fall apples. 

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for?

Italian white truffles and French black truffles. 

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

 Seamus Mullen's Tertulia.

What are your favorite fall dishes?

I'm a champion of the under-loved vegetables; turnips, rutabaga, grapes. Braised stuff. 

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for?

I am a locavore so you're kind of asking me what's not me. I like Italian cheeses. San Daniele prosciutto.  I think it's your responsibility as a chef to shop locally. If you're going to call a chef a taste maker then it's their responsibility to keep it local. 

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

I've been traveling so much, I feel like I'm out of touch. 

What are your favorite fall dishes?

My favorite food always to eat is bacon. Bacon is great any time of year. I cook seasonally – apples, squash, mushrooms. 

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for?

None that I can think of. 

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

I don't keep up with the restaurant business. When I'm in NY I just walk into a restaurant sit down and get fed.

What are your favorite fall dishes?

Because of the local markets and amazing range of produce that's raised within 100 miles of here, this is the best place to be in a restaurant in this time of year. Root vegetables, pumpkins, I gravitate towards Italian restaurants this time of year. I like the fall harvest shoved inside ravioli and risotto mixed up with seafood. 

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

 There are so many right now. I just stayed in Trump Soho, the restaurant there. Forgione's restaurant Marc's (Marc Forgione) is amazing and NYC is a hub of amazing restaurants and you go where your friends are cause you never see them all year so I don't know so I don't have a favorite restaurant, I just love them all because they are all so diverse. 

What are your favorite fall dishes?

My favorite dish of all times is roasted chicken with mashed potatoes. Really simple, but roasted chicken done well, there's nothing better on this earth. 

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for?

 I love all types of food, I love Mexican, I love Chinese, I love Thai. I went to a restaurant called Chom Chom a little upscale Korean restaurant that was amazing. As a chef you try to step out of your own boundaries and obviously I'm English and stepping out of my boundary is pretty easy but I just love food. 

Which restaurant openings are you most excited about?

 I just opened Tudor House in Dream Hotel in south beach so I'm sort of taking a breather. I'm circling the field to find the next thing I do. I try to concentrate on the East Coast. 

What are your favorite fall dishes?

 We're still in Indian summer so what's really great now, is all the stuff that's left from summer like peaches, tomatoes and corn. They're almost rotten, but they're so amazing. Right now I'm gorging on all the stuff from the summer. But come fall, gourds and squashes white truffles and game.

What foods is it worth not being a locavore for?

All my protein isn't local. If you were to shop exclusively local you'd have 3 dishes on the menu. I'd say Dover sole from England.