Josie Smith-Malave
New condos in Long Island City are filling up fast, and Top Chef’s Brooklyn gal Smith-Malave is there to satiate the newcomers’ palates as the executive chef of Island Cafe Bar, a new seasonal Mediterranean, bi-level restaurant located on 36th street. The always jovial former New York Sharks defensive linebacker has a number of eatery projects going- consulting the owner of a new Fort Greene speakeasy (listen for whispers next fall), finalizing her own condiment line, Global Soul, and employing her Top Chef costar Marisa as her dessert chef at Island. Malave, still new to fame, says interruptions at work are getting to be normal. “One day some women in the restaurant started screaming at the bar ‘Aaaah! Chef Josie! Oh my God!’ as I was walking through the dining room to the kitchen. I get embarrassed,” says Malave. “I’m not used to all the attention. Or the screaming.” –MW
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