Mike Isabella‘s right-hand man is following in his footsteps. George Pagonis, Kapnos‘s executive chef and a partner in the Greek eatery, will compete on Top Chef season 12. The Boston-based season’s episodes begin airing October 15.
Pagonis previously served as chef de cuisine at Graffiato, and will open Kapnos Taverna in Ballston this fall (here’s his full bio). Though he’s the only Washington cheftestant this season, Joy Crump of Foode in nearby Fredericksburg is also packing her knives for Beantown.
Don’t want to wait until autumn for your Top Chef fix? Tonight you can catch the spinoff, Top Chef Duels, in which Isabella will fight it out with former rival Antonia Lofaso in an Italian-style battle. If you’re a Top Chef superfan, head to Kapnos for a viewing party starting at 9 (the show airs at 10). Happy hour runs in the restaurant’s bar and at G, and Isabella will be there to cheer on his television alter ego.
Anna Spiegel covers the dining and drinking scene in her native DC. Prior to joining Washingtonian in 2010, she attended the French Culinary Institute and Columbia University’s MFA program in New York, and held various cooking and writing positions in NYC and in St. John, US Virgin Islands.
