Brian Holak Journal Staff
Boston is no stranger to good food. And now, the nation may be getting a taste of our wicked local flavor. A campaign has begun to bring season ten of Top Chef to Boston.
The campaign, called “You Gotta Try Boston,” was launched last week by the Boston-based marketing firm, Digitas. It is a faction of the firm’s pro bono work for the city to help promote areas like Downtown Crossing where Digitas is based.
“We want the producers of Top Chef to be inspired by the passion around dining and drinking and bring the show to our city,” said Executive Creative Director of Digitas, Rob Rizzo, in an interview with Lisa DeCanio on Bostoninno.com.
Top Chef is a popular reality competition show airing on Bravo, on which chefs compete against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a professional panel of judges from the food industry. Previous filming locations include San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York City, Las Vegas, Washington DC, and San Antonio.
This has many local fans asking, “why not Boston?” Fans of the show are posting on Facebook and Twitter about what makes Boston a great city for a competition like this. Digitas is asking Bostonians to post their favorite culinary likings, including fancied restaurants, dives, bars, plates, and recipes. Many have uploaded photos of their favorite Boston eateries and dishes, even getting a few local chefs to join in.
“Everybody has their personal ‘You Gotta Try’ favorites,” said Rizzo in the Bostoninno.com interview. “It might be the cupcakes at Cakeology, a new appetizer or drink at Scholars, or a favorite jewelry store, boutique — anything! So the hashtag is just an easy device to brag about a favorite find in the neighborhood. But it goes beyond Downtown Crossing to the entire city. And beyond.”
The campaign is spreading across social media networks including Twitter and Facebook with the #YouGottaTryBoston hashtag, an easy way to brag about a favorite find in the neighborhood.
With Suffolk’s campus central to some of Boston’s greatest restaurants and bakeries, students are in support of the campaign.
“Boston has heart,” said sophomore Jackie Bresnahan. “It also has a lot of personality and it would be exciting to see [Top Chef] in town.”
“There are a lot of flavors here,” said sophomore Amanda Davey. “Boston is a great example of the melting pot theory that America prescribes to.”
