Columbus will see one of its own on the latest season of Top Chef. Avishar Barua, Executive Chef & GM of Middle West Spirts’ Service Bar, has been tapped to pack his knives for Season 18 of the Bravo reality show.
Barua has been with Service Bar since it opened its doors at 1230 Courtland Ave. in Short North in October 2017. The restaurant and bar has consistently been among the top in Columbus according to CU readers, making the Best New Restaurants list the year it opened, landing in the Top 10 Restaurants of 2019, and voted the Top Bar of 2020.
In 2018, Barua gave CU a peek behind the scenes in creating his signature dish, the Cheesy Brisket Crunch, and shared his food philosophy.
“There’s two ways you can go about it: you can be snooty about it and say ‘I don’t like fast food, or you can be like, ‘Fast food is the ultimate food,’” said Barua, “because they spend billions of dollars on research to make the perfect food.”
During the pandemic, Service Bar has remained focused on carryout, featuring specials from its @secretkitchenmenu Instagram account.
Barua will compete against 14 other chefs from around the country for the title. Season 18, which was filmed in Portland, Oregon, begins airing Thursday, April 1 at 8 p.m. on Bravo.
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