Harold Dieterle

Career

Harold Dieterle began his professional cooking career at Della Femina in the Hamptons, where he worked for two years. He then spent three years at Red Bar and two years at 1770 House, both in New York City, followed by nearly five years as a sous-chef at The Harrison. In October 2005, he competed in and won the first season of Top Chef. After that win, he left The Harrison in early 2006 to plan his own restaurant.

His first restaurant, Perilla, opened in New York City in May 2007. In 2010 he opened Kin Shop, a Thai restaurant. Food critic Adam Platt of New York magazine gave it a positive review, calling Dieterle "the original (and easily most talented) winner" of Top Chef. In 2012 he opened The Marrow, which blended Italian and German cuisine as a tribute to his German heritage and his wife's Italian heritage.

The Marrow closed in 2014 after less than two years. In late 2015, Dieterle closed his two remaining restaurants, Kin Shop and Perilla, and said he was taking a leave from the restaurant and hospitality business.

In 2016 he served as a consultant for the AMC series Feed the Beast, set at a fictional restaurant. In 2019 he helped open Ten Hope in Williamsburg, working as a consulting chef and putting together the menu, with Perilla alum Jim Handwerker as chef de cuisine; the restaurant closed in 2023. In 2024, Il Totano opened on W. 13th St. in Manhattan, with Dieterle as executive chef.

Did You Know?

• He married Meredith Davies on September 4, 2010, in Atlanta, Georgia.
• He met his wife at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, Colorado, in 2006, the summer after his winning season.
• The Marrow, which opened in 2012, featured a mashup of Italian and German cuisine as an ode to Dieterle's German heritage and his wife's Italian heritage.