The Briefing Room

The menu? Mouthwatering. The chefs? Too many to count. The restaurant? Now seating, in a promo campaign for Bravo’s Top Chef. But don’t call for reservations.Crossroads built, shot, and struck the stylish eatery over the space of one elaborate production.

Chicago is the setting for season four of Top Chef, Bravo’s hit creative competition series. Crossroads, the NY-and-LA-based branding and promotion agency, shot previous promo campaigns for Top Chef in abstract kitchen environments. “Bravo thought it was time to raise the temperature,” said director Glenn Lazzaro of Crossroads.

For the new campaign, Crossroads built a stylish restaurant from scratch. Writer/producer Amanda Hanig and graphic designer Han Yi collaborated with Lazzaro on the concept, aiming for a place that seemed warm and inviting. The resulting set features a sunken lounge, dining area, wine bar and food service area. “We tried to create a place viewers would want to hang out in, to spend time with Padma and the cast,” said Lazzaro.

The set’s style ranges from “mid-century modern to ultra modern,” featuring natural dark woods, a repeating wall filled with portholes, and sleek furniture, all lit by intimate, practical lighting. It serves as an appealing setting for the show’s host, Padma Lakshmi, and the show’s array of competing chefs.

“It’s all about giving the cast a place to showcase their styles and quirks,” said Lazzaro. Each chef had the opportunity to make the restaurant their own, lighting things up with fiery flambés, trays of cocktails, and tempting dishes. Not to mention flashes of competitive, even eccentric, personality.

Season four of Top Chef airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST on Bravo.

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Crossroads credits:

Creative Director/Director: Glenn Lazzaro
Executive Producer: Dean Winkler

Producer: Rick Rosenmeyer
DP: Pierre Rouger
Art Director: Peter Benson
Post Production Supervisor: Mandy Key

Bravo credits:

Jason Klarman, EVP, Marketing & Brand Strategy
Jane Olson, VP, Brand Strategy/Creative Director
Amy Troiano, VP, On-Air Promotion
Justin Reichman, Creative Director
Amanda Hanig, Writer/Producer
Han Yi, Graphic Designer

About Crossroads Television:

Crossroads Television is a creative services agency that delivers award-winning branding and promotion for broadcast and entertainment clients. It has recently produced shiny new campaigns for Bravo, CBS, ESPN, Lifetime, HGTV, ABC, and other fine networks.

With its sister company Headlight, a creative design studio, Crossroads offers full-service brand solutions. Both are divisions of Crossroads Films, a multimedia company with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and London.

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