Tom Colicchio is a hero (x-post from the lounge)

[sniffa]

Top Chef" judge and restaurateur Tom Colicchio helped save the life of award-winning cookbook author Joan Nathan at a star-studded inaugural soiree in Washington, D.C. when he performed the Heimlich maneuver on the fellow foodie who began choking on a piece of chicken.

Colicchio, an award-winning chef who runs a number of restaurants, was attending a benefit for D.C. Central Kitchen and Martha's Table where chefs showcased their chops when he became hemmed in somewhere between the plates of Persian wedding rice and lamb sausage by a group of fans, reported Ezra Klein on the Internet Food Association website.

Nathan, who was munching on some chicken next to him, began choking. That's when the brawny, award-winning chef sprung into action and successfully dislodged the chicken from the cook book author's windpipe, according to the report.

"I just happened to be nearby," he told the Food Association, shrugging off the save.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=105x8430519

Colicchio then proceeded to berate the chef for his presentation. "You thought that was good," he said before adding, "You almost killed some one today!"