August 13, 2026
Molly McVety/PhillyVoice
Recipe Philly will open its doors on Monday after over 300 hours of filming a reality TV competition to pick homemade dishes for its menu.
Recipe Philly, a restaurant that crafted its menu based on the results of its own reality TV competition, is opening in Center City on Monday — just two weeks after it finished filming.
The show follows dozens of locals as they vie to have their homemade dishes served at 1401 Arch St., but whether the series will be picked up by a network or streaming service remains unclear. Even so, management is still keeping details about its menu under wraps until its public debut next week, when the winning 36 food items will be prominently displayed on the north-facing wall.
The menu will feature four appetizers, four salads, three "Soups and Such," eight entrees, five sandwiches, three pastas and five desserts as well as four "Philly Plate" recipes that represent the top dishes in the competition.
The food ranges in inspiration from vegetarian-friendly dishes to experimental entrees, and the bar menu will feature six cocktail and mocktail recipes crafted by contestants.
Prices for the dishes haven't been disclosed, but executive producer Ed Baumstein estimated that entrees will range between $25-40, with some higher-end plates running a little pricier.
"The food represents a cross-section of all the people that live in the Philadelphia area and created really delicious dishes," Baumstein said. "You will not be disappointed with anything that you eat."
The 6,600 square-foot space welcomes its customers with a giant mural of a corner of the Italian Market above the bar. The interior also features dozens of novelty plates that are hung on pillars, a wall of rolling pins and a bookshelf of cookbooks selected by the show's contestants.
A private event space in the back corner is adorned with over 40 watercolor paintings of various Philly landmarks that were created by local artist Joe Barker, who is also the father of the late rapper DMX.
"The restaurant is a testimony to Philadelphia," Baumstein said. "We want to capture the idea of home cooks making food. … It's meant to evoke something homey, warm, sitting at a family table."
Dozens of watercolor portraits of Philadelphia landmarks painted by local artist Joe Barker are displayed on the walls of Recipe Philly's private dining room.
The restaurant has already been the backdrop for its accompanying reality TV series, which follows 60 locals who entered their home-cooked meals into a March Madness-like competition.
From the initial 60 contestants, 31 had their dishes make it on the menu and received a prize of $1,000. Sixteen of those final 31 were split up into four teams of four and tasked with creating an additional "signature dish" for the menu. The victorious team of four won an additional $5,000 and each had two items on the menu. Of the final four, one amateur chef had their dish chosen as the "Philly Plate" and walked away with another $10,000 in prize money. The Philly Plate will be available to order on opening day, marketing director Rory Balkin said.
Filming began in mid-July. The show was hosted by American Idol's Josh Randall and judged by Clara Park, the founder of eat cetera philly and a "Chopped" champion; Jennifer Carroll, a "Top Chef: All-Stars" contestant; and Philly food content creator Josh Moore. Baumstein said his crew is in the midst of packaging 300 hours of footage into nine episodes, which he sees as a "testimony to Philadelphia."
Late last year, over 1,000 people attended an open casting call at the adjacent Pennsylvania Convention Center.
"When I first launched this thing, I thought it was a good idea. But when I saw those people show up, I said it was a great idea," Baumstein said. "What I didn't anticipate was when we filmed the contestants, the stories that came out of the show were so wonderful and how meaningful it was."
The final contestants have not been publicized, but some have been featured on the restaurant’s social media pages displaying dishes — including the summertime chicken parmesan with grilled chicken, melted mozzarella and bruschetta, and pork dumpling pasta with sweet soy sauce — that could be featured on the final menu.
The panel of celebrity chef judges on the Recipe Philly reality show includes, from left, Josh Moore, Clara Park and Jennifer Carroll.
"One thing I appreciate about this format is that it's not one of those 'gotcha' time crunches," Balkin said. "We're not trying to trick contestants or have them in a pressure cooker. It's about celebrating the person, helping them present the best possible dish."
While filming has been underway, executive chef Andy Ravella and director of culinary operations Jarrett O’Hara have been forced to spend late nights preparing their kitchen and staff to make, serve and sell a menu that, until two weeks ago, didn't exist.
"We designed [the kitchen] one way, and then we started seeing the dishes and had to make some switches," Ravella said. "We were continually looking for better equipment, seeing if they were doable in the kitchen and giving them some advice about presentation and seasonings."
Over the next month, footage of the competition will be formed into a nine-episode season, including a bonus round that centers on contestants' drink recipes. The crew is supposedly in talks with streamers or network providers, but other details are scarce (“We can’t talk about the talks,” Baumstein said).
Although Recipe Philly is still in its infancy and the show hasn't been picked up yet, Baumstein is already envisioning versions of the show in other cities.
"I wanted to bring something positive into the world, and so we handled every story with tenderness," Baumstein said. "Even those that didn't make the menu were treated so kindly. … There's really a lot of legs to this thing."
