Top Chef Exit Interview: Episode 3
Our interview with the latest chef’testant asked to pack their knives and leave…safely after the jump for all you tivo-heads…
Who Will Be the Eater of the Year?
Now that Thanksgiving is behind us, it’s time to start thinking about our next favorite end-of-year ritual: The Second Annual Endless Simmer Eater of the Year Awards!!!
Last year, Tony Bourdain was crowned the inaugural Eater of the Year, beating out such luminaries as hot dog eating champ Joey Chestnut, amuse bouche eating champ Padma Lakshmi, Chocolate Jesus, Al Gore, and the Locavore Four.
But which eater made the most impact in 2008? Is Bourdain primed for a repeat? Was this the year Michael Pollan ruled them all? Or should it be Sarah Palin and her moose meat? Duffy Lyon and her cow sculptures? Will 2007 runner-up Joey Chestnut rise to the top? Or will long underexposed chef Rachael Ray finally get her due?
The only thing we know for sure is that it’s all up up to you. Once again, Endless Simmer readers will get to choose who deserves this highly coveted title. But first, we need to figure out the nominees. Have ideas? Hit us up in the comments. Finalists will be announced next week.
Read It and Eat
As you might guess, when we finish our long day in the office here at ES headquarters, we spend our evenings holed up at home reading what others have to say about food. And even though we aren’t huge fans of dead tree media, we’re very proud of our ability to get through entire books, so we wanted to make sure you are all up-to-date on our favorite celebrated food authors, folks like Michael Pollan, Ruth Reichl, and yes, even Padma Lakshmi.
So take a look at our new Book Club page for a gander at the tomes that have been burning holes in our stomachs lately. And if you’ve got other suggestions, be sure to shout ‘em out.
(Photo: Carly & Art)
Top Chef Live Blogging Starts Tonight!
Our long summer of discontent is finally over - Top Chef returns tonight!
The reality show is touching down in New York City for its fifth season, and as usual, Endless Simmer will be live blogging this very important breaking news story.
In addition to our always astute analysis, we’ll be sharing some extra gossip from my recent interviews with this season’s cheftestants; we’ll check in with Season 4’s Spike (a live blog fan) who will be twittering his reactions throughout the night; and we’ll have reporters beamed in from around the country via hologram. OK, that last part is a lie, but we will offer tons of exclusive insight you can’t find anywhere else.
ES Sneak Peek: Tonight’s guest judge will be none other than French culinary legend Jean-Georges Vongerichten, which means if any of these youngsters don’t have those classic French techniques down, they could be in big trouble. Looks good for DC’s own Carla, who, as JoeHoya informs us, was trained at Bethesda’s L’Academie de Cuisine.
Make sure to tune into Bravo at 10pm ET, and log on to Endless Simmer as we watch along with you.
Bravo Photo: Michel Lavine
Stalking Padma in the Kitchen: The Main Course
Welcome to Part 4 of our special series, in which I bastardize Padma Lakshmi’s recipes and then judge her on the results.
I’ve been crazy for scallops lately, so this week I took a stab at Miss L’s Sea Scallops with Crushed Peanuts and Cucumber Relish. Padma Says:
“I stumbled on adding the peanuts because I wanted something crunchy that would offset the soft, voluptuous nature of the sea scallops yet still echo their butter flavor.”
First of all, how great is this woman? Who else would call a sea creature voluptuous? Hysterical.
Honestly, this sounded like another pretty crazy idea from Padma. I love scallops, cucumbers, and peanuts, but altogether? Really? Well, if Padma says so, I’m willing to give it a try…
ES Sneak Peek: Top Chef Season Five
Endless Simmer got a sneak preview of the upcoming season of Top Chef at the Taste of the Five Boroughs event in New York yesterday, where we met up with the judges and some chef’testants from the past. (Yes, it’s true, I was that close to Padma Lakshmi.) But most importantly, we got to meet the cast of the upcoming season. They all seemed to be very close with one another, insisted they were all friends, and reported that there was no villain. Riiiiight.
Here are some very snap impressions:
Melissa is a sous chef from Boulder, Colorado, and the most personable of all the chef’testants I met. She’s super-talkative, comes off as a party girl, and definitely has some drama potential — she seems more like a Real World contestant than a Top Chef-er. I’d say they’ll keep her around for a bit.
If you’ve been missing the Long Island flavor that Howie and Joey brought to Season Three, than you’ll be excited to meet Danny. He’s the chef de cuisine at the Babylon Carriage House in Fire Island, and I’m voting him most likely to get drunk and start fights in the waiting room while the judges deliberate.
Radhika is my fav. She’s the executive chef at Between Boutique Cafe and Lounge in Chicago, and I’m already digging her fusiony-y cuisine. She’s way cuter than this photo, and really soft-spoken and sweet. She says she was a religious watcher of Top Chef in past seasons, and has never been more nervous than when standing on the chopping block. I’m rooting for her.
More snap judgements — and Padma’s insight — after the jump.
Hott Link: She’s Baaaaack
Top Chef NYC starts in just three weeks! If you don’t believe us, just check out hostrix Padma Lakshmi seductively eating a street pretzel in the video above.
And if you can’t wait to find out about the new cheftestants, you can meet them all in person, this Monday at the “Taste of the Five Boroughs” event in New York’s Grand Central Station. Padma herself will be there, along with Tom C. and Gail Simmons. And of course, ES will be there!
