Top Chef - - Page 21

by BS

Top Chef Vegas: First Look at the Fauxhawks

Top Chef returns to Bravo August 26, when he sixth season takes up residence in Las Vegas, chosen for Padma’s excitement about showgirl costumes the rapidly developing local restaurant scene. Inexplicably, Toby Young will return for a second go as everyone’s least favorite judge, while the guest judges will range from the standards (Daniel Boulud) to the Vegas-y (Penn and Teller), the exciting (Nigella) and the even more exciting (Natalie Portman).

But more importantly, which chef-testant is most likely to skyrocket to instant culinary superstardom Spike Mendelsohn-level ubiquity? Here’s our snap judgment of this season’s chef-tenders, ranked by — what else — the audacity of their fauxhawks:

in TV 11 comments

by BS

Feed Us Back: Comments of the Week

– Top Chef Masters has ya’ll missing Padma more than you might have thought. Summer:

I’m liking Kelly Choi less and less with every episode. The way she delivers her lines is grating… she emphasizes the end of every sentence to give the impression that what she is saying is SO IMPORTANT! and yet she never seems to have a valid comment to make about the food. She has none of Padma’s elegance.

– Everyone wants in on Britannia’s English Breakfast on a Bun creation. Although Lucy makes a fair point:

It’s not an English breakfast without HP and a cup of tea! Other than that it’s perfect.

– And finally, congrats to gansie on her second-place finish in the zucchini-garama masala foodie fight. Don’t miss battle #7: Pineapple and Basil. Mmmm!

PS – bonus comments of the week points to anyone who can explain what the eff is going on in the Kelly Choi pic above.

in Breakfast / Sandwich / TV 9 comments

by Bliz

Top Chef Masters: Episode 4

Left to Right: Mark Peel, Anita Lo, Douglas Rodriguez, John Besh

After a brief hiatus for the holiday, Top Chef Masters has returned, and I’d love to say I’m excited about that fact. I’d love to say that, I really, really would, but Ludo taught me something last episode: I like the d-bags. And by “like,” I mean love to hate, curse their name and feel better about myself as a human being in general because of their existence on a reality show. I wanted to love the civil, the calm, the professional, but that just isn’t the case. Top Chef Masters is no Top Chef.. but I’m still going to tune in every week.

I never really bought into the claims that without Padma and Coliccho the show wouldn’t be as good either, but Tom’s appearance on last night’s episode proved me wrong. Only walking on set for a meager 30 seconds, Tom brought an insight and context to what was going in the challenge that I had yet to see on the Masters spinoff so far this season.

“I can tell right off the bat, [The Masters] understand something the normal Top Chef contestants never do,” he quipped. “These guys know you don’t get bogged down in the challenge… because through cooking you can pretty much tell any story.” And there the chefs were, walking around cool as cucumbers. Fuck you Tom, I love you. Padma, I’d take you over a dozen Chois any day.

in Eggs / TV 3 comments

by tvff

Cheflebrity Smörgåsbord: Strap It On!

New Wearable Feedbags Let Americans Eat More, Move Less

The Onion’s video podcast has been absolutely killing the popular food landscape lately and the feedbag story is no exception. Funny, I don’t remember seeing this on the behind-the-scenes tour at Taco Bell! Someone at The Onion must have made a run for the border lately, because they recently took a shot at Taco Bell’s ingredients (without resorting to the obvious Soylent Green joke, thankfully).

Also in their cross-hairs: the crowd at Denny’s, for whom I still have more respect than the folks at Olive Garden.

– The press release fairy sent word today that the new season of Top Chef will debut on August 26th. You can meet and greet with the new chef’testants thanks to a video introduction from Bravo.

– In addition to a delicious-looking recipe for a manchego-stuffed pork burger, the new edition of Food Network Magazine says that their poll found: “Nearly 60% of chefs said they’d want their own cooking show.” In possibly unrelated news: little did I know a few weeks back when I tossed around chef Jose Garces’ name for food TV consideration that the scuttlebutt on the street would be that he missed his James Beard Award presentation to attend a Food Network-related engagement.

After the jump: we double the amount of coverage we’ve given to this season’s Next Food Network Star (in other words, we have two items) and we look at food celebrity footwear…and I promise it has nothing to do with Crocs.

in Celebs / TV 1 comments

by Bliz

Top Chef Masters Interview: Episode 3

Left to Right: Wilo Benet, Cindy Pawlcyn, Ludo Lefebvre, Rick Bayless

Another week has come and gone on Top Chef Masters and last week’s LOST Supper episode was a fairly entertaining event. TCM managed to incorporate one of my all-time favorite shows with the LOST theme, we saw the return of the long lost Vending Machine quickfire, Wiley D proved he has quite the potty mouth, and we saw a very unassuming Suzanne Tracht kick some serious culinary ass without so much as raising her eyebrow.

This week we’re looking forward to the likes of Rick Bayless, Cindy Pawlcyn, Wilo Benet and Ludo Lefebvre battling it out for their respective charities. Once again, ES got to sit down with the foursome to talk reality tv and gastronomic inspiration. And once again our panel of well adjusted, professional chefs had nothing but praises, laughter and respect for each other.

Guys.. seriously, I hate dramatically engineered reality shows as much as the next guy, but give us something!

I didn’t want to have to tap into my DC political wonkiness, but you’ve left me no choice. You want to be civil? Fine, maybe a few Sarah Palin quotes will inspire some more trash talking banter next interview. Rednecks clinging to their guns after the jump..

in Politics / TV 3 comments

by BS

The Last Word on the Last Supper

Thanks to everyone who entered The Endless Simmer/Top Chef Last Supper contest. I’m sure you’ve all been tossing and turning at night waiting for the results, and that time has finally come. Drum roll, please…

Our third place winner will soon be getting his quickfire and elimination challenge dishes judged by Pamda and Tom avatars, because he’s the proud owner of Top Chef the Video Game. Congrats to Peter Justason. Here’s his last supper lineup:

Start with a classic cocktail – Manhattan with Crown Royal Rye, sweet Vermouth and a maraschino cherry. For the appetizer course – a Seafood Combo -Shrimp Cocktail, Smoked Salmon and Bacon-wrapped Scallops paired with chilled Sauvignon Blanc. For the salad, the classic Caesar paired with a buttery Chardonnay. The main course has to be a Peter Lugar Porterhouse with Twice-Baked Potato and Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce paired with cool Cabernet Sauvignon. For the cheese course I would go with an aged Stilton Cheese with grapes, almonds and crackers paired with an aged Port. To finish, a light Lemon soufflé & Brut Champaign.

You had me at Manhattan.

In second place, and winner of Top Chef the Cookbook, is Justin:

I’m from Maine, so the meal is obvious, but delicious. Steamers with melted butter on the side to start. Twin steamed lobsters as the main course – keep it simple, none of that stuffing junk that dumbs it down by removing too much meat and replacing it with filler. No having the meat removed either, doing it yourself is an essential part of the experience. Two side dishes to round it out – corn on the cob and my mother’s homemade potato salad. To drink, a summer ale and a glass of French chardonnay. Why choose at your last meal?

top-chef-knife

But the winner, and recipient of an awesome Top Chef knife set that I’m actually quite jealous of, is Steve CTMQ:

in Contests / TV 2 comments

by Bliz

Top Chef Masters Interview: Episode 2

Left to right: Wylie Dufresne, Suzanne Tracht, Graham Elliot Bowles, Elizabeth Falkner

Well Top Chef fans, the moment has finally arrived and the long awaited Masters edition is upon us. It may be lacking in on-air hook-ups, phallic cooking references and involuntary head shavings, but goddammit, the food porn is back! And quite frankly, I’m not ruling out the headlock/head shave just yet.

ES sat down with this week’s masters as they discussed getting a taste of their own medicine.

For anyone who hasn’t seen the show yet, the format has changed: instead of a bunch of aspiring chefs in a house for six long weeks arguing and crying (while the audience takes bets on who’s getting the boot), Masters features a four-person competition of seemingly well adjusted, professional chefs battling it out for their respective charities.

For someone like myself, this is a wonderful shift from the predicable sound cues and “suspenseful” final product. For others, this show losses the edgy addiction of watching who’s going to win, have a mental breakdown or make Padma spit out her food. But come on, if you want over-hyped reality television, I’m pretty sure Bravo has something to meet that need.

Maybe in the weeks to come, we’ll see these top caliber chefs succumb to their baser, reality show instincts, but tonight’s episode seems like a bunch of friends coming back from a camp retreat still high from group hugs and ‘smores. So we decided to provide our own interpretation by reading in between the lines of the interview.. Ali G like liberties were taken.

Our full interview as well as some smack talk commentary after the jump.

in TV 3 comments

« Previous