Tom Colicchio

Last night, the second episode of Top Chef: DC went down, and it was totally action-packed. First came the Bi-partisandwich Quickfire, in which the 16 contestants teamed up in pairs and tried their best to single-handedly pile ingredients between bread while attached at the apron. The challenge was painfully cheesy, but Angelo was the right one to win immunity.

For the Elimination Challenge — seriously, who didn't see this coming? — the chefs took part in Michelle Obama's Let's Move! campaign, and made a four-course school lunch for 50 on a public school budget of $2.60 per person. Standing in for new chef judge Eric Ripert was the extremely attractive and intelligent White House chef Sam Kass.

I wasn't surprised by the taco team taking home the win, or for someone being eliminated over dessert. So far, I think Kenny and Angelo are the season's front-runners. How do you feel about Top Chef: DC?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Like last year, Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons joined forces to host a seminar at the 28th annual Food & Wine Classic. Since I'm a huge fan of the show and enjoyed their lively banter in the previous demo, I was excited to see what the dynamic duo would cook up. This time, they were inspired by one of the magazine's regular features, Chef Recipes Made Easy.

They chose three ingredients: merguez sausage, garbanzo beans, and harissa, and each made a distinctly different dish. Tom's was the chef's way: an elaborate preparation that involved homemade sausage, stuffed leg of lamb, and fresh garbanzo beans. Gail created something more accessible to the home cook with store-bought sausage and canned garbanzos. As they cooked, they chatted; to see some tips I picked up from Tom and Gail, read more

Another season of Top Chef kicks off tonight with host Padma Lakshmi, Tom Colicchio, and a new batch of contestants battling for bragging rights – this time, in our nation's capital.

Between this and the latest Real Housewives casting, it seems like DC is the hot place to be. Does the locale mean that we'll be seeing a few surprise politico taste testers, perhaps? (Yum is hoping for a visit to Michelle Obama's garden.) The show airs at 9/8c, but take a look at these preview clips, and tell me if you'll be watching when you read more

New York City was one busy town last night. While the glitterati of the fashion world flocked to the Met for the annual Costume Institute Gala, the best chefs in the nation gathered at Lincoln Center for the James Beard Awards. Starting yesterday afternoon, the Internet was abuzz with news about the event, the culinary industry's equivalent to the Oscars. The James Beard Foundation live tweeted the winners, while local bloggers, like Eater, were also in on the action.

Top Chef head honcho Tom Colicchio took home top honors winning the coveted Outstanding Chef title. Timothy Hollingsworth, former Bocuse d'Or competitor, was named Rising Star Chef, and Best New Restaurant went to Michael White's Marea. To check out the complete list of winners, read more

This morning, the James Beard Foundation announced the finalists to its annual awards, the culinary world's most prestigious honors. To generate buzz, the foundation live-tweeted the nominations from New Orleans. After releasing a long list of semi-finalists last month, the selection has been narrowed down to three to five finalists per category.

The list honors a variety of people in the industry, from upcoming chefs like Timothy Hollingsworth (Rising Star Chef) and Bryan Voltaggio (Best Chef Mid Atlantic) to culinary bigwigs such as Tom Colicchio (Outstanding Chef) and Rick Bayless (TV Food Personality).

Even Food Network stars like the Barefoot Contessa (Television Show, In Studio or Fixed Location) and Alton Brown (TV Food Personality) have been recognized. The awards not only highlight extraordinary chefs and restaurants, but cookbooks, websites, and journalism. The category that I was most excited about is Best New Restaurant — three of them are in San Francisco! The winners will be chosen and announced on May 3. To take a look at the full list of nominations, read more

• Tom Colicchio's new restaurant, Colicchio and Sons, gets a glowing review. — New York Times
• Filipino adobo pork does double duty as tender topping for Asian porridge. — Boston Globe
• Michelle Obama has asked corporate food giants to step up efforts against childhood obesity. — Washington Post
• Champagne will soon come in a lighter bottle designed to cut carbon emissions. — Chicago Tribune
• Giveaways and contests are a cheaper way for chains to turn tables. — Wall Street Journal
• One Indian chef's recipes debunk myths that the cuisine is greasy, heavy, and overly spiced. — San Francisco Chronicle
• Photoessay: Scoping out the brand-new Las Vegas CityCenter restaurants. — Los Angeles Times

For an actress with as much star power as Kate Winslet, being on Bravo's Top Chef should be, well, a piece of cake. The New York Post got the early scoop on Top Chef season seven when it ran into head judge Tom Colicchio at Bravo's Upfront Party in New York last night. Not only has shooting been pushed to April (due to the birth of Padma's baby, Krishna), but Oscar winner Kate Winslet hopes to be a part of the production.

"I met Kate Winslet at a party the other night, and she said, 'I want to come on the show,'" Tom told the Post. "So I said, 'Kate, you've got an Oscar in your hands, you can do whatever you want!'"

Kate is a known foodie. Her mom is an award-winning pickler, and the actress has expressed her love for eating and cooking — despite being accident-prone in the kitchen.

I'd love to see someone like her on the show. Do you think she'd make a solid guest judge?

With 15 restaurants, eight cookbooks, a travel food show, and a silver screen debut under his belt, world-renowned Italian chef Mario Batali is making a return to the kitchen. This Summer, Batali will open the first US location of Eataly, a colossal food emporium based in Turin, Italy. The 60,000 square foot greenmarket and food center, which will be near Manhattan's Madison Square Park, will have a meat restaurant, a fish restaurant, a pasta and pizza eatery, a vegetable-driven restaurant, a panino bar, and a brewpub on the roofdeck. The most significant point to note, aside from the project's sheer scope, is the fact that, for the first time since he opened Otto, Batali will design the menus for all six restaurants.

Much like Tom Colicchio, who has spent more time cooking in the last year with Tom Tuesday Dinner and Colicchio & Sons Tap Room, Molto Mario admitted he's missing the time spent in the kitchen. I love the idea of a celebrated chef coming full circle and embracing the sheer joy of cooking. Do you think Batali and other celebrity chefs can still cut it in the kitchen?