cooking competitions

Chopped, the Food Network's culinary competition, is following in the footsteps of Top Chef and debuting a special five-episode season featuring "All-Stars." Sixteen of the network's food personalities will battle to win $50,000 for their favorite charity. Big names such as Duff Goldman and Anne Burrell are participating along with the likes of Next Food Network Star contestants Debbie Lee and Lisa Garza and regular Chopped judges Aaron Sanchez and Jacques Torres.

I've never been much of a fan of Chopped — the secret ingredients always seem totally bizarre — but I'm curious to see how the celebrity chefs will handle the tough challenges. Do you watch Chopped? Are you interested in checking out Chopped All-Stars?

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A new title to be released today, MasterChef Cookbook by JoAnn Cianciulli, hopes to perpetuate Gordon Ramsay's current Fox show of the same name. The book offers tips on essential kitchen techniques, highlights favorite chef ingredients, and includes over 80 recipes from both judges and contestants. But does it also give away the cooking competition's ultimate winner? Find out (warning: possible spoiler alert!) after the jump.

Hot off the heels of Aarti Sequeira's win on The Next Food Network Star comes announcement of new contestants slated for season three of The Next Iron Chef, and the lineup is a little surprising.

Those hoping to become the next Kitchen Stadium superstar include none other than Ming Tsai, who is already an established television personality on PBS, as well as Food & Wine Best New Chef Bryan Caswell. Another notable participant is Marco Canora, owner of New York hotspots Hearth and Terroir. See all 10 chefs who will be competing — as well as my thoughts on the roster — when you keep reading.

It appears Bravo has decided not to put all of its eggs in the Top Chef franchise basket. Author, New York chef, and onetime dancer Rocco DiSpirito is soon to have his own show, too. Today, the cable network officially introduced the program, Rocco's Dinner Party, on its blog, The Dish.

Each episode will feature four different contestants, from restaurateurs to home cooks, facing off in a three-round cooking elimination. In the first round, contestants will cook their favorite dishes for Rocco; in the second, they'll create an appetizer and concept for the week's assigned dinner party theme; in the last, the two remaining contestants will fashion a complete menu and decor to win.

To me, the concept sounds remarkably similar to Food Network's Chopped — only with parties. Still, I could see how Rocco's star power could make it successful. Will this be the next big cooking hit for Bravo?

While the world gears up for next week's Winter Games, the culinary industry is waiting with bated breath for its own version of the Olympics: the Bocuse d'Or.

This Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, 12 semifinalists will compete for one coveted position on the Bocuse d'Or USA team. The winning chef and commis (assistant) will compete for the world title at the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, France, next year. While at Chefs' Holidays, I sat down with Percy Whatley, The Ahwahnee Hotel's chef and a returning semifinalist, to hear how he plans to take Team USA all the way. More, after the break.

When Bocuse d'Or USA announced its 12 semifinalists back in December, there was only one shoo-in on the list. Kevin Gillespie, the Top Chef fan favorite, earned his spot during one of the show's elimination challenges. Now, in an interesting turn of events, Gillespie has taken himself out of the competition.

Replacing the Top Chef finalist will be Jim Burke, executive chef at James in Philadelphia. Reasons as of right now are unclear, although Bocuse d'Or expert Andrew Friedman brings up the likely possibility that, with all his recent fame, Gillespie doesn't have the time — and motivation — to train for the event. Somehow, I'm not surprised and always questioned whether his straightforward, rustic approach would jive with the other competition platters.

Are you sad to hear that Kevin no longer has a shot at winning the Bocuse d'Or?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Yesterday, Bocuse d'Or USA chairman Daniel Boulud announced the 12 semifinalists who will compete to represent the United States in the next Bocuse d'Or. Following in the footsteps of Top Chef's Hung Huynh is Top Chef Las Vegas finalist Kevin Gillespie, who won an elimination challenge to compete at the Bocuse d'Or.

The 12 semifinalists will square off on Feb. 6, 2010, at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY, for a highly coveted position on the US team. The winners will then compete at the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, France, in 2011.

I find it puzzling that, although the competition drew only 17 applicants, the number of candidates seems to have nearly doubled since last year. Still, I'm excited to see how everything pans out. Although I wonder whether Kevin's straightforward, rustic cooking will be too simple for the culinary Olympics, I still hope he goes all the way.

To find out who the other 11 competitors are, read more.

Don't enjoy amateur cooks facing off on TV? Maybe you'll have different sentiments if you're watching them in person. At least, that's what Emeril Lagasse is hoping as he launches his new Atlantic City game show: Taste of Emeril's Cooking Challenge. It begins Oct. 21 at Caesars Atlantic City, and will run several times a week through Nov. 12.

Each night, the casino show will choose six members from the audience to square off onstage at two cooking stations, first competing in two teams, then facing elimination until the last two standing face off to take home the prize. Emeril will appear via the big screen to offer taped commentary and critique. While he admits the casino show is risky, the veteran culinary personality said he was looking for the right show that could be marketed to audiences at a reasonable price.

Tickets are only $35 each, but for that amount, I'd still expect to see more than video footage of Emeril. What about you? Do you see the "interactive cooking competition" being a success?

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