top chef 3

Just when I was about to give Top Chef's editors some kudos, I discover that the whole thing was a trick! Warning, if you haven't watched last night's episode — which I liked despite it being a trick — I'm about to lay down some spoilers.

Let's start things off with the quickfire challenge. When the cheftestants head down to the kitchen they are greeted by Padma and high-profile Daniel Boulud — or as Dale said, "Holy S*it it's Daniel Boulud." This time around the company they're promoting is Red Robin, and they're asked to create a new burger inspired by their line of "Adventurer Burgers." Surprisingly, most of the chefs create seafood burgers, and thankfully, Bravo decides to show us each creation. To watch find out what happens, read more

Last night's Top Chef took us from nine cheftestants to eight. But before there was an elimination, there was a quickfire challenge and some more can't-get-along gang action.

The episode starts off with some behind the scenes action. Joey's departure has made people sad, and Dale and Sara N. have built a new friendship. After a few minutes of watching them behave like real people, we're whisked off to the kitchen for an elimination challenge. This time the guest judge is Chef Govind Armstrong and the product they're hawking is Coldstone Creamery. To find out what happened next, read more

Did you guys catch the Bertolli commercial new episode of Top Chef last night? It was super-sized with an extra 15 minutes of fun, and this time around, I feel confident enough to say I finally know who everyone is. When the cheftestants head to the kitchen, they are met by Padma and Rocco Dispirito (you might remember him from his own reality show The Restaurant). Instead of a normal quickfire challenge, Rocco and Padma are hosting a "culinary bee." Each person has to identify food items either by taste or sight. If they get it right they go to the end of the line, if they get it wrong they're out. Surprisingly, six of the ten chefs are out after round 1, leaving Howie, Brian, Hung and Casey. In his defense, this is what Joey had to say about getting axed so soon, "You got Padma looking at you looking all sexy today, and then you got this asshole right next to her, and your mind just goes blank." Raight... totally blank.

To find out who won the quickfire, what they had to do for elimination (hint: think "brrrr!") and who had to pack their knives and go, read more

I must say, I was pretty disappointed that last night's Top Chef was a reunion episode - especially because I had just gotten a good grasp of the S3 contestants names. However, having said that it was sort of fun to see the chefs return. I'll admit, I really liked those S1 folks and was wondering why only Dave, Leann and Harold were there. In addition to those three, four contestants from S2 showed - Cliff, Sam, Ilan and Mikey (Marcel was apparently on a fishing trip) - and five from S3 - Lia, Sandy, Micah, Camille and Clay.

I understand how a show like this is a lot of fun for hardcore viewers, however it sort of knocks the drama out of the competition. I wanna see cooking, I wanna see fire, I wanna see drama! I don't want to see people rolling their eyes, plugs for other Bravo shows (I love Tim Gunn, but really? A question from acclaimed chef Jean Georges I can understand, but from Gunn or the gal from Workout, how is that relevant??), weird montages of Padma's fashion or how chef Tom is adored in the bear community.

Did you watch? What did you think? There were some pretty weird moments on there - my personal favorite came from Micah the "African American" (did you see Cliff's face?!). I just don't understand how anyone thinks they can go on to a reality show and omit/alter/lie about their past. Haven't they ever heard of the internet?!

In related news, did you know that Anthony Bourdain is filling in on Tom Colicchio's blog?

Okay, Top Chef is finally getting into the manageable numbers. Almost everyone received a little screen time, and instead of flashing each dish for a few milliseconds, the camera hovered over each plate long enough to suck them fully in. And what tasty looking plates they were...

Last night's episode started off with the cheftestants bonding in their fancy digs (honestly, season 1 and 2, you got the short end of the stick). Hung goes on about how it's all about "finesse, style, grace and elegance." Which of course, if you haven't figured out the Bravo school of editing by now, means that Hung's actions are going to somehow contradict his statement. To find out if they do, read more

Did you watch Top Chef last night? If so what did you think? I think it's starting to get interesting, but there are still a few too many characters for me to keep straight. After a two week hiatus, it was almost difficult to get back into as I kept having to say, "Who's that?" or "Wait, who's that girl?" However, once things got "cooking" (sorry I couldn't resist), I got back into the groove and was ready for a visual feast.

Things start off with an interesting quickfire challenge. Padma and Jamie Walker - guest judge and "global master mixologist for Bombay Sapphire Gin" - presents them with 12 mixed drinks and asks them to create proper food pairings. Immediately we cut to Hung who, having drawn a Raspberry Mint Martini, is bitching pouting about how his food is too good for hard alcohol. He then goes on and on about sweetness always going good with creaminess. To find out who wins the quickfire and who gets sent home at the end, read more

*Zzzzzz* Oh sorry about that. Last night's Top Chef sorta knocked me out there. Did you guys watch it? What did you think? Although Ted Allen was finally there, and the guest judge - Alfred Portale - had the potential to make it all work, I have to admit, I was utterly bored. Even the challenge - update old school American classics - seemed recycled. I know I'm being a bit hypocritical, first I complain that it's too dramatic and not focused on the food, and now I'm complaining that there's not enough drama. Can't I have my cake and eat it too? Or should that be, have my conch and eat it too? If you're still curious to see what happened, and there is actually one small off-air controversy, read more

I'm going to start off by stating the obvious: There are too many cheftestants in the kitchen. Not only did the quickfire challenge look like a madhouse, but I'm not even sure every contestant received airtime. There are still a few people that make me say "who's that?" (anyone catch the random chef about 35 minutes into the show?), however there are definitely a few personalities that have started to shine through. Also, the food was pretty impressive this time around - things really appear stepped up this season and I can't wait to see what happens next. But before we go on, let's get through last night's recap. To find out what happened and who went home, read more

Last night Top Chef kicked off its new season with an All Star battle that pitted season one chefs against season two. On the season one team we had Harold, Stephen (oh how I missed his condescending smug attitude), Tiffani and Dave - surprisingly absent was Leanne, but she couldn't participate because she is now Bravo TV's food producer). The season two team consisted of fan favorite Sam, Elia, Marcel and Ilan. The two teams were going head to head and the team with the most wins contributed $20,000 to their favorite charity.

Overall it was a bit lackluster - there was no drama unfolding, as no one was getting kicked off, and all the food looked delicious - however it was fun to see my favorite contestants back in the kitchen. It was definitely a great tease (or should I say amuse-bouche) to lead into season three. There were a few good quotes and I'm sure you guys want to know about the food, and see some pictures. So let's get started, just read more