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Introducing Your Top Chef Masters!

partysugar — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 15:52:03 -0800

The second season of Top Chef Masters is set to premiere on April 7 and Entertainment Weekly has revealed the lineup of participating chefs. Kelly Choi will continue to host and the judges, James Oseland, Gael Greene, and Jay Reyner, will be joined by Gail Simmons. There's also an exciting new cast of guest judges including Andrew Zimmerman, Hank Azaria, and Mekhi Phifer. To check out the entire list of competing masters - six of the chefs were on the first season - read more.

Jody Adams – Rialto Restaurant, Cambridge, MA
Govind Armstrong – 8 oz Burger Bar, Los Angeles, CA
Graham Elliot Bowles – Graham Elliot Restaurant, Chicago, IL *
Jimmy Bradley – The Red Cat, New York, NY
David Burke – David Burke Townhouse, New York, NY
Wylie Dufresne – wd~50, New York, NY *
Susan Feniger – Street, Los Angeles, CA
Debbie Gold – The American Restaurant, Kansas City, MO
Carmen Gonzalez – Chef Consultant, New York, NY
Maria Hines – Tilth, Seattle, WA
Susur Lee – Madeline’s, Toronto, Canada
Ludo Lefebvre – Ludo Bites, Los Angeles, CA *
Tony Mantuano – Spiaggia, Chicago, IL
Rick Moonen – Rick Moonen’s RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, NV *
Mark Peel – Campanile, Los Angeles, CA *
Monica Pope – t’afla, Houston, TX
Thierry Rautureau – Rover’s, Seattle, WA
Marcus Samuelsson – The Red Rooster, New York, NY
Ana Sortun – Oleana, Cambridge, MA
Rick Tramonto – TRU, Chicago, IL
Jerry Traunfeld – Poppy, Seattle, WA
Jonathan Waxman – Barbuto, New York, NY *

*These chefs were on season one.

I'm bummed there is no chef local to the Bay Area. Who will you be rooting for?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Yummy Links: From Gail Simmons to Michael Pollan

partysugar — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 09:15:16 -0800

Gail Simmons's guide to packing. - Travel + Leisure
An inside look at New York City's illegal beekeepers. - Chow
Does it really matter if you forget an ingredient? - The Epi-Log
Catch up with some of Top Chef 6's cheftestants. - Grub Street NY
10 new things to put in your drink. - Endless Simmer
Taste test: vegan burgers. - Serious Eats
Michael Pollan and Oprah discuss seal blubber and cow's blood. - Eater

Guess Who?

partysugar — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 16:15:25 -0800

Last Saturday Padma, Gail, and the chef pictured below left spoke on a panel at the 9th Annual New York Times Arts and Leisure weekend. Can you guess who it was?

Gail Simmons Gets a Brand-New Gig

partysugar — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:00:04 -0800

A couple of months ago, Bravo announced yet another Top Chef spinoff: Top Chef: Just Desserts. The culinary competition, which has already held casting calls, will be a Top Chef-style show that features pastry chefs. Yesterday the network released the news that Food & Wine's Gail Simmons, a recurring judge on the regular Top Chef, will host Just Desserts. Via her Twitter account, Simmons confirmed, stating, "upping daily sugar consumption in preparation." I'm a huge Gail fan and am already looking forward to the premiere of Just Desserts. How about you? Are you excited to learn that Gail Simmons has her own show?

Bravo Picks Up Second Season of Top Chef Masters

YumSugar — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:30:52 -0700

As Bravo's Top Chef Las Vegas reaches the halfway mark, the network continues to expand its Top Chef empire. First it released plans to shoot Top Chef 7, and now the network has announced that it's bringing back Top Chef Masters for a sophomore season.

The second season of Masters, which was the highest-rated first season competition series in Bravo history, will see the return of Gael Greene, James Oseland, and Jay Rayner as critics, as well as bubbly (and slightly bubbleheaded) host Kelly Choi. This time, however, Top Chef veteran judge Gail Simmons will also have a place at the Critics' Table.

Now for the fun part. Guessing who will star on the show next. Any takers? Here are my guesses: While it sounds like Ming Tsai probably won't be a contender, what about Marcus Samuelsson, Tom Douglas, Kent Rathbun, and Charlie Palmer?

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Top Chef Vegas: Episode 2

partysugar — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 00:30:30 -0700

With Top Chef Masters officially over we can finally turn our attention to getting to know the 16 remaining chefs on Top Chef Vegas. The second episode aired last night and after watching, I've come to several conclusions. Mike might be the world's biggest douche, Kevin's beard and Jesse's lip ring are distracting, and Jennifer scares me. To discuss all the delicious details, read more.

Todd English: hot or not?
Re: Jennifer - Does a female have to be mean and tough to succeed as a chef?
Do you enjoy the behind-the-scenes videos Bravo airs during the commercials?
My favorite line: "It's true, gay guys grow flowers better than straight guys." What quote stood out in your mind?
Was Ashley being too sensitive or does she have a right to be offended?
Isn't it weird that the bachelor/ette parties are in the exact same place?
Did the producers choose the boys vs. girls challenge because they knew it was easy drama? The boys put down the girls, the girls put down the boys. The boys think they are better, the girls think they are better. The boys act stupid and jump in the pool, the girls act superior and annoyed. It seemed scripted.
That being said, don't the boys' dishes seem way more sophisticated than the girls?
Could the brothers make it to the final three?
Overall, how do you feel about this season so far?

Did I forget something? Please bring up more discussion points below!

Photo courtesy of Bravo

How Well Do You Know the Top Chef Judges & Contestants?

partysugar — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:50:24 -0700

Hey Top Chef fans, get excited: the new season debuts this Wednesday night at 9 p.m.! To get everyone in the mood for the next round in Las Vegas, I put together a fun quiz that tests your knowledge of the judges and past contestants. I'll list a judge's quote, and you have to guess which cheftestant it's about. So, what are you waiting for? Play away!

Question 1 of 10

"In the end, she realized her strength. She's a chef who needs to roll something over in her brain, try it out 15 different ways, refine it, and then she'll nail it."

Top Chef Masters: Episode 6

partysugar — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:30:40 -0700

The first round of Top Chef Masters was completed last night. The final quartet of chefs included no females, but Jonathan Waxman, Roy Yamaguchi, Michael Cimarusti, and Art Smith. The best thing about this episode was the return of Gail Simmons. Did you watch? If you are interested in discussing, read more.

Is it bad that I secretly want Jonathan Waxman to win simply because he trained Bobby Flay?
Have you ever been to Roy's? Do you like his Hawaiian Fusion?
If you competed on Top Chef Masters, what would your charity be?
How fabulous is Art Smith? Wouldn't Richard from Top Chef 5 consider him a teddy bear?
Whose quickfire dish looked the best to you?
There was a lot of camaraderie between the masters, do you think the regular Top Chef contestants would have felt differently about the shop-for-each-other elimination challenge?
How inspiring was it when the chefs set each other up with wonderful ingredients?
When should a chef cook out of his comfort zone and when should he stick to what he knows?
"Gael Greene and I go way back." Do you think Jonathan and Gael had a fling in the 80s?
Are you excited for the Champions Round?

Source

Top Chef Masters: Episode 4

partysugar — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:01:39 -0700

After a week hiatus, Top Chef Masters was back last night with Douglas Rodriguez, John Besh, Anita Lo, and Mark Peel competing for their respective charities. Eggs, magic, Tom Colicchio, and Doogie Howser played supporting roles. Did you watch? Want to discuss the episode? Keep reading.

A Look at the Food & Wine Classic Quickfire

partysugar — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 08:00:39 -0700

The final event at the Food & Wine Classic features the current winner of Top Chef on Sunday morning. Normally it's a cook-off between the cheftestant and an acclaimed chef like Jacques Pepin. However, this year they decided to do something different and pit two Top Chefs, Stephanie Izard and Hosea Rosenberg, against each other. The chefs were given 25 minutes to create a gourmet breakfast for Gail Simmons, Tom Colicchio, Dana Cowin, and a lucky audience-member who bid $15,000 to act as a guest judge. Want to know what went down at the quickfire? Keep reading