Dark Horses Reign Supreme

You know, the five Chefs left on Top Chef Allstars are NOT the ones I thought would be there in the end, except for Blaise. Carla? Antonia? Seriously?

Top Chef Allstars Awesome-ness

Are you watching Top Chef Allstars?? I hope so, because it's kind of AMAZING. Definitely my favorite season so far. They have stepped up the challenges thanks to this highly skilled group of former contestants, and for me it's a total joy to watch. Some of these people I really adore just because of thier personalities - Fabio and Tiffany come to mind. Marcel is the loveable badboy as usual. Others I have major food crushes on - Helloooo, Richard Blaise and Dale. Also I'm feeling Carla as the darkhorse. We gotta trim the fat ( Jamie, Antonia, Mike ) and get rid of some of these other idiots because anyone who is a true fan knows it's going to come down to Angelo, Trey, Blaise and Dale. I'm callin' it . . . .

New Season of Top Chef

Bravo has done it again - another stellar cast has shaped up for the 7th installment of TV's greatest food show. I actually watched both episodes back to back yesterday which was a good way to get to know the newbies - personalities and cooking skills will certainly emerge as time goes on.

So first and foremost - let's talk frontrunners. The powers that be in the editing room would certainly have us believe that Uber Chef Kenny from Colorado and Mr. Know-it-all Angelo are the ones to beat, right out of the gate. Kenny exudes a quiet confidence while Angelo reveals in the first episode that he's apprenticed with every great Chef since Escoffier. Looks like brains vs. Bull**** if yo ask me! I'm kinda liking the two strong women contestants - Kelly from Vail and Andrea with the frizzy fro'. Dark horses !!

Anyhow it's very cool to be in DC this year - and during Cherry Blossom time no less. Plus I am SUPER thrilled to have Eric Ripert joining the cast, he is truly one of my Idols. I think we will enjoy his perspective this year. By the way - he is sort of the anti Tom Colicchio. The Le Bernadin group et all is known for it's simplistic, elegant approach vs. Tom's empire of steakhouses which focus on "if some is good, more is better" dining. You can bet on the two of them squaring off a bit here and there.

On a lighter note - motherhood seems to really agree with Padma - - holy cow she looks like she is stuffed into her wardrobe this season ( in a good way ).

I think it's going to be a really great year - can't wait for next weeks episode!!

Oh Thank Heavens

Robyn finally got voted off Top Chef. How in the WORLD did she make it that long?

Now the final episodes will be all about talent - the best chefs are definitely the last ones standing. Can't wait to see who wins!

My money is on Michael or Kevin . . Kevin was my pick from the first ep=)

This Just In

Bravo has greenlit a new spin off on our favorite show - Top Chef: Just Desserts. It will feature pastry chefs competing for the title of Top Pastry Chef. How exciting! Let's see if we can get Jeannette to try out . . .

Read more here: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118010386.html?categoryid=14&cs=1

On the other hand, the new show replacing Top Chef after the finale called Chef Academy, looks hideous. Not sure we'll be DVRing that one . . .

The Cure for Top Chef Withdawl is More Top Chefery

Why wasn't Top Chef on last night?? I can't keep up with Bravo and all their schedule changes. I saw online that Padma Lakshmi is pregnant. Hmm, good luck tasting all of that crazy food now, sweetie.

Which reminds me - I got a Top Chef cookbook for my bday and I am putting a Dinner & a Date on the schedule for Nov. that is ALL winning recipes from the show. SO excited!!!

Down to the Final Three!

Top Chef Masters was so great last night. Hubert!! Bayless!! And that stupid jerk Michael Chiarello. What a baby he is. I was pretty dissapointed by his behavior. Hmm, maybe he should stick with running a huge restaurant / wine / retail empire.

And how much did you wish you were a guest at that party? I could not believe they had a $2000 budget per chef. I don't think you can even physically spend that much money on food at a grocery store for a party of 100.

I was really glad that Chef Anita got the boot in the end. She just did NOT seem excited to be there throughout the whole season, and that is such a once in a lifetime experience, I don't get it. Also, coming from a catering background, when she found out her "raw bar" was going to be sitting out in the sun for hours - I am flabergasted that she didn't scrap it or figure out plan B. Ew.

Anywho - next week is the finale - followed by the premiere of the new season in Vegas. OOh, scandal - there are brothers on this season! Can't wait!!

Top Chef, the "Masters"

I don't know about you but I am loving the new mini-season of top chef featuring the "masters". I'm taking pleasure in watching some of my own culinary idols go from being judges to being judge-ed. I have been tivo-ing the episodes b/c I am usually at work on Wednesdays so I just finished watching last weeks episode tonight. Offal meats - yuk. I loved watching all of chef Ludos freak outs (not a very gracious loser ), and of course it was great to see Rick Bayless, he seems like such a nice man and when it comes to Mexican cuisine in the U.S. he is the gold standard. He totally deserved to win. It was interesting that all the chefs did some kind of Latin food this week - I guess the theory is to cover up the less than savory flavors of the offal meats with lots of spice and acid! It seems like they all made use of the pressure cooker to make their proteins tender. With all of the braising we do I'm thinking I need to get one of those! Anyhow - I find myself kind of missing Tom Collichio and Padma sometimes - but otherwise I think the show is really enjoyable and I look forward to seeing what happens as the show progresses. It's going to be quite a showdown=)