Deep End Dining's Eddie Lin has some off-camera (yet on-camera) hijinks with Andrew Zimmern, who was in LA filming Bizarre Foods for the Travel Channel. Lin gets giddy over eating animal testicles in the Valley, so his special PB&J sandwich is right up Zimmern's alley. Yes, they are kindred spirits. For the rest of us: Sorry, but friends don't let friends eat jellyfish. On a sidenote, why were they at Ford's Filling Station? What 'bizarre food' does Ben Ford have on the menu?
· Guess what's in Andrew Zimmer's Sandwich [DED]
Earlier this week we found out that the Top Chef finale will be taped this weekend and gave hints to the locale. Well, it looks like Mr. Ted Allen doesn't have the limitations we do: Big Tom, Pads, Gail, Ted, guest judges and the final cheftestants are off to Puerto Rico (Suave) for the finale. Allen also tells the Dallas Morning News that when he returns after the weekend, he'll know who won Top Chef. Which is interesting because they did a live reveal for season three (due to some rather huge leaks from season two). But here's what we want to know: What contestants are in Puerto Rico? Did Antonia take an unexpected break from Foxtail this weekend? Hmmm... [ELA/DMN via Amuse-Biatch]
After watching last night's Top Chef---eight chefs left, four men, four women---we couldn't help but wonder who actually has more balls this season. The men: Spike and Andrew all man-loving their departed friend Kiwi Mark, Blais' pink Crocs, Dale's big baby temper tantrums. Or the women: Lisa's scary looks, Stephanie's quiet determination, Antonia's confidence, Nikki's…well, we'll get to that later. They got back to basics with a classic Quickfire Challenge, but we (as well as the cheftestants) were disappointed that Restaurant Wars was replaced with Wedding Wars. Catering…again? There was lots of yawning, good and bad teamwork, and less profanity---although we did learn the meaning to Andrew's "culinary boner" and were introduced to "Popeye's wet dream." Chicago's Gale Gand guest judged, Gail, Tom and Pads critiqued, and there was some serious dramz at the judges' table. Antonia: Still in it to win it. On to the recap!
In the teaser for tonight's TC episde, we find Spike, Dale and Richard perhaps in trouble this week, a reticent Nikki, stone-faced Antonia, and a mean-looking Lisa following a super long wedding challenge (thus the yawning). What's more important is what precedes this scene: The relay race, the quickfire challenge that last year showed viewers that Hung Huynh is actually superhuman, is making a comeback. Who will be the fastest chef this time and who will drag their teams into the mire? Dale and Andrew have some serious fast knife skills, but who knows what Antonia or the girls have up their sleeves. Bonus fun: the winner this week will not get immunity.
· Who Goes Down in Epic Wedding Challenge? [~ENY~]
· All Top Chef coverage [~ELA~]
We have it on very good authority that the Top Chef finale will start taping this weekend. We don't know who is in the finale, and we don't know for sure where, but rumor has it Big Tom, Pads, Gail, Ted and the happy band of guest judges are heading out to the Carribbean (think: sofrito, arroz con pollo, Salsa, J-Lo). Also unconfirmed but assumed: The finale will be taped, but the winner will be revealed on live TV. [EaterWire]
From a Warner Bros. newsletter: Barbara Lazaroff, restaurant and interior designer, Wolfgang Puck's ex-wife, co-founder of the American Wine & Food Fest, is helping develop a new "competition/documentary television series filled with challenges aimed at aspiring restaurateurs." Lazaroff---whose outfits will surely outshine Padma's---will mentor whoever has the most potential and help them open a restaurant. No dates when production starts or when it will air. [EaterWire]
Eight weeks in, half way there, and It's too bad that the Top Chef episode where Antonia wins both the QF and the elimination challenge, with immunity no less, was outright boring. Oprah's personal chef Art Davis was guest judge, they used microwavable rice, cooked with kids, and turned out some pedestrian family-style meals for under $10. Even the kids lacked that spark of personality, and kids, you know, say the darndest things! But we learned: Antonia's joke repertoire includes "poo" knock-knock jokes and little kids in chef hats choke her up; Richard wants to "make babies…little Blaises," wears pink Crocs, and is all about the color coordination; Mark is as insecure as a kiwi in a bowl of fruit; Stephanie's starting to break; Tom is both odd and endearing around kids; and everyone, even the guest judge, is tired of Lisa's bad attitude. But they're saving Andrew's "culinary boner" for next week! On to the recap:
In this week's preview for tonight's Top Chef episode, we learn a few somewhat interesting but not so integral things: Mark, Antonia, and Stephanie are especially amped up to win, and James Beard award winner and Oprah's personal chefArt Smith will be the guest judge. We also know that for the quickfire chefs only have 15 minutes to make a meal, Uncle Ben's rice is somehow involved, and naturally, they can only cook their dishes in the microwave.
· Eater Sneak Preview: Art Smith, Microwaves, and Product Placement [ENY]
· All Top Chef Coverage [~ELA~]
Forget actually working in a kitchen: He's gone from the beautiful trainwreck that was The Restaurant to shining moments on the last two season's of Top Chef to hawking frozen pasta dinners, and now Rocco DiSpirito will finally get his own show again. Rocco to the Rescue (working title) got the greenlight for daytime on A&E; it's been stalled in development since 2006. Too bad several other handsome-chef-helping-housewives-cook series have popped up on TLC and the Food Network since then. [EaterWire]
A vegan LAist reader used to like Sante Cuisine before Gordon Ramsay got his Kitchen Nightmares hands on it: "...when we got there it certainly looked different with candles on each table, odd shaped drinking glasses, and a ladder as part of the scenery, but they had reduced the number of vegetarian and vegan options on the menu and also reduced the portion sizes. When the bill came, everyone felt that we had paid for an experience we won't be having again. The change is certainly a downgrade and everyone at our table felt that way. I don't know why anyone would eat there when there is a much better organic place in Flore Cafe that isn't too far away." [LAist; previously]
Last night's Top Chef was full of comedy improv, weird sexual innuendos, Padma bowl-licking, some very arbitrary (and highly questionable) judging criterion and one svelte pastry judge. Hilarious for so many reasons, but a nail-biter for Angelenos rooting for hometown cheftestant Antonia Lofaso. We counted at least 10 different times, tells if you will, that had us thinking Antonia would pack her knives, but she survives this round. Barely. Instead, the last of the San Franciscoans have left the competition---sorry Eater SF but phew! On to the recap:
Heading into week seven, the Top Chef contestant pool is thinning, and tension and uncertainty (except for Andrew) is in the air. Once again, with clever editing, this is more red herring than anything: Was Antonia's use of chorizo a good or bad decision? Did she get paired with Spike again? Did he really talk about soup again? Is that worry on her face? Was Stephanie's flavors in-one-swoop the good or bad composition? Oh, how they tease! What we don't know is how the cheftestants went from a dessert Quickfire to an Elimination Challenge that has tofu and Polish sausage in it. We do know, however, that guest judge is looker Johnny Iuzzini, pastry chef from Jean Georges.
Now that we're mid-season of Top Chef Chicago, local casting calls for TC5 are coming up: Craftsteak in Las Vegas on May 4, and saving the best for last, open calls at Cicada in Los Angeles on May 26. [Bravo]
After last night's Top Chef episode, we're down to the final 10 cheftestants. If this was American Idol, you could buy tickets to see them Live! But in TC-land, this means that all the contestants who've been riding in the middle start bubbling up to the surface, which means more Antonia voiceovers, more strategy, more explanations. The beauty is: what she says always sounds so...smart...compared to others (i.e. Spike saying something ridiculous like "Yay! Lesbians!"). Antonia's focused, thinks about what she's doing, and obviously makes a mean jerk chicken sandwich. This week two guest judges make an appearance---Avec's Koren "poker face" Grieveson in the QF and Paul Kahan in the Elimination Challenge. There's beer, tailgating, football legends, The Big C in a Bears jersey with scarf, men in bathtubs, Gail and plenty of Padma. Let's off to the locally-skewed recap then, shall we?
We're entering week six on Top Chef, and here we have a little sneak preview of tonight's ep. Taking place the morning after Zoi's departure, the cheftestants are getting more serious about the competition. Spike thinks everyone thinks he should've gone home, a somber Jennifer misses Zoi, Dale and Lisa still have issues, and ladies, Ryan does morning stretches. Chicago chef Paul Kahan is the guest judge, and the challenge puts our heroes in another situation only tangentially related to being a chef: tailgating for a football game.
· Full Top Chef Coverage on Eater LA [~ELA~]
Surely the chef has spent a few days in Curseville himself, but Tom Colicchio comes across as Saint Tom in a NYT article about the bad language in the current season of Top Chef: "You don't see rock stars curse like this." True, the season is more bleep-heavy than ever, and even Bravo's Andy Cohen says they were shocked to see it in the first cut, but they went with it, obviously not telling the cheftestants to tone it down for TV. Cursing's edgy! Look at Hell's Kitchen: We bet the majority of viewers watch just to see Gordon Ramsay's 45-second bleep-riddled tirades. So is TV dispensing kitchen truths to the masses or just giving the audience what they want? Probably a little of both.
Though entirely unconfirmed, the buzz of late is that Top Chef New Orleans could be on the horizon. Auditions will be held in the Big Easy for season five, which has some people guessing it will host the 16 cheftestants for the full term. There are, of course, casting calls in New York, Las Vegas, San Francisco and Los Angeles, too, but at least three of those cities have already stood in as the temporary home for the show. Last season Chicago was added to the casting call line-up and, yep, we're deep in the throes of Top Chef Chicago as we speak. TC Nola could be interesting... [NOLA via Eater SF]
We had brunch at Dos Caminos in the Palazzo this weekend (good guac, so-so enchiladas), and corporate executive chef Scott Linquist was on hand to answer any and all questions from the group. Well, almost all. When we asked about former Top Cheffer and Dos Caminos chef Manuel Trevino's recent departure from the restaurant group, Linquist simply said: "If Manuel showed his true self, maybe he would've stayed on the show longer. That's all I'm going to say." By the tone of his voice, we take this to mean that the aw-shucks, thank you ma'am attitude Memo showed when he was booted from the TC lineup wasn't the real Memo. Maybe if he showed his true colors like, say, Butternut Squash Spike, he could've made it past week three. Out of a job and a top-rated cooking show. What unbelievable timing. [ENY/ELA]
The juicy preview for last night's Top Chef episode had us on pins and needles. So much Antonia, so much Zoi, yelling, drama! Turns out Foxtail chef Antonia Lofaso had her first breakout Top Chef moment: Not only did she win the Quickfire and get immunity from elimination, but she gets on the poll! We also finally got to see where those tense "Stand behind your dish!" barbs from early previews were directed. There's some Ming Tsai, Gail's return to the judges' table, a guest cameo by none other than Nancy Silverton, and some stewing in the Stew Room. Let's jump right into this week's recap.
From the dramz we saw at the end episode four, and this here preview for tonight's Top Chef episode, this week should be a doozy for the chefetestants, especially Antonia. She's highlighted in both the intro (not always the best sign) and at the judges' table making "you're right, it wasn't good" faces. There's also a lot of Zoi bandied about, her partner from last week. The Bravo folks usually send previews featuring something innocuous (like a quickfire intro), but today's clip is just a strange exercise in elusive Top Chef editing where it looks like every single chef is under fire. Bonus: For the quickfire, cheftestants determine which ingredients are most expensive during a blind tasting, and Ming Tsai is the guest judge.
· All Top Chef, All the Time [~ELA~]
This weekend's SNL had a parody of your favorite show and ours complete with faux-hawk jokes ("It wouldn't be Top Chef without faux-hawks"), a quickfire where the cheftestants must make a pizza with beets, cous cous, a brown paper bag and medicine, and the ultimate highlight: a creepy celebrity judge complete with mega sideburns named Wylie Delmario. Could've been funnier, but Christopher Walken still stole the show.
We'll never get her to tell us who won or if she made it far in the competition, but we like chatting with Top Chef cheftestant Antonia Lofaso anyway. One, she's the only LA contestant, and we will back her to the end for that reason alone. Two, we want to know what she really thinks of Spike and his sabotage. Or Richard and his gadgets. Or the chefbians Zoi and Jennifer. We've rounded week four of the season, and while she's been at the judges table on the top and bottom of the heap in every episode, Antonia hasn't had her break-out moment yet. Let's see what she thinks of things thus far.
Eater LA: What's it like seeing guest judges like Daniel Boulud? Antonia Lofaso: Honestly completely and totally honored to cook for these chefs. On any level. Even Rick Bayless. When in our careers will we get to cook for these amazing chefs one after the other? Daniel Boulud is amazing, his technique, his integrity. Even just watching him in the Quickfire, you can tell this man has been in the kitchen all his life. There was something on the floor, and he didn't walk around it. He just picked it right up.
ELA: Boulud said Richard and Ryan worked for him. Did anything go through your mind when you heard that? Antonia: No, not really. If you're thinking about that kind of stuff [during the competition], then you get sidetracked from what you're trying to do. It's all going to divert your focus.
ELA: You said in this ep that Richard was your biggest competition? We would think Stephanie. Antonia: Both are great chefs. Richard just has the confidence; he goes into each challenge with a lot of confidence. And for the most part it doesn't affect his food.
ELA: Getting paired with Zoi, one-half of the couple on the show. Did you think they had an advantage? Antonia: No, never. The two of them are such great people and are great together. I can see what Spike was saying about having that support there. Of course I'd like to talk to my mother or father, my daughter. It could be an advantage to have that support, but that's it.
Last night’s Top Chef may have been the most random albeit most entertaining one yet—Daniel Boulud, Richard Roeper, a basket of greens, and movie-inspired dishes were on the menu during this bizarre fourth ep. As usual, the spazzy antics of the young chefs did not disappoint: bitching, flailing, and clawing their way through this "cinema-themed" episode. First a quick summary:
As previously mentioned, Top Chef regular Daniel Boulud, (D-Biggity if you will), was front and center at the start of the quickfire. Bonus Info: We learned/were reminded that Ryan and Richard had both worked in one of his restaurants. Apparently Boulud’s style just wasn’t Ryan’s "thing.” Shocker. The QF challenge was to create a veggie plate using 3 classical techniques to impress D-Biggs. After many cheftestants whined about their lack of technical skills, Dale pulled off his first win. The elimination challenge was to create a six-course meal for Richard Roeper and Aisha Tyler, each course created by a different pair of chefs and inspired by a different film. (Who comes up with this stuff?) In the end, a Willy Wonka dish won, Padma's outfit was a feat in itself, and a panel of eight randoms accompanied the judges at the dinner table.
The fourth Top Chef ep airs tonight and according to the sneak peek above there's a big focus on new techniques and the chefs are as stressed as ever! Should be interesting for our gal Antonia since the chef (both on the show and in her restaurant) likes to keep things simple. Film critic Richard Roeper and actress Aisha Tyler are somehow involved, Daniel Boulud judges the quickfire, and Padma is generally smokin'. Also, apparently this week there will be a big editorial focus on the lesbian relationship and the competitive advantage of having your significant other on the show.
· Top Chef, Full Coverage [~ELA~]
The new season of Hell's Kitchen premieres tonight, and we already know there are no Los Angeles contestants, so we'll watch, but it won't be as much fun. What can we say, we live for a good Ramsay, "You f**king donkey!" By online game comparison alone, Top Chef is way more cerebral. Memory match? Personality quizzes? Sudoku? Hell's Kitchen, on the other hand, has a video game with just as many words bleeped out as the show. Players have 35 recipes "to conquer" while a 3D Ramsay screams: "That's rubbish! Get that into the fucking bin!" The winner does not get to work at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood, but can work up from "a single star to a prestigious five star establishment." The game isn't live yet, but when it is, it's all over.
· Hell's Kitchen 4 Contestants Announced [~ELA~]
· Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen Approach to HR [~ELA~]
More than 3,000 people traipsed through Monterey Peninsula this weekend for the first annual Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival. To those who could afford it---some tickets were almost $5,000 per person---to mingle with the country's best winemakers, talk shop with more than 75 sommeliers, and meet top toques, learn from them, eat their food, was totally worth it. Because someone had to let you know if it's really worth it, we jammed in as muchaspossible. We heard lots of goss, some news, tasted the best spatzel we ever had. Here, then, the final wrap-up.
On LA's Own: At the Sunday Lexus Grand Tasting, Josiah Citrin had the longest line at the Melisse table. We kept seeing chocolate cookies on a stick and found out where they came from: Sherry Yard, of course, handing them out in her in full-on pink chef regalia. The two each had a course at the grand finale dinner on Saturday. Way to represent.
On Tom Colicchio: In a cunning show of chef prowess, Colicchio butchered his own meat at his cooking demo. And cut his finger, but the crowd oohed and aahed anyway; they really didn't think he could cook anymore. Many asked if he'll open a restaurant in their hometown. Answer: No, but Foxwoods, CT (Craftsteak) and Atlanta (Craft, Craftbar) are next, and he'd definitely open something else in LA. One elder gent gave him an earful about not getting a reservation at Craft LA and having to deal with inept hostesses; Colicchio defended the restaurant and said he has a new GM. On why he finally decided to do Top Chef: "I got tired of coming to these things and sitting next to Mario Batali and Bobby Flay. They'd sign 200 cookbooks, and I'd sign 10. And not because they were necessarily better."
Ten things TV chefs won't tell you but most people believe anyway: They aren't all "chefs"; their cooking shows are just one long commercial for the cookbooks, which you don't even need to buy because the recipes are online; their recipes are good TV, not always good in the kitchen; there's a reason Nigella licks the spoon that way (that's right: it's not called food porn for nothing); don't expect to see the big chefs at any of their restaurants, especially in Vegas; and no matter who the chef is on TV, it's still good for business. [Smart Money]
The best way to describe the Pebble Beach Food & Wine Festival---four full days of celebrity chef cooking demos, book signings, wine seminars, lunches, walk-around tastings, after parties, and dinners with a truly amazing lineup of chefs---is through our first two day's itineray. Quite frankly, we're full.
DAY 1: Winding Up
We missed the celebrity chef golf tourney (Ming Tsai, Masarahu Morimoto, Tom Colicchio, Thomas Keller were just some of the chefs who played) and the opening night party at the Inn at Spanish Bay, but we didn't miss the after party. Food (a roast pig, procetta, sushi), cocktail bars and the now-famous wine room. Chefs spotted: Tre Wilcox from Top Chef season three, Ryan Scott from season four (and publicist who wouldn't let us talk TC at all), and Michel Richard who practically ran away when we tried to say hello.
DAY 2: Demos, Tastings, Wine Until the Wee Hours 10am-11:30am:Jacques and Claudine Pepin cooking demo. The two are like a Laurel and Hardy comedy team, except with crepes, caviar and wine. Quick shuttle (overheard on bus: "Wish we could taste the crepes" and "I want Jacques Pepin to be my dad") to the main event tents for a luncheon.
12pm-2:45pm: Chefs from Hudson Valley Foie Gras, Top Chef, Joe's Stone Crab, Marinus and Morimoto prepare our meal. The room was a flutter of sommeliers and servers. It was supposed to be like the Food Network come to life, but it was tastier than the Food Network could ever hope to be.
For those who bitch and moan that we give too much Top Chef away: ****Warning: Possible Spoiler Alert****
This week's on-air poll wasn't nearly as entertaining as last week's, but it merits a mention. The taco/block party episode started with the women talking about how nice it would be for a woman to win, lamenting the loss of yet another female chef from the day before, which of course set up the scenario a dude would go this week (he did). But this poll harkened back to something an Eater commenter said before the season premiere:
"I have spoken to several people on the show this year and it is clear that a women is going to win this season. There are three in the final four and one male (Richard). Antonia i believe made it to the final four along with two other ladies."
From a local (i.e. Antonia Lofaso) perspective, the Top Chef taco episode was kind of a snoozer. The majority of the 14 remaining chefs are still sitting comfortably in the middle, Antonia included. A Quickfire summary: Rick Bayless was the guest judge sporting a nice purple shirt and a surprisingly Shaggy-like voice. The cheftestants make fancy "fine dining" tacos, and the cockiest egos really stood out. Spike refused to make fancy tacos, opting to take the street food route instead, but was picked as a top taco for "soul satifying flavor." Manuel thought his proper pronunciation of tomatillos and chorizo would merit an automatic win. Twitchy Andrew thinks he'll win Top Chef because of "his crazy ideas always popping in his head." Bayless couldn't even chew through Lisa's grilled steak taco. Big bald Erik's plate looked like a plate of slop. And once again, we never heard or saw what Antonia made. When Richard's jicama-wrapped tacos won him immunity, Spike was beside himself. His attitude set the tone for the rest of the episode; must've been that yellow hat. All the gang's here: Ted Allen's first appearance this season, Bayless, Pads, TC. And away we go!
Some Top Chef intel just hit the ol' inbox: Season two winner Ilan Hall will join fellow cheftestant Betty Fraser at the Hollywood Arts Council Gala and Charlie Awards this Saturday. The duo are catering the event and walking the carpet. Maybe Hall will pick up some catering tips for the full-functioning, no booze restaurant/taco/tapas truck he has planned for East Hollywood. [EaterWire]
Here we have a little clip of tomorrow's Top Chef "Block Party." What you'll see: Confused chefs driving through the streets of Chicago, but we don't know what they're looking for, Antonia is confused, and then there's some sort of scramble through homes. What you won't see but we know: The chef’s need to turn the everyday fast food taco into a fine dining meal; there's a neighborhood party; and Rick Bayless serves as guest judge. (Wed, 10pm, Bravo)
Food Network Dish has a clip of Adam Roberts (a.k.a. The Amateur Gourmet) interviewing an in all probability drunken Anthony Bourdain about his hatred of the Food Network. Who Tony thinks should have their own show and some thoughts on Giada: "Mario should have a show where he is actually allowed to speak intelligently and unburden himself of the massive genius that is Mario...I have no understanding of her alternate universe. I don't wanna stay at her house. I think her friends are creepy.... But when Ina Garten cooks mashed potatoes, those are some damn good mashed potatoes...Giada doesn't suck. I hate all her shows, but she cooks good stuff." And trust us, watching to the end is totally worth it. [FN Dish]
If you haven't watched this week's Top Chef animal episode yet, you might want to skip this for spoilage reasons, or just read our recap. The gist: LA's Antonia Lofaso and her Team Gorilla had two of the three worst dishes in the elmination challenge, and the ejected chef faults Antonia on Grub Street:
You seemed unhappy when Antonia said she hypothetically would hire Stephanie over you based on your dishes, even though she hadn’t tasted yours.
It was completely unfair. At the event, one of the first things she said to me when our time was over was, “I didn’t get a chance to taste your dish.” She literally said those words. I think she just got along with Stephanie better. It was a personal thing. She liked Stephanie better, so she said she would have picked her dish. I was definitely not happy about that at all.
Why did you make the blinis in advance?
That wasn’t even my idea, initially. It was Antonia’s. And it was her recipe, in fact. She said, “I’ve got this great recipe for these blinis.” I felt like I got thrown under the bus for it.
So it was a team decision?
Not at one point did we stop and say, “Wait, maybe this isn’t such a good idea. Wait, what are we doing? Maybe this isn’t going to hold up.” Watching the show last night, I felt like, maybe [Antonia] did that on purpose. But then again, I should have realized that that wasn’t such a good idea.
You'll hear it over and over and over again all season long: It's a competition, Valerie. Survival of the fittest, baby. Although...like an 800-pound gorilla in the room, even we noted that Antonia didn't say anything to Valerie about the blinis, didn't taste them, didn't try to help fix them. It could've been editing, we thought, or perhaps strategy. Is Antonia that sneaky? Oh, we hope so. We really, really do.
· Ejected Top Chef, "That Wasn't Even My Idea!" [Grub Street]
· Top Chef Local Debriefing: Anotnia and The Gorillas [~ELA~]
We would X out the cheftestant sent home last night, but she's already cut off the page, still proving our point.
As alluded to in the Tom=Bear poll, last night's Top Chef episode had an animal theme, which we'll get to along with a debriefing from the local angle, i.e. Antonia Lofaso. But first, a summary: In the Quickfire Challenge, the contestants had to make one dish with five ingredients, using the local farmers' market for inspiration. Antonia was mesmerized by the 500 things she could get at the market, but still skated along safely in the middle; we never even found out what she made. But, alas, we catch a glimpse of the Antonia to come in the Elimination Challenge where the 15 chefs teamed up in threes to cater a 200-person event at the zoo. Molecular gastronomist Wylie Dufresne presided as guest judge, Gail Simmons was as perky as ever, Padma was Padma, and Tom's head was shiny as ever.
It's not on the Bravo website, but we got our hands on this here video intro to tonight's Top Chef Quickfire challenge. Nothing too spoilerish, just a tip-off of what's to come. Keep these words in mind: Five ingredients and immunity.
· All our Top Chef: Chicago coverage right here [~ELA~]
· Top Chef Season 4 [Bravo]
So LA doesn't have a contestant in the upcoming season of Hell's Kitchen, but for better or worse, we'll be claiming the winner as our own when he or she becomes "executive chef" at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. This season's contestants include an electrician, a receptionist, a stay-at-home dad, a few students and a catering company owner. Ramsay isn't one to just throw anyone in his establishments---the opening chef at the London New York was let go after Frank Bruni's review---so how's this going to work again? We were on a call with Ramsay earlier this week, and here's how he explains it:
"The position isn't the exec chef position in terms of running the restaurant lock, stock and barrel. The winner will be an executive chef within the set up, responsible of the day to day general sort of running the restaurant. The tough love scenario of switching it around [in New York], of course it was a tough opening...I want to prove to the industry that any winner of Hell's Kitchen is more qualified and capable of standing alone in my kitchen".
Having spent many a year slaving away in and later observing the restaurant industry, we know that's there's no drama like restaurant drama. No, The Restaurant wasn't a huge hit, but it was sort of a precursor to all the others. Top Chef is now officially a run-away success; Gordon Ramsay's Hell's Kitchen and Kitchen Nightmares, both the U.S. and British versions, are adored. The Food Network and PBS have their own take. But just like every reality show concept, people are clamoring to come up with new versions of the same theme. The bandwagon isn't nearly full yet, but almost.
Knife Swap: If the name doesn't give it away, it's like Wife Swap, but with chefs. We were tipped off today about the local connection: "A friend went to Auntie Em's the other day and had to sign a release because they were shooting some kind of trading spaces show where restaurants swap chefs? And Auntie Em's chef was replaced with the chef at Ritual?" Confirmed, mostly. Auntie Em's owner Teri Wahl is one of the chefs in the pilot. The other might be Ritual's Andrew Pastore, but we're still awaiting confirmation. Each chef takes over the other's kitchen and restaurant, the staff, etc. and hopefully entertainment will ensue. The show will air on TLC.
Flipping through channels this weekend, an episode of 30 Minute Meals literally stopped us in our tracks: When did Rachael Ray start letting the girls out in the kitchen? She was rockin some serious cleavage, nothing like the virginal girl-next-door days of yore. Is this the FN's new "Giada strategy?"
OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming...
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After watching last night's Top Chef---eight chefs left, four men, four women---we couldn't help but wonder who actually has more balls this season. The men: Spike and Andrew all man-loving their departed friend Kiwi Mark, Blais' pink Crocs, Dale's big baby temper tantrums. Or the women: Lisa's scary looks, Stephanie's quiet determination, Antonia's confidence, Nikki's…well, we'll get to that later. They got back to basics with a classic Quickfire Challenge, but we (as well as the cheftestants) were disappointed that Restaurant Wars was replaced with Wedding Wars. Catering…again? There was lots of yawning, good and bad teamwork, and less profanity---although we did learn the meaning to Andrew's "culinary boner" and were introduced to "Popeye's wet dream." Chicago's Gale Gand guest judged, Gail, Tom and Pads critiqued, and there was some serious dramz at the judges' table. Antonia: Still in it to win it. On to the recap!
From a Warner Bros. newsletter: Barbara Lazaroff, restaurant and interior designer, Wolfgang Puck's ex-wife, co-founder of the American Wine & Food Fest, is helping develop a new "competition/documentary television series filled with challenges aimed at aspiring restaurateurs." Lazaroff---whose outfits will surely outshine Padma's---will mentor whoever has the most potential and help them open a restaurant. No dates when production starts or when it will air. [EaterWire] 
Eight weeks in, half way there, and It's too bad that the Top Chef episode where Antonia wins both the QF and the elimination challenge, with immunity no less, was outright boring. Oprah's personal chef Art Davis was guest judge, they used microwavable rice, cooked with kids, and turned out some pedestrian family-style meals for under $10. Even the kids lacked that spark of personality, and kids, you know, say the darndest things! But we learned: Antonia's joke repertoire includes "poo" knock-knock jokes and little kids in chef hats choke her up; Richard wants to "make babies…little Blaises," wears pink Crocs, and is all about the color coordination; Mark is as insecure as a kiwi in a bowl of fruit; Stephanie's starting to break; Tom is both odd and endearing around kids; and everyone, even the guest judge, is tired of Lisa's bad attitude. But they're saving Andrew's "culinary boner" for next week! On to the recap:
Last night's Top Chef was full of comedy improv, weird sexual innuendos, Padma bowl-licking, some very arbitrary (and highly questionable) judging criterion and one svelte pastry judge. Hilarious for so many reasons, but a nail-biter for Angelenos rooting for hometown cheftestant Antonia Lofaso. We counted at least 10 different times, tells if you will, that had us thinking Antonia would pack her knives, but she survives this round. Barely. Instead, the last of the San Franciscoans have left the competition---sorry 
We'll never get her to tell us who won or if she made it far in the competition, but we like chatting with Top Chef cheftestant Antonia Lofaso anyway. One, she's the only LA contestant, and we will back her to the end for that reason alone. Two, we want to know what she really thinks of Spike and his sabotage. Or Richard and his gadgets. Or the chefbians Zoi and Jennifer. We've rounded 
Last night’s Top Chef may have been the most random albeit most entertaining one yet—Daniel Boulud, Richard Roeper, a basket of greens, and movie-inspired dishes were on the menu during this bizarre fourth ep. As usual, the spazzy antics of the young chefs did not disappoint: bitching, flailing, and clawing their way through this "cinema-themed" episode. First a quick summary:
From a local (i.e. Antonia Lofaso) perspective, the Top Chef taco episode was kind of a snoozer. The majority of the 14 remaining chefs are still sitting comfortably in the middle, Antonia included. A Quickfire summary: Rick Bayless was the guest judge sporting a nice purple shirt and a surprisingly Shaggy-like voice. The cheftestants make fancy "fine dining" tacos, and the cockiest egos really stood out. Spike refused to make fancy tacos, opting to take the street food route instead, but was picked as a top taco for "soul satifying flavor." Manuel thought his proper pronunciation of tomatillos and chorizo would merit an automatic win. Twitchy Andrew thinks he'll win Top Chef because of "his crazy ideas always popping in his head." Bayless couldn't even chew through Lisa's grilled steak taco. Big bald Erik's plate looked like a plate of slop. And once again, we never heard or saw what Antonia made. When Richard's jicama-wrapped tacos won him immunity, Spike was beside himself. His attitude set the tone for the rest of the episode; must've been that yellow hat. All the gang's here: Ted Allen's first appearance this season, Bayless, Pads, TC. And away we go!
So LA doesn't have a contestant in the upcoming season of Hell's Kitchen, but for better or worse, we'll be claiming the winner as our own when he or she becomes "executive chef" at Gordon Ramsay at the London West Hollywood. This season's 
Knife Swap: If the name doesn't give it away, it's like Wife Swap, but with chefs. We were tipped off today about the local connection: "A friend went to Auntie Em's the other day and had to sign a release because they were shooting some kind of trading spaces show where restaurants swap chefs? And Auntie Em's chef was replaced with the chef at Ritual?" Confirmed, mostly. Auntie Em's owner Teri Wahl is one of the chefs in the pilot. The other might be Ritual's Andrew Pastore, but we're still awaiting confirmation. Each chef takes over the other's kitchen and restaurant, the staff, etc. and hopefully entertainment will ensue. The show will air on TLC.
