Sorry for the recap delay. We had some technical difficulties, i.e. lost the entire post earlier. Enjoy!
After Antonia's big win, Dale's temper tantrums and Nikki's loss last week, last night's episode showcases the Top Cheffers' exhaustion, lack of trust in each other, and the conviction that each will win the coveted title. Call us crazy, but this episode lacked a bit of a punch, probably because LA's Antonia wasn't a winner or a loser in both the Quickfire and Elimination challenge, or maybe because we already know how far she gets in the competition. Damn spoilers! And even though hottie Sam Talbot from season two played guest judge (completely flustering Antonia), and Andrew became the scariest cheftestant we've ever seen, it was kind of a yawner. Because, no Padma, salads just aren't sexy. On to the recap!
Someone's gotta fuel the SBE private jet and Bentley! Indulge us here. We're just catching up on our Hills (sure we watch, you dont'?), and in this ep before the finale, Heidi flies off to Vegas with CEO Sam Nazarian and Brent Bolthouse to do some "project managing" for the new SBE hotel (the company plans to Los Angelesize the aging Sahara). Why this really is faux-reality TV: Like gazillionaire Nazarian would express any real interest in some random assistant's personal life, i.e. asking about boyfriend troubles. More believable: The slightly creeply laugh he and Bolthouse share over how the BF will "lose his mind" because she's in Vegas. Kinda ew. For the interested, in the finale, Nazarian walks around the Sahara and talks up the plans. Think: St. Tropez, "Club Cinq Cinq," lots, and lots of work.
· SBE Taking on Vegas [~ELA~]
The finale is in the can, the chefs are all back at their jobs, but we won't know the top cheftestant until June. Or will we? Some serious spoilage below. Read at your own risk. Back off, X's
Now, you folks know we have a penchant for spoiler fun, especially when it comes to Top Chef. We just can't help it. Hints were dropped---we knew the finale was being filmed in Puerto Rico last weekend, for instance, and we guessed that LA's Antonia Lofaso, exec chef at SBE's Foxtail in West Hollywood, would get far in the competition based solely on ad placement alone. But we now have something juicier, more substantial, meaty, if you will. In tonight's ep, there are seven chefs left; by the time the finale airs on June 11, it will be down to three. Want to know where Antonia lands? You know the drill: After the jump.
In tonight's episode of Top Chef, the cheftestants must re-invent the salad for the quickfire, turn an unhealthy meal healthy for the EC, and season two alum Sam Talbot guest judges (per Antonia: "Tall, dark, handsome and he can cook. Sign me up!"). But even more interesting: There's blatant sabotage! Lisa has screwed up rice, Dale tries to talk himself out of something, and Andrew's new one-liner (from another clip): "I'm either going to stab someone or I'm going to cook some amazing food."
· All Top Chef Coverage [~ELA~]
In case there are Top Chef fanatics out there dying to get a glimpse at the setup for the season finale, Bravo PR sent the schedule for the final three episodes. We know they just filmed the non-reunion eps over the weekend, so as of today a couple dozen people have the chance to break their million dollar confidentiality agreements by leaking the news to the press. (Any loose lipped production assistants can contact us here.) It looks like the only differences this year are a) the location (Puerto Rico), b) the timing of the reunion (after the finale instead of before), and c) they aren't doing the live show like they did in season 3. Here's the full release:
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:
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?
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After Antonia's big win, Dale's temper tantrums and Nikki's loss last week, last night's episode showcases the Top Cheffers' exhaustion, lack of trust in each other, and the conviction that each will win the coveted title. Call us crazy, but this episode lacked a bit of a punch, probably because LA's Antonia wasn't a winner or a loser in both the Quickfire and Elimination challenge, or maybe because we already know how far she gets in the competition. Damn spoilers! And even though hottie Sam Talbot from season two played guest judge (completely flustering Antonia), and Andrew became the scariest cheftestant we've ever seen, it was kind of a yawner. Because, no Padma, salads just aren't sexy. On to the recap!
In case there are Top Chef fanatics out there dying to get a glimpse at the setup for the season finale, Bravo PR 
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 
