TomColicchio-related stories
Posted Oct 15th 2009 1:10AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Top Chef
(S06E08) Well, things have certainly heated up on
Top Chef, haven't they? Oh, I'm not talking about in the kitchen; I'm talking about in the house. These chefs are getting testy, or some are. Eli mentioned in the open that there was a lot of "emotional stress." Well, he should know because he's behind some of it. Then there's motor mouth Robin. Could she really be as yappy as she appears to be on camera?
Continue reading Top Chef: Pigs and Pinot
Posted Oct 8th 2009 11:26AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Ratings
Even though I watch a lot of programming on the Food Network, I have to admit I missed almost all of the
The Next Iron Chef in season one. Last Sunday, the second season of
The Next Iron Chef blasted off with the best ratings for a series opener in Food Network history. Over two million viewers, a 1.1 rating among adults 25-54.
Why the big jump? Well, I think a lot of other people are like me. On Sunday, before I switched over to watch pro football, I clicked on Food Network where they were showing a marathon rerun of the first season of
The Next Iron Chef. It only took half an episode for me to kick myself for not having watched the whole first season when it aired. It was terrific.
Continue reading The Next Iron Chef is sizzling
Posted Oct 6th 2009 9:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Pickups and Renewals, Top Chef
Amid the real housewives and matchmakers, millionaire real estate brokers and house flippers, there is one unscripted series that has been top shelf on Bravo. With
Project Runway not on Lifetime, the best of Bravo's reality is
Top Chef. In the five seasons past and the current season playing out,
Top Chef has been a winner for the cable net, so it's not a big surprise that today
Bravo renewed Top Chef for a seventh season.
If I were a drinker, I'd drink to that.
Top Chef is in the midst of season six, which is shaping up to be one of the best yet. The location, Las Vegas, has opened up a lot of options for challenges, including a
French food episode that might have been one of the most intense ever on the series.
Continue reading Bravo bringing back Top Chef for seventh season
Posted Sep 17th 2009 1:13AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Top Chef
(S0605) Last week was a big one,
with two contestants being eliminated. I'm all for double-eliminations, since the fewer contestants there are, the easier my job generally is. Though Mattin was spared, he is understandably a little embarrassed, since he's from France and completely biffed the French cuisine challenge. I mean, you don't see Kevin screwing up barbecue or anything.
Tim Love is the guest judge; he's one of those rough-and-tumble types who infuses rustic food into fine dining. So I love the idea of letting the audience choose this week's Quickfire Challenge, but the fact that
Top Chef is trying to make me believe that with cactus, snake, and kangaroo as choices, 57% of the people asked for cactus? Shenanigans! You know that vote was for Kangaroo Jack to bite the big one. I simply will not believe otherwise.
Continue reading Top Chef: Camping
Posted Sep 10th 2009 12:27PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, OpEd, Episode Reviews, Top Chef
(S06E04) If the names Joël Robuchon, Daniel Boulud, Hubert Keller, Laurent Tourondel and Jean Joho don't strike fear in your heart, you are probably not a
Top Chef contestant. Even
Tom Colicchio seemed über-impressed by these French chefs. This season the producers have really turned up the heat on
Top Chef, pushing the chefs to truly earn the title of
Top Chef as never before. This challenge -- cooking for the aforementioned master chefs -- was the most difficult in the series yet.
Continue reading Top Chef: Vivre Las Vegas
Posted Mar 16th 2009 11:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, TV Squad Lists
When it comes to cooking competition shows, the two that consistently make the grade are Bravo's
Top Chef and Fox's
Hell's Kitchen. But while the two shows are ostensibly both about aspiring chefs competing for a prime position -- to beat the competition and emerge as number one -- there are really more things about the shows that separate them.
In terms of quality competition, food expertise and cooking skills,
Top Chef is superior to
Hell's Kitchen. They're both fun to watch, and I have followed every season of each of them. But the main thing they have in common is the kitchen. Read my five reasons and see if you don't agree with me that
Top Chef has it all over
Hell's Kitchen.
Continue reading Five reasons why Top Chef tops Hell's Kitchen
Posted Feb 26th 2009 3:02PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, OpEd
The fifth edition of
Top Chef came to a conclusion last night. I'd like to say it was one of the all-time best seasons, that I was on the edge of my seat with excitement, that I was really rooting for one competitor more than another... I'd like to say that, but I can't. All in all,
Top Chef New York, which became
Top Chef New Orleans in the last few episodes, was kind of a dud.
Before I talk about the winner and what happened specifically in the finale, I have to ask why
Top Chef failed to really make use of the location this time around? New York is all about food and great restaurants and amazing chefs, but I can't think of one episode that really used the city in a creative way. Where was the Little Italy challenge? What about a trip to Chinatown for wild ingredients? Gail Simmons' bridal shower could have taken place anywhere. The Super Bowl challenge was generic. And when it was time for the finale,
TC went to the Big Easy. Is that any way to honor the Big Apple?
Continue reading Top Chef serves up a new winner
Posted Jan 20th 2009 10:22PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
If you're a regular
Top Chef watcher -- like me -- you know that when it comes to being a straight-shooter, down to earth, regular person, professional chef
Tom Colicchio fills the bill. He's a tough judge, but pretty fair. He's also supposedly a world-class chef and restaurant mogul, but since I've never been to any of the Craft restaurants to had him cook a meal for me, I have to assume that's true.
One thing I do know is true, however, is that
Tom Colicchio saved a life. Seriously.
On Monday night at a pre-Inaugural benefit in Washington, D.C., hosted by cookbook scribe Joan Nathan, when the hostess choked on a piece of chicken and author Alice Waters screamed for someone to help her, Chef Tom rushed over, assessed the situation and gave Ms. Nathan the Heimlich maneuver. After a few pulls, the chicken was dislodged and the party resumed.
Continue reading Top Chef's Tom saves the day...and a life
Posted Jan 8th 2009 12:24PM by Joel Keller
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk
The New York season of
Top Chef has been fun, albeit a bit predictable. It seems like in every one of the episodes, you can peg who's going to be eliminated by the time Padma, Colicchio and company hit the judges' table. Even this week's addition of the Simon Cowell-like Toby Young as the new judge didn't derail the elimination train from its ultimate destination: the ouster of the two chefs everyone thought were in over their heads to begin with.
The fun part is that the producers are throwing challenges at the chefs that are pretty brilliant in their deviousness. For instance, last night the chefs had to cook for their potentially toughest critics... their fellow competitors. The results were mixed, to say the least. As in the previous weeks, the food produced by the chefs was mostly mediocre or uninspired. The people that challenged themselves ended up falling on their faces.
Which leads me to this question for you all: Would you eat at
any of the contestants' restaurants? Follow me after the jump and I'll explain.
Continue reading At which of the Top Chefs' restaurants would YOU eat?
Posted Nov 20th 2008 10:08AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Episode Reviews
(S05E02) And as the contest resumes, the 17 chefs have now been whittled down to 15 as episode two unfolds. After watching the second installment of
Top Chef New York, it's clear this is going to be a good season.
Tough competitors, great location -- and they're using it effectively -- and at least so far, realistic challenges that are testing their mettle.
Interestingly, the chefs haven't figured out that there's strength in numbers. Instead of playing it smart through this week's episode, a couple were downright suicidal in their approach. More on that after the jump.
Back in the suite, Euro-boys Stefan and Fabio have become brothers in arms. Or is the bromance more of a love story? It's hard to tell, but Stefan eyes Fabio as his main competition and they seem to have bonded over the fact that they are the two chefs with accents.
Continue reading Top Chef: Show Your Craft
Posted Nov 13th 2008 11:01AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Episode Reviews
(S05E01) When I watch
Project Runway, I'm reminded of the fact that I'm no fashion designer. I'd be up a tree if I faced the challenges those contestants face. The same with
Top Design, not to mention any of the hair shows. However,
Top Chef is a different story. I do cook and every day is a challenge to figure out what to make and how.
So, the return of
Top Chef -- season five -- was like greeting an old friend. Here are people I can relate to, even if they have culinary skills that exceed mine.
The new edition is set in New York, a point that was obvious from the start with arrivals not coming via a pedestrian airport. No, here we are at Grand Central Station, a landmark. Then it's onto a ferry to Governor's Island to really get a look at the city.
Continue reading Top Chef: New York (season premiere)
Posted Aug 12th 2008 5:23PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Celebrities, Reality-Free, Hell's Kitchen
You know why
Rachael Ray is smiling all the time? She's the richest food star in the world. According to the latest
Forbes list of top-earning celebrity chefs, Rachael Ray leads the pack. In fact, of the top 10 names, all but two are TV stars.
Therefore, you better believe that all that exposure on Food Network, Bravo, Travel Channel, Fine Living, BBC America, and Fox -- not to mention syndication and appearances on talk shows and demonstrations on the
Today Show -- makes a big difference.
Continue reading TV stars dominate Forbes's list of top-earning celeb chefs
Posted Jun 10th 2008 5:22PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
Top Chef's season finale is this Wednesday, with Richard, Stephanie, and Lisa competing for the title. Head judge
Tom Colicchio recently sat down with Salon to talk about season four of Top Chef, the judging process, and other celebrity chefs. Here's a rundown of some of the chef's remarks:
- Colicchio doesn't feel pressured to give a woman the title of Top Chef. Plenty of female contestants have been in the finale or come close to winning.
- He called season four's contestants the "strongest group as a whole."
Continue reading Tom Colicchio discusses Top Chef season four
Posted Jun 3rd 2008 1:20PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Celebrities
Frozen scallops are no laughing matter in the culinary world. On last week's
Top Chef, contestant Spike Mendelsohn was sent home after using frozen scallops in the Elimination Challenge. Spike had the poor taste to blame guest judge Rick Tramonto for having the questionable items in his restaurant's walk-in freezer. This defense failed to save Spike, and now all of the parties involved are doing serious damage control. According to Colicchio and Tramonto,
the scallops were provided by Top Chef's own supplier and did not come from Tramonto's Steak and Seafood.
In an interview with the
Chicago Tribune, Rick Tramonto implied that the show's
producers deliberately planted the scallops in the freezer "to see...who would use them or not." Spike was annoyed that the scallops were there at all, and called the situation "trickery at its best" in
his exit interview.
Continue reading Controversy over Top Chef's frozen scallops
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