Posts with tag TopChef
Posted Jul 4th 2008 8:02AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Industry
Bravo's top-rated and highly acclaimed reality food show,
Top Chef, has big plans for the fifth season. Like real estate, it's all about location, location, location and
Top Chef has chosen a most unique place, somewhere you might not guess in a game of 20 questions. I'm not going to reveal the place until after the jump, because there may be some of you out there that want to be surprised.
Just to recap,
Top Chef has already spent seasons in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago. They've also had special episodes and finales in Napa Valley, Las Vegas, Hawaii and Aspen and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Traveling to interesting and even exotic locales is part of the fun, giving the contestants a chance to incorporate the regional foods and the style of that part of the world.
Okay, if the suspense is getting to you -- I know it is -- go to the jump and see where season five of
Top Chef is going to be...
Continue reading Top Chef's exciting new location
Posted Jun 27th 2008 1:41PM by Jay Black
Part Five: The Money ShotAfter about an hour and a half of fake fights, thrown tennis balls, and clap after clap after clap, everyone sat down for a Q&A.
The students were able to ask questions of the following three people:
Robert Russel, the aforementioned reality show casting director.
Dave Martin, finalist on season one of Bravo's
Top Chef.
Jorge Bendersky, "Dog Stylist" on Animal Planet's
Groomer Has It. I'm going to do something that I haven't done up until this point: report what happened without snarky asides or not-so-subtle digs at the students or organizers. This hour was actually worth the price of admission. If you're someone that is truly interested in the way reality shows work and what they're looking for, the Q&A gave some real insight into the process.
Continue reading The New York Reality TV School (Parts 5 and 6)
Posted Jun 16th 2008 4:26PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY, Industry, Celebrities
American Idol does it.
So You Think You Can Dance does it.
Dancing with the Stars does it. And now,
Top Chef will hit the road on a nationwide tour.
Top Chef? Really? It's true. Beginning June 21st, the popular Bravo show will embark on a twenty-city tour. The tour will begin on Long Island at the Whole Foods market in Jericho.
Top Chef on wheels will feature a customized 18-wheeler semi-truck and "will offer Bravo's passionate fans and cable affiliate partners with the unique opportunity to experience the hit series in their hometowns."
Here's how it will work. In each city, select "chef-testants" from the hit show will do cooking demonstrations, give out gourmet tips, share show secrets and offer food tastings all from the monster truck which includes a state-of-the-art kitchen and can accommodate 38 guests per seating. Every one else can watch from HD screens.
Tour dates are after the jump.
Top Chef might be pulling up to a farmers market or food festival near you. What do you think? Does this sound like something you'd go to?
Continue reading Top Chef going on the road
Posted Jun 12th 2008 3:24PM by Jay Black
Filed under: TV Squad Polls, Watercooler Talk, Reality-Free
There was some controversy today in our
Top Chef winner's post. We revealed who the winner was before the jump (and without spoiler warnings). Our commenters -- usually shy and unwilling to criticize our site (ahem) -- let us know exactly what they thought of that decision (hint: they were
not happy).
It occurred to me that the idea of television spoilers is a relatively new one. I mean, after all, it's only been about 20 years or so that the majority of us had the power to watch our shows whenever we wanted to. In our parents' day, you talked about what happened on TV the night before without fear -- if anyone at the office missed the show, well, there was nothing they could do about it anyway.
What we need is a new etiquette. So, I figured I'd throw a post up and ask you guys: how long should you wait before it's okay to talk about spoilers?
Continue reading What is the appropriate amount of time you should wait before talking about spoilers?
Posted Jun 12th 2008 3:05PM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Watercooler Talk
Last night, I watched
the season finale of Top Chef. Faux-hawks and silly hats aside, this is one of my favorite shows. Seriously, I consider myself an honorary member of the Glad family of products.
But here's the thing: I have terrible taste in food. I've been cursed with the kind of ugly American anti-palate that European foodies tell stories about to scare their kids. Let's put it this way, when it comes to restaurant choice, I care as much about the quality of Americana hanging on the walls as I do about the quality of the various fried food on my plate.
For me, watching people actually cook food (and
care about it!) is nothing short of miraculous. Please, then, don't take this question as a criticism; it's something I'm actually curious about. Is all that fancy food talk on the show
real? Or is it just a case of the Emperor's new clothes?
Continue reading Is all that fancy food talk on Top Chef just a case of Emperor's new clothes?
Posted Jun 12th 2008 10:35AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Food/Home/DIY
Did you watch the finale of
Top Chef on Bravo last night? It wasn't as exciting as the previous three seasons, but what it lacked in drama, it made up for in history.
For the first time ever, a woman was crowned Top Chef. Chicago chef Stephanie Izard beat out Richard Blais and Lisa Fernandes by preparing a four-course meal -- including dessert -- that wowed the judges and outshone her competitors.
I was rooting for Stephanie because all through the
Top Chef challenges, she showed talent, temperment, taste and modesty (with regard to her chef skills). She consistently produced great food and even though the win last night was not based on the entire season, it could have been because she again came through.
Just to be clear, Stephanie didn't win because she's a woman and it was time for
Top Chef to give the prize to the female of the species. This isn't a Hillary thing, so don't go there!
Continue reading Top Chef crowns a new winner: a woman!
Posted Jun 11th 2008 1:39PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Food/Home/DIY, Pickups and Renewals, Casting
It sounds like the Food Network has finally come up with a show that will compliment Alton Brown's Peabody-award winner
Good Eats. The foodiest member of
Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,
Ted Allen, has signed to host Food Detectives, a new Food Network series. Starting Tuesday, July 29th at 9 o'clock ET, the half-hour show will begin illuminating the world about the stuff we eat. They will be "pulling back the curtain and revealing the answers to some of the most puzzling food mysteries."
Actually, the concept is kind of like a
Mythbusters for food. Ted will host the show and folks from
Popular Science Magazine will provide the expertise. For instance, does an apple a day keep the doctor away? What about baked beans, do they really give you gas? If not, what's Beano going to do with all those commercials and product?
Continue reading Ted Allen to host new show for Food Network
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 6th 2008 11:59PM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Awards, TV Squad Awards, Celebreality
Like a lot of my TV Squad assignments, I went into this one under the belief that it would be a hoot. I figured that unreal reality shows would have a high camp value and I could enjoy them the same way that I enjoy
The Last Dragon.
Here's what I learned: Gene Simmons... Bruce Leroy you are
not. The next time I refer to something as a potential "hoot", I've given my wife permission to beat me unconscious with a shovel. A severe beating would be less painful than watching another minute of our nominee shows.
That said, I did enjoy the process of figuring out which show would "win" this award. After careful consideration of the words of my wizened TV Squad colleagues and the input of our enlightened readership, we have finally found our winner.
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award: Winner - VIDEO
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
Posted May 30th 2008 10:02AM by Jay Black
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Awards, TV Squad Awards
There's a bit by Patton Oswalt on his brain-meltingly good comedy album
Feeling Kind of Patton regarding reality television. The short version: if we keep making reality shows, we will eventually run out of reality to film. (Believe me, the short version isn't even in the ballpark of how funny the bit is; go
buy this album immediately).
Like Arthur C. Clarke's predictions of geostationary satellites and floating man-god fetuses, Oswalt's vision of a reality-free future is eerily accurate. While our physical space hasn't quite been eaten by a giant white wave yet, the signs of reality's destruction are as obvious as the motivations behind Tila Tequila's bisexuality. Most glaring? The very words "reality television" connote an unreal experience.
After careful consideration, we at TV Squad, along with your input, have winnowed down the hundreds of possible candidates for "most unreal reality show" to these five...
Continue reading The Reality Shows Have Writers!? Award Nominees
Posted May 23rd 2008 9:27AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Video, Celebrities
Reality contestants often complain about how they're portrayed on TV during reunion shows, but how do they react as they're watching each episode? Bravo's gave two of its reality stars,
Top Chef's Spike Mendelsohn and Andrew D'Ambrosi, the chance to be filmed as they watched new episodes of the show. Spike has regular viewing parties at his home, and invites his parents as well as fellow contestant Andrew to attend.
It's interesting to see Andrew and Spike's moment-by-moment responses, since they don't know how they're going to look or sound and don't have time to prepare a defense. The videos show their knee-jerk reactions to their own edited portrayals, judges' criticisms, and past conflicts.
Three of the Bravotv.com videos are available after the jump. They're definitely worth a look if you're a devoted
Top Chef fan.
Continue reading Watch Top Chef contestants react to episodes - VIDEOS
Posted May 6th 2008 3:28PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Celebrities
Bravo is
capitalizing on the success of its reality shows by moving beyond the small screen. Thanks to several new business partnerships, the cable network is extending the
Top Chef brand by offering a
Top Chef cruise, cooking classes, and a calendar. There are also plans for a fitness DVD starring
Work Out's Jackie Warner.
Former
Top Chef contestants will participate in these new ventures and take part in a nationwide tour as well. The twenty-city tour begins on May 18 in New Orleans. Fans can meet the contestants, get gourmet cooking tips, and watch cooking demonstrations. The
Work Out DVD is available on demand on Exercise TV (for free) and can be purchased online and in stores on May 20.
Continue reading Bravo has cruises, DVDs in the works
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 11:04AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, OpEd, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Project Runway
Okay, I admit it. I like reality TV. Or maybe I should say unscripted TV. These days the parsing of the term "reality" has become as much a discussion as the genre itself. And don't kill me for calling it a genre. It is. It's here to stay. As long as producers can come up with ideas that make money and networks give them air time, reality/non-fiction/unscripted television is going to continue to proliferate the tube.
It's not with any great pride that I admit I'm hooked on reality shows -- some reality shows. My favorites include the high quality, classy shows, like
The Amazing Race and
Top Chef and
Project Runway, as well as trashy ones, i.e.
The Real Housewives of Orange County (and New York),
Hell's Kitchen and
Bridezillas. I like some of the competition-oriented shows, but that doesn't stop me from gazing in astonishment at the train wreck docu-series like
Hey Paula and
Being Bobby Brown. In fact, when I hear Kathy Griffin riffing on those shows -- her imitation of Whitney screaming "Bobby!" is classic -- I want to cry out, "Yes, yes, I watch that one, too."
Continue reading True confessions: I watch reality TV
Posted Apr 16th 2008 1:21PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, Industry, Project Runway, Upfronts
You know they have to been ticked off at Bravo about losing
Project Runway to Lifetime. Still,
Bravo execs stood up at a breakfast in New York to announce their new schedule, all happy and smiling. The good news is that they still have some good stuff coming up, starting with more Kathy Griffin, another season of goofy Jeff Lewis, the house flipper, and -- oh, yeah -- one more edition of
Project Runway. Should we call in the auld lang syne edition?
Here's the rundown of what's coming back for Bravo:--
Project Runway: The last Bravo season (unless something changes) will begin in July 2008, with the usual cast of judges.
Continue reading Bravo unveils its plans for the new season
Next Page >
The Dharma Initiative wants you - VIDEO - Comic-Con Report
Forget the Knight Rider movie, say the series creators - TCA Report
Giveaway Monday: TV Funhouse
