As far as I can tell, from comments on this site and other sites I've looked at, Top Chef Masters wasn't loved by fans half as much as fans love the original Top Chef. I think fans want two things from their food competition shows: more conflict and a sense that the contestant isn't necessarily a "master" at cooking (though being a chef is fine). For the most part, the chefs on the first season of Masters were nice and professional, and I think that the fact that they're all great chefs already zapped some of the tension that usually comes with the judging segments of the show. Plus the chefs competed in sections, not usually all against each other.
(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?
I haven't watched this season of Hell's Kitchen since the second episode. But I have them all recorded just in case I wanted to get back into it and maybe I'll take one of these weekend days and do a marathon. Of course, since I'm writing this post I already know who won, but it won't ruin the season for me. It's all about the journey (and a chef yelling at people).
So were you surprised by who won?
[Watch episodes and clips of Hell's Kitchen and other shows at SlashControl.]
I'm of two minds aboutThe Next Iron Chef. I love a lot of food competition shows and this one is enjoyable, but at the same time I've always thought that being an Iron Chef was something important, something big, something you couldn't become just by competing in some reality show. But then I remembered that it was a reality show and that I'm overthinking it and I should just shut up.
Remember when Tek was voted off of Hell's Kitchen a few weeks ago? Then what the hell was she doing working in the kitchen on this week's episode?
This wasn't one of those deals where a former contestant comes back to help the remaining contestants for some reason, this was... odd. They didn't interview her or point her out and Ramsay didn't say "Tek, what the hell are you doing here, you donkey?! Didn't I kick you out? And how did you get your chef's jacket back? Jean-Philippe, what's going on?"
Last night's episode ofTop Chef Masters upped the "reality show" factor on the show, as former Top Chef contestants came back and controversy was injected. This was most evident in the confrontation Dale had with Michael Chiarello (KEY-a-rello). More controversy isn't necessarily a good thing when it comes to a cooking show (it's been good to see civility), but it certainly spiced things up.
I thought this was the finale, but it's not. The finale is actually going to be aired next Wednesday at 10:15 PM, after the premiere of Top Chef: Las Vegas. That's confusing.
So, did the person you thought was going to win The Next Food Network Star actually win, or are you steaming mad right now? After the jump, a quick analysis of last night's season finale.
Really, Jamika? Really? We're down to the final four and you still don't think the judges have seen the best you can do? You should have thought about that maybe two or three episodes ago.
Of course, just because Jamika said that doesn't mean she was the one shown the door this week. After the jump, the person who won't be back for the final two episodes.
Every single season - hell, every single episode - the dramatic announcer of Hell's Kitchen tells us that "this will be the most explosive episode of Hell's Kitchen ever!" or "for the first time on Hell's Kitchen..." But this season, all of those proclamations might actually be true.
Of course, that's not necessarily a good thing, because it could easily turn into The Real World or Big Brother and be more about the confrontations and the personality conflicts than the actual cooking and choosing of a chef. I mean, in the first two episodes alone there are more confrontations and yelling and accusations and fisticuffs - yes, fisticuffs - than in whole seasons of other cooking reality shows.
Top Chef Masters returns to Bravo tonight (after a week off), but some fans aren't into this more "professional" edition of the reality show and are waiting patiently (or maybe not too patiently) for the "real" Top Chef to return. You only have about six more weeks to wait.
Top Chef Las Vegas will premiere on August 26. According to the press release, we're going to see a lot of stars in this season too (only not as contestants, of course), including Penn & Teller, Todd English, Natalie Portman, Wolfgang Puck, Charlie Palmer, Daniel Bouland, and Nigella Lawson. Padma Lakshmi will be back as host, along with judges Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and Toby Young (who a lot of fans don't seem to like that much, at least in his role here).
This could be a very fun season, considering what Las Vegas is like (as famous now for its restaurants as its gambling).
Later this afternoon I'll have my What's On Tonight picks posted, but I did want to give Top Chef Masters fans a heads up about tonight's episode: there isn't one.
For some reason, Bravo is replacing this week's episode of the cooking competition show with a special episode of The Fashion Show. And this isn't one of those deals where one show is put in place of another show but that other show is rescheduled to another night during the week, maybe in the slot of the first show. No, Top Chef Masters won't be seen at all this week (except for reruns of previous episodes, of course).
Fans will have to wait until next week for the next new episode. (And if you're wondering what's on tomorrow night at 10 in the regular time slot for The Fashion Show, it's a repeat of tonight's episode.)
Oh well. I'm not watching The Fashion Show so I guess I'll catch The Philanthropist.
I was deciding whether or not to include exclamation points in that headline, so it read Yes! Chopping Block returns to NBC tonight! But I realized that this is one show that doesn't really deserve them.
Does anyone really remember this show? And if you do remember it but didn't watch it, are you interested in checking it out? And if you did watch it, were you breathlessly awaiting its return or did you simply forget about it because it wasn't very good and/or you didn't think it would be coming back so you didn't want to get to invested in it? I watched and reviewed the first episode, and I found it rather underwhelming. This might be the ultimate example of a network burning off a canceled show during the summer.
NBC is using an exclamation point on the show's web site, so maybe the return of The Chopping Block is more important than we think.
This week, Lost's Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof (as well as several writers) came to the Top Chef table to be served food by the contestants and judge them.They're big fans of the show (even joking that the quality of Lost has gone downhill since they've been discussing the shows on Thursday mornings), and this episode had a Lost-themed challenge. They could only use certain Dharma foods and stuff that you could find on the island.
I've gotten used to the "four chefs compete" format, though that means we're not going to see some really talented, interesting chefs in the coming weeks.
This should be fun. Damon Lindelof and Carton Cuse are big fans of Bravo's Top Chef, and this week they're actually going to make an appearance on the Top Chef Masters. The contestants (some have seen Lost and some haven't) have to make a meal for them. Here's a sneak peek.
So last night we had the premiere of Top Chef Masters, which is supposed to keep us satisfied until the regular Top Chef returns. But it's a different show. The judges are different, and the contestants are actually well-known, successful chefs already, so the food is going to be better and the arguing is going to be less. It's not bad. I was hoping for all of the contestants to compete at the same time and not be split up into groups like this, but it's actually refreshing to see the pros do it. What did you think?
I'm of two minds about 
So, did the person you thought was going to win 
"They haven't seen me at my very best." - Jamika
Top Chef Masters returns to Bravo tonight (after a week off), but some fans aren't into this more "professional" edition of the reality show and are waiting patiently (or maybe not too patiently) for the "real" Top Chef to return. You only have about six more weeks to wait.
Later this afternoon I'll have my What's On Tonight picks posted, but I did want to give 
I was deciding whether or not to include exclamation points in that headline, so it read Yes! Chopping Block returns to NBC tonight! But I realized that this is one show that doesn't really deserve them.
This week, 
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