From Scratch

No word from Bravo about the next season of Top Chef, but The New York Observer says contestants have been quietly coming and going in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. The paper says they’re living in a $1 million+ condo — a duplexed penthouse on Bayard Street — and have been filming at a nearby […]

Finally it’s down to what the last three contestants call the meal of their lives, the challenge that will determine who wins Top Chef, Season 4.
We’re still in Puerto Rico and Richard says he has everything to lose, with a wife, a baby on the way (born a few weeks ago, darling!) and a new house, […]

The show has just ended on the East Coast and while this is a spoiler for those in other time zones, I know many seek out spoilers.
Stephanie Izard won the title of Top Chef in tonight’s finale, becoming the first woman to win. Congratulations!
Recap in a few hours. is here. I think it’s fun and […]

Where’s a fun Top Chef drinking game when you need one? Right here. Even when Top Chef makes me crazy, which is often, I watch it. (Exception: Season 2, which ought to be deep-sixed.) But the show has become too formulaic and predictable, with product placements everywhere, dumb editing and well duh moments such as — […]

After two-and-a-half months of mind-numbing catering challenges, bitchery, backstabbing, melodrama and sometimes brief moments of real cooking, Top Chef Chicago comes to an end next week. The four finalists were whittled to three last night when Antonia was told to pack her knives and go, leaving Richard, Stephanie and Lisa (!) to fight it out […]

After last season’s debacle, they ought to rename this show The Next Food Network Employee. And when it returns Sunday night, you and I will no longer have a say in the hiring. For Season 4, the FN judges, not the viewers, will choose the winner; viewers will only be able to vote for a weekly […]

6/12 Update:  The show ended a few hours ago, the “spoiler” was wrong. My recap of the finale is here.
Don’t worry, no visible spoiler here, but did Bravo accidentally reveal the winner of Top Chef 4 Chicago? I can’t believe it would happen, really I can not. It’s probably benign. But judge for yourself.
On its […]

Bravo has just begun the search for cast members for the next series of Top Chef, with open casting calls in major American cities and via audition tapes submitted by mail.
Self-taught cooks, as well as formally trained chefs, are welcome to apply. Full details and a downloadable application form are here. Good luck!

Sphere: Related Content

It’s going from bad to worse, from dumb to so dumbed-down that culinary illiterates are likely to remain that way. It’s show biz, baby.
The Food Network announced a new slate of shows on Tuesday. The stated goal is to attract more young viewers and as many men as women. As long as they’re young, perhaps […]

Ming Tsai, the renowned chef-owner of Blue Ginger in Wellesley, Massachussetts, was the guest judge on Top Chef 4 last night. As is Bravo’s custom, it offered him a blog spot and instead of writing a post, it’s a Q & A in bloggy form and is well worth reading. His views about food and […]

Don’t worry, there are no spoilers here. I just watched Episode 1 of Top Chef Chicago, Season 4, and I think we might be in store for a good season.
The days of caterers and culinary students competing seem to be over; nearly all the 16 contestants have some serious experience and some are working at […]

A reminder the new season of Top Chef begins tomorrow night, March 12, at 10/9c on Bravo. Season 4 is from Chicago and the first episode will run 1:15 the first two plays then one hour thereafter. A Season 3 marathon begins tomorrow morning at 8.
Judges for the first episode are said to include Anthony […]

For Cleveland, OH chef Michael Symon, Super Bowl Sunday is a chance to cook up a storm at home, surrounded by friends. This year is no different, except now he has an aura of fame. He’s the Food Network’s newest Iron Chef and among his guests this year will be a former contestant from a […]

Bravo has released information about the next season of Top Chef, which will debut March 12 at 10 PM Eastern.
This season was filmed in Chicago and only two of the 16 contestants are from that city. The others are from New York (7), San Francisco (4), Atlanta (2) and Los Angeles (1). Notably absent is […]

The prize money gets the attention, but winners of Bravo’s Top Chef also get the often-mentioned feature in Food and Wine magazine, where Top Chef judge Gail Simmons is an editor. The feature on Season 3 winner Hung Huynh is just out today.
We learn he quit his job as sous chef at Guy Savoy in Las Vegas […]