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 […]

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 […]

The Weekly Standard has published what I think is a top-notch article about our culture of celebuchefs, from the vaunted to the wannabe vaunted competing on shows such as Top Chef and Hell’s Kitchen. Called Bam! Making Sense of America’s Celebrity Chef Culture, this long article goes beyond criticism of superficial food-related shows and overexposed […]

If I didn’t know Bravo’s got its ducks in a row for Season 4, I’d think this season of Top Chef is never going to end. After interrupting the season not even half way through for that silly “reunion” and after stretching the restaurant war to two episodes, there is no episode again next week. […]

Bravo to Bravo for coming to its senses and giving Anthony Bourdain his own blog for the rest of Top Chef Season 3. He’s been filling in as blogger for head judge Chef Tom Colicchio and his sharp writing is always worth reading, in my opinion. Sometimes his frustration jumps off the page, as it does […]

Yes, just my opinion but at some point Top Chef needs to eliminate two people in one episode. This series is becoming tedious, almost painfully so; beginning with 14 contestants instead of 12, as in Season 1, has not done a thing to increase my enjoyment. To the contrary.
There are so many contestants there are some […]

I always enjoy Chef Tom Colicchio’s weekly Top Chef blog posts on Bravo’s annoying website; some weeks I enjoy the blog more than the episode. This week, Anthony Bourdain is a guest blogger subbing for Colicchio and it’s a delightful read. His culinary background and guest-judging stints give him a fine perspective for commentary; his writing […]

Season 3 of Top Chef begins tonight and two episodes of the latest round of The Next Food Network Star are under our belts, and I’m scratching my head, at least figuratively, over the challenges that enable winners to advance in these competitions.
Food Network first. It was apparent immediately that many of this year’s challenges […]

Bravo has finally put information about Season 3 on its annoying, tiny-print website. The competition kicks off Wednesday, June 13 and, as noted here earlier, this season will be from Miami with Queer Eye’s Ted Allen joining the judges. But first, on Wednesday, June 6 there will be a matchup between Season 1 and Season 2 contestants. […]