The Daily Beast: "Top Chef: Seattle Shows Signs of Returning the Culinary Series to Its Strengths"

I review Bravo’s latest culinary iteration, Top Chef: Seattle, which shows signs of improvement after the franchise’s recent rock-bottom season.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "Top Chef: Seattle Shows Signs of Returning the Culinary Series to Its Strengths," in which I offer a re-evaluation of Bravo's Top Chef, which returns tonight with a Seattle edition and which shows major improvements from last season.

I was almost done with Top Chef earlier this year, after a season of Texas-sized gimmicks and faux drama that left me nearly reaching for a knife of my own. (Or the remote, at the very least.)

Bravo’s cooking-competition franchise had tumbled sharply from its previous high, following on the heels of an All-Stars season that focused on the culinary know-how of some innately gifted professional chefs, rather than on drunken shenanigans or behavior more worthy of a high-school clique. But last season, which found a group of chefs traveling between three cities in Texas, was shockingly awful.

I wrote about the disaster of a season that ensued, its inane rivalries, and the "mean-girl" antics that put the cooking on the back burner. When the season ended with a biathlon that had the competitors cross-country skiing and shooting "ingredients” before preparing dishes aloft in a speeding gondola, things had really hit rock bottom for a once-superlative series.

So please forgive me: I was tempted not to watch the latest iteration, Top Chef: Seattle, which begins tonight at 10 p.m. on Bravo. In the end, however, curiosity won out. I wanted to see if the producers had learned anything from last season’s failures and missteps. Fortunately, they have—at least if we can judge from this season’s first episode.

As before, this season begins by narrowing down the pool of competitors from a gaggle of 21 to a more manageable number, each of whom must dazzle the judges to earn a Top Chef coat. But where last season stumbled by appropriating the format of Fox’s Masterchef—putting the chefs in a kitchen stadium of sorts—the producers of Top Chef played it smarter this time. Instead, the would-be contestants are assigned to one of four judges—Tom Colicchio, Emeril Lagasse, Hugh Acheson, and Wolfgang Puck—for whom they must perform tasks on the line in the kitchen or cook a layered soup, an inventive salad, or a winning omelet.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Why I’m Tired of Top Chef"

Sometimes the things you once loved can disappoint you the most.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, entitled "Why I’m Tired of Top Chef," in which I take a look at the current season of Bravo's Top Chef, whose repetitive challenges, lackluster contestants, and Texas-sized problems have made watching this season a chore.

Everything is bigger in Texas, Bravo’s culinary competition Top Chef keeps reminding us, but the show, which airs Wednesday evenings, has never felt quite so irrelevant and predictable.

Now in its ninth season, Top Chef appears to be a pale imitation of its former self, a reality competition show that turned an often-mysterious world—the thought processes of highly trained chefs, their inspirations, and their imaginations—into something accessible and deeply understandable to the lay viewer. But that was before Bravo’s schedule was littered with various iterations of the Top Chef concept, variations that included pastry chefs, master chefs, and the original-flavor show that started it all. (A planned Top Chef Junior spinoff has wisely never seen the light of day.)

It seems that not a week goes by during the year that some form of the franchise is not airing … and by doing so, Bravo is swiftly running the Emmy-winning show into the ground. The Texas-based ninth season feels entirely tired, the result of overproducing, gimmicky challenges, sponsor tie-ins, and forced drama.

Continue reading at The Daily Beast...

The Daily Beast: "Inside ink.: Top Chef Michael Voltaggio's Next Act"

Michael Voltaggio, the swaggering winner of Top Chef prepares to open two Los Angeles eateries, ink. and ink.sack (opening this week!) in West Hollywood.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can read my latest feature, "A Top Chef’s Next Act," in which I sit down at the restaurant with the chef to discuss sandwiches, his future, his personal regrets, and how The New York Times insulted him.

ink. is set to open in September in Los Angeles, while lucky Angelenos can get a taste of ink.sack's amazing sandwiches this week.

Top Chef Taste: Inside Michael Voltaggio's Sandwich Shop, ink.sack

Yes, I ate my way through the menu at ink.sack last night.

ink.sack, of course, being the top secret sandwich shop overseen by Top Chef Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio, which the chef unveiled last night at a press event held at his upscale boite ink., which is slated to open on West Hollywood's Melrose Avenue next month.

(For more on both restaurants, you can read my feature over at The Daily Beast, ""A Top Chef’s Next Act," because of which I had to keep mum about ink.sack for several weeks now.)

After a champagne-fueled question-and-answer session in the dining room of ink., Voltaggio took us two doors over to the newly unveiled ink.sack, which has a soft opening today (Wednesday) and will be fully operational tomorrow. This is not a restaurant, per se, but a small sandwich shop with no seats, no alcoholic beverages, and no tables whatsoever. (It's intended as a takeaway shop, though there are narrow counters for those of you who want to stand and eat rather than rush back to your offices.) It will be open Wednesdays through Sundays, from 11 am to 5 pm... or until they run out of food, whichever comes first.

As for the food, each sandwich was outstanding in their own way. The ethos behind ink.sack is simple: these are familiar sandwich concepts redone with a modern flair, and the relatively small size of reach (roughly four inches) and low price point ($4-6 each) means that you can mix and match with abandon. So what's on offer? Let's take a preview at the menu.

Sandwiches

Cold Fried Chicken: House-made ranch cheese, Gindo's Spice of Life

Spicy Tuna: Miso-Cured Albacore, wild rice, Sriracha Mayo

Banh Mi: Pork cheek, chicharrones, pickled vegetables

The Jose Andres (a.k.a. "The Spanish Godfather"): Serrano ham, chorizo, lomo, manchego

C.L.T.: Chicken liver mousse, curried skin skin, lettuce, tomato

Maple-Pepper Turkey: Camembert, mustarda, arugula

Beef Tongue "Reuben": Appenzeller cheese, kraut, Russian dressing

House-Made Snacks

--Two different kinds of potato chips, including one with salt, pepper, and vinegar and fiery Maryland Crab chips, redolent with Old Bay Spice.

--Vacuum-packed fruit, including one with compressed watermelon, sriracha, and lime, and another with pineapple, jicama, mango, melon, and chile y lemon.

--And ink.sack's fitting take on dessert (which I didn't get to try): ice cream sandwiches. The shop will offer two, including one with peanut butter and jelly, and one with Mexican chocolate chip and Horchatta.

I don't think I can pick a favorite when it comes to the sandwiches (which will change seasonally as well as more quixotically, depending on Voltaggio's wont), as each was incredible in their own way. The cold fried chicken (sous vide chicken is chilled, breaded, and fried and then topped with ranch "cheese"--made from centrifuged buttermilk from which the curds and whey are separated and then flavored--hot sauce, and Gindo's proprietary spice blend) was a knock-out on so many levels, the chicken rendered perfectly smooth by the sous vide process, with a nice balance of heat and coolness. Banh mi had an unexpected jolt of crunchiness from the crackling embedded within.

Elsewhere, The Jose Andres was a Spanish-influenced version of the classic Italian "Godfather" sub, here scented with paprika (from the chorizo) and a winning blend of cured meats and manchego. The C.L.T. and "Reuben" were both clever and thoughtful modern twists on classic American deli sandwiches, elevated to new levels through unexpected ingredients (chicken liver mousse/chicken skin and beef tongue). The maple-pepper turkey is house-brined and perfectly paired with luscious camembert and mustarda; the green pepperiness of arugula sets it off quite nicely.

In fact, my only complaint was with the spicy tuna sandwich: while the flavor profiles were amazing (those strands of nori were genius), the tomato that was contained with the spicy tuna rendered the interior too wet, as a bite led to much of the liquid being dribbled onto the floor (or one's shirt). If you're going to use tomato to bind it together, it needs to be super-drained and removed of all wetness. Otherwise, this sandwich could get really soggy, real fast, especially if you were hoping to get it to go.

But this is a minor quibble from a place that's still tinkering with its menu but has its concept down pat before even opening its doors to the public. The street fruit idea is genius, embodying both the refreshing and reviving qualities of fresh fruit with some nice heat, rendering the vacuum-packed bags as a course that fits snuggly between sandwich and dessert. (It's very nearly a street-level palate-cleanser, to be honest.) The potato chips--both kinds--are made over at the kitchen at ink. (everything is, in fact) and were perfectly crisp and seasoned, with not a hint of greasiness.

ink.sack is the sort of convivial and imaginative sandwich place that we all wish were in our individual neighborhoods. Or at the very least, conveniently located around the corner from our offices. Look for the lines to form almost instantly.

ink. is set to open in September in Los Angeles, while lucky Angelenos can get a taste of ink.sack's amazing sandwiches this week.

Tongue & Cheek: Fois Gras Ice Cream and Pepperoni Sauce on the Season Finale of Top Chef

"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well." - Virginia Woolf

Is it just me or was that a Top Chef season finale showdown for the ages?

Last night's finale was so tense, so filled with suspense and anticipation, nerves and anxiety, that I actually found myself nauseous from stress watching it. After dozens of Quickfire Challenges and Eliminations, broken dreams and chances of redemption, which of the final two chefs would walk away $200,000 richer and be crowned the winner of the first all-stars edition of Top Chef?

Would it be visionary Richard Blais, whose expansive skill set, precise palate, and dazzling creativity are the stuff of Top Chef legend? Or would it be dark horse Mike Isabella, who returned to the competition energized, refreshed, and determined? I don't think many of us thought that Mike would make it this far or offer such a huge obstacle for Richard to overcome, but he's managed to surprise throughout this season, and particularly in the last few rounds in the Bahamas.

Both of these talented chefs brought their A-game last night as they faced off in a challenge designed to test their creativity, consistency, stamina, and leadership abilities. Given free rein over two restaurants, they were challenged to come up with the restaurant of their dreams and cook a four course menu that would highlight their strengths.

There would be no eleventh hour trickery, no curve balls, no producer-sanctioned shenanigans here. The objective was to cook their hearts out and produce the best dinner and the best experience that they could for the judges and the diners.

So how did they do? Let's take a look.

I dare say that you couldn't have picked two more different chefs than Richard and Mike to go into the final round. Both have very different styles of cooking, but both pushed themselves into new directions here: Richard created a rustic dish, while Mike delivered a stunning haute cuisine plate. Surprised? You bet, but both of these chefs wanted to win so badly that each was more than willing to challenge themselves to step outside of their comfort zones and upend the judges' preconceptions of what type of food they would produce.

Richard's food, at the aptly named Tongue & Cheek, was whimsical and playful, but also showed restraint when it needed to, and he was able to course-correct, rather than "choke" under pressure when a dish didn't quite work the way he had intended. Mike's food was far more rustic, but also showed refinement and thought in the presentation, the flavor profiles, and the overall composition than we've seen from him previously. This was not an easy challenge and, after seeing the performance of both men, the judges would definitely have a difficult time choosing one to crown the winner.

But let's get down to the finer points and take a look at the menu that Richard and Mike prepared...

Richard Blais:

• Amuse Bouche: Raw oyster with lemon-horseradish ice cream "pearls" and salsa verde
• First Course: Raw hamachi with fried veal sweetbreads, Asian pear, pickled radish, and garlic-Sriracha mayonnaise
• Second Course: Pork belly with a black cod cutlet, bone marrow, beets, Brussels sprouts, and kumquat
• Third Course: Beef short rib with mushrooms, red cabbage marmalade, and celery root-horseradish puree
• Fourth Course: Cornbread with foie gras ice cream and whipped mango

Richard took a risk with adding an extra dish to the already complicated lineup, but it was a calculated risk that played off. Adding the amuse here was a stroke of genius as much as the dish itself, beautifully played and setting a playful note to the courses to come. The coolness of those "pearls" was perfect for the raw oysters and established the tone and range of the food ahead. That hamachi dish had my mouth watering as Richard combined the silkiness of the fish with the exterior crunch of those velvety sweetbreads (yum), the sweetness of the Asian pear, the sourness of the radish, and the heat from the mayonnaise. Beautifully presented, artfully executed, it was a stuninng dish that was quickly followed by the meat course, a genius combination of disparate items--pork belly, black cod, bone barrow, and beets--that harmonized elegantly. Just... wow. While the judges seemed a little less than taken by his third course, an intensely rustic dish of beef short ribs, they were beautifully glazed and everything was executed perfectly, the real feat with tackling something that's inherently less refined. And, while he struggled with the fois gras ice cream (first doing it as freeze-dried powder and later as more of creamy ice cream), Richard proved that he was able to course-correct and adjust based on reactions from the first serving. All in all, just a gorgeous, staggering menu that showed off Richard's strengths as a chef, his creative spark, and his range. Well done.

Mike Isabella:

• First Course: Spiced beets with mozzarella, chocolate and truffle vinaigrette
• Second Course: Halibut with kumquat marmalade, cauliflower puree, and pancetta crumbs
• Third Course: Braised pork shoulder with pepperoni sauce, roasted cabbage, and turnips
• Fourth Course: Rosemary caramel custard with pine nuts, citrus, cherry, and apple

While Mike did dazzle me with some of his later dishes, I was hugely disappointed by that first course salad. With $200K on the line, you make a salad of mozzarella, some leaves, and a chocolate vinaigrette? I get where Mike was coming from at Restaurant Iz, with his nonna's culinary influence and childhood flavors, but this was an extremely underwhelming start to the evening, especially compared to Richard's amuse and the hamachi that followed. Mike regained some momentum with his perfectly steamed halibut, which Tom Colicchio hailed as the best fish ever on the competition and that he had ever eaten (however, he quickly changed his opinion later after tasting Richard's hamachi). Still, this was an elegant dish that showed refinement and thought, as well as restraint, a perfectly executed plate that was different than we would normally expect from Mike I. It was the third course that truly showed off his mischievous streak, combining pork shoulder with a pepperoni sauce. (I'll let that hang in the air for a bit.) An ingenious combination of high and low cuisines, it was creative, unexpected, and playful. But while the judges seemed to like Mike's dessert at judges' table, they all seemed less than pleased while eating it. The caramel custard was cooked too quickly at too high of a temperature, creating air bubbles within the custard. It was also a little too simple, compared to the "wow factor" of Richard's fois gras ice cream (which was originally going to be Captain Crunch ice cream, in fact).

You can't fault either of them overall. While certain courses went to one or the other, they both delivered amazing experiences for the judges and the dinners and some of the best food ever on Top Chef. This, really more than any other season to date, would be the closest of close calls, a case of splitting hairs at judges' table to determine whether it was Richard or Mike who had the better dinner overall.

I loved what both of them said when asked about why they should be named Top Chef, particularly Richard's tearful admission that, as a chef, he's had to do things and make choices that were financially-motivated in order to survive, in order to care for his family. (Tom seemed particularly moved by this as well.)

As I mentioned earlier, I spent the final minutes of the finale almost throwing up from tension, before it was revealed that the winner of Top Chef: All-Stars and the owner of $200,000 cash prize would be... Richard Blais.

Fitting? You bet. No one has cooked as consistently, as thoroughly, or as creatively as Richard throughout this competition and he more than redeemed himself from the last time he made it to the finale. I'm more than chuffed that Richard won and I'll admit that I got a little emotional, to boot.

What did you think of the finale? Did Richard Blais deserve to win? Would you have given the win to Mike? And which restaurant would you have rather eaten at? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef, it's the reunion episode, where the all-star competitors come together one last time to share their memories and reflect back on this tough season.

The Daily Beast: "15 Reasons to Watch TV This Spring"

Yes, spring is finally here (or thereabouts, anyway), and that brings warmer weather and, very fortunately, a slew of new and returning television series.

Over at The Daily Beast, you can check out my latest feature, "15 Reasons to Watch TV This Spring," which includes a look at such series as Mildred Pierce, Game of Thrones, The Borgias, The Kennedys, Camelot, The Killing, Body of Proof, Upstairs Downstairs, and returning series such as Nurse Jackie, The United States of Tara, Treme, Doctor Who, Top Chef: Masters, Secret Diary of a Call Girl and the NBC premiere of the final season of Friday Night Lights.

What are you most excited about that arrives on the airwaves between now and May? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Family Dinner: The Final Five Face Off on Top Chef

Is it just me or was that the only possible outcome for this week's episode?

With the final five delving deep into their ancestral pasts for the latest challenge, this week's episode ("Give Me Your Huddled Masses") actually made me so nervous that one of my favorites would be going home that I was physically nauseous watching the judges' table deliberations.

But I also had a suspicion that there would be some sort of chicanery involved as the judges seemed to have no real criticisms of any of the dishes on offer, which told me that this would either be (A) the most tense and prolonged judges' panel to date or (b) an opportunity for the judges to send through all five contestants to the final rounds.

Given the strength of all five remarkable dishes--each of which was not only in keeping with the individual chefs' culinary aesthetics and ethos but also paid due to their family trees--it really was the only possible outcome after such strong performances. When no one really trips up in the kitchen, how do you choose who to send home? When there are such insignificant slip-ups, how can you single out someone to pack their knives?

It's worth noting that there are still five more episodes of Top Chef remaining this season. Read that again: FIVE episodes. While that number will likely include a reunion episode of some kind, that still leaves four episodes of actual competition, which means that we could actually have just two chefs in the last round vying for the title. (Five gets cut down to four, then to three, then to two, and then the winner is chosen, hence four episodes.)

Personally, I was glad that the judges didn't have to choose someone to eliminate. I've been calling for Tiffany to be eliminated for the last few weeks but she pulled out a gorgeous dish last night that deserved to be celebrated: it was elegant and connected to her family history. (I was nervous that Richard Blais would somehow get eliminated after the judges didn't seem to be raving about his dish. Instead, they horribly nearly gave the guy a heart attack, sending him through to the Bahamas in third place.)

But I'm getting a bit ahead of myself. For their last New York City-based Quickfire Challenge, the chefs took a ferry ride to Ellis Island, during which they had to make a meal out of the provisions on hand from the ferry, uh, snack counter before the horn blew and they arrived at the dock on the other side of the river. (Unknown to them: their family members would be waiting on the other side.)

So what did they make? Let's take a look:

• Antonia: Grilled cheese with apples and raisin bread
• Carla: Orange and papaya salad with carrot and rosemary juice
• Mike: Bread soup with cheddar cheese, sour cream, green chili, and pork rinds
• Richard: Hot dog and beef jerky banh mi with jalapeno, pork rinds, lettuce, and apple
• Tiffany: Nachos with cheese, lettuce, tomato, jalapeno, banana peppers, and sour cream; popcorn with candied mangoes and pineapples

I thought some of them did really well here. Despite the fact that Richard turned up his nose at Carla's dish, I thought she really thought outside of the box and produced something that was unexpected and delicious. It was also really simple but full of flavor, which is the key here. Too many of them went for what I'd consider to be over the top concepts or straightforward ones, but Carla's oranges were thoughtful, flavorful, and packed with flavor. (She ended up winning this one and a Highlander Hybrid as well.) I also thought Richard did a remarkable job here, creating a gorgeous looking banh mi sandwich out of the most humble of ingredients and I was glad to see him whip out those RME meal pouches from his knife kit. (Well done.) Antonia's sandwich was cobbled from some already prepared elements in place at the snack counter but still was delicious (and picked up some pork flavor from being grilled on that hot dog machine), while Tiffany's was way too straightforward. The less said about Mike's disgusting "bread soup" the better, really.

(Aside: How insane is it that Mike and Antonia, sworn enemies this season on Top Chef, are in fact distantly related? I was blown away by this revelation, given how much these two seem to dislike one another. That both of them ended up competing on Top Chef is eerie!)

Arriving on Ellis Island, the chefs had the opportunity to look back on their family trees and share the moment with their family members, flown in for just this opportunity. But unlike in other challenges where the moms and spouses are whisked away after getting a few minutes with the cheftestants, they stuck around here to actually participate in the family dinner ahead, sitting alongside Tom, Gail, Padma and guest judge Dan Barber. It made sense, given the intimate nature of the Elimination Challenge and its emphasis on family roots and history... and it also appeared to make several of the chefs (most especially Richard) even more anxious and nervous, given that his pregnant wife was going to be eating his food and listening to the judges' critiques.

So how did the chefs do at their final challenge before the last rounds? Let's discuss.

• Antonia: Braised veal, rapini leaf, and fava bean risotto
• Carla: Braised pork shoulder, fried grits, corn and sweet potato hash, and cheddar biscuits
• Mike: Potato gnocchi with braised pork shank ragu and burrata
• Richard: Short ribs, potatoes, fried bone marrow, corn puree, and picked glass warts
• Tiffany: Braised short rib with mustard greens, stewed okra, and oxtail marmalade

Kudos to Antonia for being brave enough for attempting risotto in this competition, given that the chefs who have normally prepared that dish have typically gone home. But Antonia's risotto was light and ethereal, elegant and rich at the same time and the veal was fork-tender and magnificent. It was a heartfelt dish that connected to her Italian roots.

Carla's sauce was praised by Tom as being the best sauce in the entire competition: a rich, almost veloute that encircled the plate gorgeously. She was insanely smart to use the liquid nitrogen to freeze those grits cakes before frying them. (Another ingenious and practical application of molecular gastronomy at work!) And those cheddar biscuits looked fluffy and intoxicating. A beautiful dish that spoke volumes about her family history and the connections within various Southern states.

Mike Isabella isn't a chef whose food is normally soulful, but that's just what he delivered here in his dish that paid homage to his late Italian grandmother, whose strength in the kitchen stirred up so many painful memories for Mike. But he did his nonna proud here with an accomplished dish of fluffy and pillow-light gnocchi, pork ragu ("gravy") and that gorgeous burrata. No surprise that he would be safe from elimination.

Richard had to find a way to fuse his English-Irish heritage with his own modern and inimitable culinary style, no easy task considering the disparity of the elements. But his dish told a story about just that: attempting to find a line to connect these various elements. The silkiness of the short ribs, that revelatory fried bone marrow, the smoothness of the corn puree, and the unexpected juxtaposition of those sea beans (or "glass warts") brought the plate into sharp focus, an elegant and restrained composition that told Richard's story and stayed true to his style as a chef.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Tiffany really step it up this week and deliver a knockout of a dish, doing the impossible and converting okra-hater Tom Colicchio with her beautiful stewed okra. And that oxtail marmalade won over many, many at that table while the short rib looked succulent and delicious. It was a more modern plating from Tiffany than we've seen in a while.

I was on pins and needles waiting to see just how the judges would vote and which of these chefs would be packing their knives. The fact that the editors left in two mentions of Antonia's mother asking about whether there had ever been a "Final Five" before led me to believe that that's just how the judges would decide in the end. Impossible to choose between each of these dazzling dishes, the judges did ultimately opt to send through all five to the final rounds in the Bahamas.

While it was a twist I saw coming (despite my anxiety-led nausea), it was a nice surprise after such stiff competition. That these five will each have the opportunity to keep fighting for the title makes the struggle all the more rich and tough. That they'll have to compete against the winning chefs from their individual seasons next week? That makes it all the more imperative that they keep their heads in the game and stay focused. Me, I just can't wait to see what happens next as the competition gets even more heated...

On the next episode of Top Chef ("Fit for a King"), the five remaining chefs set sail for the Bahamas, where they'll compete head-to-head with the chef from their previous season who got them sent home.

Southern Gothic: The Chicken Oyster of Doom on Top Chef

Well, the next time a student gets caught cheating off of someone else's paper, they should just say that they were "inspired" by their peer.

Or at least that's the defense that Top Chef's Mike Isabella would apparently give, as displayed by his behavior on this week's episode of Top Chef: All-Stars ("For the Gulf"), in which he was "inspired" by a dish that Richard Blais had concocted in his notepad so much that he executed the exact dish later that day in the Quickfire Challenge.

The other chefs, upon learning of Mike's perfidy, seemed to be in agreement with yours truly: it was an act of culinary plagiarism, a serious breaking of "chef law" given that the incident in question happened on camera before our eyes.

Let's rewind for a second. Richard Blais, that culinary mad scientist and food visionary, keeps a notebook that's stocked with ideas, should inspiration seize hold of him, even during the stress of the competition. Mike saw Richard's book and asked him what it was, they flipped through it together, and Mike spied Richard's idea for a chicken oyster dish. Cut to a few hours later when the chefs are tasked with creating a fried dish for Paula Deen, the doyenne of Southern cuisine, and Mike makes, well, Richard's dish from top to bottom.

Is it against the rules? No, but there's a certain lack of morality involved in willfully stealing another man's intellectual property. Richard's been willing to help his fellow chefs out throughout this competition, lending a hand when he can, but even he felt that this went way beyond what is considered acceptable behavior.

Had Mike and Richard been talking, apropos of nothing, about chicken oyster and then Mike felt inspired by the conversation to create that dish? I have no problem with that. But to recreate Richard's entire idea--the chicken oyster served in an oyster shell--was truly an egregious move and set Mike up as the true villain of the season. But adding insult to injury was the fact that Mike won the Quickfire Challenge--and a $5000 cash prize--based on someone else's idea. And not just anyone, but his fellow competitor.

It was just wrong and it further exacerbated an already uncomfortable Quickfire. Antonia would have won had it not been for the fact that she only plated one dish, rather than the required two; her dish (fried avocado, shrimp, and jalapeno with grilled corn, tomato, and fried herbs) absolutely nailed the brief and nearly brought guest judge Paula Deen to rapture. But rules are rules and Antonia's slip-up meant that Mike Isabella took home the win and that $5K check for "his" fried chicken oysters with mustard gravy and oyster liquor.

(Personally, I would have given it to Richard Blais for his fried bacon with fried mayonnaise, tomato, and cucumber. The fried mayonnaise is something I've seen Richard make on Science Channel's Blais Off; aided by some liquid nitrogen, he freezes globs of mayonnaise and then coats it with batter before frying, an ingenious and practical application of molecular gastronomy at work.)

As for everyone else, there was some seriously shabby execution on display here, shocking given how far we are in the competition and how close we are to the final round. But the chefs performing poorly in the Quickfire Challenge (Dale, Carla, and Tiffany, to a certain extent) didn't seem to regain their confidence in the Elimination Challenge either. And it wasn't just any run of the mill Elimination Challenge. Here, they had to cook Gulf Coast seafood for a crowd of 300 people at a charity event. Wait, 300 people?!?!

They'd have some help in the form of sous chefs, i.e., previously eliminated contestants, but, more often that not, this ends up being more of a hindrance than a help in the end. But cooking for 300 people, all arriving at once and swarming your station? No easy feat, that.

So what did the chefs prepare? Let's take a look:

• Antonia: Blue crab cake, corn, jalapeno, and Andouille relish with crab broth
• Richard: Crispy Gulf snapper with pulled pork and citrus grits
• Dale: Amberjack stew with Andouille sausage and potatoes, Creole mustard crouton
• Tiffany: Honey-glazed shrimp, grits with jalapeno and cheese, shellfish sauce
• Mike: Grit-crusted Gulf shrimp, sour cream and chive potatoes, with pork and lobster sauce
• Carla: Fried grouper with collard greens and chow-chow pico

It wasn't a surprise to anyone watching which three ended up in the top and which in the bottom. Antonia, Richard, and Mike's work here was so vastly superior in presentation, execution, and flavor profiles that they had obviously scored in the top here, while Carla, Tiffany, and Dale each had major execution errors that were impossible to overlook.

I'm glad that Richard didn't let Mike's behavior derail him from winning the Elimination Challenge here, as he knocked out a stellar dish that recalled surf-and-turf, albeit with a Blais-like twist, fusing together pork, snapper, and citrus elements into a single glorious dish. Antonia wisely retains the ethereal lightness of crab in her beautiful and balanced plate, and Mike did a good job with his own Southern plate, one that pushed him out of his comfort zone a little bit. (I am thrilled, however, that Richard got his own against Mike, beating him out for the win here.)

As for the others, where to begin? I will say that I was flabbergasted with the judges' verdict here, as they opted to eliminate Dale for his amberjack stew. Were there serious problems with this plate? Undeniably. But there were grievous errors with Tiffany and Carla's dishes as well, and Dale has been a strong contender of late. (I won't say anything of the fact that Angelo seems to always get his partners or victims of his help sent home. Oops, I guess I just did.)

Dale's dish suffered from some bad decisions--undercooked potatoes, way too overpowering mustard on that Creole crouton, and the decision not to put the amberjack front and center--but those were similar problems with the others' dishes as well. Carla completely masked the flavor of the grouper by piling on mustard and hot sauce and Deen turned her nose up completely when faced with Carla's collard greens and chow-chow. It was an odd, ugly dish that did Carla no favors. Tiffany seemed to play the blame game a bit and put the onus on sous chef Marcel for why the shrimp was overcooked and why the honey glaze (which she typically dilutes with water when she makes it) was so overly sweet. But she also didn't taste the food as it was going out and relied on Marcel to oversee quality control. Big mistake when it's your name on the food and your continued participation in this competition are on the line.

Should Dale have gone home? Hell no, I say. I would have sent Tiffany home in a heartbeat. She's had some strong dishes, but they were much earlier in the competition and she seems to have completely lost her edge here. But as the judges have said, you're only as good as your last dish. Dale's dish wasn't good but, based on the judges' comments, I didn't think that the other chef's dishes were better than his.

What do you think? Did the judges make the right call? Should Tiffany have gone home instead of Dale?

Next week on Top Chef ("Give Me Your Huddled Masses"), the chefs create food fare on the open water, and later journey to Ellis Island to whip up dishes based on their family trees.

Top Chef Preview: Snack Bar Quickfire



Top Chef Preview: Cooking to Stay

How the Cookie Crumbles: Knee-Socks and Tablecloths on Top Chef

Um, yeah.

While in the past I've supported some wacky challenges on Bravo's addictive culinary competition Top Chef because they tested the contestants in terms of adaptability, I have to say that I was scratching my head last night while watching the latest episode ("Lock Down"), which had the chefs scrambling in a Target store to find equipment and tables (!) in order to assemble a station before cooking a meal for 100 people. In the middle of the night.

I get that this is Top Chef: All-Stars. And I also understand that these chefs are going to be put through their paces by the producers. But there was something extremely off-putting about this latest challenge, which seemed to put an equal--if not more--weight on running around Target with multiple shopping carts and grabbing items left and right (which seemed, to me anyway, to be a half-hour ad for Target in many ways) than in actual cooking.

It's hard to, you know, cook for 100 people when you don't even have a table set up.

I will say that I really enjoyed the Quickfire Challenge, which had the chefs creating cookies for Sesame Street's Cookie Monster, Telly, and Elmo. It contained just the right balance between hilarious mayhem and serious culinary skills and it was lovely to see the chefs reduced to little kids in the presence of Elmo and Cookie Monster. (Except Angelo, who seemed a little perturbed by the entire ordeal.)

But we saw some real creativity from the chefs here as they thought up some inventive and imaginative cookies containing an array of ingredients. Not all of them were the prettiest per se (cough, Antonia) but I will say that some of them sounded absolutely fantastic. (And, yes, I'm referring again to Antonia.)

So what did the chefs make? Let's take a look:

• Angelo: Chocolate chip and Belgian hazelnut cookie with a chocolate-banana milkshake
• Antonia: Double chocolate cookies with white chocolate chips, fresh caramel glaze, and sprinkles
• Carla: Chocolate chip cookie with cinnamon
• Dale: Pretzel and potato chip shortbread cookie with salted caramel chocolate ganache
• Mike: Almond and dried cherry cookie with rose petal sugar
• Richard: Ice cream cookie with chocolate chips, zucchini, and mint
• Tiffany: Shortbread cookie with lemon zest, rosemary, and thyme, served with coconut milk

I knew instantly that Antonia and Dale would be in the top, despite the fact that some have already commented that Dale's dish is very similar to Momofuku's compost, but I thought that he nailed the interplay between salty and sweet to create something different than anyone else in the challenge. Antonia's dish, while not the prettiest, definitely hit the mark.

But the others? There were some bad dishes in the mix, including one from Richard that confused me altogether. Why did he make an "ice cream" cookie rather than an actual cookie? He could have infused those flavors into something like a meringue cookie, or topped a flat biscuit with a liquid-nitrogen frozen ice-cream. Or, hell, made an ice cream cookie sandwich.

And I was surprised that Angelo missed the mark so entirely. He appeared, on the whole, to be off his game this week in a shocking way. Perhaps it was down to those ridiculous knee-socks he had on; could they have been cutting off blood flow to his brain? Not sure, but Angelo--whose "advice" had previously sent many a contestant packing--seemed to have the tables turned on him in a big way this week when it came to asking Mike Isabella for help with seasoning.

So let me get this straight: the typically know-it-all Angelo didn't trust his own palate, "fatigued" though it might have been this late at night? But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what they made for their Elimination Challenge dishes:

• Angelo: Baked potato soup with bacon, onions, sour cream, potato skins, scallions, and grated cheddar cheese
• Antonia: Parmesan cream eggs with almonds, tomato, apple, and a garlic crostini
• Carla: Curry apple soup with tomato-ginger jam, and cucumber apple slaw
• Dale: Ribeye grilled cheese with spicy tomato soup
• Mike: Spicy coconut soup with mushrooms, scallions, and lime
• Richard: Pork tenderloin with green chilies, apples, braised pork ribs, and corn pancakes
• Tiffany: Jamabalaya with chicken, sausage, and shrimp with a summer salad

Nearly all of the chefs tended towards soups this week, which was a bit foolhardy given the time constraints they had to work within. Soup typically takes quite a long time to make properly, because you really need to concentrate the flavor and let it settle in for the long haul. Making a quality soup in under an hour is a Herculean feat, really, especially when you aren't working in an actual kitchen.

But that didn't stop quite a few contestants from going the soup route. Dale, at least, paired his with an electric iron-press grilled cheese... and then wisely took the sandwich up a few pegs by including ribeye within. The juxtaposition of the ribeye grilled cheese and the spiciness of his tomato soup won over the judges; it was a smart rendition of a childhood classic and a clever use of the equipment at hand.

That said, I was more impressed by both Richard and Antonia's dishes. Antonia managed to correctly cook 100 eggs. That's an incredible feat, given the time and workspace they had at their disposal, and her dish was well-conceived and executed. And it wasn't soup, but an individually plated dish that had multiple elements on the plate.

Richard's dish blew me away. What he was able to achieve in that time was remarkable, especially (A) as it didn't prepare a soup, and (B) he actually had not one, but two proteins on the plate, between the tenderloin and the ribs, and that corn pancake. It wasn't the prettiest dish he's ever done by far but it looked tasty and it contained a hell of a lot of effort and precision given the late hour and the fact that he prepared it inside a Target store. If he had perhaps thought more about presentation, he could have perhaps taken home the $25,000 prize. Alas, that went to Dale.

On the other end of the spectrum, it was bloody obvious to everyone that Angelo, Tiffany, and poor Carla would end up in the bottom this week. Carla ran around Target without much aim or purpose, more concerned about finding tablecloths and linens for her workstation and in cooking... and it showed in the food. Her curry apple soup was thin and one-dimensional; it lacked body, substance, and protein. Even the addition of chicken could have bolstered that dish but her lack of direction and momentum really hurt her here. I thought for sure this was Carla's Last Stand...

But then there were Tiffany and Angelo, each of whom really struggled this week. Tiffany's heavy hand with those dried Creole seasonings did her in and the dish really wasn't a Jambalaya by any stretch. Angelo's baked potato soup seemed overwhelming, just on screen. There was a rich heaviness to it that made me slightly queasy, and I didn't even have to eat a bowlful. Accentuating the difficulty with finishing this overrich dish was the fact that it was completely over-seasoned.

That was due in part to Angelo turning for help to sudden BFF Mike, who told Angelo that the dish "lacked something" and "needed salt." While it was Mike who put the idea into Angelo's head, the blame really does fall on Angelo for then over-salting the dish. He could have added some more bacon in or some additional salt, but Angelo chose to add BOTH, rendering the dish way too salty and almost inedible, really.

It was a poor showing from one of the strongest chefs in the competition, who nearly won his season (or would have, perhaps, if illness hadn't nearly sidelined him), but he seemed really out of his element in this week's challenge and lacked the killer instincts that had gotten him this far. A shame, really, though I am happy that Carla will stick around for another week. She needs to really step it up, however, if she wants to make it to the end, after this week's poor performance.

What did you think of this week's episode? Did the judges make the right decision in awarding Dale the win? And would you have sent home Angelo if you had to make the call? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef ("For the Gulf"), it's a deep fry contest for Paula Deen, the queen of deep fat; later, the chefs prepare seafood dishes for a charity event.

Top Chef Preview: Paired Up



Top Chef Preview: Paula Deen Visits the Top Chef Kitchen!

My Dinner at Rao's: Food, Italian Style on Top Chef

I have to say that the producers of Bravo's Top Chef were wise to schedule an all-stars edition of the show right now because, week after week, it's been so consistently pleasing and engaging that it's all but removed the bad taste in my mouth from the lackluster last season.

These are strong chefs, visionaries and technicians, and the remaining players have passion, skill, and precision for the most part. Which doesn't mean that they don't crack under the pressure, or that there aren't missteps, because there certainly are. Top Chef was designed to test the precision, execution, vision, consistency, and ultimately the adaptability of a chef and these previous contestants all know that it's easy to slip when the pressure is on.

On this week's episode of Top Chef ("An Offer They Can't Refuse"), the nine remaining chefs had two challenges ahead of them: one in which they had to create culinary art, focusing on the presentation and aesthetics of a dish rather than how it actually tastes, and later to create Italian dishes in the kitchens of a more than 100-year-old New York Italian institution: Rao's.

These two challenges couldn't have been more diametrically opposed: one was about the look rather than the taste; the other was about simple ingredients and not gilding the lily. Would these chefs be able to pull it off while under fire from some extremely knowledgeable Italian diners? Let's find out.

While some of the chefs were initially turned off by the presentation-based Quickfire Challenge, I stuffed my own first thoughts to the back of my head when I began to think about it as a food styling challenge. Yes, the taste is the most crucial thing about a dish and I would have flipped out had this been an Elimination Challenge, but for a Quickfire, I thought it was a good crucible to put these chefs through and throw them off-balance a bit.

Bringing in designer Isaac Mizrahi was, of course, an act of cross-promotion on the part of Bravo but Mizrahi also understands aesthetics and design, so in that respect, he was a fitting guest judge for this particular challenge.

So what did the chefs make? Let's see:

• Angelo: Pineapple skin, curry salted egg, and dill
• Antonia: Yuca potato, lentils, nuts, and seeds
• Carla: Borscht and sandwich with a lattice of cucumber
• Dale: Beet puree, cantaloupe, maple syrup meringue, avocado, and mango
• Fabio: Tuna with a sidewalk of caramel, mushroom umbrellas, and lemon juice
• Mike: Carrot puree, roasted eggplant, and egg yolk
• Richard: Black chocolate ice cream, menthol crystals, herbal salad, mint ice cream dots
• Tiffany: Almost gazpacho, grapes, dirt made of rye bread
• Tre: Smoke salmon, beets, curry noodles, food coloring

It was no surprise to me that Richard Blais won this particular challenge; not only did his dish sound incredible (and entirely edible and delicious) but it looked absolutely fantastic. The interplay between the shades, the minimalist representations and the otherworldly quality to the entire presentation instantly scored him as the one to beat here and Blais was subsequently awarded with immunity from the Elimination Challenge ahead.

As for the others, I thought that Carla did a fantastic job, though she wasn't singled out for praise. As one of the fully edible presentations, I thought that she deserved some recognition for her gorgeous work, while I found Fabio's plate--and his explanation--head-scratching, to say the least. Just odd, with his mushroom umbrellas and story about beautiful women trying to keep it together. If you have to explain that much, there's something missing in the presentation, Fabio! As for Angelo, if you're going to write something on the table ("crocadile" [sic]), at least make sure you spell it correctly. Or just don't do it at all.

Moving onto the Elimination Challenge, the chefs drew knives to see which course they would be cooking at Rao's (antipasti, primi, secondo) for a group of Italians, including the Rao's owners and actress Lorraine Bracco. For some of the chefs, things didn't go according to plan, while others executed some truly stellar dishes that were universally praised.

The trick with Italian cuisine is to let the ingredients shine and to not do anything that's too fussy, overdone, or which overshadows the other elements on the plate. It was advice, given several times throughout the episode, that some chefs adhered to and seemed to understand, while others missed the message altogether.

So what did they prepare? Let's take a look:

Antipasti

• Antonia: Mussels with fennel, white wine, garlic, and parsley ciabatta
• Carla: Minestrone soup with basil oil, tomatoes, and homemade focaccia
• Tiffany: Polenta terrine with Italian sausage, roasted peppers, and kale

Primi

• Dale: Fresh paparadelle, Brussels sprouts, chanterelle mushrooms, pecorino romano
• Mike: Spicy calamari, fresh rigatoni, and tomato sauce
• Tre: Grilled vegetable risotto, marinated tomatoes, and fresh basil

Secondi

• Angelo: Sauteed pork chop, cherry peppers, green olives, tomatoes, and pancetta
• Fabio: Pollo alla cacciatora, polenta al pecorino
• Richard: Fresh pancetta cutlet, broccolini, pickled cherry tomatoes

It was, for the most part, a mixed bag. It was bloody obvious from the start just who had made some crucial errors. Tre's risotto was way too thick and lacked the intrinic creaminess of true risotto, plus the addition of those huge vegetables on top overshadowed the arborio rice, the true star of risotto. It was clunky and ill-proportioned and I had a feeling either he or Mike would be sent packing this week. Likewise, Dale's pasta dish was composed of separate elements, plated together, but that doesn't make a pasta dish, per se, if they don't coalesce on the plate; he should have cooked everything in the pan together and had something resembling a sauce (cream, cheese, something). Likewise, self-proclaimed "New Jersey Italian" Mike Isabella had a major misstep with his homemade rigatoni, which had too much egg (hence the shocking yellow color) and was way beyond al dente. For an Italian not to cook pasta properly, I knew he'd be on the chopping block this week.

On the other end of the spectrum, the women of the antipasti course all did exceptionally well. They each seemed to understand the importance of simple presentation, quality ingredients, and massive flavor, and each delivered a stunning dish, though I was confused by the "Wisconsin" comment one of the Rao's guys made about Carla's soup. (It was just, um, odd.) And Fabio nicely nailed his dish, which was presented in true Italian style as a secondo with a contorno of luscious polenta on the side. Well done.

Personally, I was shocked to see just how, well, shocked the chefs were that Antonia took home the top prize for her steamed mussels. The point was to do simple food, well-executed with bold favor, and her dish didn't have a ton of ingredients (mussels, white wine, fennel, and garlic) but that was the point! Simplicity, people, done well and with a minimum of fuss. To me, it was certain that the four did a full head and shoulders above the majority of the chefs and I think Antonia earned her win here.

Do you agree with the judges' decision? Should Antonia have won and should Tre have packed his knives? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

Next week on Top Chef ("Feeding Fallon"), the chefs prepare fondue and later cater late-night talk show host Jimmy Fallon's birthday party.

Top Chef Preview: Taking On More Than He Can Chew



Top Chef Preview: It's Jimmy Fallon

All-Night at the Museum: Child-Size Dishes and Childish Attitudes on Top Chef: All-Stars

If you saw last night's episode of Top Chef: All-Stars, you saw just how competitive and cutthroat this competition has gotten, just in the second week alone.

There's more on the line for these returning chefs than there was the first time that they were on the reality competition series. The cash prize is bigger than ever, there are cash prizes sprinkled throughout the challenges, but most importantly, there's an aspect of honor for the winners and a sense of embarrassment for those packing their knives early.

No one ever wants to go home early, especially in the first few weeks. In any other season of Top Chef, these first few episodes are dedicated to sending home the sacrificial lambs, the culinary cannon fodder whose presence in the competition seems more of a fluke than anything else. But that's not the case here with Top Chef: All Stars, where the chefs competing are of a naturally high caliber. But that doesn't make defeat any easier to swallow. In fact, it's even more of a bitter pill.

Which brings us to last night's episode ("Night at the Museum"), in which the chefs were put through the ringer, forced to help someone else win a Quickfire Challenge, forced to work on little or no sleep, and forced to throw together a breakfast buffet with limited resources at their disposal.

In other words: Pressure + heat + lack of sleep = explosion.

Which is exactly what happened here. What I would never have expected is which chef was the one doing the exploding.

I was upfront about the fact that I was pulling this season for Richard Blais and Jennifer Carroll to go far and make it all the way to the end. Hell, Richard even singled Jennifer out as his chief competition in the first episode of the season. So I was surprised when she seemed to crack under pressure and aggressively confronted the judging panel at the end of this week's episode.

First, it's inherently clear to anyone watching that Jennifer is a culinary force to be reckoned with, a creative chef with strong conceptual and execution abilities. She's a natural leader, fearless, and strong. But while she can cope with pressure in her own kitchen, where she has control over the ingredients, her sous chefs, the mise-en-place, and the timing, she's out of her element on Top Chef, as proven from the last two times she was eliminated.

Because, let's be honest, Top Chef is really a test of one's adaptability under extreme circumstances at the end of the day. When Jennifer had control of the situation, her dishes sang. When she lost control and could adapt to what the producers were throwing at her, she crumbled.

I'm glad when a chef stands behind their dish and doesn't throw a teammate under the bus. Hell, Jennifer even acknowledged that Jamie's disappearance--the result of a trip to the hospital for two (TWO!) stitches--made no difference on the outcome. She was proud of her dish and she stood behind it and the seasoning. If she was going to be the one sent packing, she wasn't going home without a fight.

Which is where that heretofore unseen side of Jennifer Carroll emerged. That sort of anger and aggression, that rigid posturing and defiant attitude smack of defense mechanisms, deflections to conceal the true hurt and embarrassment bubbling under the surface. Throughout the episode, from her repeating of her father's haunting words about losing to her arrogance towards the judges, Jennifer put on a brave face in order to distract the cameras from what was really going on: she was coming apart at the seams.

Deprive anyone of sleep and they're liable to be cranky. As we saw from this episode, several chefs descended into childish behavior after getting 0-45 minutes of sleep in the North American Mammals section of the Natural History Museum, their demeanor changing from polished chefs to whiny brats over the course of the challenge, moaning to the judges about the unfairness of the situation, the advantage the other team had, blah, blah, blah. Nerves were frayed and tempers simmering before the losing team even stepped foot into the judging room.

Jennifer and Jamie had wanted to do a Scotch egg, a sausage and breadcrumbs-wrapped hard-boiled egg which is deep fried. Lack of sausage and a lack of flour from their side of the kitchen scuppered those plans. Jamie, as already mentioned, bowed out after cutting her finger and needing medical attention, further adding complication.

And then there was the dish itself. Forced to stick solely within the realm of meat, eggs, and dairy (I do think that Quickfire winner Tiffani made the wrong call there), Jennifer decided to offer a play on bacon and eggs with what she deemed "braised bacon and hard-boiled eggs."

A few things: calling something "bacon" brings to mind some very specific connotations, including crispiness and saltiness, neither of which this dish had. Instead, it was closer to a pork belly that was braised and then served with its own braising liquid on the plate, rendering an already wet dish even more soggy. The egg condiment was--according to Tom and vehemently denied by Jennifer--underseasoned. As soon as she mentioned that she was doing egg mimosa, I had a feeling this dish would crash and burn and when I saw the meat in the liquid, I had a feeling that she would not be able to nail the texture, even though she argued--passionately--that it was precisely how she had envisioned the dish.

Which might be the problem, as the dish was conceptually flawed from the start. The blandness of the egg was only half of the problem but the other half was the entire dish, start to finish, that liquidity and that textural issue with soft plus soft, with steaming liquid on top.

It might not have been a good dish (it did seem more edible than Casey and Tre's salmon with shrimp and apple-smoked bacon sauce, which was over-reduced and over-salted) but it wasn't going to kill anyone, unlike, say, Antonia and Tiffany's trio of frittatas, many of which were undercooked and even RUNNY. Serving that to anyone with compromised immune systems could have resulted in some widespread illness if the eggs carried salmonella. A real problem, considering there were kids eating the food. Yet this seemed to be less of an issue for the judges than Jennifer's bland dish.

Also, I did agree with the team's assessment that several of their competitors' dishes were inappropriate for breakfast. Say what you want about the quality of the dishes, but I didn't think that gnocchi or gazpacho were ideal breakfast offerings, particularly for kids and their parents. I love gnocchi but there's no way I'm going to eat that for breakfast. Sorry!

As for the winners, I do have to say that Richard, Marcel, and Angelo's dish, the banana parfait with seasonal fruit and tandoori maple, was not only appropriate but looked delicious and absolutely gorgeous. Easily the most well-plated and beautiful of the dishes offered (even after Angelo cut the plums in half, against Marcel's wishes), this dish looked the most befitting a Top Chef: All-Stars challenge.

As for returning judge Katie Lee? She didn't add anything to the proceedings. But then again, she didn't the first time she was on the series...

But I'm curious to know what you thought of this week's episode. Was Jennifer's outburst--and the off-camera breakdown--justified? Should she have been sent home? Did Jamie skate by too easily for adding nothing to the challenge? Did the judges make the right call? Head to the comments to discuss and debate.

Next week on Top Chef: All-Stars ("New Yorkb's Finest"), the chefs pull knives for four teams which will cook in four of the city's best restaurants, but first their knives will be put to use in a Quickfire relay race.

Top Chef: All-Stars Preview: Speed Kills



Top Chef: All-Stars Preview: Starting to Sweat

Chopping Block: Knives Out for Start of Top Chef: All Stars

And that's how you start a season of Top Chef. While there was heated drama and some tears, the focus was once again on the innate talent and staggering skill sets of these fierce competitors.

While I already shared my pre-air thoughts about the season opener of Top Chef: All-Stars, now that the episode ("History Never Repeats") has aired, we can discuss specifics of this fantastic installment, which saw some fan-favorites return for another shot at Top Chef glory and what might just be the very best Elimination Challenge to date (which is what I told executive producers Jane Lipsitz and Dan Cutforth when I saw them the other night).

Forcing the chefs to redo the dishes that got them sent home the first time they were on Top Chef was a stroke of genius that played up to the chef's egos and their nerves. Would they be able to overcome what sunk them last time around? Would they redeem themselves or fail again?

And which of the chefs would be forced to bear the burden of being the first one sent packing?

On that last note, I have to say that I was really sad to see Elia go home, especially as I thought that Stephen and Fabio both performed worse than Elia. Perhaps it was her nerves, her memories, or her lack of concept, but Elia was sent home twice for making the same dish. She didn't quite grasp that she needed to improve the dish, rather than reproduce it. Her changes were so slight, her execution so similar to the first time around that she was doomed to fail where some of the other contestants soared.

But I wrongly assumed that the judges would spare Elia, especially given the travesty that was Fabio's dish, its slick greasiness making me as queasy as Anthony Bourdain, its use of paper rather head-scratching and odd. And, sorry, Stephen, but I already feel as though you are way out of your element. I think you've got a great palate, consummate wine knowledge, and a polished presence in the front of house, but I don't think that you're as strong as many of these contestants. Which is why I was shocked that he wasn't made the sacrificial lamb here.

But I've been wrong before.

As for what the chefs made, they had to get through a team-based Quickfire Challenge (no small feat, considering the egos involved and it was their first challenge), in which they had to collectively create a dish that summed up the city where their season took place.

So what did they make? Let's take a look:

• Washington D.C. (Angelo, Tiffany): crab cake essence with rockfish, lemongrass, jalapeno, Old Bay
• San Francisco (Tiffani, Stephen): cioppino gazpacho with sourdough
• New York (Jamie, Fabio, Carla): curried apple soup, pasta with caramelized apple, rib eye with apple
• Miami (Tre, Dale, Casey): pork tenderloin, avocado lime puree, tostones, habanero sauce
• Los Angeles (Marcel, Elia): shrimp tacos with guacamole in an apple wrapper
• Las Vegas (Mike, Jennifer): bucatini with bacon lobster carbonara
• Chicago (Dale, Richard, Antonia, Spike): pork and black pepper sausage, mustard ice cream

I had a feeling that the Chicago team had won as soon as Richard Blais whipped out the liquid nitrogen to create some mustard gelato, an inspired take on a Chicago classic that summed up the city while also showcasing Chicago's "avant garde" nature. I also knew that Marcel and Elia would end up in the bottom as the apple wrappers for their tacos were too thin and the entire dish looked messy and impossible to pick up and eat with one's hands. New York should have made one dish rather than three, really. But I want to commend Mike Isabella for making that sumptuous buccatini with Jennifer; the pasta looked so lush and tender and I wanted to eat a bit bowl of it straightaway.

For the Elimination Challenge, there was the aforementioned "historic" trip down memory lane as the chefs had the opportunity to redeem themselves by perfecting the dishes that got them sent home. It was an inspired challenge that raised the stakes and offered the audience a chance to see them put through their paces by revisiting the ingredients that undid them the first time they competed.

Here's what they made:

• Elia: red snapper steamed in ti with snapper jus
• Tre: cured wild King salmon, grapefruit gelee, salted macadamia cookie
• Fabio: handmade caserecci, crawfish and crab stew
• Stephen: lobster harumaki, hibiscus ponzu, and coriander; soup dumplings; egg rolls
• Tiffany: pan-seared halibut, coconut curry, steamed rice balls, pea tendrils
• Tiffani: crispy branzino, black olive pappardelle, and spicy fennel
• Dale: butterscotch miso scallops with crispy long beans and spicy eggplant
• Richard: pork belly with bread and butter radishes, mirin, and cheddar
• Angelo: homemade ramen with sweet glazed pork belly and watermelon
• Marcel: uni and caviar, Meyer lemon gelee, fennel cream, and kalamata olive dust
• Spike: pickled mushrooms, scallops, lime dressing with hearts of palm salad
• Jennifer: duck, squash, foie gras, apple cider vinaigrette, micro arugula
• Carla: grilled strip steak, smashed potatoes, tarragon butter, red wine sauce
• Antonia: sausage with cilantro, pigeon pea puree, roasted cherry blossoms
• Mike: melted leeks, carrot puree, salt-crusted potatoes
• Casey: molasses-glazed pork belly, pickled peaches, whipped creme fraiche
• Jamie: pan-seared black bass, celery, green peppercorn sauce, herb salad
• Dale: curry-poached lobster dumplings, chanterelles, corn, and bacon

Whew.

Given how many chefs there are in the game at this point, I didn't expect that each of them would get reactions from the diners and the chefs but I do wish that they would have focused on the dishes a little more, especially as this was an extended-length episode. As it were, I can't seem to remember whether all of them even appeared on-screen for more than a second.

Having said that, there were some definite stand-outs. I do believe Richard Blais may have won if it hadn't been for the fact that he was still plating when the timer went off. I don't think for a second that there was anything malicious going on here in the least. He's often so focused on the task at hand that he seems closed off to what's going on around him. It's his laser-like intensity that has made this chef a force to be reckoned with but it was his undoing here. As it was, he was disqualified from the win, even after scoring one of the top dishes. Alas, rules are rules.

Kudos to Jamie for reinventing Eric Ripert's dish which got her eliminated last time; I thought she did a remarkable job taking the essence of Ripert's dish and elevating it into something different and unique to her, transforming her failure last time into a victory here. Well done.

While Marcel's dish wasn't singled out for praise, I do have to say that it was the most visually stunning plate on display here. Slightly alien and undersea-like, it was a sight to behold, a carefully plated masterpiece of abstract art that intrigued and repelled at the same time.

Spike did a fantastic job concealing those frozen scallops; so much so that Bourdain noted that the scallops were superfluous on the plate. Bingo. Always crafty, Spike wisely disguised the scallops' frozen nature and offered a ceviche rather than seared scallops and a lime vinaigrette that distracted entirely and made the scallops all but disappear from the plate. Sneaky, sneaky.

It was obvious that Elia, Fabio (that awful dish!), and Stephen would land in the bottom and, as I said earlier, I'm surprised that it was Elia who was sent packing, rather than one of the other two. Especially as Fabio's specialty is Italian and he failed to score well this week after making TWO pasta dishes.

What did you think of the judges' decision? Should Elia have been set packing? Who are you rooting for this season? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

Next week on Top Chef: All-Stars ("Night at the Museum"), the chefs visit the American Museum of Natural History to cater a snack for a group of children spending the night there.

Top Chef: All-Stars Preview: Sugar Hoarder


Top Chef: All-Stars Preview: Angelo's Intentions

The True Cutthroat Culinary Competition Returns: An Advance Review of Top Chef: All-Stars

Longtime readers know that I am obsessed with Bravo's culinary competition series Top Chef, but also that I've been disheartened by the last season (and the trainwreck that was Top Chef: Just Desserts), so there was a lot on the line for tonight's season premiere of Top Chef: All-Stars, which reunites some of the fiercest competitors ever seen on the series for another shot at the title.

Arriving as it does on the heels of Top Chef: Just Desserts, there hasn't been a lot of time to regain one's appetite for the franchise, thanks to a schedule that now sees three iterations of the Top Chef formula airing basically year-round. Which might be a recipe for brand awareness, but it doesn't quite keep the franchise at its freshest.

Last season, which saw the competition move to Washington D.C., might is regarded by many as the worst season to date, saddled with some lackluster casting, some dull challenges, and some lazy editing. And Top Chef: Just Desserts, while high on reality-TV drama, was often histrionic and off-putting. Or just plain creepy. ("The red hots were for my mommy!")

Fortunately, Top Chef: All-Stars taps into what made the series so wildly addictive and delicious, bringing back some fan-favorites (Richard Blais! Jennifer Carroll!) and some duds (Stephen Aspirino) and putting them through their paces once again.

The first episode, airing tonight, contains a team Quickfire Challenge that's tied to the history of the show and what might just be the all-time greatest Elimination Challenge ever, one that has a strong emotional hook to it and which ties into the season's underlying theme. (That's all I'm saying on that front.)

Liquid nitrogen, inspired flavor profiles, and strokes of culinary genius mark tonight's episode and offers a taste of what's to come: some kick-ass and cutthroat competition from these returnees as they go head to head with some seriously strong chefs. Wondering just how Angelo might stack up against Richard or Marcel? You're in luck.

Look for egos, rivalry, and bruised feelings as the competition heats up and some nastiness between one chef and one of the judges as old wounds sting after renewed criticism (though, in my opinion, absolutely earned). And a shocking decision at the episode's conclusion. Which adds up to a fantastic episode of television and of Top Chef in general, reigniting my love for this series and keeping me on the edge of my seat.

The winner, in the end, is quite obviously us watching at home.

Top Chef: All-Stars begins tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

I Scream, You Scream: More Red-Hot Drama on Top Chef: Just Desserts

Just when I thought that things couldn't get any weirder on Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts...

Last night's episode of the sweets-themed Top Chef spinoff ("Lucent Dossier") featured not only one of the oddest sequences ever to air on a reality competition series but also one of the most head-scratching endings to a contestant's trajectory yet.

Which would have been more than enough to put this episode over the top, except that several of the remaining pastry chefs used this opportunity to have breakdowns of their own, with several contestants bursting into tears, expressing serious doubts about the competition, squaring off against teammates, eliminating themselves, and, well, suffering a major anxiety attack and being declared medically unfit to continue on the series.

Yes, all of this happened in a single episode that was intended to be about the theatricality and drama of the Lucent Dossier Experience... and the producers got some serious sparks flying and it wasn't from Zac's Black Forest in Burning cake.

I already wrote about Seth Caro's bizarro breakdown over some candy a few weeks back, but I'm just still reeling from last night's episode, which took the red-hot drama to a whole new level.

Forget about the ice cream and the flaming desserts and centerpieces, this episode might as well not featured the pastry chefs doing actual cooking as the tension contained within this installment wasn't from the competition element but rather from the internal struggles raging inside the contestants themselves. (Though I will say that I thought that Morgan's dessert looked absolutely gorgeous, an elegantly plated dessert that was at once elegant and whimsical.)

While the chefs dazzled and delighted the taste buds of the judges and the Lucent Dossier performers, the huge pink elephant in the room is once again Seth Caro.

I'll be upfront and say that Seth clearly has some major issues of his own that he needs to work through outside of the competition. The breakdown over the red-hots, the tantrum over grapefruit juice, the extremely random fury over missing paper cups, these are all signs of severe stress, if not mental anguish. Yes, there is a lot of pressure in this competition and you have the cameras on you at all times, which means that these already fragile personalities--each of whom seems to suffer from some form of perfectionism--are placed under additional scrutiny.

Not everyone can deal with stress or pressure in a productive or even rational manner. Considering that Seth started off so well in the first week and won the first Quickfire and Elimination Challenges, his fall from grace is even more staggering. But the red-hots incident revealed a brittle quality to his character, the ability to fall apart at the seams the second something didn't go his way, whether that was a sorbet that refused to set in time, the absence of grapefruit juice behind the bar at The Tar Pit, or paper cups that he admittedly threw away of his own volition.

Whereas someone else may have seen these obstacles and adapted, Seth found himself unable to do so, instead shutting down completely and then throwing the mother of all freak-outs, more than a little shocking considering the man is 33 years old and not an eight-year-old child.

Top Chef has long withheld the "sausage factory" view of what going into making the show, which is why we've never been privy to the stew room briefings with producers ahead of Quickfire Challenges, where the rules are revisited and questions raised. As soon as we followed the cheftestants back to that room, I knew that something unexpected and unprecedented was about to go down and, sure enough, Seth used this opportunity to accuse the producers of cheating, of unfair advantages, of all manner of things before he stormed off... and then fainted.

Paramedics were summoned, concerned looks exchanged, and head judge Johnny Iuzzini made an appearance to announce that Seth would not be returning to the competition.

I believed--wrongly, as it turns out--that this would be the end of the capital-d Drama this season. Not by a longshot.

Given Seth's unanticipated departure, the producers were left with a dilemma: the Elimination Challenge this week required three teams of three to complete and Seth's medical leave had left them one man down. With what seemed like no other options, producers opted to bring back ousted contestant Heather C.

Big mistake.

In her previous appearances, Heather C. also proved that she too was unable to cope with the heat of the kitchen, fumbling at every turn before getting eliminated just last week. Despite getting a second chance, Heather was once again flailling this week, between the meringue mess and the slew of questions dribbling out of her mouth. And she was destined to be eliminated again, two weeks in a row, for her dessert (black pepper pineapple with chocolate sherbet and meringue shards). That is, if Malika hadn't stepped in.

Here's where things got really strange. Malika interrupted guest judge Gail Gand as she praised her dessert--a saffron panna cotta with feuilletine crunch and candied ginger--to announce that she wanted to eliminate herself from the competition. The judges were stunned, particularly as it was clear that Malika was in no danger of being sent home and the judges were praising her rather than slating her at the time.

Yet she wanted out. I don't blame Malika for missing her kids and not being able to cope with being away from them, but I do take offense to the fact that she took away a spot in the competition from someone who may have fought harder than her, who may have wanted to win more fiercely, and who may have just wanted to be there instead of elsewhere.

So Malika, wiping away a tear, told the judges of her decision... and they respected it and bid her farewell, the second time in one episode that a contestant was removed not for cooking a shoddy dessert but for other reasons outside of the competition itself.

But, back in the stew room, things were heating up for Heather H., despite the fact that her team had actually won the challenge, though the singular win went to Morgan for his mango panna cotta with acai gels. Lashing out at him, Heather accused him of not being a team player. It all seemed to come out of nowhere, though Heather was acting moody after the Elimination Challenge as she passive-aggressively cleaned up the station and refused to talk to Morgan.

But Heather, let it be clear, volunteered to do the show piece. On her own. By herself. That was her decision to make and no one forced her to do that. Yes, she still made a great dessert and the judges raved about her chai-infused triple chocolate mousse torte. But she was the one who opted to make a dessert and do the huge show piece without the help of her teammates. Her ego was bruised because she wasn't singled out for the solo win by the judges and she felt that she had carried the heaviest burden on the team.

Guess what? The judges aren't judging on onus. They're judging on what's on the plate and Morgan's dessert was more accomplished and more in keeping with the theme of the Lucent Dossier Experience. Which is why he won.

Heather, so previously level-headed and calm, exploded at Morgan. And in that moment, she became no more likable than Seth himself.

One can only hope that this dessert-themed show gets back to the desserts soon and leaves the petulance where it belongs: in the past, rather than in the kitchen.

Next week on Top Chef: Just Desserts ("Edible Fashion"), the remaining pastry chefs have to create fashionable desserts to please the head judges Gail Simmons and Johnny Iuzzini.

Top Chef: Just Desserts Preview: The Notorious Souffle



Top Chef: Just Desserts Preview: A Dessert Fashion Event

"The Red Hots Were For My Mommy!": Sugar Shock on Top Chef: Just Desserts

Wow.

I don't even know what to say after watching last night's tense and explosive episode of Bravo's Top Chef: Just Desserts ("Cocktail with a Twist"), in which contestant Seth Caro suffered some sort of emotional breakdown during the Quickfire Challenge, in which the pastry chefs were tasked with creating desserts that celebrated penny candy.

Yes, we've seen chefs cave under the pressure on Top Chef before but never this earlier and never this severe. Unable to freeze his passion fruit sorbet in time to plate it, the high-strung Seth began to openly sob and was unable to control his emotions, despite the assistance of fellow competitors and the kindness of guest judge Elizabeth Faulkner (of San Francisco's Citizen Cake and Orson), who attempted to take him aside during the judging process to give him a pep talk.

It didn't work.

Instead, Seth was unable to compose himself and instead uttered some words that will likely haunt him for some time to come. Gripping Faulkner tightly, he cried as he said the now immortal words, "The red hots were for my mommy."

Let's pause on that for a second.

Seth had already, tearfully, said, that the red hots used in his dish were an homage to his ailing mother, who loved the spicy candy. He told fellow competitor Morgan--who just last week had seemed to be the most unstable competitor and now seems completely balanced in comparison--that fact a few minutes earlier but it was the use of "mommy" that tipped things into an even more uncomfortable place.

Now, I want to be sensitive to the fact that Seth is clearly going through something. But a culinary competition series, with its intense pressure and ubiquitous cameras filming your every move, is probably not the best place to go about doing it. I'm also sensitive to the fact that his mother owes $100,000 in medical bills, but I have to question the fact that Seth is participating in this competition in order to win cash to pay off those bills, rather than use the money to further his "culinary dreams," as the opening credits remind us each week. (It also rubbed me the wrong way that Top Chef winner Kevin said that he was going to use the money to buy a house rather than invest it in his business.)

Yes, these chefs are meant to be ambitious and determined. But if you're having an actual breakdown on-camera because your dessert didn't freeze and because you used your sick mother's favorite candy in said dish, you might want to reevaluate your participation.

Because Seth's on-screen antics didn't just end with the "mommy" comment as he gripped Faulkner and sobbed into her neck like an emotionally overwrought ten-year-old might. He continued to act like some emotional whirling dervish, making everyone around him uncomfortable and refusing to promise the judges that such an outburst wouldn't occur again.

After seeing his behavior at The Tar Pit, it's no wonder that a promise won't be forthcoming. After his fellow competitors attempted to support him during his two-minute "shopping" period behind the bar--in which he again fell apart due to the lack of grapefruit juice for his Greyhound-inspired dessert--he railed against them, screaming at them right in front of Mark Peel and Gail Simmons. Badly, badly done. It didn't win him any points with the judges, with his competition, or even with his friend Morgan, who sided with the others against him.

Yigit was right to be angry. Seth has no idea what is going on in his fellow competitors' lives because he hasn't taken the time to find out. Everyone has some sort of trauma or hurt or loss in their lives and the other contestants are attempting to keep their own emotions in check. Seth's behavior is distracting, demoralizing, and damaging to them, just as much as it is to him.

I was impressed that Zac reached out to Seth and helped him plate his dessert in the Elimination Challenge, but that backfired completely with Seth seemingly knocked over a plate of chocolates for Zac's own dessert... and then made matters worse by not getting out of the way but continuing to linger and compound the situation.

Seth might be a talented pastry chef, he might have dozens of complicated techniques in his culinary arsenal, but he's also just come across as weak-willed and rather pathetic on-camera. I can't help but wonder how his career will be impacted by his emotional display in last night's episode. It's certainly hard to award this guy any real recognition... and it was apparent that all of the contestants were hoping that Seth would be the one to go home last night.

He'll be sticking around for a while, however. Just as long, one supposes, as no more red hots make their appearance.

Next week on Top Chef: Just Desserts ("Glee Club"), the contestants try to make the grade by competing in a bake sale to raise funds for a high-school pep squad and glee club.

Bravo Announces Top Chef: All-Stars Cast, Launch Date

Last night, during Bravo's Top Chef reunion special, the cabler finally took the wraps off of one of television's worst-kept secrets: that next season of Top Chef would be an all-stars edition that would bring back 18 former contestants to battle it out for another chance at the title.

Top Chef All-Stars will launch December 1st at 10 pm ET/PT and will feature the return of Anthony Bourdain as well, as he segues from guest judge to full-on regular judge. (He'll rotate with Food & Wine's Gail Simmons.)

As for the contestants, they are some of the ones you would most expect would be in the running: Elia Aboumrad; Stephen Asprinio; Richard Blais; Jennifer Carroll; Tiffany Derry; Tiffani Faison; Carla Hall; Mike Isabella; Jamie Lauren; Dale Levitski; Antonia Lofaso; Spike Mendelsohn; Angelo Sosa; Dale Talde; Casey Thompson; Marcel Vigneron; Fabio Viviani; and Tre Wilcox.

Personally, I'm thrilled to see Jennifer Carroll and Richard Blais return to the kitchen. I can't wait to see the inevitable showdown between Richard, Angelo, and Marcel. It has all of the makings of a true molecular gastonomy battle royale, no?

The full press release from Bravo can be found below.

LET THE ULTIMATE FOOD FIGHT BEGIN – BRAVO’S ‘TOP CHEF ALL-STARS’ WILL PREMIERE DECEMBER 1st AT 10 PM ET/PT

Anthony Bourdain Joins As Series Judge And Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, Marcel Vigneron, Fabio Viviani And More Past Chef’testants Return For A Shot At Redemption

NEW YORK – September 23, 2010 – They’re back and they’re ready for redemption – Bravo's "Top Chef" congregates a dream team of 18 past chef’testants who nearly won the title to return to see if they have what it takes for the premiere of “Top Chef All-Stars,” on Wednesday, December 1 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. The 2010 Primetime Emmy Award-winning "Top Chef" returns to New York City for season eight with host Padma Lakshmi and head judge chef Tom Colicchio, alongside judges Gail Simmons and new this season, best-selling author and chef, Anthony Bourdain. The powerhouse of chef’testants going head-to-head include Carla Hall (season five finalist), Spike Mendelsohn (season four, top five), Fabio Viviani (voted fan fav, season five) and Marcel Vigneron (season two finalist), just to mention a few (full list below). For more information, visit WWW.BRAVOTV.COM. Follow us on Twitter at HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/BRAVOPR.

"With seven seasons of ‘Top Chef’ under our belt, the timing feels right for an All-Stars edition,” said Colicchio. “It has all the elements to be our best season yet. Getting Tony Bourdain to serve as a judge throughout the season was the icing on the cake."

"Top Chef" offers a fascinating window into the competitive, pressure-filled environment of world-class cookery and the restaurant business at the highest level. The series features aspiring chefs who compete for their shot at culinary stardom and the chance to earn the prestigious title of "Top Chef." To check out Andy Cohen’s cast announcement from the “Top Chef D.C. Reunion Special, go to: HTTP://WWW.BRAVOTV.COM/TOP-CHEF/SEASON-7/VIDEOS/TOP-CHEF-ALL-STARS-ANNOUNCEMENT

Following are the 18 "Top Chef All-Stars" chef'testants:

- Elia Aboumrad; Season two, final four

- Stephen Asprinio; Season one, top five

- Richard Blais; Season four finalist

- Jennifer Carroll; Season six, final four

- Tiffany Derry; Season seven, top five

- Tiffani Faison; Season one finalist

- Carla Hall; Season five finalist

- Mike Isabella; Season six, top seven

- Jamie Lauren; Season five, top seven

- Dale Levitski; Season three finalist

- Antonia Lofaso; Season four, final four

- Spike Mendelsohn; Season four, top five

- Angelo Sosa; Season seven finalist

- Dale Talde; Season four, top six

- Casey Thompson; Season three finalist and fan favorite

- Marcel Vigneron; Season two finalist

- Fabio Viviani; Season five final four and fan favorite

- Tre Wilcox; Season three, top eight

"Top Chef All-Stars" is produced by the Emmy Award-winning Magical Elves. Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz serve as executive producers.

Bravo is a program service of NBC Universal Cable Entertainment, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Bravo has been an NBC Universal cable network since December 2002 and was the first television service dedicated to film and the performing arts when it launched in December 1980. For more information, visit WWW.BRAVOTV.COM. Follow us on Twitter at HTTPS://TWITTER.COM/BRAVOPR.

Channel Surfing: HBO Renews Boardwalk Empire, Law & Order: Criminal Intent to Return, Lone Star DOA, Fringe, and More

Welcome to your Wednesday morning television briefing.

Break open the moonshine! HBO has renewed period drama Boardwalk Empire for a second season, after airing just one episode of the Terence Winter/Martin Scorsese crime drama, which averaged 4.8 million viewers in its premiere broadcast. “All the ingredients aligned for this one, from Mark Wahlberg and Steve Levinson’s initial pitch, to Martin Scorsese’s enormous contributions as director and executive producer, to the genius of Terry Winter and the expertise of Tim Van Patten, to a stellar cast led by Steve Buscemi,” said Michael Lombardo, President of HBO Programming, in a statement. “The response from the media and our viewers has been nothing short of amazing.” (via press release)

In other renewal news, USA has finally closed a deal to renew Law & Order: Criminal Intent for a tenth and final season of eight episodes, with original series lead Vincent D'Onofrio set to reprise his role as Detective Robert Goren, while producers are said to be in talks with Kathryn Erbe and other former stars to return. “We have been the fortunate caretakers of this legendary series, and we plan to give it the world-class farewell it so richly deserves,” said Jeff Wachtel, USA's president of original programming and UCP's co-head of original content. The cabler has also given executive producer Dick Wolf a pilot commitment for a new project at USA. New episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent are set to launch next year. (Deadline)

After the deadly ratings encountered by FOX's new fall drama Lone Star, the 20th Century Fox Television-produced drama is already said to be on death watch, according to The Hollywood Reporter's Andrew Wallenstein. "No one in TV should be happy about this," Wallenstein quotes one agent with a client on Lone Star as saying. "This is going to have a chilling effect on networks taking chances on anything but cookie-cutter shows." xxx "Though Fox declined comment, it's possible the network is delaying the announcement of a decision, perhaps waiting for the cover that will be provided today by its announcement of the American Idol judges," wrote Wallenstein. "That Star will be canceled is being treated in industry circles as fait accompli, a matter of when, not if. Tellingly, while most underwhelming TV debuts are often followed by entreaties from counter-spinning execs magnifying glimmers of hope in the ratings data -- "did you see that uptick in the last quarter-hour among women 25-34?" -- the back-channel phone calls from network and studio execs never came." (Hollywood Reporter)

More Bubbles! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Andre Royo (The Wire) will reprise his role on FOX's Fringe after his first appearance in tomorrow night's season premiere, where he plays a cab driver that Anna Torv's Olivia Dunham encounters "over there." [Editor: Having seen the episode in question, I can say that it was a no-brainer than Royo would be back at some point.] (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

It's official: Bravo has finally confirmed what has been floating about the internet for quite some time now. The next season of Top Chef will be an all-stars edition, with 18 runners-up from previous seasons returning to compete for another shot at the title. While the full cast has been available at various web sites for the last few weeks, Bravo will officially unveil the cast on tonight's Top Chef reunion special. [Editor: Also, Anthony Bourdain will return as a regular judge this time around, alternating with Gail Simmons.] (TVGuide.com)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Jorge Garcia (Lost) will guest star in an upcoming episode of ABC midseason comedy Mr. Sunshine, starring Matthew Perry. Garcia will play "a staffer at the second-rate San Diego sports arena that Perry’s character manages" and will appear in the retooled pilot episode. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Elsewhere, Entertainment Weekly's Mandi Bierly reported that Lyle Lovett will be guest staring on an upcoming episode of ABC's Castle this season, where he will play Agent Darryl Shafer, described as "a shadowy government figure who detains and interrogates Castle (Fillion) and Beckett (Stana Katic) as they investigate the death of a prominent astrophysicist whose body was found in her car—a victim of explosive decompression." Lovett's appearance is slated for the ninth episode of the current season. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

The Hollywood Reporter's Allison Hope Weiner has an interview with No Ordinary Family star Michael Chiklis about his role on the ABC superhero family drama. "The big question for me was tone, and how do I pull this off in terms of tone," said Chiklis when asked about any concerns about being on network television rather than cable. "As you know, network television, television in general, has become very niche-oriented. It's very targeted toward a certain audience. Now we're embarking on a show that is all too rare on television: It's one of those kinds of shows that tries to appeal to a broad audience and, in order to do that, the things that are successful don't take themselves too seriously. This is pure entertainment and it's witty and fun, yet soulful and heartfelt. But you also have those great adrenal moments. The threat there is if you go too far in any direction, you go over the top comedically or be too melodramatic and you can fail. Yet if you aren't bold in any direction, you can become vanilla. Tonally, we felt it had to be crisp and smart and fun -- yet not taking itself too seriously." (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos is reporting that Dave Annable's real-life fiancee Odette Yustman will guest star on an upcoming episode of ABC's Brothers & Sisters as a new interest for Annable's Justin. Yustman, set to appear in one episode, will play a "nurse who starts to fall for Justin, as he's still mending his broken heart from his split with Rebecca." Rebecca, of course, is played by Annable's ex-girlfriend Emily Van Camp, who is set to depart the series after just a handful of episodes this season. (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Will Forte will return to CBS' How I Met Your Mother, where he will reprise his role as Randy. "Marshall will wrestle with whether or not to fire Randy, who is as hopeless as a paralegal as he is with the ladies," co-creator Craig Thomas told Keck. "There is also a shocking twist as it starts to become clear that Robin — in a moment of weakness — may or may not have hooked up with Randy on Halloween night." (TV Guide Magazine)

ABC has given a put pilot order to a drama inspired by Jennifer Baggett, Holly C. Corbett, and Amanda Pressner's book "The Lost Girls Three Friends, Four Continents, One Unconventional Detour Around the World," which will be adapted by Idly Modrovich (Californication). Project, from Warner Bros. Television, will be executive produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Jonathan Littman. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

The Daily Beast Exclusive: "Top Chef's Surprise Finish"

Still scratching your head over last night's season finale of Top Chef?

Head over to The Daily Beast, where you can read my latest feature, "Top Chef's Surprise Finish," an exclusive interview with the culinary competition series' executive producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz--yes, the brains behind the ubiquitous Magical Elves--as we discuss the winner, what went wrong this season, culinary tourism, the language of reality television, and Justin Bieber.

(Yes, you read that last bit correctly.)

Head to the comments section to share your thoughts about the now-wrapped Washington D.C.-set season of Top Chef and whether you enjoyed the season or thought that it lacked the sophisticated palate of previous seasons... and what you'd do to correct any of the show's current issues, should you have any.

Singapore Sling: Thoughts on the Season Finale of Top Chef

Um, yeah.

After a seriously contentious season of Top Chef, the Washington D.C.-set seventh season came to a close with a final showdown between Angelo, Kevin, and Ed in Singapore, amid a head-scratching judges' decision that made me question just what they were thinking... and what we'd seen throughout the course of the season as members of the home audience.

I watched the season finale earlier this week and had a very difficult time keeping my mouth shut about the winner and my intense disappointment over the outcome of the season. While the Singapore installments gave the series a much-needed jolt, it didn't remove the bad taste in mouth about this season as a whole nor the decision to crown a particular person the ultimate winner and bearer of the title of Top Chef.

(If you haven't already, head over to The Daily Beast to read my exclusive interview with Top Chef's executive producers, where we discuss my criticisms of the past season, what went wrong, and the winner revealed last night.)

So what did I think of the episode and the chef selected as the overall winner of this season? Let's discuss...

So the winner of this season of Top Chef is Kevin?!?! While he performed pretty well overall this season, he only won one Elimination Challenge over the course of the season and flew so far under the radar that I didn't even expect him to make the Final Four over the far superior Tiffany.

So what gives? What went down in Singapore that led to his dark horse being crowned the ultimate victor?

I had a sinking feeling that Angelo would be out of the running due to his sudden and inexplicable illness, as seen from the promos for this week's episode. While Angelo did manage to rally on the last day and present four courses for the judges, his performance was entirely dependent on that of sous chef Hung, who managed to do all of Angelo's shopping and prep ahead of time.

In fact, I felt that the sous chefs had a huge effect on the outcome of the Singapore culinary battle, given that winner Kevin managed to get none other than Michael Voltaggio to serve as his sous chef. Wait a second here. The winner of the last Top Chef, arguably one of the strongest chefs ever to play the game, was recruited as a sous chef for the final challenge that would decide the ultimate winner? How on earth is that fair?

Granted, Ed and Angelo also had winners to work with and Angelo's sous, Hung, is a workhorse of the highest order. He flies around that kitchen and can pull off the work of 50 chefs in about a few hours' time. But I've never been a fan of Ilan and I was surprised when he won his particular season. And Ed here seemed to have been undone a bit by Ilan, who kept offering his own opinions of what Ed should be doing but instead brought little more than a halfway decent sticky toffee pudding and salted whipped cream to the plate.

In any event, the final three chefs had to prepare an extraordinary four-course meal for their final challenge, one that comprised a vegetable course, a fish course, a meat course, and a--shudder--dessert.

So what did they make? Let's take a look:

Angelo:

• First Course: pickled royale mushrooms, char siu bao pork belly, noodles, and watermelon tea
• Second Course: sautéed rouget, olive oil-poached cuttlefish with "Asian Style" bouillabaisse
• Third Course: sautéed duck breast and foie gras with marshmallow, daikon-ginger salad and a tart cherry shooter
• Fourth Course: Thai Jewel: coconut-vanilla cream and crushed ice with exotic fruits, yam taro, and saffron syrup

Ed:

• First Course: chilled summer corn veloute with fried black cockles and silan
• Second Course: stuffed rouget and glazed slipper lobster, cuttlefish with zucchini pesto, toasted pine nuts
• Third Course: Duck Two Ways: roasted breast and braised stuffed neck with baby spinach and duck jus
• Fourth Course: sticky toffee-date pudding with fleur de sel crème Chantilly "a la Ilan"

Kevin:

• First Course: eggplant, zucchini, and pepper terrine, tomatoes, jalapenos, and sweet soy reduction with ginger oil
• Second Course: rouget, cuttlefish noodles, pork belly, cockles, slipper lobster, and cigala
• Third Course: roasted duck breast with duck dumpling, caramelized bok choy, and coriander sauce
• Fourth Course: Frozen Singapore Sling with tropical fruits

First, I do think it was a stroke of genius on the part of the producers to have the judges select the proteins for the chefs and require them to use them as part of the meal and highlight them accordingly. It put them on somewhat equal playing ground and challenged them to use these ingredients in innovative ways while still having them compete against one another using the same elements on the plate, just configured in their own inimitable way.

Second, I do think Kevin did some things right. While I question whether he was the best chef this season (a title I don't think is really warranted), he did--as Tom Colicchio put it--take the most risks. Or at least took one major risk that paid off. Whereas Angelo and Ed both used proteins in their vegetable first course--Angelo with pork belly and Ed with black cockles--Kevin created a purely vegetarian dish for his start that stood up to both of those dishes.

I do, however, wish that the judges had been more strict during the instructions and had said that it was to be a "vegetarian" rather than "vegetable" dish. I would have liked to have seen what each of them could have done without the use of proteins in their starters. Would it have changed the outcome? Who knows.

There were some interesting techniques in play here. Kevin's transformation of the cuttlefish into noodle-like ribbons, Ed's stuffing of the duck's neck, Angelo's watermelon tea and that cinnamon-spiced marshmallow, though the latter was less than successful, as was his bizarre decision to include that tart cherry shooter on the plate... and describe it as a palate-cleanser, which it was nothing of the sort whatsoever.

While the judges seemed to be enraptured by Kevin's deceptively simple Sinagpore Sling-inspired dessert, I thought that it was Angelo's "Thai Jewel" dessert, with its unexpected flavors of saffron, that was a far superior dessert, at least in terms of technique, execution, and presentation. Ed's dessert--Ilan's main contribution to the team--was a total disappointment. Sure, Gail said that it seemed to be in keeping with Ed's personality (and his somewhat disappointing attitude this week) that dessert was more or less an afterthought, but it's also the last thing that you're giving the judges in a competition to win $150,000. Why would you leave that for your sous chef to conceive and execute? It looked sloppy and homemade, rather than something you'd find in a fine dining establishment and it totally missed the point of including dessert as part of the dinner. The judges wanted to be wowed four times over. They didn't want a piece of sticky toffee pudding presented with very little thought or grace.

Each of the contestants had their high and low points in the final leg and, yes, you're only as good as your last dish. But I can't help but question the judges decision to award the win to Kevin when they only once picked him out as the strongest chef that week prior. Surely, there must be some thought to the overall performance, vision, and execution of the chefs when they make their way to the final judges' table. Or there should be, anyway. In the meantime, I can't help but feel frustrated both by the outcome and by the season at large. Here's to hoping that the producers can fix some of the issues that many of us have had with this season...

What did you think of the season as a whole? Did Kevin deserve to win over Ed and Angelo? Was the the strongest chef? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

Next week on Top Chef ("Reunion Special"), it's one last chance to catch up with the cast of the Washington, D.C. season before the series returns sometime next year with a new installment on Bravo.

Holy Asian Extravaganza: The Final Four Compete in Singapore on Top Chef

After a lackluster season of Top Chef, having even a single enjoyable and tense episode is a step in the right direction, really.

Last night's episode ("Finale, Part One"), which saw the final four contestants jet off to Singapore for the last few challenges before the ultimate culinary showdown, seemed to showcase the spark and magic that this season has been largely missing, forcing the contestants to jump through some pretty narrow hoops as the finish line inches its way ever closer.

Perhaps the producers were smart to leave behind stuffy Washington D.C. for the street markets of sweltering Singapore; each of the chefs seemed to far more awake and creative as a whole than we've seen them collectively this season, invigorated by the flavors and scents of Southeast Asia.

I have to say that I was extremely impressed by the performance of each of the four. While there were some technical issues at play, each of them turned out gorgeous and complex plates that showcased the tastes of Southeast Asia while also remaining true to their own culinary ethos and personality. Given that Angelo was considered the front-runner going into this season--and into the final legs--it's interesting that the arrogant chef--who is known for his innovative take on Asian cuisine--didn't fare as well as many had expected, leaving this competition open for the taking.

So how did the chefs do? And what did they prepare this week? Let's take a closer look.

It was instantly apparent that the chefs were more energetic and engaged as soon as we saw them in the Singapore street market; there was an infectious energy even as the chefs continued to sweat profusely throughout the installment. As an episode it literally contained the blood, sweat, and tears (well, Angelo's anyway) of the cheftestants as they were faced with some pretty intense challenges before the final round.

Which is how it should be. This season has been largely marred by uneven editing, some lame challenges, and a decided lack of atmosphere, much of which was undone by shifting the focus to the strong chefs of this group and taking them outside of their comfort zone by depositing them in an overwhelming marketplace crowded by scents and tastes that they might not have had a firm grasp of.

But they are chefs, after all, and they quickly picked up the nuance of Southeast Asian street food after a tour of the market... and a surprise Quickfire Challenge that had them cooking street food using a wok and a burner just like any of the other hawkers within the expansive (and hunger-inducing) marketplace.

So what did they make? Here's the rundown...

Quickfire Challenge:

• Angelo:chili frog legs with pineapple and rambutan salsa
Ed: stir fry noodles with black pepper sauce, lobster and gai lan
• Kelly: Chinese noodles with lobster, cockles, bean sprouts, and Chinese broccoli
• Kevin: seafood stew with lobster and cuttlefish with crispy shallots

I knew straightaway that Ed had this challenge in the bag. He was calm, cool, and collected and he delivered a dish that drew in the diverse flavors of the market while also elevating street food to a whole new level. His dish was beautifully presented, a mix of two kinds of noodles, a simple lime wedge, and some greens the only accompaniments. It wasn't fussy, overdone, or crowded. Simple food done beautifully.

Which isn't to say that Angelo and Kelly were out of the running but their dishes, while masterfully executed, didn't quite reach up to the high standard that Ed had created. Some nice touches from Angelo: the pineapple in the salsa had the right amount of sweetness to cut through the fire of the chili and I have to say that I'm impressed he was able to pull off the frog's legs in such a short amount of time and have them be cooked perfectly. Kelly's dish was a beautiful bowl of noodles, lobster, and cockles, elegantly presented. Kevin's inexperience with the wok, however, was immediately noticeable. His dish was easily the weakest of the bunch.

No surprise that Ed walked away the winner here... and with immunity from the coming Elimination Challenge. But would he rest on his laurels or would he push himself to compete just as hard as if he hadn't already secured a spot in the final three? I had a feeling it would be the latter, especially as he seemed like he wanted to defeat rival Angelo at all costs. I found it interesting that no one named Ed as their chief competition before that Quickfire, but afterward it was entirely clear that they were all shocked at just how well Ed had performed... even though he had won his fair share of challenges back in D.C. Huh.

For their Elimination Challenge, the chefs would have to work as a team to create a meal for Food & Wine editor Dana Cowin and 80 guests based on local cuisines and cook their dishes a la minute. Which meant no cooking their dishes ahead of time: each dish would have to be cooked to order.

No small feat, this. 80 guests all ordering at once from a menu of eight items (Ed wisely had conceived two dishes ahead of time, while the others had to scramble at the last second to come up with a second dish each) puts an enormous strain on the kitchen, particularly as the waitstaff hadn't been trained to work with them and they had such a short amount of time--one hour!--to prep ahead of the service.

So what did they make for their two dishes each? Let's take a gander...

Elimination Challenge:

• Angelo: spicy shrimp broth with ginger and prawn dumplings and lamb tartare with rambutan ceviche and curry oil
• Ed: crispy rice and potato cakes, sweet and sour pork, and kai lan and fried banana fritter with red chili paste
• Kelly: chilled cucumber-yogurt soup, bitter melon salad and seared prawns, spicy red coconut curry, crispy prawn heads
• Kevin: clam chowder with flavors of Southeast Asia and 63° farm egg, pearl tapioca, radish condiment

Once again, it was Ed who took the early lead here with two dishes that had the judges swooning. His crispy rice cake with pork belly and kai lan was an early favorite, a masterful dish that showed off the local flavors while also presenting a strong portrait of Ed as a Western chef. But it was his fried banana fritters with red chili paste inside that had the judges going crazy. (Gail herself said that the only flaw was that she wanted six of them rather than the two provided.) Despite having immunity, Ed had once again run circles around his competitors, making him--in my opinion--the one to beat next week.

Angelo's lamb tartare was a thing of beauty, gorgeously presented and pulled off expertly. We've seen other chefs fail when attempting to create a tartare from lamb, presenting a dish that's mealy, metallic, or unappetizing. But in the hands of Angelo, the lamb was perfectly cut and seasoned and captured the refinement of a tuna tartare. Too bad his soup was so intensely salty; the saline quality of that dish knocked him right out of the running.

I was extremely impressed with Kevin's two dishes here, especially as he didn't perform as well as the others in the Quickfire (and had Padma calling him out for his inexperience with the wok). But he delivered two knock-out dishes, with a Southeast Asian-inspired clam chowder and his take on congee, here with a perfectly cooked 63-degree egg, the yolk nice and runny, and simple accompaniments of radish and red chili. Elegant, simple, and delicious, he more than won a spot in the charmed circle of the final three.

And then there was Kelly. I really wanted her to perform better than she did here as she made a few mistakes that sealed her fate in the end. I'm not sure why she included the fish in her bitter melon and cucumber soup as the flavors of that dish seemed in perfect harmony without needing the inclusion of a protein in there, especially when the fish itself seemed oddly cut and several judges complained about the oddness of the texture. Likewise, she pulled back far too much on the heat of her red curry, which lacked the fire that the judges wanted, even as they raved about her guava-apple salad, which Tom felt should have been better integrated into the dish and might have elevated the dish.

Alas, it was Kelly who was not going to stick around for the final battle, leaving the guys--Ed, Angelo, and Kevin--to duke it out for the title of Top Chef next week. As for why they were summoned back to the judges' table... Well, we all know what that's about.

What did you think of this week's episode? Would you have sent Kelly home? Is Ed now the front-runner to take home the top prize? Head to the comments section to discuss and debate.

Next week on the season finale of Top Chef ("Finale, Part Two"), the three remaining chefs attempt to cook the best meal of each of their lives; with the title of Top Chef on the line, Angelo falls ill.

Top Chef Preview: Always A Twist



Top Chef Preview: Angelo's Sick