Wedding Wars: Nuptial Nightmares on Top Chef Masters

Kudos to the producers for putting the master chefs through their paces with two of my favorite all-time Top Chef challenges, back-to-back.

This week on Top Chef Masters ("Wedding Wars"), the eight semi-finalists gathered back in the Top Chef kitchen to discover that they wouldn't be able to glide through on their earlier wins this week. No, the producers were determined to get these chefs to experience the full pressure and heat of Top Chef by making them participate both in the tag-team cook-off and--shudder--wedding wars.

As fans of Top Chef well know, wedding wars is one of the toughest and craziest challenges ever devised on the series as the chefs have limited resources and--even more critically--time to pull together an entire wedding reception (including cake!) on their own. Not only to do they have to get food out fast but it has to taste good, satisfy the 150 guests of the wedding, and make the bride and groom happy.

It's worth noting, of course, that the bride and groom seem to have very specific things in mind, both in terms of what they want and what they don't want. So it's up to the chefs both to make their clients happy while also remaining true to their culinary ethos and pleasing the critics at the same time. No small thing.

So how did the eight champions do? Let's discuss.

As I said earlier, I was really looking forward to these two challenges because both of them really force the chefs to work together and participate in activities in which they really are handcuffed.

The tag-team cookoff is one of my favorites because it forces the chefs to think on the fly and continually adapt someone else's dish that they've wandered into mid-stream. Here, the chefs were split into two teams, with Jody Adams, Susan Feniger, Rick Moonen, and Jonathan Waxman comprising the Blue Team and Carmen Gonzalez, Susur Lee, Tony Montuano, Marcus Samuelsson making up the Red Team.

Had it not been a random decision, I would have wondered why the teams split this way with some of the strongest players landing on the Blue Team... but, as it turned out, that mattered very little both in terms of the Quickfire and with the Elimination Challenge.

For the Quickfire, the Blue Team prepared a mussel and scallop stew with orange and fennel, while the Red Team took a similar tack and cooked up a truffle-spiced shellfish broth with a seared piece of fish that was served on top of prosciutto.

It was interesting that both teams immediately went for the same proteins and decided to go for seafood. I felt terrible that Waxman, a severe claustrophobic, had such difficult wearing the blindfold during the Quickfire but he ended up going on to infuse some bitterness to the dish with some sauteed fennel. While it seemed as those judges Kelly Choi and Jay Rayner had a problem with that, the Blue Team's dish actually did win, landing their team with $10,000 to split amongst their charities.

Elimination Challenge:

Blue Team:
The Blue Team offered up several passed hors d'oeuvres including: Waxman's red pepper pancakes with smoked salmon, caviar, and lemon zest; Feniger's spicy potato bhajia fritters with mint-cilantro sauce and tamarind-date chutney; and Adams' pancetta and melted raclette tarts.

For their entrees, Adams made a Dijon rack of lamb with rosemary, farro, and autumn vegetables. Waxman offered a roast chicken with tarragon veloute and cauliflower puree.
And seafood master Moonen created an a la minute seafood mixed grill with poah, Coho salmon, and swordfish with sweet and sour eggplant.

To round out the meal, Feniger made an Egyptian semolina cake with berries and cream while Adams made Bananas Foster, the bride's request and her favorite dessert, which Adams served with cinnamon, ginger, candied pecans and a rum-caramel sauce.

I thought that the Blue Team did a fantastic job here. Their passed hors d'ouevres were each beautiful little morsels of savory goodness. Some complained that Waxman's red pepper pancakes were too big but that's really a quibble when it appeared to taste deliciously. And everyone--guests and critics alike--raved about Adams' raclette tarts... and her risky rack of lamb.

Considering that the bride said that she didn't care for lamb, Adams took quite a chance by offering it up as the red meat offering on the bride's side. But everyone was bowled over by the masterful lamb, including the blushing bride herself, who may have just become a lamb convert after the experience. Waxman once again proved that he is unequaled when it comes to preparing "simple" food, here transforming a humble chicken into something magical and transcendent. But it was Moonen who had a rare misstep; considering he was working with his specialty (fish), he really had problem with his preparation as the fish weren't cooked to perfection. Hmmm...

Feniger's wedding cake was dry and the presentation wasn't exactly up to snuff. But it was Adams to the rescue with her delicious Bananas Foster, a dish she had never prepared before that evening but which drew raves from the guests and the critics. It did appear as though Adams might push them over the line into victory...

Red Team:
Over on the groom's side, the Red Team offered Gonzalez's jumbo lump crab cakes with avocado relish and Samuelsson's lobster roll with Asian pear (served in a spoon) and his honey mustard-cured tuna as hors d'oeuvres.

As entrees, there was Samuelsson's roast beef tenderloin with grilled onion ragout and pomegranate sauce and Mantuano's flaming ouzo shrimp and pasta with fire-roasted tomatoes, feta, and capers. Side dishes included Mantuano's potato gratin and Gonzalez's roasted corn relish.

Lee's desserts including a mind-boggling array of sweets including Croque-en-Bouche, carrot wedding cake, upside-down raisin pudding with butterscotch sauce, and chocolate profiterole with whipped cream. (Wow.)

But despite the staggering spread at Lee's dessert buffet, there were some real missteps here from the Red Team, aside from some crowd-pleasing standout dishes such as Samuelsson's lobster roll and cured tuna and Mantuano's shrimp and potatoes au gratin.

Rather than win over the judges with the variety and scope of their menu, the Red Team made some puzzling choices. While there was a red meat, a seafood option, and a pasta dish, they didn't really coalesce as the Blue Team's dishes did (with the exception of Moonen's) and instead of separate side dishes, I felt like these should have been connected to individual proteins instead. No one could figure out what Gonzalez's roasted corn relish was supposed to go with, though she viewed it as either a salad or a side dish. But it felt like neither, really.

Furthermore, Samuelsson's beef was deemed "mushy" by the judges, although the guests read that as "tender" instead. Mantuano's pasta was overcooked rather than al dente. Lee let himself down with the carrot cake, though he had never made one before (though neither had Adams made Bananas Foster). I think he was saved by the fact that he pulled off a Herculean dessert buffet all on his one.

But the critics were confused by what Gonzalez did. Yes, it was a team effort and, yes, she made the crab cakes and the corn relish and oversaw the logistics and helped set up, but there wasn't a dish that had that Carmen Gonzalez imprint on it, something that the judges could point to to see her influence on the evening. While she explained it as the fact that she didn't think her Puerto Rican flavors would meld with the rest of the offerings, I thought it was an odd excuse: the entire exercise was about adapting under extreme pressure and working as a team to deliver a singular meal.

It was no surprise then that Gonzalez was the one to be sent packing while the Blue Team walked away the winners and Adams was singled out for praise as the ultimate victor of this round.

What did you think of this week's episode? Would you have sent Carmen home? Was Adams the right one to win this week's challenge? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Scary Surf & Turf"), the master chefs are tasked with using often unappetizing proteins in a surf and turf dish; actors from The Simpsons judge the quickfire challenge.

Top Chef Masters Preview: A Simpsons Challenge:



Top Chef Masters Preview: Susur's Energy:

Family Affair: Master Chefs and Modern Family on Top Chef Masters

If you've ever been on a working television or film set, you know the mad rush that the lunch call is as the cast and crew head towards a makeshift dining room--usually set amid film equipment and discarded set pieces--to grab a brief respite before heading back into the madness.

Caterers specialize in delivering fast, fresh, and tasty grub that's all ready to go when the crew is meant to go on break and it's a brutal business. So that rhythm and pacing would be the perfect challenge for the five new master chefs entering the Top Chef kitchen this week: Rick Tramonto, Maria Hines, Debbie Gold, Joey Adams, and Susur Lee, the latter of whom was named one of Food & Wine's Ten Chefs of the Millennium. (No small matter, that.)

On this week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Cast and Crew Meal"), the master chefs were tasked with creating a perfectly styled fruit plate and preparing a cast and crew meal for the actors and staffers on ABC's comedy series Modern Family. (Huh, a single episode that combines my love for Top Chef with that for Modern Family? Heavenly.)

The first season of Top Chef Masters suffered a serious dearth of female master chefs; producers this season seemed to be aware of the gender inequality but this week seemed to contain most of the women competing this season, an odd shuffling of the contestants that was all the more apparent because there were only two men competing this week. While I was glad to see female chefs represented so strongly this week, I do think that there should have been more of a gender balance before now. (Last week's episode, which featured returnees from Season One, featured no female chefs.)

Having said that, I thought that the chefs this week were almost universally strong contenders. Despite her nerves, Joey Adams proved to be one of the toughest competitors here, dominating both rounds. Despite the fact that I was hoping that Adams would make it through to the next round, I was a little surprised that the producers would opt for a "high stakes Quickfire Challenge." After all, that made sense within the context of the Las Vegas season but here, on Top Chef Masters, it seemed extremely out of place, particularly as the challenge--a fruit plate--didn't exactly scream golden ticket to the champions round. But that's just me, anyway. (Was anyone else irked slightly that winning the Quickfire Challenge meant a guaranteed spot among the champions?)

For that Quickfire Challenge, the master chefs had to create an artful presentation of fruit, using 25 fruits from a basket to create a palette that would amaze with its beauty and presentation and delight the palate. (Heh.)

So what did they prepare?

Quickfire Challenge:

• Tramonto: herb and fruit shooters
• Hines: Northwest trio: apple soup, grilled fig, and berries with berry mousse
• Gold: pecan tempura-stuffed fig with persimmon and tangerine
• Adams: fig and walnut tart with pomegranate syrup and zabaglione
• Lee: East Meets West fruit plate with blackberry "ravioli" and Thai basil

There were some head-scratching decisions being made here. I get the spirituality of Rick Tramonto but I thought those culinary/inspirational cards were totally out of place on the plate, much less in a culinary competition. You want to do that in your restaurant, that's cool, but really?

Susur Lee went way over the top with his plate, an East-meets-West cacophony of flavors, textures, and colors that was visually confusing and a little off-putting. I think had he just stuck to those gorgeous and inventive "raviolis," he would have fared better here.

I wasn't sure what to make of Debbie Gold's pecan tempura-fried figs, which I found confusing and odd. A misstep there. And I got what Maria Hines was attempting to do with her starter-entree-dessert concept but it didn't quite work as they all seemed a bit like dessert to me. Had she really wanted to nail the concept, she could have made the first two offerings more overtly savory rather than sweet.

Which left Adams, who absolutely nailed the task, despite nearly destroying her pastry in the flash-freezer. Her dish--fig and walnut tart with pomegranate syrup and zabaglione--was clean, beautifully presented, and made fantastic use of the fruit on offer. It's no surprise that she won... and walked away with a guaranteed spot among the champions, giving her immunity in the upcoming Elimination Challenge.

For that challenge, the chefs had to prepare an cast and crew meal for the, uh, cast and crew of ABC's Modern Family, who--along with the critics--would decide which other chef would advance to the next round. They were tasked with taking a traditional family meal and infusing it with a more modern sensibility.

Here's what they each prepared:

Elimination Challenge:

• Tramonto: truffled white beans with escarole and grilled sausage
• Hines: sockeye salmon with sumac, lemon, paprika potatoes, French beans, and almond mink
• Gold: glazed pork loin with apple butter and winter squash slaw
Adams: braised chicken thighs with mushrooms, semolina gnocchi, and herb salad
• Lee: roasted chicken and farce curry with polenta and grits, tomato jam, chili-mint chutney, and grilled pineapple

I thought that Tramonto's dish looked absolutely fantastic but it didn't really seem all that modern, despite his argument that the use of the truffle oil elevated his dish from its more humble roots. (Personally, I would have used fresh truffle in addition to truffle oil, if that was his argument.) It seemed a little more homey than I think the critics anticipated here.

I had a feeling that Hines would do well with her sockeye salmon dish, which fused the sort of traditional Pacific Northwest comfort food staple with an ultra-modern approach with the use of the almond milk, a genius addition that was wholly modern and also helped to keep the salmon moist. I also appreciated her use of undervalued (at least in American cuisine) sumac, which I wish I'd see more of. Definitely modern and creative... and despite Tramonto's line about seeing Hines' mistakes, she scored better than he did here.

Gold was critiqued for the fact that her glaze and apple butter rendered the pork too sweet and she was also taken to task for the fact that the pork was way undercooked and stringy. Gold seemed aware of this back during the first prep period, yet never really was able to turn it around, despite opting to grill the loins instead of putting them back into the slow-cooker.

Adams had immunity but she still scored well for her chicken and gnocchi dish, which would have been considered pretty classic family fare but her addition of a fresh herb salad took the plate into the more modern era. It's little touches like that which can transform a dish into something else. Well played.

But it was Susur Lee who used the Elimination Challenge as an opportunity to redeem himself after his disastrous showing in the Quickfire. Here, he delivered a stunning dish of curry with roasted chicken and farce (a chicken sausage), polenta and grits, tomato jam, chili-mint chutney, and grilled pineapple. While Jay Rayner thought the pineapple out of place on the plate, it was the only criticism of an otherwise flawless dish that earned five stars from every critic and a nearly perfect score from the diners, giving him 19 1/2 stars, the highest score in Top Chef Masters history. No surprise that he'll be moving on to the champions round with Joey Adams, both of whom did quite extraordinary work this week.

I loved the way that the cast of Modern Family jumped into the challenge, with Julie Bowen asking each of the chefs repeatedly, "what's that?" (It was beyond cute.) And Rico Rodriguez, not surprisingly, got in a fantastic line about liking spice in his life. Seeing Eric Stonestreet, Sofia Vergara, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ariel Winter, and co-creator Steve Levitan (along with Bowen and Rodriguez) discussing the chefs' food warmed my heart to no end. These guys are absolutely adorable.

Do you agree with the critics' decisions? Would you have sent Lee and Adams to the next round? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Wedding Wars"), the champions round begins as the master chefs compete in a blindfolded relay race; later, teams are challenged to cater a wedding out of mobile kitchens.

Pub Grub: The Master Chefs Have to Remake Homey Classics on Top Chef Masters

Ah, pub food.

For all of its humble origins, British pub food is exactly what I crave on a long, cold night, conjuring up an image of a roaring fireplace and a nice pint of lager. It's earthy, homey, stick-to-your ribs sort of food and it's just as often terrible when it's made without care or love. But in the right hands and in the right kitchen, it's just the thing to banish the mid-winter blues.

On this week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("Pub Food"), six master chefs from Season One--Jonathan Waxman, Ludo Lefebvre, Mark Peel, Rick Moonen, Wylie Dufresne, and Graham Elliot Bowles--returned with a second shot at glory as they reunited in the Top Chef kitchen to compete for charity, a spot in the next round of competition, and a chance to redeem themselves.

But in order to do so they'd not only have to craft a dish best paired with a specific Stoli-based cocktail (and serve it to--of all people--cast members from Bravo's Real Housewives of Orange County) and then reinvent some humble pub grub and transform it into something they'd serve in their own restaurants.

So how did these master chefs cope with the pressure a second time around? Let's discuss.

I have to say that I like challenges where it pushes the chefs out of their comfort zones. After all, the producers of original-flavor Top Chef force their competitors to take on complex and often frustrating challenges, so why shouldn't these master chefs--who have considerably more experience than the other competitors--be put through the ringer just as much? Here, they were forced to pair food with cocktails and reinvent British pub food into something sophisticated and modern, food more along the lines of the high-end British gastropub concept: simple concepts that have been elevated and produced with high-quality ingredients.

For their Quickfire Challenge, the chefs were given a chance to sample some Stoli-based cocktails and then select one that they would then pair with a dish that they they felt embodied and complimented the cocktail they had chosen. It's far easier to pair food with wine than it is cocktails, which often have exotic and fruit-based ingredients that are far more challenging to match with the food on the plate.

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

Quickfire Challenge:

• Bowles (coriander mule): crudo of black cod with an edamame and red onion salad
• Waxman (lemongrass mojito): pork tenderloin and poblano-stuffed shrimp with avocado butter
• Lefebvre (nutmeg apple mojito): roasted pork chop with rosemary, thyme, and garlic
• Peel (ginger figgle): mussels custard with lime and figs
• Moonen (forest fruits): cream biscuit berry shortcake
• Dufresne (Russian Tea Room): arctic char with lentils, bacon, crispy potatoes, and lemon yogurt

Proving that the simplest dish is often the best, Waxman finished a whole twenty minutes before everyone else and walked away the winner of the Quickfire Challenge, thanks to his elegant yet simple dish of pork tenderloin and poblano-stuffed shrimp. He wisely intuited that the judges--here the cast of Real Housewives of Orange County--didn't want huge plates of food but rather smaller bites that complimented the drink; the heat of his dish was balanced nicely by the lemongrass in his drink and Waxman proved that he was a force to be reckoned with for a reason.

As for the others, it's hard to say that anyone had a bad dish, per se, but the Housewives sure were picky about everything, with several of them expressing contradictory opinions or just outright dislike of certain ingredients (ginger being one of them).

But it was Waxman who clearly set the tone for the entire episode, with his dexterity manipulating simple ingredients in a complex way, allowing the flavors on the plate to stand out more than trickery or theatricality. Simple is often just better.

But for their elimination challenge, they'd have to take a simple dish and elevate it to a new level. In this case, British pub food. Having won the Quickfire, Waxman was able to get first pick from six standard classics, selecting shepherd's pie (always a favorite of mine) and leaving the others to squabble over the remainder. Particularly Moonen and Lefebvre, who nearly came to blows over fish and chips. (While Ludo was a little whiny about it, I do have to agree that seafood expert Moonen shouldn't have been able to cook to his strengths quite so blatantly.)

Here's what they prepared:

Elimination Challenge:

• Bowles (steak and kidney pie): free-form steak and kidney pie with roasted beef tenderloin, chanterelle puree and bacon-kidney vinaigrette
• Waxman (shepherd's pie): shepherd's pie with lamb, mashed potatoes, and parmesan cheese
• Lefebvre (Irish lamb stew): beef tenderloin with confit of potatoes and clarified butter, roasted peanut miso and caramel of Guinness
• Peel (toad in the hole): toad in the hole with seafood sausage, onion sauce, lobster broth, and mustard greens
• Moonen (fish and chips): chicken-fried sable with lemon confit tartar sauce, twice-fried potatoes, and fennel slaw
• Dufresne (bangers and mash): Merguez sausage, smoked mashed potatoes, onion jus, and julienned snow peas

I thought that Bowles' presentation was gorgeous. He really thought about the elements of the dish and applied some skill and vision to elevating the humble steak and kidney pie to a new level, though the judges did seem to think that he had a particular aversion to kidneys and tried to mask their flavor rather than let them shine. (Me, I'm also averse to them as well.) Kudos for his chanterelles and his vinaigrette.

Waxman once again stuck with the basics, preparing a simple dish with very few elements on the plate and made them shine. I wondered if his mash was a little too liquidy but it didn't matter as it seemed to approximate something akin to a bechamel in consistency: creamy, loose, and flavorful, it set atop perfectly cooked lamb, taking shepherd's pie to a new level of transcendence.

Lefebvre seemed to hate Irish lamb stew from the start, instead delivering a dish that seemed to have stopovers in every major city other than Dublin. Miso and peanuts? Caramel? Raw root vegetables? He couldn't stop denigrating the lamb stew and puffing himself up about the "work of art" that was his dish... But the judges and the diners didn't exactly see eye to eye on that.

Poor Mark Peel. I thought he had some really good ideas for translating toad in the hole to fine dining, making his own sausage but out of seafood, creating a lobster broth, and adding mustard greens to the mix. But, thanks to a cold oven (and therefore cold oil), his Yorkshire pudding--one of the key elements of the dish--turned into a doughy, undercooked abomination rather than the light and ethereal--and burnished--treat that Yorkshire pudding is. Very sad as I have a lot of respect for Peel and he was let down here.

I mentioned before that I thought that Moonen should have gotten something other than fish and chips to work with. A seafood guru, he offered a nice plate that offered some changes to pub standard fish and chips but I wasn't really all that impressed. Sure, it looked good and the judges raved about the sable and the slaw but they seemed very disappointed in the chips, which were far too big and got tough as they cooled. Still, give a seafood expert a fish...

I thought that Wylie Dufresne handled himself far better here than he did in his appearance on Season One of Top Chef Masters, where he seemed to almost have a meltdown in the kitchen and was unable to deal with the timecrunch and the pressure of competing. While he threw himself into a rivalry with Bowles, Dufresne concentrated much more on his own performance this time, delivering a knock-out dish that didn't have any molecular gastronomy tricks but rather just a beautiful plate that offered some tweaks to bangers and mash (smoked mashed potatoes, snow peas, onion jus). The only complaint was that the Merguez was slightly overcooked.

But ultimately, it was Waxman and Moonen who moved onto the next round. I could have called that from the start of the Elimination Challenge, but I was really hoping that Bowles could have been in there instead of Moonen.

What did you think of this week's episode? Agree with the critics' verdict? Who would you have sent on and who should have been sent packing? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Cast and Crew Meal"), the master chefs take on craft services as they prepare meals for the cast and crew of ABC's Modern Family.

Soul Food Celebration: Grilled Cheese and Poolside Stew on Top Chef Masters

If you're participating in a reality competition series, should you help out a competitor if they find themselves in the weeds? And does the answer to that question change if you're competing for charity?

This week's episode of Top Chef Masters ("It's My Party"), the season's second, welcomed five new master chefs to the Top Chef kitchen--Carmen Gonzalez, David Burke, Marcus Samuelsson, Monica Pope, and Thierry Rautureau--as they made their way through a Quickfire Challenged designed to tie into National Grilled Cheese Month (yum!) and catered a soul food-themed birthday party atop the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills (about a block away from where I live) for actor Mekhi Phifer (ER).

But one chef found themselves in a bit of a bind when they realized they had left a crucial element of their dish back at the the Top Chef kitchen and had to return to collect it while the timer continued to tick down. Which is where the above question really came from. Given that these are master chefs who are competing for glory, certainly, but also charity, should they have put their own dishes at risk to help out their colleague? Or should they forge ahead and not give said colleague's success or failure a second thought?

Ordinarily, I think reality competition series are all about the individual's chance of winning but with charity donations on the line, doesn't everyone really win in the end? These guys have all had enormous success so shouldn't need the validation of a Top Chef Masters win to further massage their egos.

I was happy to see that the producers ditched last week's doubles arrangement to allow the master chefs to compete individually. I think it just makes more sense for the series and for these famous faces to compete on their own. (That said, I would have been really angry if I had been one of last week's losers to see that the chefs won or lost based on their own dishes and not those of their partner's.)

This week, the chefs were tasked with creating an outrageous grilled cheese for Kelly Choi in under twenty minutes. There would be no guest judges and no other palate to think about other than Kelly's. One of the chefs--I believe it was Carmen Gonzalez--said that the best way to test a chef's prowess is to order the simplest thing on the menu. I'd agree with that: not only does it force the ingredients and preparation to shine but there's nowhere for the chef to hide their mistakes. It's either flawless or a mess, with no real middle ground.

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

Quickfire Challenge (Grilled Cheese):

• Carmen Gonzalez: Italian Baguette with manchego, garlic, cilantro, and lime
• David Burke: triple-cream Cheese with prosciutto, almonds, tomato, and rosemary
• Marcus Samuelsson: grilled gruyere and cheddar with tomato gazpacho & salad
• Monica Pope: feta on raisin walnut bread with basil, cilantro, and mint salad
• Thierry Rautureau: grilled taleggio & goat cheese with olives, harissa and a pear, pine nut and baby arugula salad

Grilled cheese is a funny thing: slap two pieces of bread around some cheese and melt it and you can call the dish done. But the humble grilled cheese can take some massive gastronomic improvements and encapsulate just about anything melted between some sort of bread.

While Samuelsson offered a full meal on his plate--a grilled cheese, a gazpacho soup, and a salad--I didn't really feel like he pushed the actual grilled cheese to another level. (A fan of Samuelsson's cooking, I actually didn't feel like he came off particularly well in this episode.) Burke overloaded his plate with a ton of ingredients that didn't really seem to gel all that well (almonds and prosciutto AND a whole pickle?).

The magnificently hatted Rautureau offered up an almost inside-out take on the grilled cheese with taleggio on the outside of the bread but Choi chided him for not having enough taleggio (a virtual reversal from last week's episode when James Oseland believed that the taleggio was too strong). Gonzalez offered a Latin twist on the Italian sub that was nicely spiced.

But it was Pope who won this with one hand tied behind her back, delivering a flawless and drool-inducing feta on raisin walnut bread with basil, cilantro, and mint salad, an exotic grilled cheese that seemed to bridge Greece and the Middle East somehow, evoking a Marrakesh market stall redolent with heady spices. Well done. Considering her nervousness going into the episode, I was impressed with how well Pope delivered the goods here. I can honestly say that I wanted to reach into the television and have myself one of those grilled cheeses right then. Yum.

But that was only the first challenge; next, the master chefs would have to get in touch with their inner selves to deliver their own takes on soul food for a party of 150 people celebrating the birthday of actor Mekhi Phifer at the Thompson Hotel rooftop pool.

Here's what these masterful chefs prepared...

Elimination Challenge (Soul Food):

• Carmen Gonzalez: oyster & hot sausage stew with cilantro
• David Burke: sweet potato custard with green beans, corn & crab BBQ, pickled watermelon, and hush puppies
• Marcus Samuelsson: BBQ chicken with mac & cheese and collard greens
• Monica Pope: peel and eat shrimp, mac and cheese-style grits, with smokin' ocra, pickled green beans, and tomato jam
Thierry Rautureau: Moroccan-spiced pork shoulder, farro, roasted cauliflower, and Brussels sprout slaw

It's important to note that Gonzalez, having left the stew at the Top Chef kitchen, had to return there during their scheduled on-site prep time in order to pick it up and return back to Beverly Hills... all during insane Los Angeles rush hour traffic. No easy feat and it left Gonzalez with just the stew to serve up as she had no time to prepare her yucca for the mash. After freaking out about the missing stew, she asked her fellow competitors to prepare her yucca and keep an eye on it while she raced back and forth between the Thompson and Top Chef HQ.

Which is where things went wrong. (Or right, depending on how you look at it.) I was happy to see that several of the chefs were more than willing to lend Gonzalez a hand, even though they were racing against the clock to complete their own dishes. There should be a sense of camaraderie and support among these master chefs, who aren't eager and hungry young upstarts but established professionals in their own rights with reputations and vast careers. Which is what really irked me about Samuelsson. Yes, this is a competition but at the end of the day, you're competing for a charity; to get so focused on a personal need to win and to conquer the other chefs puts a bad taste in my mouth. Samuelsson flat out refused to help Gonzalez, an odd position that earned him some confused reactions from his fellow master chefs. Not cool.

Experimentalist Burke once again overloaded his plate with a variety of elements but everyone--especially Gail Simmons and James Oseland--praised him for his pickled watermelon, a preparation he had never attempted in the past. I also appreciated the little deft touches: the egg shell serving as vessel for the custard and crab hash, the wrapped hush puppy. But too much bacon, the lack of cohesion between the custard and the hash sealed his fate.

Pope had what Simmons called "the most soulful dish" of the season and praised Pope's grits, which earlier Jay Rayner hadn't really appreciated all that much, saying that it was "an acquired taste which [he] hadn't acquired." (Ouch.) Oseland praised the spicing and flavor, saying that she elevated the dish to a new level, while the jam and pickled veg were also praised. But Pope's dish was marred by a major problem: the peel-and-eat shrimp that she had purposely left in their shells were completely undercooked. Eeek. (I felt really bad for Pope at the end of the episode, as she said that the lesson she learned from this experience, because of Samuelsson, was to just look after herself.)

Samuelsson's chicken and mac and cheese were universally praised, with the succulence of the chicken and the almost deconstructed nature of his mac and cheese getting major points, but the critics really seemed to almost take offense to the fussiness and complexity of the collard greens. While Samuelsson defended his approach, saying that he didn't want to compete with grandma, there's something to be said for simplicity and rustic quality of the greens. You don't need to mess with perfection. Still, it was a minor flaw in an otherwise perfect dish, earning Samuelsson a place in the champions round.

Rautureau took some risks with his dish that paid off beautifully, with the Brussels sprouts slaw (delicious!) and farro (unusual for a soul food dish) being singled out for excellence but several of the critics seemed unhappy with his decision to keep the corn and onion in his salad raw. His thought was that spicy food needs a cooling element and the rawness of these ingredients would be able to capture that sensation. But Rayner and Simmons were both concerned by the amount of elements jostling on the plate that didn't really complement each other. Just way too much going on there.

Gonzalez explained the circumstances that led to her abandoning her yucca mash, originally intended to sit underneath the stew, but having to race back and get the stew (while sadly the yucca burned) left her scrambling for a new direction. She thickened the stew and served it very simply with some cilantro, creating a pared down yet soulful dish that--very surprisingly, in fact--ended up making her the winner of this round. Hell, it didn't even matter that she didn't make that sausage herself.

I'm really impressed that Gonzalez managed to pull off a victory when faced with such setbacks. She nearly threw in the towel early on when she returned to the hotel and I'm glad that she continued to persevere and push through. It proves, yet again, that it's not over until it's over.

What did you think of this week's episode? Would you have awarded Gonzalez the top spot? Was Samuelsson right not to help Gonzalez? Head to the comments section to discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("Pub Food"), the master chefs must convince high-brow clients of pub grub's merits as they try to show that flair and flavor can be found elsewhere than just in haute cuisine.

Smoke and Mirrors Gourmet: First Dates on Top Chef Masters

It's good to have an iteration of Top Chef back on television, a breath of fresh air--or the enticing aroma of cooking, at least, wafting through my TiVo.

Last night's season premiere ("First Date Dinners") found the first week's six master chefs--Ana Sortun, Govind Armstrong, Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Susan Feniger, and Tony Mantuano--competing for a shot at the next round and a sizable donation to the charity of their choice when they were forced to contend with a flashback Quickfire Challenge from the very first season of Top Chef and an Elimination Challenge that tested not only their skills in the kitchen but also how well they could work with their teammate to conceptualize a duo-plated dish.

What's that you say? Teammate? Yes, these masters were paired together throughout the entire episode, making it even more essential that they stopped thinking of themselves as the chief and more as partner chefs if they had any hope of coming out on top. It was a novel conceit for the first episode of the new season but I do hope that subsequent weeks find these masters more on their own. I'd hate to see some exceptionally talented chefs sent home each episode because their partner wasn't quite up to snuff that week.

But that's a thought for another day. In the meantime, here's what I thought of last night's installment.

I have to say that I thought that the Gas Station Creation Quickfire was one of my favorites of all time from Top Chef because it really pushes the chefs to come up with something innovative and exciting out of the most humdrum ingredients. Necessity may be the mother of invention, but limitations can also prove to be the gateway to some real creativity. While the producers managed to trick the chefs into thinking they were going to be preparing some Chinese food as their cars began driving around Los Angeles' Chinatown district, it was a particularly funny ploy to get them to the gas station convenient store, where many of them were baffled by what to do and thrown by the fact that the menus they had painstakingly created during the ride over were now absolutely useless.

I have a lot of respect for Govind Armstrong but in this episode, he really managed to rub me the wrong way. Perhaps it was his snooty attitude towards Quickfire judges The Bravery or his abhorrence at having to pick ingredients from a gas station. But the 8 Oz. Burger Bar (and former Table 8) chef has been a judge on Top Chef before and should have known what he was getting into here. I also didn't like the way that he seemed to laugh at partner Jimmy Bradley (of Red Cat and The Harrison) for offering a cold dish... even though the critics seemed to like Bradley's lamb carpaccio far more than Armstrong's chop.

But enough on that front. What did the chefs prepare this week? Let's a closer look...

Quickfire Challenge:

• Jimmy Bradley and Govind Armstrong: Cheetos macaroni with grilled Slim Jims and tomato soup
• Tony Mantuano and Susan Feniger: maple bread pudding with caramelized bananas
• Ana Sortun and Jerry Traunfeld: crispy rice cake with "Clamesco" sauce

Even if Bradley and Armstrong had selected the right colored Cheetos for their dish, it still would have seemed not that original. Not helping them here was the fact that everything appeared in the same color range of browns and reds, creating a single palette that wasn't all that flattering, particularly the radioactive macaroni and cheese which did not look appetizing at all. I was really impressed with the presentation done by Sortun and Traunfeld here, delivering a plate that looked restaurant-ready rather than something that had been prepared from ingredients chosen at a gas station. While the dish prepared by Mantuano and Feniger (for whom the word "kooky" must have been invented) wasn't the prettiest, it showed--I thought, anyway--the most thought and creativity, crafting a wholesome and rich dessert out of the ingredients they found. And it certainly made Mantuano see Feniger in a different light, to boot. I wasn't surprised that this duo walked away with the Quickfire win.

For their Elimination Challenge, the chefs would have to work in concert once again to produce a duo that would be served to 30 couples on their first date. This was a particularly tricky endeavor because date food needs to be inherently romantic and appetizing but also can't be too messy or difficult to eat because the couples are virtual strangers. There needs to be the sense of creating intimacy between the diners without forcing it.

Here's what our master chefs prepared:

• Jimmy Bradley and Govind Armstrong: lamb carpaccio with mache salad; roast lamb chop with cauliflower couscous and pomegranate reduction
• Tony Mantuano and Susan Feniger: black pepper shrimp and scallops; homemade pasta with taleggio and black truffles, arugula salad
• Ana Sortun and Jerry Traunfeld: lavender-crusted duck breast with red cabbage and pomegranate; duck leg buried in vermicelli with orange blossom and smoked cinnamon almonds

I'm glad that the chefs singled out Bradley for praise for his remarkable lamb carpaccio; I'll admit that I blanched a little when he mentioned that he was serving essentially raw lamb to couples on their first date, envisioning a steely metallic tang to the meat but by searing the outside and chilling it, Bradley created an ethereal dish that elevated by the beautiful mache salad. Less fantastic, actually, was Armstrong's own lamb chops, which were tougher and more forwardly lamb-esque than their carapaccio counterparts. The critics did love the cauliflower couscous but when your protein is outshone by the veg, that's a problem.

I'm glad to see how well Mantuano and Feniger worked together here. Rather than offer a variation on a protein as the other two teams did, they thought a bit more outside of the box, instead creating a narrative on the plate and placing the emphasis on the exotic and romantic qualities of world travel. Mantuano offered a gorgeous multi-layered ravioli stuffed with young taleggio (which James Oseland maintained was too strong and pungent) while Feniger offered a play on black pepper crab, infusing shrimp and scallops with a vivid and spicy broth. Well played.

I liked the conceit that Sortun and Traunfeld came up: to not only link their dishes with protein--duck, in this case--but also with some key ingredients like ginger and cinnamon and edible flowers. Traunfeld crusted his duck breast in lavender while Sortun used orange blossom with her duck soup. While Traunfeld nailed his side of the dish, effortlessly searing the duck to perfection, Sortun hadn't really thought her dish through enough. I loved the concept and its homey warmth but the critics were right to ask how she expected the diners to eat the duck buried under the vermicelli noodles. It's hard to get a knife and fork into a small bowl and Sortun would have been better off pre-cutting the duck meat into bite-size pieces, as they suggested.

Ultimately, it was the odd couple pairing of Mantuano and Feniger who took home the win this week, winning their individual charities a hefty donation and advancing to the next round of competition. I'm excited to see what they're able to do next time and I'm glad to see Feniger rising to the top of the pack with her kookiness intact.

What did you think of this week's episode? Agree with the critics' verdict? Would you have awarded the top spot to Feniger and Mantuano? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef Masters ("It's My Party"), six new master chefs must cater a celebrity birthday party.

The Masterclass Returns: Top Chef Masters Premieres Tonight on Bravo

Get your knives ready: Top Chef Masters returns tonight with a brand-new season of culinary competition, extreme criticism, and put-upon expressions as another batch of 22 master chefs (including some familiar faces, six in number, who get another shot) return to the Top Chef kitchen to compete for charity.

Be sure to stay up for tonight's fantastic season premiere of Top Chef Masters ("First Date Dinners"), airing at 11 pm ET/PT (don't worry: the series relocates to 10 pm next week), in which six master chefs--Ana Sortun, Govind Armstrong, Jerry Traunfeld, Jimmy Bradley, Susan Feniger, and Tony Mantuano--are put through their paces with a Quickfire and Elimination Challenge that will test their conceptual, execution, and time management skills while putting a charitable donation--and the ability to advance to the next round--on the line.

The competition has always been fierce on Top Chef--the forebear of this series which instead features up-and-coming chefs looking for restaurant seed money--but, given the high-profile that these master chefs have, there's even more pressure to prove themselves.

I don't want to say too much about tonight's episode, other than the fact that it's the perfect introduction to the series if you missed the first season of Top Chef Masters while also offering the requisite level of skill and drama that we've come to know and love, as well as astute--if sometimes biting--criticisms from the table of critics assembled here, including James Oseland, Gael Greene, Gail Simmons, and Jay Rayner. (Simmons isn't in tonight's episode, which I previewed, but I imagine that she'll appear in the rotation at some point down the line.)

While the six chefs entering this first round include some very well-known chefs--including Los Angeles' Susan Feniger (of Street) and Govind Armstrong (of 8 oz. Burger and formerly Table 8)--they find themselves thrown into the deep end just as much as the junior competitors on the regular Top Chef series, as they are forced to recreate one of the trickiest Quickfire Challenges (where all of the ingredients must come from a gas station convenience store) and prepare a dish for couples on their first date.

There is a catch and it's a big one: these masters are paired off at random in tonight's episode and will win or fail as a single unit, with two of them advancing to the next round. Given that these are giants of the culinary world, it's pretty big task to have them work together and have to succeed as a team rather than individuals. On the one hand, I admire the series' producers for forcing them into even more uncomfortable waters but I also can't help but wonder just how each of them would have performed solo with these tasks, given their skill sets and experience levels.

Still, that's the only complaint I have about a season premiere that's completely captivating and engaging. One chef makes a blunder of a comment about having to work with another chef and is forced to eat his words later when he sees what a great collaborator she is, making him perhaps question his earlier snap judgment. It's moments like that that allow Top Chef Masters to not place these culinary gods on pedestals but instead force them to get their hands dirty with the rest of the mortals. And if they learn something about themselves and their fellow chefs, so much the better.

Me, I just can't wait to see what they cook up next as I'll be making a reservation for this delicious culinary competition series each week.


Top Chef Masters premieres tonight at 11 pm ET/PT before moving into its regular timeslot of 10 pm next week.

Channel Surfing: Cuthbert Gets "Happy Endings," Betty White to Host "SNL," Madsen Clocks in for "24," Acker Finds "Human Target," and More

Welcome to your Thursday morning television briefing.

Elisha Cuthbert (24) has been cast as the female lead in ABC comedy pilot Happy Endings, where she will play Alex, a woman whose relationship ends at the alter and she and her would-have-been husband have to figure out how they and their friends can keep their relationship intact. Project, from writer David Caspe, directors Anthony and Joe Russo, and Sony Pictures Television, also stars Adam Pally, Casey Wilson, Eliza Coupe, and Damon Wayans, Jr. (Hollywood Reporter)

Facebook has spoken and Lorne Michaels has listened: 88-year-old Betty White (The Proposal) will be hosting NBC's Saturday Night Live on May 8th. "It took on a groundswell," Michaels told USA Today's Gary Levin. "It isn't something we would have said no to, [but the campaign] validated that... It was the outpouring of affection from fans, and we feel the same way." White's episode will also feature former SNL-ers Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Molly Shannon, Ana Gasteyer, Maya Rudolph, and Rachel Dratch. (USA Today)

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Michael Madsen (Kill Bill) will be turning up later this season on FOX's 24, where he will play "an ex-military guy from Jack Bauer’s past." (TV Guide Magazine)

Amy Acker (Dollhouse) is slated to guest star in the season finale of FOX's Human Target, according to series star Mark Valley. "Baptiste [Lennie James] comes back, and Amy Acker shows up and plays this one character who's very pivotal in Chance's past," Valley told reporters on a recent press call, "she was the catalyst for him becoming Christopher Chance." (via Digital Spy)

Richard Kind (A Serious Man) and Ian Hart (Dirt) have been cast in David Milch and Michael Mann's HBO horseracing drama pilot Luck, opposite Dustin Hoffman, Nick Nolte, Dennis Farina, and John Ortiz. Kind will play a jockey's agent, while Hart will play "a loudmouth who comes into some cash and bankrolls a series of Pick Six bets." (Variety)

Mamie Gumer (The Good Wife) has been cast as one of the leads in Shonda Rhimes' ABC medical drama pilot Off the Map, where she will play Mina Minard, a doctor who takes a position in a remote South American medical clinic. Gumer, the daughter of Meryl Streep, will star opposite Caroline Dhavernas, Enrique Murciano, Jason George, Martin Henderson, and Valerie Cruz. (TVGuide.com)

Bravo has ramped up its development on both the unscripted and scripted fronts. The cabler announced at yesterday's upfront that it had ordered Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Miami Social Club, Million Dollar Decorators, and Pregnant in Heelsto series, renewed The Fashion Show, Million Dollar Listing, Real Housewives of Atlanta, and Tabatha's Salon Takeover, and was developing several unscripted series, including Around the World in 80 Plates, Commander in Chef, Hitmakers, Fashion Masters, and an untitled docusoap following So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Mia Michaels. On the scripted front, Bravo is developing two dramas, including a Darren Star-executive produced musical-drama adaptation of Josh Kilmer-Purcell's book "I'm Not Myself These Days," about a New York City power broker who moonlights as a drag queen at night, and an untitled dramedy from writers Damian Harris and Gary Marks about a high-end hotel that offers male escorts to its guests. (Variety)

Pilot casting update: Traylor Howard (Monk) will star opposite Dana Gould in Gould's untitled ABC comedy pilot; Lyndsy Fonseca (How I Met Your Mother) will star opposite Maggie Q in the CW's remake of Nikita; Maria Thayer (State of Play), Lauren Weedman (Hung), and Mahaley Hessam (Easy A) have joined the cast of Larry Charles' NBC comedy pilot Our Show; James Frain (The Tudors) has scored one of the leads in NBC vigilante drama pilot The Cape; Stephen Rea (Father and Son) has been cast in CBS drama pilot Chaos; David Gallagher (7th Heaven) has joined CW's supernatural drama pilot Betwixt; Sonja Sohn (The Wire) has been cast in ABC drama pilot Body of Evidence opposite Dana Delany; Raoul Trujillo (True Blood) has been added to the cast of ABC drama pilot Edgar Floats; Will Sasso (MADtv) and Stephanie Lemelin (Cavemen) have joined the cast of CBS' comedy pilot Shit My Dad Says. Finally, FOX is recasting two roles on Greg Garcia's comedy pilot Keep Hope Alive, with The Riches' Shannon Marie Woodward landing one of the available spots. (Hollywood Reporter)

BBC America will segue to becoming a dual-feed network on Monday, April 26th. Move means that primetime and late night scheduled will be changed as the cabler will air programming at the same time in both Eastern and Pacific time zones. The British-themed network also announced that it will bring back Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look in April, which also marks the launch of Season Five of Doctor Who. (via press release)

ABC has ordered a pilot from executive producer Mark Burnett for unusual game show Trust Me, I'm a Game Show Host, in which two hosts will compete with the contestants on a variety of topics in front of a live audience. One of the hosts will be telling the truth, the other lying, and the contestants will have to figure out which is which. (Hollywood Reporter)

SPOILER! Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello talks to The Good Wife executive producer Robert King about whether Alicia (Julianna Margulies) and Will (Josh Charles) will ever hook up. "[They have] one of the most complicated relationships… because it really is a friendship that doesn’t want to lose its friendship by going to the next step," King told Ausiello. "There’s an episode [coming up in April] that’s all about not knowing what a jury is thinking and it’s a metaphor for how Alicia and Will can’t get into each other’s heads. During this trial, they have to make moves, guessing where the jury is headed. Sometimes we see that they’re just completely wrong." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Gene Hunt returns! BBC has a first look at Season Three of 1983-set sci-fi/period/trippy drama Ashes to Ashes, featuring Philip Glenister's Gene Hunt and Keeley Hawes' Alex Drake, which returns to BBC One for its final season of eight episodes this spring. Dean Andrews, Marshall Lancaster, and Montserrat Lombard all return, and the team gets a new member in Daniel Mays' Jim Keats, a discipline and complaints officer who adds "an unsettling twist to the team dynamic." Look for the final season of Ashes to resolve its mysteries as well as those lingering from its predecessor, Life on Mars. (BBC)

E! Online's Kristin Dos Santos has a first look at the four original cast members from FOX's Melrose Place--Heather Locklear, Thomas Calabro, Josie Bissett, and Daphne Zuniga--reuniting on the CW revival series. "We've had visits by original castmembers throughout the year, and we all thought, 'Let's get them together in one show,'" executive producer Darren Swimmer told E! Online. "One of the highlights of the season for me was walking on the set to see all four original castmembers together on the courtyard staircase. There was a true sense of reunion in the room, and I think you can see in their performances how tickled they are to be acting together again." (E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

The CW is developing two reality competition series, including Stone & Co's One Mass Dance, which features choreographers who assemble a huge dance team from three cities and then perform a "mass dance" in front of surprised viewers, and 25/7's Shed to Wed, in which couples compete to lose weight before their weddings. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Planet Green is preparing to launch a 24-hour daily schedule, including a three-hour primetime block of programming called Verge on March 29th, which will feature such series as Future Food, Living with Ed, Conviction Kitchen, Operation Wild, Blood, Sweat and Takeaways, and off-net acquisition 30 Days. (Hollywood Reporter)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Michael Trucco Finds "V," Amy Smart Lands CBS Pilot, Final Barbara Walters Oscar Special to Air this Year, and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing. Given that it's the day after a US holiday, there are precious few headlines this morning but here's what we've got.

TVGuide.com's Natalie Abrams is reporting that Michael Trucco (Battlestar Galactica) has been cast as a guest star on ABC's sci-fi drama V. Trucco is set to appear in the April 13th episode as the enigmatic John May, the leader of the Fifth Column, a group of rebel Visitors who have been plotting to overthrow the leadership of the alien race. (TVGuide.com)

A slew of pilot castings: Amy Smart (Scrubs) has been cast in CBS' untitled medical drama from executive producer John Wells (ER) and writer Hannah Shakespeare (The Philanthropist) about a mobile medical team that travels the US and helps those less fortunate yet in need of serious medical attention. Smart will play Meg Cooper, "a tough nurse who stands up to the doctors and sleeps with one of them." Elsewhere, Michelle Borth (The Forgotten) has been cast as the female lead in ABC drama pilot Matadors, where she will play Juliana, described as "a talented lawyer who joins her father in the state attorney's office and embarks on a secret affair with Alex (Zach Gilford), an heir of the rival family who works at his father's firm." [Editor: casting is in second position to her role on ABC's The Forgotten, which has yet to be renewed or cancelled.] Also cast: Jonathan Scarfe (Raising the Bar), who will play Alex's brother, a defense attorney who is in for the money and glory rather than any sense of justice or morality. Brian Dennehy (Rules of Engagement) will star opposite creator Dana Gould in an untitled multi-camera comedy pilot for ABC; Dennehy will play Gould's father, a retired high school football coach. Finally, Sullivan Stapleton (Satisfaction) has been cast as the lead in CBS multi-camera comedy pilot The Odds, about a team of police officers in Las Vegas that solves outrageous crimes; he'll play Wade, the head of the homicide division who is bumped down after an IA investigation. (Hollywood Reporter)

This will be the last year that Barbara Walters hosts her Oscar night special. The final Barbara Walters Special will air the same night as the 82nd Annual Academy Awards on March 7th; Walters has been hosting the special for 29 years but felt that she had begun to "feel like I've 'been there, done that.'" (Variety)

Wrestling franchise ECW will end its run today on Syfy and will be replaced February 23rd by NXT, a new hour-long series from World Wrestling Entertainment that will "pair up eight of WWE's current stars with rookies that come from Florida Championship Wrestling, the company's talent development camp in Tampa, Florida" and will feature "pros mentoring rookies, with egos often getting in the way, as they learn the ropes of competing in the ring in front of live audiences, creating characters and speaking on camera." (Variety)

Bravo executive Johanna Fuentes been hired by Showtime Networks as VP of corporate public relations. Fuentes will be based in New York and will report to Richard Licata. [Editor: Congratulations, Johanna! Glad it's public knowledge now!] (Hollywood Reporter)

UK satellite company BSkyB is said to be in talks with Virgin Media about acquiring the latter's TV channels business, which includes Living, Virgin 1, and a 50 percent stake in UKTV. (Variety)

Stay tuned.

Channel Surfing: Justin Kirk Gets "Modern Family," "Top Chef Masters," Leslie Hope Returns to "The Mentalist," and More

Welcome to your Wednesday television briefing.

TV Guide Magazine's Will Keck is reporting that Weeds' Justin Kirk has landed a guest starring role on ABC's Modern Family but says that there is potential that he could recur later this season or next. Kirk will play Lee Keizler, the "gung-ho and athletic boss" of Jesse Tyler Ferguson's Mitchell, who quits his stressful law job to become legal counsel for clothing line owned by Kirk's Lee. (TV Guide Magazine)

Bravo has unveiled the 22 master chefs who will be competing for the top prize on Season Two of Top Chef Masters, which is set to premiere on Wednesday, April 7th. Those chefs include: Jody Adams, Govind Armstrong, Graham Elliot Bowles, Jimmy Bradley, David Burkey, Wylie Dufresne, Susan Feniger, Debbie Gold, Carmen Gonzalez, Maria Hines, Susur Lee, Ludo Lefebvre, Tony Mantuano, Rick Moonen, Mark Peel, Monica Pope, Thierry Rautureau, Marcus Samuelsson, Ana Sortun, Rick Tramonto, Jerry Traunfeld, and Jonathan Waxman. [Editor: it's immediately noticeable that there are more female chefs competing this season and that there are some familiar faces--Mark Peel, Ludo, Wylie, and others--are set to return to compete once more.] (via press release)

Entertainment Weekly's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Leslie Hope is set to return to CBS' The Mentalist for the final two episodes of the season. Hope will reprise her role as psychic Kristina, last seen during The Mentalist's first season. "Jane tries to prove once and for all that she is a charlatan," executive producer Bruno Heller told Ausiello. "At the same time, [he finds] himself strangely attracted to her." (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert: Andrea Anders (Better Off Ted) has been cast opposite Matthew Perry in ABC comedy pilot Mr. Sunshine. (Also cast: Nate Torrence.) Jesse Metcalfe (Desperate Housewives) has landed a role in Jerry Bruckheimer's NBC drama pilot Chase; Matt Jones (Breaking Bad) will star opposite Gary Cole in TBS comedy pilot Uncle Nigel; and Eamonn Walker (Kings) has been added to the cast of ABC drama pilot The Whole Truth. (Hollywood Reporter)

Frank Grillo (Prison Break), Luke Mably (The Prince and Me), Janina Gavankar (The L Word), and Chandra West (90210) have been cast in ABC's supernatural crime drama series The Gates, about the residents of a gated community, all of whom have their secrets. Series, from Fox Television Studios and writer/executive producers Richard Hatem and Grant Scharbo, is being eyed for a summer launch. Pilot will be directed by Terry McDonough. Grillo will play a cop from the city who lands a gig as chief of police in this seemingly idyllic community; Mably will play a cardiologist who is also a "vampire-like creature"; West will play the owner of a local tea shop; Gavankar will play a local cop with a secret. (Hollywood Reporter)

ABC has ordered a second season of reality dating series Dating in the Dark and has slated six episodes of the Endemol USA-produced series to air this summer. (Variety)

TBS gave out two cast-contingent pilot orders yesterday. Comedies In Security, from writers/executive producers Pete Segal and Ric Swartzlander, about "two sisters who head up a private-security team protecting the super elite while dealing with personal and family issues," and Franklin & Bash, from Kevin Falls and Bill Chais and Sony Pictures Television, about "two street lawyers and lifelong friends who, after taking down a white-shoe law firm in a high-profile case, are recruited by the firm's patriarch." (Hollywood Reporter)

NBC is said to be close to giving a pilot order to an untitled single-camera comedy from Mad About You creator Paul Reiser and studio Warner Bros. Television about a group of male friends. Reiser has written the pilot script on spec as well as scripts for subsequent episodes. (Variety)

Leverage star Gina Bellman would jump at the chance to work with Doctor Who head writer Steven Moffat, if she had the chance. "I think there was a petition online to get me involved in Doctor Who," Bellman told Digital Spy. "I'm not a Doctor Who fanatic but I am a Steven Moffat fanatic. I've worked with him on Jekyll and Coupling so if he was to write anything for me - not just Doctor Who - I'd drop everything to go and do that." (Digital Spy)

Comic book guru Stan Lee has teamed up with Archie Comics and A Squared Entertainment for series Super Seven, about "seven aliens who find themselves stranded on planet Earth after their spaceship crashes, only to be befriended by none other than Lee himself. Taking them under his care, Lee becomes their leader and enables them to resume their lives as superheroes on Earth." Series, produced by Lee's POW! Entertainment, is being looked at for a fall launch. (The Wrap)

TLC has renewed reality series One Big Happy Family for a second season, with twelve episodes set to air in June. (Hollywood Reporter)

Season Five of reality series Gene Simmons Family Jewels is set to launch on A&E on Sunday, March 21st at 9 pm ET/PT. (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Food Porn: My Night at "Top Chef" Michael Voltaggio's Restaurant

After a day of interviews and covering press sessions at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, I had the honor of dining at Top Chef winner Michael Voltaggio's restaurant, The Dining Room at The Langham, in Pasadena.

I've been dying to eat there since Top Chef ended... and what an evening it was. I was joined in this culinary adventure by several fellow television journalists/foodies including: my editor at The Daily Beast, Kate Aurthur; Denise Martin of The Los Angeles Times; Zap2It's Hanh Nguyen; and St. Louis Post Dispatch TV columnist Gail Pennington.

Arriving at the Dining Room, we were greeted with several warm welcomes by the restaurant's manager and the hotel's PR executive. We sipped on some lovely glasses of non-vintage champagne while we perused the menu and ultimately decided to go with a five-course chef's tasting menu, with the dishes to be expertly selected by Michael Voltaggio, with whom we visited in the kitchen following the conclusion of dinner. (Affable and warm, Voltaggio came off nothing like the arrogant upstart he appeared on Top Chef last year.)

A restaurant thrives or dies on the details and here every little detail was expertly thought out. The precision of our five-person waitstaff--who set down and removed all of our plates in unison every time--and the attentiveness of the sommelier and manager were complemented by some nice touches during the service. Not one but two bread courses, each with separate butter pairings. (Yes, each bread came with two separate butters, adding up to four total butters offered to us during the course of the evening.) A warm bacon bread crackled with saline porky goodness while a black truffle roll offered a luscious hit of umami flavor.

The modern style of the cooking was at contrast with the Old World clubbiness of the restaurant itself as damask curtains and shadow boxes containing antique ships competed with molecular gastronomy. It's worth noting that the restaurant is due to undergo a remodeling (which was wisely delayed after ex-Bazaar at the SLS Hotel chef Voltaggio won Top Chef) but there was something fun and off-kilter about the stylistic disconnect if I'm being honest.

What did we feast on? Read on to discover each of our expertly prepared courses and check out photographs of each course. (Apologies for the darkness of the photos. Took these snapshots with my iPhone in the dimly lit restaurant.)

Amuse bouche:

Sesame "bagel" with smoked salmon and horseradish powders.

A fantastic way to kick off the meal and a novel reinvention of the humble bagel with lox and cream cheese. The "bagel" itself was a remarkable colloidal substance formed in a tiny ring mold. Given its sesame flavor, I can assume that it's made from a tahini-like substance which is then whipped up and given body by the addition of a thickening agent. Breaking it with the tiny accompanying spoon (which, like the small bell-shaped glass, had its own resting plate on the slate dish) and mixing it with the powders created the sensation of biting into a bagel with lox and cream cheese. The horseradish powder didn't give you the hit of heat of regular horseradish but somehow approximated the cool, creaminess of cream cheese. Delicious.

First Course:

Langoustines with egg and lobster mousse ravioli with bouillabaisse.

My mouth was already watering when the waiters set down this dish in front of me and then I could barely contain myself when the waitstaff delicately poured a piping hot bouillabaisse into the bowl. The sweet lightness of the langoustine was nicely contrasted with the richness of the egg and lobster mousse, contained under a tiny rectangular ribbon of pasta. Wisely anticipating the need to get every last drop, the waiters arrived with spoons, which we gratefully used to carry every last drop of the heady bouillabaise to our lips. The dish is a skillful one, demonstrating boldness of flavor, precision of presentation, and a subtle hand.

Second Course:

Skate wing with scrambled cauliflower and caper and brown butter powders.

I've never had skate wing before (I know!) so I wasn't sure what to expect with this dish, which made a believer out of me. Despite already being wowed with the powders from the amuse dish, I was worried that these two powders might be overkill but they worked perfectly here and didn't seem gimmicky. I also appreciated that, being dry "sauces," they didn't moisten the skate, which was perfectly flaky inside and crisp on top. (See, a logical use of molecular gastronomy at work.) The saline hit of the caper powder was offset beautifully by the richness of the brown butter powder (the latter of which I could have quite happily eaten an entire bowl). The scrambled cauliflower was a nice touch as well, transforming itself into something between cauliflower and mashed potato, at once vegetable and starch.

Third Course:

Pastrami pigeon, Swiss cheese puff, rye jus, mustard greens, and Brussels sprouts reduction gel.

Had we done the individual tasting menu, this was one dish that I had my eye on so I was overjoyed to see it come out of the kitchen for us. While it sounds like an odd combination, it was essentially a deconstructed Reuben sandwich and absolutely knocked my socks off. The pigeon breast was perfectly cooked and had the exact flavor of seasoned pastrami. Taking a bite of it with each of the other elements on the plate created the exact flavor of a well-crafted Reuben. In awe of the Swiss cheese puff (essentially, Voltaggio somehow added air to a piece of Swiss cheese, puffed it up, and then crisped it creating a light and airy chip), I was absolutely blown away by the "sauerkraut" component: the Brussels sprouts reduction gel. Salty and vegetative, it had the brisk flavor of sea air and the sourness of sauerkraut; Voltaggio had cooked down sprouts and reduced it to the point of a broth and then added gelatine to create an aspic cube. The rye jus on the plate added just the right hint of earthiness to the dish. A truly accomplished and confident plate.

Fourth Course:

48-hour sous-vide of Wagyu short rib with butter and masala, Nantes carrots, white ketchup gels, and smoked tots.

This was heaven on a plate, manna for the foodie. Voltaggio rendered the Wagyu so smooth and silky from a 48-hour sous vide process and infused it with masala and butter, turning out tender ribbons of short rib onto the plate. I've been craving expertly cooked carrots and these were little crisp batons of beta carotene goodness. The white ketchup gels were fantastic: little liquid spheres containing... a yellow tomato ketchup? An approximation of ketchup? I'm not sure, but these little savory gumdrops peppered the plate with earthiness. And the smoked tots? Heavenly little cheesy potatoes that put all memories of childhood tater tots out of my mind forever.

Pre-dessert:

Yuzu and raspberry.

The perfect palate-cleanser, really, and one that recalled Dippin' Dots to everyone at the table: individual pearls of yuzu and raspberry sorbets that melted as soon as it came into contact with any sort of heat, whether that be your mouth or even the metal spoon. Cool, creamy, and sweet-tart, it was exactly what was required after such an extensive and rich meal.

Dessert #1:

"Fool's Gold": hazelnut praline, salty caramel, chocolate ganache, hazelnut spread, milk sorbet.

A heady and complex dessert that had me ready to lick the plate. It also showcased the playful, whimsical side of Michael Voltaggio with the inclusion of gold flakes festooning the rich chocolate lusciousness of the slightly V-shaped ganache. The praline itself, underneath the ganache was delectable and I used my fork to scrape up every last little morsel on the plate. Sweet, salty, creamy, it was divine and blended together some of my favorite flavors into one dish. I would have been more than content with this as my final course, but...

Dessert #2:

Sticky toffee pudding, lime foam, banana pudding, and jasmine "rice cream."

I'm a huge sticky toffee pudding fan and this was absolutely delicious. Despite the oddness of the ingredients, I thought these components worked quite beautifully together on the plate. The date cake element was rich but oddly light at the same time and lacked the stodgy heaviness that have ruined many a sticky toffee pudding in the past for me. The banana pudding, piped onto the plate in curls, was rich and comforting and the sweetness cut subtly by the inclusion of the lime foam. In a play on the traditional custard or ice cream accompanying sticky toffee pudding, the faux ice cream (derived from jasmine rice) was cool, creamy, and soothing. A fantastic dessert.

Petits fours:

Passionfruit pate de fruit in edible rice paper wrapper, fennel pollen macaron with lemon curd, and chocolate on stick with a surprise.

While some at the table didn't care for the overt sweetness of the passionfruit pate de fruit, I actually quite enjoyed it (but it might have been because of my undying love for passionfruit in general). The least successful of the petits fours was the middle item, the teeny-tiny fennel pollen marcaron with lemon curd; it wasn't bad but it was such a tiny bite that it was hard to get a sense of the flavor profiles as anything else was obliterated by the tartness of the lemon curd. Last, the "surprise" of the chocolate stick was the inclusion of pop rocks. I've had chocolate-covered pop rocks in the past but this was a nice bite at the end of the meal: sweet and effervescent at the same time with an auditory component as well.

All in all, a truly sensational meal that had Michael Voltaggio showcasing his considerable talents, the staff effortlessly anticipating each and every whim ahead of time, and a convivial, clubby atmosphere. I'll definitely be coming back in the future.

Still Hungry: Bravo's "Top Chef Watch What Happens Reunion" Leaves Me Wanting More

Perhaps because this season focused on the strengths of the competitors and one particular sibling rivalry rather than on any animosity between the contestants, there wasn't a hell of a lot of controversy for Andy Cohen to discuss. (Certainly no wigs were ripped off anyone's head on Top Chef this season.)

So last night's Top Chef reunion was a rather low-key affair (especially compared with the histrionics seen on Real Housewives get-togethers), with the only remote sparks of controversy being those emanating from Eli's cancer comment to Robin, Ash's feeling that Padma hated him, and, well, that was about it.

Hell, anyone hoping to learn who the fan favorite would be from Top Chef: Las Vegas still has to wait until tonight to find out as someone decided not to announce the fan favorite winner during the reunion special (a likely place to do so) but to wait until Andy Cohen's Thursday latenight talkfest to do so. (In other words: Grr. Though there's no doubt that either Kevin or Jennifer will take home the prize.)

An effort on the part of host Andy Cohen to make it seem as though the cheftestants had bullied Robin throughout the competition sort of fell flat. While I'm not sure why one of the chefs didn't just tell the overly gregarious Robin to shut up while she dithered on endlessly, I didn't think that their dislike of her was anything other than personality conflict. (Her constant talking would have gotten under my skin so I can sympathize.)

As for the cancer issue, Eli admitted that he hadn't apologized to Robin for making the comment (he hadn't seen much of her since her elimination) and that he had cracked under pressure and said something he shouldn't. But he did apologize on-air and that seemed to placate Robin. Was it a little too sharp? Sure. But if you're living and competing with someone, particularly someone who drives you up the wall, there are bound to be moments where you go too far with a blunt comment. Still, the hatchet seems to have been buried for now.

I did love that the chefs each seemed to think that Padma Lakshmi didn't like them. (Including, rather funnily, Tom Colicchio himself.) Having met and eaten with Padma, I can say that she is nothing but sweet and charming and both she and Gail Simmons have told me on separate occasions (which they reiterated last night) that their sole interaction with the contestants is via their food and what they see at judges' table. And I think that's really for the best at the end of the day. It's a culinary competition, not a dinner party, and your success in the season depends on the food that you present on each plate and the way you carry yourself in front of the judges.

All in all, last night's special provided a nice trip down memory lane for the Las Vegas crew (and another chance for Mama Voltaggio to plead the fifth when asked again which of her sons she was rooting for) but the special lacked the incisiveness of other Bravo reunions. As I said earlier, that could have been due to the lack of real animosity or bristling personalities (though Robin, Mike I., and Michael Voltaggio certainly weren't meek presences). But really, the reunion special left me hungry for more, an appetite that could have been sated perhaps by the reveal of the fan favorite prize winner. Hmmm...

Top Chef: Las Vegas Blooper Reel:



Top Chef Las Vegas Bonus Clip: The Brothers Voltaggio:



Top Chef Las Vegas Bonus Clip: The Chefs' Tattoos:



Top Chef Las Vegas Bonus Clip: Run-On Robin:



Top Chef Las Vegas Bonus Clip: Scandalous Behavior:



Top Chef will return in 2010.

Mystery Boxes, Moms, and Masterful Cooking: The Winner Named on the "Top Chef" Season Finale

Was I the only one on the edge of my seat last night?

Last night's season finale of Top Chef ("Season Finale, Part Two") found the final three chefs going head-to-head with the title of Top Chef and a cool $125,000 cash prize on the line. It was really anyone's game as all three remaining contestants have proven themselves not only worthy competitors but also talented and accomplished chefs in their own right. As always, it would all come down to one last challenge.

The task seemed simple enough: cook a fantastic meal for the judges and a panel of esteemed restaurateurs with the bounty of Napa Valley at their disposal. But this is Top Chef and these three chefs are each killer competitors, so the three-course meal at Cyrus in Healdsburg (which is in Sonoma rather than Napa Valley but I'll let this change in locale slip by) quickly turned into a twist-laden multiple-course meal with multiple hindrances and curveballs.

How did the three remaining chefs perform? And who went home the ultimate victor? Let's discuss.

I made no secret of the fact that I was rooting for Kevin going into this final episode of the season. Throughout the competition, Kevin has remained true to himself and his culinary style, ditching affectations and gimmicks in favor of clean flavor profiles and deceptively simple preparations, allowing the flavors and textures on the plate to speak for themselves.

But if Kevin was going to win he'd have to overcome two major hurdles: the Voltaggio Brothers. Michael and Bryan, in their own very different ways, have proven themselves cutthroat competitors and skilled chefs. Michael's boldness and risk-taking have been counterbalanced by Bryan's poise and subtlety. While Kevin was playing for himself, the sibling rivalry between the two brothers would either push them to the top or make them cancel each other out in the final leg of the competition.

As mentioned earlier, the initial brief--cook a three-course meal--was complicated by several twists thrown at the chefs. First, they would have to prepare one course by using all of the ingredients from a mystery box (were the producers watching Food Network's Chopped for inspiration, perhaps?). Second, they would have to prepare a dessert for the third course; no squeaking by with another protein course. (Sorry!) And third they wouldn't have a choice in the sous chefs assisting them in the final challenge as they would draw knives to see which of the previously ousted chefs would assist them in the kitchen.

It was that last twist (which wasn't the final one, in fact) that made me slightly uncomfortable. Yes, Top Chef has brought back previous contestants into the kitchen before to assist but there's usually a choice element to determine who gets whom and because everyone was in the mix (including some fantastically unskilled chefs), it created a very uneven playing field. Bryan managed a major coup by getting Jennifer and Ashley, Michael got lucky by scoring Eli (and Jesse), and poor Kevin was stuck with the abysmal Preeti (and the extremely helpful Ash). Fortunately, no one drew Robin. Otherwise I would have had to chuck my television out the window.

But the final twist, after the chefs got to spend time with their mothers (including Mama Voltaggio, who must have been mightily conflicted seeing both her sons competing), was that they would prepare a first course that was inspired by a childhood dish... and which would be served to the judges and their mothers. I do like the twists that have the chefs cooking on the fly and would have rather seen this be the final twist than have them deal with sous chefs.

So what did they make? Let's take a look, organized by course.

First Course (Childhood-inspired dish):

• Bryan: Sardine, German butterball potato, heirloom tomato, and panko breadcrumbs
• Kevin: Southern-fried chicken skin with squash casserole and tomato
• Michael: cream of dehydrated broccoli, fried broccoli, and spot prawn

All three dishes looked beautiful but I'd have to give this round to Kevin, who once again managed to take something inherently simple--squash--and transform it into something sensuous and complex. Even Tom was raving about the depth of flavor of that squash casserole and its haunting citrus notes. Less successful were both of the brothers' dishes as Bryan failed to season his sardine dish (though Toby Young seemed to prefer it that way) and Michael's delicate spot prawns weren't (A) cooked properly and (B) well served by the popcorn broccoli which overwhelmed the subtlety of the prawns.

Second Course (Mystery box):

• Bryan: sous vide rockfish, kabocha squash, curry, Meyer lemon
• Kevin: Pacific rockfish, roasted squash, crab broth, and roasted matsutake mushroom
• Michael: dashi-glazed rockfish, sweet and sour crab salad, squash, and Meyer lemon

I was very intrigued to see just what the chefs opted to make from their mystery box of ingredients, which included rockfish, crab, kabocha squash, Meyer lemons, and anise hyssop. Not an easy assortment of ingredients to work with nor to get onto a single plate but all three chefs managed to turn out dishes of complexity and thoughtfulness, though some were less successful than others. Here, the advantage went to Michael, who created a gorgeous and self-assured plate that spoke volumes about his skills and his culinary ethos. He wisely fried the matsutake mushroom until it was crispy and used all of the ingredients to their best possible advantage. Bryan once again fell short by underseasoning his dish and also by playing it too safe; there was no boldness in his dish and everything seemed muddled by a lack of distinct texture. Kevin's fault was that matsutake mushroom, which he roasted and rendered too chewy and dense. Advantage to Michael here.

Third Course (Chef's choice):

• Bryan: venison saddle with puree of sunchokes and orange-juniper sauce
• Kevin: slow-roasted pork belly with Brussels sprouts, broccoli, and caramelized ham jus
• Michael: fennel-scented squab breast, pistachio cassoulet, and textures of mushrooms

All three looked absolutely divine and I would have been happy to pull up a plate of any of them. Bryan shined in this round, in my opinion. He wisely went for seasonality, serving up a dish of venison that not only allowed the protein to shine but also gave the supporting members--the vegetables--equal time in the spotlight, giving them two preparations and proving to the judges that he is a skillful and passionate chef capable of delivering a knock-out meal. Michael was let down slightly by that cassoulet, which some of the judges complained about, and that gimmicky mushroom mold, which was too playful and blunt at the same time. Kevin, the pork king, was staggered later to learn that the judges weren't crazy about his pork belly dish. Yes, it should have been cooked more and I agree that he could have perhaps pared it with another preparation of pork but I understand what he was going for here: the clear, pristine quality of pork belly presented on its own. But he was perhaps let down by the tightness of the time frame and by the, rather ironically, simplicity of his dish. Advantage to Bryan, I'd say.

Fourth Course (Dessert):

• Bryan: Sheep's milk and white chocolate "dulce de leche" cheesecake with fig sorbet, dry caramel, poached pear, and basil
• Kevin: roasted banana, toasted peanut, with chocolate-bacon mousse, and bacon brittle
• Michael: chocolate-caramel coulant, butternut squash brulee, toasted seeds, and butternut ice cream

While Michael's dessert did get overcooked and dried out (thanks to not setting the timer), I think it was easily the most ambitious dessert of the three. His use of fall vegetables here, presented in brulee and ice cream form, and seeds was unexpected and nicely counterbalanced the rich earthiness of chocolate and caramel in his coulant (which, yes, should have had more of a liquid center). While it wasn't perfect, it was the most assured and ambitious of the three plates in this round and showed a real sense of vision; this is a dish one would expect to find in a Michelin-starred restaurant. I'd give a very close second place then to Bryan for his cheesecake and dry caramel; it showed some innovative techniques (the dry caramel, the liquid nitrogen-frozen fig sorbet) and some nice flavor combinations. I love the use of the sheep's milk cheese here instead of say cream cheese or ricotta and I think the dish was gorgeous and well thought out. (Though considering Michael's coulant was dry, Bryan could have taken this course.) Kevin's dish failed to hit its mark, sadly. Like Gail, I don't mind bacon in my dessert (LA restaurant Animal does an amazing and addictive chocolate-bacon bar, for example) but it was the banana that really let him down the most; the roasted banana just looked rather sad and didn't have enough texture or body to anchor the plate in the way Kevin desired.

I knew, even before the judges deliberated, that it would come down to one of the brothers rather than Kevin. And I got a little teary-eyed when Padma told Kevin that he wasn't Top Chef. He's played a good game and cooked some amazing dishes and changed my preconceptions about Southern cuisine. Sadly, this wasn't his night.

I wasn't surprised then when Michael Voltaggio was named the ultimate winner. I wondered if it would come down to a final showdown between the two rather intense siblings and sure enough they were the last two standing this season. Of the two, I think Michael is the more self-possessed, bold, and assured chef; Bryan is more thoughtful, more introspective with his cooking (and his personality).

Sure enough, the judges felt the same way, giving the win to Michael. I'm actually happy with the decision (though I would have loved for Kevin to win): Michael Voltaggio is a culinary star in the making and his use of modern techniques, innovative flavor combinations, and pitch-perfect presentation make him a force to be reckoned with. I can't wait to see just what the chef, currently at the Langham Dining Room in Pasadena, gets up to next...

What did you think of the season finale? Would you have awarded Michael the title of Top Chef? Where did Kevin and Bryan go wrong? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef ("Watch What Happens Reunion"), host Andy Cohen brings together Season Six chefs and judges, who cook up more culinary drama while dishing on the highs and lows of the season. (Note: the reunion special will air at 9 pm ET/PT rather than in the series' typical timeslot.)

Top Chef Preview: It's the Top Chef Las Vegas Reunion:

"Top Chef" Crystal Ball: Who Will Win Tonight's Season Finale?

Only three chefs remain.

With the season finale of Top Chef: Las Vegas set to air tonight, I'm curious to see just who you think will walk away the ultimate victor of this season of Bravo's deliciously addictive culinary competition series. (I'm still bummed that Jennifer Carroll is out of the running, however. Sigh.)

Personally, my money is on Kevin. He's proven himself more than capable of not only dealing with the intense pressure of the competition but also staying true to his culinary ethos and style and his deceptively "simple" dishes have wowed the judges and diners alike throughout the course of the season.

Of course, Bryan and Michael Voltaggio are both extremely talented competitors and either of them could create the winning dish. But I have a feeling that the sibling rivalry that's marked the competition so far could be their ultimate undoing. Will the Voltaggios cancel each other out? Are they more focused on beating one another than on beating Kevin?

Who do you think will walk away with the title of Top Chef and why? Discuss.

The season finale of Top Chef: Las Vegas airs tonight at 10 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

Through the Grapevine: Competition Cut Down to Three on the Season Finale of "Top Chef: Las Vegas"

And then there were three.

This week's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Season Finale: Part One") had me on the edge of my seat, not just for the inherent tension (believe me, I was on pins and needles by the end) but also because I'm a huge admirer of Napa Valley cuisine and produce. The region itself holds special meaning for me: it's where I proposed to my wife and was married (on the same spot in both cases), just a few hundred feet from Rutherford Hill Winery, where the Elimination Challenge took place.

Napa is a magical place where food and wine are celebrated in the most exquisite way and this week's challenges for the final four contestants had the chefs putting local produce on a pedestal as they were tasked with creating a grape-centric dish aboard the Napa Wine Train for their Quickfire Challenge and with creating two dishes (one vegetarian, the other protein-based) with local ingredients for Rutherford Hill's annual crush celebration.

I have to say that I was impressed with the chefs overall, despite some pretty widespread seasoning issues throughout this week's episode. But considering that they had to deal with both a rocking train and devising and executing two dishes for 150 guests, I thought they all did a brilliant job and should be commended.

While I hoped that the judges would allow all four chefs to make it through to the final round, such wasn't the case. (Sadly.) So which three chefs will compete head-to-head for the title and the grand prize? And how did each of them perform? Let's discuss.

As I mentioned before, there's no better place to stage the season finale of Top Chef than in California's famed Napa Valley and this week's installment celebrated the bounty of ingredients that are found in the region, from wine grapes to gorgeous produce and proteins.

In both the Quickfire Challenge (a high-stakes one, no less) and the Elimination Challenge, the chefs would have the ability to use the freshest ingredients from the region and were under strict orders to keep it all (save salt and pepper) local. As a proponent for localized cuisine, I think it was a nice touch and fully warranted: why not make use of what's right there in front of the chefs?

I had fully expected the producers to pull in former Top Chef Masters contestant Michael Chiarello (of Yountville's Botega) to judge this week's challenges and I have to say that he was less abrasive than he was in the latter parts of the spin-off series, offering some astute critiques and generous compliments to the participating chefs. (Perhaps he went back and saw how he came across in that final round of Top Chef Masters.)

For their Quickfire Challenge, the chefs had thirty minutes and use of a full pantry to prepare a grape-focused dish for Padma and Chiarello aboard the Napa Valley Wine Train. But it wasn't quite a subpar dining car en route to somewhere else: it's a culinary destination in itself and was fully stocked with fantastic local produce, a slew of grapes, and a gorgeous kitchen area. And, oh, there was a 2010 Third Generation Prius up for grabs.

Here's what the final four chefs prepared for the final Quickfire Challenge:

• Kevin: honey and fromage blanc mousse with glazed grapes, olive oil, thyme, and sea salt
• Michael: grape leaf stuffed with couscous and ras-al-hanout, vinegar-glazed grape and Bay scallop kabob
• Bryan: roasted hen with bacon, Brussels sprouts, Concord grape reduction with verjus, ruby quinoa, and arugula
• Jennifer: sauteed chicken livers with clams, macerated Cabernet grapes, wild mushroom salad, and wild tendrils

While I thought that they all did beautifully, especially given the limitations of the space they were working in, I had a feeling that the win would go to either Michael or Jennifer, both of whom turned out creative and inspired dishes. Kevin's dish, sadly, lacked the necessary seasoning (which is an odd and unexpected misstep for Kevin) and didn't quite place the grape front and center. As for Bryan--who hasn't won a single Quickfire all season--he made a big error in selecting Concord grapes; the grape isn't local to Napa and has an overly jammy, grapey quality (which is why it's traditionally used in grape jelly and grape juice) but lacks the subtlety and finesse of wine grapes; Chiarello also called him out for allowing the bacon to overpower the dish rather than take a back seat to the grape. Chiarello clearly loved Jennifer's chicken liver and clam dish (he made a joke about stealing it for Botega) but it was Michael's dish that really celebrated the grape itself, using all of the product--from vine to leaf to fruit--in an ingenuous and fitting way. No surprise then that he walked away the winner of the challenge... and the owner of a brand new Prius, to boot.

For their Elimination Challenge, which would determine which three chefs would move onto the final round of competition, the chefs would shop at Long Meadow Farm and create two locally focused dishes for 150 guests at the Rutherford Hill Winery's crush celebration. One dish would be vegetarian (smart, considering the strength of the local produce) while the other would use a locally reared protein as its basis. With such fantastic ingredients at their disposal, I fully expected to see each of these four create dishes that sang. And I have to say that, while there were some mistakes, they did quite well overall and certainly significantly better than many final four contestants have done in the past.

Here are the dishes the final four chefs presented to the judges:

• Kevin (vegetarian): salad of roasted beets and carrots with honey vinaigrette, carrot top puree, and San Andreas cheese
• Kevin (protein): braised grass-fed beef brisket with pumpkin polenta and marinated root vegetable salad
• Michael (vegetarian): vegetable pistou, heirloom tomato coulis, 63-degree egg, and fennel, with raw squash flowers
• Michael (protein): turnip green soup with foie gras terrine, red wine-braised pear, and glazed turnip
• Bryan (vegetarian): goat cheese ravioli with delicata squash puree, maitake mushroom fondue, and bronze fennel
• Bryan (protein): fig-glazed short ribs with celeriac puree, ragout of cranberry beans, haricots verts, and yellow wax beans, and wild arugula
• Jennifer (vegetarian): Sky Hill chevre mousse with creme fraiche and lemon zest, honeycap mushrooms, braised breakfast radishes, and basil
• Jennifer (protein): braised duck legs, confit of duck breast, delicata squash puree, and brown butter-foie gras vinaigrette

Kevin has proven throughout this competition that he is the master of plying intense flavor out of the most simple of preparations. There's nothing wrong with allowing your ingredients to take center stage and not dress them up in elaborate costumes or visual trickery. Here, his salad of roasted beets and carrots is a transcendent celebration of fall flavors: forward, powerful, and beautifully seasoned. He even coaxes intense flavor out of carrot tops in his puree. His brisket, on the other hand, was definitely "ropey," "toothsome," or whatever word you'd like to use to describe the meat's toughness. Granted, he didn't have enough time to tenderize the meat as it should be, but neither did Bryan. And while Gail raved about the pumpkin polenta, Tom described the brisket as having a "tinny" quality. Hmmm...

Michael's dishes definitely showcased local ingredients but he also stayed true to the Michael Voltaggio ethos: gorgeous food displayed with some cutting-edge technology and some innovative ideas. Sometimes those ideas soar and other times they come crashing down to earth. Here, I liked the idea of the 63-degree egg with the pistou but the egg was almost too large for the serving vessel and overwhelmed the pistou itself (possibly doing the vegetables as a strict brunoise instead of leaving them rustic didn't help matters), while Padma's egg white was runny and liquidy. However, the concept of his protein dish was clever, even if the execution didn't quite match up. The pieces of turnip, pear, and foie were so tiny and there was so much bitter turnip green soup and it deflated the dish in the end. If there had been more thought to the plating and the size of the elements, the dish could have succeeded more.

Bryan definitely impressed me here. Despite the lack of a Quickfire win, his Elimination Challenge dishes have always been strong (so much so that he's never been up for elimination) and that was the case here. I would have killed to taste his goat cheese ravioli with delicata squash puree, maitake mushroom fondue, and bronze fennel. He nailed that dish in every way from the concept to the seasoning and his pasta dough was universally lauded. Likewise, while there was some moaning about the lack of figginess in his fig-glazed short ribs, it was clear that the dish was a hit. Perfectly cooked, tender, and luscious, the short rib was nicely counterbalanced with the produce on the plate: a celeriac puree, a gorgeous ragout of cranberry beans, haricots verts, and yellow wax beans, and that little addition of wild arugula as a garnish. Nicely done.

I was very worried about Jennifer once those coals went cold. She was originally going to grill the Sonoma duck rather than confit them but I was happy to see that she didn't let the situation defeat her; she quickly changed plans and went in an alternate direction. While the finished dish--braised duck legs, confit of duck breast, delicata squash puree, and brown butter-foie gras vinaigrette--lacked the smokiness that would have been imparted by the grill, I thought it was a masterful dish that utilized the "whole duck" (as Jen called the dish), perfectly in keeping with the theme of the challenge, and I thought her use of all of those elements (and particularly the "unctuous" brown butter-foie gras vinaigrette) sounded divine. As for her vegetarian offering, she used too heavy a hand with the seasoning, rendering her chevre mousse with mushrooms, radishes, and basil into saltiness. Still, her nerves didn't get the better of her and I was very proud of the way she handled herself in this leg of the competition.

Not surprisingly, Bryan took home the win here. I thought his two dishes were both perfectly executed and did celebrate the Napa ingredients in a pitch perfect way. I'm glad that he got this boost going into the final round as the rivalry between him and Michael reaches a fever pitch. And the look of irritation on Michael's face made the win even more worthwhile, I am sure.

As I said earlier, I was really hoping that there was some way all four of these exceptionally talented chefs could move on the final round but the judges (or the producers) stuck by their guns and opted to eliminate one. Sadly, it fell to Jennifer. She's more then redeemed herself of late after some shakiness in the middle of the season and I am really, really sad to see her go before the end. (You can read the interview I did with Jennifer Carroll back in August at the start of the season here.)

What did you think of this week's episode? Sad to see Jennifer go? Who will win next week when Kevin goes head-to-head with the Voltaggio Brothers? Will their intense sibling rivalry cancel each other out? Or will one emerge the victor? Discuss.

Next week on the season finale of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Season Finale, Part Two"), the final three contestants vie for the title of Top Chef as they're tasked with cooking the best meal they've ever made... and one walks away the ultimate winner of the culinary competition.

Top Chef Preview: Final Breakfast Table:



Top Chef Preview: Three Chefs Clash in the Final Showdown:

Channel Surfing: CBS Dams "Three Rivers," Alec Baldwin to Quit Acting in 2012, "Torchwood," Two Sink Teeth into "True Blood," and More

Welcome to your Tuesday morning television briefing.

Sorry Alex O'Loughlin fans: CBS has pulled Three Rivers from its schedule, effective immediately. Beginning this Sunday, Cold Case will move to 9 pm ET/PT with the 10 pm timeslot to be filled by a revolving door of drama repeats. According to the Hollywood Reporter's James Hibberd, Three Rivers "is still in production and the network will complete all 13 episodes of the show's initial order." Whether or not CBS will burn off the remaining installments remains to be seen but it's clear that there's no future for the low-rated medical drama. (Hollywood Reporter's The Live Feed)

Could 2012 bring about the end of the world? Or at least the end of Jack Donaghy? Alec Baldwin has revealed his intentions to quit acting when his contract with NBC's 30 Rock expires in 2012 in an interview with Men's Journal. "I don't have any interest in acting anymore," said Baldwin. "I'm not young, but I have time to do something else." [Editor: a 30 Rock sans Baldwin isn't 30 Rock at all, so let's hope that Tina Fey manages to back that truck of money up to Baldwin's door ASAP.] (via E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

Captain Jack Harkness likely won't be appearing in Season Five of Doctor Who, according to John Barrowman... who revealed, however, that Torchwood will be back with a fourth season of thirteen episodes. "I don't know about Captain's Jack future in Doctor Who because nothing has been said or I haven't been asked. I'm kind of prepared that I won't be in any of it, which is fine," Barrowman told Radio 2. "But we are discussing the future of Torchwood because most definitely Torchwood will come back to the BBC, which is fantastic. We're not sure when, because we have to work out the logistics of the filming - and it's already said that it'll be 13 episodes instead of 5." So, some good news then, right? (via Digital Spy)

Two more actors heading to Bon Temps next season: Marshall Allman (Prison Break) has been cast in HBO's True Blood, where he will play Sam Merlotte's younger brother Tommy, and Shannon Lucio (The O.C.)--no stranger to vampires herself, having appeared in the original pilot for CBS's short-lived Moonlight--has joined the cast as Bill's wife Caroline, whom he abandoned after becoming a vampire during the Civil War. (Entertainment Weekly's Ausiello Files)

Pilot casting alert! Heroes' Sendhil Ramamurthy and Jane Curtin (3rd Rock from the Sun) have been cast opposite David Tennant in NBC legal dramedy pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. Ramamurthy will play "an ambitious but good-natured lawyer who was in Rex's shadow until Rex's career switch and whose friendship with Rex becomes complicated when he falls in love with his pal's fiancee (Abigail Spencer)." His participation is said to be in second position to Heroes, but it's thought likely that he'll join the cast full-time should the project go to series. Curtin, meanwhile, will play the mother/mentor of Rex (Tennant), a highly successful lawyer who falls for Rex's therapist (Jeffrey Tambor). (Hollywood Reporter)

The Chicago Tribune's Maureen Ryan has a fantastic interview with Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter ahead of tonight's second season finale on FX. "The one challenge that FX had with the show [when it was being developed] is that they’d never had a lead character this young," Sutter told Ryan. "They were trying to cast it older initially, and I fought against it. My point was that Jax is a man, but he hasn’t decided what kind of man he is going to be. That’s what the series is about...
Not to compare [Sons] to The Sopranos, but what rooted Tony [Soprano] was always the vulnerability. At the root of it, Tony was just a guy who had immense self-loathing, which always brought him to his knees and always had him questioning. Ultimately I think people tap into [Jax] because of his vulnerability and his questions... Jax makes mistakes." (Chicago Tribune's The Watcher)

TNT has announced that it has canceled legal drama Raising the Bar, which starred Mark-Paul Gosselaar (and his Season One co-star, a terrifying haircut). "Everyone at TNT had a great experience working on Raising the Bar with Steven Bochco and the rest of the show's terrific cast and crew," said a network spokesperson. "We're proud of the series and appreciate the efforts of all of the creative people who were involved. Unfortunately, ratings for Raising the Bar's second season did not reach the levels required for TNT to renew the series." Three unaired episodes remain, with TNT thought likely to burn them off in March, according to E! Online's Jennifer Godwin. (TVGuide.com, E! Online's Watch with Kristin)

ABC is developing an untitled single-camera comedy to star Nicole Ritchie (Chuck), in which she would play "a professional woman with complicated family relationships and struggling to figure out what role she'll take as her life and her family evolve," according to Variety's Michael Schneider. Daisy Gardner (Californication) will write the pilot script under the guidance of executive producer Warren Bell (According to Jim), who will produce alongside Jamie Tarses. (Variety)

Bravo announced that it would launch docusoap Kell on Earth, which follows fashion PR maven Kelly Cutrone, on February 1st at 10 pm ET/PT. Series, executive produced by Magical Elves' Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz, will follow Cutrone as she "balances running her wildly successful fashion PR company, People's Revolution, juggling Fashion Weeks in New York and London, with being a single mother and one of New York's most notable women about town." (via press release)

Elsewhere at the cabler, it's still unclear whether partycrashers Tareq and Michaele Salahi will end up on the channel's upcoming Real Housewives of D.C. after they allegedly crashed a state dinner at which President Obama and other dignitaries were present. "The decision as to who will be included in the series will not be made for several months," a Bravo spokesman told Variety. "We are continuing with the production of the show. However, specifics with respect to the Salahis are yet to be determined." What is clear is that the cameras won't continue to follow the Salahis. "Nothing is scheduled at this time," said the same spokesperson. (Variety)

FOX has ordered thirteen episodes of animated comedy Bob's Burgers, from writer/executive producers Loren Bouchard and Jim Dauterive. Series, from 20th Century Fox Television, revolves around a man who runs a struggling burger restaurant with his high-strung wife and three slacker children and is expected to air in 2011. Deals are underway for the voice talent, though the pilot presentation featured the voices of H. Jon Benjamin, John Roberts, Kristen Schaal, Eugene Mirman, and Dan Mintz. (Variety)

Kimberly Williams-Paisley (According to Jim) has been cast to topline Lifetime Movie Network telepic Amish Grace, based on a true story about the aftermath that followed the schoolhouse shooting in the Amish community of Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. Also cast: Matt Letscher (Brothers & Sisters) and Tammy Blanchard (Living Proof). (via press release)

Stay tuned.

Gold Medals: Culinary Olympics Put the Chefs to the Ultimate Test on "Top Chef"

"Welcome back."

No truer words were ever spoken than on this week's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Culinary Olympics") in which the five remaining chefs faced their toughest challenge--a scaled down mini-version of the famed Bocuse d'Or--before getting cut down to the four chefs who would travel from Las Vegas to Napa for the season finale.

To say that anything was possible is a gross understatement. It literally came down to the wire as the judges decided which of the five was the most relatively weak. To make it this far is no small feat in and of itself, especially given the caliber of chefs this season (overall, anyway) and it was clear that the judges had quite a lot of affection for each of the remaining competitors.

Likewise, this week's installment was also a reminder of just how innately talented each of the remaining chefs is. I can't think of another season where all five remaining chefs were at the same level of skill as they are here. I don't think that the producers would have given them a Bocuse d'Or-like challenge if they didn't think the contestants were up to the challenge.

So how did they perform? Let's discuss.

First, I have to begin by saying how pleased I was that Jennifer got it together this week and was able to put aside her nerves, her exhaustion, or whatever it was that was preventing her over the last few weeks from succeeding in the competition. Her fall from grace was swift but she was able to step it up this week and get back to the Jen we all know and love, delivering confident, thoughtful, and deeply layered (quite literally this week) cuisine.

I'm not quite sure just what went wrong with Jennifer over the course of this competition but it was clear that something was distracting her from focusing on the individual challenges. Whether that was a time issue (she herself indicated last night that she's not quite as swift as the other remaining competitors) or just sheer and utter exhaustion from being put through a physical, mental, and emotional ringer, we'll likely never know.

So when Padma told Jennifer, "welcome back," and did so with a genuine smile, it was a joyful return of the Jennifer Carroll from the early days of the season. I think the taste of Jennifer's seafood ballotine pleasantly surprised Padma in the same way that it did those of us watching at home: it announced that a confident and level-headed Jennifer had returned to Top Chef and that the slips of the past few weeks had been uncharacteristic and wouldn't happen again. In other words: whew.

For their Quickfire Challenge, the chefs were tasked with creating a ballotine, a complicated preparation which essentially means layering a deboned protein inside of protein... inside of protein. (The apex of such a preparation might be the vaunted turducken, in which turkey is stuffed with a duck, which is itself stuffed with a chicken.) But with only ninety minutes, none of these chefs would be insane enough to attempt something as complex as that with the limited time they had.

Here's what they prepared:

• Bryan: rack of lamb and Merguez sausage wrapped in caul fat with a medley of purees
• Eli: bacon-crusted Scotch egg with a six-minute egg center
• Jennifer: calamari steak, scallops, salmon, shiitake, and shiso with rice noodle salad
• Kevin: cornmeal-fried fillet of catfish with scallop and shrimp
• Michael: "poultry terrine" of chicken with turkey and bacon mousseline

Michael complained that they were never told to actually create a ballotine, but somehow the other four chefs seemed to understand the directions of the Quickfire and delivered dishes that met the brief. Michael did not; his dish was essentially exactly as he described it, a poultry terrine. Which looked beautiful and likely tasted sinfully good but it wasn't what the judges asked for. Bryan's dish looked good but I think he overdid it with the amount of purees on the plate; sometimes less is more and more is just... more.

Eli's Scotch egg looked incredible and he managed to get that six-minute egg just right; he's stuck to his guns this season and produced food that's true to himself and his down-home culinary ethos. I'm glad that he hasn't thrown that out the window to suddenly start cooking in a classical French style or something. The same holds true for Kevin. While his catfish was deemed overcooked, he wasn't defeated or deflated by the criticism and maintained that it was a matter of personal taste.

But it was Jennifer's elegant and refined seafood ballotine that won over the judges, and rightfully so. Due to the use of the calamari, unless it was perfectly cooked, it could have been a rubbery mess of a dish but Jennifer executed it perfectly and walked way with a sizable advantage in the elimination challenge, earning herself an extra half-hour of cooking time.

As for the Elimination challenge itself, I was glad to see that the producers weren't letting the final five contestants rest on their laurels, instead forcing them to compete in a pared-down version of the grueling Bocuse d'Or competition. They'd have to prepare a dish of protein paired with two exceptional accompaniments, all of which would have be served up tableside after being transported to the judges--who included The French Laundry's Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud, Paul Bocuse, and others--on traditional mirrored platters. And, oh, the winner would get $30,000 and an amazing opportunity, to boot.

I have to say that I was impressed overall with the concept of the dishes overall, even if the execution of the majority of them was found wanting. Granted, this was a difficult challenge of the highest order and there were a lot of moving parts to get under control and the stress of cooking for some extremely respected chefs would have added an additional layer of pressure to the proceedings as well.

So what did the individual chefs offer up? Let's take a look.

• Bryan: parsley-crusted lamb loin, lamb shank crepinette with garlic chip, and orzo au gratin with sheep's milk cheese
• Eli: sausage-wrapped lamb loin, carrot puree with ras-el-hanout and yogurt foam, and tomato-piquillo canape
• Jennifer: unilaterally-cooked salmon and caviar, shrimp flan and black truffles, celery root square and shiitake
• Kevin: poached lamb loin, sherry-glazed beet and asparagus in sunchoke cream, red chard
• Michael: salmon with cauliflower chickpea tart and zucchini tzatziki

I was a little confused by the judge's reaction to Bryan's dish. At first, they seemed very pleased with the thought and concept behind the dish, even though some of the execution was a little shaky but they seemed to appreciate some of the technical skill he showed with the garnishes (such as that garlic chip). But later at judges' table, they suddenly seemed to be of the mind that the dish wasn't good after all. Huh? What happened in between there? I think he could have gone a little more high-end than the orzo au gratin, which was his play on mac and cheese, but I thought the crepinette looked beautiful and the dish showed cohesion and thought behind it. Bizarre.

Eli's dish, I knew, would land him at the bottom. He did a terrible job of carving that lamb tableside and the fact that he left way too much fat in the loin made it unappetizing and difficult to eat. Which is a shame as his accompaniments looked fantastic. That yogurt cream alone, with the ras-el-hanout-spiced carrot puree was one of the better accompaniments of the night. But I had a feeling that he would be the one to pack his knives and go.

Jennifer, despite having an extra half-hour, still could have done with some more time in this challenge. Her salmon wasn't very evenly portioned, so some pieces ended up being cooked perfectly, while others were overcooked. And her shrimp flan suffered from the same problem: some of the portions were executed perfectly while others weren't, resulting in quality inconsistencies from judge to judge. I do think that her platter was the best looking of the evening and she turned out a gorgeous looking plate. It was just the details that she needed to pay a little more attention to.

Kevin's dish was simple but that was the point: he let the flavors and the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves. I don't think he played it safe at all, as Gail suggested. He decided to sous-vide the lamb loins, which was something he had never done before and he managed to coax a hell of a lot of flavor out of that red chard. Kevin's always been about the ingredients and a rustic simplicity but that's hard to pull off, much less under intense pressure.

As for Michael, I'm not sure what went wrong here. Perhaps it was arrogance or overconfidence. But he delivered one of the most underwhelming dishes of the evening. Sure, it was executed well overall but that cucumber and tzatziki accompaniment was an underseasoned mess and the entire dish lacked any cohesion, despite his efforts to somehow link them with a Mediterranean theme, which sort of fell apart once you looked at the individual elements on the plate. An odd performance, to say the least, as this was really his challenge to lose, given his style of cooking and his technical abilities.

But ultimately, it was Kevin who was crowned the winner of this challenge and earned himself $30,000 along with the chance to compete with the US Bocuse d'Or team, which is a rare honor in itself. And I wasn't surprised when the judges opted to send Eli home. I will admit, however, that I got a little teary-eyed watching Eli cry and say goodbye to his fellow competitors.

Only four chefs remain going into the first part of the season finale. Happy with the Final Four we long ago predicted would ascend to the final rounds? Which chef will emerge victorious? Who will be the next fall before the last challenge? Discuss.

In two weeks on Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Season Finale, Part One"), the contestants leave Las Vegas behind to travel to Napa, where they will complete in challenges (including one aboard the Napa Wine Train) that will winnow them down from four to three before the final competition.

Culinary Catastrophe: An Advance Review of Bravo's "Chef Academy"

I'm not quite sure what to make of Bravo's newest culinary competition series Chef Academy, which launches tonight.

I'm a huge foodie and Top Chef might just be one of my life's main obsessions but I couldn't work up any appetite for the soggy and tasteless Chef Academy, which plays as a budget chain knock-off of the glossy and well-edited Top Chef.

Chef Academy revolves around hotheaded French chef Jean Christophe Novelli, a Columbo-obsessed Michelin star winner who moves to Los Angeles with his pregnant fiancee to open up a West Coast outpost of his celebrated London-based Novelli Academy Cookery School. I could have perhaps gotten behind a docudrama that focuses on Novelli's efforts to get his Venice, California cooking academy off the ground but that's not the route that Chef Academy's producers go, instead transforming it into a reality competition series as Novelli selects nine students for his academy and attempts to transform them into chefs.

And that's where things get truly unappetizing. I'm a little confused why Bravo would themselves attempt to duplicate the success of Top Chef with a lesser version of what is essentially the same series but with the sort of pretense and irritating charmlessness of FOX's Hell's Kitchen. Here, Novelli does his best Gordon Ramsay impersonation, attempting to goad the contestants into screwing up, throwing bowls on the floor, and just basically showing that all television chefs have to be arrogant and pompous bullies to get on camera.

Which would be bad enough if the series itself didn't seem so predictably staged. A full ten minutes of auditions for the aspiring chef academy participants could have been interesting if it hadn't been so blatantly obvious in every respect which of the aspiring chefs would make it through to the series itself. And I posit that the producers may have even gone so far as to stack the deck by roping in some stringers to "audition" for Novelli's omelet-making challenge. Yes, there are a few people appearing on camera that I have to wonder about.

But that's a quibble in the face of the opening episode's major and glaring missteps. For one, the pacing is plodding. Later on, Novelli challenges the nine contestants to prepare their signature dish but rather than have all of them bustling about the kitchen at the same time, the producers instead have each one prepare their dish separately, one after each other, and then serve the finished plate to Novelli. The result is a plodding sequence that seemed interminable and lacked any sense of energy, pacing, or tension.

Additionally, the aim of the academy--and the series by extension--is wholly unclear. Some of the participants have professional culinary backgrounds while others can't seem to cook very well at all. I'm not sure what was accomplished by making the playing field so wildly uneven. Was the point to further the careers of the pros (as Top Chef does) or to take untrained civilians and transform them into accomplished chefs? The latter would have been rather interesting to see and would speak a good deal about just what Novelli Academy Cooking School is able to accomplish.

But by having the contestants' culinary abilities vary so wildly, it dilutes any clear-cut tension in the competition. Top Chef succeeds because--in theory, anyway--each of the participants are professionals who know what they're doing. I'm not sure what's gained by having a housewife compete against a classically trained chef. It's odd and it's offputting to say the least. Either the participants should be total novices or they shouldn't. But to mix them up with pros seems foolhardy on the part of the producers.

Additionally, the entire elimination process is wonky. Rather than getting sent home for a terrible dish, each of the students has to fail three of Novelli's tests before they get cut from the competition and sent home. Um, what? Again, there's a lack of thought about tension, pacing, or drama... which seems to infect the entire series as a whole. It's lacking heat and flavor, despite Novelli's attempts to upstage the students with some overly dramatic tantrums and bowl-flinging.

Having tasted the first episode of Chef Academy, I can say that I won't be coming back for seconds. This is one dish I'll gladly send back to the kitchen.



Chef Academy premieres tonight at 11 pm ET/PT on Bravo.

Casino Royale: Breakfast in Bed on "Top Chef"

I have to give the producers of Bravo's addictive culinary competition series Top Chef some major credit: they know how to apply just the right pressure on the contestants to have some of them take risks and succeed while others crack under the strain.

This week's episode of Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Strip Around the World") was no exception and, at this point in the competition, I would expect nothing less from the reality series' challenge organizers than some seriously arduous challenges that put these chefs through their paces. After all, the point of a reality competition isn't to create an easy environment for success but to force contestants to succeed beautifully in spite of the many obstacles being thrown at them.

This week found the chefs preparing breakfast in bed for Padma and the always lovely Nigella Lawson... and they would have to do so under a tight deadline and in a remarkably cramped kitchen that only allowed two of them to cook at a time. Later, they had to use specific casinos as inspirations for a dish served to 175 people at a party. These were some pretty damn tough challenges, I have to say, and some of them came through with flying colors while others... Well, let's just say that they didn't quite hit the jackpot.

So how did the chefs perform this week? Let's discuss.

No discussion of this week's episode can start without me saying how incredibly, profusely, and ecstatically happy I am that Robin was sent packing this week. Every now and then there is a contestant who is so woefully underqualified to compete with the rest of the pack but who, through sheer luck or just not being quite as bad as someone else that week, manages to stick around way past their sell-by date. This season that was Robin.

I have nothing against Robin personally though her on-screen persona left a lot to be desired; she came across as an abrasively verbose person who couldn't articulate her concepts or follow through on their execution and she managed to rub just about every single person the wrong way during her stay in the competition.

I've been outspoken about my distaste for certain contestants but never has a Top Chef participant proven him- or herself so unworthy of being there as Robin. She should have been eliminated any number of times but managed to make it to the Final Six. Yes, the Final Six. I honestly think that if she had managed to squeeze past elimination again this week (which would have resulted in either Jennifer or Eli going home), I would have followed through on an earlier threat and thrown my television out of the window.

But I am getting ahead of myself with respect to this episode, which had the chefs creating a take on breakfast in bed for Padma and Nigella Lawson, who arrived in Vegas jetlagged after a flight from London. In matching robes and nestled under the blankets in two double beds at the Venetian, Padma and Nigella were looking for something inventive, restorative, and delicious. Did the chefs deliver?

Let's take a look at what they made:

• Bryan: four-minute egg with vanilla beurre fondue, crab, asparagus, and soft corn polenta
• Eli: fried egg reuben benedict with thousand island hollandaise sauce
• Jennifer: "S.O.S." creamed chipped beef with toast and potatoes
• Kevin: steak and soft-scrambled eggs with creme fraiche, aged cheddar, and green onions
• Michael: huevos Cubana with banana puree, rice, bacon, and arugula salad
• Robin: blintz with goat cheese, caramelized pineapple and blueberries

I think Bryan would have probably won this challenge... if he hadn't sabotaged himself with that vanilla beurre fondue; I have to admit that I would have been put off that as well, given that it was juxtaposed with the savory crab. I thought that Eli and Kevin both pulled off superlative dishes here with both of them offering a new take on American classics. Ultimately, Nigella awarded Eli the win for his inventive take on a reuben, translated for breakfast.

A brief aside: I'm extremely worried about Jennifer. Her performance this week once again followed her late trend and she once again managed to sink to the bottom of the pack after performing so strongly in the first half of the competition. I don't know if it's nerves, exhaustion, or stress but I haven't been impressed by any of her dishes these last few weeks and I find that utterly heartbreaking. I keep hoping that she'll turn it around the following week but she's consistently now performed rather poorly the last three or so installments. If she has any reserves of energy, inspiration, and strength, I'm hoping she can tap into them ASAP.

Sigh.

For their elimination challenge, the chefs were assigned a specific casino on the Vegas Strip and told to explore their location for an inspiration for a dish they would have to prepare for 175 hungry diners at a rooftop party at the World Market Center. Interestingly, this was the first time I believe that we didn't see the chefs head to Whole Foods to pick out produce and protein for their dishes, instead cutting straight to them at the Top Chef kitchen beginning their prepwork. Odd, that.

Some of the chefs took to the task and created dazzling sophisticated and intriguing dishes while others weren't quite able to get a handle on what was being asked of them. And there was a lot going on after all: preparing 175 dishes and serving them is no small feat into itself, much less when said dish has to be inspired by a casino's motifs, mood, and theme.

Thus, the six remaining chefs offered up the following dishes:

• Bryan (Mandalay Bay): escabeche of halibut with bouillabaisse consomme, parsley coulis, and garlic chips
• Eli (Circus Circus): caramel apple peanut soup with popcorn raspberry froth
• Jennifer (Excalibur): New York strip steak with red wine reduction, beets, truffles, and herbs
• Kevin (Mirage): sugar-and-salt-cured wild Alaskan sockeye salmon with compressed napa cabbage and cucumber and tomato water
• Michael (New York, New York): boneless chicken wing confit with curry and blue cheese disc
• Robin (Bellagio): panna cotta

It was no surprise that Kevin and the Voltaggio brothers ended up placing in the top half. Each of their dishes was a masterpiece of concept and execution, thoughtful, playful, and sublime. I selected Kevin as one of my two players to watch in the very first round of this season and I'm glad I did; his dishes are refined without being ascetic, comforting without being messy. (Despite what disparaging comments the seemingly jealous Michael would make about them.) Likewise, Bryan seems to excel at the elimination challenges while never quite being able to pull off successful performances in the Quickfires; here his dish is controlled and elegant but also exuberant and self-assured. I'm not quite sure what the hell judge Toby Young was trying to say about Michael's food (was it just me or did he call his dishes "effeminate"?) but the judges did award Michael the top prize this round for his deconstructed take on Buffalo wings, done in true Michael Voltaggio style. Well done.

As for the three chefs landing in the bottom, that wasn't a surprise either. Eli's dish was a mess in terms of concept and execution and he didn't do himself any favors by adding caramelized white chocolate to the soup, which only served to make even MORE grainy than it already was. I don't disagree with Nigella who said that she was terrified to take a bite as it sounded absolutely revolting. Additionally, Eli seemed to not quite get a bead on any inspiration from Circus Circus in the first place; rather than throw together traditional circus fare, this was his opportunity to create something spectacular and raucous. But, alas... Jennifer didn't fare any better with the Excalibur; granted, medieval cuisine is a specialty than few can pull off these days but she did miss a trick by not using spices like mace to create an ornate and astounding carnivorous dish.

And then there was Robin... While the other chefs attempted to use innovative techniques and high-end ingredients, Robin created... a panna cotta. A rubbery one at that which used far too much gelatin and rendered itself about as sumptuous as a hockey puck. Even if she had been able to pull off the stained glass-effect sugar glass (and that was a rather huge IF), it wouldn't have elevated the dish at all.

Ultimately, it was well past due that Robin should be the one to pack her knives and go and I'm glad that the judges finally saw fit to cull her from the pack. Only five chefs remain going into the final elimination challenge. Which four will make it to the finals and who will be the next to get cut? Discuss.

Next week on Top Chef ("Culinary Olympics"), the five remaining chefs participate in an elite cooking competition established by notable French chef Paul Bocuse and are tasked with creating a ballotine in an extreme tight time frame; Thomas Keller of French Laundry and Bouchon stops by as this week's guest judge.

Confrontation and Cuisine: Another Look at the "Top Chef Reunion Dinner"

Where there's Marcel, there's drama.

Last night's Top Chef Reunion Dinner, a nice twist on the culinary series retrospective, offered both Marcel and drama in equal measure. After all, there's been maybe one other Top Chef contestant (cough, Tiffany, cough) who has stirred up as much conflict and confrontation as Marcel has.

From the head-shaving almost-incident to the post-series bottle-throwing, Marcel has been at the heart of some memorably tense moments, including one from the Season Five finale that had never before been aired in which he suddenly becomes involved in a verbal battle with supercilious judge Toby Young.

While I already hinted at my thoughts about the Top Chef reunion special (you can read my advance review here), now that the episode has aired we can discuss some specific details from last night's special.

Personally, I really enjoyed watching the reunion. While it was a break from the competition itself (as well as the current series), it offered not only a breather but also a look back... and I'd have much rather had some new Top Chef content this week than face an evening of repeats, as we often have to during the course of the series' run.

Given that there have already been five iterations of the series to date, Top Chef has produced some memorable contestants, including some that are known for more than just combative personalities; I was glad to see that the producers brought back not only the most dramatic cheftestants (and thank goodness Spike wasn't there!) but also some extremely talented competitors.

It was interesting to see what all of the previous contestants were up to, how they had changed, and whether their time on the series had shaped them. Marcel, of course, hasn't changed all that much. He's still cocky, combustive, and has an innate way of rubbing people the wrong way. I was beyond confused why he would agree to return for this reunion if he had no intention of discussing his past. Isn't that the very point of a reunion? Did he honestly believe that no one, not the producers, not host Fabio Viviani, would bring up any controversy?

I'm glad Fabio did say something to Marcel at the table. No one forced any of them to sign up for this reunion or rehash things on camera. Marcel could have politely refused the invitation and gone on his way. But he chose to participate. And choosing to participate means having to discuss unpleasant or uncomfortable things. With the others. On camera. Of course, the head-shaving thing is going to come up, especially as Ilan is there. Of course, Fabio is going to ask about the guy who threw a bottle at Marcel's head. It's all on the record and it has to be asked.

Likewise, I'm glad that Casey and Carla were able to talk about what went wrong in the season finale that cost Carla her shot at the grand prize. But Carla being Carla, she's not harping on it or even blaming Casey, who clearly feels some guilt over what happened in that final challenge. They were able to bring their feelings into the air and move on. And that's really what a reunion should be all about, in the end.

Of course, it wasn't all accusations and haughty glares across the table as the chefs prepared a beautiful five-course menu for themselves to enjoy... without the stress of elimination, immunity, or wacky restrictions about only using food from the vending machine or a particular aisle of the grocery store. It was all about the food.

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

• First Course (Season Three's Casey, Dale, and Hung): Fanny Bay oyster puree, puffed forbidden rice, cilantro, pickled watermelon, cucumber, green bean, and red onion; crab pierogi with mushroom and asparagus ragout and curry hollandaise; sardines with a black pepper- caramelized sugar pork broth and scallions
• Second Course (Season One's Harold and Tiffany): seared scallop with scallop sashimi noodles and tom yum broth
• Third Course (Season Two's Marcel and Ilan): sea salt-encrusted Thai snapper (stuffed with basil, lemongrass and lemons) served with ratatouille
• Fourth Course (Season Four's Richard and Lisa): corn-fed beef, duck pate, and corn puree with Captain Crunch air, spicy pickled radish salad, and savory root beer caramel
• Fifth Course (Season Five's Stefan and Carla): raspberry panna cotta, rhubarb sauce, chocolate mousse, and almond crisp

Other than Dale's disastrous crab pierogies (dubbed a "trainwreck" by Tiffany), I have to say that I was impressed by the other dishes and how well the chefs worked together after all of this time apart. Loved that Marcel cooked the Thai snapper in a salt crust; besides for being ideal for family style serving it's also a dramatic showcase and allowed him to fillet and bone the fish tableside. Likewise, Hung's sardines sounded incredible and bowed the chefs into a shared silence. Harold and Tiffany's scallops were simple but focused the attention on the flavors... and they spend the majority of their $500 budget on wine and champagne.

All in all, a fun look back before the competition on the current season really heats up. Reunion episodes can be overly formatted and at times snidely shocking. This was one dinner that I wished I was at and which played an equal amount of weight on the confrontation as it did the cuisine.

Next week it's back to the competition on Top Chef: Las Vegas ("Strip Around the World"), as the day begins with a Quickfire Challenge that tasks the chefs to create the perfect breakfast in bed for guest judge Nigella Lawson and Padma in their hotel suite; the chefs visit casinos to gain inspiration for their Elimination Challenge.

Top Chef Preview: Breakfast in Bed:



Top Chef Preview: Casino Inspiration:

Eat, Drink, and Be (Not So) Merry: An Advance Review of "Top Chef Reunion Dinner"

It's hard to believe at times that we're nearly almost done with the sixth season of Bravo's addictive culinary competition series Top Chef.

What better time then to take a look back than just before we anoint another new Top Chef to join the ranks of the blessed few?

Tomorrow night, Bravo will take a break from the current competition for the Top Chef Reunion Dinner, which will offer audiences a chance to see cast members from previous seasons of Top Chef come together for an evening of conversation, competition, and confrontation.

And, yes, those three things play an equal weight in the unfolding of the evening, which is hosted by Top Chef: New York competitor Fabio Viviani at Social Hollywood. Joining Fabio for the reunion are such noteworthy former competitors as Harold Dieterle, Tiffany Faison, Marcel Vigneron, Ilan Hall, Dale Levitski, Casey Thompson, Hung Huynh, Richard Blais, Lisa Fernandes, Carla Hall, and Stefan Richter.

I had the opportunity to watch the reunion dinner episode and have to say that I was not only completely captivated by what these accomplished chefs created in the kitchen but also the way that they interacted. Tensions run high as do emotions and this episode showcases both haute cuisine as much as hot tempers.

Yes, there are certain tough topics from Top Chef history that are dredged up rather uncomfortably for all involved. The head-shaving incident that ensnared Marcel, Ilan, Elia, and Cliff back in Season Two comes to mind. Tiffany's interactions with, well, everyone. Heated stew room arguments. Marcel getting hit over the head with a bottle by a detractor. Carla's decision to listen to Casey's advice to sous-vide her beef, a decision that cost her a shot at the grand prize last season.

These are all touched upon over the course of the alcohol-fueled evening, which features the chefs teaming up with their competitors from their individual season to produce a five-course meal for themselves. There are no judges, no dietary restrictions, no vending machine challenges, and a $500 per course budget. Just good, honest, and delicious food cooked without the added pressure of elimination. Given that no one is going to pack their knives for their performance, each of the chefs wants to dazzle their peers and produce dishes that impress, engage, and tantalize.

Which is a nice change from the rigors and stress of the competition, really. Richard Blais, for example, says that he misses the energy and thrill of competing but when that knife block comes out, there are groans all around. (What did they expect, after all? That the producers would let them just sit back and drink all night?) Others are more keen to cook in the kitchen than dish about the past. (Look for Fabio to make a rather stunning declaration during the dinner about this fact.)

Ultimately, Top Chef Reunion Dinner is a fantastic glimpse at where the former competitors are now, which wounds still sting years later, and which contestants can rise above the fray and attempt to make the evening about camaraderie rather than reheating old vendettas. It's a reminder of the passion, dedication, and vision of the contestants that have come before as well as a delicious offering of drama, served piping hot.

Top Chef Preview: An Angry Dinner:



Top Chef Preview: Marcel vs. Everyone:



Top Chef Reunion Dinner airs Wednesday night at 10 pm ET/PT on Bravo.