On the Table with Eric Ripert

Occasional Top Chef judge Eric Ripert has a show on the new YouTube channel, Reserve. On the first episode, he talks to his BFF Anthony Bourdain, another Top Chef regular. Other episodes of On the Table can be found here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef Video Sunday - Edward Lee Dishes on Season 9 and a Bourdain DVR Alert

Current contestant Edward Lee of Louisville's 610 Magnolia talks to local station WHAS about what it's like to compete and says he hasn't cried yet. With his unique Asian/Southern twist, Ed also demos Cornmeal and Coconut Macaroons (gotta love a Top Chef who's comfortable making desserts, and who knows the difference between a macaroon and a macaron). Ed also offers some holiday variations you can try in your own kitchen.

Meanwhile 'tis the season, and the always twisted holiday special on Travel Channel's No Reservation with frequent Top Chef guest judge Anthony Bourdain airs Monday night at 9:00 Eastern. Tony's blog post about it here.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Top Chef News, Shoes, and Shows

Zac Young of Just Desserts 1 at the James Beard Foundation annual gala and auction: “I promised if the bidding went high enough, I'd cook in Gail's shoes. It did and La Simmons handed over the goods.”

We mentioned yesterday that we spotted TC: Texas contestant Nyesha Arrington on last Sunday’s “sneak peak” at the new Food Network show, Chef Hunters. Now comes word TC Masters Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger will be looking to hire an executive chef for their restaurant Border Grill on the show’s official premiere this Thursday night at 10:00 Eastern.

And if that’s not enough, there’s a 1980s-era sit-com in the works based on Too Hot Tamales Mary Sue and Susan’s long-standing friendship and business partnership (and there's that husband they have in common . . .)

Missing Anthony Bourdain as a judge on the new season of Top Chef? Never fear. His new show, The Layover, premieres on the Travel Channel Monday, Nov. 21. Click here for video of his segment this week on Letterman, where he explains how The Layover is different from No Reservations, and why “the smell of failure is French toast.”

Bourdain will also make an appearance, as it were, on The Simpsons this Sunday (Nov. 13 at 8:00 Eastern on Fox), in which Marge becomes, yes, a food blogger. Grub Street has a great interview with the show’s executive producer about the episode (don’t miss the slideshow).

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 9.19.11

Stephanie Izard is on a mission to raise $500,000 for Share Our Strength, and one facet of that effort is a national tour – cooking with local chefs and promoting her upcoming cookbook, Girl in the Kitchen. Eater has coverage here. More on the Goat Tour website – and whether she’ll be coming to your town – here.

Steph will also be in charge of creating the menu to feed this year’s CMT Artists of the Year nominees, according the press release here.

In a similar gig, TC Masters contestant Tim Love was the chef behind the performers’ food at last week’s Austin City Limits Festival. Check out what he has to say here about cooking on that scale since he started doing it in 2009.

Michael Voltaggio’s Ink. is now set to open this Wednesday in LA, and brother Bryan hosts a benefit for Share Our Strength at his Baltimore restaurant Volt September 27.

Another long-anticipated venture, Richard Blais’s haute hot dog restaurant, HD1, is opening Thursday, reports Eater Atlanta.

Fabio Viviani tells Grub Street he’s done building Bravo’s legacy for free and instead building his own. You can read what all up to, in inimitable Fabio fashion here. (P.S., since it seems to be a topic of endless fascination, he says he has a girlfriend.)

Author and frequent TC judge Anthony Bourdain gets his own imprint (that’s publishing-speak for “line of books”), for which he will act as talent scout to acquire three to five books a year written by other authors that “reflect his remarkably eclectic tastes,” according to this item from the NY Times.

And the Emmy went to - Amazing Race. Despite Top Chef's upset last year, the best competition-reality award is back in the hands of the long-time winner in the category.

Need something to sweeten the blow? As you look forward to Wednesday's episode of Just Desserts, you can brush up on some of those terms they throw around on the show with this handy translation guide.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 7.18.11

Congratulations to Top Chef for garnering four Emmy nominations (“Outstanding Reality-Competition Program,” “Outstanding Cinematography for Reality Programming,” “Outstanding Directing for Non-Fiction Programming” and “Outstanding Picture Editing for Reality Programming”)! No Reservations, the Travel Channel show starring frequent TC judge Anthony Bourdain, also received four nominations (“Outstanding Nonfiction Series,” “Outstanding Writing for Nonfiction Programming,” “Outstanding Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming” and “Outstanding Cinamatography for Nonfiction Programming”).

In case you missed it, here’s a 30-minute video of Bourdain answering the top 10 questions posed by viewers on Reddit.

Want to meet Fabio Viviani? Bertolli olive oil is sponsoring a contest where the winner will win a trip for two to LA for cooking lessons with the maestro.

Ruth Reichl confirms here that Top Chef Masters 4 is in the works.

Jen Carroll, Spike Mendelsohn, Kevin Sbraga, Dale Talde, Carla Hall and Stephen Asprinio were among the Top Chef alums who showed up for an “oven-warming” party at All-Stars finalist Mike Isabella’s newly opened Graffiato. Check out pics and more on Eater.

A couple of interesting pieces about TC Masters 3 finalist Traci des Jardins here and here. She is also blogging for the new Huffington Post San Francisco edition. Here inaugural post here.

And Harold Dieterle, Fabio Viviani and Richard Blais will each take over the kitchen at Wisconsin’s Lake of the Torches Resort Casino selected Thursdays in August.

Posted on AllTopChef.com

Are you watching Treme?

Anthony Bourdain, frequent Top Chef guest judge, is writing the restaurant scenes for Treme.Top Chef head honcho Tom Colicchio and Bourdain pal Eric Ripert (another friend/judge of TC) appeared on the most recent episode. You can find linkage and videos here and here and here. Kind of makes me wish I got HBO. If you're watching, let us know what you think. 

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 4.25.11

Kevin Gillespie will be making an appearance at, of all things, the grand opening of the Vidalia Onion Museum on April 29. It actually sounds like a pretty cool place. Season 7's Tracey Bloom is also set to appear.

In addition, Kevin is slated to headline the Gig Harbor Wine and Food Festival August 9.

Meanwhile, Season 7's Kenny Gilbert is opening Nippers Beach Grill in Jacksonville Beach, FL May 16 and has a book available called "A Chef's Journal."

Arnold Myint, also of Season 7, has a new addition to his Nashville empire: a "gourmet grab and go cafe" at the Nashville Farmers Market.

Arnold also emceed the Top Chef Tour's stop in Nashville, where All-Star Casey Thompson went up against Season 5's Richard Sweeney.

And Top Chef: Just Desserts' winner Yigit Pura has been named one of the grand marshals of this year's Pride Parade in San Francisco, along with Chaz Bono and Olympia Dukakis.

Meanwhile, when Eric Ripert was asked by a Today Show staffer to describe co-judge Anthony Bourdain in one word, he said: "The grain of salt." I know, I know, that's four words. To hear him explain why, check out this video.

Bourdain himself offers videos with some behind-the-scenes tidbits on Travel Channel's site with Ripert here and here, and one with Tom Colicchio here.

Does it rankle you when Masters host Curtis Stone tosses off comments about dishes he would "be proud to serve at any restaurant anywhere in the world" or describes a bug dish as "not likely to be on the menu" at his restaurant anytime soon? Because, you know, the dude doesn't have any restaurants. In this interview with Yum Sugar, he claims he'll be opening one in LA this year, although he has neither a location nor a name selected yet. And he says he was asked to compete on Masters in its first season.

Finally, here's a thoughtful piece from Josh Ozersky in Time about why he finds Masters so depressing. It's also a bit of a love letter to the Top Chef franchise. What do you think?

Posted on AllTopChef.com

TC News and Information 1.28.11 - Vacation Edition

Top Chef All-Stars took a holiday this week (sigh). So how about catching up on the recent getaways of some of our TC faves?

Auf'd All-Star Jennifer Carroll traveled to the Caribbean with her boss, Bravo vlogger and frequent TC guest judge Eric Ripert, for the third annual Picnic in the Caymans, based at the Ritz-Carlton hotel, which houses his restaurant, Blue. Ripert's buddy, Tony Bourdain, who sometimes judges All-Stars (glad he'll be back next week), also made an appearance, as did TC Masters contestant and All-Stars dim sum judge Susur Lee. Bourdain claims Tom spends more time in hair and make-up than Padma. What do you think? More about the Cayman event here.

TC Masters contestant Jonathan Waxman headed to Hawaii for the James Beard Celebrity Chef Tour. Cooking with Iron Chef Michael Symon, you can bet pork was involved - in fact, a "reserve" pig. Waxman and Symon also spent some time answering questions from culinary students. Here's video of the $250 per person dinner Waxman and Symon whipped up on the Big Island.

In a chillier but nonetheless prestigious setting, Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio and Season 3 contestant Brian Malarkey cooked at Chef Dance, er, Sundance. From Utah, MVolt also shared his thoughts about whether Marcel is really an a**h*le or just plays one on TV.

Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard appears this weekend at Bon Appetit's Master Chef Classic in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Her "Snowshoe Excursion and Luncheon" is sold out. She'll also be up against Jose Garces and Joey Campanaro in the food festival's "Master Chef Challenge," where the competitors will be given 20 minutes to create a dish from a surprise ingredient.

If you're not lucky enough to be in one of those exotic locales but find yourself traveling through Chicago, Top Chef Masters winner Rick Bayless has a new outpost in O'Hare's Terminal 1, with another on the way for Terminal 3.

Stay warm, all. And Minx, good luck digging out the Ion.

eggy

TC News and Information 1.12.11

Casey Thompson talks to Feast about those butchery aspirations that led her to attempt the chicken feet that got her booted last episode: “Butchery is kind of my thing. I think it's important that chefs grind their own meat, butcher their own cuts, and know where their products are coming from. So, my ultimate goal is to open a butcher shop/restaurant that features local ingredients so that small farmers can feature their products. That's my next big thing. I hope to open them up all over the nation, actually. It will be a chain retail shop but will feature good products from farms in the area.”

As to that shot of Dale Talde wiping off his shoes in the dim sum restaurant last week? “It was because I had just spilled a bunch of hot liquid all over myself,” he says here. "Less-Angry Dale" has more to say about being less angry and his hopes to open his own restaurant featuring some of his favorite Filipino comfort foods here, plus: “I’d be biased but for me, this is the best season of Top Chef. There will be more twists and turns and shocks.”

One of my favorite TC episodes of all time had to be in Season 6 when Kevin Gillespie won the pork battle and his prize was to appear at Charlie Palmer's annual Pigs and Pinot charity fundraiser - a poetic win, and darn, but that event sounded tasty. Tickets go on sale January 21 for this year's Pigs and Pinot, which will be held in Healdsburg, CA, March 18-19 and feature Michael and Bryan Voltaggio.

However she ends up faring on All-Stars, Tiffani Faison is plugging away in the wake of the abrupt closing of her Boston restaurant Rocca. In this new video interview, you can see some of the food she prepared there, and hear a few of her insights on filming this season.

For you hard-core Anthony Bourdain-o-philes out there, Boston was also the location for Tony's shoot this week for No Reservations. Having become more involved in his NR facebook page, etc. (or installed someone closer to his inner circle to manage it), one result is that Tony and crew attempted to livestream a portion of their Boston visit via facebook and eater.com. The endeavor, which turned into a bit of a clusterf*$k, has now been moved to one 50-minute continuous vimeo here.

If you lack the time or patience to wade through the whole thing, a couple of highlights: Bourdain says his next book will be a novel, "about violent New Yorkers doing terrible things to each other in the Caribbean" (36:14) and his full comments offering advice to food bloggers - more fully weighted toward the importance of, you know, loving food than previously misquoted by "anti-feline" sources (21:14). Make up your own mind about Tony's Mister Rogers sweater (which embarrasses his wife), and what's with that Guy Fieri-looking hair?

A shout-out to Karen at Cats Working, who must be an even more ardent Bourdain follower than I am. You'll find some serious Bourdain esoterica over at her place, including a link to this hysterical imagining of "No Reservations: Narnia" by a talented writer who has Tony's voice down pat.

So . . . which two will go home on tonight's All-Stars?

TC News and Information 12.08.10 - Just for Fun Edition

A warm welcome back to What'ere Jane Eyre, whose recap we somehow missed for the Ep. 1 Round-Up. And for a ribald recap of the audio variety, check out Creative Loafing's podcast.

(Photo: Travel Channel)

Speaking of ribaldry, if you missed TC All-Stars judge Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" Holiday Special Monday night on the Travel Channel, with Michael Ruhlman, David Chang, Pat LaFrieda, that cake guy who's leaving the Food Network, and special musical guests, you can find a video with Marky Ramone here, an outtake about Santa, terrorists, and Alvin and the Chipmunks here, and the crew's take on assembling all that generic, non-denominational holiday stuff (plus guns for Ted Nugent) for the out-of-season shoot here. As always, Eater offers up its take on the best lines of the show, here.

Enough irreverance, you say? Then check out this hilarious item from Atlanta Magazine (and accompanying photos), which will warm the cockles of your red-beard lovin' heart.

Kevin Gillespie made an appearance at an Atlanta puppetry performance of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and is going a step further in the holiday spirit. "Doppelgangers unite!" he says on his facebook page. "In honor of Rudolph's woodsy pal, you can now enjoy the Yukon Cornelius cocktail at Woodfire Grill, made with High West Silver whiskey, maple bitters, allspice dram, zirbenz liqueur, an egg and half and half."

Cheers to all, and happy viewing tonight for Top Chef All-Stars Episode 2!

TC News and Information 12.04.10 - Saturday Night Special

Yowza! The All-Stars season's first eliminated chef, Elia Aboumrad, is speaking up for herself - and speaking out against a lot.

In this interview with TV Guide, Elia takes issue with whether the rules of the episode were enforced, claims she was given palm tree leaf in lieu of ti leaves, says she argued for her dish for 40 minutes at Judges Table, rues what was left on the editing room floor, and defends Fabio for serving his pasta on paper.

She has more to say about what she perceived to be an uneven playing field and those leaves with which she wrapped her red snapper in this item from The Feast, where she says: "My season was crazy but we were never rude like this to each other in the kitchen. Here there was no respect for the kitchen, for the ingredients, for the utensils. It was just a war, and I was very surprised to see that. People would elbow you, take things from underneath you, break things in order to open them. Behavior that you don’t see in kitchens. You shouldn't have that if you want to be a top chef, but maybe that's what they're looking for." (Hmm, no rudeness on the head-shaving season? Oh, she did specify that rudeness didn't take place in the kitchen.)

You can find more about what Elia has to say about those pesky rules – and the real mother lode of controversy over her comments – in this piece from the Chicago Tribune, where Elia has particularly incendiary words for head judge Tom Collichio – and Tom talks back in harsh tones as well.

Moving on. Colicchio's Bravo blog takes up the question of another rules infraction that did make it on air: "As for Richard, we wanted to acknowledge that he’d made a top dish, but we simply could not consider him for the win because he had not stopped plating when the time ran out. It’s a hard-and-fast rule. I don’t think he was trying to cheat –- I think he was simply absorbed in what he was doing and didn’t pay attention. One of the other contestants rightly alerted the producers to what had happened, and Richard was out of the running. One doesn’t lose for working past the time-limit; one simply cannot win that challenge. Once Richard saw the tape, I believe he was fine with the decision. Any other outcome would be unfair –- there would be no point to the time-limit." Oh, yeah, it probably didn't hurt Blais that he already had immunity by virtue of being part of Team Chicago in the Quickfire Challenge.

Judge Gail Simmons' Bravo blog addresses expectations for the Elimination Challenge: "We did not want to see each dish completely reinvented, but rather reconfigured as a better version of its former self. Most of our cheftestants did just that, and we were pleased with many of the results." Gail is also blogging All-Stars for Entertainment Weekly, where her take on the first episode includes this: "Richard’s pork belly and Casey’s pork belly—both were redeemed for sure. Both had been a problem of execution, not conception like other dishes, and they both knew exactly how to fix them. Unfortunately, Richard did go over the time. We went back to the tapes many times before we decided that we couldn’t allow him to win, but it certainly wasn’t something he’d be eliminated for. Other contestants saw that he went over and we needed to be fair to all of them. His was just an honest mistake."

The inimitable Anthony Bourdain is back to blogging for Bravo for the first time since 2007. (You might recall that he discontinued after a snit over product placement according to one of his blog posts for the Travel Channel which has since been taken down; salient quoteage has, however, survived here). In Tony's Bravo blog about All-Stars Episode 1, he talks about his on-air criticism of Fabio's dish: "No one likes their work to be mocked. Fabio in particular. And yet mock I did. I couldn't help it. I mean, look at that thing. Its supreme ugliness only reinforced and highlighted by its presentation on paper, bringing to mind immediately and inevitably, the command oft directed at a bad puppy: "Go on the paper! The paper!!" And then Tony back-pedals - a bit: "I feel bad about beating up on Fabio. Maybe I'm losing my edge. Maybe I should leave the bloodletting to my sinister French colleague, Eric Ripert. Or that English guy ... what was his name? Maybe I should confine myself to constructive criticism. To a kinder, gentler, more mentor-like approach. Wear a big fluffy f---ing sweater to Judges' Table, speak in quiet, melifluous Garrison Keilloresque tones. Maybe lay off the gin. . . . Or not."

Frequent TC judge and Bourdain BFF Eric Ripert is also blogging the All-Stars for Bravo, despite the fact that he is not a guest judge this season, owing to the appearance of his protege, Jennifer Carroll. You can listen to the Ripper's melifluous tones via video or read the transcript here, in which he says: "Fabio was very sensitive about the criticism of Anthony of his dish. And he was very animated and very critical and attacked Anthony. He basically blamed him for making fun of him and criticizing his dish without being constructive. Anthony, you cannot do that! You have to be a nice gentleman. In Washington, Anthony was making fun of me because supposedly I was the evil man and he decided to be very nice, so, Anthony, I'm giving it back to you. Be careful!"

Season 6's Eli Kirshtein continues to blog on Bravo, with insights I often find interesting for their pragmatism from his perspective as both an experienced chef and a TC competitor. About this episode he writes: "Redesigning dishes is an everyday job for the modern chef. We take a concept, hopefully one that we feel strongly about, and believe in at the onset, and tweak and modify it till it meets the standards and vision we have for it, optimally before you ever serve it to a diner. One of the challenges of the show is the lack of opportunity to go through this diligence. You realistically have just one shot at a dish. All the nuances of seasoning, garnishing, even plating, is left to one opportunity. This specific challenge gives them another go, one more chance at it. All of them have re-concepted this dish over and over again; this is the one the got away. They have hoped for this chance to redeem themselves and prove it was a one off mistake. If they do strongly here, they will feel verified and qualified at the onset. An albatross removed." And Eli concludes: "This season has so many more layers to it than ever before."

If you really care, Bravo is bringing us another blog this season from "Senior Editor of Bravotv.com" Monica A. Reyhan. I'm not sure what it takes to be a "senior editor" for Bravo's website, but hello? She didn't know until that recent media conference call (which ATC's Minx blogged about here) that Bourdain was going to be a judge this season? And she claims of Bourdain's earlier Bravo blogs, "As a young and naive editor at Bravotv.com it was my privilege to receive his blogs each week for posting. Unless I'm re-writing history I think his blog may have been my idea." Sorry, but this "senior editor" is no substitute for insider Season 1's Lee Ann Wong, who posted some of the best blogs about TC ever on Bravo's site, sharing her insider perspective when she went on to become a culinary producer of TC.

For another quasi-insider's take, you can read Open Table's live blog of TCAS Episode 1 with Season 7's Ed Cotton here (apparently Ed was not asked to come back for All-Stars).

And in case you're bored or snowed in this weekend, you can read extended versions of that All-Stars media conference call here and here.

Stay warm, all, and happy reading!

TC News and Information 11.23.10

Well, lookie who has a book deal announced just in time to coincide with the run-up to all the attention Top Chef All-Stars is getting. Yes, it's Gail Simmons, and her memoir is titled Eating With My Mouth Full. Sorry, but you'll have to wait until 2012 for it to be published.

Speaking of writers, the guy who won TC judge Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw Essay Contest collected his cash and talked about writing his piece in 15 minutes here.

Meanwhile, head judge Tom Colicchio revealed at the recent Food and Wine and Rum Festival in Barbados that he will be actually be cooking in the TC All-Stars season: "It was the first time, I got into the kitchen and cooked with them, under the clock. It's harder than it looks." Hmmm, wonder if Tom cooked his dish in less than 15 minutes.

Interview with Tom Colicchio and Anthony Bourdain

I had the great pleasure of participating in a conference call with Top Chef's head judge Tom Colicchio and new regular judge Anthony Bourdain. It was my birthday, which made it even more of a treat.

While some callers attempted to squeeze out telling information about the upcoming All-Stars season 8 (to no avail), others asked some interesting questions of the two judges.

One caller wanted to know how Tom and Tony stayed so slim, which of course is only pertinent to Bourdain and not to Colicchio, who admitted he was a "a hamburger away from 250." He did say he worked out when he could, usually boxing. Bourdain, on the other hand, claimed to have been to a gym "for 20 minutes once. My wife bought me some training sessions and I decided that there was nothing attractive about laying on the floor trying not to vomit in front of total strangers.

"I basically Google (Keith Richards) everyday, if he is still alive I figure there is hope for me."

The questioning then turned to Thanksgiving Plans.

Bourdain: "I tell you right now I’m eating turkey, I’m not a communist. I mean, by God lets fill up with turkey, stuffing, gravy. It doesn’t even have to be good turkey, stuffing and gravy. It’s - you know, it’s the holidays."

Colicchio: "I will spend the early part of the day feeding people who are a little less fortunate. And then after a little later I will have dinner."

"My dinner is the same one I’ve been doing for a few years now. It’s roast turkey, the stuffing is a golden raisin semolina stuffing that I make with pork breakfast sausage. And only because I have a restaurant, and I have access to it, there is a lot of pork belly and foie gras scraps thrown in there for good measure. And brussels sprouts, bacon, onions, butternut squash puree, roasted root vegetables, cranberry sauce. If my mother-in-law is coming over, it’s canned cranberry sauce, because she doesn’t like the fresh stuff. So I’ll do both. And she happens to be a very good cook too - my wife’s stepmother that is. "

The response to another question made it seem like Bourdain had a bit of a mancrush on Fabio: "He’s charming, he’s Italian. I love Italian food, my wife is Italian. ...if I’m bitter about anything in my life it’s that I’m not Italian American. So you know, he is a very charming guy."

Eventually it was my turn and I asked Bourdain why he seemed so extremely nice when he acted as judge in season 7, especially since his buddy Eric Ripert seemed so bitchy by comparison. I specifically asked if the aliens who kidnapped him returned his snark. After some laughter, the response, "...the most perverted thing I could do is to make Eric the bad guy on that show. I mean, I saw my opportunity. He is always the good one you know, he’s a very good friend, he’s always seen as the good guy, the nice guy, the loveable one. And he was being - I thought he was being pretty harsh. So I saw my opportunity to make him Darth Vader.

Other topics discussed included Twitter and blogging. Bourdain leaves the tweeting to his wife Ottavia and occasionally gets her to send his comments into the Twitterverse. Colicchio says he's Tweeted in the past, but that West coasters get angry if he reveals who won. His response to this? "What are you doing here, if you don’t want to know?"

You probably think I'm mean by not revealing anything they said about the show, but honestly, there wasn't much. Colicchio insisted that the judges know nothing about behind-the-scenes hijinks or drama until we do - when the episodes are aired - or if someone brings it up at Judge's Table. And that the playing field is pretty even this season because the judges "kind of know them all." He also thinks Dale Talde has matured. Guess that means no crotch-grabbing and cursing this season, at least not in front of the judges.

We'll just have to watch and find out.

(An aside: it's not until you attempt to edit the transcript from a phone interview until you realize how many times people say "you know" between every few words. Both were guilty.)

TC News and Information 11.15.10

In case you can't get enough of Richard Blais when he returns to Top Chef All-Stars, starting December 17 he will also have a new show on the Science Channel, Blaisin Out, in which he uses "ultra-modern tools and techniques to deconstruct and then re-engineer new-and-improved versions of America's most popular meals using technology and science."

Speaking of All-Stars, it's not too early to book a reservation at Jennifer Carroll's restaurant, 10 Arts, for the All-Stars premiere viewing party. She'll be serving a special tasting menu of her favorite winning dishes from her original season, the 6th. Hope she's saving her favorite dishes from her upcoming turn on the All-Star season for future viewing parties.

If you're looking for an update on returning Dale Levitski, with a soupcon of inside scoop on the All-Stars, you won't want to miss this great new interview. I'm a little disappointed to read that Anthony Bourdain, who was supposed to be a regular judge for the All-Stars, alternating with Gail Simmons, judged only twice . . . unless that means Dale L. only lasted through two of the episodes judged by Bourdain (in which case, I'm also a little disappointed).

A whole bunch of TC contestants will be appearing at the Seventh Annual San Diego Bay Wine and Food Festival, which runs November 17-21. Season 6's Eli Kirshtein and Season 7's Andrea Curto-Randazzo join returning All-Star Brian Malarkey on Friday night, while Season 7's Kenny Gilbert helps with the menu for Sunday’s Celebrity Chef Luncheon & Live Auction. More info here and here.

We know TC head judge Tom Colicchio likes his guitars, but this is interesting. On November 23 at NYC's Del Posto, he and a number of other music-lovin' chefs will participate in a "Music and Culinary Summit," for which the chefs will pair each course not only with wine but also with music. Eater.com calls it "the Traveling Wilburys of the kitchen" and you can find more info here.

In other musical news, Top Chef Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the recent Asphalt Chef Challenge at Texas Motor Speedway that raised more than $85,000 for charity. And if that wasn't enough, the cheftestants hopped up on stage to sing "Hot Blooded" with Foreigner singer Kelly Hansen, Love's sous chef, afterward. You can find video here.

Speaking of smackdowns, and charity events, returning All-Star Spike Mendolsohn made it to the top 2 but then lost out with his Thai-inspired beet salad at the recent Capitol Food Fight, which raised $500K for D.C.'s Central Kitchen. The event was hosted and judged by Tom Colicchio, Anthony Bourdain, Eric Ripert and Jose Andres. For more on the banter and ingredients, as well as photos, click here and here. You can also see video of the surprise cook-off where Tom Colicchio and Jose Andres took on Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert - and which team won by audience applause - here.

TC News and Information 11.9.10

Wow! Stephanie Izard, winner and Fan Favorite of Top Chef Season 4, has racked up some serious wins in the 2010 Eater Awards, including being voted Chef of the Year: National. Stephanie and her new restaurant, The Girl and the Goat, also pretty much swept the Chicago categories, taking Chef of the Year, Restaurant of the Year, and So Hot, Right Now awards for the Windy City.

But wait, there’s more. Top Chef Masters contestant Ludo Lefebvre won for Chef of the Year: Los Angeles (beating out TC Season 6 winner Michael Voltaggio), as well as for Concept of the Year, for his LudoBites pop-up (which we offered you a glimpse of here). TC Masters Season 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson took the Fameball of the Year award (beating out TC Season 4’s Spike Mendelsohn). And judge Eric Ripert was voted Television Personality of the Year, in a category where four of the five nominees have Top Chef connections – the others: judge Anthony Bourdain, TC Masters contestant Susur Lee, and even TC Just Desserts contestant Seth Caro. Hey, Eater’s readers/voters may include an atypically high percentage of Top Chef fans, but you gotta love a contest with a sense of humor.

And if that’s not enough crazy for you, Bravo is said to be adding another cooking reality show to its line-up, featuring TC judge Rocco DiSpirito. Rocco attempts to explain how his Rocco’s Dinner Party won’t be just another TC spin-off here. Hmmm. Could be interesting to see what Rocco’s learned about making television since The Restaurant.

In other competition news, TC Masters contestant Tim Love bested Mario Batali and Guy Fieri in the Asphalt Challenge benefit at the Texas Motor Speedway in Ft. Worth. Apparently some trash talk was involved.

TC News and Information 10.12.10

Wow, a bulging in-box this week. First up, the New York City Wine & Food Fest took place last weekend - lots of chefs with TC connections made appearances and offered commentary. A few morsels.

Top Chef Just Desserts judge Johnny Iuzzini dished to the NY Post that upcoming JD episodes will include drama (despite Seth's departure) and fashion (no surprise if you’ve seen previews for Wednesday’s show). Perhaps more interesting are his thoughts on what to serve at such an event, as Iuzzini handed out “caramelized Godiva chocolate mousse on a stick, with salted walnut nougatine, dried cranberry, a Godiva pearl and a gold leaf.” Hmm, we just know there are bound to be more catering challenges coming up on this season of Just Desserts, and it's always helpful to know where the judges are coming from.

In an interesting panel discussion about the meaning and importance of eating locally, TC head judge Tom Colicchio mentioned that one of the reasons he chose the location of his new NYC restaurant RiverPark is "we're looking to actually grow food in soil. Majority of it will go to schools and educating kids about nutrition."

Eater.com caught up with TCJD judge Eric Ripert’s pastry chef at Le Bernadin, Michael Laiskonis, who will appear as a guest judge in his own right during this season of Just Desserts and offered his observations about TCJD and pastry chefs’ time in the spotlight in this interview.

Speaking of The Ripper, he will prepare a five-course dinner featuring sustainable seasfood with his protoge, Jennifer Carroll - much-rooted-for Top Chef Season 6 contestant and member of the upcoming TC Season 8 All-Star cast - this Thursday in Philly.

And re: sustainable seafood, TC Season 7 contestant Tamesha Warren will prepare an entree Nov. 16 for Baltimore’s National Aquarium Fresh Thoughts series, while Season 1 finalist and returning All-Star Tiffani Faison recently appeared at Boston’s Museum of Science, where she demonstrated how to make “meatballs” from scallops and monkfish, two fish that “tend to be a bit sweeter” and appeal to kids, commenting that it can be hard to get kids to eat fish. Guess it depends on where they grow up and what they’re used to as a kid.

Traveling further along the science – and TV series – train, according to this item, Season 6 finalist and returning All-Star Richard Blais has just wrapped production on a couple of pilot episodes for a show on the Science Channel. And lest we forget Chef Blais’s heavy-duty background, here’s a photo Alinea’s Grant Achatz recently tweeted from years gone by of Blais, Achatz, and the renowned Thomas Keller.

TC Season 3 contestant Brian Malarkey seems to have landed himself a show on TLC called Kick Off, Cook Off, traveling around the country as “cheferee” to judge football tail-gate cooking.

In news about a TC chef who did not try to boost her recognizability by wearing hats, Season 5 chef and All-Star contestant Jamie Lauren has a new gig.

Top Chef Masters contestant Graham Elliot & TCM Season 2 winner Marcus Samuelsson are among the chefs to be included on A&E’s Ikea-sponsored “Fix This Kitchen” makeover show premiering October 16th, along with TC guest judge Charlie Trotter and a couple of other chefs you may have heard of, Ming Tsai & Lydia Bastianich.

Enough media, shilling, and hype, you say?

How about the great news that TC Season 1 winner Harold Dieterle is opening his second restaurant, named Kin Shop? Grub Street has early photos here, and Feast has a mini-interview with H here.

If you’re still craving a first-hand taste of what’s served up by another much-admired TC finalist, you won’t want to miss this report from blogger, TC afficianado, and photographer extraordinare Big Shamu of The Karmic Kitchen about her recent dinner at Season 6 Finalist Kevin Gillespie’s Woodfire Grill in Atlanta.

And because I would be remiss if I did not keep you up to date on TC judge Anthony Bourdain news, here's the official announcement from DC comics about his upcoming "graphic novel," Get Jiro!
 

TC News and Information 10.5.10

Remember when Bravo announced it would do a Top Chef spinoff featuring kids? Judges Tom Colicchio and Eric Ripert discuss why it will never see the light of day in this video.

Speaking of Ripert, did you catch the premiere of the new season of his PBS show, Avec Eric, last weekend? This item details the upcoming episodes and links to a station guide to help you find out when it may be aired in your area.

Wylie Dufresne talks to the Harvard Crimson about his journey from philosophy student to top chef (and two-time Top Chef Masters contestant) here.

Vegansaurus.com is offering vegan versions of the Just Desserts winning recipes all season long. See their spin on Eric Wolitzky's Episode 3 winning desserts here.

Want to design TC Season 7 winner Michael Voltaggio's next tattoo? Click here.

Finally, at a speaking engagement in St. Louis, Anthony Bourdain revealed that the protagonist of his upcoming graphic novel about ultra-violent food nerds will be a sushi chef, according to this piece.

TC News and Information 9.28.10

Wondering why a few of your favorite "also-rans" won't be competing in the All-Star season of Top Chef? Season 6 finalist and Fan Favorite Kevin Gillespie speaks out here.

Great profile of Gail Simmons and her evolution on the Top Chef franchise here.

Looking for food with a view? Check out this article and slideshow about Tom Collichio's new NYC restaurant, Riverpark.

Meanwhile, All-Star contestant Mike Isabella is opening a new restaurant, with fellow Season 6 chef Bryan Voltaggio as an investor, according to this item.

And if you're wondering what All-Star competitor Marcel Vigneron from Season 2 is up to these days (or are just a fan of venison and carpaccio, as I am), check out this blog post - with great photos - of a meal he recently helped prepare.

Finally, although I think we're all glad Anthony Bourdain will be a permanent guest just on the upcoming All-Star season of Top Chef, apparently his wife is thankful he turned down an offer to appear on another reality competition show. Still, her comment got the folks at eater.com imagining what might have been. Check out their gallery of hilarious Bourdain - Dancing With the Stars mash-ups here. Just try not to spit coffee onto your keyboard like I did.

Mash-up by Raphael Brion / Eater.com

All-Star Rumors Confirmed

Rumored contestants according to Eater.com

TV Guide and Eater.com report that Top Chef Season 8 will indeed be an all-star season, premiering December 1. The 18 cast members are to be revealed during tonight’s reunion show. And Anthony Bourdain will be a regular judge, alternating with Gail Simmons!

TC News and Information 9.20.10

We all have our opinions about Season 7. Executive producers Dan Cutforth and Jane Lipsitz of Magical Elves offer their own critique here.

Meanwhile, there were plenty of Season 7 finale parties and Just Desserts premiere parties last Wednesday. Zagat offers up a comparison of the Gail Simmons/Food & Wine finale bash at Craft (where Ed Cotton confirmed he will not be appearing in future TC’s – which presumably includes the all-but-certain All-Star Season 8) with the premiere party hosted by Johnny Iuzzini (at which no desserts were served).  

Gawker attended the F&W shindig, encountering a Padma “lost in the fog of forgetfulness,” then fled to watch the episode elsewhere, as no one in the party crowd seemed to care to watch it.  

DCist reports that viewing parties for the final S7 episode at Eric Ripert's West End Bistro, The Oval Room (where S7 contestant Tamesha Warren is the sous chef) and Spike Mendelsohn's Good Stuff Eatery were sparsely attended (but as someone who lives a long way from D.C., I still would have loved to be one of the few).

Just Desserts contestant Yigit Pura's restaurant, Taste, hosted a TC:JD viewing party, which definitely included desserts, which you can see more of here.

Kevin Sbraga reveals more details about the restaurant he hopes to open with the $125,000 he earned as Season 7 winner, while runner-up Ed Cotton says he would have sat on the money but still has aspirations for his own restaurant...

Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard has finally opened her new restaurant, Girl and the Goat, which Chicago Magazine offers an in-depth review of here. And Season 5 winner Hosea Rosenberg’s new food truck business gets a thumbs-up from his hometown paper in Boulder for its global cuisine here.

Heather H. (as in Hurlburt), winner of the Top Chef: Just Desserts Episode 1 Elimination Challenge, talks about TC:JD and her prior competitive cooking experience here.

And TC:JD contestant Zac “Gold Dust” Young will be adding fried whoopee pies, seasonal doughnuts, and a chocolate soufflé with salted peanut caramel and nougat ice cream to the menu at NYC’s Flex Mussels restaurant according to this report.

The charming and multi-talented Hubert Keller (he’s also apparently a kick-ass DJ), whose Top Chef judging experience goes back to Season 1 and who is fondly remembered by many for his resourcefulness in cooking pasta in a dorm-room shower on Top Chef Masters Season 1, returns as a judge on Just Desserts this week (he’s alternating with Dannielle Kyrillos of Daily Candy – anyone else heard of her? I hadn’t). In other news, Hubert’s Las Vegas outpost of his San Francisco-based Fleur de Lys has closed but will reopen as a tapas restaurant with a lower price point in December according to this report.

 [Still from Anthony Bourdain's Alternate Universe]

And finally, because he may be one of the most beloved Top Chef judges of all time, even if he wimped out on the snarkiness in his Season 7 appearance, a bit of Anthony Bourdain news. Tony is writing a “graphic novel” (aka comic book) about “ultraviolent food nerds.” In the interest of full disclosure, I must confess I am a Bourdain-o-phile (yes, I actually plunked down $46.50 to see him live and wrote about it at length here). 

So that’s my inaugural post as a brand spankin’ new member of the ATC team. Any links you especially liked – or didn’t? Any news you’d like to see here that I’m missing? Please let me know in the comments or via email.

Thanks!
eggy