Welcome to the first installment of the Slashfood Top Chef recapped, a regular post that I'll be writing following each episode this season (barring any Tivo emergencies). I love Top Chef and tend to get really into it, so the posts will likely feature my own completely biased but hopefully interesting commentary, and I'd really like for them to serve as a jumping point for everyone to discuss favorites, who's hot (Padma), who's lame, etc. So let's begin with the first episode.

First things first: lesbian couple on the show! I'm totally rooting for them, and consequently rooting against Spike, who seemed most uncomfortable with the idea. It's unclear whether more gay contestants will be revealed later, but I wouldn't be surprised. One member of the couple, Jennifer sports the same hairstyle as Richard, and both clearly knock-off last season's Dale. Richard noticed = major drama (I wish). Seriously though, there is some major girl power this season and I love it.

On to the food. The deep-dish pizza Quickfire Challenge was an obvious but fitting choice, given the Chicago setting. That said, I wasn't too impressed with the pizzas that the contestants conjured. Dale, who is already establishing himself as the confident, out-to-get-you Hung of this season, put it only slightly too harshly when he said that everyone else's dishes looked horrible. The only one I would have been really interested to taste was Richard's with peaches and syrup.Now, to the Elimination Challenge. I really liked the idea of having two contestants compete against each other on one of eight classic dishes. Like the rest of America, I was shocked that Ryan didn't know how to cook chicken piccata. I loved the looks of both lasagnas, and was glad to see Nikki pull through with fresh pasta after her deep dish disaster. I was also happy to see Nimma leave, as she definitely seemed like the downer of the group and (oh gosh, this is going to sound so mean) I think she would have been a better contestant for Hell's Kitchen, given her lack of experience compared to the rest of the contestants. I would have preferred to see Antonia win, but poor Stephanie really needed that boost of confidence after she spent the entire show flipping out.

So here's where we stand so far:
Mark: Loves marmite (me too).
Ryan: Can't cook chicken piccata
Richard: Has tricks up his sleeve
Andrew: Out to get Richard, mouth of a sailor
Jennifer: gay Dale from last season (oh wait, Dale is gay)
Zoi: Probably better than Jennifer
Nikki: New York
Antonia: Love her
Lisa: No air time
Nimma: No more Nimma
Erik: Like Howie, but better. Also: neck tattoo
Stephanie: Needs a drink
Spike: Not his name
Dale: Hung
Manuel: Who's Manuel?

Well, it's time for me to pack up my knives in my Gladware and head to Whole Foods. Until next week!