Bacon-Foam Boasts and Puff-Pastry Malfunctions - 'Top Chef D.C.'

by Michael Thomas Hastings, Posted Jun 17th 2010 @ 11:00AM

Photo: David Giesbrecht / Bravo

Oh, boy. Are we really ready for this? The trash-talking, ego-flaunting, foodie-baiting franchise known as Top Chef is a presence in our living room, in one form or another, for the better part of a year. And yet, we're always caught off-guard when it returns for another round.

Like a rapidly-multiplying spore, each season seems to top the last: All those cheftestants! All the braggadocio! All the confusing tattoos! There may not be that many more of any of these things than in previous years, of course, but thanks to the wonder of Bravo's machine-gun editing, the overall effect is one of brilliantly organized chaos -- or, to borrow a not-so-apt phrase from Angelo Sosa, this season's early contender for Most Gracelessly Arrogant Chef: "I feel like an orchestra with flavors!"

In keeping with its bigger, faster, more ethos, the show has relocated to Washington, D.C., home not only to three-martini lobbyist lunches but also a few of class-act -- and new judging addition -- Eric Ripert's restaurants. How can we tell we're in the nation's capital? If the tacky gilded eagles hanging in the judging room aren't a hint, then perhaps the looming Capitol Building in the background of the Quickfire Challenge will tip you off.

As always, this first Quickfire went a long way in separating the wheat from the chaff. Small-business entrepreneurs stood alongside James Beard Finalists. Michelin Star restaurateurs faced off with small-town culinary heroes. And at least one -- Vail, Colo.'s Kelly Liken -- is no stranger to televised competition, having just appeared on Iron Chef America.

Sure, all have a shot, but some are already leading -- or trailing -- the pack. To note just a few:

The good-natured but self-proclaimed "alpha male" Kenny Gilbert seems, at this early stage at least, to be the perfect combination of brains and brawn. He iced the competition when slicing, dicing and chopping, and a coffee-rubbed trout was right up our alley (even if the decorative, caramelized flourish on top seemed a bit much).

Angelo -- oh, Angelo. Someone's got to come out of the gate shooting his mouth off and over-gelling his hair, and in Season 7, it's Angelo Sosa. "I feel like a ninja," he announced as he set his sights on taking out Kenny, and when he accomplished his mission via a spoonful of very luxe-looking arctic char, bacon foam and dill, he was not what you'd call humble. "I will set the presidents [sic]!" he said triumphantly, exhibiting a grasp of the English language that suggests this Connecticut native spent a little too much time in Paris, or perhaps chatting with the Queen of Malapropisms herself, Sarah Palin.

At first glance, Michigan's John Somerville had that tragic, middle-aged bohemian look so common to early-round rejects from previous seasons. Dreadlocked, wild-eyed and bespectacled, this babe-in-the-woods seemed ill-suited to the cutthroat hipsters that surrounded him. But his time at the acclaimed Lark restaurant -- and his James Beard nominations -- suggested skills far beyond the store-bought puff pastry he managed to burn in the fancy-schmancy Top Chef ovens in an attempt to make an ode-to-maple-syrup dish. At least the judges recognized that his dessert fell far short of his capabilities as they told him to pack his knives.

Filed Under: Television/Film
Tags: top chef, Top Chef DC

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Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-17-2010 @12:00PM Jinko said... Now that there is absolutely nothing to watch on television, I am so relieved to have Top Chef D.C.

Wish all of the haters would back off criticizing Sosa. Think about it, guys. Who, in fact, won the first two challenges? I don't think anyone else (except for Kenny) even came close. No doubt, he will get knocked down a notch or two as the season progresses, but he may end up the winner. I am pulling for Kenny, but the show looks like it will be interesting to watch. If you can walk the walk, then you are eligible to "talk the talk".

Have no idea why they have Padma on the show. She is inarticulate and boring. Just because she lets her boobs hangout, and wears clothes that look like they have been spray painted on her body, I don't think that is reason enough to keep her on the show. She reminds me of a cobra. She needs to lose some poundage or go to bigger size clothing that actually fits her. A personality transplant might help too.
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6-17-2010 @3:10PM Deb said... I love Padma! It took a while for me to warm up to her, but she has so much more personality than Katie Lee (S1) and Kelly from TCM, combined!

And as for her weight, she's been criticized for being too thin, and now there is snarking because she is carrying some postpartum pounds?! If she seems a bit reserved at this point in the competition, maybe it's because she is tired, she has her new baby girl on set with her.
I agree she has had some fashion faux pas, but I admire her "if you've got it, flaunt it" attitude.

I love the dynamics of Tom, Padma and Gail, now enchanced by Eric Ripert, and it looks like we may some Bourdain this season as well. Fun!

(I may have to boycott the Pelosi episode, I swear that woman is battery operated!)

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