Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com Slashfood http://www.blogsmithmedia.com/www.slashfood.com/media/feedlogo.gif Slashfood http://www.slashfood.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/An Orgasmic Pepperoni Sauce Finale on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/31/an-orgasmic-pepperoni-sauce-finale-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/31/an-orgasmic-pepperoni-sauce-finale-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/31/an-orgasmic-pepperoni-sauce-finale-on-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef Finale Richard Blais and Mike IsabellaPhoto: Virginia Sherwood / Bravo


We have to admit, it's been a rocky season. At first, we weren't quite sure if we were invested in the notion of "all star" cheftestants from seven seasons of our favorite cooking competition show. Many of these folks weren't tops among their season -- would the hunger to win be there? Would the competitive, overconfident, back-stabbing spirit thrive?

But as we settled in with a big glass of wine for the finale -- watching Richard Blais futz around with a gigantic canister of liquid nitrogen, Mike Isabella hone his super-rustic Italian flavors, and Padma fumble around with some awkward "live" interludes from the finale afterparty -- we got that warm, fuzzy Top Chef feeling just like we do during the best seasons, and realized just how far all our friends had come this year.

You see, at first, we weren't quite sure if the stakes were high enough, what with Jen's early-season walk-off, weeks of Jamie's "who gives a crap" performance, and Fabio's oh-so-canned judge flirting. And then the proverbial almost-ran chaff fell away from the Top Chef wheat, leaving only the ones who were in it to win it -- and that's when things got really interesting. Carla proved not only to be the mega-entertaining ex-model personality we knew her to be but also a stunning purveyor of comfort food. Antonia shone as a competitor worthy of being with the best (and, in a plot twist straight out of a soap opera, ended up being Mike's cousin!).

Luckily, some of those awesome finalists at least got to be sous-chefs for the finale, although the method for choosing them was a bit unorthodox: Each eliminated All Star had to make a dish for Richard and Mike to blindly taste. Though the matching dishes to their creators was fun (no one got who they expected!), in the end, the sous-chefs ended up playing less of a part than they have in previous seasons, save for Carla's slight overcooking of Mike's dessert, and Spike's invaluable -- if totally unsubtle -- reconnaissance work for Richard ("Thomas Keller loved it!").

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]]>mike isabellarichard blaisRichard Bransontop cheftop chef all starsTopChefMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 31 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST'Top Chef All Stars' - Cracking Up Under Pressure?http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/24/top-chef-all-stars-cracking-up-under-pressure/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/24/top-chef-all-stars-cracking-up-under-pressure/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/24/top-chef-all-stars-cracking-up-under-pressure/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef Finale Part 1Photo: Virginia Sherwood / Bravo


If you wanted to see three chefs losing it -- like, epically, majestically, Charlie Sheen-ishly losing it -- all you had to do was turn on Bravo this week. There, you could witness a textbook example of psychopathia culinarus: nervous laughing, pacing, sweating bullets, bags under eyes, nausea on the verge of projectile vomiting -- sometimes all in the same scene. Our friends at Bravo edited this one for maximum tension, to be sure.

We expect surprises when we're down to the final three, but this was ridiculous. First up was the Quickfire, where the now-overconfident Mike was allowed to further hone his mind-messing skills by getting to choose one of three classic Top Chef challenges for his competitors. His "gift" to Antonia: Cook using only canned food. Meanwhile, Richard bequeathed the "one pot" challenge to Mike (which, as Antonia pointed out, was a massive mistake -- it meant he could choose any ingredients he wanted!).

We're not exactly sure how much we'd stress over a Quickfire at this point in the game, and it seemed as though our trio might've just sailed right through it -- were it not for Padma throwing them a few curve balls: Don't use utensils (Mike), tie one hand behind your back (Richard), cook with a former cheftestant attached at the hip (Antonia and Carla).

When all was said and done, guest judge Wolfgang Puck seemed to be judging on a steep curve, taking into consideration the chefs' handicaps. Richard's hot dog pieces on roti bread was too "ketchupy," Antonia's shrimp broth was a bit overseasoned, and Mike's pork shoulder was not cooked long enough in his malfunctioning pressure cooker. Regardless, Mike took home yet another win.

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]]>top cheftop chef all-starstop chef eliminationMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 24 Mar 2011 11:00:00 ESTBikinis, Banana Leaves and Butter: 'Top Chef All-Stars' Recaphttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/17/bikinis-banana-leaves-and-butter-top-chef-all-stars-recap/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/17/bikinis-banana-leaves-and-butter-top-chef-all-stars-recap/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/17/bikinis-banana-leaves-and-butter-top-chef-all-stars-recap/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef Finale Part 1, BahamasPhoto: Virginia Sherwood / Bravo


Oh, it's time. Time for the home-stretch confidence. Time for the daring flavor combinations. Time for the bravado. Time for the beards and bikinis.

No, that's not a euphemism. The former was provided, rather feebly, by Richard, who summed up the key to being among the final four on Top Chef: "I've been bakin' bread, growin' a beard -- all the things you have to do in the finale!"

The latter was provided by Padma (what, you were expecting Mike Isabella?) who introduced the night's challenge while striking her best SI swimsuit cover-model pose. Cue the lascivious comments from the aforementioned Mike.

Inviting the chefs to hop aboard a boat chartered by some dude who looked like Sammy Hagar, Padma led the foursome to an island in the Bahamas where they were given the Survivor treatment: Cook only with what Bravo left on the shore and, just to add physical insult to culinary injury, go snorkeling in shallow water to supply your own conch for one of your proteins.

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]]>featuredTop ChefTop Chef eliminationTop Chef finalsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 17 Mar 2011 11:00:00 EST'Top Chef All-Stars' -- The Great Kitchen Firehttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/10/top-chef-all-stars-the-great-kitchen-fire-of-2011/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/10/top-chef-all-stars-the-great-kitchen-fire-of-2011/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/10/top-chef-all-stars-the-great-kitchen-fire-of-2011/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef, Bahamas Finale Part 1Photo: Virginia Sherwood / Bravo


To quote a rock star more into fashion than food: Oh, the ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. We're never quite sure how much time elapses between the main season of "Top Chef" and the home-stretch finale episodes, and this year, the difference was particularly noticeable.

What happened to Richard's porcupine spikes!? Did they wilt once they got a hint of the Bahamian humidity? And what's up with that feeble beard? Meanwhile, Mike boasted that he spent his time off training monastically all over the kitchens of D.C. -- working with pastry chefs, even.

By the end of this grueling episode, the formerly pumped-up Mike Isabella could be heard moaning, "Ugh. It's been so long since we had a Judge's Table."

What could cause such dread? Well, first was a Quickfire Challenge in which each chef was pitted against the winner from their season. This meant Mike had to go head-to-head with the snottier of the Voltaggio brothers. Richard and Antonia went toe-to-toe-to-toe with Season 4 champ Stephanie. Of course the cheftestants wanted to prove they were better than their former competitors. Everyone but Carla and Antonia did just that -- with perhaps the most stunning defeat being Mike's taking some of the shine, however briefly, off of Voltaggio.

Turns out it was just a warm-up. The elimination challenge was to create a meal for the king and queen of the Bahamas -- at a fish shack, no less -- and then came a deep-fryer fire that forced all of the cheftestants to recook their meals completely.

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]]>top cheftop chef all-starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 10 Mar 2011 12:00:00 ESTGrandma's Gravy Saves the Day on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/03/grandmas-gravy-saves-the-day-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/03/grandmas-gravy-saves-the-day-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/03/03/grandmas-gravy-saves-the-day-on-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef on Ellis Island FerryPhoto: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


We were filled with anxiety when we turned on Bravo this week. After all, with a haute-cuisine wizard like Dale down, the title of "Top Chef All-Star" is anyone's to lose. And when the episode began with Antonia reminiscing about her lovely daughter back home, it filled us with fear. Not you, Antonia! Anyone but you!

But maybe we had it wrong. This was, after all, an Ellis Island-themed episode -- they'd be cooking family dishes -- so maybe Antonia's family tale was just part of the theme. No need to worry, right?

Not just yet. After a Quickfire challenge in which our cheftestants were restricted to just the junk food on the ferry (which meant Richard "piled 14 things on a hot dog," according to Carla), it was clear this might be a tough evening. And maybe, like Carla's take on an orange-rosemary salad, simplicity would win out in the end.

We were then treated to a few familial reunions and revelations: Moms, husbands and wives joined the chefs on the island and combed through genealogist-approved reports on each contestant's background. And while there was the usual "I didn't know my great-grandpa was a chemist!" stuff, there was a pretty big bombshell revealed.

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]]>Top ChefTop Chef All-StarsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 03 Mar 2011 13:00:00 ESTBad Grouper and an Elimination Shocker - 'Top Chef All-Stars' Recaphttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/24/bad-grouper-and-an-elimination-shocker-top-chef-all-stars-re/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/24/bad-grouper-and-an-elimination-shocker-top-chef-all-stars-re/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/24/bad-grouper-and-an-elimination-shocker-top-chef-all-stars-re/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef February 23, 2011Photo: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


Nothing like a little two-faced, back-stabbing resentment to introduce us to the "Top Chef" home stretch, the period of time near the end of the season when people get a little goofy, a little nervy -- a little "angst"-ridden, to quote Antonia.

This was also the episode where we learned about something we could only infer before this week: That yes, there is something called "Chef Law," and if you break it, there is hell to pay.

We discovered this heretofore unspoken rule in the Quickfire challenge, wherein our testy crew was ordered to deep fry their hearts out for the queen of cholesterol, Paula Deen (looking resplendent in her up-done helmet hair, which, she pointed out, looks a little more like Richard's porcupine 'do when she wakes up in the mornings).

When Antonia's delicately battered shrimp and avocado (brilliant!) lost on the technicality of her not plating up two dishes, the prize went to Jersey Mike -- who, without shame, stole a deep-fried chicken oyster dish from Richard's playbook. As in, he literally copied the recipe from Richard's notes. When Antonia told Carla and Tiffany the news, they were aghast. This, we learned, was just something chefs do not do. The code was broken. Would Mike be made to pay?

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]]>Dale TaldefeaturedTop ChefTop Chef All-StarsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 24 Feb 2011 11:00:00 ESTGetting the Late-Night Munchies on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/17/getting-the-late-night-munchies-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/17/getting-the-late-night-munchies-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/17/getting-the-late-night-munchies-on-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef with Sesame Street MuppetsPhoto: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


We were promised a "shocking elimination." The ads made it look like most tense Top Chef ever. We were sure the judging would be harsh, the challenges labyrinthine, the stakes higher than a World Championship Poker Tournament. The remote darn near fell out of our hands, our palms were sweating so much.

So -- what were the Muppets of Sesame Street doing judging the Quickfire? And why were the chefs on a Target shopping spree? The trappings of this week's episode transformed it from a bare-knuckled brawl into a Nerf-ball fight in a McDonald's Playplace.

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]]>Angelo SosaTop ChefTop Chef All StarsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 17 Feb 2011 12:00:00 ESTPulling Pork, Botching Burgers and Feeding Fallon on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/10/top-chef-all-stars-on-jimmy-fallon/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/10/top-chef-all-stars-on-jimmy-fallon/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/10/top-chef-all-stars-on-jimmy-fallon/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef and Jimmy Fallon -- February 9, 2011Photo: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


Let the head games begin -- in earnest -- on "Top Chef All-Stars." Now that we're down to eight chefs and immunity is out the window, things are starting to get interesting. It helps that our friends at Bravo are ratcheting up the utter-randomness factor -- for both fans at home and the cheftestants themselves.

First, they have them judge each other's Quickfire challenge -- a fondue contest, no less. This means lots of sidelong glances and "who do I hate the most" scheming, not to mention references to how hopelessly retro fondue is, how the '70s were such a swinging time, and how Mike has "never been to these gay fondue parties." Hmm -- by "gay," you meant "happy and delightful," right, Mike?

No sooner did the chefs choose the best among them -- Dale, who dipped little beef-and-bread skewers into a fondue-pot full of simmering pho -- than they were whisked, mysteriously, to Bravo's big brother, NBC studios. We find it somewhat hard to believe that they were dumped unknowingly onto the set of the "Jimmy Fallon Show," but hey -- Carla seemed genuinely discombobulated -- way more than usual. And that's saying a lot.

Spoiler alert: Winner and loser are revealed after the jump.

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]]>bravotop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 10 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST'Top Chef All-Stars' -- Famous Last Words on Italian Nighthttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/03/top-chef-all-stars-famous-last-words-on-italian-night/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/03/top-chef-all-stars-famous-last-words-on-italian-night/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/02/03/top-chef-all-stars-famous-last-words-on-italian-night/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef Feb 2 2011Photo: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


Two weeks without a "Top Chef" fix. Bravo, how could you do this to us? First they left us hanging, wondering what the chefs all thought of the despicable Marcel's inevitable implosion/elimination. Then they teased us with previews of an old-school Italian challenge, complete with imposing dudes from legendary New York restaurant Rao's in shiny, double-breasted suits -- along with the Goodfellas/Sopranos grande dame Lorraine Bracco.

With three Italian-Americans left in the competition -- Mike, Antonia and of course, Fabio -- we couldn't wait to see each try to one-up the other. (The potential for a overconfidence crash-and-burn was high.)

Spoiler alert: Winner and loser are revealed after the jump.

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]]>featuredtop cheftop chef all-starstop chef recapMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 03 Feb 2011 12:00:00 EST'Top Chef All-Stars' Restaurant Wars -- Sometimes It's a Weird Energyhttp://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/20/top-chef-all-stars-restaurant-wars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/20/top-chef-all-stars-restaurant-wars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/20/top-chef-all-stars-restaurant-wars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef Restaurant Wars episode Jan 19 2011Photo: Bravo


Oh, we could see it coming. And quite frankly, it was about time: A full Marcel meltdown. In a season full of overactive (mostly male) egos, the weasely little chef from season two has been tops on our list of Most Deserving of a Piping-Hot Serving of Humble Pie. And yet, he managed to survive the ax several times. We were starting to wonder if maybe we were being too harsh.

If overuse of food foam and the word bro were crimes punishable by law, however, Marcel would be given life without parole. And his interpersonal skills? We liken them to a three-year-old trying to share a Tonka truck at daycare. True, we admire his manic spirit -- but all too often, as Tom put it, "It's a weird energy" Marcel imparts.

Combine that energy with Restaurant Wars, and you have one hell of a super-sized episode. It was good to see our favorite cuss, Tony Bourdain, back, front and center, daring the chefs to butcher fish perfectly and cook only the leavings: heads, cheeks, skeletons, organs. This was a Quickfire the overconfident (but with the skills to back it up!) Dale cleaned up on, serving up not one but two dishes: a hearty bacon dashi made with cod collar, and a little fluke-backfin sashimi with fluke liver sauce. This provided one of the evening's choice Tony quotes: "Really dug that you used the liver, man!"

Spoiler alert: Winner and loser are revealed after the jump.

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]]>anthony bourdainbravotop cheftop chef all starsTopChefMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 20 Jan 2011 11:00:00 ESTThrow Another Two Chefs on the Barbie: 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/13/throw-another-two-chefs-on-the-barbie-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/13/throw-another-two-chefs-on-the-barbie-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/13/throw-another-two-chefs-on-the-barbie-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef 01-12-11 Carla and DalePhoto: Giovanni Rufino / Bravo


Still reeling from the Great Dim Sum Fiasco of the Century, this week found our not-so-chivalrous cheftestants getting on each other nerves. Or talking about each other behind their backs. Or, in the case of Marcel, getting all up in Dale's face with a bunch of weird flailing motions that made him look like a Beastie Boy, circa 1988.

Maybe Marcel's rant was motivated by a genuine sense of injustice about making a lot of food for his diners and merely winning runner-up. Or, as Tre put it more succinctly, maybe he's just "an a--hole." In any event, tensions were high this week: Two chefs were going home. And after getting up at the crack of dawn, spending all day off Montauk Point in fishing boats, and returning to the beach to cook with the sand in between their toes and the sun in their eyes (cry us a river, Jamie), the chefs were visibly haggard.

Forgoing the usual quickfire for some team fishing (major revelations: Angelo is still traumatized from watching Jaws as a child; Mike likes to fart at sea), the chefs were separated into teams and told to cook only the Atlantic treasure trove they caught. But this challenge proved that there truly can be an "I" in team, as the chefs worked together about as well as a bunch of junior-high brainiacs competing for one trophy at a science fair.

Spoiler Alert: Winners and losers are revealed after the jump.

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]]>bravofood tvtop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 13 Jan 2011 11:00:00 ESTFiddling Around with 'Diddlies' and Dim Sum -- 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/06/top-chef-all-stars-dim-sum-challenge/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/06/top-chef-all-stars-dim-sum-challenge/http://www.slashfood.com/2011/01/06/top-chef-all-stars-dim-sum-challenge/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef Jan 5 2011Photo: Barbara Nitke / Bravo


Here's where things get really wacky. Now that the stakes are sufficiently high (talented chefs sent home!) and the challenges have gotten progressively more bizarrely creative (tennis cook-offs!), you get the sense that the All-Stars who have made it this far are, well, cracking a little.

First it was the fact that they all had to compete against their "daddy" (more on that term of endearment later), Tom Colicchio, trying to beat his 8-minute entrée time for a high-stakes quickfire. In case you're wondering, the keys to besting Tom's speed in the kitchen are: Beg, borrow or steal some quick-cooking fish, and don't screw up the sauce. This meant Mike's branzino was seared to perfection, while Dale's attempt to do a pad thai -- well, it looked like one thick shoelace in a puddle of urine. And he admitted as much.

Then there was the now-patented "night before elimination challenge" montage, which in this case involved lots of bra-throwing, jalepeño juice in in the eyes, and the repelling of all of the boys back to their rooms. None of the women could understand why the chefs of the less-fair sex could "fiddle around with their diddlies" whenever they wanted, while one errant bra could produce a stampede.

There was good reason for all of the nervous nuttiness. These very Western chefs were assigned a daunting task: Cook dim sum for a room full of hungry New York City Asian-Americans. And the problem, it turned out, wasn't so much that they couldn't master the cuisine -- some of them did so splendidly -- but that they couldn't stop fussing over their little plates to get them out to the hungry diners.

Spoiler Alert: Read on only if you want to know the outcome of this "All-Stars" episode.

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]]>bravoTom Colicchiotop cheftop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 06 Jan 2011 12:00:00 ESTTo Serve, Volley and Sabotage - 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/23/to-serve-volley-and-sabotage-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/23/to-serve-volley-and-sabotage-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/23/to-serve-volley-and-sabotage-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Barbara Nitke / Bravo


At this point, is no one safe? When you sit down to watch something called Top Chef All-Stars, you might expect, well, nothing but stars -- the near-misses, the controversial favorites, the ones who should've won but didn't. But right off the bat, our friends at Bravo seemed to be stacking the deck. After all, the show wasn't called Top Chef: Missed It by This Much for good reason:The producers assembled not a sure-fire troupe of culinary geniuses, but a motley crew of fan favorites and outsized personalities bearing all levels of talent. Stephen? Tre? Really? Even Tiffany (the one without the "i") -- we love you, but you're swimming with the big fish now, and, quite frankly, we're not sure you measure up.

So when it comes to the outwardly talented, accomplished chefs, the ones you thought were shoo-ins from the beginning, All Stars has turned out to be something of a stealth serial killer. Sure, the insufferable Stephen and his ascots are gone, but so are Jen (So much promise! So little confidence!) and Dale Levitsky (Too much confidence! Too many ideas!). It's these fatal flaws, it seems, that are separating the talented strivers from the play-it-safe pedestrians. And as long as the show keeps putting them all through the ringer the way they have on the first four episodes, the strivers are only going to continue to suffer.

Nowhere was this more apparent than this week's weirdly themed, oddly unseasonal and totally sadistic US Open team challenge, in which the scoring managed to be as baffling -- and the emotions as overstated as John McEnroe's -- but the performances ended up being weirdly un-tennislike.

Spoiler alert: If you don't want to know who won or lost, don't read past the jump.

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]]>bravotop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 23 Dec 2010 12:00:00 ESTCooking With Jazz Hands on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/cooking-with-jazz-hands-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/cooking-with-jazz-hands-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/16/cooking-with-jazz-hands-on-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Myles Aronowitz / Bravo

You can raise the stakes. You can dangle cash prizes in front of the chefs every week. You can make the challenges so lightening-fast that no mortal could possibly accomplish them, let alone produce results that impress a doughy-headed contrarian with a soul patch.

But you just can't up the ante enough on Top Chef All-Stars -- at least, that's how it's seemed in the first couple of episodes. More than anything, the chefs have approached the competitions with a "been there, done that, you can eliminate me again, for all I care" attitude, as exemplified in last week's moment wherein Jen, once so promising, blew a gasket and told the judges where they could stick their overcooked pork bellies.

Needless to say, she was asked to pack her knives, leaving more ennui and existential angst in her wake. Clearly, something had to be done before, say, Fabio also started getting ideas about revolution.

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]]>bravotop cheftop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 16 Dec 2010 13:00:00 ESTTop Chef All-Stars: Pandering to Kids' Tastebuds with Joe Jonashttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/09/top-chef-all-stars-pandering-to-kids-tastebuds-with-joe-jonas/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/09/top-chef-all-stars-pandering-to-kids-tastebuds-with-joe-jonas/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/09/top-chef-all-stars-pandering-to-kids-tastebuds-with-joe-jonas/#commentsFiled under: ,

Photo: Myles Aronowitz / Bravo


Just when we were starting to think this whole All-Stars thing was like a blissful second honeymoon with our favorite Top Chef personalities, Episode Two comes along.

Suddenly, everything started to feel a little... skewed. The challenges took on a sinister quality. The allegiances between chefs were at once strong and fractured. Everyone, it seemed, was one catty comment, one bad critique, one slipped knife away from Complete and Utter Meltdown status. Were these not the same people we fell in love with?!

They were, actually. It was just that last night, we realized that being put through the pressure-cooker of another Top Chef -- after you've already lost -- is making some of our most- and least-favorite chefs act like hyper-intense versions of themselves.

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]]>featuredtop cheftop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 09 Dec 2010 12:00:00 ESTReuniting Egos and Grossing Out Judges on 'Top Chef All-Stars'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/02/reuniting-egos-and-grossing-out-judges-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/02/reuniting-egos-and-grossing-out-judges-on-top-chef-all-stars/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/12/02/reuniting-egos-and-grossing-out-judges-on-top-chef-all-stars/#commentsFiled under: ,

Top Chef All Stars Episode 1 recapPhoto: David Giesbrecht / Bravo


Top Chef, how can you do this to us? Watching All Stars, the latest addition to the rapidly multiplying franchise, is like being forced to get back together with an old flame -- or, rather, all your old flames -- against your better judgment.

In one fell swoop, all of the thrills, the regret, the frustration are back. Maybe your flame was a crazed, bipolar egotist -- spicy, saucy and dripping with self-conscious sex appeal, but impossible to live with for more than a weekend (with a name like Spike, Fabio, Angelo... we could go on). Maybe the breakup was for the best.

Or maybe he or she was really, really nice but dreadfully bland. Someone to take home to your parents. Someone to watch Law and Order reruns while you both munch on plain popcorn -- you know, to watch your cholesterol and all (Elia, Stephen). But no matter how comfortable the relationship, your tastes have matured -- you're ready for something more.

Continue reading Reuniting Egos and Grossing Out Judges on 'Top Chef All-Stars'

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]]>bravofood tvtop cheftop chef all starsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 02 Dec 2010 13:00:00 ESTDon't Sweat on Your Salty Caramel -- The 'Just Desserts' Finalehttp://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/top-chef-just-desserts-finale/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/top-chef-just-desserts-finale/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/18/top-chef-just-desserts-finale/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Kelsey McNeal / Bravo


Just Desserts wound to a close this week. As it did, we found ourselves reflecting upon the newest spate of celeb-chef wannabes -- and feeling a strange sense of deja vu.

Was it that they reminded us of the Top Chef peers that came before them -- Hung? Ilan? No, not in the slightest. Maybe they called to mind all the dessert crazies on TLC and Food Network: The Cake Boss, Duff, all the high-strung yokels on Ultimate Cake-Off? Not exactly.

And then it struck us: The whole season of Just Desserts has been a giant, extended high school flashback. Especially if you were at all involved in drama club.

There was the jock (Morgan). The showtunes spaz (Zac). The cynical, almost-goth chick (Danielle). The straight-A perfectionist (Heather H.). The boy next door (Yigit). The basket case (Seth, how we missed you). And given that three diametrically opposed personalities ended up in the finale -- Yigit, Danielle and Morgan -- we can't help but think the producers played into those adolescent stereotypes, just a little.

Continue reading Don't Sweat on Your Salty Caramel -- The 'Just Desserts' Finale

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]]>gail simmonstop cheftop chef just dessertstop chef just desserts finaleMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 18 Nov 2010 11:00:00 ESTCaketastrophes and Surprising Eliminations -- 'Top Chef Just Desserts'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/11/top-chef-just-desserts-caketastrophe-elimination/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/11/top-chef-just-desserts-caketastrophe-elimination/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/11/top-chef-just-desserts-caketastrophe-elimination/#commentsFiled under:

Top Chef Just DessertsPhoto: Kelsey McNeal / Bravo


Say what you will about Top Chef: Just Desserts -- it's not predictable. Sure, for a few weeks we were worried. A couple of chefs went home exactly when they should have and not a moment sooner. (Heather H., we knew your stubbornness would do you in!) We didn't want normalcy. We needed more instability, more drama, more turmoil.

After all, it all started off like a reality show set in an asylum -- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, but with petit fours instead of pills, aprons instead of straitjackets. But as we inch toward the big finale, "Just Desserts" is resembling nothing so much as an Agatha Christie mystery: Who keeps killing off the best chefs? And who's next?

Continue reading Caketastrophes and Surprising Eliminations -- 'Top Chef Just Desserts'

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]]>bravofood tvTop Chef Just DessertsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 11 Nov 2010 11:00:00 ESTWill Danielle Go Home, Already? -- 'Top Chef: Just Desserts'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/04/will-danielle-go-home-already-top-chef-just-desserts/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/04/will-danielle-go-home-already-top-chef-just-desserts/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/11/04/will-danielle-go-home-already-top-chef-just-desserts/#commentsFiled under:

Photo: Kelsey McNeal / Bravo


Do not screw with a pastry chef's plans. We thought we knew the minds of dessert-makers, really, we did. But thanks to our friends at Top Chef: Just Desserts, in the past two months we've learned a lot more than we ever hoped about this strange breed of OCD perfectionist -- part haute-cuisine diva, part pretentious modern-art sculptor, part mad scientist.

Chief among these lessons: Don't get in their space. Do not squelch their fondness for show tunes. Don't make them create delectable treats without any coloring. And, whatever you do, do not take away their chocolate.

This last tidbit came courtesy of this week's installment, whose alternate title could have easily been "Danielle's Finally Being Sent Home Tonight, Right? Please?!" Now that we're down to just five emotionally stunted sweet-tooth maniacs, the bar has been raised. The ultra-demanding cake-decorating perfectionist Shinmin Li was brought in as a guest judge. And yes, as a twist, the chefs were denied their god-given right to all the Wonka-grade chocolate in their pantry.

Continue reading Will Danielle Go Home, Already? -- 'Top Chef: Just Desserts'

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]]>featuredfood tvtop chefTop Chef Just DessertsMichael Thomas HastingsThu, 04 Nov 2010 11:00:00 ESTChoosing Sides for Dessert Wars -- 'Top Chef Just Desserts'http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/28/choosing-sides-for-dessert-wars-top-chef-just-desserts/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/28/choosing-sides-for-dessert-wars-top-chef-just-desserts/http://www.slashfood.com/2010/10/28/choosing-sides-for-dessert-wars-top-chef-just-desserts/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Top Chef Just DessertsPhoto: Kelsey McNeal / Bravo


Let us take a moment to dissect the phenomenon that is Team Go Diva. We're long overdue -- to be frank, we thought it was just a silly name that a trio of pastry chefs would give themselves on Bravo one night, and totally forget by the next.

How foolish we were. For in the world of Top Chef Just Desserts, no action -- however flighty, emotional or throwaway -- is taken lightly. Whether it's borrowing a lemon or two, spilling some whipped cream or admiring Gail Simmons' shoes, these are acts of chefs who take everything very, very seriously.

So if three of them -- namely the bubbly Yigit, the positively twinkling Zac and the grumpy, defensive Heather H. -- decide to christen themselves BFFs because of their shared belief that they are the most fabulous pastry chefs on TV, we won't argue.

Continue reading Choosing Sides for Dessert Wars -- 'Top Chef Just Desserts'

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