Happy Holidays all (or to those of you who are sent into a blind rage by that phrase, 'Merry Christmas!')! I hope you have some eggnog at hand for this holiday edition of Top Chef. How do we know it is a holiday edition? Because when the chefs enter Top Chef kitchen to meet Padma she is surrounded by all sorts of holiday decorations.

The Quick Fire Challenge is a simple, but good one: make a delicious holiday meal using only one pot. There are two ways to go about this: make everything in one pot (like a stew), or cook one thing, take it out of the pot, and start cooking another.

To see who did what, and to find out the identity of the Quick Fire judge read on.

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5, Episode 6 - Eleven Chefs a Sweatin'

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Welcome to Slashfood's traditionally weekly recap of the previous night's episode of Top Chef. This week's episode was 'super-sized,' meaning that we got to enjoy 15 more minutes of Top Chef goodness (and those that tried to DVR the episode might not know how it ends!).

The show opens with the Quick Fire challenge, but this time the chefs are greeted by Padma sans guest chef judge. What's the deal? Padma explains that the contestants themselves will be the judges during this Quick Fire challenge. Knifes are drawn and each chef is paired up with another, because this is a head to head challenge.

The chefs are going to play 'Name That Ingredient.' Each pair is given 30 seconds to taste the same sauce. Then one at a time they name the number of ingredients that they can identify, each time going one higher than the last. At any point the opposing chef can challenge the other chef to 'name those ingredients!'

Who won immunity and proved they have an iron palate? Read on to find out.

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5, Episode 5: Name That Ingredient

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Judging by that tea kettle's whistle it is time for another Top Chef Season 5 recap. This week the judges are joined by celeb chef Rocco DiSpirito who is lending a helping palate to decide who will stay and who will go.

The episode starts off with Alex reading a letter from Richard, eliminated last week, left for him. Richard tells Alex that he has made a friend at Top Chef, and that Alex should only look our for himself. It is a competition after all.

Speaking of competitions it is time for the QuickFire challege. Read on for spoilers about episode 4.

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5, Episode 4: Today's Challenge

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This Top Chef recap is a little late because I just recovered from my Thanksgiving induced food coma (Marisa sure can cook!). It is appropriate, however, to be writing about this third episode of the season during Thanksgiving weekend because it was all about Thanksgiving (it is as though that was planned somehow!).

And what says 'the holidays' better than a little product placement? The QuickFire Challenge featured the Top Chef cookbook as a key ingredient. I don't want to ruin this episode for anyone who might have recorded it, so I'll continue the recap after the break.

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5 Episode 3: A Very Foo Thanksgiving

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The Quick Fire Challenge once again has some New York flavor to it: the chefs must create a signature hot dog that will wow Padma and Donatella, and they only have 45 minutes with which to rustle up their doggies. The catch? Not only are they competing against one another but they will also be judged against a dog from Dominick's hot dog cart, as prepared by Angelina D'Angelo. Pretty stiff competition.

Read on to see who won the Quick Fire and who packed their knives and left at the end of the show (read no further if you haven't had a chance to watch yet, as there are spoilers ahead).

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5, Episode 2 - Getting Crafty at Craft

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Season 5 of Top Chef premiered last night on Bravo, and I have the enviable task of recapping each episode for everyone's favorite foodie blog: Slashfood. A word of warning for all you folks out there that haven't watched this episode yet, here there be spoilers.

The producers of this season's Top Chef have made it clear that this is the most difficult season of Top Chef ever, and it is being filmed in the toughest city around: New York. This season's contestants meet each other for the first time in a variety of New York locales (just to make sure that you know they are, in fact, in New York City) and introduce themselves, I try not to get attached to any one chef until at least episode 6 (you never know when someone will be eliminated).

Soon enough the contestants find themselves on a ferry to Governor's Island where Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio wait with this season's first Quick Fire challenge.

Read on for more Top Chef details after the jump.

Continue reading Top Chef Season 5, Episode 1 - Eliminated in a New York Minute

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