"Top Chef" news and stories

"Cats." "The Lion King." "Top Chef?"

While you might not be able to picture the Bravo reality show in marquee lights, restaurateur (and Top Chef judge) Tom Colicchio reportedly thinks the program is a natural fit for the Great White Way.

Bravo's program director, Andy Cohen, told New York magazine, "He thinks he has a great idea about doing something like that." Perhaps thinking about the hazards involved with fire and sharp knives onstage, Cohen wasn't initially sold. "I told him, 'I'm not so sure,' but he's trying to convince me!"

The magazine rounded up some reactions from former cast members, who were largely game for the idea of a Broadway production.

Marcel Vigneron had our favorite response: "Totally, of course, I'd love to do it. I'm a pretty decent dancer, I'm not gonna lie. Actually, I was cutting a rug for six hours last night. Yeah, I could definitely handle the freestyle hip-hop scenes."

Richard Blais took home the title of Top Chef at the end of Wednesday's nights finale, and all is right with the world. After a long, surprisingly spirited "All-Stars" season, Richard, the heavy favorite, nabbed the crown -- but not without a tough fight from challenger Mike Isabella. The four-course menus both chefs created were short on gimmicks, focusing heavily on technique and flavor, and the judges came down to the wire before giving Richard the title. Find out how he prepared for the finale -- and why he says he's o.k. with being perceived as neurotic.

What did you do to prepare for the finale?
I really just kind of got back to basics. I think people expected me to come out with a laser gun or a robot to cook the food or something, but really, I was baking bread and roasting chickens. I wanted to come back to the Bahamas and emphasize that although I enjoy using some modern techniques, I can also cook with a spoon, a pot and some butter and salt and pepper. So I really focused myself and did basic cookery.

Traditionally, the judges have given contestants a lot of freedom to create what they want for the finale. Were you worried they were going to throw you a curve ball?
Going back into the final round, I think all of us were surprised that it wasn't going to be just two challenges, it was going to be four. Then also knowing it wasn't going to be three contestants left for the finale, it was only going to be two. I think the pressure throughout the whole season kept building and building. So certainly by the end of it, you know you can't control it, you're just going to have to accept that and go with it. So the final challenge was a little bit different. Go build your own restaurant -- it was surprising to me, but also thrilling. You saw on the show where I said I got goosebumps -- well, I really did. For a chef to be given the task of building your own restaurant, I mean, this is what chefs dream about on the subways or commuting back and forth to work. We're dreaming of that while we're sitting there chopping carrots or peeling potatoes.

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!").

Here's this week's installment of Slashfood's exclusive exit interviews with the latest "Top Chef All-Stars" contestant to get the boot. In an effort to prevent spoilers, we've included the text after the jump.

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.