New year, new episode of Bravo's Top Chef. The season picked up again this week with only seven of the original fifteen competitors still in the competition. At this point, the chefs have been living together for several weeks and, as in many situations where you have a group of type-A personalities, things are getting a little tense. Everyone in the group seems to oscillate back and forth between feeling compelled to act as a team trying to screw over everyone else so that they, as individuals, can get ahead. It makes things more interesting from a dramatic standpoint, but the chefs really need to get a grip on their tempers if they want to end up as Top Chef.

As the episode started out, one of the first things that we got to see was that Michael had a wisdom tooth pulled. He made it sound like he went to a less-than-reputable individual for the procedure, but seemed to be getting along fine aside from the pain and swelling. Medicated, Michael was much less feisty than usual. He noted that he hoped the challenges weren't too long and the rest of the tired-looking competitors agreed.

While browsing the list of Coldstone's latest summer flavors, all of which are targeted at kids, I had so wonder why it is that kids like blue ice cream because one of the new flavors is "Beary Beary Blue," described as cotton candy ice cream with gummi bears . Blue ice cream is not a new phenomenon, not by a long shot, but it's just a bit of a mystery why kids like the stuff. The real question is whether kids actually want blue ice cream, creating a demand for it, or if they eat it because it is what is marketed to them.

I tend to believe it is the latter and that kids, who are perfectly satisfied with regular ice creams at home, go crazy over wacky flavors and colors because it is labeled as a "kids" ice cream. As far as I can tell, this is the reason that I ate some of that stuff as a kid. I was drawn in by the promise of gummi bears and bits of bubble gum and, though I hated the way that they turned rock hard and inedible in the ice cream, I often ordered them anyway.

I'd rather see kids' ice creams that come in less electric colors and with additions that kids want to eat, not just with ones that they want to order. I suspect that there are a few kids who would disagree with me over the blue ice cream part, but even they might change their minds when they get down to those rock hard gummi bears.

Nestle's popular candy-coated chocolates, Smarties, are getting a makeover. Actually, it's more of a make-under. They are being stripped of artificial colors starting next month. The blue candy will be most directly affected, as there is no naturally edible dye to produce the same or a similar shade. This means that Smarties' blue candies will be white until a suitable color replacement can be found.

Nestle Rowntree, the UK branch, is responding to concerns that artificial colorings may have a direct correlation with hyperactivity in children, as a study done at Liverpool University has suggested. The chemical colors that will no longer be used are: Brilliant Blue (E133); Quinoline Yellow (E104); Sunset Yellow (E110); Ponceau 4R (E124); and Carmoisine (E122).  The US Environment Protection Agency has listed Brilliant Blue in particular as a possible cancer risk. Nestle Australia, on the other hand, has no plans to eliminate their blue Smarties and states that they have naturally colored candies available.

Millefeuille is a French term meaning "one thousand layers." It is most often used to describe a dessert made with layers of puff pastry and sweetened whipped cream that is also known as a napoleon, but, more generally, it can be applied to any dish that is stacked in layers. This gorgeous millefeuille is from the Tartine Gourmande and though the name sounds fancy, it is not a difficult dish to construct a home, or even to make your own variation on. It is essentially a stacked salad with avocado slices, grapefruit slices and lightly cooked shrimp, drizzled with olive oil. The colors make this an ideal springtime dish, bright and sunny, and the perfect thing to serve at a garden party.

Colored sushi wraps may just be the next trend in dining, but flavored sushi wraps will surely be the one after that. Not only do they look good, but they taste good and improve the flavor of whatever they’re wrapped around. These patent-pending flavored sushi wraps are made by Origami Foods. They come in flavors ranging from the savory, like bell pepper, broccoli, Italian, Mexican and curry, to the sweet, like blueberry, strawberry and apple-cinnamon, so these wraps have dessert applications in addition to more traditional wrap uses.

All of the wraps are at least 75% fruit or vegetable and up to 100% and though the flavors are strong, the wraps are very low calorie. They are made using high-intensity drying techniques so that the final product is shelf-stable, which means that not only are these tasty and healthy additions to food, but they are convenient to keep around. If you visit the Origami Foods site, you can request a sample of the product.

According to today's Wall Street Journal, some "artificial colors" in food aren't so artificial. The vivid orange and red colorings made from crushed, dried beetles, such as "carmine " and "cochineal", do not have to be revealed on ingredient labels under current FDA regulations. Colorings from crushed beetles are used in foods such as Good & Plenty candy, Tropicana Orange Strawberry Juice and Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Boysenberry yogurt.

After facing pressure from consumer groups, the Food and Drug Administration is soon expected to publish a new food labeling proposal for public review. New guidelines would require companies to disclose insect-derived colorings. Vegetarian and kosher groups were among the leaders of the movement to change labeling guidelines. Some companies currently list colors like "carmine" along with their ingredients, though many consumers do not know precisely what it is. Opponents of the labeling change argue that when other animal products are listed, their source is not revealed, saying "'Butter' doesn't say 'from cow.'"