"marcel" news and stories

I'll preface this by saying that we won't be held responsible if any of these turn out to be false, but let's discuss a couple of the Top Chef rumors that we heard this week - because what fun are reality show participants if you can't talk about them once in a while?

A friend, recently returned from Las Vegas and "one of the best meals of [her] life" at Tom Colicchio's restaurant, Craftsteak, reported that her waiter said Elia was recruited for the show and never intended to audition in the first place. In this case, the friend is a reliable source, but how the waiter from the restaurant got the information is something we'll never know.

An irate "fan" of Top Chef physically assaulted Marcel in a Las Vegas nightclub by hitting him with a bottle. Marcel needed 30 stitches to close up the cut above his eye. Totally uncalled for - not to mention highly disturbing.

Ilan Hall, who is one of the two chefs to make it into the final cookoff, has quit his job as a line cook at Mario Batali's New York eatery, Casa Mono. As we all known Ilan only knows Spanish food - what will he do now? Could this be an indicator of how things turned out for him in the finale - good or bad?

On-set spies say that Padma might have the munchies, explaining the former model's seemingly large appetite.

Want to know what former contestant Sam Talbot eats in a week?

There are only four chefs left in this season's Top Chef competition and all will be participating in the Hawaii finale. The decision of the judges as to who will win the title of Top Chef will be decided based on their performance throughout the competition and on their dishes in the finale. As viewers, we have seen a little more of their personalities and interactions, but let's take a look at the backgrounds of the final four, as well:

Marcel Vigneron - Marcel, 26, lives in Las Vegas, NV where he is a Master Cook at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where his strongest subjects with butchery and, of course, molecular gastronomy. He prides himself on his creativity and skill in the kitchen and, as those are what landed him his job at Joel Robuchon, he is certainly right to do so.

Sam Talbot - Sam, 28, is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina and currently works as executive chef of Punch Restaurant in New York City. He attended Johnson and Wales University, but has been involved in food since his first job as a production chef at Dean & Deluca in NC when he was just 16 years old.