Next month,
Top Chef will return for its 5th season and this time, the show will take place in New York City, where they have found many contestants over the years. The 16 contestants will compete for $100,000 in seed money to help open a restaurant, furnished by the makers of the Glad family of products, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, a showcase at the Annual Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and the title of
Top Chef. The premiere will take place on November 12, with a two hour episode. The judges, and host Padma Lakshmi, will all return but fans will notice a new face in the crowd. Meet Top Chef’s newest judge: Toby Young.
Toby Young is a British journalist, who wrote the popular book, "How To Lose Friends and Alienate People". The book is Young’s memoir, about his unsuccessful attempts to become a contributing editor in the U.S. for Vanity Fair magazine.
How To Lose Friends and Alienate People was turned into a movie, which hit theaters this month, and stars Simon Pegg, Kirsten Dunst, and Megan Fox. Young also wrote a second book, "The Sound of No Hands Clapping", about his unsuccessful attempt at becoming a Hollywood screenwriter.
What is interesting about the addition of Young is that he does not appear to be a food expert, unlike everyone else who has ever sat at judges table. Previous judges have included: Anthony Bourdain, Ted Allen, Rocco DiSpirito, and Eric Ripert. Any would seem a more logical choice to join the show full time, however, each have a full plate. Boudain has his own show on The Travel Channel called
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations and Allen has his own on The Food Network,
Food Detectives. DiSpirito is currently competing on
Dancing With The Stars while Ripert has his hands full with a new book, due out in November.
Who would you most like to see as a full-time judge on Top Chef?
- Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: Bravo, Food Network, Travel Channel
(Image courtesy of BBC)
