June 26, 2008
Certainly, as Top Chef's first woman winner, a lot is on the shoulders of Stephanie Izard. Bravo's reality search for, well, the top chef, is now on its fourth season and some say it is high time for a woman to emerge winner. After all, purists declare the kitchen as the female's exclusive province, right?
Now Izard has to deal with some nice and not-so-nice things that come with being the newest Top Chef, such as the new-found fame and the $100,000. On the other hand, there are those who claim that she only won because the producers wanted a woman to win to keep the show fresh. On this, the 31-year-old Connecticut-native had some decisive rejoinder, according to an Entertainment Weekly interview.
June 20, 2008
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When Top Chef first started airing, I thought, “Okay, I'll bite, but it's just a Project Runway ripoff.” Now with the fourth season, I think that I might actually find it a better show than Project Runway, and the reunion special that aired this week confirmed why.
Top Chef guest judge Anthony Bourdain noted in his book Kitchen Confidential that the restaurant industry – with its odd hours, grueling environment and attendant occasionally laissez-faire hiring policies – is one of the last remaining places in American life (besides prison) that hasn't been totally sanitized by corporate culture. It attracts the incredibly talented and intelligent, but also the misfit, rebellious and maladjusted. Sometimes these traits can all be found in varying degrees in one individual.
So bring a group of people like that together – and add in the requirement that you have to have the kind of questionable judgment or willful self-delusion required to agree to be on a reality show in the first place – and you are looking at a formula for some good television. The Reunion show brought us some highlights of the most entertaining moments and personalities we saw this season.
June 19, 2008
Last week, Stephanie Izard made it into the top spot of Top Chef 4. She had taken us through a see-saw performance, frequently making dishes that diners loved, but then also having struggles. She didn't win a Quickfire until the second-to-last episode, narrowly escaped elimination at times, and was even the chef who came in last in the palate test.
But it's possibly because of exactly that kind of scrappy up and down that a lot of viewers were rooting for Stephanie to emerge as Top Chef. With a creative and innovative dish that surprised the judges with its successful flavor combination, Stephanie seemed to surprise herself with being named the first female Top Chef.
Stephanie took some time to speak with us about that element of surprise – both in her cooking and in the competition – her culinary background and just how, exactly, one goes about braising a pistachio. Read on for the MP3 audio and for a full transcript of the interview.
June 17, 2008
In the tradition of other reality shows like American Idol, Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance, which have all taken their contenders on the road, Bravo is likewise sending its Top Chefs out of the kitchen and straight to the hungry folk of 20 cities across America. Traveling aboard its very own official 18-wheeler semi-truck, Top Chef: The Tour hits the road starting this Saturday, June 21. Its first stop is the Whole Foods Market of the Birchwood Shopping Center in Jericho, Long Island, New York.
Here's a list of all the other cities on the Top Chef Tour route and the dates for each stop:
June 13, 2008
It seems like every season of Top Chef has to have at least one chef whose attitude really rubs the audience the wrong way. Season 1 had Tiffani Faison, Season 2 had Marcel Vigneron, and Season 3 had Hung Huynh. This season had a few different contestants who seemed to get on the audience's bad side. Nikki Cascone stuck around after many felt she should have left and Dale Talde's explosive reaction to losing irritated many. But once they were sent home, many viewers seemed to focus their displeasure on Lisa Fernandes.
Lisa had a knockout dish with her miso-glazed bacon during the Elements challenge, but towards the end of the season, she seemed to have an ongoing series of difficulties, and landed in the bottom for six of the elimination challenges prior to the final episode. She redeemed herself, though, to some extent, with her very strong performance in the final challenge, producing an Asian-inspired soup and dessert that seriously impressed the judges. Despite this, it wasn't enough to help her come from behind to win the season of Top Chef. She's back in New York, and took some time to talk with us about her experience on Top Chef. Read on for the highlights and audio of the interview.
June 12, 2008
Have you ever wanted to give a reality show contestant a hug after a loss as much as you did Richard Blais last night on the finale of Top Chef 4? I've now used this word about fifteen times in describing the end of the show, but I found it heartbreaking to see Richard so sad in the final judging. As much as I love scrappy Stephanie Izard and am happy for her win, there is just something wrenching about watching someone who had been so totally focused seem to not live up to his own standards.
However, no matter how rough that was, Richard is clearly a very talented guy who will continue to have success in his culinary career, and he and his wife have something a bit more life-changing on their hands than a Top Chef win: as of 2:17pm Eastern today, their new baby daughter is two weeks old. He still found time to speak with us today, so read on for the highlights and audio of the interview.
June 11, 2008
We started this season of Top Chef 4 in Chicago with 16 chefs (and two faux hawks), and now we are in Puerto Rico for the finale, with the numbers whittled down to three (and one).
Will molecular gastronomist/adorable geek Richard Blais, who's seemed like a ringer for much of the season, march on to victory and dash many viewers' hopes for the first female Top Chef? Will Stephanie Izard, who has been wobbly but with many moments of serious brilliance, steady herself and bring home a win for the distaff team? Oh right, and then there's Lisa Fernandes. Will she win and royally tick off a lot of viewers who don't feel like she deserves to be there?
June 11, 2008
Tonight, we learn which of the final three cheftestants from Top Chef 4 - Stephanie Izard, Richard Blais or Lisa Fernandes - will actually win that top spot.
The Bravo promotional photo to the left seems like a relatively appropriate representation of how these three have approached the competition so far. Stephanie looks solid with a mild air of being stunned, Lisa with her lips pursed and arms crossed, and Richard...well, in this shot Richard looks like he's either praying or about to pass out, so maybe it's only two-thirds appropriate.
What will bring these three to this final state? We'll find out tonight. I'll be here throughout the hour with live thoughts, so refresh often and comment away yourself!