‘Top Chef Masters’ Starts Wednesday
by Guy BensonBig news for Top Chef enthusiasts: Bravo’s spin-off series featuring celebrity chefs competing for charity debuts Wednesday night at 10pm ET. I still have a bad taste in my mouth from last season, largely due to Hosea’s undeserving triumph, so I’m eager to see if the cooking franchise will redeem itself.
Here’s the skinny on Top Chef Masters, courtesy of the LA Times:
The cooking competition spinoff — this one featuring “world-renowned chefs” — has recruited a star-studded lineup of guest judges.
They include Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Morgan Spurlock, “Lost” writers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, “Flipping Out’s” Jeff Lewis, and all of the previous “Top Chef” winners. Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons will also appear.
With the large number of competitors, producers have tweaked the format of the original series. From Bravo’s press release:
In each episode, money will be at stake for the chefs, with the winners of eliminations being awarded cash donations for their charities. The first six episodes will consist of four chefs competing against each other to name one winner. The six winners of each episode will then meet up for the final four weeks when one person will get eliminated each episode until the finale where one winner is crowned Top Chef Master. The winning chef will receive $100,000 for the charity of his or her choice.
What?! Mere “appearances” from Tom, Padma, and Gail? Who will run the show? Answer:
Food journalist Kelly Choi will host “Masters.” New York Magazine food critic Gael Greene, Saveur magazine Editor in Chief James Oseland and British food critic Jay Rayner will judge.
As for Top Chef proper, rumors are swirling that season 6 will take place in Las Vegas. Or Seattle.
Dig in.
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20 Comments
Stefan should have never made that lousy dessert in the finale. He deserved to win.
what? talking about food shows and we're talking Bravo for cryin' out loud? Not here…
we like Alton Brown's 'Good Eats', Guy Fieri's 'Diners Drive ins and Dives' (outstanding!) anything with the lovely Giada Di Laurentis, and Michael Chiarello's 'Easy Entertaining'- migod the man's domiclie in Napa Valley is worth watching the show for- and Bobby Flay's 'Throwdown'.
All good stuff- better than this forgettable nonsense…
AH, I like my Top Chef. I hope the new season is better than last one though. I was sort of hoping to see Stefan guest judge, but I guess I have to put with whiney Hosea instead. Honestly, I wanted Carla to win. Oh well, I think a better name for the show would be Top Chef: Egos.
Self disclosure: I've never seen the show (seriously…watching someone else cook?). Could someone help me out…was there any additional text after the picture?
All good shows, but we like TC, too (about the only thing on Bravo worth the eyes).
Anyone who wears a hammer and sickle shirt, like Stefan did, is a dirtbag as far as I'm concerned.
Anthony Bourdain won't be there? Shoot. Jeff Lewis will be hilarious as usual. The man pulls no punches.
Carla blew it by listening to the fool who lost 2 seasons ago. I had her pegged, but I would've preferred Stefan over douchebag Hosea. Can't wait for this!
Stefan? Total punk, and not in the good way. I wish they'd have kept Fabio over Baldo, he was at least entertaining.
Carla listened to the wrong person. Do not let the ghost of losers past dictate your meal.
Hmmm… hopefully the new format won't kill it.
Morgan Spurlock as a judge? blechhh! He hasn't got an honest bone in his body.
I've seen some of the Top Chef episodes and its entertaining (years ago as a college student, I worked in restaurants and bars, so I'm familiar with the inner workings of the restaurant business) to see a show that's focused more on the back of the house than the front, but I have noticed the judges can be a bit too self-important on this show… sort of the way Ebert and Siskel as reviewers saw themselves as being bigger than the movies they reviewed.
Wow, straight outta left field. Thanks for the post Mr. Benson. Top Chief has been one of my favorite shows since it launched and I have been a fan ever since. Kind of sad that we won't be seeing much of Tom or Padma but I do like the celebrity chiefs for a change. I hope the show throws them some curve balls.
For those who are fans of Padma, she actually was on an episode of Enterprise. She played a princess or something. I wish I could tell you the season or episode title but I am sure if you guys google or youtube it will be easy to find.
Yes!!! This is the best show on TV and I didn't think it could get better but with the Masters idea I think it has. But I'm not so sure about the guest judges…in fact I didn't know if Collichio and Padma are even qualified to judge them and I don't know if these judges will be able to moreso, but I'm looking forward to this more than any series debut in 20 years.
Giada is more obnoxious than Rachel Ray.
Citizens of the world… get your must see TV here. It can't be only me that thinks casting central is pushing identity politics — outside of their sterotypes covered casting now — for an international sell? Soon there will be no more delays in international markets. I'm A Celeb and Top Chef can be run in the US and UK simultaneously. Something for everyone. Smart or narrowing?
We were surprised not to see Padma hosting too. And without Tom, I wonder if their seriousness of purpose will fall to pander. Good luck, Bravo.
All this Hosea hating..what's wrong with "Everyman" winning now and then? C'mon. He got the hot chick too! Anyway, Top Chef is a great show, although the judges can be rather pretentious (still laughing about Chef Tom criticizing the contestants for failing to "honor the protein" or a guest judge–with all that's going on in the world–pronouncing a meal " a tragedy."). The judges have claimed that they make their weekly decisions irrespective of producers whispering in their ear, so for that reason I'd like to see Bravo post the raw footage of the entire judge's deliberations online. Also, the New York Post claimed last week that Top Chef Vegas has already "wrapped." This Top Chief Masters show, on the other hand, seems merely like "warmed over" Food Network content that's a placeholder for the return of the real show–no thanks.
Hosea's offerings weren't as creative as others throughout the season, IMHO, and he was canoodling with a chick on the show while simultaneously professing his love for his real-life girlfriend, so it was indeed douchebaggy to me. I see this show as a fine placeholder for the main show–I love the concept, and could watch it year round. And yes, the judges are annoying, they're like ice skating judges who moan over every 'bobble' when it looks fine to a normal person. But to me the judges on "Chopped" are even more annoying, even though I enjoy that show quite a bit as well.
Love the show, cannot wait for it to come back no matter what the format. Though I love me some Padma, even Tom is pretty funny to watch.
As far as last season went, Stephan was a prick, Hosea was a bitch and Carla was crazy but fun to watch. But Hosea deserved to win as he screwed up less in the final, he's not the best (most likely the worst of the three) but he won the final. I'm just glad that Fabio didn't win with his 'hey vote for me, I'm Italian and I hate a cute accent' shtick.
The last bit is meant to be 'I have a cute accent' shtick. I subconsciously put hate instead of have as I hated how he'd play up his accent and his background to get all the women going…. I'm just glad it didn't work.
More??? …not likely. Giada's just a bobble-head. Rachael Ray is a menace. __I'm not a big TC fan, but my husband is. (I think he likes the Padma eye-candy. He was aghast when he found out that Salman Rushdie dumped her, or whatever happened with them.)
Sorry. I looked at the picture accompanying this article for too long and now I've forgotten what I was going to say.
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