Top Chef Season 5-Spolers Probable

[Ksyrup]

FYI, for Top Chef fans:

Bravo to debut 'Top Chef Masters' June 10, reveals competing chefs


By John Bracchitta, 04/07/2009

Bravo has announced that Top Chef Masters, a spinoff of the network's top-rated Top Chef reality competition, will premiere Wednesday June 10 at 10PM ET/PT.

Top Chef Masters will initially pit 24 world-renowned chefs in a tournament-style format in which each of the show's first six episodes will feature four chefs competing against each other for one open spot.

Once the first six preliminary rounds have concluded, the show will then switch to a more typical elimination format, with the six winners -- who will all receive cash prizes for the charities of their choice for advancing -- then engaging in new challenges in which one chef will be eliminated each episode. After four weeks, one chef will be crowned "Top Chef Master" and awarded $100,000 towards the charity of their choice.

Each episode of Top Chef Masters will follow the tried and true Top Chef formula with two challenges for the chefs to complete. The first challenge, the "quickfire challenge," will test the chef's basic cooking abilities. However, in a twist to the format, each quickfire challenge will be judged by a blind taste test and a graded with a five-star system, similar to fine dining reviews.

The second challenge will be an elimination challenge and test the chef's versatility and invention in the kitchen as they work with unusual and exotic foods for demanding clients. Following the judges' tasting of the chef's food, along with any other tasters involved in the challenge, the determination will be made which chefs survive and which go home.

Former model and food journalist/author Kelly Choi will serve as host for Top Chef Masters, with restaurant New York Magazine food critic Gael Greene; Saveur magazine editor-in-chief and culinary expert James Oseland; and British journalist and broadcaster Jay Rayner serving as the show's regular judges.

Top Chef Masters will also feature numerous special guest stars and judges, including Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, Morgan Spurlock, Lost writers and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof and Flipping Out's Jeff Lewis. Also, for the first time ever, all of Top Chef's previous winners will appear together on one episode. The series will also showcase "chef'testant" fan favorites as well as appearances by Top Chef judges Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons.

The 24 competing chefs who will be competing on Top Chef Masters, as well as their restaurants and locations, are:

- Rick Bayless from Frontera Grill in Chicago, IL

- Wilo Benet from Pikayo in San Juan, Puerto Rico

- John Besh from Restaurant August in New Orleans, LA

- Graham Elliot Bowles from Graham Elliot Restaurant in Chicago, IL

- Michael Chiarello from Bottega Restaurant in Yountville, CA

- Michael Cimarusti from Providence in Los Angeles, CA

- Wylie Dufresne from wd~50 in New York, NY

- Elizabeth Falkner from Orson in San Francisco, CA

- Hubert Keller from Fleur de Lys in San Francisco, CA

- Christopher Lee from Aureole in New York, NY

- Ludo Lefebvre from Ludo Bites in Los Angeles, CA

- Anita Lo from Annisa in New York, NY

- Tim Love from The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro in Fort Worth, TX

- Rick Moonen from Rick Moonen's RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, NV.

- Nils Noren from French Culinary Institute in New York, NY

- Lachlan McKinnon Patterson from Frasca Food & Wine in Boulder, CO

- Cindy Pawlcyn from Mustards Grill in Napa Valley, CA

- Mark Peel from Campanile in Los Angeles, CA

- Douglas Rodriguez from Alma de Cuba in Philadelphia, PA

- Michael Schlow from Radius Restaurant in Boston, MA

- Art Smith from Table Fifty-Two in Chicago, IL

- Suzanne Tracht from Jar in Los Angeles, CA

- Jonathan Waxman from Barbuto in New York, NY

- Roy Yamaguchi from Roy's Restaurants in San Diego, CA

[DaddyTorgo]

*pouts* no Ming Tsai hmm? I guess he's got nothing left to prove and would prolly wipe the floor with any of them.

John Besh? Seems like the guy will do anything to get his face on TV...dang!

Michael Schlow & Wylie Dufresne are pretty big "gets" for this show I'd imagine.

This will definately be "appointment tv" - especially if they make them all live in a house together - LOL

[GrantDawg]

Very interesting. Choi's hottness > Padma's hottness.

[Coffee Warlord]

I woulda loved to see Tom competing.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Very interesting. Choi's hottness > Padma's hottness.

who's this choi?

pixplzkthnx

nvrmind - she's okay yah

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Coffee Warlord

I woulda loved to see Tom competing.

that woulda been funny too. an even more "starred up" version of this show you mean

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

that woulda been funny too. an even more "starred up" version of this show you mean

Tom, Rocko, and Gordon. I'd put a fiver on Tom.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Tom, Rocko, and Gordon. I'd put a fiver on Tom.

nice call

Tom
Rocco
Gordon
Ming Tsai
Todd English
Mario Batali
Bobby Flay

I'm sure there's more that I'm not as familiar with in other places around the country who could round out this top dozen and make it a real celebrity top-chef

[DaddyTorgo]

I don't know if Rocko would last 5 minutes with Tom and Gordon. Although to be fair, I've never seen any of Tom's food. At least with Ramsey I've seen his food (and some of Rocko's too I guess from that show of his).

[Ksyrup]

I believe there's a burgeoning territorial battle between Bravo and Food Network that would make some of these matchups impossible. I know there was some bad blood over FN not allowing Ted Allen to appear as a judge on Top Chef once they gave him a show.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

I believe there's a burgeoning territorial battle between Bravo and Food Network that would make some of these matchups impossible. I know there was some bad blood over FN not allowing Ted Allen to appear as a judge on Top Chef once they gave him a show.

why can't they all just get along? couldn't one just buy the other? one must be significantly more capitalized...

[Ksyrup]

As far as Gordon Ramsay, I would think putting himself at someone else's mercy would hurt the persona he's built up here.

Speaking of which, 2 more seasons of Hell's Kitchen have been greenlighted, as well as a live cooking special and another show copied from something he did in England. Seems as though Gordon Ramsey is going to be to Fox what Law & Order was to NBC.

[Ksyrup]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

why can't they all just get along? couldn't one just buy the other? one must be significantly more capitalized...

I dug this up from last year:

Tom Colichio, head judge of Bravo's Top Chef, recently let it slip that Ted Allen would not be returning to Top Chef this season since Ted's Food Network show Food Detectives was renewed.

"Okay, maybe he's busy shooting new episodes," I said outloud to myself, as I normally do when reading newspaper articles online.

But Tom doesn't say it's a scheduling conflict preventing Ted from returning.

Instead, he says: "They [the Food Network] have a policy that they can't do our show."

This would appear to contradict what Ted has said in previous interviews about his unique relationship working with both Food Network (on Iron Chef) and Bravo (with Top Chef). He had indicated that both networks were okay with the arrangement.

Perhaps FN was fine having him work for the competition while he was just judging Iron Chef... but apparently not any longer.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

As far as Gordon Ramsay, I would think putting himself at someone else's mercy would hurt the persona he's built up here.

Speaking of which, 2 more seasons of Hell's Kitchen have been greenlighted, as well as a live cooking special and another show copied from something he did in England. Seems as though Gordon Ramsey is going to be to Fox what Law & Order was to NBC.

that's true - it would hurt his persona. although he's not as much of an ass as he is in hell's kitchen.

live cooking special? cool!

another show copied from what he did in england? "F-word?" (his weekly food magazine show)? Or something else? linky?

[Ksyrup]

This isn't the article I originally saw, but it basically sums it up.

March 22, 2009

Fox plans more Gordon Ramsay reality

Good news for Gordon Ramsay fans: Fox has ordered another season of the internationally known chef's realty series "Kitchen Nightmares."

Ramsay will continue giving tough love makeovers to restaurants in need next season as part of a renewal agreement with Granada America, Optomen and A. Smith & Co.

The network also is expected to shortly announce that Ramsay's other series, "Hell's Kitchen," will return for a new season this summer. "Kitchen" recently shot back-to-back sixth and seventh seasons. Rather than continuing to parcel out the show one season per year, Fox will take the unprecedented step of airing two consecutive seasons.

Combined with the new order of "Nightmares," there's a good chance fresh episodes of Ramsay's reality fare will continue airing regularly on the network through the end of next year.

"Kitchen" is currently airing on Thursday night and holding up well under the pressure of the most competitive time period on television. Fox is planning a live special called "Cook Off" starring Ramsay at some point, and is developing a new Ramsay series with details still kept under wraps.

[DaddyTorgo]

Aaaaah - more Kitchen Nightmares too.

Good!! I vastly prefer Kitchen Nightmares to Hell's Kitchen. It's not even close.

I wonder what the new series will be.

[Ksyrup]

Interestingly, in the original article I read, it said that the current season of Hell's Kitchen that is airing was shot in late 2007. I had no clue. Apparently, the next two seasons were just shot.

I kinda hope they get away from being SOOOOO predictable now. It seems like this season, even more than the past, it's obvious who is going to win a challenge and who's on the show for laughs, etc. For instance, that fat, lazy, crazy bitch Lacey was obviously this season's counterpart to last season's fat, lazy, crazy idiot Matt.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

Interestingly, in the original article I read, it said that the current season of Hell's Kitchen that is airing was shot in late 2007. I had no clue. Apparently, the next two seasons were just shot.

I kinda hope they get away from being SOOOOO predictable now. It seems like this season, even more than the past, it's obvious who is going to win a challenge and who's on the show for laughs, etc. For instance, that fat, lazy, crazy bitch Lacey was obviously this season's counterpart to last season's fat, lazy, crazy idiot Matt.

And Robert=the guy who was called dirty and piggish last year but who went far (whose name escapes me right at this moment)

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by Ksyrup

As far as Gordon Ramsay, I would think putting himself at someone else's mercy would hurt the persona he's built up here.

Speaking of which, 2 more seasons of Hell's Kitchen have been greenlighted, as well as a live cooking special and another show copied from something he did in England. Seems as though Gordon Ramsey is going to be to Fox what Law & Order was to NBC.

Oh, he would never do it. But then again neither would Rocco, but for different reasons. Gordon because that would be beneath him, and Rocco because he would be creamed. And we are missing a couple of really great gets as well: Marco and Bourdain. I think Marco and Gordon might actually fist fight, which would be cool.

[DaddyTorgo]

Bourdain would be great. Didn't I read that Marco + Gordon had a falling out basically?

[GrantDawg]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Bourdain would be great. Didn't I read that Marco + Gordon had a falling out basically?

Hence fist fight comment. Yeah, I believe they still hate each other a bit. Then again, I think Marco falls out with a lot of people.

[Ksyrup]

I believe Bourdain's not too happy with Bravo right now, either. My recollection is a little hazy, but last year, he was blogging during the season and got in trouble for posting a few comments, so he stopped blogging and wasn't a guest judge this year. I don't remember much about it other than a great line he had in a later blog about the blow-up where he said he used the Glad Family of Bags for things they probably didn't approve of. Ha!

[flere-imsaho]

The backstory between Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White is long and fascinating. A reality show with both of them would certainly end in a physical confrontation.

[Galaxy]

For those who live in Canada or watch the Fine Living Network, they have a show called The Heat with Mark McEwan (two seasons in either '05, '06', or '07; with rumors of a third coming). It's on Mondays and Fridays at 10:30 AM EST.

Anyone ever watch it? The best show I think.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by GrantDawg

Oh, he would never do it. But then again neither would Rocco, but for different reasons. Gordon because that would be beneath him, and Rocco because he would be creamed. And we are missing a couple of really great gets as well: Marco and Bourdain. I think Marco and Gordon might actually fist fight, which would be cool.

Bourdain isn't really a chef in the same way that Marco and Gordon are.

[Galaxy]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

The backstory between Gordon Ramsay and Marco Pierre White is long and fascinating. A reality show with both of them would certainly end in a physical confrontation.

Yep. Gordon is a Marco Pierre White prodigy.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by Galaxy

Bourdain isn't really a chef in the same way that Marco and Gordon are.

Agreed. Marco and Gordon are Michelin-starred chefs. Bourdain, to me, is, chef-wise, kind of the ultimate line chef.

The key thing about Marco Pierre White, though, is that he's the genesis figure for all "bad-boy-type" celebrity chefs.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by flere-imsaho

Agreed. Marco and Gordon are Michelin-starred chefs. Bourdain, to me, is, chef-wise, kind of the ultimate line chef.

The key thing about Marco Pierre White, though, is that he's the genesis figure for all "bad-boy-type" celebrity chefs.

yeah. I am totally getting a kick out of him on this show he's on, I gotta say that. I also would love to see UK-version "Hells Kitchen" with him - from the snippet I saw he looked much more sane.

[digamma]

So, for my birthday, my wife took me to Fabio's new restaurant in LA, Firenze Osteria (he previously had a restaurant named Firenze in Simi Valley). She had set up a Chef's Table/Tasting Menu with Fabio which they offer (actually at a pretty reasonable price. It's a six course meal plus dessert, all in smaller tasting portions. The menu changes nightly based on what Fabio has in mind. When he served each dish, he would give a little description of the dish and then check in on us often to make sure we were enjoying it.

Here are the details on what we had and my impressions:

Course 1: Burrata cheese drizzled with an aged balsamic and topped with shaved black truffles.

Pretty simple, but very, very good. The black truffles added a ton to the dish--I guess I had never had real truffles on anything before. Solid start.

Course 2: Yellow tail sashimi in an aged olive oil, topped with a homemade sun dried tomato and a small arugula salad.

The sashimi was very good and the sun dried tomato was excellent.

Course 3: Pancetta wrapped prawn, stuffed with gorgonzola atop a bed of spinach and parmesan polenta.

Oh my goodness. One of the best single bites of food I have ever had. Just amazing.

Course 4: Braised short rib ravioli (hand made) in a tellagio cheese sauce.

I am a huge fan of short ribs and this did not disappoint. The cheese sauce is strong, so this was perfect to have in a tasting menu size. I could see a full dish being a little heavy and overpowering. But again, just awesome flavors.

Course 5: Seared Seabass with Buttered Green Beans drizzled with a 27 year olive oil.

Probably the most basic thing we had. A very good piece of fish, but almost a disappointment compared to everything else on the menu.

Course 6: Slow roasted pork loin with crispy pork belly and brussel sprouts.

Another wow! The slow roasted pork was excellent by itself, but when you combined it with the pork belly and the brussel sprouts (which had been cooked with the pork), the flavor just seemed to last and last.

Course 7 (dessert): Flourless chocolate cake topped with a homemade (through a liquid nitrogen process) vanilla bean gellato.

I wanted this to be about 5 times the size. The cake was melt in your mouth good (admittedly partially due to the molten center). The flavor was great. Perfect end to the meal.

I'm coming across like a total fan boy, but this is a meal I'll remember for a long time. I'll definitely go back to Firenze for a regular meal. It's in a convenient spot and has a neighborhood feel, very much in contrast to the trendy LA restaurant scene. I'd recommend it to any LA folks (it's on Lankershim between Moorpark and Ventura in Toluca Lake/Studio City).

[Coffee Warlord]

Damn, I'm jealous. I'da loved that.

[DaddyTorgo]

mmmm