Category — Top Chef

When Donald Trump best known for his hair, and being host to the US version of Celebrity Apprentice announced he was not going to put his hat in the ring for the Republican Presidential nomination I was disappointed.

However I always thought Reality Ravings would be able to report on the election because dabbler in reality TV Sarah Palin might run. She has crushed these dreams this week saying she is not seeking nomination. So it looks like reporting on the US Presidential’s is not going to occur.

However another Republican President nomination has had a brush with reality TV, but this time it was Top Chef production company Magic Elves sued has the Texas attorney general to prevent the release of information in documents from the Governor Rick Perry’s office related to the $400,000 Texas paid for product placement in the new season.

Reality Blurred reports:
The lawsuit, filed Monday, says that, as part of its brand integration with Texas, “Magical Elves provided confiential and propreitary information regardng Top Chef, as well as creative concepts and production ideas for Top Chef: Texas,” and the documents they want to protect include “proposals, correspondence, and related documents.”

Why is it always the Republicans involved in reality TV, and not the Democrats?

Australian chef Curtis Stone will be seen on our screens in his role as host on Top Chef Masters from Monday 19 September on Arena TV.

Curtis took over the role of host from Kelly Choi. I was never a fan of Kelly’s as you rarely saw her eat the food.

Top Chef Masters is different from Top Chef in that the cheftestants are highly respected chefs.

Jay Rayner fans will be disappointed to know that he has been fired from the show, the reason being because Curtis Stone is Australian they only wanted one foreign accent on the show. Here is a cracker of a interview with Jay Rayner for eater.com, and  love him even more for saying there was to much hype around David Chang.

Gael Greene has also been replaced by Ruth Reichl.

The Contestants are:

Hugh Acheson - Chef/ Partner: Five& Ten, The National, Gosford Wine – in Athens, GA and Empire State South, Atlanta, GA; Competing for Wholesome Wave Foundation

Floyd Cardoz – Former Executive Chef/Partner- of Tabla and soon-to-be Executive Chef/Partner of a new Danny Meyer restaurant; Competing for Young Scientist Cancer Research Fund

John Currence - City Grocery Restaurant Group, Oxford, MS Competing for No Kid Hungry

Traci Des Jardins - Chef/Co-owner of Jardinière, Mijita Cocina Mexicana and Public House and Manzanita, San Francisco, CA; Competing for La Cocina

George Mendes - Chef/Co-Owner of ALDEA, Manhattan, NY; Competing for Charity: Water

Mary Sue Milliken - Co-Chef/ Owner: Border Grill Restaurants and Truck, Los Angeles, CA; Competing for Share Our Strength

Naomi Pomeroy - Owner: Beast in Portland, OR; Competing for Seed Savers Exchange

Suvir Saran - Executive Chef: Dévi, New York, NY; Competing for Agricultural Stewardship Association

John Rivera Sedlar - Owner: Playa, Los Angeles, CA; Competing for American Diabetes Association

Alex Stratta - Executive Chef: Stratta, Las Vegas, NV; Competing for Faster Cures, part of the Milken Prostate Cancer Foundation

Celina Tio - Chef/Owner: JULIAN Restaurant, Kansas City, MO, Competing for Harvesters

Sue Zemanick - Executive Chef: Gautreau’s, New Orleans, LA; Competing for the Louisiana SPCA

The good news? A casting call has gone out looking for professional chefs to be in the “only professional cooking competition”.

Are we finally going to get an Australian version of the fantastic reality show Top Chef? However when I read the prize was “the chance to secure the role of head chef of Australia’s “hottest new restaurant” I thought it must be an Australian version of Hell’s Kitchen the show Gordon Ramsay hosts in the US, where the skill level in the kitchen is not great.

Or maybe they will be just mix the two.

Anyway it is a Fremantle production, and my guess is Channel Ten have commissioned it as a vehicle for Matt Moran.

Maybe the piece of viral marketing he did for OZ Harvest here was really an audition for the show. The network wanted to ensure his Gordon Ramsay impersonation was up to scratch.

If you are interested in applying email nicole@acastofthousands.com.au with a recent photo and your CV.

Source: Hospitality Magazine

I would love to start a rumour about the luscious Padma Lakshmi and Curtis Stone hooking up, however here they are at the Live At Bravo Upfront 2011 in Los Angeles.

Curtis Stone is the new host of Top Chef Masters which is premiering in the US in April, and Padma is the host of Top Chef.

I cannot believe I am saying this but Curtis looks very nice in this photo. Has he buffed up?

Curtis Stone whose profile is in the stratosphere  in the US, has premiered his new show called America’s Next Great Restaurant to good reviews. (See previous post called the Year of Curtis Stone)

The Daily Telegraph reports the show is where:

[Curtis]Stone is set to team up with superstar chefs Bobby Flay, Lorena Garcia and Steve Ells on America’s Next Great Restaurant which puts aspiring restauraters through their paces in a series of culinary and business challenges – with the winner seeing their concept brought to life in a number of locations.

The show premiered to glowing reviews in the US on Friday night with one critic tipping the show to be a major broadcast smash.

“With a tone that is more positive than negative, America’s Next Great Restaurant is one show I expect will beat the odds,” glows the National Public Radio, while Variety commends the show for being “admirably low on trash-TV antics, lending it additional family-friendly appeal in the 8pm slot”.

Of course no news if we are going to get the show in Australia anytime soon.

Curtis Stone is on the new Top Chef Masters which will premiere on Bravo in April in the US. Considering the previous Top Chef Masters is currently showing on Arena on Monday nights, it may be some time before we get it on our screens. Hopefully we will get the Top Star All Stars soon also as glimpses that I have seen of it show that it rocks.

Top Chef host and hottie Padma Lakshmi is being taken to court by the father of her baby Krishna.

Padma who gave birth last year at the time of her pregnancy refused to say who the father was, but later on it was revealed it was Adam Dell, brother of the Dell Computer owner.

The New York Post reveals:

Dell, 41, brother of billionaire Dell Inc. founder Michael Dell, last night filed a suit in Manhattan Supreme Court asking for full custody of Krishna, born last Feb. 20. Venture capitalist Dell is frustrated the “Top Chef” host, 40, has allegedly failed to respond to his pleas for more time with Krishna.

His lawyer, Bill Zabel, confirmed the filing and told us in a statement: “Adam Dell, above all else, wants to have an active and substantial role in the upbringing of his daughter with Padma Lakshmi. Unfortunately, Ms. Lakshmi has severely limited his time with their daughter and has refused to negotiate a reasonable co-parenting agreement. Mr. Dell has tried his best to avoid going to court, but Ms. Lakshmi has given him no other choice at this time.”

Sources say Lakshmi and Dell currently have an agreement which allows him to see their baby for seven hours a week. But it’s complicated by Lakshmi’s filming and travel commitments. Dell had to fly to the Bahamas this month to spend a few hours with Krishna. “He has to fit into her schedule,” the source added.

Sources close to Dell said he must deal with her lawyers and her assistant to arrange times to see Krishna. One source said, “Adam does not want to take the baby away from her. He hopes this will result in a reasonable co-parenting agreement.” Dell is also said to be seeking to be named on Krishna’s birth certificate and have her take his surname along with Lakshmi’s.

It will be interesting to see how this will pan out.

Thanks CG for sending in link.

Curtis Stone’s TV career is going from strength to strength with news he will be the new host of Top Chef Masters – Season Three.

He will replace current host Kelly Choi. No news whether she jumped or was pushed, but what I do know the change will be welcome. Scrawny Kelly always looks like she is going to barf when she is puts food into her mouth.

The highly coveted host job is extremely high profile, as it involves introducing the two challenges, the quick fire and elimination challenge, as well as ensuring conversation flows whilst the tasting and the judging of the food takes place.

The show is produced by Bravo and Season Two of Top Chef Masters is currently being shown on Arena TV on Monday at 9.30pm.

Source: NY Mag

Here they are the three gorgeous stars from the Emmy award winning show Top Chef. From left Padma Lakshmi, Tom Collichio and the delightful Gail Simmons.

Today they stopped The Amazing Race from winning the Emmy for Best Reality TV Show for the eighth time. The other interesting thing is that it is has a smaller audience then the other three nominees. The Amazing Race, Dancing With The Stars, and American Idol.

Jeff Probst won best reality host.

Source (LA Times)

Congratulations to Top Chef for taking out the Best Reality TV Show Emmy. This was quite a coup as The Amazing Race has won it since the award commenced.

For those who don’t know Top Chef it is a quality TV show on Arena TV which comes from the Bravo stable in New York. Up and coming chefs fight it out over three months to see who will become the Top Chef.

There is great cooking, great challenges a lot of which we are seeing on our own Masterchef Australia, and enough interaction and personalities of the contestants to keep it entertaining.

The host is the luscious Padma Lakshmi who has no problem being seen to eat food on TV and give a forthright opinion on it. Also the other co-host is the spunky Tom Collichio a renowned chef in the US. Other judges are Gail Simmons from Food and Wine Magazine, Eric Ripert an uber-chef as well as other guest judges who are leaders in their fields.

The new season set in Washington DC commences on Arena TV 7.30pm the 12 September, if you have pay TV watch it.

However it is time for a free to air channel to get the episodes or even do an Australian version of the show.

I am seriously hoping to catch the ebola virus for the month of September by the look of what Arena has got on its programming next month.

Top Chef Washington will premiere on Sunday at 7.30pm on the 12 September.  The luscious Padma Lakshmi and hunky Tom Colluchio are returning as hosts of this cooking competition where professional chefs battle it out for the title of Top Chef. If you like Masterchef you will love this. In fact quite a few aspects of the Australian version of Masterchef are taken from Top Chef. Well that is my opinion and I am sticking to it.

Project Runway Season 7 will see the crew returning to New York. This will premiere on September 13, Mondays at 8.30pm. Heidi Klum, Tim Gunn, Michael Kors and Neeeeeeeennna Garcia are all returning. This will have to help us get over that there won’t be an Australian version of the show this year.

Models of the Runway, will again follow it on September 13, Mondays at 9.30pm. This is a companion series to Project Runway, which follows the models on the show. I hope they continue to keep it to a half hour show, as this got a bit tedious once all the nuttier models were eliminated last season.

And also one of my favourite reality shows Celebrity Rehab with Dr Drew Pinsky returns for it third season on September 16 at 9.30pm. This is not the Rachael Uchitel one which is currently filming but the series has celebrities Dennis Rodman, Heidi Fleiss, Joey Kovar, Kari Anne Peniche, Lisa D’Amato, Mackenzie Phillips, Mike Starr, Mindy McCready and Tom Sizemore going through an intensive 21-day detox and treatment program.

All-new to Arena is Launch My Line where celebrities will design, cut and stitch their way through a one-of-a-kind creative competition to determine who has the vision to go from icon to fashion star and launch a trendsetting clothing label.

Premiering September 8, Wednesdays at 8.30pm, the celebrity contestants will each be paired with a fashion expert, who will supply the technical know-how to implement the celebrity’s creative vision.

Most of the time I am a bit dubious of reality shows with celebrities in them, Celeb Rehab being the exception, but this is from the Bravo stable which I do worship at the altar of. So will give it a look even though the premise looks a bit spurious.

Another Bravo show that  Arena premiering on September 14, Tuesdays at 9.30pm, is 9 By Design. The series follows husband and wife design team, Bob and Cortney Novogratz and their seven children. Owners of New York based design firm, Sixx Design, this young, hip and artsy couple have developed and designed unique properties in Manhattan, rebuilt entire blocks in the city, and turned funky into fabulous with taste and confidence.

I hope this is more Top Design, than Kate and Jon Plus 8.