July 30, 2008
I miss Top Chef (I think we all do), but in the meantime I have to confess that I got sucked into the last three episodes of The Next Food Network Star last Sunday night. After the season’s premiere, I thought I’d never sit through another episode of that show. I thought I wouldn’t be able to bear its Top Chef wannabe repertoire but somehow my TV tuned in to the Food Network for three…straight…hours. It’s too bad my reality food show fix came at the end of the season but I have to say, it was nice to see the outcome as soon as I got sucked in.
And maybe it’s just me (or the fact that I only watched four episodes total) but I was SHOCKED when they announced the winner.
Spoilers after the jump!
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Popularity: 48% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 6:12 PM Permalink 12 Comments »
June 16, 2008
It’s been a whole… (eep!) 5 days now…and I still can’t get over the fact that Top Chef Chicago is no more. So, in order to give myself a Top Chef fix, I thought I’d pass along some interesting tidbits you might want to check out!
1. Finalist Richard Blais had a baby girl! - Photos courtesy of Our Labor of Love (click on link for more photos). Does anyone remember the “Common Threads” episode, where Antonia started bawling when she saw all the kids? Well, in that same episode, Richard made some comment to the effect of finding it all so emotional and wanting to go home and make “Baby Blaises.” It looks like he succeeded (has it really been 9 months since they taped the episode?!)
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Popularity: 5% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 5:01 PM Permalink 2 Comments »
June 12, 2008
After 14 grueling episodes, it’s all over. Can you believe it? We have a top chef! And honestly…it’s SO hard not to talk about the results in these first sentences but in an effort not to spoil it for passers by, I’ll wait….just a few….more….words…
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Popularity: 4% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 2:28 PM Permalink 3 Comments »
May 1, 2008
This week’s episode was all about constraints. The quickfire posed a 15 minute time constraint to make an entree, while the elimination had a budget constraint of $10 for a well balanced, healthy and simple family meal. A chef can cook anything he wants in an ideal competition, but the measure of a good chef can only come from the presence of restrictions.
But the episode had another element to it, and that was family. When you’re cooking for your family in everyday life, you often have these sorts of constraints, all the while having to be concerned with how healthy the meal actually is.
In other words, I thought this week had great challenges.
Warning: Spoilers after the jump!
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Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 1:42 PM Permalink 3 Comments »
April 17, 2008
DA BEARS! I think Chef Tom Colicchio said it best: “There are two things Chicagoans are really passionate about: One is their sports teams, and the other is their food.” So this week’s elimination challenge of cooking for a Bears game tailgate put Chicago sports fans in heaven. Paired with a”simple pleasures” quickfire, this episode was all about good food and good beer.Warning: Spoilers after the jump!
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Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 2:33 PM Permalink 2 Comments »
April 10, 2008
This episode went back to the basics of flavor and taste to see whether or not contestants had truly mastered their most important tool: a strong palette. And it wouldn’t be considered going “back to the basics” if we didn’t visit the infamous elements of air, water, fire, and earth. In a nutshell - I liked this episode a lot. Not to mention, it had my FAVORITE quickfire - the blindfold taste test!Warning: Spoilers after the jump!
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Popularity: 3% [?]
Posted by Hillary, 2:33 PM Permalink 2 Comments »
