“Top Chef” isn’t resting on its well-deserved reputation for being one of TV’s best reality competition shows.
The Bravo hit’s “Top Chef: New York” edition, debuting at 9 p.m. Wednesday, adds just enough inventive new flavors to keep it tasty.
“Shooting in New York lent itself to a lot of just amazing things that New York has to offer. You know, a lot of different ethnic cuisines,” judge Tom Colicchio said during a call with journalists Friday. “That sort of worked itself into the challenges at a lot of different locations.”
He’s right—and it lends a lot of excitement to the opener. The culinary melting pot begins immediately, when the cheftestants meet on the New York Harbor ferry going to Governor’s Island, where they compete in the first quick-fire challenge (more on that in a minute). Later in the episode, they visit neighborhood markets all over the city to complete the elimination challenge in which they go head-to-head against each other to make various ethnic dishes.
“I’m very proud of this show for ... really looking at the city,” host and judge Padma Lakshmi, who lives in New York, said during the call. “I was so excited for it to be in New York. I really was.”
Although we don’t see him in the premier, adding excitement to the show this season is Brit Toby Young, author of the book “How to Lose Friends & Alienate People,” who joins Colicchio, Lakshmi and Gail Simmons as judges. The tell-it-like-it-is-author brings his own spice to the judges’ table, Colicchio said.
“I got many chances to roll my eyes at some of the things that he said,” the chef said. “He was brash. He was opinionated. He was very funny and witty as well.”
Other guest stars this season will be Foo Fighters, Martha Stewart, Jean-Georges, Eric Ripert, and Natasha Richardson.
The cheftestants are global this season, too, coming from wide-ranging backgrounds.
Stefan, an obvious standout, was born in Finland, trained in Switzerland and Germany and now works in the U.S. He’s going to be the guy people love to hate, because he’s good—and he knows it. He immediately bonds with an Italian, Fabio, who is chef-owner of Cafe Firenze in California. Chicago’s Radhika Desai (see pages 18-19), executive chef at Between Boutique Cafe & Lounge, adds to the mix with her Indian background.
Speaking of Desai, let’s talk more about that quick-fire challenge. Being in the Big Apple isn’t the only delightful twist in the show, now in its fifth season.
During the first quick-fire challenge, the 17 competitors are whittled down to eight when they race to peel 15 apples with a paring knife. The four losers then race to fill two cups with perfectly diced apples. The final four then are challenged to make some kind of apple dish in 20 minutes.
Then for the first time ever in a quick-fire challenge, the loser is sent home. Without unpacking; without even seeing the cool “Top Chef” pad in Williamsburg.
“I loved that quick-fire,” Lakshmi said. “It was a long day. It was a hot day, but it was so much fun to watch these guys go at it. You know, it’s a relay race. It was great.”
It looks like fans can expect the same from “Top Chef: New York.”
Some of you homos watch this crap? You people worry me.
Originally Posted by mdklatt
