Other Great Reality Shows > Other Reality TV Shows & News

Top Chef Masters

<< < (2/10) > >>

apskip:
Top Chef Masters begins Wednesday night on BRAVO at 10pm. Competing for their selected charity causes are:

Art Smith
Position: Owner of TABLE fifty-two in Chicago, as well as Art and Soul restaurant in Washington DC.
Education: Self-taught
Foodie Fact: Smith is Oprah Winfrey's long time personal chef. In 2007 he received the 'Humanitarian of the Year' award from the James Beard Foundation.
Competing for: Common Threads

Jonathan Waxman
Position: Chef and Owner of James, Washington Part, and Barbuto in New York City
Education: La Varenne cooking school in Paris
Foodie Fact: Waxman has graced such prestigious kitchens as Chez Panisse in Berkeley and Michael’s in Los Angeles, and his first cookbook, A Great American Cook, was published in 2007
Competing for: Meals On Wheels

Michael Cimarusti
Position: Chef and owner of Providence Restaurant in Los Angeles
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: After a three-year run at Le Cirque where he worked with Paul Bocuse, Gerard Boyer, and Roger Vergé, Cimarusti moved to France to expand his culinary education at La Marée and Arpege.
Competing for: Grameen Foundation

Roy Yamaguchi
Position: Owner and chef of Roy's in Honolulu
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Yamaguchi Hawaiian restaurateur to win the prestigious James Beard Award. Yamaguchi has appeared on Iron Chef, is the author of four cookbooks, and hosted the cooking show Hawaii Cooks.
Competing for: Imua Family Services

Anita Lo
Position: Chef and owner of the successful New York restaurant Annisa and serves as consulting chef for Rickshaw Dumpling Bar
Education: Ecole Ritz-Escoffier
Foodie Fact: While earning a degree in French at Columbia University, she studied at Reid Hall – Columbia's French language institute in Paris and decided to return to Paris to study cooking.
Competing for: SHARE

Douglas Rodriquez
Position: Chef and Founder of Patria Restaurant
Education: Johnson and Wales University in Providence, Rhode Island
Foodie Fact: Rodriguez is well known for being the "Godfather" of Latin Cuisine and coining the phrase “Nuevo Latino” in his first book in 1997. He was nominated for a 2009 James Beard Award for the "Best Chef South Region."
Competing for: AYUDA for the Arts

John Besh
Position: Chef and co-owner of the Besh Restaurant Group in New Orleans, including August, Lüke, and Besh Steak
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Besh was on Food & Wine's “Ten Best New Chefs” in America in 1999, “Best Chef in the Southeast” by the James Beard Foundation in 2006, and was featured on the Sundance Iconoclasts series in 2007.
Competing for: Make It Right

Mark Peel
Position: Co-owner of La Brea Bakery and Campanile,owner of Smoke and Mirrors (due to open in Hollywood 2009)
Education: Self-taught
Foodie Fact: Peel was Wolfgang Puck’s chef de cuisine at the original Spago in LA. He has co-authored several books, including Mark Peel & Nancy Silverton At Home: Two Chefs Cook for Family and Friends and The Food of Campanile.
Competing for: Doctors Without Borders

Chris Lee
Position: Executive chef at Aureole in New York
Education: California Culinary Academy
Foodie Fact: At Philadelphia’s The Striped Bass, Lee acted as chef de cuisine under Alfred Portale and later became executive chef. Upon his return to New York City, Lee spent two years at Gilt where he earned the restaurant two Michelin stars.
Competing for: Autism Speaks

Hubert Keller
Position: Chef and owner of Fleur de Lys (San Francisco and Las Vegas), the Burger Bar (Las Vegas, St. Louis and soon to open in San Francisco) and his latest venture, SLeeK Steakhouse and Ultra Lounge (St. Louis)
Education: Ecole Hoteliere in Strasbourg
Foodie Fact: Hubert is the recipient of the James Beard Foundation's lifetime achievement award and was named one of the “10 Best New Chefs in America” by Food & Wine in 1988.
Competing for: Make-A-Wish Foundation

Michael Schlow
Position: Owner and chef of Radius in Boston
Education: Academy of Culinary Arts in New Jersey
Foodie Fact: In 2000, Schlow won the James Beard Award for “Best Chef in the Northeast” and his restaurant Radius in Boston was named “Best New Restaurant” by Food & Wine.
Competing for: Cam Neely Foundation

Tim Love
Position: Chef and owner of The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro and The Love Shack in Fort Worth
Education: University of Tennesse (Finance and Marketing)
Foodie Fact: The Love Shack earned three stars from The Dallas Morning News, which was singled out as having the "most perfect burger on the planet."
Competing for: March of Dimes

Elizabeth Falkner
Position: Executive Chef and owner of both Citizen Cake and Orson restaurants in San Francisco
Education: San Francisco Art Institute
Foodie Fact: Falkner won a James Beard Award Pastry Chef nomination in 2005 and Bon Appetit Pastry Chef of the Year in 2006.
Competing for: The Edible Schoolyard

Graham Elliot Bowles
Position: Owner and chef of Graham Elliot in Chicago
Education: Johnson and Wales University
Foodie Fact: During his four years leading the kitchen at The Peninsula Hotel in Chicago, he became the nations youngest four-star chef with perfect reviews from Chicago Magazine, Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune, as well as three James Beard award nominations.
Competing for: American Heart Association

Suzanne Tracht
Position: Executive chef and owner of Jar in Los Angeles, and Tracht in Long Beach.
Education: Three-year apprenticeship under Siegbert Wendler
Foodie Fact: Tracht was among Food and Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in 2002, she's made national appearances on the Today Show, Food Network and Extra and was inducted into Fine Dining Hall of Fame by Nation’s Restaurant News in May 2007.
Competing for: JFS/SOVA Community Food and Resource Program

Wylie Dufrensne
Position: Chef and owner of New York’s highly celebrated wd~50 restaurant
Education: French Culinary Institute in New York
Foodie Fact: In 2009, Wylie was nominated for a James Beard Award for "Best Chef, New York City," and wd~50 was nominated for "Best New Restaurant."
Competing for: Autism Speaks

Cindy Pawlcyn
Position: Executive chef and owner of three Napa Valley restaurants – Cindy’s Backstreet Kitchen, Go Fish, and Mustards Grill
Foodie Fact: Cindy is the author of four widely acclaimed cookbooks: The Fog City Diner Cookbook, Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook, Big Small Plates, and her newest, Cindy Pawlcyn’s Appetizers
Competing for: Community Health Clinic Ole

Ludo Lefebvre
Position: Chef and owner of Ludo Bites (opening Spring of 2009)
Education: Trained in Paris for 13 years at Restaurant L’Esperance with Marc Meneau, Restaurant Pierre Gagnaire, Arpege with Alain Passard and Le Grande Vefour with Guy Martin
Foodie Fact: Lefebvre was a nominee for the James Beard Foundation “Rising Chef Award” in 2001 and released his first cookbook, CRAVE, a Feast of the Five Senses in 2005.
Competing for: C.H.A.S.E. for Life

Rick Bayless
Position: Owner and chef of Frontera Grill and Topolobampo in Chicago
Education: non stated
Foodie Fact: Bayless has appeared in a number of television shows including The Today Show, Good Morning America and Martha Stewart Living. His own show, PBS's Mexico One Plate at a Time is now in its 7th season.
Competing for: Frontera Farmer Foundation

Wilo Benet
Position: Owner of Pikayo (now located at the Puerto Rico Museum of Art in San Juan), Payá, and Varita.
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: In 1988, Benet was called in upon in to become Chef de Cuisine of “La Fortaleza,” the Governor of Puerto Rico’s mansion.
Competing for: San Jorge Children's Foundation

Lachlan Machinnon Patterson
Position: Co-owner and chef of Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder, Colorado
Education: Ecole Gregoire-Ferrandi
Foodie Fact: Patterson was named one of Food & Wine magazine’s Best New Chefs in July 2005 and won 2008 Best Chef: Southwest from the James Beard Foundation.
Competing for: The Children's Hospital

Michael Chiarello
Position: Chef and owner of Napa Valley's Bottega Restaurant
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Chiarello is the Emmy-winning host of Easy Entertaining with Michael Chiarello, and tastemaker behind NapaStyle, a specialty brand of foods and handcrafted products.
Competing for: The Clinic Ole Foundation

Nils Noren
Position: Noren serves as Vice President of Culinary Arts for The French Culinary Institute’s culinary, pastry, bread and Italian food departments.
Education: Culinary School in Gavle
Foodie Fact: In a 2008 survey of 40 top New York chefs, Noren was voted "The chef that should have gotten an award by now, but hasn't."
Competing for: Friends of The FCI

Rick Moonen
Position: Owner and chef of Rick RM Seafood at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Education: Culinary Institute of America
Foodie Fact: Moonen's passion and vocalization of sustainable seafood practices led him to publish Fish Without a Doubt in 2008
Competing for: Cape code Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association


The chefs with most national TV appearances could be Keller, Bayless and Dufresne. My favorite is John Besh. It will be itneresting to see how this competition goes and what we can elarn from how they do things.

apskip:
In anticipation of tomorrow night's premiere, I went to the available published information to see what I could see. the best article is a BRAVO press release issued 4/7/09 reorganized and modified very slightly by me for readability:

BRAVO DISHES PREMIER OF TOP CHEF MASTERS
Each episode of "Top Chef Masters" holds two challenges for the chefs. The first is a twist on the classic "Top Chef" quickfire challenge which tests their basic abilities – for example in season 2 of "Top Chef" where the chef'testants had to create an amuse bouche out of items from a vending machine. Each quickfire challenge will be judged by a blind taste test and a five-star system, similar to fine dining reviews.

The second challenge is a more involved elimination challenge designed to test the versatility and invention of the chefs as they take on unique culinary trials such as working with unusual and exotic foods or catering for demanding clients. The food will be tasted and evaluated by the judges and a wide range of tasters for whom the challenge is aimed, whether it is patrons at a five-star restaurant or a room full of hungry kids – the food has to appeal to the diner as well as the critics if the chef is to survive.

In each episode, the winners of eliminations are 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 their choice.

"Top Chef Masters" will feature guest stars and judges Neil Patrick Harris, Zooey Deschanel, "Lost" writers and executive producers Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof, "Flipping Out's" Jeff Lewis, and for the first time, all past "Top Chef" winners will be together during an episode. The series will also showcase chef'testant fan favorites as well as appearances by "Top Chef's" Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and Gail Simmons.

However, the regular each-episode judges for this series are:
Gael Greene, New York Magazine's famed restaurant critic for over 40 years, a best-selling author and co-founder of Citymeals-on-Wheels, which provides food to the homebound elderly
James Oseland, culinary expert and Editor-in-Chief of Saveur magazine
British journalist, writer and broadcaster Jay Rayner

Kelly Choi, food journalist and creator, producer and host of NYC TV's weekly restaurant show "Eat Out NY," will host this highly competitive spin-off uniting some of the brightest stars in the world of food, showcasing the often cutthroat world of the culinary arts. A former model, Choi recently finished her book called "The 20 Most Delicious Dishes in New York," which is set to hit stores in spring of 2009.  I have seen Kelly in food-related programs on Chanel 25 New York City PBS and she is a good choice.

apskip:
I have discovered some advance commentary on tonight's premier episode. The chefs are Hubert Keller, Tim Love, Christopher Lee and Michael Schlow. The focus is on desserts for the Quickfire. The elimination challenge is in a college dorm. They have access to microwave, hot plate and toaster oven and have 60 minutes to cook a 3 course meal. I would call this zany, but why not test the adaptability of these great chefs? My prediction is that the great Hubert Keller will advance to the next round.

apskip:
I am going to take a stab at predicting winners for 4 of the first 6 weeks based solely on national reputation. I have already stated in a prior post that I expect Keller to win over Love, Lee and Schlow in week 1. I have on idea when the initial round for the other groups of 4 will be telecast, but in future weeks here is how I expect it to be grouped:

Waxman, Cimarusti , Smith, Yamaguchi - winner Waxman
Peel, Rodriguez, Besh, Lo - none of these has sufficient national reputation, although I like Besh
Bowles, Tracht, Falkner, Dufresne - winner Dufresne
Pawlcyn, Lefebvre, Bayless, Benet - winner Bayless
Chiarello, Noren, Moonan, Patterson - winner Chiarello

Note - My prediction on groupings is right on so far. Next week the chefs are Bowles, Tracht, Falkner and Dufresne.

TexasLady:
 :hearts: Thanks for all you do apskip!

Here are the judges and cast:

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page