Chef Wars
It’s been a while since I’ve written about any reality television, which has been a conscious decision. I find myself wanting to write about NOT BELIEVING what Tyra DID this week on America’s Next Top Model or WOW is that one girl on The Biggest Loser SUPER ANNOYING OR WHAT? And this, I feel, does not usually make for the most insightful or enlightening reading material.
Despite that, one reality show I do watch regularly and like talking about is Bravo’s Top Chef. It has a lot of the characteristics that has made Project Runway a successful reality show in the past (although there are those who doubt its current quality): the participants are talented people who demonstrate passion for their chosen field, the competition is intense and appears challenging, and the show has garnered some respect from well-respected culinary icons. A reality show about cooking has a lot more credit when people like Eric Ripert, Jacques Pepin, Hubert Keller, Daniel Boulud, and Rick Bayless agree to be guest judges. The caliber of chefs on the show leads to a little bit of hero worship and contestants quake a little while serving the food, but it also leads to some amazing and devastating criticism. Which, of course, makes good television.
Top Chef kitchen at the M Resort, Jennifer begins to freak out over dinner service
This season has lived up to my Top Chef entertainment expectations. Several of the contestants appear truly talented, which makes the final outcome more difficult to predict (and more exciting to anticipate). The favorites are Kevin, Jennifer, and this season’s powerhouses, Michael and Bryan Voltaggio. Including a pair of brothers in the same season seemed at first like a classic reality show casting stunt. On a previous season, two women in a serious relationship were both cast, and it was just a matter of time before one went home and the drama began. Not so with the Voltaggios – as this season goes on, it has become clear they’re both extremely talented chefs with completely opposite personalities, and the result has been some great clashes in and out of the kitchen. This week’s episode was one of Top Chef’s favorite challenges, Restaurant Wars, where the contestants are divided into two teams and given a day to open a restaurant. Michael Voltaggio won the challenge with a chicken dish, but not before some snarky editing juxtaposed his feel good interviews (“I’m just a nice guy, you know?”) with footage of him in the kitchen (“F*ck, Bryan! No, I’ll fry ‘em myself, don’t touch ‘em”).
This Voltaggio brothers quarrel brought to you by the Glad family of products
With plenty of talented people to root for and more obscenity bleeps than an episode of Jerry Springer, this season of Top Chef has been consistently entertaining. Occasionally the incessant product placement feels particularly clunky (“Okay, guys, let’s go to the M Resort!”) or the drama appears unnecessarily staged, which is the only plausible theory about how Robin could still be around. Even then, it’s still fun to watch people who are really good at what they do take pleasure and competitive pride in doing something well.