Season 1: Tiffani Faison, Stephen Asprinio
Season 2: Marcel Vigneron, Elia Aboumrad
Season 3: Dale Levitski, Casey Thompson, Tre Wilcox
Season 4: Richard Blais, Spike Mendelsohn, Dale Talde, Antonia Lofaso
Season 5: Fabio Viviani, Jamie Lauren, Carla Hall
Season 6: Michael Isabella, Jennifer Carroll
Season 7: Angelo Sosa, Tiffany Derry
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
HOOTIE HOO: We don't blog about every permutation of Top Chef here, but its first All-Star season? Hells yes. Starting tonight, we'll be seeing the return of the following folks who didn't win, but sure seem like fun to have around again:
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My loathing for Spike lives on. As objectionable as I found Mike Isabella--and that's a lot--I'd rather watch a season of him and only him over another minute of Spike.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see Richard, Fabio, and Carla. It's a great cast all-around, but I liked them a lot. I'm also interested to see what Tre does this time around and find out what Elia's been up to.
It's a really well cast set of All-Stars. Personally, I'm most interested in Casey (who just got steamrolled by the Hung juggernaut in the finale), Richard (who's going to go big, but if he screws up, will also screw up big), and Tre (who got screwed in Restaurant Wars).
ReplyDeleteMondo was robbed.
ReplyDeleteI'm mostly excited that Bourdain is gonna be judging!
ReplyDeleteBourdain was a trending topic on Yahoo this morning, and it freaked me out until I saw that he was going to be a judge. I'd watch for him alone, but having Fabio and Casey and Richard around should be really fun, too.
ReplyDeleteNice, nice mix there of truly talented, really likeable, and easily despicable. My heart belongs to Fabio, but I'd like to see Blais take the top prize.
ReplyDeleteMy big three are the same as Matt's---and I'd love for Richard to win---but I really wish Kevin had been in the mix. Man, that would have been a hard call for me for my favorite between Richard and Kevin.
ReplyDeleteAnd I am thrilled to have Anthony Bourdain as a regular judge.
Guest above was me.
ReplyDeleteIn other news, everyone's favorite Idol commenter, or at least the commenter most likely to be extra-florid, has an Idol book coming out.
I'm still a little bitter that Elia wasn't properly punished for her part in the let's shave my friend's head debacle, so I'll be hoping she goes quickly, but the rest I am at least intrigued by, although Miss Carla is a special favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteRichard Blais about Jennifer Carroll, season six: “The type of cook that I wish I was… Enough said.”
ReplyDeleteSepinwall's review of the premiere suggests that several of the early seaons participants seem a little out of their depth. That doesn't seem surprising as the experience level of the chefs has increased with each season. Glad to see so many Season 4 people - it still remains one of my favorites (both the winner and the other contestants, except maybe Spike and dirty-hair Lisa). Jen Carroll grew on me during her season, so I think I'll be rooting for her, Blais and Casey.
ReplyDeleteI believe Yukon Cornelius is busy with personal appearances this time of year.<span> </span>
ReplyDeleteI know nothing about the last two seasons. From the remaining seasons, my early handicapping is Blais, Tiffani, and Marcel as top 3.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Meghan. I'm hoping Spike goes quickly, and if he's followed by Mike I and Elia, I'll be a happy camper. I'm very excited, though, about the returns of Tre, Jennifer, Carla, Fabio & Blais.
ReplyDeleteI'm giddy - can't wait for a regular weekly helping of Bourdain judgitude, and I expect real greatness from most of this cast. To be sure, there will almost have to be some shocking early exits, but man, this is an imposing crew.
ReplyDeleteMan, this is reason to get cable.
ReplyDeleteRidiculously excited for this. Love the cast - as said above, very well constructed. Love Bourdain. Love the challenges, which seem to be designed to showcase what we know about these folks already. Love love love. Love.
ReplyDeleteTwitterers to follow:
@richardblais
@carlahall
@fabioviviani
@angeloasosa
@daletalde
@chefspike
@chefjencarroll
@chefcaseyt
@mikeisabellaDC
@chefantonia
@StephenAsprinio
Non competitors who will surely be talking about the show:
@stephandthegoat
@voltaggio
@chefhosea
@mvoltaggio
@ilanhall
@Tom_colicchio
@gailsimmons
@padmalakshmi
@KSbraga
@bryanvoltaggio
Also -The Top Chef Power Index: http://media.apps.chicagotribune.com/tables/top-chef-power-index.html
ReplyDeleteGreat blog post on the stats of the All-Stars based on that index: http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2010/12/top-chef-power-index-inside-the-numbers.html
Of the 12 people who have competed in the finale but not won, 7 of them are in this cast, including the highest-rated non-winner (Blais). Quote from Collicchio: "Although Colicchio thought the number crunching was interesting, he didn't put a lot of stock in it as a predictive device. The same scenario that gave us low-rated champions in the D.C. and New York seasons –- one chef hangs in and gets hot at the right time –- is always a possibility because 'you're only as good as your last dish. People argue over whether or not it's the right way to go about it, but that's the way the we go about it," he said. "And the analogy is the New York Giants. They got in the playoffs with a barely above .500 record three years ago, they played the Patriots who were 17-0 and they beat them. Now, halfway through the fourth quarter when it looks like the Patriots are gonna win, do you stop the game and say 'Oh no –- Patriots, you win?' There's no handicapping. They didn't start with an 18-point lead because they had a better season. You play the game out and if you win, you win. It's a single elimination tournament like the Super Bowl is.'"
I agree - I've kind of never gotten over Elia's behavior in that situation. She was just as guilty as the others but somehow got off with less admonishment (b/c she's a girl???).
ReplyDeleteHere's another power ranking, along with interesting observations about what the post TC career paths might mean. Note, he has, for me, a surprising favorite.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.skilletdoux.com/2010/11/top-chef-s8e0-power-rankings.html
Also, Marsha, my wife wanted to make sure you add @chefjamielauren to your excellent twitter roundup.
Also, @ericripert says he's still going to be video blogging this year even though he's not judging.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the twitters! I am really looking forward to this. I have a soft spot for Blais and Carla but there is so much talent here it would be hard to be dissapointed by any of them doing well.
ReplyDeleteSkilletdoux is a foodie blogger that does a great Power Ranking each week. He has Tiffany from season 1 in the top spotin his pre-season ranking. An interestig choice, I thought, after reading his post.
Also Carla's husband posts in the comments over there (as Matthew).
If I've never watched Top Chef before, would this be a good opportunity to jump in? I do love less serialized cooking competition shows (Chopped, Iron Chef), but is there anything I need to know about the Top Chef franchise before I take up with it?
ReplyDeleteYou win the day!
ReplyDeleteNo, it's pretty self-explanatory, though there may be some backstory between some of the competitors you miss out on. I started watching in Season 3, and was hooked almost immediately. The one problem with the show is that, like all food shows, it's hard to play along at home--you can see how things would miss sometimes, but not always.
ReplyDelete<span>I love the cast; Kevin is the only thing that could make it better, but he turned down their offer to participate. </span><span>http://www.facebook.com/ChefKevinGillespie/posts/116775755047898</span>
ReplyDelete