After a long (week long, that is) break after the train wreck excitement that was Top Chef Masters, we're back in action, chatting about and making fun of the newest season of Top Chef.
Last night, we were introduced to the 17 fresh faced contestants who were promptly hazed into the competition with the mise en place throwdown: peeling potatoes, chopping onions, etc., at breakneck speed. The two standouts turned out to be "Shaft" (a.k.a.: Kenny) and "Cristian Ronaldo" (Angelo) with their ninja-like knife skills.
For the Elimination Challenge, we viewers got to know a bit more about the contestants' backgrounds when they had to cook a dish that represented where they're from. "Rasta Lurch" (John Somerville), sporting his long, nappy dreads, decided to use pre-made puff pastry in his Michigan-inspired dessert. Big mistake. What's sad is that he's the contestant with the nickname that all of us during the Top Chef Twitter party had actually agreed on.
Want to know what happened? Well, then you'll have to listen to the podcast to find out.
Whether you watch the show or not, our review of it is topnotch snark and an all-around good time. Listen to us (attempt to) recap this episode and the hilarity that ensues.
Tune in to Bravo every Wednetsdoay 9 pm EST/8 pm C, check out our own live Tweets during the show (Jeff: @JeffHouck, Katie: @culinarypirate), and listen to our podcast here every week! (You can even download us on iTunes!)
Check out our fellow Top Chef fanatics' blogs: Please Pack Your Knives And Go's hilarious notes from last night's episode, and All Top Chef gives us their uninhibited reactions.
Hear the hi-larious podcast after the break:
This article appears in Jun 24-30, 2010.