On the tube: Bravo's Top Chef

Happiness! The new season of Bravo's Top Chef has begun! It's especially exciting as this time, it is set in Chicago - a city where I have spent a good deal of time, and where fantastic food is abundant.

I have been an avid fan of Top Chef since its inception. It seems somehow more credible than other cooking competition shows (Ultimate Recipe Showdown, The Next Food Network Star, etc.).

Perhaps it is the caliber of chefs - real working chefs and caterers, often with impressive resumes.

Perhaps it is the judges - Tom Colicchio of Gramercy Tavern and craft fame, Gail Simmons of Food & Wine magazine, and occasionally, my beloved Anthony Bourdain. Oh, and Michael's favorite, the tasty Padma Lakshmi - - -



My chief complaint is that they refer to the participants as "cheftestants". Puh-leeeze.

The competitions strike a nice balance of tough and entertaining, and they really bring out both the strengths and weaknesses of the contestants. They are forced to work under serious time constraints, with unfamiliar ingredients, and to defend their dishes to the panel of judges.

Like most "reality" shows, the real fun is the personalities of the competitors.

My favorite good guy is still Harold Dieterle, the winner of season one.



Skilled, ethical, and soft-spoken, he was not the most flamboyant chef, but clearly the best. He invested his winnings in opening a restaurant, Perilla, in Greenwich Village.



It appears that this is no flash in the pan - it has received consistently great reviews, and is heartily enjoyed by other chefs. That is the real mark of fine food - follow cooks and see where they eat; they are rarely wrong.

The villains are especially delicious - each and every season had a tremendous bad guy I loved to hate.

Season one had two! The pretentious, douchebag sommelier Stephen Asprinio.



And the bitch with the giant, ego-inflated head and mean spirit, Tiffani Faison.



Season two brought us the dreaded Marcel Vigneron, a proponent of molecular gastronomy. Which means he puts a fucking foam on everything. Plus I can't look at his weird hairstyle without thinking of Wolverine from Marvel Comics - - -





Last season, the antagonist was actually the winner. Hung Hyunh was an egomaniac bastard, but obviously a great chef, and he clearly deserved to win - which really made it enjoyable to watch.



We've only seen the first episode of the Chicago series, so it is still difficult to tell who will play what role, but I'm looking forward to it. There's a Kiwi who used Marmite (ew!) in the first challenge, a lesbian couple competing against one another (that plane ride home should be fun), and a a guy named Spike. This should be fun!