"Top Chef" (2006) TV series 2006-????

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

15 February 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Reality-TV

Plot Keywords:

Snack Food | Cooking | Food Market | San Francisco California | Store

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 11 nominations

Cast

Tom Colicchio	...	Himself - Head Judge / ... (81 episodes, 2006-2009)
Padma Lakshmi	...	Herself - Host / ... (70 episodes, 2006-2009)
Gail Simmons	...	Herself - Judge / ... (45 episodes, 2006-2009)

Runtime:

USA:60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Magical Elves Productions

Trivia:

Michael Midgley (Season 2) was the first contestant to win both the Elimination Challenge as well as the Quick fire Challenge in one episode.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Gossip Girl: Treasure of Serena Madre (#3.11)" (2009)

This show cooks - literally!

So here we have a simple premise: people cooking, with a big prize as their incentive. As a most excellent cook myself, I'm a sucker for this kind of entertainment. Brought to us by the people who created Project Runway, it's very similar, in tone and in attitude. I particularly like the way the judges discuss the food before making their weekly decision regarding who wins and who is eliminated - sometimes I can almost taste the dishes myself.

The show is down to the final three now - I truly don't really care which one of them wins, so long as it wasn't Stephen, who couldn't have been any more obnoxious and obvious in his outright contempt for his follow chefs. He spent most of his time trying to avoid contact with them as much as possible, which is why he wound up getting kicked to the curb finally. Au revoir, I say.

I was really pleased that Dave made it to the finale; he's very high-strung, he cries a lot, and the other contestants - particularly Stephen and Harold - have laughed openly at him during his generally emotional presentations. I was happy his soulful Macaroni and Cheese with Truffles dish was picked last night in the Napa Valley show as the BEST ONE. Surprised the heck out of the other three, especially the two women, who seemed certain he was going to be sent home, assuring them both their spots. Hard to swallow, especially for LeeAnn, who wound up being eliminated instead of Tiffani. I have to say, neither one of those two impressed me, but I'd rather taste their food than anything Stephen even remotely touched, any day.