There is a trend going on in this season of ‘Top Chef‘, one that you are seeing many discuss in foodie blogs and the like.
I am not a ‘foodie’ per se, but I do pride myself on my perception and interpretation of people’s actions. Understanding human beings as social (and anti-social) creatures is the most basic skill a person needs to get through life. So when you have many people crying foul about a TV show that means absolutely nothing to their day to day lives… lets just say smoke = fire.
If you are not a cooking show watcher, then this probably means nothing to you. However if you are familiar with cooking contest-style shows then you may have seen Bravo TV‘s ‘Top Chef’. (@BravoTV / @BravoTopChef) This is season 8 for the show that they are labeling “Top Chef: All Stars” they have brought back previous chefs who have competed in earlier seasons but did not win. Great idea, particularly for those who have been following the show for awhile.

Colicchio: The Main Man
The main man of ‘Top Chef’ is Tom Colicchio (@tom_colicchio) the main eye candy is Padma Lakshmi (@PadmaLakshmi) As of this year they have brought on Tony Bourdain to make things more interesting. It also helps Bourdain to pimp his new book “Medium Raw” which I am currently reading.
The conspiracy theories are always going to be around for shows that are judged based on personal taste (in this case literally.) The difference here seems to be fueled by the disclaimer at the end of the show’s credits that states “Winning and elimination decisions were made by the judges in consultation with producers. Some elimination decisions were discussed with Bravo.” When you end the show with something like that and you eliminate chefs who seem to clearly be the main competition to some of the prized competitors (pets even) of the judges, it is a bit fishy.
Colicchio has even taken to defending their decisions on Twitter and his blog on the Bravo website for Top Chef. He even threw in this line “I’m resigned this season to “being wrong” all 17 weeks this season.” He tweeted “producers have nothing to do with it” in response to a tweet from a viewer @sallyrazz “Disappointed in (part of) the #topchef outcome, again. Hoping @tom_colicchio & producers aren’t being controversial just for dramatic effect”
This is television. Can we truly believe that a show like this is not being guided by focus groups or at least Bravo management.
Oh, by the way Gail Simmons is also involved with the show. No one really knows why or cares enough to find out.