Showing posts with label James Beard Foundation Awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label James Beard Foundation Awards. Show all posts

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Is It Better In the Bahamas?

After last week's wonderful food from our five remaining chefs, I had high hopes that they would build on that momentum and step up their culinary game...and I'm not talking about the chefs, I'm talking about the show. It's part one of the Finale, it should be about food, high end, letting the chefs show the best that they can produce. Or at least in my mind that's the way it should be.

Apparently my mind is out there in some unknown hinterland because what we got instead was Induction Cooking Theater. Which is kinda hilarious considering what happens later because one of the selling points of induction cooking is that you won't burn yourself. I would have liked this challenge a whole lot more if all the chefs had real kitchens and equipment to work with.

The Quickfire is simple. The Chefs must cook against the Top Chef winner of their season. That means the winners of Season 4, 5, 6, and 7. Each season gets a different secret ingredient. If the challenger wins, they get $10,000 and if the Top Chef wins, they get the money. Already Richard is salivating to beat Stephanie, the woman who stole his title, because he knows he was the best during his season and this way he can finally prove it. I can only assume then by that logic everyone who won a Quickfire during this season against Richard is the best chef....

Richard fans should probably skip on down...



That means Tiffani, Tre (won $20,000), Mike (won a car), Dale T., Dale T. again (won a trip), Mike again (won $5000) and Carla are all better chefs than Blaise. As a matter of fact, the only Quickfire Richard won on his efforts alone and not as a part of a team was the one Quickfire that wasn't judged on taste, just presentation. I said it before and I'll say it again...Dude, you didn't win your season, you weren't the best, Stephanie was and nothing you can do or say will ever change that. During your season, Stephanie was the first chef to win four Elimination Challenges and be in the top of the Elimination Challenges ten times. Not to mention winning fan favorite. In the category of what people have done lately, it's Izard's Girl and The Goat restaurant that's up for a James Beard 2011 Best New Restaurant. It's also Kevin Gillispie who was nominated for a James Beard Rising Star and Dale Levitski's Sprout up for Best Chef in the Great Lakes region. I don't see Richard's name or his restaurant anywhere on the 2011 nominee's list. Perhaps you should not pin all your hopes and dreams on winning the title of Top Chef. Just ask Ilan Hall how that's worked out for him.

OK rant is over...for now. Back to the Quickfire. Of which the most important question is...

...just how much duck fat did he use in his hair? Perhaps that's why he loses against Mike in Battle Duck.


Hosea apparently has his own ax to grind against the Haters who think he didn't deserve to win in Season 5. We don't hate you Hosea, you just bore the hell out of us. Frankly, even the most ardent Top Chef Crack monkeys have a hard time remembering who you are. Still he finds a $10,000 validation in beating Carla in Battle Lamb which is fine because you can never tear Carla out of our hearts. There she will always reign supreme.


Wow....what a surprise....Team DC has pork at their mystery ingredient. Tiffany who has not won one Quickfire or Elimination challenge finally wins $10,000 for beating Kevin.

Stephanie gets to compete against two chefs and a rack of veal. In a split decision she wins against Antonia but loses against Richard.

The losers? Induction table top units for unreliability. Hope they didn't pay too much for that pimpage.

Next up - Burning Down the House.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

James Beard Foundation Awards

The 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards were celebrated this past Monday night in New York City. Some familiar names popped up as winners and losers.

In the category of Television Food Show, National and local, the wonderful Lidia Matticchio Bastianich won with her show, Lidia's Italy: Sweet Napoli, seen on PBS channels nationally.

My hometown newspaper, The Washington Post took home the Newspaper Food Section award for their excellent writing and beautiful graphics. In the category of Website Focusing on Food, Beverage, Restaurants, or Nutrition, Epicurious beat out some wickedcompetition in Chow.com and Gourmet.com to take the prize.
Cookbook of the year was awarded to Jennifer McLagan for her book Fat: An Appreciation of the Misunderstood Ingredient, with Recipes.
Taking the Food Porn award for Cookbook Photography is Dominic Davies for his work in Heston Blumenthal's The Big Fat Duck Cookbook. (Can you say book envy?)

Jean-Georges Vongerichten takes the Outstanding Restaurant Award for Jean Georges in New York City.
Dan Barber emerges from a loaded field of top notch chefs that included one of my personal favorites, Suzanne Goin of Lucques to take the Outstanding Chef award.

Sadly there is no category for Top Pimp because someone I know would have been a shoo in.

Monday, March 31, 2008

2008 James Beard Award Nominees

Top chef is amongst the 2008
James Beard Award nominees.
(In two categories, no less!)


Thanks, Eggy!