Top Chef Masters

I've recently learned something about myself: writing a blog reviewing TV, Movies and Books is generally fun but it's not as cool writing about things I'm not passionate about (case in point, recent review of Flash Forward was hard work). Still, what good is a review blog if you don't hear good, bad and "filler". "Filler" is what I call shows I watch but never really anticipate with any degree of enthusiasm. I'll enjoy to some degree but if the DVR broke the night the show was airing, oh so what. So "Filler" is actually a word to describe "fine".

And fine is how I might describe Top Chef Masters. When Top Chef (just regular Top Chef) comes on, I am a HUGE fan and am passionate about my love for the show. And the Masters angle is fine. There's that word again. Here's my take on the set up:


Critics Table: We don't have judges on this variation of Top Chef and I can see why. These are experts in cuisine whose success is impressive and very tied into their personal brand. So you can't have a "judging table". I like that the critics have such a passion for food and they obviously revere these chefs to a degree. However, their nicey-nicey about everything makes it not that compelling. Plus no hottie Tom Colichio, am I supposed to get excited about Jay Rayner (aka Cro Magnon man with posh accent) or James Oslean (is he playing an SNL character? The dude is a caricature of himself!).

No Padma: This is a weakness. I don't know Kelly whats-her-face, though she revealed this week she hosts another food program, thus making her an expert in grilled cheese sandwiches. I know, didn't make a lot of sense to me either. But Kelly comes from a cookie-cutter "TV Hosting 101" class. I don't buy it. She doesn't bug me, but Padma is soooooo cool so anyone else gets compared unfavorably.

Good food and good chefs: It's fun seeing masters do what they do well. I like their humor, their skills, the humility they express when put under these extreme tasks. I enjoy hearing about the charities they are playing for. As an aside, has anyone noticed that the female chefs are usually the most boring of everyone? Sleep-inducing boring, I tell you. However, this week's Susan Feniger was a hoot and found myself grinning my cheesy grin right back at her.

Step away from the Stars:  After their elimination challenge was done and they were standing in front of the critics, I thought it strange that there was still 20 minutes left of the show (not including commercials, I was watching via iTunes). I couldn't think what the heck would take so long! And then the horror dawned on me: we're going to have to sit through each critic awarding each Top Chef Master up to 5 stars each. Ugh. This is by far the worst thing. I guess they need some point system to decide on who continues on, but having to endure the fabricated suspense and announcements of the stars over and over again. I can't abide it, I tell you, I won't! Thus I fast forward to the end when they have the decision and hug each other.

I think...it's a fine, decent program with the unique Top Chef program's ability to make the food look, smell and taste exciting even through the TV. But I will be much more keen when the normal Top Chef season returns!

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