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Top Chef - London

TonyTexas

By TonyTexas
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NoName

NoName 16354

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16 hours ago, TonyTexas said:

I think they might stay in the family to replace Padma. Both Brooke Williamson and Kristen Kish have done some hosting. A few other names that I’ve seen thrown out there are Nosrat Samin from Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat, Gigi Hadid and Chrissy Tiegen, who are foodie models with hosting experience.   

If they roll with Hadid or Teigen, I'll never watch another second.

Samin would be good but that's not her style of show. Brooke or Kristen would be great. Maybe they use her seat as a rotation "local" chef for each episode. Like if they go to Nashville, use Sean Brock if he's interested.

Keeping it in the family makes a ton of sense.

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4738

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They need to cut out all the crap like showing them shopping and dedicate more screen time to actual cooking. 

But then you wouldn’t see Gabri buying fucking refried beans in a bag, which he then burned. Which he could have easily made from dried in a pressure cooker. He’s an obnoxious little shit.
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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45691

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Too early to start a new thread yet, but here's some scuttlebutt on Season 21.

 

Quote

It’s been about three weeks since Top Chef: World All-Stars ended. The show’s 20th season wrapped up by crowning Buddha Lo the champion over Sara Bradley and Gabri Rodriguez in the finale, and earlier this month it won a Critics Choice Real TV Award for Best Culinary Show.

Some of us are already going through withdrawal without Quick Fire challenges and the judge’s table in our lives. What’s next? When’s the next season? Where will it be?

A few folks closely associated with the show gave some interviews and sent out some tweets recently, giving fans a glimpse into what Season 21 will be like.

Here’s what we know, so far.

The show has to find a replacement for Padma

After 19 seasons, longtime host Padma Lakshmi is leaving Top Chef. She announced before the Season 20 finale that it would be her last, saying she was leaving the show to focus on other projects, like her Hulu show Taste The Nation.

So, the folks at Bravo will have to find someone else to host Quick Fire challenges, fill a seat at the judge’s table, and tell the weekly loser, “Please pack your knives and go.” We have our suspicions as to who they might pick, and perhaps a former Top Chef winner or two is in the mix.

Lakshmi told Vanity Fair recently that leaving Top Chef was “bittersweet” but it became difficult to juggle her hosting duties there and her Hulu show.

“We’re all burnt out. I know I am. I think this has been brewing for a long time. I have given everything I can humanly give, at all times, to this show, and I think that the results have paid off. Now I need to just focus on my own projects and getting some rest.”

She also added:

“It was frustrating also because obviously my brand is very different than Bravo’s brand, and our brands have been diverging for quite some time now.”

Lakshmi is staying busy in other ways too. She recently appeared in Sports Illustrated’s Swimsuit Issue, and she’s doing more voice acting, set to appear in the next season of Netflix’s Big Mouth.

 

But Tom and Gail aren’t going anywhere

Hear it from Colicchio himself.

 

 

The season will be set in an American city

In a recent Daily Beast story, Simmons said that production for Season 21 is “already deep into casting” and that filming will begin this summer in a to-be-named U.S. city. And there’s pressure to top Season 20’s World All-Stars set in London and Paris.

Simmons said:

“We’re coming back to America. So I don’t know how that will play out and I don’t know how we’ll top this season, because it really felt like a high point in our adventure.”

While it’s unclear where Season 21 in the U.S. will be, it might be a fair assumption that’ll it be on the east coast, considering Top Chef hasn’t set a season east of Kentucky since Season 14, which was set in Charleston, South Carolina. The U.S. locations since then have also included Colorado, Los Angeles, Portland and Houston.

Before Season 14, Top Chef had stopped in the following east coast cities: Miami, New York, D.C. and Boston. The show has also filmed seasons in Chicago and New Orleans.

Perhaps another east coast city – maybe Baltimore or Atlanta – is up next.

In Restaurant Wars, count on the chefs staying in the back of the house

Restaurant Wars is an episode that Top Chef fans look forward to every season. It typically occurs when there are about eight contestants left, and the group splits into two teams, each operating their own themed eatery for the judges. In past seasons, one chef was put in charge of front-of-house duties: seating, menus, serving and managing the dining room. While this aspect of it could be entertaining, it often took chefs away from what they did best, which is cooking.

But that changed in Season 20. Chefs stayed in the kitchen and front-of-house operations were managed by nameless staff.

Colicchio told the Daily Beast that “hopefully” that same structure – chefs staying in the back of the house – remains going forward.

He added:

“I’ve hated having them do front-of-house from day one. I just thought it was terrible. Why is someone going home for front-of-house? It never made sense to me.”

Buddha Lo (probably) won't be back

Lo is the first Top Chef contestant to win back-to-back seasons, winning Season 19 in Houston and Season 20’s World All-Stars.

He recently told Variety that he “100 percent” would come back to Top Chef, he just doesn’t think the showrunners will let him. However, he does have an idea for a future season:

“I’ve tried pushing Tom for ‘Top Chef 30: Galaxy,’ where I represent Earth.”

Buddha Lo of Earth versus Din Djarin of Mandalore in the finals.

 

Edited by Biff Tannen
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NoName

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4 minutes ago, kevwun said:

I don't expect Tom or Gail will miss Padma very much.  I imagine she can be a pain in the ass behind the scenes.

the brand comment kind of said it all.

it didn't bother her that much for the last NINETEEN seasons. she kept cashing that check until her contract was out i assume and then dipped out.

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4738

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I don't expect Tom or Gail will miss Padma very much.  I imagine she can be a pain in the ass behind the scenes.

I’m surprise send they are sticking around per Padma’s comment “they’re all burnt out”. I’d like to see a complete clean slate with a tweaked format. The time it takes to film is tough sell against shows like ToC which is great exposure and takes little time.

Also I’d like Gail in that SI swimsuit issue too.
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kevwun

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Padma is mad about something.  Maybe she wanted more money and Bravo said no or it's something else.  She has done the show for a really long time.  All she had to say was she was ready to do something else and that would have been that.

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NoName

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16 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:


I’m surprise send they are sticking around per Padma’s comment “they’re all burnt out”. I’d like to see a complete clean slate with a tweaked format. The time it takes to film is tough sell against shows like ToC which is great exposure and takes little time.

Also I’d like Gail in that SI swimsuit issue too.

see i think they need to lean into the "professional chef" part of the show instead of going the way of say Next Level Chef/Masterchef or leaning totally into the TV side of TOC, which they can't tough anyway.

idk how they tweak the format which is pretty set in stone and has been for a long time. i think almost any way they tweak it (what are they going to do? teams like Next Level Chef starts or region-based like Master Chef is doing this season or mentor-based?) idk what changes they can make while sticking to the fan favorites like restaurant week and a finale somewhere else that isn't where the rest of the city is.

big picture i think they have to shorten the season to stay relevant. big picture i think they need to bring back fan favorite folks even more. i would love to see them focus more on the judging than the fake drama of "will they get it plated in time...3...2...1...TIME." i would love for them to go more upscale or more of a shortened concept

i don't think they can flip over to do another Masters, when TOC is out there and a much easier pickup.

i would love to see them take more time off if they are going to tweak the format and do a spinoff show - Just Desserts, "Life After Top Chef" with folks from the last few seasons would buy them more time, even capitalize on something like TOC and do a LCK-themed short season thing with the winner getting a slot in the next season. i would watch a Top Chef North America which in theory allows them to have a larger pool of chefs from Mexico and Canada (but would impact shows in both countries, so maybe you do a season of returning folks? but why would they want to spend that much time on it?)

i just don't know how they can fully tweak the show without changing it entirely. they need to deepen the pool of folks, but we have seen time and time and time and time again with every other cooking show out there that it's the "professional" chefs who wipe the floor with social media chefs and home chefs so they can't deepen it that way.

maybe they bring it back with 2 chefs per team and tweak it that way? Top Chef Duos, where ~half the chefs are returning and ~half are new? they need ~14 episodes. do this, tweak some of the rules and try some new things and take whatever works back to the flagship?

i realize i spent way too much time thinking about this, but i like the show and want it to be better and to continue. they need to do some soul searching and reach out to former contestants to see what they think are good ideas/things they can change and implement some of them.

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Texzilla58

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All great points. I certainly dont want it to be Next Level Chef, which I don’t like, (and I despise Nyesha going back to her dismissive comments about Texas when she was on TC). They need to look at what does the show offer that ToC does not. I think established celebrity chefs like the short window on ToC. The issue for TC with past winners is the fact they made them on the show, and only a few great ones want to go back and risk getting whacked in the early stages as it risks their brand, and the time factor.

I think the biggest tweak would be to just whack Tom. I’m thinking I’m just tired of a show so dominated by his pov and personality.

The lead guy could be an elder statesman type like Jonathan Waxman or Ripert. I’d like to get back to more focus on local regional chefs as part of the starting crew, like maybe half. The rest should be young working chef talent looking for a shot. The country is full of them. (Those kids on Top Chef Jr and MasterChef Jr are fucking amazing) no need for social media chefs, home cooks, etc on TC. Goddam it a chef can run a brigade. That’s what we need.

And to your point I liked this season’s restaurant wars, I’d like LCK gone as a losers bracket, but use it as a feature in the show a few times to remove players or as a regular event in season like RW and the mise race, or as a qualifier to get into the show.Bring back the palate challenges. Don’t like as many team challenges and more focus on individual cooking. And get into the location a bit more.

The show is limited in its locations with its hefty demands made on cities. I don’t think that helps either.

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WBT

WBT 20617

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6 hours ago, kevwun said:

Yeah, wtf does that even mean?  Her brand is being hot as fuck.  That's the only reason anyone knows her name.

Bravo is 95% trash tv now.  I don't know what she was getting at with her brand but I'd agree that Top Chef doesn't really fit.

For those too lazy to google

https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/padma-lakshmi-2023-si-swimsuit-photos#gid=ci02bf010660002776&pid=si2022_dominica_padma_lakshmi_07_4165_wmweb

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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45691

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7 minutes ago, WBT said:

Bravo is 95% trash tv now.  I don't know what she was getting at with her brand but I'd agree that Top Chef doesn't really fit.

For those too lazy to google

https://swimsuit.si.com/swimsuit/model/padma-lakshmi-2023-si-swimsuit-photos#gid=ci02bf010660002776&pid=si2022_dominica_padma_lakshmi_07_4165_wmweb

As if I haven’t seen that already

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NoName

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10 hours ago, The Ace of Aces said:

Rumors they’ll be in Philly, which is wayyyy past due. It’s the best food city in the country now. 

eh...best food city in the country is a way too much in my eyes, but there have been rumors about Philly for-ev-er. it makes a ton of sense location wise.

i would like to see them get more "local" contestants but that's hard enough to find good chefs in and of itself.

12 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

I think the biggest tweak would be to just whack Tom. I’m thinking I’m just tired of a show so dominated by his pov and personality.

i would be beyond floored if they dump Tom.

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TonyTexas

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10 hours ago, WBT said:

I don't know what she was getting at with her brand but I'd agree that Top Chef doesn't really fit.

I think she wants to be a TV travelblogger. She’s done a couple of successful seasons of that for Netflix. She’s also an author, with 6 books to her credit. And she’ll need time for her activism, which covers a whole gamut of social issues. There’ll be plenty for her to do. 

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4738

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It certainly won’t happen until he quits on his terms. I just think the show has really turned into the Tom Collichio show and it’s stale.

Another tweak I’d like is to let all the guest judges vote. If you’ve got a tasting table with a roster of great acclaimed chefs tasting the food and commenting, let them come to judges table and weigh in. Lots of times they bring really diverse points of view and it would dilute Tom’s autocratic influence on the results.

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NoName

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4 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

Another tweak I’d like is to let all the guest judges vote. If you’ve got a tasting table with a roster of great acclaimed chefs tasting the food and commenting, let them come to judges table and weigh in. Lots of times they bring really diverse points of view and it would dilute Tom’s autocratic influence on the results.

hard disagree, judges table has not time limit and evidently is ~4 hours every time. having more consistent viewpoints and judgements is more important than just letting a ton of guest judges vote and going from a few people to like ten will be a beating

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Texzilla58

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I think she wants to be a TV travelblogger. She’s done a couple of successful seasons of that for Netflix. She’s also an author, with 6 books to her credit. And she’ll need time for her activism, which covers a whole gamut of social issues. There’ll be plenty for her to do. 

There’s a bunch of folks wanting to fill that Bourdain vacuum of traveloguey foodie centric show. Netflix, max, Hulu, PBS, all have them. Ramsay does it as a learn the place and then cook it or as a road trip with his buddies. Stanley Turturo does a more travel explorer thing. Padma is more focused on the social justice aspect and it got a bit preachy. But Kristin Kish is killing it with hers as it’s totally food and interesting location focused; it is the best of the bunch in my opinion.
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Texzilla58

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On another note, Hulu just launched Secret Chef from David Chang. It’s a competition like Pressure Cooker but it’s totally blind judging. 2 eps in and it’s very different in terms of game play and has no celebrity cooks or judges. The host is a snarky cartoon chef hat.

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NoName

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41 minutes ago, Texzilla58 said:

On another note, Hulu just launched Secret Chef from David Chang. It’s a competition like Pressure Cooker but it’s totally blind judging. 2 eps in and it’s very different in terms of game play and has no celebrity cooks or judges. The host is a snarky cartoon chef hat.

...how are the first two episodes?

Chang has LOT in the pipe right now content wise btw

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TonyTexas

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3 hours ago, Texzilla58 said:

I’m enjoying it. We’ll probably binge the rest tonight.

You complain about TC yet you like Secret Chef with its gimmicks, amateur chefs and a cartoon chef’s hat as the host?  All of your opinions are now meaningless to me. 

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4738

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You complain about TC yet you like Secret Chef with its gimmicks, amateur chefs and a cartoon chef’s hat as the host?  All of your opinions are now meaningless to me. 

I watch all kinds of cooking shows and have watched TC since s1e1. I think it’s a bit stale like most shows that are 20 seasons old. I didn’t much like the recent season or Houston. I did like how they managed RW this season. I don’t like LCK as it’s totally Tom’s gig and it’s an advantage for chefs to go that route. It will continue to expand as it’s a moneymaker.

I like SC so far but I’m only 2 in. I like home cook shows like MasterChef. Like traveloguey shows. Like British baking show. Like ToC and enjoy DDD and Chopped. Like Hell’s Kitchen and the F word. Not one is perfect and I will criticize them.
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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45691

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Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, Texzilla58 said:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/top-chef-kristen-kish-replacing-padma-lakshmi-host-1235533197/

Kristen Kish is the new host. New location is Wisconsin. Beer. Cheese. Brats. Cranberries.

Oh shit.  I'm happy with this.  Kristen is awesome.

Edited by Biff Tannen
oh...wisconsin...eh
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Biff Tannen

Biff Tannen 45691

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1 hour ago, deac_tracy said:

They're really scraping the barrel with location sites now. I understand since there are only so many major US metro areas. Wonder what season they have Top Chef: Dakotas on the docket.

Top Chef Kansas - How Many Things Can You Make With Wheat?

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NoName

NoName 16354

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Just now, deac_tracy said:

They're really scraping the barrel with location sites now. I understand since there are only so many major US metro areas. Wonder what season they have Top Chef: Dakotas on the docket.

I mean, here is the seasons list:

image.png.599713f98d1423cc1eb81b0d8597777e.png

should they go back to somewhere like DC or Vegas or Chicago or even Seattle or NO? Yes

is Wisconsin terrible? naw. Is it great? naw.

i would expect more "areas" vs cities moving forward, easier to get $$ from an area vs 1 city.

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Texzilla58

Texzilla58 4738

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I expect them to be all over Wisconsin from Madison and Milwaukee and a bunch of farms. What does it really matter now? The location has less to do with the location and good food is everywhere.

I think New Orleans should be like the Supper Bowl, in the rotation every five years. Minneapolis should be considered as well as Santa fe.Philly must have real issues beyond not wanting to pay a bit; like bad laws regarding production costs.

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