Let's face it: season five of "Project Runway" was a disaster. No, it was worse than a disaster. It was boring.
So Bravo's got to make season five of "Top Chef," it's other reality juggernaut, really count. Luckily, Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi and that judge who looks like Joan from "Mad Men" are back and ready to show America that foam goes with pretty much anything (note: it doesn't).
The buzz: Finally, "Top Chef" is tackling New York, a city so foodie friendly it's named after an abnormally large fruit. This season starts with 17 highly competitive contestants who are whittled down to 16 after an early quickfire challenge. We're especially excited to see the addition of "How to Lose Friends and Alienate People" scribe Toby Young (known as England's "heterosexual Truman Capote") to the judges' table this season. Those Brits know how to breed nasty reality show judges!
The verdict: After four seasons and countless faux-hawks, "Top Chef" has perfected the recipe for entertaining foodie reality competition. Unlike "Runway," with its increasingly ludicrous challenges and increasingly mediocre contestants, "Chef" keeps it simple by keeping the challenges focused and the cheftestants of the aren't-they-too-successful-to-be-doing-reality-TV variety.
Did you know? Current host Padma Lakshmi and original host Katie Lee Joel share more than just "Top Chef" hosting duties in common. Both married successful older men in 2004 (Salman Rushdie and Billy Joel, respectively), though Lakshmi has since split with Rushdie. Piano Man, teach us your secrets!
"Top Chef: new York" premieres Wednesday, November 12, at 10pm/9c on Bravo.
Photo credit: Michael Lavine
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