06:36 PM EDT 05/24/2013
Top Chef
Housewives, Top Chefs & Andy Cohen Team Up for Olympics-Themed Bravo Clip
Originally posted 05/23/2012 08:45AM
Let the games – er, shows – begin!
Bravo's summer programing slate is heating up, and the network has recruited a fleet of its "Bravolebrities" – more than 30 in total – for a fun, fast-paced new promo, and PEOPLE.com has a first look. (The commercial will make its TV debut during Wednesday's Watch What Happens Live.)
The Olympics-themed clip finds various Housewives – NeNe Leakes, Kyle Richards and Ramona Singer – facing off for race ... in heels! And with drinks in hand.
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Top Chef: Texas Picks a Winner
Originally posted 02/29/2012 11:30PM
The heat was on Wednesday night for the Top Chef: Texas finale as two contestants – Paul Qui and Sarah Grueneberg – battled it out in Vancouver to determine who would ultimately come out on top.
The chefs were asked to prepare four courses of their choice for 100 diners and the panel of judges, with the help of some familiar faces. Paul enlisted Barbara Lynch, Ty-Lor Boring, Chris Crary and Keith Rhodes, while Sarah had the help of Nyesha Arrington, Tyler Stone, Heather Terhune and Grayson Shmitz in the kitchen.
And if it were up to People.com readers, Qui would persevere: He polled far ahead of his competitor, with 90% of readers voting that he deserved to take the Top Chef title.
Sarah, however, has been formidable competitor throughout the season, collecting thousands of dollars and big wins in elimination challenges.
Both, interestingly, also have a connection to the Lone Star State. Paul currently cooks in Austin and Sarah, who now lives in Chicago, was born in Texas.
So who won in the end? Keep reading to find out:
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Top Chef: Texas: Which Contestant Do You Want to Win?
Originally posted 02/23/2012 12:50PM
After toiling away in snowy Vancouver in a series of physical challenges – even, at one point, shooting for their ingredients last week – three contestants were left standing at the beginning of Wednesday's Top Chef.
Warning: Spoiler Alert Ahead:
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Gail Simmons Dishes on the Secrets to Being a 'Professional Eater'
Originally posted 02/21/2012 11:00AM
For nine seasons, Top Chef fans have known Gail Simmons to be a thoughtful and incisive judge, a dessert enthusiast (she does host Top Chef: Just Desserts, after all) and a friendly, familiar face.
But for Simmons, being a TV personality was never in the cards. In fact, after graduating from college in Montreal, neither was a career in food – initially.
In her new book, Talking with My Mouth Full: My Life as a Professional Eater, Simmons shares "the story of my life – so far – and the mentors and the adventures I've had along the way," as she tells it in her warm, conversational voice.
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CMT Artists of the Year: What Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley Ate
Originally posted 12/13/2011 10:05AM
How do country's biggest stars prep for the CMT Artists of the Year show? With some southern-style cooking, of course!
This year's crop of honorees – Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum and Jason Aldean – all chowed down on a feast prepared by Top Chef winner Stephanie Izard prior to the show, which airs Tuesday (9 p.m. ET on CMT).
"For the dinner, I wanted to show my style of cooking but have influence from the artists and Nashville," Izard told PEOPLE of the three-course meal, complete with wine pairings. (See the full menu below.)
Using notes from each musician, the Top Chef winner created a meal tailor-made for the stars.
"Taylor Swift loves sausage and gravy from Cracker Barrel, so we did mini biscuits with goat and pork gravy," Izard, who owns the Chicago restaurant the Girl & the Goat, said. (She also personally met Swift because, Izard explains, "All of the young guys that work for me would have been disappointed had I not!")
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Top Chef: Texas: Padma Lakshmi & Tom Colicchio Dish on Celebrity Guest Judges
Originally posted 11/03/2011 08:35AM
With 29 contestants and three cities around the state, Top Chef: Texas is shaping up to be the biggest season yet.
Wednesday's premiere found the chefs split into groups and facing off against each other in two rounds – the final qualifying rounds will air next Wednesday – just to determine which 16 chefs will actually make the final cut.
They will also be facing some major celebrities on the other side of the judges' table this season.
"I think everybody who comes on the show – especially if they're not in the food business – has a certain level of interest in food," host Padma Lakshmi told PEOPLE of the season's array of guest judges on a conference call. "These are cities you have to fly to, and you have to take a day or two out of your schedule."
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Padma Lakshmi Gets a Surprise (Belated) Birthday Bash
Originally posted 10/27/2011 05:55AM
She was away for her actual birthday (Sept. 1!) filming Top Chef: Texas, but Padma Lakshmi's friends did not forget her. Instead, they threw her a surprise belated birthday bash at New York's Sons of Essex. The group all sipped Armand de Brignac Brut Gold champagne, and some signature cocktails. "She was completely surprised and had no idea," a source says. Lakshmi also took a trapeze lesson earlier in the day. Says the source: "Her friends made it a really special day for her." – Jennifer Garcia
Top Chef: Texas – Take a Sneak Peek!
Originally posted 10/24/2011 03:30PM
It's said that everything is bigger in Texas – and the upcoming season of Bravo's Top Chef set in the Lone Star State is no exception. It's also way tougher, too.
The 29 chefs chosen for the ninth season were stunned to learn upon arriving in San Antonio that they'd first have to pass a cooking challenge before even earning a spot as a contestant. (Watch a clip above.)
"This season's raising the level of intensity pretty fast," said contestant Chaz Brown, after hearing that the original pool will be whittled down to 16.
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Top Chef Finalist Morgan Wilson Indicted on Child Pornography Charges
Originally posted 10/24/2011 09:35AM
A finalist from the first season of Top Chef: Just Desserts has been charged with possession and intent to distribute child pornography.
Morgan Wilson, 38, of Plano, Texas, was indicted on three second-degree felony charges and could face up to 10 years in jail if convicted, the Plano Star-Courier reports.
Wilson, who was a controversial and hot-tempered contestant on the Bravo show, prone to angry outbursts, was arrested last December after undercover investigators received file transfers from his computer that allegedly contained images and videos of children as young as toddlers engaged in sexual acts.
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Top Chef's Angelo Sosa to Cook a Fall-Inspired Menu
Originally posted 10/07/2011 07:00AM
Top Chef season 7 runner-up – and recent Top Chef: All-Stars competitor – Angelo Sosa is cooking his way into fall.
As the leaves change color, and the temperatures drop, the chef is preparing a special, seasonal meal inspired by the Hudson Valley on Oct. 15 in Milbrook, N.Y.
"The beauty of Millbrook reminds me of a European winery," Sosa tells PEOPLE. "The inspiration behind the menu is to create a meal pulling from the accumulations of my travels and taking the aesthetic of the vineyard, the beauty of the wine and infusing them with my food."
Sosa will cook a tasting menu – it's $125 per person – in association with Bull & Buddha restaurant. Among his offerings: curried apple soup and duck pastrami with cherry confit to start.
The three-course meal will also feature spiced pumpkin pie soup; slow-roasted salmon with charred eggplant and sweet and sour cherry; and pork belly with old-fashioned mustard, apple and ginger chutney.
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