The set of Esquire Network’s Knife Fight was chaotic: people moving everywhere, chefs moving around in the small open kitchen, conversation plus cooking so loud you cannot hear the chefs or the judges. Once the setting for late-night cook-offs, Top Chef 2 winner Ilan Hall’s downtown Los Angeles restaurant now also hosts a TV show that is… continue reading
Top Chef 2
Hell’s Kitchen winner gets “misleading” prize (again), but will work under Top Chef’s Cliff
For the ninth season of Fox’s Hell’s Kitchen, which debuts July 18, announced prize is “a head chef position at BLT Steak in New York City. Once again, that prize isn’t exactly what the winner will receive, because it will actually be giving its winner a position in a kitchen working under another chef, Top… continue reading
Top Chef’s Marcel Vigneron developing a reality show for SyFy
Top Chef 2 contestant Marcel Vigneron, the subject of the show’s lowest moment ever and its ugly aftermath, is developing a reality series with SyFy. Marcel’s Quantum Kitchen will follow molecular gastronomist Marcel as he and “his new catering and event company will be hired by a demanding client to produce an extraordinary celebration or… continue reading
Marcel Vigneron arrested for DUI
Top Chef 2 runner-up Marcel Vigneron was arrested and jailed for DUI early Saturday, but made bail and attended a scheduled appearance that night. Marcel “was initially stopped on suspicion of speeding” early “Saturday off of Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna Beach,” the Orange County Register reports, and “he was given a blood test when… continue reading
Two women arrested for attack on Top Chef’s Josie after she filed a complaint about police
Two women have been arrested and charged with crimes related to the September attack on Top Chef 2 contestant Josie Smith-Malave and three other women, during which the attackers yelled anti-gay slurs. Melissa Trimarchi and Elizabeth Borroughs were charged with misdemeanor assault and aggravated harassment, respectively, and will appear in court separately this week and… continue reading
Homeless man arrested in attack on Top Chef 2’s Josie
A homeless man was arrested in connection with the anti-gay attack on Top Chef 2 contestant Josie. “Matthew W. Walli was in a group of about 12 people” who “made derogatory statements about the women’s perceived sexual orientation, spat on them and hit them, police said. Walli stole a video camera from one of the… continue reading
Top Chef 2’s Josie beaten in anti-gay attack
Another Top Chef 2 contestant has been attacked. Josie Smith-Malave was leaving a Long Island bar during Labor Day, when she “was beaten by attackers yelling anti-gay slurs,” the AP reports. Josie “was among a small group of women asked to leave a Sea Cliff bar over Labor Day weekend,” and “[a]bout 10 young people… continue reading
Ilan and his mother respond to criticism and blame the editing of Top Chef 2
Top Chef 2 winner Ilan Hall is apparently so despised by “presumptuous and cruel” viewers that both he and his mother wrote defenses of his behavior in Newsday yesterday. Ilan’s mother, Rita Hall, works as “a section designer in Newsday’s editorial art department,” according to her byline. She writes that she “didn’t expect was how… continue reading
Bravo VP: “we did not alter the integrity of what happened” with Marcel hazing; no reunion due to viewer reaction
Bravo VP Andy Cohen takes a break from egologging and uses his blog to address “lingering” viewer complaints about Top Chef 2. Specifically, he discusses the distortion of the timeline surrounding Marcel’s hazing. He writes: On almost every show we do … we condense material that takes place over hours and hours of time (like… continue reading
Top Chef finale beats ABC; Top Design debut sets Bravo record
The controversy leading up to the finale of Top Chef 2, never mind the spoiled outcome, helped bring it an audience 3.896 million viewers. That’s a 157 percent increase from its first finale, according to Bravo. While nearly two million viewers changed the channel after Ilan’s victory, Top Design premiered with 1.786 million viewers, enough… continue reading
Ilan Hall wins Top Chef 2, ending a disappointing season
As Food & Wine magazine accidentally revealed on Monday, Ilan Hall won Top Chef 2. Head judge Tom Colicchio told Ilan, “you stuck to what you know, but you really wowed us,” while he said Marcel “took a ton of risks … and we were all really impressed.” Those risks, however, didn’t pay off. Ilan… continue reading
Top Chef 2’s finale airs tonight; series has 32 percent more viewers than Project Runway 2
The second season of Top Chef concludes tonight at 10 p.m. ET. Annoying Marcel and his tormentor Ilan will compete for the title and $100,000. We may already know the winner, as a profile accidentally posted by Food & Wine magazine identified the winner on Monday. However, to correct its mistake or correct the record,… continue reading
Food & Wine releases profiles of both Ilan and Marcel, says they were written in advance
Food & Wine magazine has responded to yesterday’s apparently accidental release on its web site of the winner’s identity, which came in the form of a profile of one of the two Top Chef 2 finalists written as if the individual won. Today on its web site, Food & Wine released a statement–and profiles of… continue reading
Top Chef 2 winner revealed when Food & Wine interview posted early
The winner of Top Chef 2 was revealed earlier today, when an interview with the person was posted on Food & Wine’s web site, apparently accidentally. It has since been removed, but the text remains online. (Stop reading now if you don’t want to know its contents, as the rest of this post includes details… continue reading
Report: Top Chef 2’s Ilan Hall quit his job; Sam says editors “showed me attacking [Marcel] without cause”
Top Chef 2 finalist Ilan Hall quit his job as a chef, according to a blog report. Snack reports that he “has left Casa Mono, where until yesterday he was employed as a line cook.” That raises the obvious questions: “Did Hall quit because he’s the winner? And will be making a move to open… continue reading