Top Chef Duels

When Bravo announced Top Chef Duels, it was called Top Chef Extreme, and it sounded potentially unpleasant, referring to “the biggest, boldest and most talked-about personalities” and “extreme culinary challenges.” The actual result–like the new title–has thankfully been more subdued than the “extreme” announcement suggested. The show is the best Top Chef spin-off to date, a fierce but friendly …

Bravo is creating yet another spin-off of its successful competition series. Its working title is Top Chef Extreme, and it’s a search for the “Ultimate Top Chef.” How mega-extreme! The show features head-to-head competition between all-stars from previous seasons of Top Chef and Top Chef Masters; Bravo describes those as “three rounds of extreme culinary …