Top Chef begins!

The new season of Top Chef began last night, and I have so far been able to pick the winner from the first episode with each season. This season's group seems to have a bit more pedigree, but we'll have to see if that translates onto the plate. The quickfire pizza challenge was a little predictable seeing that they met in a pizza place - any of the contestants that were surprised by this should have studied the last few seasons a bit more carefully. The elimination challenge was interesting in that they immediately paired up some rivals. I couldn't help but laugh when Richard chose Andrew and then proceeded to show him up in every way. I can tell Andrew is going to be fun to watch. I felt bad for the two that had to make souffle' but as Tom said, you should be prepared to compete with at least the basics of food preparation, and souffle' is one that every culinary school graduate should be able to make. The challenge ended with Stephanie as the winner with her take on duck l'orange. The judges always seem to favor wild game that is well-prepared, and the color of the duck looked perfect. The eliminated party was Nimma, who presented a very boring-looking shrimp scampi which consisted of two shrimp and a puddle of cauliflower goo. Plus it was apparently really salty too - ick. Maybe she should have loosened up with the others and drank a little champagne, since she was only there for the one night.

I think they put a little too much emphasis on the lesbian couple - I don't really think it should effect the others much. I am expecting big things from Dale, Jennifer, Lisa and Stephanie, but my pick for season winner is Richard, who seems to have an impressive wealth of knowledge, an ability to remain cool under pressure, a sense of good sportsmanship, and he doesn't come across as cocky, just confident. We'll see...