Top Chef: Bravo's Foray into Foodie TV

Top Chef is Bravo's entry into the food television craze. Now in its third season, the show pits chef against chef in a no holds barred scramble toward the ultimate reward: a Food & Wine Magazine publicity blitz and $100,000 in restaurant seed money. Not too shabby for cooks looking to elevate their careers.

Each show begins with a Quickfire Challenge, in which the competitors go head to head on a smaller-scale project. Some past challenges have included using convenience store snacks to construct a more refined dish, or creating an appetizer to pair with a randomly assigned cocktail. The winner of the Quickfire Challenge earns immunity from the end-of-show castoff.

The Elimination Challenge consumes the bulk of the show. Contestants take on a larger task, serving up their concoctions to anyone from distinguished chefs to preschoolers. The contestants' performance in the Elimination Challenge determines their fates.

Chef Tom Colicchio is the head judge. It's enjoyable watching him casually walk through the kitchen during those grueling Elimination Challenges. Contestants are on edge; the sauté pans are sizzling and the parsley's flying. "So you're using Gorgonzola?" Colicchio observes with a knowing smile. However the contestant may respond, Colicchio simply nods. His questions clearly unnerve some of the contestants, making them second-guess their choices. But Colicchio saves the really probing questions for the post-Elimination Challenge roundtable.

A panel of four judges tastes the contestants' creations, observes their behavior, and then convenes to determine who will be booted off the show that week. Along with Colicchio, Gail Simmons, food editor for Food & Wine Magazine, offers insightful commentary. Padma Lakshmi, known to some as an accomplished cookbook author, to others as Salman Rushdie's soon-to-be ex-wife, serves as the show's host. She adds an air of mysteriousness as she saunters into the kitchen and informs the contestants of their day's task. Lakshmi also has the honor of delivering those final words: "Pack your knives and go."

An additional guest judge rounds out the panel of judges and brings his or her own unique perspective to the show each week. Having four judges makes for a lively exchange between panel members and the contestants sweating it out before them.
The real allure of Top Chef is in the delicate balance of creativity and limiting factors - ingredients, time management - that the chefs must address in each challenge. And with fifteen contestants at the start of the season, there are a lot of recipes, disasters, and victories to watch.