Why You Should Watch Top Chef

Okay, none of that is true, except for the double serving of drama. If the second season of Top Chef is as spicy as the first, it will be hot, hot, hot. You never know what the chefs on this surprisingly addictive Bravo reality show are going to serve up next - on their plates, and behind each other's backs.

Hey, nobody ever said cooking on Top Chef would be easy, or even fair. I guess you do you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

I originally started watching Top Chef after the second season of Project Runway ended. When I first turned on Top Chef I was expecting a half-baked show. I thought I'd just be consuming another reality show with an unpleasant aftertaste. I could not have been more wrong. In fact, when the third season of Project Runway started, I found myself craving the drama and the unabashed realness of the chefs on Top Chef.

Perhaps that's the cream that rises to the top, the trueness of the people on Top Chef. For the most part, what you see is what you get, or like they used to say on Season One, "It is what it is." The chefs did not make excuses for their dishes or their actions like the wimpy chefs on Hell's Kitchen.

Top Chef: Season One

During the first season of Top Chef, we were introduced to the incredibly snooty and pompous Steven, a sommelier who, as the judges realized a little too late was all about the wine, not the food. He was the toast of the town, in his own mind, anyway. And then there was the incident when the temperature on someone's oven mysteriously turned down...hmmm.....on the reunion show they blamed Tiffany, an incredibly acerbic chef who only wanted things her way. There were some nice chefs too, the kind you may want to pal around with, like Miguel who inanely "confused salt for sugar." Poor, sweet, Miguel. Not exactly the sharpest knife in the block. Top Chefs like Lee Anne and Harold stood out because of their obvious talent.

Top Chef: Season Two

The new season of Top Chef has 86'd its former host, Katie Lee Joel (yes, an "Uptown Girl") and replaced her with Padma Lakshmi, former host of The Food Network's "Padma's Passport," cookbook author, actress and former model. Judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons will be returning for season two. While Padma Lakshmi is the more svelte choice for hostess, her "Pack you knives and go" was a little too sweet on the previews. She lacks the bite of Joel (maybe she confused sugar for salt).

So grab your favorite snack, turn off the phone and go offline for an hour each Wednesday night. Join me as I come off of my Top Chef diet and sink my teeth into a juicy, rich season of quick-fire challenges, kitchen sabotage, and the kind of reality show drama that only top chefs seem to be able to cook up.

The second season of Top Chef begins Wednesday, October 18th, 2006 at 10pm EST.