Top Chef: Texas!

Dear Top Chef, I really tried to like your Masters edition, All Stars edition, and Just Desserts edition but I just couldn't. Now that we're back to the original format I couldn't be more stoked. Welcome to season nine of Top Chef Texas!

Blogging about Top Chef is always difficult in the first couple of weeks. It takes some time to get to know all of the new contestants. Bravo made things even harder this years starting off with 400 chef contestants. Well not really. Actually they're starting out with 29. After two episodes all of these contestants will be narrowed down to a more traditional number of 16. The first two rounds focused on the first two groups of chefs where they would be rewarded with a chef coat and make the cut to be in the competition, sent home from the competition, or placed on the bubble where they would have to cook yet again for another chance to make the competition. After two rounds we're left with 11 locks for the show and a hand full of cooks left on the bubble. Next week the third group of chefs will compete as well as those left on the bubble. Whew.

Some random musings on the first episode:

Two new celebrity judges join Tom, Padma, and Gail this season, Emeril Lagasse (I can never look at the man again without thinking of Elzar from Futurama) and Hugh Acheson, who is in dire need of an eyebrow specialist. What happend to everyone's favorite sell-out, Anthony Bourdain? Lame.

As soon as chef contestant Tyler Stone opened his mouth in an interview snippet I knew he would be leaving sooner rather than later. They guy was way too cocky not to be sent home early. In fact Tom sent him home before he even had a chance to cook! Note to future contestants: if you can't butcher a pig you probably shouldn't (1) volunteer to do so and (2) be on a cooking competition show.

A couple of chef contestants failed to finish plating their food, costing one a spot in the final 16 and sending another to the bubble round. Have these people not watched an episode of the series before?

According to the opening it appears as though all the cooking competitions will be split between Dallas, San Antonio, and Austin. No love for Houston? And what about my favorite Texas city of all time, Amarillo? A city that's 300 miles long and 1 mile wide...

Is anyone else disappointed that there isn't a contestant named Suck Lord?

I can't remember what Gail was wearing or what her boobies were doing! Hopefully that's not a bad omen of things to come this season!

It looks like Chicago is going to be well represented this season. I eagerly await to see if there's actually anywhere good to eat in Chicago and where those places are located.

Next on Top Chef: more of the same. Two more rounds of potential contestants duking it out for a spot in the final 16.

Next chef(s) out: a ton of them. There are only five spots left in the competition.

Next week predictions: I think it's a little too early for this, let's wait until we have all of our finalists in place.

So far so good with season nine I think. I like the new opening rounds format where the contestants have to cook to get into the competition. The season should be a lot of fun, as you know everything is bigger in Texas (I wonder how often we're going to hear that gem of a line this year?).