The dish on tonight's 'Top Chef' reunion show
Jul 25, 2007, 12:44 PM | by Gavin Shulman
Categories: Television
Of all the awesome things to happen to me while interning at
EW this summer, one of the best was my visit to the set of Bravo’s Top Chef: Watch What Happens reunion special that brings back together contestants from the first two
seasons, the first five chefs eliminated from Season 3, and the judges who sent
them packing (with their knives). The one-hour special (airing tonight) offers behind-the-scenes footage no
one’s ever seen, as well as secrets about how the show is made and what is still in store for this entertaining third season.(If I were a betting
man — and I am — I’d put my money on Brian. I know he relies too heavily on sea-food, but
I think he’s got the charisma to win.)
The first person I got to talk to was Sandy, whose early dismissal was the most surprising of this season thus far. When asked if she was as surprised as me, she answered “I’m still shocked.” So am I, Sandy, so am I. I also got to talk to Clay, the first chef voted off this season. I asked him if he had any regrets about having to leave so early, but he responded quickly with, “No. I feel confident in where I stand as a chef.” Which is cool, but I also feel confident that you did deserve to be the first one to leave.
As fun as it was to talk to these aspiring chefs, the real thrill came when I got to sit down with all of the judges and discuss the future of the series. (Except for Tom Colicchio, who, unfortunately, was feeling really sick and only had a few minutes for me — which is just as well since I experienced a, um, technical difficulty with my recorder.) I asked them all the same question: Now that Top Chef has established itself has a bonafide hit, where would you like to see it go?
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