There's something we neglected to tell you about Top Chef earlier this afternoon, something about one of their brand spanking new judges... but, you know... take your time.
Top Chef Season 5 kicks off tonight, from New York -- all praises due to our benevolent creator for the blessing that is Padma Lakshmi -- and the show has added a new judge, Toby Young, author of the wildly bestselling How To Lose Friends And Alienate People. (And sometime food writer - that's the hook!)
We hope Young doesn't add a lot of Simon Cowell-ish obnoxiousness to the show, because Top Chef has what a restaurant critic might call a "delicate balance" going - it's a great look at how people conceive and create haute cuisine (and sometimes screw it the hell up), that still manages to maintain competitiveness and tension within the contrivances of "reality" television. Heck, it's even had good villains, like Marcel Vigneron and Lisa Fernandes. Don't add too much saffron to the paella, Top Chef! Or, you know, some other food analogy.
-- Jake Kalish is the author of Santa vs. Satan: The Official Compendium of Imaginary Fights
PREVIOUSLY:
Choose Your "Top Chef" Fantasy Team
"Top Chef New York": Rock Stars and British Aristocracy