Top Chef: We Was Had (and That's OK!)
Trae Patton/BRAVO
We got taken for a ride by a Top cheftestant, and we don't mind one bit.
When we told you a couple weeks back that we had reason to believe that a front-runner (Jen, Kevin, Mike V. or Bryan) went home early, that reason was because someone from our team ran into "the red-haired guy from Top Chef" (aka Kevin Gillespie) while shopping for engagement rings in downtown L.A. The chef in question told our friend, "I got kicked off before the end." Well, as you saw last night, Kevin won the final Vegas challenge and sailed safely into the finale, along with fellow obvious finalists Jen Carroll and the Volt bros.
(FYI, this encounter happened in mid-October, which we believe to be before Kevin went north to shoot the finale in Napa, so don't sue us if Kevin doesn't make it into the final three and you feel spoiled. In that case, it's just a coincidence and we're not liable, darn it!)
We warned you at the time, "It could be part of a Bravo misinformation campaign, but we trust the source, so we're passing it along to you." Well, it's looking more and more like misinformation is the case, and we have to say, "Thanks, Bravo!"
Why are we grateful to have been taken for a ride? Well...
Top Chef Final Four Make It Through the d'Or
Justin Stephens/BRAVO
Sure, Tom Colicchio's got much respect for the five who made it this far on Top Chef and it was a pleasure watching them all cook.
But only four made it out of tonight's episode alive after an especially meaty quickfire round and an elimination challenge inspired by the Olympics of culinary arts, the Bocuse d'Or.
While the fantasy foursome of Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, Kevin Gillespie and Jennifer Carroll was planted in people's minds weeks ago, you could bet that surprise contender Eli Kirshtein wasn't going to let them just whisk past him into the semifinals.
Not to mention the fact that Jen's been sliding in recent weeks, Kevin's not one for classic French technique and Brian and Michael could just as easily self-destruct by getting too fancy for their own good.
And we heard that there was an upset brewing...
Top Chef's Robin: They Really Did Hate Me That Much
Bravo Photo: Justin Stephens
Robin Leventhal knows she wasn't exactly the most liked contestant on this season's Top Chef.
"They hated me," Robin says of her fellow cheftestants. "I think they just wanted to hate me."
Yikes.
There's more. Read on to find out what she says about being eliminated last night for a—gulp—simple panna cotta, Eli's Circus Circus disaster and her not-so-pleasant reunion with Mike V.
This Just In: Kim Kardashian to Guest on CSI: NY
Jeffrey Ufberg/Getty Images
• Keeping Up With the Kardashians: Kourtney is pregnant, Khloé is married, and Kim...got a job? Yep, Kim Kardashian tweeted this morning, "Up and on my way to the set of CSI Wish me luck! Have the best day guys! xo." CBS reps confirm that today is Kim's first day of shooting for the Dec. 16 episode of CSI: NY. Kim and fellow guest star Vanessa Minnillo play a pair of hot would-be criminal masterminds.
• Mark Your Calendars: Showtime has announced premiere dates for the new seasons of three excellent series. Crazy mamas Edie Falco and Toni Collette are back at it when Nurse Jackie and The United States of Tara return Mar. 22. The final season of The Tudors, starring Joely Richardson as the last wife of a finally fat Henry VIII (Jonathan Rhys Meyers), premieres April 11. Oh, and for the five remaining humans who haven't seen Twilight, the TV premiere is set for Jan. 23 on Showtime.
• Top Chef: For those who felt defrauded by the lack of a new episode of Top Chef this week, we offer you this exciting (but profane, thanks to Mike Voltaggio) sneak peek of next week's episode, featuring that notorious layabout Padma Lakshmi.
Sammie in Omaha, Neb.: Is there any hope for Trauma? I'm loving the show! It's an entertaining, action-packed drama, plus Rabbit-Nancy is awesome! It's been staying almost even with Heroes in ratings, and the latest episode actually had more overall viewers.
Exclusive
Top Chef's Mike Isabella: "Robin Is Crazy and Annoying"
Bravo Photo: Justin Stephens
Mike Isabella admits the leek dish he prepared during last night's Top Chef, well, sucked. But he didn't think he'd be the one told to pack his knives and go.
No surprise, but he thought Robin Leventhal should have been sent home.
"In Robin's dish there were beets and zucchini and chickpeas and a Moroccan marinade and goat cheese and mushrooms," Isabella told me earlier today. "It didn't make sense. It wasn't good and it didn't make sense."
That's not all the Washington, D.C.-based chef had to say about his rival. Read on for more…
Natalie Portman Gets Saucy on Top Chef
Natalie Portman doesn't eat meat, but she likes salty talk.
Seriously. Watch the clip.
In an excellent switcheroo, the cheftestants are invited to cook at Tom Colicchio's Las Vegas steakhouse, only to find that they must prepare a vegetarian meal for Portman, her friends and host Padma Lakshmi, who tops herself in the "silly things Padma says" category this episode.
Remember Portman is seriously vegetarian. This serious. Still, check out what happens Star Wars' Padme meets Padma and the judges' critique starts sounding like dialogue from a soft porn movie.
Trust us, something nasty starts up at the table—and for once it's not the food.
________
Need more vegetarian fare? Sample the good-looking gourds in our Pumpkin Pickin' Time gallery.
This Just In: James Van Der Beek Is Forgotten
Glenn Weiner/ZumaPress.com
• OK, We Get It, JVDB! In his latest attempt to prove he's totally not the squeaky-clean Creek boy of yesterseason, James Van Der Beek has taken a role on ABC's The Forgotten, our frenemy reveals, as a dark and shady financial broker. (We're talking to James, Kevin Williamson and other former Creeksters next week, so email any Q's to tvdiva@eonline.com or tweet @kristinalert.)
• Even Sweeter Than the Real Top Chef: Yum! There's a spinoff in the works called Just Desserts, with pastry chefs. Word is a certain E! Online columnist would not cry if they asked her to judge.
• Big Bang Throw-Down: Ruh roh! Executive producer Bill Prady promises "a big, giant, knockdown, drag-out fight" for Penny and Leonard, after which she will run into an old flame. We're no mathematicians, but this seems to add up to trouble in geek paradise.
• Dollhouse: If you love this show, tell a friend. Friday night's ratings hit an all-time low. Ugly Betty is also down 14 percent.
Jeffrey: Was that really Jayma Mays singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" on Glee?
Top Chef Drama "Jennifer Should Have Gone Home Last Night!"
Trae Patton/BRAVO
Laurine Wickett doesn't think last night's elimination challenge on Top Chef was fair.
Can ya really blame her? She was told to pack her knives not for her cooking, but for her lack of skills running the front of the house at the restaurant.
"I think if the judges knew the circumstances and the whole situation, I'm not sure if I would have been the one to go home that night," Wickett told me this morning. "I think if the playing field was equal and all things were fair, I think Jen was kind of instrumental in bringing the kitchen to a halt that evening."
Meow!
What else did Wickett have to say? Read on to find what she thinks of Robin, Michael and Padma Lakshmi's need for salt…
This Just In: Fox Pulls Dollhouse; Neil Diamond Hearts Glee
Carin Baer/FOX
• Dollhouse Pulled: Sources confirm that Fox is planning to pull Dollhouse for November sweeps, and then bring the show back in December. No word back from Fox yet. The new season begins airing this Friday, and something tells me Fox and Joss Whedon really wish this news weren't breaking now.
• Glee, Part One: This might be the best tweet ever: @neildiamond Hey, so who's this guy Puck singing "Sweet Caroline" so good,so good,so good on #Glee? Loved it!! (@Mark_Salling must be a puddle of goo right about now.)
• Glee, Part Two: A rep for Fox tells us there is "no truth to my knowledge" that Glee is planning to slap back at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade's recent diss by doing a spring episode about the Glee club being excluded from a school parade.
• The Big Bang Theory: The hot geek cameo du jour is apparently CBS' Big Bang Theory. Star Trek's Wil Wheaton appeared on this Monday's ep, and now Battlestar babe Katee Sackhoff is set to stop by later this year. Nerds rejoice!
• Top Chef Masters: Mmmm...delicious news! Bravo has renewed Top Chef Masters for season two. But who do you think will win this season of regular Top Chef: Kevin, Jen or a yummy Voltaggio brother?
Rebecca in San Diego: Kristin, is the Lost holdout Mira Furlan (Rousseau)?
Padma Lakshmi: Worst Top Chef Diner Ever?
One Top Chef team named its restaurant Revolt, which is right up there with E. Coli as a name you don't pick for an eatery.
However, it was the other team that drew the revolting looks from host Padma Lakshmi in this season's "Restaurant Wars" competition. For this episode, she seemed harder to please than gruff Tom Colicchio, who responds to nearly everything with a disapproving scowl or a sad, bemused grin. (Ash, we think, would agree.)
Things only got rougher when Lakshmi requested extra salt—for a dish she actually said she liked! To be fair, she may have politely been ordering it for her disatisfied tablemates. (Or perhaps she was feeling under the weather due to her pregnancy? We hope not.)
Still, it could have been worse. At least she didn't ask for ketchup.
You know what always makes a happy diner? Ice cream!
Top Chef's Ash: Padma Never Liked Me!
Bravo Photo, Justin Stephens
Newly eliminated Top Chef contestant Ash Fulk is convinced that Padma Lakshmi doesn't like him...and never really has.
When he was eliminated last night he said he'd like to cook again some day for the judges, but just not Lakshmi.
"Through the whole season, she was not a big fan of mine," Fulk told me this morning. "The whole season, I kept running up against her. Her and I definitely didn't get along. I don't think she liked anything I made the whole time."
But while he and Ms. Lakshmi might not be breaking bread together anytime soon, read on to find out about the bromance that seemed to be brewing between him and tattooed hottie Michael Voltaggio...
What Shocking Things Did We Learn From the Latest Top Chef?
Bravo/Trae Patton
Well, well, well. The "Dinner Party" episode of Top Chef certainly was chock-full of revelations, wasn't it? Not only was our investment in a possible Mike Voltaggio-Jennifer Carroll pairing torpedoed by the reveal that Mike V. has not one but two young daughters, but Ash all but threw himself on his sword to protect team partner Mike V. Maybe we were looking at the wrong love connection this whole time!
Virtually the only storyline that wasn't shocking was Mike Isabella's continued insistence on being an obnoxious blowhard. Ergh. Somebody muzzle that guy.
Now, which of last night's surprising moments stood out most for you?
Take our poll below!
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