Reality Competition Shows

Please sir can we 
have some Mohr?

Move Tube

Your World Series National Anthem Singers: Aretha and Zooey, But Not Bob Seger

So, okay, Phillip Phillips, the American Idol winner, wasn't awful at the National Anthem before last night's World Series Game 1. And tonight's singer is Matthew Morrison, who plays a character on another Fox TV show some people watch, called Glee. After that, though, the singers doing "The Star S ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Cosentino Watch, Episode 9

Welcome to Cosentino Watch, where we recap the moves of San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino as he competes in Top Chef Masters. Warning: Spoilers ahead. Episode 9 is called "Old School, New School." We've already seen from the preview commercial that the remaining three Masters (Chris Cosentino, Lor ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Cosentino Watch, Episode 6

Welcome to Cosentino Watch, where we recap the moves of San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino as he competes in Top Chef Masters. Warning: Spoilers ahead. Episode 6 is called "Thai One On," but thankfully it's not a full hour of puns. It's the first time all season we get to see host Curtis Stone turn ... More >>

Top Chef Judge Krista Simmons on the S.F. Food Scene, and Her Path to the Judging Table

You never know where a passion for food will take you. For food writer Krista Simmons, it was the Top Chef judges table. It all started back in 2006, when Simmons was a junior at UC Santa Cruz. She took what she refers to as the "obligatory trip" to the Bonny Doon Winery Tasting Room, and was immed ... More >>

"Sparkle": Whitney Houston Shines in Lackluster Remake

Top Chef Masters: Cosentino Watch, Episode 3

Welcome to Cosentino Watch, where we recap the moves of San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino as he competes in Top Chef Masters. Warning: Spoilers ahead. Episode 3 is called "What Would Brian Boitano Eat," a play on the Olympic figure skating champ's Food Network series, What Would Brian Boitano Make ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Cosentino Watch, Episode 2

Welcome to Cosentino Watch, where we recap the moves of San Francisco chef Chris Cosentino as he competes in Top Chef Masters. Warning: Spoilers ahead. Episode 2's title, "You May Now Feed the Bride," offers a clue to what's going to happen even before it begins. The chefs immediately find out ther ... More >>

The Revolution Will Be Choreographed

Celebrity Muscle

ABC Announces New Singing Competition; World Sighs

​The last few weeks, we've been DVRing the shit out of the second season of The Voice to ensure we wouldn't miss a second. There is something thoroughly riveting about that show -- partly because of the concept (waiting to see if the judges will turn their chairs around for the contestants) is tot ... More >>

Does Reality Television Help Viewers Lose Weight?

Could this be you if you watch The Biggest Loser?​For all the studies showing that watching reality television -- OK, all television -- makes us fatter, a new research study whose findings were just reported on Salt, NPR's new food blog, suggests that one kind of reality TV could help you lose wei ... More >>

The X Factor Makes Its US Debut, Crazy People Get Humiliated

​So, this week The X Factor -- Simon Cowell's new reality show/ singing competition -- arrived on U.S. screens for the first time, and we've already had two nights of occasionally exciting, often harrowing, auditions. In case you missed it on Wednesday and last night, the operating principle is ex ... More >>

Top Chef: The Tour Quick-Firing at Embarcadero

Jonathan KauffmanThe Top Chef Tour's San Francisco stop.​Bravo TV trailers and "Top Chef" tents have colonized Justin Herman Plaza this morning. Is Bravo flash-filming a segment for the next series? Is Traci Des Jardins throwing a semi-celebratory Top Chef Masters gala? No -- it's the Top Chef Tou ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Nostalgic Finale Edition

Bravo TVHost Curtis Stone checks in with San Francisco finalist Traci Des Jardins.​Last night brought the finale of Bravo's Top Chef Masters and our SF-based Traci Des Jardins was in it to win it. On the line was $100,000 for the cheftestants' charity of choice. For those of us rooting for the ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Family Ties

​ We were unsure of how we'd manage without Hugh(nibrow) on Top Chef Masters and for the first episode without him, we were tweezed in two. Luckily, we still managed to stay tuned. For the Quickfire, the cheftestants had to have their cooking station divided and work with a mystery teammate ... More >>

Top Chef Masters Recap: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Microwave

bravotv.comHugh and his magnificent eyebrow.​After last week's rerun, we were amped for last night's all new Top Chef Masters. What we were not so amped about? The episode's title, "Blinded me with Science." We didn't go blind, but we came close pulling an optic nerve rolling our eyes at the l ... More >>

Top Chef Masters, Week 6: Traci Gives Adam What He Wants, Scores Big for La Cocina

sunovasurfboards/FlickrAdam Levine.​We know there's a rockin' contestant from Santa Cruz still in the running to be The Next American Idol (be sure to over-enunciate every word, like Seacrest), but SFoodie is all about the fact that S.F. chef Traci Des Jardins is still in the running to be The ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Traci Des Jardins Hosts Her Own Party

Carina OstWatching Top Chef Masters from Public House.​ SFoodie got word that cheftestant Traci Des Jardins would be having a Top Chef Masters viewing party at her casual dining joint, Public House. It was, of course, open to the public, so we headed down there for a seat at the bar. The sound of ... More >>

Top Chef Masters: Crickets and Curveballs

​ Last night's Top Chef Masters was for the crickets -- well, bug eaters. The Quickfire Challenge was to make a five-star dish using bugs and wild plants. Looking at the worms, nightcrawlers, and scorpions, the cheftestants were creepy-crawly freaked out. (The captioning under Alex read, "I can't ... More >>

Top Chef Masters, Week 1: Traci Snarls, La Cocina Wins!

SF CHEFS/FlickrDo not fuck with Des Jardins.​We are still suffering from a bit of Top Chef overload, but the new season of Top Chef Masters with new host, format, and judges brought us right back into the world of cheftestants, Quickfires, and knife packings. We tuned in last night for the Sea ... More >>

Bring On the Finale Already: Top Chef: All-Stars Is Down to the Final Two

BravoTVTop Chef's boys' club...​We are still in it, and the real season finale for Top Chef: All-Stars is still not even upon us. Let the torture stop and the recap begin! Last night's Quickfire Challenge was the Quickfire of all Quickfires. The cheftestants each got to assign a Top Chef Quic ... More >>

Last Night's Top Chef: All-Stars Was All Conch, No Balls

usmagazine.com Padma's flotation devices can't even keep this series above water.​We thought we were out, but we got reeled back with a determination to finish what we started ― i.e., this awfully boring season. Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars was entitled "Island Fever" and it was fitting ... More >>

Is Top Chef: All-Stars the Worst Series Ever?

SanFranAnnie/FlickrPack up your knives: Not even Padma can save this series from sucking.​The Bahamas, Eric Ripert, the promise of Padma in a bikini: What could bad about the finale of Top Chef: All-Stars? Well, everything. Last night's show was the most boring episode to date. Things began ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 12: Give Us Your Tired, Your Poor, Your Muddled Dishes...

Turkinator/Flickr​Last night's episode of Top Chef: All-Stars marked the end of the New York challenges. Why not leave New York the same way so many came in? We're talking Ellis Island. For the Quickfire Challenge, the cheftestants had to make a dish from ingredients in a ferry's snack bar. Ti ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 10: Ironing Chef

Delfi Jingles/FlickrCookie Monster: "C" is for "kooky."​Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars began with Dale mouthing off. "I'm not like these new-school parents who are like 'we're all winners' ― f@ck that. That's bullshit, man! Who ever said losing is okay? In what country is that cool?" In ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 9: We Can't Believe It's Fabio!

Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars began with an odd Quickfire Challenge: Create a unique fondue. According to Padma, this wasn't the '70s and they weren't looking for bananas dipped in chocolate. This challenge was all kinds of crazy and the cheftestants would be their own judges. Mike said he wa ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 8: Somebody Gets Whacked

GoodfellasWhen you're here, you're family.​Bravo is the best TV network -- every show manages some kind of family reunion. Whether that means Uncle Bravo Andy hosting a reunion show for the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, or Isaac Mizrahi, host of The Fashion Show, judging the Quickfire on l ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 6: Hooked and Gutted

Bravo TVThe sharks are circling for bait-bro Marcel. ​Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars began with a continuation of douchey Marcel showing his poor sportsmanship. He was drinking gin from the bottle and all up in Dale T.'s face about last week's competition. Ugh, did they forget that this was ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 5: Hong Kong Like Donkey Kong!

Joseph Schell/SF WeeklyNice tats, Jamie. Now go home!​Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars marked the 100th episode for the Bravo franchise, so we had some high hopes (especially since the show skipped last week). The special night's Quickfire Challenge featured Tom Colicchio in the kitchen, cooki ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 3: David Chang and a Kitchen Packed with Sweaty Amazeballs

david_shankbone/FlickrDavid Chang.​Hey All-Stars: Meet New York's finest chefs, then emulate them in their own kitchens. That was the main mission of last night's third installment of Top Chef: All-Stars. It was balls to the wall and an all-around amazeballs episode as two top cheftestants w ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars, Week 2: A Jonas, Dinos, and the Megabitch

Examiner.comJonasaurus rex. ​Last night's Top Chef: All-Stars had some major attitude. It went from a rock star (okay, a Jonas brother) to children to dinosaurs to a former host to a megabitch. The Quickfire Challenge: Create a midnight snack for kids. Joe Jonas would be the judge, and later ... More >>

Top Chef: All-Stars: Festival of Losers Brings the Heat

BravoTVEx-Absinthe chef (and former Top Chef loser) Jamie Lauren.​Last night was the premiere of Top Chef: All-Stars, and it was also the first night of Chanukah. For those of you un-chosen folks, you celebrate the first night by lighting the shamash (helper candle) that will light the first c ... More >>

It's Yigit! S.F. Pastry Chef Wins Top Chef: Just Desserts

Benjamin Seto/Cooking with the Single GuyThe Taste Catering pastry chef topped Morgan the dick and Danielle the face contortionist to take it all.​The final challenge in last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts finale was to create a progressive four-course dessert tasting. The twist arrived with ... More >>

My Moment with Yigit: The View from Top Chef's Victory Bash

Catherine BergstromThe author, in full-on gush mode with Pura.​Since Episode 1 of Top Chef: Just Desserts, I've been rooting for San Francisco cutie-pie cheftestant Yigit Pura. We admit it: The boy's rosy cheeks, dimples, well-thought-out desserts, and overall sweetness make me gush. So last ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Week 8: Mary Poppins Kicks Ass on Oprah

Don't mess with Mary.​Last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts wasn't all flowers and tea parties, though it appeared to be. The Quickfire Challenge was to create an edible bouquet, with guest judge Shinmin Li of shuttered I Dream of Cake in North Beach. Zac offered a warning: "She's very pretty b ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Week 7: Edge-Of-Your-Seat Excitement Minus the Balls

rocor/FlickrFiercer than Game One at AT&T Park, it was Dessert Wars!​Everybody knows the Giants aced Game One of the World Series, but in last night's other competition news, Dessert Wars were on . Top Chef: Just Desserts rolled out a collection of challenge favorites, beginning with the Pastr ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Week 6: Dawn of the Divas

Bravo TVErika Davis: All washed up.​Last night's Top Chef: Just Desserts just wasn't as sweet as usual. First, there was the Quickfire Challenge: Make a savory dessert. Zac was unsure if he could do this since he doesn't cook/eat real food, only potato chips and ice cream. The challenge was ov ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Week 5 : These Boots Were Made for Eating

Morgan of Just Desserts​Last night we were all glued to our televisions to see the last of the miners be rescued. The night was celebratory and something sweet to top it off was needed — back to mindless dessert based TV. This was the first episode of Top Chef: Just Desserts without Seth ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Week 3: It Was Glee All Over Again, Minus the Britney Crazy

1weddingsource.comIt's Sylvia, bitch!​Was the Britney Spears Glee episode this week not sweet enough for you? Top Chef: Just Desserts tried to carry out the same overhyped (school) spirit on last night's episode. Unfortunately, both Glee and Top Chef were misses compared to last week's crazine ... More >>

Top Chef: Just Desserts, Episode 1: The Good, the Bad, and the Bitchy

Bravo TVPretty boy swag: Taste Catering's Yigit Pura.​Following Kevin asking "I am?" seconds after being told he was Season 7's Top Chef last night, thereby restoring some reality-show dignity to New Jersey (it's taken a beating from the Housewives and Jersey Shore kids) something oh-so-sweet ... More >>

Top Six Most Inappropriate Uses of a Song on TV, Ever

​Having heard the news that Lou Reed reportedly refused to let Susan Boyle perform "Perfect Day" on America's Got Talent last week (resulting in her apparently fleeing the country in floods of tears; Reed says legal issues were to blame), we couldn't help but start thinking about the variety of so ... More >>

American Idol Tryouts in S.F.: Too Bad You're Not Like Carrie Underwood

Contestants waiting to try out for American Idol in San Franicsco earlier this week​More than 8,000 singers flocked to AT&T Park yesterday with enough ambition and dedication to wait up to nine hours in order to give a 30-second audition for American Idol. To manage their excitement, contestan ... More >>

The Girly Show

It's Sew You

Easter Basket

Eleven Minutes

Do the Hamilton

Bewiched

A top chef expands his brand, and we follow