You Know You're Getting Old When...

TOP CHEF: Airs on BRAVO at various times (New Episodes air Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m.)


Several years ago I worked for a small company in a myriad of roles. One of my assignments was to drive from Daytona Beach to Jacksonville, FL once a week to meet with a retired Army Colonel who was nearly 80 years old. He was listed as an advisor to the company but his advice was seldom used or sought after. So I got to make the weekly day-trip to help him with his computer work as he was not very computer literate or friendly. Plus my weekly trips to Jacksonville were important because they usually led to the old mans weekly absence from the company offices in Daytona... and that was deemed essential by the President of the company...

What I found was that his primary computer needs had nothing to do with our company, which manufactured water filtration systems, but rather involved the finding and printing off recipes that he and his wife had seen on television. Usually it was a simple task to go to the cooking channel dot com and click on the chef that had prepared the dish.

And then we'd go to lunch someplace that served far less delectible dishes...

I was reminded of my many miles and lunches with the Colonel recently when I discovered Top Chef on BRAVO.

In fairness it was my significant other who discovered this very entertaining cooking competition. (And before anybody decides I must be gay to use the term "significant other" let me assure you I am wholly hetero, I simply feel my beloved to be as significant to me and my life as any who live the single-sex persuasion and lifestyle.)

Top Chef is in its third season and features an initial group of 15 chefs who compete in one small (Quickfire) challenge where the chefs have a hurried (usually 30 minutes) to prepare a small dish and the winner of that round is immune from being sent home at the end of the next round.

The main round gives the chefs a harder task, but a longer time and deeper instructions to prepare it for judging. There are a panel of four judges per episode, but often the food is prepared and used in a public setting; a high class barbeque or an Elks club dinner for example... where the chefs were asked to "recreate" old family favorites and make them healthier at the same time...

The head judge is Tom Colicchio and the shows hostess is Padma Lakshmi, both pictured above. They are joined by a couple of other judges and the dishes are tasted and compared and then the top chefs are brought out, congratulated and the winner of the week announced. Then the bottom few chefs are brought out, explained to why their dishes failed, and then after discussion with the panel, the loser of the week is sent home.

The show is surprisingly entertaining as there are behind the scenes interviews with the participants as well as a clear understanding of what is being done and why. Even if they're wrong the chefs are compelling and the competition is intense.

So either cooking shows are becoming more interesting or I'm just getting old...

(For more on Top Chef visit the official website: http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/index.php )