Top Chef

The hosts include famous-chef Tom Colicchio, who owns Gramercy Tavern and Craft in New York City; Katie Lee Joel, who, from what we can tell, is famous for being married to Billy Joel; and Gail Simmons, from Food & Wine magazine. Each week there is a quick-fire challenge, and the winner gets immunity in the bigger challenge.

Challenges have included catering a gay wedding reception, making and serving street food, cooking only with ingredients available at a convenience store, cooking for school kids, and opening a restaurant.

The contestants are a motley crew. There’s the totally stuck-up Stephen with his constant sneer and sharp tongue; his arch-nemesis, the young and flighty Candice who until recently was making a living as a model; oh-so-emotional Dave who keeps pulling it out of nowhere; Mom Lisa who seems constantly amazed to find herself on the show; the ever-capable but mean-spirited Tiffani; the gorgeous but completely insane Kenneth; health-nut yoga-buff Andrea; roly-poly crazy-man junk-food-junkie Miguel; disorganized, hyper-active Cynthia; Brian, the self-proclaimed chef-to-the-stars; the tough, honest, but incredibly creative Lee Anne; and our personal favorite, Harold, who we’ve been rooting for from the beginning because a) he can cook, b) he is handsome, and c) he is nice and doesn’t say nasty things even about the nastiest people.

If you have any interest in seeing what life is like in a professional kitchen, this is a great show to watch. Much of the food looks fantastic, and it’s particularly interesting to watch them make something out of nothing. As for pure entertainment value, you can’t believe what people will say on national TV, or how incompetent some of these people are. When all is said and done, Top Chef is remarkably entertaining. Check it out before it’s gone.