FanFare

Below Deck (IMDB) is a workplace reality TV show that follows the lives of a crew on a mega-yacht during a season of short charters. Cramped quarters, wild parties obnoxious guests (Screenrant), and glamorous international locations, all proved a big draw for from season 1 in 2013 - up to an abrupt stop in season 8 when the show ran into... well...2020. The making and editing of the show is an interesting story in its own right - as a super-yacht is turned into a floating TV studio operating 24 hours a day (NYT). [more inside]
posted by rongorongo on Feb 6, 2021 - 16 comments

It's the final showdown; the three remaining chefs must create the best four-course meal of their lives; Tom reveals in a twist that only two chefs will get the chance to serve their full menu; only one chef will emerge victorious.
posted by anonymous on Mar 16, 2019 - 12 comments

The final four chefs must cook with the smelly durian fruit; the chefs get a tutorial on the traditional cuisine of Macau; for the elimination challenge, the chefs are tasked with blending their own heritage with Chinese flavors.
posted by anonymous on Mar 11, 2019 - 5 comments

Tom ambushes sleeping chefs and challenges them to make a dish using ingredients harvested from their gardens. For the last elimination challenge, the chefs bid on luxury ingredients at a thoroughbred horse auction house.
posted by anonymous on Feb 24, 2019 - 9 comments

'Top Chef' alum Ed Lee drops by for a Quickfire that's part trivia, part culinary creativity. Coach John Calipari and the Kentucky Wildcats host a concession-stand cook-off in Rupp Arena. Food & Wine Editor-in-Chief Hunter Lewis joins the judges.
posted by anonymous on Feb 8, 2019 - 9 comments

In Nashville, Tenn., the chefs cook onstage at the Grand Ole Opry for singer Hunter Hayes. Inspired by a vibrant music memory, the chefs put their hearts on a plate for musician Caleb Followill, model Lily Aldridge and chef Jonathan Waxman.
posted by anonymous on Feb 5, 2019 - 6 comments

Lena Waithe surprises the chefs, by challenging them to make their best version of the trademark Kentucky dish, the Hot Brown. Then super-chef Nancy Silverton brings her internationally renowned friend, butcher Dario Cecchini to break down a whole cow for the chefs to utilize along with locally-sourced Kentucky ingredients.
posted by anonymous on Jan 23, 2019 - 5 comments

The chefs walk in on an epic battle of Last Chance Kitchen and are drafted into the fight. Once Tom declares a winner, the chefs begin a challenge making dishes based on Prohibition Era cocktails. Chef Ken Oringer joins for a Roaring Twenties party.
posted by anonymous on Jan 13, 2019 - 7 comments

In a massive twist, Padma's favorite challenge Restaurant Wars comes early this year, but before the chefs gear up for battle, they must first duke it out in an amuse bouche-based Quickfire for Top Chef alum turned James Beard Award winning chefs: Karen Akunowicz and Nina Compton. Then, the gauntlet has been thrown and with twelve chefs remaining, three restaurants will be battling for victory. James Beard Award winning restaurateur Caroline Styne joins as the guest judge along with Nilou Motamed. And if this unexpected chaos isn't enough, Tom leaves the Chefs breathless with an announcement that will change the course of the competition.
posted by nightrecordings on Dec 29, 2018 - 9 comments

Katie's ultimatum forces Lisa Vanderpump to reconsider employing James at SUR; Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval display different methods of interviewing staff members for TomTom; Jax and Brittany host a dinner party to debut their beer cheese.
posted by nightrecordings on Dec 24, 2018 - 2 comments

It's holiday time for Top Chef, and Richard Blais and Brooke Williamson help spread the festive cheer by presenting a white elephant Quickfire challenge. Then, the Chefs receive an unexpected gift as Michelin starred super Chef Eric Ripert sits down with them to celebrate an elaborate traditional French Christmas dinner. However, once the last bite is taken, Padma informs the Chefs that they’re missing the final part of the tradition of Le Revillon de Noel...the presentation of 13 desserts. It's a midnight pastry free-for-all as the Chefs try to avoid being placed on the naughty list.
posted by nightrecordings on Dec 20, 2018 - 11 comments

A very pregnant Gail Simmons asks the chefs to feed her cravings in a special Quickfire delivery. Then it’s time to celebrate two iconic Kentucky mainstays: local cuisine and bourbon. The Chefs head to Makers Mark, the oldest distillery in America to put their spins on a meal full of Kentucky classics including burgoo, Benedictine, mutton, hoe cakes and dumplings. This is a true battle for Kentucky as the chefs navigate their first team challenge – and one chef makes a potentially fatal shopping error. Can they recover or will they be scraping the bottom of the barrel to make it through? Food and travel editor, Nilou Motamed joins the judges this season, and Maker’s Mark’s in-house Chef, Newman Miller, sits on the panel as a guest judge.
posted by xtine on Dec 14, 2018 - 9 comments

Top Chef Kentucky begins as fifteen of the country's finest chefs are off to the races at Churchill Downs for the ride of their lives. After a lightning fast two minute mise-en-place focused Quickfire, the Chefs are challenged to make a dish that will appeal to a crowd of two hundred at a stakes-filled Kentucky Derby party. Churchill Downs' own Chef David Danielson serves as guest judge along with returning regulars Tom Colicchio, Padma Lakshmi, and Graham Elliot.
posted by nightrecordings on Dec 6, 2018 - 7 comments

A comedian tries to make it as a serious actor when his reality-TV star fiancée talks him into broadcasting their wedding on her TV show.
posted by mathowie on Dec 16, 2014 - 6 comments