And I Thought I Knew It All

Last night, Bravo aired a reunion special for the competitors who participated in the recently finished Chicago-set fourth season of Top Chef. I admit I joked earlier that the special would just be a rehashing of what viewers should already know if they paid attention, but I was wrong.

And Thank Goodness It Wasn’t You Know Who

It looks like Bravo’s Top Chef judges finally came to their senses at the very last possible moment, crowning my personal favorite, 31-year-old Chicago resident Stephanie Izard, as the first ever female winner of the cooking competition. Congratulations, Stephanie — wait for it because you know it’s coming — You go, girl!

The latest field of sixteen chefs made their debut on Season Four of Bravo’s Top Chef last night, once again reminding me that I don’t know jack about food. That’s why I love this show — it makes me hungry and eager to learn, all at the same time, a fairly amazing feat.

After the aspiring culinary stars met up and chowed down on pizza at the original Pizzeria Uno in the premiere episode “Anything You Can Cook I Can Cook Better,” they tackled the very first Quickfire Challenge perfectly tailored to the Windy City location, creating their own signature deep dish pizza.

Now, that’s my kind of cooking — something I’ve heard of before and eat on a regular basis. And, what I would give to taste the pie that featured peaches as a main ingredient (and, yes, the judges actually liked it).

The subsequent Elimination Challenge phase of the contest required the ace cooks to go head-to-head before the judges in pairs after reinventing one of eight classic dishes: Chicken Piccata, Crab Cakes, Duck à l’Orange, Eggs Benedict, Lasagna, Shrimp Scampi, Soufflé, or Steak au Poivre.

It was fitting that the new season’s first winner was 31-year-old Chicago resident Stephanie, whose duck dish looked good enough to eat off the TV screen (if only!). Her win must have given her a huge boost after host Padma Lakshmi and guest judge Rocco DiSpirito banished her to the losing group of eight chefs following the pizza cook-off.

On the opposite end of the results, the seemingly most unsocial competitor in the current crop, Georgia’s 26-year-old Nimma, got the boot for oversalting the shrimp in her Scampi to the extent that the judges — Lakshmi, head judge Tom Colicchio, DiSpirito, and second guest judge Anthony Bourdain — thought it was inedible.

If the decision had been left up to me, however, I would have chosen to send home 28-year-old Californian Ryan. He not only made a dish that clearly wasn’t Chicken Piccata — it has no breading, unlike Ryan’s interpretation — but, as Colicchio pointed out, he almost certainly still didn’t know why his version fell way short, even after Colicchio told him.

The premiere was also notable for introducing the show’s first competing couple, San Francisco’s 35-year-old Jennifer and 30-year-old Zoi. Thankfully, their personal relationship was pretty much ignored after the first mention, although Richard probably won’t be forgetting about it anytime soon.

When everyone arrived at Pizzeria Uno early in the episode, the 35-year-old Georgia resident seemed pretty psyched that he and Jennifer have a hairdo in common. Maybe they can still hook up in the kitchen if there are any group challenges down the road.