Regular readers of Rah Cha Chow know that I'm a huge fan of Bravo TV's show Top Chef. During a bout of insomnia I surfed the Web and read up on the chefs competing in the upcoming season (it starts on August 26, not that anyone has it marked on her calendar). What do you know, one of the contestants is a native of Rahchacha! Wahoo!Her name is Laurine Wickett and as far as I can tell, she graduated from Wayne Central High School in 1989. Her culinary education is from A.O.S Culinary Arts and the C.I.A. She currently lives in San Francisco and is chef/owner of Left Coast Catering. Laurine's Top Chef bio can be found here.
I'm a little concerned about her background, because catering chefs don't seem to fare as well in the competition as restaurant chefs. On the other hand, she's got a bit of a badass sneer on her face -- she reminds me a little of Sandra Bernhard -- so maybe she'll do OK. Either way, I'll be cheering for our native gal.
My insomniac Web browsing turned up a bit of bad news as well: Toby Young, the inane British judge who replaced Gail Simmons during her wedding, is back for another season. He was widely panned last season so I can't imagine why the powers that be at Bravo made that decision.
The show will take place in Las Vegas -- not a city that excites me at all. The memory of walking in a wind that felt like an enormous blow dryer shooting sand in my face isn't a pleasant one. But every time I've been to Las Vegas, it's been a business trip for a ginormous trade show, so maybe I haven't given the city a fare shake.
Anyhoo, I'm looking forward to another season of Top Chef. In the meantime, I thank the folks at Bravo for giving us Top Chef Masters to tide us over between seasons. I won't waste precious summertime writing recaps of that show, but for what it's worth, my money is on Rick Bayless.