Top Chef: Bye Bye Mike I

Mike Isabella was shown the door on Top Chef last week. It was a fair bounce: I would say to the remaining chefs and to anyone applying for a job that when you act like 'whatever,' that's how you get treated. He screwed up and his basic behaviour was, 'whatever.'

I am happy to see him go for another reason. I was so tired of the misogyny from him. Granted, as the season has gone on, his comments were more directed at Robin and her lack of skill. However I thought that he never consistently backs up his vast knowledge and skill. The leeks incident is but an example.

I've said it more than a little about Top Chef and Hell's Kitchen that I still can be amazed at the amount of female bashing that goes on with the male chefs of both shows. Hell's Kitchen can be more blatant, but Top Chef is usually touted as being the more sophicated show and that in 2009, a male chef would say something like "I'm not going to let a girl beat me," is disturbing.

It will be interesting to see how the remaining chefs deal feel about his departure.

Tonight is the first annual Top Chef All Stars Reunion Dinner. Because these are the contestants (think Marcel, Hung, Carla) and not the Masters (think Rick Bayliss, Hubert Keller), we are to expect sniping and some Meow Mix to be served with the cream.

Oh, did I mention it will be hosted by Fabio, last season's final four contestant who's still charming them with his fresh off the boat Italian accent complete with the required malapropisms.

When did I become such a Top Chef/Hell's Kitchen/Chopping Block/Kitchen Nightmares junkie?

When did I become such a Top Chef/Hell's Kitchen/Chopping Block/Kitchen Nightmares junkie?

I find it funny, since I am not a foodie by any stretch. I can understand that I like the competitive element of the first three. Winners and Losers, achievement and failure. That's some of the best drama out there. It's why this country watches the Superbowl, the Stanley Cup, the NBA Finals and the World Series every year. It is why the world stops every four years to watch the Olympics.

I did notice that I enjoyed watching the food being plated on Top Chef, and I wanted to eat them.

Kitchen Nightmares is like a warped Extreme Makeover with restaurants. Oddly enough I don't like watching Extreme Makeover, but I like Kitchen Nightmares. Much like the movie American Gangster, there are lessons hidden here and there amidst the bleeps and beeps. I will write a series of blog posts about them later.

The Chopping Block is a little bit like Hell's Kitchen meets Kitchen Nightmares, but with a French man instead of a raving Scot. I found it was interesting that Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay were once friends.