Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Top Chef All-Stars: Preseason Power Rankings

Bravo's Top Chef franchise is one of the network's flagship programs, but it has laid the cooking on a little thick this year. Immediately after another technically proficient but drama-free season of Top Chef: Masters, the extremely underwhelming Top Chef: DC premiered. The weakest season in the show's history was followed by another spinoff, Top Chef: Just Desserts, which had to have set a statistical record for amount of crying per episode. I've been a fervent Top Chefian for years now, but I couldn't finish Top Chef: Just Desserts. The fun wasn't there anymore. Bravo seems to feel that the series has lagged, too, hence Wednesday's premiere of Top Chef: All-Stars. If they're looking to freshen up the series, they've done a good job, since the cast is absolutely loaded with talent. Even better, they've brought on Anthony Bourdain as a judge. I'm stoked. Let's handicap this race.

1. Richard
2. Angelo
3. Carla
4. Antonia
5. Jennifer
6. Dale T.
7. Tre
8. Tiffany
9. Fabio
10. Marcel
11. Dale L.
12. Casey
13. Elia
14. Tiffani
15. Stephen
16. Jamie
17. Mike
18. Spike

Admittedly, I'm making educated guesses with Tiffani and Stephen since I never saw the first season. It's pretty clear that Mike and Spike are the lesser of the cheftestants by a country mile. Conversely, it's clear that Richard and Angelo are the cream of the crop. Virtually everyone else is a wildcard. Will Dale Talde keep his temper? Will Tre redeem himself? Can chokers like Carla and Jennifer regain their swagger?

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