Chefs

Episodes 1 and 2: All hail Chicago! Because everything's bigger in Texas, the season kicks off with 29 hopefuls vying for 16 spots in the cast. It's impressive that there are more hopefuls from Chicago than any other city, and even more impressive when all six of them make it onto the show. Episode 4: Richie's ouster Tasked with the late-night challenge creating a new dish out of his team's failed chili, Richie Farina from West Loop restaurant Moto is sent packing, spurring the season's most emotional goodbye between him and colleague Chris Jones.

The Taste of Chicago is bringing back its Celebrity Chef du Jour series with a fresh line-up of big-name local chefs. Featured chefs for the fine-dining experience include Rick Bayless , Carrie Nahabedian, Giuseppe Tentori, Gale Gand, The Hearty Boys and Paul Kahan. A chef is scheduled to prepare a three-course meal for every day of the festival, which will run from July 10 to 14. Rick Bayless, Bravo's "Top Chef Masters" Season 1 winner and the mastermind behind Frontera Grill, Topolobampo and Xoco, will prepare the opening dinner July 10. The following day will...

The Chicago culinary scene is bigger in Texas. At least five Chicago cheftestants have been awarded the coveted “Top Chef: Texas” jacket in the latest season of the show, which premiered Wednesday night. The final slate of 16 cheftestants, which may include a sixth Chicago chef, likely will be revealed next week. In Wednesday's episode, some of the chefs worked with pig and rabbit to create their dishes. Yawn. It seems “Top Chef” has fallen into the “Project Runway” trap of repeating lame ideas for challenges.

Review: Kabocha Japanese Brasserie 952 W. Lake St. 312-666-6214 Rating:  !!! 1/2 (out of four) Heating up Chef Shin Thompson's former restaurant, Bonsoiree in Logan Square, was a darling of the foodie crowd. It also demanded a commitment, both in time and price, to sit down for a multi-course, multi-hour meal. When he teamed up with Ryan O'Donnell (Gemini Bistro, Rustic House) to open Kabocha in the West Loop, they decided to loosen up a bit. "I wanted to make it more fun for people," Thompson said.

Two local chefs this year have an alternative to the annual Chicago Restaurant Week . Phillip Foss and Shin Thompson are hosting a joint feast Feb. 21 and calling it the Anti-Restaurant Week Dinner, but they say they aren't necessarily against the annual 10-day event designed to entice new diners with discounted menus. “Restaurant Week was always a great means to build revenue during a generally slow time of the year,” said Foss, who serves elaborate multicourse meals at his restaurant El in Lawndale.

Good morning foodies! I'll be filling in as your TCT recapper today. Since I just figured out last week that my oven actually does turn on, I'm more than qualified to Wikipedia ingredients for you. Let's get cooking! We open with a shot of Ed trying to bet a pack of cigarettes on Bev. He's sure that she's won "Last Chance Kitchen," and I fear this bet may be the only thing Ed wins today. Sarah, channeling Heather and "Heathers," is convinced it's going to be Grayson and a banana.

New reality show "Around the World in 80 Plates" has some serious eye candy in the form of co-hosts Cat Cora and Curtis Stone, but that's not the only reason you should tune in. You witness the egos and cooking chops of"Top Chef," the strategy and alliances of "Survivor," and the international travel and adrenaline of"The Amazing Race. " The show debuts at 9 p.m. Wednesday on Bravo and features a cast of 12 chefs - three with Chicago ties - traveling to different foreign cities and taking over local restaurants in an attempt to recreate the native...

Many restaurants claim to be Farm-to-Table, but two Chicago chefs recently took this connection a step further, by bringing their farm to your table. Chef Didier Durand of Cyrano's Farm Kitchen has long been a supporter of local farming, filling the tables at his River North restaurant with ingredients bought at farmers markets in Michigan City, Ind.  Because he dreamed of returning to his grandparent's farming roots and misses the “daily life of the farm,” he said, he purchased six acres of farmland in nearby Laporte, Ind. last year.

The masters are back! “Top Chef Masters” returns for a fourth season Wednesday, with 12 chefs competing for prize money to benefit the charity of their choice. Takashi Yagihashi and Art Smith are proudly representing Chicago restaurants, and it's a return of sorts for both. Yagihashi made a guest appearance on a Vancouver-set episode of “Top Chef: Texas” and also competed on an episode of “Iron Chef” that aired earlier this year. Smith, known for his legendary fried chicken and his gig as Oprah's chef, appeared on the first...

Fulton Market's Publican Quality Meats (825 W. Fulton Market, 312-445-8977) is introducing a Sunday grilling series this week offering new barbecue dishes off the grills of the butcher shop and market. This week, guest chef Johnny Anderes of Telegraph will be grilling with the PQM chefs from 3 to 8 p.m. Sunday, according to the restaurant's website. The menu for the afternoon will features two barbecue dishes, a "grill-friendly" dessert, as well as seafood and vegetarian options, each for less than $15, according to the restaurant.

Oh, you thought Lollapalooza was a strange festival name? Prepare for Great GoogaMooga. The hybrid food and music festival, which debuted last year in Brooklyn's Prospect Park, is in talks with the City of Chicago to bring a version of its weekend-long festival to Montrose Beach. While Superfly, the entertainment company that produces Brooklyn's GoogaMooga, "cannot confirm" a Chicago offshoot, the Park District said it is in talks with organizers. Chicago Park District permit records show that Jam Entertainment, the company that orchestrates Beer Hoptacular, has applied...

Review: Siena Tavern 51 W. Kinzie St. 312-595-1322 Rating: 3 (out of four) Off to a good start Fabio Viviani was a fan favorite on the fifth season of "Top Chef," but since then, I've seen his charming grin and Italian accent all over the place. There he was on a commercial for Domino's, touting a line of artisan pizzas. Or promoting oatmeal as a healthy breakfast (in red satin pajamas, of course) in an online video for Quaker Oats. And in between, he's teaching his fans Italian one word at a time on Twitter.

UPDATE: Baconfest tickets sold out within an hour of release on Feb. 20. Love bacon and have $100 to burn? Then you've probably already marked your calendar for Wednesday, when general admission tickets for Baconfest 2013 on April 20 go on sale. Tickets will be available for purchase online starting at 12 noon on Wednesday on ticketing site Eventbrite.com. In past years, they've sold out within a matter of hours. The $100 (plus fees) general admission ticket buys you access to the fest during either the lunch session...

Ever wondered what celebrity chef in Chicago has the best smile? No? Well, someone did, because the Chicago Dental Society was surveyed about just such a question in "preparation" for its 148th Midwinter Meeting, and more than 200 dentists weighed in on who has the best set of pearly whites. The winner, garnering 60 percent of the vote, was Stephanie Izard, the Girl and the Goat chef and former "Top Chef" winner. Grant Achatz and Rick Bayless took second and third, respectively, but they were distant runners-up, kind of like only getting floss...

"Top Chef" Season 4 winner Stephanie Izard has been pretty busy lately, what with the opening of Little Goat and an appearance on the show's latest season based in Seattle -- not to mention sporting the best smile among Chicago's celeb chefs ( more on that here ). When the Bravo crew comes to Chicago on Feb. 24 to host a casting call for the show's 11th season, it will be held at Izard's West Loop restaurant, Girl & the Goat . Other restaurants affiliated with past cheftestants are also serving as host...

Review: Sumi Robata Bar 702 N. Wells St. 312-988-7864 Rating: 3 (out of 4) Off to a good start Ten years ago, all eyes were on chef Gene Kato when he and his business partners opened a massive, opulent riverfront restaurant on the edge of River North. You might have heard of it: It's called Japonais. Kato remembers serving 700 to 900 people on weekend nights. “To do that kind of volume is unreal,” he said. While the restaurant became known for celeb-spotting, Kato was praised for his prowess preparing both impeccable sushi and contemporary cooked...

The second of three chefs with Chicago ties on Bravo's “Around the World in 80 Plates” reached the end of the road Wednesday night. Nick Lacasse, who has worked as chef at The Drawing Room in the Gold Coast for the past six years, performed well in the episode's cooking challenges, but was voted off the show as a result of his fellow team members' immunity and alliances with one another. Even though his journey was cut short, we'll always remember him for spouting off one of the funniest one-liners of the series so far: When fellow team member Steve “Nookie” Postal asked him if he was having...

Jared Rouben seems to spend just as much time at the farmers market as he does at Goose Island 's Clybourn brewpub, where he has been a brewer for four years. So it's not much of a surprise that the new brewery he plans to launch will focus on what he calls "culinary-driven beer. " "These are beers that have layers of flavor," Rouben said. "Food is what brings these beers to life. Without food, I don't think you'd have beer. " Rouben's made a name for himself in the Chicago beer scene with this style of beer, producing a popular series of...

Review: Grace 652 W. Randolph St. 312-234-9494 Rating:  !!! 1/2 (out of 4) Heating up Some chefs spend their careers working in the upper echelon of fine-dining restaurants, only to throw their hands up and open a burger joint. Curtis Duffy is not one of those chefs. After working at Charlie Trotter's, serving as Grant Achatz's chef de cuisine at Alinea and then garnering awards at The Peninsula Hotel's restaurant, Avenues, Duffy was ready to open his own place.