God, it feels good to be right.
If you haven't already read our coverage of the Top Chef casting calls, which I wrote about in April, click here. Back then, I made the proclamation that SF's own Jamie Lauren—currently the executive chef at Absinthe—was definitely headed for fame.
And if you haven't already heard, I was right. Jaime is going to be on the next Top Chef, as what they call a "cheftestant."
Although Lauren is certainly headed for potential ridicule as well as fame (aren't all reality show contestants?), I've always thought of Top Chef as being ok, as reality shows go. But then, I watched one of the video clips on Bravo's site, where they ask TF's judges and host—Tom, Padma and Gail—what gives them a "culinary boner?" (Can you see me cringing? I'm cringing.)
Padma practically licks her lips talking about the culmination of bitter, salty and sweet; Gail asks if they could please rephrase this to ask what makes her "tingle," and Tom says something to the effect of how he's looking for someone that's going to "explode" on the scene.
To add to all of this middle-school-style sexual innuendo, know that in our next issue, Jessica Battilana asked Jaime what she's obsessed with—and where to get it. While on the Top Chef website she says onions (onions?), for us, it's something just slightly more provocative. Pick up a copy of 7x7 when November hits the stands to find out.
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