Top Chef: Texas - Season 9

Ah, the obligatory chili-in-Texas episode is here! Before the cookoff, though, the quickfire of this episode involved making a dish incorporating one of many pepper varieties, with the mildest peppers linked to smaller paydays, while a win for a ghost pepper dish would bring in the most money. It baffled me that many of the chefs wimped out on using the hotter peppers, preferring to go for much milder spice and less money. Aren't the chefs on this show typically hungry for the cash? If you're not willing to use the hot stuff, it makes me wonder if you're really that into being the next Top Chef?!Onto the chili--usually I don't enjoy the team challenges as much, and this was no exception, especially given that chili doesn't quite allow for the full range of culinary creativity that a less polarizing dish might. As a Texas transplant, I can tell you that the idea of beans in true Texas chili is considered sacrilege, and that deviating too far from the standard isn't really welcomed. That being said, the episode was still enjoyable, with a twist at the end that somewhat compensated for the chili cookoff. It was also good to see Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger again, as I enjoyed watching both ladies during their appearances in Top Chef: Masters.My favorite bit about buying Top Chef episodes on Amazon is that they include the next time on Top Chef teaser! I've watched a bunch of Hulu episodes and shows off the network's own site, and that's usually not included, although I can't think why--don't they want to whet the viewer's appetite for the next episode? Anyway, smart move including it here; I'll definitely be watching next time!

After 9 seasons, Top Chef has fallen into a comfortable routine that can also sometimes be a trap for an established series. Veterans Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio return with a Texas-themed version of the show, focusing on locations and challenges in San Antonio, Austin and Dallas.Some of the mainstay contests are here such as Restaurant Wars but there are some newer ideas that don't really work, such as the bicycle race around San Antonio to find a restaurant kitchen for each chef. Clearly the event was pre-planned (all 5 restaurants chosen are within a few blocks of each other, despite the appearance of traveling miles) and it doesn't have much to do with cooking. We also have the addition of Last Chance Kitchen where the fallen get to compete for a final opportunity to reach the Top 4, which really seems more of an excuse for Bravo to push the audience onto their web content.Having said that, there are enough good ingredients to make the series compelling. Take some great chefs, add some unusual recipes and a large pinch of personality conflict and you have a season that gets a Michelin star for entertainment but just a James Beard for overall relevance to cookery. Apologies to James Beard.

You pay for Top Chef thinking you'll get the whole show.But at the end there's a Last Chance Kitchen.Where those who have been asked to pack their knives compete for a chance to be in the finally.Great idea.However they don't show it to you. You paid for it but you dont get it.You have to go to Bravo and use their less than user friendly interface to find this last bit of the show. And here's the kicker, they make you sit through a commercial to see. that right. you paid for the show and now they are forcing you through a commercial to see the rest of the show you paid for.And her's the real kicker. the LCK is only on for the run of the show. You own or pay for an old season and there is no way to see the Last Chance Kitchen.Come on Bravo. Do the right thing and put the whole show on Amazon for those who paid for it.

I am a HUGE fan of Top Chef. But this is one of my least favorite seasons.I really hated the challenges. So many team efforts. Purposefully done to create strife. The Peewee Herman challenge was just awkward, but it wasn't the jump the shark episode - those happened so much earlier. Starting from the first team challenge. Which is why a high caliber chef went home. (Though buying cooked shrimp was really stupid.) And the end - skiing and shooting: what the arse does that have to do with cooking? There should have been a final three. Because I thought Lindsay was just as talented as Sarah.I love the reunion parts of the show, but there was so much filler. Gail's segment was stupid. I like her but please don't waste time promoting your book. I don't give a crap about the political stuff like Michelle Obama's health initiative. Certainly important, but not the right platform, and yet, another segment devoted to her, which had nothing to do with the season. What about the fun stuff? More judges' outtakes, and snippets from the road trips. Grayson's mouth is a gold mine. There should have been a lot more Grayson, who was so witty and outspoken. I also enjoyed Edward Lee's commentary.I'm okay with the DVD though if you were going purely by DVDs and not the caliber of the season, Season 5 had the best DVD. I love that Season 5 included interviews of chefs after they had been eliminated. You also got to see where the eliminated chefs went. This season was okay. Glad the DVD included Last Chance Kitchen.I will say: the right chef won. Paul Qui dominated the elimination challenges. The one time he lost was in a group challenge. He was level-headed and kind, though I saw at times, he was frustrated. He had a better record than even Michael Voltaggio.

Just like all the others except it takes place in different kitchens through Texas.