top chef masters

'Top Chef Masters' named Marcus Samuelsson top dog for season 2 -- and along with a $100,000 prize for his charity, he can take away "bragging rights forever."

Samuelsson joins Chicago chef Rick Bayless in the 'Masters' hall of winners.

The Aquavit chef, beat out Rick Moonen and Susur Lee to earn money for the UNICEF Tap Project. He spoke to TV Squad about winning,how this ranks next to the State Dinner he cooked and what's next on his culinary journey.

On the season 2 finale of 'Top Chef Masters' (Wed., 10PM ET on BRAVO), Rick Moonen, Susur Lee and Marcus Samuelsson competed for the title and $100,000 for charity.

[Spoiler alert.]


Host Kelly Choi flew in their respective sous chefs to help them prepare the final meal: three courses based on stages of their lives. Winning by only a half-star, the Top Chef Master said he was "so humbled and grateful for the opportunity."

So who took the prize? Check out the video.

Chef Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto in New York City was eliminated in fourth place on the second season of 'Top Chef Masters.' Read what he had to say about getting the boot:

What happened?
I was just exhausted. When you're exhausted and you go into muscle collapse, that's where I was. I was done, so if I was a little bit terse or whatever, that's only because I was exhausted and I wanted to go home.

So you don't feel like you gave it your all?
No, I gave it my all. I just didn't have that much to give, you know what I'm saying? It's like the end of a marathon. How fast can you go? There's always gonna be someone that's reserving their power and I didn't ... I was out of shape too. I was kind of fat if I'm being honest with you. Susur was in good shape. So was Rick. Look at Marcus, he's like 25 years younger than me.

We're approaching the season finale of 'Top Chef Masters' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo). But in order to make it to the final episode, the four remaining cooks will have to deal with a fairly unusual challenge.

[Spoiler alert.]

When you're in the middle of a very tense contest, it's good to take some time out to have some fun. On the latest episode of 'Top Chef Masters' (Wed., 10PM ET on Bravo), host Kelly Choi said this to the contestants: "We have a little business to take care of." Then, a group of uniformed attendants wheeled a cart into the kitchen.

Usually on 'Top Chef,' this would mean some new type of horrifying challenge for the cooks. But as it turned out, Choi just wanted to celebrate chef Jonathan Waxman's 59th birthday. A large cake shaped like the French Alps was brought in -- to commemorate the fact that Waxman usually spends his birthday in the mountains with his family.

There was even a miniature figure of the chef on top of the cake. However, the figure seemed to be falling off the mountain -- possibly because it was drunk, Waxman theorized. Oh well. On the plus side, at least he didn't have to cook anything -- or bake his own cake.

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

8:00 to 9:00
ABC: 'The Middle' -- 8:30 start
The CW: 'America's Next Top Model'
Animal Planet: 'River Monsters: Unhooked'
Disney XD: 'Naruto: Shippuden'
Discovery: 'Weird or What?'
G4: 'Web Soup'
HGTV: 'Property Virgins'
National Geographic: 'Breakout'
National Geographic Wild: 'Rebel Monkeys'

9:00 to 10:00
ABC: 'Modern Family' and 'Cougar Town'
The CW: 'Fly Girls' and 'High Society' -- Season finale for 'High Society'
FOX: 'American Idol' -- Results show
NBC: 'Mercy' -- Special time
CNBC: 'American Greed'
Discovery: 'Mythbusters'
SyFy: 'Ghost Hunters'

10:00 to 11:00
ABC: 'Happy Town' -- Series premiere
NBC: 'Law & Order: SVU' -- Guest starring Sharon Stone and Sam Waterston
A&E: 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and 'Billy the Exterminator'
BBC America: 'Peep Show' and 'That Mitchell and Webb Look'
Bravo: 'Top Chef Masters'
Comedy Central: 'South Park' and 'Ugly Americans'
Discovery: 'What a Tool'
DIY: 'Desperate Landscapes'
E!: 'Maxim Does Spring Break'
HGTV: 'House Hunters'
MTV: 'The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2'
Showtime: Inside NASCAR'
Spike: 'The Ultimate Fighter'
TBS: 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne' -- Two 30-minute episodes
TLC: 'Police Women of Maricopa County: Behind the Bars' -- Focus on the female detention officers of Maricopa
USA: 'In Plain Sight:'
WE: 'Sunset Daze' -- Series premiere. Two 30-minute episodes

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

This week, I check in to see what's happening on 'Childrens' Hospital,' the hilarious Web series-turned-Adult Swim show, and let series creator and star Rob Corddry explain why he's in clown makeup and covered in blood, for those who aren't familiar. (One note: 'Childrens' Hospital' is not actually for children.)

I also have the dish on 'Happy Town,' ABC's new murder-mystery drama, and talk about the pressures of cooking for TV's funniest family -- um, hello? 'Modern Family'! -- with 'Top Chef Masters' contestant Rick Tramonto.

Want more? E-mail me TV questions at TheTVShowGirl@aol.com and I'll try to get you answers on the show. -- By Maggie Furlong

Here's tonight's lineup of new shows and events (all times Eastern). Check your local TV listings for additional information.

Before you question...yes, the entire ABC primetime schedule is repeats, with one hour each of 'The Middle,' 'Modern Family,' and 'Cougar Town.'

8:00 to 9:00
CBS: 'The New Adventures of Old Christine' and 'Accidentally on Purpose'
The CW: 'America's Next Top Model'
FOX: 'American Idol' -- 'Idol Gives Back' special
NBC: 'Mercy'
Discovery: 'Weird or What?'
DisneyXD: 'Naruto: Shippuden'
G4: 'Web Soup'

9:00 to 10:00
The CW: 'Fly Girls' and 'High Society'
BBC America: 'Peep Show' and 'That Mitchell and Webb Look'
CNBC: 'American Greed'
History: 'Gangland'
SyFy: 'Ghost Hunters'

10:00 to 11:00
NBC: 'Law & Order: SVU'
A&E: 'Dog the Bounty Hunter' and 'Billy the Exterminator'
Bravo: 'Top Chef Masters'
Comedy Central: 'South Park' and 'Ugly Americans'
Discovery: 'What a Tool'
E!: 'E! Investigates: Bullying'
MTV: 'The Challenge: Fresh Meat 2'
Showtime: 'Inside NASCAR'
Spike: 'The Ultimate Fighter'
SyFy: 'Destination Truth'
TBS: 'Tyler Perry's House of Payne' -- Two 30-minute episodes
TLC: 'Addicted'
USA: 'In Plain Sight'

After the jump, the late night talk shows.

If you were to make a second season of a cooking competition show, would you bring back several contestants from the first season of the show? That's what Bravo is doing when they launch the second season of 'Top Chef Masters' on April 7. Entertainment Weekly has the list of chefs that will compete on the show and it features several familiar names.

First the newbies: the new chefs include Marcus Samuelsson, Jody Adams, Govind Armstrong, Jimmy Bradley, David Burke, Susan Feniger, Debbie Gold, Carmen Gonzalez, Maria Hines, Susur Lee, Tony Mantuano, Monica Pope, Thierry Rautureau, Ana Sortun, Rick Tramonto, and Jerry Traunfeld. The returning chefs are Wylie Dufresne, Graham Elliot Bowles, Mark Peel, Jonathan Waxman, Ludo Lefebvre, and Rick Moonen.

Bravo's 'Top Chef Masters' is dishing up its second season and the main course includes Spiaggia chef Tony Mantuano (Chicago), David Burke of David Burke Townhouse (New York) and Los Angeles' Susan Feniger (Street).

All told, 22 renowned chefs are set to compete when the spatulas begin to fly on April 7 at 11PM ET (before moving to its regular slot at 10PM on April 14), according to EW.com. The lineup also includes six returning chefs from season 1: Graham Elliot Bowles, Wylie Dufresne, Ludo Lefebvre, Rick Moonen, Mark Peel and Jonathan Waxman.

'Top Chef's' Gail Simmons will serve as a regular judge along with returning TCM judges Gael Greene, James Oseland and Jay Rayner. Kelly Choi (pictured) will return as host. Season 2 guest stars and judges will include Mekhi Phifer, Matt Groening, Hank Azaria, Andrew Zimmerman, Jason Lezak, Lynne Curtin, Alexis Bellino, Tamra Barney, and the cast of 'Modern Family.'

A year has passed and there has been a lot of best and worst lists here at TV Squad. I know tons of reality television shows have grazed my TV so I've compiled a list of the best and worst reality shows of 2009.

Finding the best shows are easy, but it's hard to pare down the worst list. I define "worst" as shows that had potential and never did anything with it. While shows like I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here and anything involving the words "Real Housewives" aren't mentioned, they aren't the worst because they started at rock bottom and had nowhere to go. Several of the worst shows I've mentioned could just go through some tweaking and it could have been amazing.

Hmm... it seems like every network is expanding at the waistline. That is, a bunch of them are getting into food in a big way. Like Fine Living becoming the Cooking Channel. TLC is also adding more yum yum to the schedule. And the latest has an Oprah angle. Perhaps it's a coincidence, but just about everyone connected to Oprah Winfrey is getting a TV show these days... Dr. Oz, Dr. Phil, Nate Berkus. And now chef Art Smith has landed a show on TLC. Smith is well-known as Oprah's personal chef.

Art Smith was on Bravo's Top Chef Masters last summer -- that was his audition -- and he showed himself as a homey, pleasant, unpretentious cook. For TLC, he's going to host Craving Comfort, with the emphasis on Southern comfort food.

Fresh of his "champions round" run on Bravo's 'Top Chef: Masters,' chef Art Smith is headed to TLC for his own cooking series, under the working title 'Craving Comforts.' So far, eight half-hour episodes have been ordered, with production already underway.

Luckily for Smith, 'Comforts' won't be anywhere near the stress-inducing levels of 'Top Chef: Masters.' Instead, Smith will showcase his teddy bear personality as he travels across the country to uncover stories behind America's favorite comfort foods (think 'Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives' meets 'Paula's Home Cooking').

Smith seems like a logical choice for his own show, and will likely provide a comforting alternative to the more extreme and abrasive celebrity chefs currently on television (hello, Gordon Ramsay!). His resume also makes him the perfect fit for TLC, given that he's worked for Oprah for years and is a two-time James Beard Award winner.

If you're a fan of Top Chef, there's nothing tougher for the contestants than desserts. Just this past week during 'restaurant wars,' did you notice that one team decided to have no desserts on their menu at all. They just didn't want to risk blowing it.

Well, Bravo noticed, not just last week but all through the Top Chef series. Bravo's creating a Top Chef spinoff called Just Desserts in which chefs will have no choice, they'll have to deal with sugar, icing, cakes and struedels.

Top Chef: Just Desserts is the second Top Chef spinoff, after Top Chef Masters. I'm anticipating Top Chef: Maitre D's down the road, aren't you?

Who needs high fashion when you have high calories? Bravo has renewed 'Top Chef Masters' for a second season, helping fill the gap created by the loss of perennial reality favorite 'Project Runway.'

'Masters,' which features popular and renowned chefs going head to head in a cooking competition, is a spin-off of 'Top Chef', which is currently airing its sixth season. Rick Bayless of Chicago won the first season this summer.