Tom and Padme from Top Chef

I am not a reality show person.  I don’t watch American Idol, I think that Survivor is the most misleading title ever (the show would be completely different if I was on there), and The Biggest Loser just doesn’t do it for me.  I am, however, a sucker for cooking shows.

Iron Chef America claims a part of my wife and my Sunday nights, but on Wednesdays, we love us some Top Chef.  I didn’t catch Season 1 of Top Chef until probably mid-way through it, but once I saw it, I was completely hooked.  The show was all about cooking – not about outthinking the other competitors, not about winning some immunity idol, not about being more popular than the other contestants, it’s about the food.

Now, all that being said, I really want to know what Top Chef has against wine.  I’m not saying that wine isn’t consumed on the show, in fact you usually see the judges for the Elimination Challenge drinking wine with whatever meal the chefs have presented them with, but not since Season 1 when Stephen Asprinio, a chef and sommelier, made a point of pairing wine with the food he was cooking has the show made such a big deal about the nectar of the Gods.

I’m not saying that every episode should feature the chefs pairing food and wine, but certainly as they get into the episodes where they’re cooking more fine dining than humorous, overly themed meals (I’m looking at you Seven Deadly Sins episode from Season 2), it would be nice to see the chefs at least considering that their food will be paired with wine.

Throughout the show, the chefs have created cocktails, and in fact on tonights episode of the Season 5 Finale in New Orleans part of the challenge was to create a cocktail, but you never really see them tasked with pairing their food with wine, which is a shame since when most of us go out for dinner, part of the challenge we all face is pairing our meals with a wine.

All of these chefs seem intent to open their own restaurants, and I for one think it would be nice if they started taking into account that most people drink wine when they enjoy a nice meal out.  Top Chef - I hope you’re reading this and start featuring some more wine.  (Who am I kidding…they so aren’t).

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