Top Chef's Top Chef

Published: April 29, 2009, 11:20 p.m.

b"Some chefs are TV stars first, then Vegas restaurateurs. Tom Colicchio did it the other way around. The five-time James Beard Award winner already owned Craftsteak and \\u2018wichcraft at the MGM Grand when he was tapped to become the chief judge for the hit Bravo reality competition Top Chef. The show began filming its sixth season in Las Vegas this week, although this interview took place a day before that was confirmed. Still, Steve spoke to Colicchio at length about everything from his criticism of the show\\u2019s finale format to the late Natasha Richardson\\u2019s stint as a guest judge last season. Colicchio also retells how he saved the life of a famous food writer at an Obama inauguration party in January. Plus, as always, we asked him about his fast food preferences, if any. \\n\\nIn Banter: Top Chef a'coming, Angel v. Perez, Fontainebleau's problems, coinful slots, changes to WSOP and more.\\n\\nWeb: TheStripPodcast.Com\\nBlog: VegasHappensHere.Com\\nVoicemiail: 206-424-4737\\nE-mail: TheStripPodcast@aol.com"