‘Top Chef: New Orleans’: Check out the second episode of ‘Padma’s Picks’ (video)

While you can go online now and watch the entire “Top Chef: New Orleans” preview series “Padma’s Picks” in one shot, we’re going to be presenting them weekly here on CarterMatt to get you in the loop until the October 2 premiere of the newest season. One of the major reasons for that from our perspective is simply that you don’t want to watch this entire series of competitions, forget the chefs you liked to see, and then suddenly find yourself back at square one when the competition starts.

With this being said … why are the people we are rooting for losing every week? Maybe it’s just that we are rooting for the chefs that are either a little more rustic or outside-the-box, which means that they may not do as well in the competition.

The video below features a showdown between Justin Devillier and Michael Doyle, who not only cook in very different sorts of restaurants, but also have different styles and personalities behind what they do. Justin’s looked much more gourmet, and he threw some serious techniques onto his plate. Doyle, meanwhile, cooked something that was almost like a vegetarian paradise, and did stretch vegetables to new and different directions.

Justin probably is the more experienced chef, and that’s the reason that we can’t fault Padma for picking him. We just hope that he has a little more personality on the actual show, given that he really comes across in the video as pretty dry and not the easiest person to stand up and cheer for.

Click here if you haven’t seen the first video of the series yet, and if you’re into “Top Chef Masters,” we’ll have our take on the latest “Battle of the Sous Chefs” video up this weekend.

Photo: Bravo