‘Top Chef: New Orleans’: Padma Lakshmi launches ‘Padma’s Picks’ webseries

Bravo sure likes their webseries these days, don’t they? We already had “The Battle of the Sous Chefs” to watch weekly for “Top Chef Masters,” but we now have another video series that will debut every Wednesday: “Padma’s Picks.”

Basically, this series is a preview of sorts to the upcoming “Top Chef: New Orleans” premiering on October 2. Every week, Padma will visit some of the best establishments in New Orleans, and watch two aspiring chefs face off. She then picks one of them, and the five compete in the “Top Chef” kitchen in an effort to try and win a spot on the show.

One thing that we hope right away is that this web series will eliminate the need for some sort of “casting special” episode, otherwise known as one where you see 6-8 people eliminated straight off the bat. It would be terrible to go through all of this, only to be sent home because you don’t know how to cook.

In this episode, Casey Morvant and Michael Sichel each were competing by creating something that was emblematic in some ways of New Orleans food. Casey, a native resident of the city, went with something that was very rustic and therefore probably very delicious. However, there was also one tiny flaw in it courtesy of a bone. This helped Michael, who created something that was not only beautiful, but blended his New Orleans experience with being of Italian heritage. He’s also got an interesting story as a guy who lost his restaurant in Hurricane Katrina, but we like how he doesn’t use it as a sympathy story or play the hand every few seconds.

Overall, “Padma’s Picks” is a fun little webseries to keep us appetized until the main series returns, though you can watch a full trailer here to get excited. Also, Padma just did an AMA on Reddit, and she gives some great insight into the challenges. (Plus, she also touches on the infamous pea puree drama from a few seasons back.)

Photo: Bravo