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The Daily Dish

Who is @RuthBourdain?

'Top Chef Masters' judge Ruth Reichl has theories on the Banksy of Twitter's identity, and it might be a Season 3 guest judge.

By Kim Moreau

Ruth Reichl is a legend. The culinary goddess has helmed Gourmet magazine, won numerous awards, wrote loads of best-selling books, and has appeared on countless TV shows.

But Ruth's got competition: @RuthBourdain.

If you're not familiar with the Twitter handle, you're missing a true delight. Each 140-character missive blends Reichl's painterly prose and Top Chef judge Anthony Bourdain's more colorful language choices. If you enjoy jokes about offal, Alice Waters, or orgasmic chocolate, this anonymous author is the one to follow. And not only does she/he regularly tweet with various culinary celebs (Tom Colicchio, Michael Symon, Eric Ripert, etc.), but the handle has recently been nominated for a prestigious James Beard Award in the humor category.

But what does the real Ruth Reichl think of the handle?

"Oh, I just love the fact that RuthBourdain has been nominated for a Beard Award," Reichl squealed.

Reichl said she was glad the handle could bring a little levity to the awards show, and is really pulling for the mysterious tweeter to win, not only because she loves the Tweets, but to figure the true identity.

"I'm really hoping that he/she will win and will come forward to accept, and we will find out who it is."

Whether or not the masked humorist accepts the award in a gorilla mask (as Banksy said he would), Reichl has some ideas about the identity. Though she wouldn't go so far as to name names, she did give us a clue.

"I have theories about who it isn't," Reichl said. "There is actually a little suspicion in the back of mind that it may be one of the people who was a judge this year."

Just another reason to watch this season of 'Masters' -- you might see RuthBourdain in the flesh.

Have your own theories about the anonymous handle, or just want to see what else people are tweeting about in reference to Top Chef Masters. Check out our Tweet Tracker.

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