BravoTV.com

Vegetarian is not a problem nor is vegan. It is possible to make many healthy tasty dishes. Add wheat and soy intolerance and things get much more dicey.

I know that it would be too simple for Top Chef but black (or red) beans and rice is moi good, can be tasty and offers a filling and complete dinner.

When I met my girlfriend, she was a....VEGAN! We almost didn't make it to the second date. The only thing I could think of was breakfast. What on earth where we going to eat for breakfast?!

Anyhow, all her other great qualities made it last, and I am happy to say that now, after two long years of hard work and a lot of cooking, I even have her eating fish! Don't think I will ever get her into the other meats, but from vegan to semi-vegetarian isn't too shabby eh?!

We missed you on the reunion show!!!

My fav was the meatloaf (with tomato sauce that always leaked over to the brownie) good times.

My 11 yr old daughter claims she is going vegeterian for Lent. She said, "bacon is a vegetable, right?" I had to tell her the truth.

Love the blog!!!

Jamie,
Please blog about yesterday's Reunion episode, if you get a moment. Thank you.

I was a vegetarian for twenty years and that taught me to use spices well. For meat eaters you can toss a little salt and pepper on meat and call it done; for herbivores you have to use much more in the way of seasoning. My guess is that no matter what the protein or presentation, Kevin knows how to season in a way that makes perfect sense. He could have served any other chefs meal but would have seasoned it correctly and that is all that matters in the end. I would like to know how exactly how he is seasoning because he seems to hit the judges right where it counts every time.

@Chefwineaux: Have you ever given thought to the fact that you're killing animals for that carnivorous meal? Added to that is the fact that meat for 2x day, 7 days a week can get very expensive and unhealthy. So there is nothing wrong with choosing to minimize your meat intake and there's a whole lot of Asian foods that are well-rounded and vegetarian. Stop complaining and do a little studying of nutrition and you just may learn the different ways to setup protein into your meals.

i'm going to agree with others here and say that creating a good vegetarian dish isn't difficult and the chefs should be able to do it if they're creative/innovative/versatile. however, i think creating a good vegetarian dish on a whim, with time constraints, is definitely difficult for someone who rarely cooks without meat. i was surprised to see a lack of legumes, which brings the protein hardcore. and no cheese or egg. just vegetables and grains =/= a satisfying entree in most cases. and then natalie singled out mike i. for lacking a strong protein component, but kevin's dish also lacked protein! i mean, just kale and mushrooms? that's as much a side dish as jen's dish. not many of the chefs used much protein at all.

Jamie - Yeah, I agree with you about the chefs being surprised by the curve thrown at them at Tom's SteakHouse. One would think that after five seasons of Top Chef any and every cheftestant would know that nothing is as it seems and curves are the norm. Possibly they went to sleep that night conjuring up a delicious steak dinner dish ,, and when the curve was tossed their way ,, they suffered "brain-fart."

i couldn't believe that no one made a soup. w/ those special ingredients, a unique and memorable soup would have been the way i went. easy to say when you're not in the middle of it.
i want you, jamie, to know that last season i liked you, then i thought you were a baby for a strectch, and even though you exhibited a mildly snotty stance on concerning all of the 'fish-dishes', i started really liking you again - then were sent home. that was a bummer. isn't it just crazy-irony that you drew the one dish you didn't like anyway?
i enjoyed your dynamic w/ stephan. overall, your season is my favorite, and that pallet quickfire exchange between stephan and leah was my favorite scene ever; the looks.
this season has four really, really good chefs. do you agree?
'too much of a good thing' exists w/ me and bacon. i get clogged.

O.K first I loved u on the show I was so pissed when u got cut off I thought u were awesome I wanna go to culinary school any words of wisdom on where to go.