Just two episodes in, “Top Chef: Texas” is already a nail-biting proposition – A jillion chefs showed up to find that they still had to compete to the death with knives and fruit leather for a spot in the house. (OK, not fruit leather.) If they stink up one challenge, they have to pack their knives and go. And I feel kinda bad for anyone who had to take an unpaid leave of absence or quit their jobs or put a new knife set on credit, because…it’s not gonna happen.

But that’s not the case for Michelle Bernstein’s Lindsay Autry, because she was one of the 12 chefs who get to officially compete in Top Chef and move into that sweet house in Austin. I’m not sure, of course, how long she’ll be there – no one ever is – but it;s nice to know she at least gets to spend the night.

Not so lucky – Jeanine, who was closerthanthis to getting in but missed it. Her girlfriend apparently dumped her AFTER nine years and a committment ceremony because she didn’t like her vows. For real. Chin up, Janine. This is not someone you want to spend your life with. Sorry you won’t be able to fill that void by being on “Top Chef.”

But Lindsay will! Can’t wait till next week!

“Top Chef” has turned over a new page in its tenure on Bravo, with a new judge, a new judging strategy and a staggered elmination process. We won’t know who all 16 chefs who get to go into the house and compete to get voted off some other time are. And we won’t get a chance to see Lindsay Autry of the Michelle Bernstein restaurant at the Omphoy until next week. I’m pulling for her, because with 29 people vying for those spots, it’s nuts. There are a lot of people you barely get to know, although in one case – snotty young chef Tyler, who screwed everyone on his team up by badly butchering their meat – I know all I wanna know.

It works like this – thee groups of chefs come in having to work with a specific meat – the first two were pig and rabbit – and then are either voted right into the house, left on the bubble, or dismissed immediately. It was brutal and kind of fun because I was watching it from my floor eating a bowl of granola and soy milk, and not having my dreams dashed. That’s probably less fun.

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“Top Chef” host Padma Lakshmi is steeped in a custody fight, and the ingredients are plenty complex.

Venture capitalist Adam Dell says in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in New York that a paternity test has shown he’s the father of Lakshmi’s 11-month-old daughter, Krishna. But he says Lakshmi is trying to cast her boyfriend, financier Ted Forstmann, in that role.

A spokeswoman says Lakshmi wants to protect Krishna’s privacy and work out “a fair and amicable agreement.” Forstmann declined to comment through his office.

Dell wants custody and a change of the infant’s last name from Lakshmi to Dell.

Krishna was born Feb. 20. Dell’s lawsuit says Lakshmi has tried to minimize his role in the girl’s life and has encouraged her daughter to call Forstmann “Papa.”

“Survivor!” It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Who needs Yuletide when you have Jeff Probst standing on a scary-looking cliff in the middle of a scary body of water, trying to get all philosophical and deep amid the ankle sprains and bikinis? This rugged land has survived for centuries, Probst says. But will it survive the chaffing and showmances?

Apparently, we know something the contestants don’t, which is that they’re going to be on tribes defined by age. As usual, they’ve not been allowed to speak on the way in, but have a lot of opinions about each other, most of which will be proven wrong. I missed this show so much! I love how people are like “he’s on my nerves already” and they’ve never even spoken. And there’s no one with more assumptions being made about them than Kelly B., our Palm Beach County “Survivor,” and an amputee since childhood. They’re already thinking that she’s gunning for the sympathy vote, without knowing that she’s a frigging Iron Man triathlete.

SHE IS IRON MAN! Eat it, bipeds!

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Kenny Gilbert, who is in the midst of the new season of 'Top Chef', took over as PGA National's executive chef earlier in July.

Kenny Gilbert was about 3 years old when his culinary passions fired up — quite literally so. It happened one day as his mother sewed in the basement of their family home near Cleveland, and as his baby brother fidgeted in his crib.

An energetic child, Kenny barreled into the kitchen, where there was a roast cooking in the oven. He grabbed a dish towel from the oven door and somehow pulled out the roast. And as he did this, the frayed edge of the towel snagged on the oven coils.

The ruckus of his mischief and the smoky wafts from the oven reached the basement and Carlotta Gilbert, a clothing designer and keen pragmatist, bolted from her sewing machine to the rescue.
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'Top Chef: D.C.' contestant Kenny Gilbert is now executive chef at PGA National Resort and Spa. (Courtesy NBC)

A culinary star is working in our midst.

Top Chef: D.C. contestant Kenny Gilbert has been named executive chef at the PGA National Resort & Spa in Palm Beach Gardens.

In his new role at PGA National, Gilbert will oversee the culinary operations of the entire resort, which includes the Ironwood Grille, iBar lobby lounge, Waters of the World at The Spa at PGA National and other on-site eateries.
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Spike Mendelsohn receives his title as 2009 Burger Bash Champ at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival. (South Beach Wine & Food Festival)

Miami.com’s Valerie Nahmad talks with Spike Mendelsohn, the one-time Top Chef contestant who now owns the Washington, D.C. restaurant Good Stuff Eatery. Mendelsohn returns to the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, which begins Thursday, as defending champ in the Burger Bash.

How does it feel to be the returning champ?

I’m excited, this year has gone by so quickly, I just feel like it was just a couple weeks ago I was in South Beach. Burger Bash is an amazing event & this year they really stepped up the roster of chefs. I’m still one of the younger chefs there, so it’s always a little nerve wracking, but we have a lot of fun and we kind of think we know what people like at the Bash.

And what can we expect from your booth this year?

We’re trying some new stuff but I don’t want to give it away. We’re keeping it a surprise.
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Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi gave birth to a baby girl named Krishna Thea on Saturday.

Photos: Celebrity Baby Bumps

“Mother and baby are well and happy,” her rep told People.

Padma Lakshmi: Eat Great to Look Great

The 39-year-old announced her pregnancy in October. Lakshmi has struggled with endometriosis, a condition that can sometimes cause infertility, for years. She also helped found the Endometriosis Foundation of America.

“As a result of her condition, this pregnancy has been referred to by her physician as nothing short of a medical miracle, and due to its delicate nature, we ask/implore the press to respect Ms. Lakshmi’s privacy at this time,” her rep said.

This is the first baby for Lakshmi. The baby’s father has not been revealed. The TV host split from her husband, novelist Salman Rushdie, in 2007 after three years of marriage.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

It’s kinda funny to me that a show called “Top Chef: Las Vegas” has its finals in Napa. I mean, they always go somewhere else at the end, but those two places are so distinct that having the finals in this staid, upscale natural setting was jarring, when the rest of the season took place in a city where “natural” means that the trees in the fake lagoon are real. Read the full story

And it’s not the three I wanted to see.

ALERT: HERE BE SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

At the start of the show, we see our four semi-finalists preparing to meet up for the last showdown before the big pretty finale. Jennifer says she’s doing this for her mom. Kevin says that the Voltaggio brothers are awesome. The Voltaggio brothers agree.

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