Pack Your Knives

Tom Haberstroh and Eric Adjepong are joined by ESPN’s Mina Kimes to recap this week’s episode which saw a double elimination. Did we like the staging at different restaurants? Are we surprised by the judge’s choices? Did the episode fall short? As the three weigh in, a surprise guest crashes the party: the guest judge Sara Bradley! Go behind the scenes with Sara, Eric, Tom and Mina as we break dow...

Tom reviews the latest two episodes of Last Chance Kitchen, including a LCK bombshell in the Hat Trick episode as well as a surprising two-part LCK 1 Finale. A lot happened, we'll just leave it at that. Subscribe to the PYK Substack! https://www.packyourknives.com/ Rate PYK 5 Stars on Apple or Spotify, or watch PYK on YouTube! Follow PYK on Twitter: @packknives & Instagram: @packyourknives COUNT T...

Tom Haberstroh and Eric Adjepong break down the episode with a really fun trivia QF and marvel at Chef Tristen’s hoop knowledge. Eric reveals the ins and outs of a proper duck cook while Tom shares the points standings of all the contestants from the season (It’s about time we got to, you know, see Canada!). As far as guest judges go, this episode did not disappoint. We got two Jeopardy contestant...

Three episodes in, a clear favorite emerges from the pack of Top Chef: Destination Canada. Tom and Eric skate their way through the Jamaican patty and hockey episode that saw the judges sadly send home one of the more talented chefs of the group. Eric shares his favorite beef patty stories from childhood and provides a BTS insight about what the producers say on set that gave him some a pang of ps...

As expected, the poutine episode has arrived! Eric Adjepong and Tom Haberstroh marvel at Anya's secret ingredient that she brought from Russia; when you've melted the minds of Tom, Eric AND Daniel Boulud, you know you're a serious Top Chef force. Tom and Eric debate the merits of a two-team challenge this early in the game and both have strong thoughts about the Whole Foods curveball. Eric gives i...

To take a closer look at the season premiere, Tom Haberstroh is joined by PYK Substack contributor and data whiz Carly Levitz to break down the episode's trends and storylines. What does the data say about Massimo and the history of "home" chefs? Do the numbers say Richard Blais is the GOAT Top Chef? Carly also picks her favorite underdog chef and reveals what trends she's keeping an eye on as we...

For the 8th annual Pack Your Knives draft, Tom Haberstroh and Eric Adjepong take turns selecting their cheftestants and recap the Season 22 Destination Premiere along the way. A shocking twist occurs in Bronx-natives Adjepong’s pattern of selections. How soon did the elimination challenge winner get picked? Tom & Eric weigh in on the quality of chefs this season, the decisions that led up to the e...

Tom Haberstroh and Top Chef alum Eric Adjepong react to the Top Chef Season 22 contestant list and break down the promo video for clues. Which chefs have the most promising bios and resumes for Top Chef Canada? Haberstroh brings the stats on social media followings while Adejpong reveals which chefs he knows personally, the meals they cooked and their cooking styles. Adjepong and Haberstroh also s...

After debating the virtues of mint chocolate, Tom Haberstroh and former Top Chef contestant Eric Adjepong go back in time and rewatch the season premiere of Season 16 Kentucky at Churchill Downs. While experiencing "PTSD" about the show, the two-time Top Chef contestant Adjepong reveals details from behind the scenes of Top Chef and the hidden day-to-day challenges of being on reality TV. Adjepong...

Ahead of the upcoming Top Chef season in the spring, Tom Haberstroh makes a big announcement about the future of Pack Your Knives. After officially welcoming in chef Eric Adjepong, the two-time Top Chef contestant reflects on his time on the reality TV show and presents his top-three misconceptions about the grueling competition. He also dishes on his elite knife skills, opening up a new restauran...

Every episode of television is a series of creative decisions. Which characters do we spend the most time with? In which settings? How will the conflict occur? Season Three of “The Bear” took some unconventional risks — some worked and some didn’t. PYK Producer Anthony Mayes joins Tom and Kevin to break it all down, and to look ahead to the show’s final season.  Subscribe to the new PYK Substack!...

Chef Eric Adjepong knows restaurant kitchens and he knows television — he hosts “Alex vs. America” and “Wildcard Kitchen” on The Food Network. He stops by PYK to chat about what “The Bear” gets right. Tom and Kevin also ask him which is more beneficial: A love-letter of a review of a restaurant in a big city newspaper, or an Instagram reel of Kamala Harris & husband raving about the dining experie...

Sandwiched between two bottle episodes, “The Legacy” puts Sydney on the spot — will she take Shapiro’s offer to become Chef de Cuisine at his new joint, or will she finally sign the partnership agreement and fully commit to the Bear. Tom and Kevin debate what Sydney will — and should — do. They also lament that the show’s shot selection, opting for more scenes of the Fak brothers esoteric and unfu...

Bottle episodes can be risky business for a series, but “The Bear” has shined with its one-off productions, from Season’s 2 family stage play “Fishes” to this season’s mood poem of a premier. This episode, “Napkins,” marks the directorial debut of series regular Ayo Edebiri (Sydney) and focuses almost entirely on how Tina (played remarkably by Liza Colón-Zayas) found her way to The Beef/The Bear....

Richie’s character is starting to cultivate grace away from the restaurant, even as he and Carmy persist in their sometimes-hot-sometimes-cold war. Tom shares his love of the scene between Richie and his daughter, Evie, and why the two-handed scenes represent The Bear at its best. The two episodes are at their strongest when Carmy and Sydney occupy the kitchen, honing their collective vision. Sydn...

Kevin and Tom examine the moments when the show performs at its best: is it the introspective, brooding Carmine scenes at The Bear or when the show “goes home” with secondary characters? Kevin draws a spot-on parallel of Syd/Carmy as Peggy/Don in Mad Men while Tom campaigns for more Richie exploration.  The Bear can’t be discussed without a dive into the show’s musical choices. With the Gen X soun...

As one season ends, another begins. With Top Chef off the air, PYK’s Kevin Arnovitz and Tom Haberstroh have taken a seat at the table of The Bear, the hit TV show on FX. Kevin and Tom explain why they love the scripted series about a family restaurant in Chicago and unpack the unconventional Season 3 premiere. Plus, a discussion about musical choices and which character is the true star of the sho...

Tom Colicchio is Top Chef’s ranking authority, a lifer who has been with the show since its inception. Less than a week after Season 21’s finale riled some longtime fans of the show, Colicchio visits with Tom and Kevin to discuss what went wrong with the finale edit. He explains the various roles of producers, editors and professionals who create a season of Top Chef, shares his candid thoughts ab...

The Top Chef judges table shocked audiences with a surprise verdict in the finale. Tom H. sounds off against the decision, as he and Kevin debate what the outcome says about what the show values most in a Top Chef contestant. Also, an interview with chefs Dan Jacobs, Savannah Miller and Danny Garcia about how this season changed their lives. Subscribe to the new PYK Substack! https://www.packyourk...

There are inspired challenges in magical destinations on the eve of the finale that bring out the best in our aspirational cheftestants. With the title of Top Chef only two cooks away, they reach deep into their imaginations and execute the meals of their lives! This week aboard a cruise ship in Curacao was decidedly … not that episode. Tom and Kevin break down what went wrong in an elimination ch...

From the very outset of Season 21, Michelle Wallace distinguished herself as one of the most authentic chefs to grace the Top Chef kitchen. Not only does she bake the best biscuits in the business, she can execute an elevated homey dish of stuffed lobster pasta with charred corn sauce and crispy chorizo. Two Elimination wins. An additional four top finishes. (The only thing Michelle can’t abide is...

The five remaining cheftestants compete for only four tickets on a cruise ship to Curacao for the Season 21 finale in an elimination challenge that asks the to prepare a plate that express their maturation as chefs during their time in Wisconsin. But first, it’s the beloved Blind Taste Test Quickfire, with one of the chefs blowing away the competition (is daily tongue-scraping the secret weapon?)....

Tom Colicchio does work in the Top Chef kitchen, where the wok is king in the Quickfire challenge. Coming off her Last Chance Kitchen run, Laura re-enters the main competition and makes dessert for an elimination challenge that demands imagination. Tom H. feels that desserts are a market inefficiency that more cheftestants should opt for. Kevin shares how You Can Count on Me explains Michelle’s al...

With her sharp analysis, Mina Kimes can break down any NFL pass coverages or team-building strategy — and Top Chef field. She joins Tom and Kevin to discuss how Season 21 stands up to previous Top Chef seasons, to grouse about Soo’s controversial elimination at the fish boil, and to size up the remaining six contestants in the competition.  👇Hear the full episode right now on the Pack Your Knives...

No chef has built confidence and momentum in recent weeks like Savannah Miller. She bagged a Quickfire win with canned corn beef (!), only to slice her hand open while filleting her fish for the Fish Boil. Though it looked like she prepared the worst of the six plates, she was spared elimination. Kevin was on hand in Milwaukee for the Fish Boil, and tasted three of the six fish boil dishes. He sha...