Windy City Top Chef Coming ...

By Laura Oppenheimer in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 16, 2007 2:30PM

Monday morning can usually suck it, but this morning we woke up to discover something that made it all seem OK; the next season of "Top Chef" will be filmed in Chicago!

"We love moving the show from place to place; it gives it a completely different feel," Bravo executive Frances Berwick said in an interview after announcing the news at the annual Television Critics Association press tour in Beverly Hills. "Chicago is a hotbed of great talent and it felt like the next logical step." Amen, sister.

The producers' only caveat in filming here is they need to do so before the winter hits. We wouldn't want Padma Lakshmi all covered up, or Tom Colicchio to stop showing his tufts of chest hair, would we? Bravo's position also gives Chicagoist and "Top Chef" something in common; we have also been trying to figure out how to avoid the Chicago winter. One of the reasons this is especially cool is because "Top Chef" features a guest judge on each show. Having "Top Chef" in the city is a fantastic opportunity for Chicago's top chefs and restaurateurs to gain some easy national coverage.

The current season is filming in Miami and features one Chicago-based contestant, Dale Levitski. Levitski has been inconsistent, brilliant one week (comfort food) and daft the next (pineapple course in the tasting menu). As much as we want him to represent for Chicago, we don't see him making it to the final rounds of the show — he takes too many chances with not enough positive outcome. We'll just hold our breath until next season, when the star of the show won't be Padma, some hotshot foam maker, or the Glad crap, and it will be the lovely backdrop of our fair city.

Image of Levitski via Bravo.