North Texas Top Chefs...

Yeah, I'm a fan of cooking shows, so shoot me... I've loved Iron Chef for years, though I'm not so big on Iron Chef America. I've watched Hell's Kitchen for a couple of seasons, but mainly for the purpose of hearing Gordon Ramsay rant and wondering why anyone would subject themselves to that...* But as for true culinary talent, Bravo's Top Chef seems to get it... Yeah, there's some gimmickry on there, but they seem to be truly capable cooks.

This season we've got a couple of north Texas folks to root for (or hate on, depending on how things go...)

Tre Wilcox is a chef at Abacus in Dallas, and today's Dallas Morning News reports that he is self-taught.









Casey Thompson is the executive chef at Shinsei.










Good luck to both contestants, and don't try to shave anyone's head... And hopefully Padma won't seem stoned this season... The new season starts tonight at 9 on Bravo.

*Actually Fort Worth does have someone from last season's Hell Kitchen. Next time you're at Central Market, ask Larry about his experiences on the show. He's got some fun stories...