Adam Dell Father Of Padma Lakshmi's Baby

At the finale of the latest season of Top Chef, that being Top Chef: Las Vegas, it was apparent, as soon as Padma Lakshmi stepped off a Napa Valley train, that she was well along in making a baby.

The news of Padma's incoming baby had been widely circulated, but not confirmed, for me, til I saw her baby hump on my TV screen.

There was a lot of speculation as to who Padma's Baby Daddy might be. I even read speculation, somewhere, that the Baby Daddy was Padma's co-host, Tom Colicchio.

Well, apparently it is not Tom.

The reported Padma Baby Daddy is the younger brother of Texan, Michael Dell, you know, the computer making billionaire. Dell has a 40 year old younger brother named Adam.

Adam Dell is also a tech savvy guy, but not a billionaire. He is a venture capitalist, who when he is not venturing capital, teaches at Columbia Business School.

Apparently Adam and Padma have been quite friendly for a couple years.

Padma has known for years that she has endometriosis, a condition that makes it difficult to become pregnant. Her doctor is reported to have said her pregnancy is"nothing short of a miracle."

I couldn't help but be curious to see what the father of Padma's baby looks like, thinking that depending on the mate, this could be one good-looking kid.

Well, that's Adam Dell. What you think? I'm thinking this guy is a better match for Padma than her ex-husband, Salman Rushdie.

Wednesday TV: Top Chef Reunion, CSI NY, Nip/Tuck, So You Think You Can Dance

Tonight there are a few good shows scattered across the TV spectrum. We are in sort of a TV doldrums period due to it being the Christmas season, which makes for a lot of Christmas specials, if that's your thing. Like tonight, on CBS at 8/7c, you can watch and hear Christmas with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. When I first read that I thought to myself that I did not realize Mormons did Christmas. Then I remembered the part of the Mormon story that has Jesus coming to America after he was finished in the Middle East.

Also on tonight...

Top Chef: Las Vegas
9/8c Bravo
The motley crew of chefs you see in the photo above gets together again for a reunion hosted by Bravo's host for these type shows, Andy Cohen. Padma Lakshmi, Gale Simmons, Toby Young and Tom Colicchio will also be there. The Top Chef reunion shows are usually very entertaining. We'll also learn who fan favorite is. I'm guessing Kevin.

CSI: NY
10/9c CBS
A Christmas themed CSI:NY with a murder, of course. This time it is the murder of a former drug addict who had his life back on track. Kim Kardashian guest stars. And the dead guy is played by Train singer Pat Monahan in his first attempt at acting.

So You Think You Can Dance
8/7c Fox
We are now in the 4th month of this show. I've not watched a whole lot of it. But, tonight is the finale of Season 6. Adam Lambert will be singing. Which is a bit of a surprise after his American Music Awards debacle.

Nip/Tuck
10/9c FX
Tonight is the season finale with this episode's plastic surgery being the removal of fat from an obese death row inmate so that his execution can be carried out.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Michael Voltaggio's Top Chef

I didn't get around to watching the finale of Top Chef til today. I was fairly certain the younger Voltaggio brother won because I saw "Michael Voltaggio" as a top Google search string this morning, with no mention of brother Bryan or Kevin.

All in all, it was a satisfying conclusion, unlike the last season of Top Chef with the bizarre end having Hosea being named Top Chef.

There was no Quickfire Challenge. Early on we saw all the chefs who had been set packing their knives, arrive. Then one by one the three remaining picked a knife. The knife had the name of one of the chefs. Kevin had the bad luck to get Preeti Mistry and slightly better luck getting Ash. Bryan had the good luck to draw Jennifer and Ashley. Michael got Eli and a chef I've already forgotten, I think it may have been Jesse, who is now a blonde.

Kevin was a bit unsettled by how little use Preeti was to him. He was way off his usual game. In the end he got sent packing first.

I forgot to mention, Kevin and Bryan and Michael's moms showed up. Seeing them with their mom made Bryan and Michael seem more human. When the chefs arrived at the kitchen, Tom Colicchio informed then they had to prepare a 4th course, one inspired by their moms.

The moms got to sit in with the judges for the first course, that being the ones they inspired. That was all sort of charming. Particularly when the boys walked out to see their moms sitting there.

In the end, at Judges' Table, each of the 3 drew some criticism and some praise. Kevin seemed to take the worst beating, so it was not too big a shock when he was told he was not Top Chef. I sort of thought he was doomed when he added bacon to his dessert. That did not sound good to me.

As they waited their fate the brothers stood as if they were waiting for a firing squad to pull the trigger. Eventually Padma told Michael he was Top Chef. The brothers hugged for a long time. Then mom came out, hugged Michael for a long time. Michael was in tears. This made Michael the most likable he's been. Michael then said something like "See Padma, you got what you wanted from me. Emotion." Michael actually displayed a pretty funny sense of humor on many occasions. In the end, when each was asked why they should be Top Chef, Michael said, "Because I don't want Bryan to win." Everyone cracked up. Including Bryan.

Anyway, this was the best Reality TV conclusion that I've seen in quite some time.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Kevin Wins Culinary Olympics

Kevin Gillespie won the final Elimination Challenge and $30K on this week's Top Chef. I think he won more challenges than any other chef. I like Kevin. Seems like a real nice guy who can cook well. But, please, lose that awful beard. Or wear a beard net.

Jennifer got her confidence back by winning the Quickfire. A chef I'd never heard of had them making a dish I'd never heard of, something to do with a protein in a protein in a protein.

Then for the Elimination Challenge the 5 remaining chefs had to cook in a competition modeled after another thing I'd never heard of, the Bocuse d'Or. Apparently the Olympics of the culinary world.

The chefs were very exciting and knew all about the Food Olympics and the chefs who would be judging them. All apparently very famous. I am apparently very ignorant about the culinary world.

Jennifer got an extra half hour to cook due to winning the Quickfire. She helped Bryan out when he got a bit overwhelmed by the complexity of what he was putting on his platter. Bryan came off more likable this episode. Laughing, acting funny and wearing a baseball cap backwards. And answering Kevin's questions about how to cook lamb.

The judges had problems with everyone's food platter. But the least problems with Kevin's, even though they seemed to think what he cooked was too easy and safe. The other chefs had issues like lamb being undercooked, or, in Michael Voltaggio's case, a fish bone left in his salmon, which apparently would get you the instant boot at the Food Olympics.

It seemed like they were disliking what Michael did the most, but it was Eli who was sent home for badly cooked fatty lamb.

But, even though the judges and famous chefs were highly critical, they also heaped praise on the 5 for managing to do what they did in such a short time. It was all very positive and Eli took it real well. In the end, even Eli turned likable.

Michael V., not so much. It keeps burning Michael that Kevin keeps winning for cooking simple things that Michael says he cooks on his day off.

The previews for the finale on a train going through the California wine country looked interesting. It appears everyone had some time off, because everyone has different hair. Tom is still bald, but Padma's has long bangs, Jennifer all curly, the Voltaggio's appeared to be a new color and Kevin looked less shaggy, but still with that awful beard. I want to get a look at his wife.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Insufferable Isabella Told To Pack His Knives And Go

It was good TV to get the insufferably smug Mike Isabella of my Top Chef TV screen. If my memory serves me correctly, each week Isabella would brag that he had whatever challenge in the bag due to his superior cooking skills. But I don't remember him delivering anything that was well received.

For his exit week Isabella was sure he would be on top because the Elimination Challenge was to create a vegetarian dish for Natalie Portman in Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak restaurant in the MGM Grand. Of course, the cheftestants thought they would be cooking a protein and were thrown a loop with the arrival of vegetarian Portman.

But not Isabella. He said he cooks vegetarian all the time in his restaurant. But somehow he did not know that when you cook vegetarian you combine certain grains and beans to make a complete protein. Instead, he thought it was immensely clever to slice leeks to make them look like scallops. He actually referenced, to the judges, the faux scallops as his dish's protein.

This episode started with the drawing of knives for the Quickfire Challenge. The knives had classic TV shows on them. The challenge was to make an upscale, update of a TV dinner, somehow reflecting that show. I really did not get how they were supposed to do that, but Kevin came up with a meatball TV dinner that won the challenge.

Kevin also won the Elimination Challenge, to the total upset of poor loser Michael Voltaggio, who felt his complicated dish, that included a banana infused polenta, should have won over Kevin's simple kale dish that Voltaggio claimed was something you learned your first day in culinary school. Or something like that.

Those Voltaggio brothers are a real intense piece of work. But there are moments when I find them amusing.

Poor nervous Jennifer really suffered this round. She ended up in the bottom again. She was so nervous and shaking so bad she spilled sauce on the judges. I like Jennifer. Both she and Kevin have grown on me. Especially Kevin. It comes through rather clear that Kevin is a nice guy. And a very good chef. I was surprised to hear him reference his wife. I want to see the wife.

It was particularly satisfying to see Robin survive Isabella. Mike was sure that he was safe as long as Robin was also on the chopping block. But it was clear from Tom Colicchio's blog that everything about Isabella's dish was bad and that Isabella stood by his untasty food. While Robin understood what was wrong with hers and Colicchio said that, unlike Isabella's, Robin's problem was not that it tasted bad, it just was not a cohesive dish that combined flavors into something you wanted to eat.

Anyway, good to see Mike Isabella go. Now if Robin survives Eli that will also be amusing.

Almost forgot. The repartee that followed Padma's remark about, I think it was a garlic flower, being like a "little prick in your mouth" was pretty funny. I don't think that repartee would have survived the censors on network TV.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Restaurant Wars--Laurine Packs Her Knives & Goes

Laurine Wickett was the main fatality of this week's Top Chef Restaurant Wars. Laurine was the front of the house for her restaurant, Mission. She did not do very well at that job. Nor at what she cooked. Her entire restaurant did not do well with the cooking.

In the Quickfire Challenge knives were drawn. Six blank. Two not blank. The not blank knives were drawn by Michael Voltaggio and Jennifer Carroll. They took turns picking a team. Michael chose his brother, Bryan, Eli and ended up with Robin. Jennifer picked Kevin, the other Michael and Laurine.

Jennifer's team won the Quickfire and $10,000. Padma then told them they could let the 10K ride and if they won Restaurant Wars they'd each get 10K. They let it ride.

The cooking took place at Mandalay Bay. Jennifer's team got to pick what restaurant they wanted. They chose an upscale one, leaving Michael's team with a downscale one. Michael's team decided REVolt was a clever name. The revolting food connotation did not cross their minds. The name came from (Ro)bin E)li (Volt)aggio. VoltRE would have worked better.

Both kitchens were very intense. Michael ran his kitchen very efficiently. Michael and Bryan did some heavy duty bickering this episode. Michael also had a bad run-in with Robin over her pear dessert.

The Mission team decided not to make dessert, due to the Restaurant Wars dessert curse. REVolt decided to flaunt the curse and do two desserts. In the end, REVolt made pretty much nothing but good decisions.

Michael gets a lot of face time. He's gradually seeming to have a likable personality. Brother Bryan is way too intense. The judges' pretty much raved about the REVolt food, including the desserts. I don't think they liked anything at the Mission restaurant.

In the end, Michael won Restaurant Wars. Padma gave him the 10K that Jennifer's team had let ride. Michael asked Padma if he could split the money with his team. It's your money Padma told him. Back in the Stew Room, Robin effusively thanked Michael while Bryan told Michael he could keep Bryan's share. More bickering.

I have an annoying brother, so I know what that's like. I can't imagine being stuck in the heat of a kitchen with him.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Ashley Merriman Packs Her Knives & Goes

Kevin won this week's Quickfire Challenge on Top Chef. It was a high stakes Quickfire, which in Las Vegas means you get money if you win. In this case you could choose between money or immunity from elimination. Kevin chose the money. Good choice due to his and Jennifer's team win in the Elimination Challenge.

Well, actually it was Jennifer who won. Again. It was one of those draw knives to get teamed up challenges. The chefs drew ingredients out of a group of famous chef's paper bags and then had to figure out what to make of their choices.

And then the chefs got thrown a big curve. They had to do all their cooking in the kitchen in their sleeping quarters. According to Tom Colicchio it was thought, "it would be fun to see what the chefs could do in a regular kitchen, serving up their food family style," to the chefs who's bags gave them their ingredients, and to the other regular judges.

Michael V., he the brother of Bryan V. was teamed with Ash. They had a mishap over a loss of power which ruined their dish. Sending a distraught Michael V. to the Judges' Least Favorite Walk of Shame for the first time for his gooey egg yolk, un-crispy pancetta wrapped around overcooked halibut.

But, Ashley and Eli's oversalted gnocchi and undercooked prawns were even worse. It was Eli who ruined the gnocchi, with Ashley ruining the prawns. But gnocchi was Ashley's idea and the judges did not think serving a hot dumpling on a hot day was a good plan.

Meanwhile Michael V.'s brother Bryan had one of the winning dishes. He was teamed with Laurine. In the end it was Jennifer and Kevin's BBQ Kobe beef that won, mostly due to Jennifer's tomato/ginger broth. Hence the win by Jennifer.

Next week it looks like we might get some drama with the brothers.