Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi's Scandalous Baby Custody Battle With Adam Dell

I remember being surprised when Padma Lakshmi got off a train at the finale of the Top Chef season in which Michael Voltaggio won Top Chef to see that Padma was hugely pregnant.

This sparked a lot of Internet speculation as to who Padma's Baby Daddy was. I remember one unlikely Baby Daddy rumor had him being Tom Colicchio.

Eventually it became known that the Baby Daddy of Krishna Thea was venture capitalist, Adam Dell, he being the brother of Dell Computer billionaire, Michael Dell.

Well.

According to records straight out of Manhattan Supreme Court, Padma refused to put Dell's name on her daughter's birth certificate. Adam Dell is suing for full custody, claiming, in court, that Padma has limited his time with his almost one year old daughter to only 7 hours a week.

Now why would Padma treat the father of her baby this way?

Well.

According to what Dell had to tell the court, Padma had told him that she had been sexually active with a billionaire named Teddy Forstmann at the same time she was busy baby-making with Dell. And that Padma "made clear . . . her hope that Forstmann was the child's biological father."

In the picture above, that is Adam Dell on the right, he being the young looking guy. The guy below, walking with Padma, is what looks to be a much older guy, Teddy Forstmann.

When one looks at those with whom Padma chooses to have her assignations, one must remember this was a woman who was married to Salman Rushdie.

He being the guy who's 4th novel, The Satanic Verses, upset Muslims in several Muslim countries, with death threats, including a 'fatwa' against Rushdie courtesy of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who died in 1989, while Salman Rushdie continues to live.

Without Padma.

Top Chef All Stars: Jennifer Carroll Has Angry Emotional Outbursts & Packs Her Knives & Goes

It took me a week, but I eventually got my DVR to successfully record Top Chef All Stars.

Usually I am not a fan of Reality TV All Stars shows. Not Amazing Race All Stars, not Survivor All Stars, not Big Brother All Stars, especially not Big Brother All Stars.

I never watched Big Brother again after the disgusting non-All Star Mike Boogie Man won, with him only being on the show only because the #1 Big Brother All Star, Will Kirby, would not be on BB All Stars if his non-All Star BFF was not on.

I digress.

I've now watched the first 2 episodes of Top Chef All Stars and I believe this is the first time I am going to like a Reality TV Show All Star iteration.

Angelo Sosa won the first two Elimination Challenges. That sort of seems familiar to how the previous season of Top Chef started.

The second episode really delivered, what with a spectacular angry outburst directed at the judges by Jen Carroll.

I think she may have been sleep deprived.

A pop star with very bushy eyebrows, who little kids seemed to recognize, named Joe Jonas, had the chefs making midnight snacks for kids for the Quickfire Challenge. It had been planned, obviously, that Jonas could not decide between 2 top treats for the win. So, it was off to a New York City natural history museum where 100s of brats would decide who made the best junk food.

The two contenders, Spike and Tiffani, chose teams. who then whipped out the goodies. Tiffani's won. The kids really did not like Spike's at all.

Ready to go home and to bed the chefs were not happy to see Tom Collicchio arrive to tell them their Elimination Challenge had begun, that they were spending the night in the museum. And cooking breakfast for 100s of brats and their parents in the morning.

Due to winning the Quickfire, Tiffani got to pick if her team was T-Rex or Brontosaurus. With T-Rex being a meat eater and Brontosaurus a vegetation eater.

Tiffani picked T-Rex, making an erroneous assumption that T-Rex ate everything, not just meat.

Tiffani's team lost. Jen Carrol was the worst of the worst and she was not happy about it. She argued with what the Judges were telling her, talked back sarcastically, sort of called them stupid. And then after getting told to pack her knives and get the hell out of there, Jen left the Stew Room and as the door shut could be heard yelling and swearing.

Who to? The Judges? No one?

Jennifer Carroll had been a favorite on her season of Top Chef, making it to the Final Four where she flamed out. Something seemed real off about Jen Carroll, throughout the episode. Was she exhausted? PMS? A combo of causes?

I am guessing this was not the last we will see of talking back to the Judges on Top Chef this All Star Season.

Top Chef D.C.: Cold War Sends Tamesha Packing Her Knives

This week's episode of Top Chef ended the cooking for Tamesha Warren after she made badly cooked cold scallops and covered them with hot peppers and a rhubarb based liquid, all of which sort of made the eaters gag.

The Quickfire Challenge was interesting. Chefs chose from exotic proteins, like rattlesnake, gator, duck testicles (or was it some other critter's testicles, with it being the tongues of ducks? I don't remember), llama and ostrich loins, emu egg and other delectables.

Knives were drawn to determine the order of picking the exotic protein. Then the cooking began. Then Padma arrived to throw a twist, shift to cooking the protein of the chef to your right. Or was it left?

This put Kelly Liken on the emu egg, which she turned into an omelet, which celebrity guest judge, Michelle Bernstein, determined was the winner.

Then, with Kelly having immunity, it was off to the Cold War Challenge. Chefs drew knives again, a 1 or a 2, that divided them into two teams. Each team would judge the other's dishes, picking one as the best, one as the worst. With Kelly, having immunity, sitting on the judging side with both teams.

Then it was off to the Presidential yacht, Sequoia to plot strategy. I mean work on their dish. I'm not quite sure why this required floating on the Potomac. Angelo was seeming a bit bizarre, giving advice to others about what they should be cooking. It was not a team challenge. This was offputting to others, like Kevin, who thought all should just concern themselves with their own dishes.

Then it was off to Whole Foods, then back to the kitchen. I think the final prep and serving the dishes took place in a Hilton, but I'm not sure.

The first team presented their dishes to the team over which Angelo acted like leader. Pseudo-girl friend Tamesha Warren was also on Angelo's team. They were all quite hard on their peer's food. Apparently justifiably so, judging by the comments and bloggings of the real judges.

The first group picked Kenny Gilbert's as the worst and Kevin Sbraga as the best. The second group was not as hard with the critiquing. After sampling the plates, Tamesha's was unanimously judged the worst, with Kevin's being the best.

The real judges concurred on the Kevin judgment and gave him the win. Plus a trip to Hawaii. The judges also concurred about Tamesha's disaster dish and sent her to pack her knives and leave.

Top Chef seems to be being a bit more imaginative with the challenges and twists. Very entertaining. That and this episode I learned one can make hummus from dried peas. I love educational TV.

Top Chef D.C.: Tall Skinny Angelo Flirts With Tamesha & Makes Sandwiches at Xie Xie in New York City

I had not noticed that Top Chef Cheftestant, Angelo Soso, was so tall and skinny. But, judging from the picture of him standing somewhere in, I think, New York City, that would appear to be the case.

Several Top Chef seasons ago there was a Cheftestant named CJ Jacobsen. CJ is 6 foot 8. CJ cooking looked uncomfortable. All that leaning over.

Some viewers, judging by what I've read, are not reacting well to what they perceive as Angelo being arrogant. But, I'm in aggreeance with those who think it's okay to act cocky when you back it up by doing well.

I thought Angelo showed his honest, fair, nature at the George Washington's Mount Vernon BBQ Picnic challenge, when he waxed poetic over Amanda's ribs. Telling the other chefs they were the best.

In the latest challenge, that being the Hilton menu challenge, Angelo was paired with Tamesha Warren. Tamesha is from Christ Church, Barbados, hence a charming accent.

Angelo also found his partner charming and went in flirting overdrive with Tamesha, which had Tamesha saying "It is not going to happen."

The Quickfire Challenge was baby food themed. During that challenge we learned that Angelo and others, among the chefs, had reproduced. Angelo has a little boy named Jacob. There was no mention made, by Angelo, of Jacob's baby mama.

Angelo owns an Asian themed sandwich restaurant called Xie Xie. Mandarin for "thank you". It opened in July of 2009.

Angelo hopes to open a chain of Asian sandwich shops. Currently, I believe Angelo has opened 2 Xie Xie's in New York City. One is located in the original Hell's Kitchen at 645a 9th Avenue. The other is a St. Marks Place
location at 32 Street Marks Place, between 2nd & 3rd Avenues.

I want to try Xie Xie's signature Cha Cha La Vong sandwich. Turmeric coated tilapia with cilantro, carmelized onions and dill.

I don't think Angelo is too happy being in New York City in summer, preferring to be back in his hometown of Durham, Connecticut. Angelo said, of New York in summer, "I think it's dreadful and stinks like a fish market."

I have not quite figured out who the top runners are yet, for this season's Top Chef. Angelo seems like he might be in the running. If he doesn't get distracted by too much flirting energy.

Top Chef D.C.: Baby Food Quickfire Hilton Hotel Double Elimination

You are looking at last week's Elimination Challenge winner, Arnold Myint and cooking teacher, Lynne Gigliotti. This week both were told to pack their knives and go.

This was a different sort of Top Chef episode. It confused me.

It started with a baby food Quickfire Challenge where the chefs had to make something that pleased Baby Daddy Tom Colicchio and new Baby Mama Padma Lakshmi as adult type food, and also have a baby pureed version that makes baby happy.

It was a high stakes Quickfire, with 2 winners, with Tom and Padma each picking one. With the winners getting no immunity. Instead getting $10,000. I don't remember who won. I do remember Alex Rezink saying if he won he'd spend the money on a hooker and an eight ball.

I understood the hooker part.

For the Elimination Challenge the chefs had to pair up, as in get someone to agree to co-cook with you. And then prepare a breakfast, lunch and dinner menu for Hilton Hotels, something healthy, easy to prepare, easy to transport. And tasty.

Now, here is where it gets weird. First up is breakfast. If you are the judges' favorites you are safe from elimination. If not, you continue on to cook lunch.

In addition to the regular judges we had returned cheftestants like the older Voltaggio brother, Bryan and that annoying Mike Isabella guy. Plus the sometimes amusing Spike from a previous season.

So, some were safe, the rest moved on to cook lunch. After lunch it was down to three pairs. Arnold and Lynne, Kevin and Kenny, plus Kelly and Andrea.

Dinner gets served. The judges eat. After that is where it got weird.

Now, did I miss something or was it not true that the worst chefs ended up cooking dinner? With the good chefs made safe from elimination?

So, Padma called the three dinner cooking pairs to the Judges' Table. A little discussion and then it's announced that Kelly Liken and Andrea Curto-Randazzo win.

Huh? What about all those who successfully cooked breakfast and lunch?

And then it got even weirder. Kelly and Andrea won very nice vacations for two. One to Italy, the other to Spain. Or was it Portugal?

Then after more discussion it was decided that Arnold and Lynne were the ones who needed to go.

Lynne was a first rate ass. Hard to believe she can go back to teaching chefs now. She was totally arrogant about her noodle cooking, Arnold wanted to get them boiling. Lynne insisted she was the world's noodle expert. In the end it was her undercooked noodles that did them in.

Or so it seemed.

Am I the only viewer perplexed by how a winner was picked on this episode?

Top Chef D.C.: Tracey Bloom Packs Her Knives & Goes

You are looking at Tracey Bloom. I don't know if Tracey is any relation to Orlando or Brian Bloom. I do know that on Wednesday's Top Chef D.C. Padma told Tracey to pack her knives and go.

Tracey had trouble making a pie for the Quickfire Challenge. Try one was a disaster. The rushed Try 2, also did not go well. If I remember right, blueberries were involved

Tracey's partner in a previous challenge, Angelo Sosa, made a really bad sounding pie. I think curry may have been involved.

When Tracey was Angelo's partner she gushed about having a crush on him. In the same episode, the one about making a healthy school lunch that kids would eat, Tracey said kids were close to her heart due to helping her girl friend raise hers.

I'm guessing this means Tracey is a girl who likes girls. Which is a fine thing. I only mention it because Tracey was, by far, the most likable girl who likes girls ever to be on Top Chef.

Tracey is funny, good-natured, self-deprecating and I don't think we saw any anger directed at anyone but herself. Very much not the stereotype. And I think Tracey is cute, in a Rosie O'Donnell can be cute type of way.

The Elimination Challenge, that sent Tracey home, involved making a grilled picnic type dish, to be served to D.C. interns, while doing the grilling at George Washington's Mount Vernon.

Was George rolling over in his grave over this? Who knows. But there was a moment of some sort of divine guidance when a bird attacked with a dropped projectile that hit direct on a chef's table while the judges were getting their plates of food from him.

Tracey's grilled picnic had some problems. She couldn't grind meat fast enough to make her intended sausages. So, she turned them into sausage sliders. Which were really big, and in which she'd stuck un-ground fennel, which overpowered a bite or two.

I thought it would be the annoying Stephen Hopcraft who was told, by Padma, to go, due to his disgusting looking fish wrapped with bacon, that apparently was cooked all sorts of wrong. I would have thought, all things being equal, and with both Tracey and Stephen not doing well, send Stephen home and keep Tracey, because she's funny and likeable, while Stephen is sort of a personality-less, annoying toad.

Another annoying toad, Arnold Myint, won the Elimination Challenge with his grilled meatballs.

It's only a couple weeks in, with this being an entertaining season of Top Chef. I'll keep watching. I always do.

Top Chef Season 6 Finale Part 1: Jennifer Packs Her Knives & Goes

So, it'll be the Voltaggio brothers, Bryan and Michael and Kevin Gillespie cooking in the Top Chef finale. One of Jennifer Carroll's Elimination Challenge dishes was too salty for the judges' taste and thus the pack your knives order.

Micheal won a latest edition Toyota Prius by winning the Quickfire Challenge of cooking some grape concoction in the onboard kitchen on the Napa Valley Train.

Kevin gets motion sickness, so the cooking on a train was not good for him.

Before the chefs got on the train, it had to arrive, while they sat waiting at the station. When the train choo-chooed in, off came Napa Valley Top Chef Masters finalist, Michael Chiarello and a pregnant Padma.

Jennifer remarked something like Padma is one hot pregnant lady, while Kevin commented on Padma's baby bump.

I am a little confused about the amount of time that lapsed between when we were in Las Vegas and now in the Napa Valley. Some reference was made to it being 6 weeks. Kevin made a comment about his beard now having its own Facebook page. So, does this mean the chefs went home and were able to watch themselves on Top Chef? It seemed like they were in Vegas in summer. The Napa Valley episodes take place during a fall Napa Valley festival called "The Crush."

Anyway, for the Elimination Challenge the chefs had to each cook a protein and a vegetarian dish for the aforementioned Crush Festival. In the end, Bryan won. He didn't get anything though, like a car, like his brother did.

Next week I'm guessing Kevin wins Top Chef. Or maybe Bryan. I suppose it could be Michael.

Top Chef Las Vegas: Robin Leventhal Packs Her Knives & Goes

Robin really was a bird with extra lives on Top Chef, outlasting many who seemed to be more highly evolved in the cooking ability department. I liked Robin. She seemed nice. I'm a little surprised she has a little bistro in Seattle called Crave that went under in the current bad times. She did not seem like a Seattle girl to me. Why? I don't know.

This week the chefs had to cook a dish for 185 or so, inspired by a casino. Robin drew Bellagio. She walked in and saw the huge Chihuly glassworks on the ceiling. Somehow that inspired her to make a dessert using gelatin and sheets of melted sugar. The sugar failed, as did the dessert bearing any resemblance to anything Chihuly ever cooked in one of his glass ovens.

I did not really understand why Robin was the one to go. Eli Kirshtein's Circus Circus raspberry popcorn white chocolate soup seemed so much worse and had both Padma and the nice English guest judge, hating it.

The Voltaggio boys and Kevin were on top again. Jennifer Carroll joined Eli and Robin at the bottom. Michael Voltaggio was once more acting jealous of the praise Kevin gets, even though Michael won this round with his chicken wings inspired by New York, New York.

A person claiming to be a friend of Robin's wrote an interesting blurb at one of the ubiquitous TV forums...

"As a "friend" of Robin's, I feel obliged to stand up for her. But I also know her, so I think a great deal of what you saw there...the scattered behavior, the inability to focus and find her footing is, pretty much, oddly, not her. I have been around her and yes she is a mover in a kitchen and is hyper. That said, she is a good cook. A cook, not a chef. I asked her why she went on (Top Chef) and (she said) she knew it would be something out of her element, but the money and exposure was something she needed. Her own place closed earlier this year and she is working, but not enough. She has huge medical bills, etc. And is genuinely one of the nicest women I know.

I have another friend who turned this show down because of both Tom and Padma. I have always hated Chef Kojak and with each passing episode I come to loathe him a little more. I prodded Robin about these two and she was gracious, and by the way she just calls the brothers intense and Eli immature. I am hoping to get her drunk and maybe she will be more forthcoming."

Top Chef's Padma To Be A Ma, But Who's Pa

Top Chef's sultry hostess, Padma Lakshmi used to be married to, despised by the Iranians, novelist, Salman Rushdie. That pairing seemed very odd to me. They divorced in 2007.

According to Padma's spokesman Padma is pregnant and the pregnancy is a medical miracle due to Padma having endometriosis, that being a condition where the lining of the uterus grows into other areas of the body, usually causing infertility.

There is no word as to who Padma's Baby Daddy is. I am fairly certain we can rule out Tom Colicchio.

In addition to Top Chef, Padma is also an author, a model, a jewelry designer and is developing a sit-com for NBC, along with developing a baby.

Padma is one of my favorite TV personalities. I hope this baby deal works out well for her.