Archive for 'Competition'
Kathy Griffin Hosting New ABC Celebrity Dance Competition
Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by CSS.
Emmy-winning comedienne Kathy Griffin has been tapped to host a new celebrity dance competition on ABC.
Griffin, 48, has signed on to helm Let’s Dance, a new series which will premiere immediately after the Nov. 23 finale of Dancing With The Stars, TheWrap.com has learned. The new series will feature celebrity contestants reenacting their famous routines from past music videos, movies, and musicals on a live weekly dance-off that will run for just five episodes.
“The competition will be hot — and hilarious — as teams of celebrities pay comedic homage to famous dances while competing for a $250,000 grand prize for their favorite charity,” according to a statement from ABC Tuesday. “The show will include single dancers, duos and groups, all competing against each other to wow a panel of judges and viewers across America who will be voting each week leading up to the series finale.”
The panel of judges and celebrity participants will be announced sometime in the next few weeks.
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New Bravo Series, ‘Top Chef: Just Desserts’ Premieres 2010
Posted on 26. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
If you are a regular reader here at HomeTownHollywood, then you definitely know that I am a huge fan of all the Bravo docu-series. So I was thrilled to hear that Bravo was launching a new branch of its Top Chef franchise by making; Top Chef: Just Desserts. Sounds totally yummy!
Top Chef: Just Desserts will feature pastry chefs competing against one another in a weekly elimination competition similar to the original Top Chef, Variety reported Monday.
Desserts is the latest in a series of several spinoffs — including Top Chef Junior and Top Chef Masters — for Bravo’s popular Top Chef franchise. Casting is currently underway for a 2010 series premiere.
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New Bravo Series, ‘Chef Academy’ Premieres November 16
Posted on 25. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
Meet Jean Christophe Novelli, world renowned Michelin and 5AA Rosette award-winning chef with restaurants in London, France and South Africa, and voted “World’s Sexiest Chef” by The New York Times. Bravo’s Chef Academy chronicles Novelli’s move to Los Angeles as he opens a test program for a top-notch culinary institute and trains and transforms those who aspire to cook like professionals. First order of business: selecting nine students to be his test subjects for his first Academy across the pond, but is America ready for this French culinary genius? Find out on Bravo’s newest docu-series Chef Academy, premiering Monday, November 16 at 11 p.m. ET/PT.
Lets meet the nine contestants:
Kyle Daley, 29 – Salt Lake City, Utah and residing in San Diego, Calif.
Daley enrolled in the Novelli Academy as the only student with experience working in restaurants. He is currently the Chef de Cuisine at Island Prime Restaurant in San Diego, Calif. and has kitchen experience at the prestigious La Valencia Hotel in La Jolla, Calif. Daley loves creating flavors and learning something new everyday about his craft. He approaches all his dishes with the idea that he is an artist and the plate is his frame. His goal is to one day become the executive chef of his own restaurant. Currently, Kyle is cooking and tasting his way through Europe to further broaden his culinary skills and knowledge.
Emmanuel DelCour – Bordeaux, France and residing in Venice, Calif.
Born and raised in the South of France, DelCour moved to California four years ago. In his time in Los Angeles, he has acted in commercials and television series, competed as a body builder and worked as a personal trainer. Full of eclectic talents and hobbies besides cooking, he enjoys swimming cage free with Great White Sharks, drawing and graphic design. As a child in France, intricate delicacies and traditional dishes inspired a love of food and cooking. DelCour hopes to share this love as the host of his own food oriented television show.
Zoe Feigenbaum – New York, N.Y.
Feigenbaum exhibits a contagious passion for food. She has lived in New York for 26 years and has attended college and culinary school in the city. Before heading west to the Novelli Academy, Feigenbaum worked as a freelancer with the French Culinary Institute as well as a part time caterer. When she isn’t cooking, she enjoys a number of hobbies including horseback riding, scuba diving and charity work. Feigenbaum is drawn to food because it is incredibly inventive in a multitude of ways and many aspects of life revolve around food. While Chef Novelli instilled a great deal of technique and knowledge, her biggest lesson from the Academy was learning the confidence that comes from within and the importance of trusting and relying on personal instinct.
Leanard Goodloe, 28 – New York, N.Y.
For Goodloe, life is all about good food and good wine. Prior to attending the Novelli Academy, he attended to the Apicius School of Culinary Arts where he studied Italian cuisine. He also worked as a private chef in New York and for a sound design company before relocating to Venice Beach, Calif. to enroll in the Novelli Academy. Although he was born and raised in Texas, Goodloe considers New York home with Los Angeles holding a strong second place in his heart. Currently, he works as a private chef in Southern California and enjoys spending time with his family, volunteering and traveling.
Sarah Jacobsen, 29 – Chicago, Ill.
Born and raised in Chicago, Ill., Jacobsen has a passion for cooking, food and, most recently, tattoos. She is currently working on getting more tattoos and posing as a tattoo model. She also enjoys drawing and painting, and coins herself a modern day “renaissance chick.” In the culinary world, Jacobsen hopes to teach and show individuals that a formal culinary education is not necessary to be a good chef. She instills the idea of learning through practice and trial and error. Her key philosophy in the kitchen is “never stop trying, you can do anything if you try hard enough.” Prior to attending the academy, Jacobsen had vaguely heard of Chef Novelli, but after arriving she quickly realized his commitment towards his students on both a personal and culinary level.
Kyle Kupiszewski – Virginia Beach, Va.
Kyle Kupiszewski, known as “Kup” to his buddies, is a young navy chef residing in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
A cook aboard nuclear powered submarines, Kup is used to serving 150 helpings of hash browns and bacon in one sitting, so he isn’t fazed by pressure. However, he arrived at the Academy with a limited range of dishes and techniques and was therefore nervous about learning how to cook under the renowned Chef Novelli. He may look like a muscular sailor with attitude and tattoos, but Kup may have been the student who most desperately wanted to impress Novelli.
Toughened by years of Navy experience (he once spent 91 days underwater) nothing much fazes Kup. During the series, he shows he has a short fuse and doesn’t take kindly to childish behavior. He forms a close friendship with Kyle, the other alpha male type in the group, but clashes with some of his female classmates. Kup is now back on active duty with the Navy.
Carissa Loughead St. Aubin, 26 – Charlotte, N.C.
Recently married, Loughead St. Aubin and her husband live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their two dogs. Currently, her time is monopolized by her new business venture – opening an online vintage clothing boutique. While she loves cooking, for the time being she has decided to keep her hobby a hobby and pursue other dreams. Loughead St. Aubin loved learning under Chef Novelli because he provided a challenging learning environment, even though she found his tests to sometimes be stressful. Prior to attending the Academy, she worked as a special events planner in Charlotte.
Tracie Norfleet, 46 – Honolulu, Hawaii and residing in Venice, Calif.
Norfleet grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and has always had an overwhelming attraction to food. After moving to California for college, she landed in Venice Beach and currently works in advertising for RSA Films. Norfleet took a break from her hectic life as an ad executive to attend the Novelli Academy. She loves the idea that food is innate, so it might as well be enjoyable. She was inspired a great deal by Chef Novelli, and felt his incredible culinary passion to truly be contagious.
Suzanne Winn, 47 – Mission Viejo, Calif.
A self-proclaimed “jack of all trades,” Winn considers herself a designer, entertainer, and problem solver. Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, she moved to the Orange County town of Mission Viejo 15 years ago and now considers it home. Growing up, her dad was an amazing chef, which is what first drew her to the culinary world. She approaches cooking with an open mind and with the philosophy “if you always succeed, you will never grow.” While many of the students entered the Academy with the goal of becoming a professional chef or of opening a restaurant, Winn simply wanted to learn and enhance her skills as a personal chef. She feels honored to have learned under a culinary genius such as Chef Novelli, although she will be the first to admit to their love/hate relationship.
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Spice Girls Rumored To Launch “Spice Idol” To Find Talented Ladies For A Spice Girls Themed Musical
Posted on 25. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
Groundbreaking ’90s pop band The Spice Girls are launching their own TV talent show which would select young girls for a musical based on the group’s rise to fame. The Spice Girls want to turn their story into a musical and are anxious to have a hand in selecting a cast to do just that.
“The girls would have to work intensely on a TV show for a short period of time. But they then launch a musical which could run for months or even years. It will take on a life of its own. The concept could even be replicated in other countries. The sky is the limit with this one,” an insider divulged to The Sun.
The show – rumoured to be called Spice Idol – will see the singers sit on an American Idol-style judging panel.
“This is an idea which appeals to all of the original members,” added the source. “It’’s a fantastic new way to broaden out the Spice franchise and cash in on their personalities, their story and their songs.”
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Dave Levey ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Season Six Winner
Posted on 14. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
Culinary expert Dave Levey won the sixth season of Hell’s Kitchen on Tuesday night. Dave landed the position of Head Chef under Executive Chef James Walt at the Araxi Restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia during last night’s finale.
The 32-year-old is an executive chef from San Diego, California. Dave successfully beat out Kevin Cottle, a 35-year-old executive chef from Middletown, Connecticut who took second spot, and third runner-up Ariel Contreras, 27, a sous chef from Los Angeles, California.
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Debbie Mazar & Maksim Chmerkovskiy Elimination “Dancing With The Stars”
Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
Debi Mazar is the newest DWTS’ newest castoffs. Tough-talking actress and her pro partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, were eliminated from Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday night’s results show.
Although Republican “Hammer” Tom DeLay was forced to drop out of the competition after suffering stress fractures in both feet, Debi and Maks were sent packing after earning the lowest number of votes.
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Tom DeLay Takes Himself Out Of The Competition “Dancing With The Stars”
Posted on 07. Oct, 2009 by CSS.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay will not continue competing on the ninth season of Dancing With The Stars after suffering stress fractures in both feet, the tough Texan announced during Tuesday night’s Results Show.
Although the congressman and his professional partner Cheryl Burke earned enough votes with their samba performance to make it to Week 4, Tom has bowed out of the competition at the urging of physicans and series producers.
“No, I won’t [continue],” an emotional Tom explained. “You can’t practice, and if you can’t practice you’ll make a fool of yourself out here and I don’t want to do that to Cheryl because she’s so great.”
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Selena Gomez “Dancing With The Stars” Performance, “Falling Down”- Kathy Ireland Gets Axed.
Posted on 30. Sep, 2009 by CSS.
Did you catch Selena Gomez’s live performance on Dancing With The Stars Tuesday night? The Disney teen star turned the show out with a rendition of her hit single “Falling Down.”
Tuesday night’s bottom three came down to Kathy, Debi Mazar, and Louie Vito. Unfortunately, it would be the last dance for lackluster former model Kathy Ireland, who was given her walking papers from the ballroom competition after tying with former Congressional “Hammer” Tom DeLay for the lowest score of the night — an 18 — on Monday’s performance show.
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Macy Gray Too Upset To Go On “Jimmy Kimmel Live’ Following ‘DWTS’ Elimination
Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by CSS.
Following elimination, Dancing With The Stars contestants traditionally swing by Jimmy Kimmel Live! for their first post-ousting razing. But on Wednesday night, only three of the four scheduled guests walked out on stage.
After being the first woman eliminated on the ninth season of DWTS, “I Try” singer Macy Gray was reportedly too distraught to appear on the program.
“Macy’s absolutely torn up about being eliminated,” Macy’s professional partner Jonathan Roberts explained. “She put her whole heart into the show. She feels like she let her fans down.”
“What’s a Grammy compared to a mirror ball?” he joked.
“It’s been cool,” Macy said just after learning that she and actor Ashley Hamilton would be the first stars to go home. “Ballroom isn’t my calling exactly, but I learned a little bit and we had a good time.”
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‘Dancing With The Stars’ Pays Tribute To Patrick Swayze, Celebrity Dancers Ashley Hamilton And Macy Gray Eliminated
Posted on 24. Sep, 2009 by CSS.
Dancing With The Stars wrapped up its three-night season premiere on Wednesday with two eliminations — and a tribute to a dancing cowboy.
Ashley Hamilton, the son of former DWTS competitor George Hamilton and model Alana Stewart, was the first from the celebrity males to go. Also eliminated was Grammy-winning singer Macy Gray, which took last season’s winning professional Jonathan Roberts out of the competition.
In addition to the eliminations, Dancing paid tribute to Patrick Swayze. The late actor — who died of pancreatic cancer last week — was a supporter of the program and even visited DWTS during its first season.
Several of the show’s professionals recreated some of Swayze’s most memorable numbers for the touching tribute.
“We’re honored and privileged to be able to do that for him, his family, and all of his fans,” Derek Hough said.
Professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy added, “I wish we could also do a Michael Jackson tribute.”
