The Importance of Not Being Earnest: A Farewell to Snark

Possums, we shall not look upon her like again. She has packed her knives and gone.

We could hardly believe our eyes when we read the
announcement: The Great Keckler, whose recaps and ceramic-knife wit were legendary, and who coined the term "cheftestant," will not be recapping the new season of Top Chef for Television Without Pity.

Mes enfants, the general has left the Top Chef field. We will soldier on, of course, but the battle simply won't be the same without General Keckler, and she will be sorely missed.

"You make it sound like she's dead," said Miss XaXa.

No, no, no. She's simply gone to a better place, that's all. Namely, Jericho, which she will continue to recap for TWOP. So get on over there to continue reading her work. And remember, though she unfortunately doesn't get royalties, every time someone uses the word "cheftestant," a sous-chef gets her toque.

Thanks for the memories, K.

Amuse-Biatch Finally Makes It in Chow Business, Hears His Mistress's Voice

Possums, we have a tale to tell.

In a show of extreme generosity--not to say sheer folly--Meredith Arthur, who has conducted most of the Chow.com interviews with the pykagg'd cheftestants, kindly and flatteringly asked the Amuse-Biatch team to the grown-ups' table to hash out what everyone made of this season of Top Chef.

Once the table extension had been added, and our ambrosia salad taken by our hostess Meredith to the kitchen with only a slightly horrified look, we joined our pals Josh Ozersky of New York Magazine's Grub Street, and the Great Keckler of Television Without Pity at the table.

We had a nice, rollicking little chat, and we think we managed not to spill cranberry sauce on anyone. Fortunately, the editors snipped away the bits where we went on drunken rants, made football predictions, and tried to shave Miss XaXa's head. So if you're curious to hear what we sound like, head on over.

And our special thanks again to Meredith of Chow.com for the invitation. The thank-you card is in the mail, together with a check for the little Dresden shepherdess we knocked over on our way out.