Last night the season finale of the ratings powerhouse Hell's Kitchen aired, pitting Louis Petrozza, catering director, against 25-year-old Christina Machamer, the culinary school student. Gordon Ramsay, known for expecting his chefs to be physically fit, picked Machamer as the winner over 47-year-old Petrozza, basing his decision on her "potential and drive." She gets the position of "executive chef" (in title only) at Ramsay's new Los Angeles restaurant, a prize "worth" $250,000. Hitting the inbox today was a press release from the cooking school Machamer attended, the Culinary Institute of America, that helped explain why she was labeled a "culinary student" for the duration of the show. The backstory, after the jump.... More

This Tuesday is the season finale of Hell's Kitchen, pitting Louis Petrozza, catering director, against Christina Machamer, the culinary school student. Most people have doubted whether or not the contestants were actually qualified to function as executive chef at Gordon Ramsay's new Hollywood restaurant, Gordon Ramsay at The London, the reality show's grand prize. The New York Post runs the first in-print mention (that I've seen) that the prize is, unsurprisingly, fictitious and executive chef by title only: Do you honestly think, my sweet pea, that I'm going to be that stupid and that vulnerable? That I would stick my ass to the window and give one of them a chance to run that restaurant, which is a multi-million... More

"What we do is the same thing like those on Broadway. Everyday you open the curtain and it's a new show." —François Payard Learn more about renown French pastry chef François Payard of New York City's Payard Patisserie and Bistro in his interview on Nightline's "Platelist" series. If you're not craving chocolate right now, you will after watching Payard make chocolate French toast and chocolate cake. After watching the video, grab the recipes and read more of the interview at Nightline's website.... More

Nightline continued its "Platelist" series last night with none other than Gordon Ramsay. He does the standard cooking demo and the brief biography but shares some particularly harsh words for food critics: "Unfortunately, today at the age of 41, my persona gets judged over my substance, which is really frustrating," he said. "I've been cooking for 21 years, and it shows on the wrinkles of my face. But here's the scenario: I'm now being judged by individuals that know less about food than I do. But yet, you have to take it like a man. Well I don't want to take it like a man anymore. I'm fed up with the sarcasm, the damn right rudeness and more important,... More

Want doughnuts topped with bacon or frosted and dipped in Cap'n Crunch? Then make your way to Voodoo Doughnut in Portland, Oregon. Anthony Bourdain visits the famed doughnut shop to to try their unconventional "non-conformist doughnuts" ("I kind of wish I was drunk before eating this," he says about the chocolate and peanut butter doughnut), and learn about their failed doughnut flavors, including Jägermeister and NyQuil. Watch the video, after the jump.... More

Mo Rocca interviews Mario Batali in a park in New York City's Chinatown as they grill recipes from his latest book, Mario Batali Italian Grill, touching upon the subjects of convection heat and prehistoric grilling. They attempt to give free samples of their grilled shrimp to the park goers, but don't get many takers. Watch the video, after the jump.... More

Mario Batali made the braciole from his new book, Italian Grill, on Jimmy Kimmel's show last night. Kimmel did indicate he knew his braciole. "I'm from Brooklyn," he said. That, Mario said, is known as "Western Italy." The whole exchange, after the jump.... More

Anthony Bourdain was interviewed by Google executive chef Nate Keller at Google headquarters on November 20, 2007, as part of the Authors@Google series. 55 minutes! Video after the jump.... More

Mario Batali is funny, passionate, generously spirited, smart as hell, and a great cook. We hope you'll enjoy Unclogged, Mario Batali as you've never seen him before. —Ed Levine More