First Look: Top Chef Magazine in Food & Wine

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The January issue of Food & Wine is out, which means it's time for the first ever Top Chef Magazine insert. And what mystical secrets from deep within the cult of Top Chef are revealed? Cheftestpants' snack foods of choice, judges' least favorite dishes from the show, and which former contestants have the filthiest mouths (Dale Talde and Marcel Vigneron, surprise). Also: ten (out of 24) pages are ads from the show's sponsors. And no one seems to want to take credit for it, as the magazine is lacking a masthead.

There are some useful bits of intel — Season Three/Eight's Casey Thompson is looking for restaurant space in Napa, Season Six's Kevin Gillespie is gearing up to open a second restaurant in Atlanta and Season Four/Eight's Antonia Lofaso is working on a book and a TV pilot — but by and large, it is, as predicted, Top Chef Tiger Beat. Finally, the secret goal of elimination challenges, revealed: according to producer Dave Serwatka, "Our goal is for each challenge to reveal something about the chef'testants as chefs, and something about them as people." (The use of the infuriating fake word "chef'testant" appears in nearly every single "article.")

Notably absent? Nary a Voltaggio brother in sight, and Colicchio smack-talker Elia Aboumrad is absent as well. Otherwise it's all your favorite fameballs of yore, with Fabio Viviani, Carla Hall, Spike Mendelsohn, Marcus Samuelsson and more paying tribute to Top Chef. And good news, guys: don't subscribe to the old dead tree edition of Food & Wine? Top Chef Magazine is available for your iPad as well.

· Top Chef Magazine Is Coming in January [Eater]
· All Top Chef Coverage on Eater [-E-]