'Padma's Picks' Episode 1 Recap: A Grand Dame Rivalry

Padma's Picks is up and available for your mass consumption HERE! What the chef is Padma's Picks? Well, before the Top Chef Season 11 season premiere on October 2nd at 10/9c, host Padma Lakshmi will go searching for one Big Easy chef to represent their hometown in the competition. There are six episodes total, all of which are up now and showcase the very best in New Orleans' restaurants, culture, and chefs. To help guide the competition, Padma consults with the city's greatest culinary masters to select five competitors, only one of which will make it to the main event. You can read all about it here.

But wait—there's more! Recaps, specifically. Weekly ones. Delivered hot, fresh, and hopefully fried like a delicious oyster ready to wedge its way into a po' boy.

"But, you can watch all the episodes now!" And that's true, but we're in this together. We'd love to see your Comments about each episode as we do a deep dive into each one on a weekly basis. So, if you devour all the episodes at once, or prefer to savor each moment, watch with us!

In the first episode, Padma and Chef John Folse challenge Chefs Michael Sichel and Casey Morvant from legendary restaurant Galatoire's and Arnaud's respectively to cook Creole-inspired cuisine. Read our take on it here, and come back next Tuesday for our Episode 2 recap.