A New ‘Top Chef’ Is Here to Make Everything in Life Better

Christmas; the only day where it’s actually spring weather in New York City; being asked out on a date: There are certain things that happen once a year that I look forward to. None of them compare, however, to my excitement over the return of my beloved Top Chef.

Season 21 of Bravo’s cooking competition premiered this week and, like many of us when we reach that milestone age, is going through some changes. Emmy-nominated host Padma Lakshmi’s decision to leave the series after its best-ever outing last year—a globe-trotting season featuring all-stars from franchises airing all around the world—was earth-shattering for me. In Kevin Fallon pop culture history of terrible events, it goes: Spice Girls breaking up, Josh Charles leaving The Good Wife, and Padma Lakshmi ending her tenure as Top Chef host.

While I’ve dabbled in a passionate obsession with other reality series—So You Think You Can Dance, RuPaul’s Drag Race, and whatever Real Housewives franchise is actually good at the moment have all had eras—Top Chef has always been the big one for me. Especially in recent years, where gimmicks, garish bombast, and “celebrities” dressed as rapping teddy bears have poisoned the genre, Top Chef has maintained its perfect flavor balance of entertainment and class. So much of that was owed to Lakshmi’s hosting style.

Read more at The Daily Beast.