NEW YORK - We’ve had three seasons of U.S. Bravo’s “Top Chef” and each one has gotten arguably better as the network wised up and chose a smattering of chefs with real skills to populate the program.

What will the fourth season bring? Well, if the 16 contestants’ resumes mean anything, this year could be a dandy when it kicks off Wednesday on American television. Many of them have worked at some top-notch spots and appear to have real seasoning and one is from Canada, Lisa Fernandes of Toronto. (The show is not on Bravo in Canada although the first season was shown on The Food Network).

“I think this season is tougher . . . because the talent pool is deeper,” said Tom Colicchio, a well-known chef and judge on the show. “There are more contenders this year. These are good cooks without a doubt.”

Colicchio said Bravo couldn’t attract such talented people in the past because the show was taken lightly in culinary circles, and few with major cooking aspirations wanted to risk their reputation in a venue as derided as a back-stabbing reality show.

But that has changed.

“It has become respectable,” Colicchio said. “A lot of the chefs who came in season four probably wouldn’t have come out in season two. More and more talented chefs are coming out because the show is being taken seriously.”

One of the reasons they’re taking a chance on “Top Chef” rests with the guest judges. Last year, Eric Ripert, Daniel Boulud and Andre Soltner landed on the program, raising the stature of “Top Chef.”

“I think that has really legitimized the show,” said Colicchio, who owns the popular Craft steak houses.

Colicchio said contestants know they also have a shot at parlaying their fame into a restaurant like first-season winner Harold Dieterle. Colicchio doubts Dieterle could have opened Perilla in New York without the exposure he received by taking part in “Top Chef.”

Colicchio, who helped vet the resumes, said he looked for pedigree. He found plenty.

Many of contestants have the credentials to go all the way, and in some cases, the egos to make for good television.

Richard Blais, Andrew D’Ambrosi, Dale Talde, Spike Mendelsohn and Manuel Trevino all seem to have the moxie and experience to take the title. Like their victorious predecessors, they’ve worked in some decent kitchens and withstood the pressure.

Trevino rose to sous chef at Mario Batali’s Babbo, an Italian restaurant and one of New York’s best. He’s currently executive chef of a Mexican place named Dos Caminos. At Babbo, he worked with author Bill Buford for about a year.

Buford says Trevino, or Memo as he’s known, “has got a crazy amount of talent, can’t believe there are other chefs on the program who have more skills or (have) as much elegant lightness under pressure, and, probably most important, he has a genuine creative fire, a wildness that will result in his coming up with a dish so unexpected and brilliant that he will be a finalist, or else will result in some kind of equally unexpected flameout and make Memo just too damn hot too handle.”

Buford, who penned the book “Heat” while slaving away at Babbo, added that Trevino gives the show “unexpected cred.”

Like Trevino and Mendelsohn, D’Ambrosi is doing a stint at Le Cirque 2000, a legendary spot in Manhattan that recently revived its reputation after getting three stars in The New York Times (the paper took one away in 2006).

Talde is a sous chef at perennially packed Buddakan, a big operation that can turn out exceptional food when the kitchen is on its A game. He helped open restaurant Jean Georges Vong in Chicago, where the show takes place this season.

Mendelsohn works as the chef de cuisine at MAI-House. The Times named it one of the best restaurants in 2007. Mendelsohn could have some tricks up his sleeve after spending time at Les Crayeres in France, which has two Michelin stars, and Thomas Keller’s Bouchon, a famous bistro in Napa Valley.

Blais’ curriculum vitae is also impressive. According to Bravo, he “studied under luminaries such as Thomas Keller, Daniel Boulud and Ferran Adria.” If he learned anything from those stints, the Atlantan could be formidable - though his knowledge of molecular gastronomy doesn’t guarantee victory.

OK, so what about the women?

In three seasons, a woman has never won. A female chef has come close, landing in the finals on the first and third seasons.

This season, half the contestants are women. And there may be a dark horse among them like Fernandes. She cooked at the popular Public in lower Manhattan, and now is doing catering gigs while waiting for the “right opportunity.”

“The female talent is huge,” Fernandes said in an interview. “All I’m gonna say is that we started out with more women than any other season and walking in there and seeing that many women definitely got my hopes up.”

But remember: The judges only care about one thing.

“I’m judging solely on who’s making the best food,” Colicchio said. “That’s it.”

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These days a significant number of people are interested in pursuing a culinary arts education. In fact a culinary arts education has become one of the most popular courses of further education in recent years.

The culinary arts are considered by many people as both an art and a science. Culinary arts are complex endeavors that involve not only the need for cooking talents and skills, but also knowledge about everything involved with the craft of preparing and presenting great tasting food.

As a result, it is no wonder that experts strongly advise modern chefs to wear many different “hats” at the same time in order to be successful. A culinary arts education generally reflects this school of thought, so to speak.

In this day and age a quality culinary arts education is available almost anywhere in the world. There are many different culinary arts education programs from which you can select if you are so inclined. According to a recent report by the American Culinary Federation - a leader of standards in the culinary professions - there are more than 100 accredited schools which offering culinary arts programs in the USA alone at this time.

As mentioned, a culinary arts education starts with choosing a particular program and specific course of study. It is important to know that culinary arts programs generally keep to the strict rules and guide lines of the American Culinary Federation in order to maintain their certification.

There are certain culinary arts programs that were created for those people who want to earn an associates degree or certification in culinary arts - that are designed to provide a person with a more in-depth course of education and study. These culinary arts education programs are designed to provide students with a significant foundation allowing them to pursue a satisfying and successful career in the culinary arts.

An important part of culinary arts education includes the training or the apprenticeship element of such a course of education. Experts agree that hands-on experience is crucial to training a person appropriately in the culinary arts. Apprenticeship programs are used in significant numbers today. In fact nearly all culinary arts education programs require a student to participate in an apprenticeship type program for the purpose of obtaining a degree in the culinary arts.

Work experience.
About 80 of the 100 schools offering accredited culinary arts education programs offer apprenticeship programs as part of their courses of study today.

A culinary arts education can be rather expensive. However in a culinary arts school, obtaining an appropriate culinary arts education can be an excellent investment in a person’s future.

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Is culinary school really necessary? I always thought if you knew how to cook, you knew how to cook. It turns out I was wrong. If you want to go into culinary arts as a career, culinary school is just as necessary for you as law school is for a lawyer. I found that even if you are a great cook, there are simply skills and qualifications you will get from culinary school that you need when it comes time to enter the professional culinary arts world.

You, like many people, may believe that cooking is a talent that you are just born with. That is partially true, but many in the culinary arts industry recognize that it is indeed a talent, but it is also a skill. Though you may have an understanding of how to make food, in culinary school you will learn more about ingredients, foods, and how to combine them. By being well informed and educated, you will be able to take better advantage of your given talents.

You may also not realize that culinary school can prepare you for more than just becoming a “cook.” Most people think of chefs, caterers, and restaurateurs as the only people who attend culinary school, but that simple isn’t true. There are countless jobs available to graduates of culinary school. You can choose to be in restaurant management, work in retail food markets, or even become a food writer to name a few of the options. Culinary school is an education to prepare students for any career in food, not just becoming a cook.

The point is that if you really are serious about a career, any career, in culinary arts, then culinary school is necessary. Yes, like any education, it is expensive, but in the end wont it be worth it to be able to get a good job doing what you want at the restaurant or company with you want to do it? If you were to become a lawyer, you would have to go to law school and if you want to become a doctor, you need to go to medical school. So to have a successful culinary arts career, you have to go to culinary school.

When you go to select the culinary school you want to attend, you should look for one that is accredited and will get you the certificate or degree you need for the career you are after. A good culinary school will train you in the use of quality ingredients, proper presentation, and even balance for meals. The program will help you to understand everything about the food from the purchase of the ingredients to the presentation of the finished meal. With the overall culinary education you will get, you can then make full use of the talents you have.

If you love to cook and see yourself as a chef, restaurant manager, or even a food critic, you should consider culinary school. The knowledge and basic skills you will acquire there will allow you to pursue a long and successful career in the career you want.

If you would like the latest cooking secrets, or find more of my personal articles like the one you just read, visit my culinary site.

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Herbs have been with humans since the dawn of recorded time and before. They have been used in a wide variety of functions and new uses continue to be found for them in the present day. Depending on who you ask, there are anywhere from 40 to 60 herbs to choose from and most of them are very simple to grow and use.

The reason that herbs can be used in so many different functions is because they come in different varieties. For instance, there are aromatic herbs that are grown purely for the scent they give off. The oils from these herbs can be found in candles, perfumes, and many other cosmetic and skin care products.

By far the most popular of herbs is the culinary herb. In fact, most people are familiar with only this kind of herb. Many gardeners grow a few varieties of culinary herbs such as basil, dill and chives. The beauty of some of these herbs is that you don’t need plant them every year since some of them are annuals and will appear without needing to be replanted.

The ornamental herbs are planted only because they look beautiful and you can create exquisite fresh or dried arrangements with them. They are usually found in and amongst the flowers in a flower garden.

There are herbs that have medicinal value. They are used to treat a variety of ailments to this very day. Although the Western medical community has not yet accepted or practiced curing diseases with the help of herbs, it has been a popular way of treatment in the Eastern countries. And, scientists are showing an increasing interest in the potential of herbs to cure disorders.

Even in the harshest of economic times people manage to have culinary herbs even if that means growing them on their own. These herbs are important to some because the food would otherwise taste too bland and tasteless without them. They are used to prepare marinades that add subtle but marked flavor to food. This flavor enhances the taske of the dishes.

Growing herbs in your garden is a fairly simple and painless process. But before you start laying out your garden and planning where what gets planted where, be aware that herbs are available as annuals, perennials, and biennials. This means that the herbs will be coming up at different times in the year so you will have to keep track of where you plant what herb and what its growing cycle is.

Most of the culinary herbs do quite well in soil that has been well drained but still remains fairly fertile. You have nothing to worry about if space happens to be limited outdoors because herbs do great when grown indoors as well. No matter where you intend to plant your herbs, be sure not to plant them too deeply in the soil or they may not have a chance to grow. When harvesting herbs, try to do so in the mornings because this is when the precious oils in the herbs are at their concentration and precisely when you want to pick them.

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