Pack Your Knives
135 episodes - English - Latest episode: 3 days ago - ★★★★★ - 409 ratingsKevin Arnovitz and Tom Haberstroh bring their die-hard fanaticism of the hit TV show Top Chef and combine it with their NBA analytical instincts to draft “fantasy” teams, interview contestants and talk about America’s food and restaurant trends. Follow along weekly as the top cooking competition meets top-shelf analysis.
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Episodes
S21 Ep 5: Supper Club
April 22, 2024 10:00 - 1 hourTom and Kevin discuss how much team competition is too much team competition on Top Chef, as the chefs again split up into two teams to come up with a progressive, 5-course meal befitting of a vintage supper club. The producers inject an edgy dose of conflict into the show when the the teams are restricted to just over $20 per diner, and chefs jockey over assignments. One chef emerges as an unwitting villain on the Green Team, while the Purple Team endures the Great Pineapple Shortage of Seas...
Buddha Lo Interview - Free Preview
April 16, 2024 10:00 - 13 minutesBuddha dropped by to dish with Tom and Kevin about his time on set, who actually served the best dish of the week, getting to watch Kristen Kish at work in her rookie season, and whom he’d name White House chef should he ever occupy the Oval Office. 👇Hear the full episode right now on the Pack Your Knives Substack👇 Subscribe to the new PYK Substack! https://www.packyourknives.com/ Rate PYK 5 Stars on Apple or Spotify Follow PYK on Twitter: @packknives & Instagram: @packyourknives COUNT THE DI...
S21 Ep 4: The Wright Way
April 15, 2024 09:00 - 1 hourFor all Tom and Kevin know, Wisconsin native Frank Lloyd Wright’s career might have been fueled by Pop-Tarts and Spaghetti O’s. But some of the architectural luminary’s best work can be found just a couple of blocks from where the Top Chef 21 chefs scavenge the aisle of the Whole Foods for their ingredients. This week, those chefs were asked to pay homage to Wright in a team challenge that stumped more than a few of them. The upside is some heightened tension in the kitchen and some incisive ...
Carly Levitz Interview - Free Preview
April 08, 2024 10:00 - 15 minutesThis week's PYK Premium guest is Carly Levitz, the delightful queen of Top Chef data science. Carly joins the show to talk about her (recent) obsession with Top Chef and how she watches every episode through the lens of a data nerd (we say this with utmost affection). Kevin and Tom ask her some burning questions about the value of immunity, the Top Chef GOAT debate and regional evolution in Top Chef history. The Seattleite shares her all-time favorite cooking hacks from Top Chef and gives us...
S21 Ep 3: Take It Cheesy
April 04, 2024 05:15 - 55 minutesTom & Kevin aren’t huge fans of hidden doors or cheese croquettes, but they love getting to the bottom of a good mystery -- like who’s to blame over the slippery floor this week in the Top Chef kitchen. This week’s Cheese Elimination Challenge didn’t produce any instant classics. One nice “nice fried ball” — as Gail Simmons artfully called the procession of croquettes — after another. Though the episode didn’t produce any or memorable dishes, it did what an early episode is supposed to do: B...
Joe Flamm Interview - Free Preview
April 01, 2024 10:00 - 12 minutesIn the annals of Top Chef lore, Joe Flamm is a legend. He clawed his way back through Last Chance Kitchen to win Season 15 with his combination of rustic Adriatic fare and technical savvy. If you find yourself anywhere in the vicinity of Chicago, treat yourself to the Croatian goodness that is Rose Mary in Fulton Market. Joe joins Tom and Kevin to chat about his experience sitting at the judges’ table in Episode 2. How good was Laura’s hops-infused rice pudding and Rasika’s pretzel-barley cak...
Season 21 Draft
March 29, 2024 09:00 - 1 hourIt’s a Pack Your Knives’ tradition like no other: The annual Top Chef fantasy draft. Team Tom has deployed its scouting and data analytics departments to scour the field of cheftestants for the sure bets and hidden gems. Since Kevin got a glimpse of the field of remaining chefs at a mid-season challenge, Pack Your Knives’ Chef’s Table founding members aggregated their draft boards and chose on Team Kevin’s behalf. As always, producer Anthony Mayes is at the podium for the proceedings. Subsc...
S21 Ep 2: Living the High Life
March 28, 2024 05:15 - 56 minutesBrew City wastes no time throwing its first beer-focused challenge at the Season 21 field. Nobody seems excited about cooking with hops in the Quickfire challenge, but the chefs who go sweet win favor with guest judge, Top Chef champion, and Friend of PYK, Joe Flamm. The chefs then split into teams to prepare a progressive dinner in the historic Miller Caves of dishes inspired by salty bar snacks — which Tom and Kevin rank. The team with more fine-dining, tweezer-head chefs struggles against ...
S21 Ep 1: Chef's Test
March 21, 2024 05:15 - 1 hourThe Kristen Kish Era of Top Chef has arrived! Top Chef Season 21 is here, and Tom and Kevin like the new look. This 'inverted' premiere episode has immunity up for grabs in the Elimination Challenge at the beginning, while a Quickfire cook-off has the loser packing their knives. Tom digs the 5-chef divisional battles, each with their own judges' table. Kevin believes that soup is a 'high-floor, low-ceiling' challenge, while a stuffed pasta challenge is designed to kick a chef's ass. Tom and K...
Season 21 Preview
March 18, 2024 09:00 - 52 minutesPack Your Knives is back. And better than ever. On the Season 21 preview, we discuss the new host, new rules and bring in PYK’s Wisconsin correspondent and Milwaukee-native C.J. Krawczyk to give the scouting report on the host city. Tom and Kevin also offer their 3 cheftestants to watch as we launch a new chapter in PYK. Subscribe to the new PYK Substack: https://www.packyourknives.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 21 Teaser
March 16, 2024 09:00 - 4 minutesPack Your Knives has big news for the upcoming season… Find out more at https://www.packyourknives.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 14 Fin! with Sara Bradley & Buddha Lo
June 09, 2023 20:24 - 1 hourPadma, Buddha and the f'ing liver. In a jam-packed episode of Pack Your Knives, Tom and Kevin recap the contentious Season 20 finale, bid farewell to Padma Lakshmi and launch a campaign for her replacement. Also joining the show are Buddha Lo and Sara Bradley taking us behind the scenes on the finale and this World All-Stars season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 13: Champions in Paris
June 02, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourOur love for this season continues to grow like mushrooms on cow dung. Tom and Kevin recap the infamous Wall Challenge and the mushroom elimination challenge ahead of next week's finale. While reeling from a cheftestant's elimination, Tom shocks the world with a blockbuster trade offer ahead of the final episode. Will Kevin accept? It could swing the entire fantasy season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 12: Goodbye, London!
May 26, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourBreaking news: Tom and Kevin went to a Top Chef dinner in Los Angeles at Craft this week! The Pack Your Knives crew not only got to meet Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons, but also the Restaurant Wars winning team and taste their five-course meal. We recap both the night, the Last Chance Kitchen finale and another banger of an episode of Top Chef as the contestants head off to Paris. Tom H also goes through the archives and researches whether any cheftestant has won four challenges in a row. Th...
S20 Ep 11: Battle of the Wellingtons with Mina Kimes
May 19, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourESPN's Mina Kimes drops by Pack Your Knives for a recap of the Beef Wellington episode. Kevin, Mina and Tom wrap themselves up in the drama, investigate the mystical origins of the Beef Wellington and discuss the double-elimination choices by the judges. Plus, we gawk at a particular chef during a "candid" moment while Kevin offers a scouting report on the Kimpton hotels across the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 10: Thali Time with Thi Nguyen
May 12, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourWith Restaurant Wars in the rearview mirror, Tom and Kevin digest the smoked fish and thali challenges of this week's episode and interview Top Chef producer Thi Nguyen. As one of the brains behind the show, Nguyen shares what it's like to work on Top Chef over the years and why they call her the "police" of the competition. She debunks some myths and pulls back the curtain on the impact of Queen Elizabeth's passing on the production. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adcho...
S20 Ep 9: Restaurant Wars
May 05, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourIt's Restaurant Wars!!! Or is it? Tom and Kevin air their grievances about the unconventional Restaurant Wars episode and wonder what happened behind the scenes. They rank their favorite dishes and designate the roles that we never got to see. Kevin's squad has an up-and-down performance while Tom's team hums along. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 8: Street Food Fight
April 28, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourWith Restaurant Wars around the corner, Tom and Kevin get their engines rev'd with the incredible Fast X mise en place elimination challenge. Then, Team Haberstroh and Team Arnovitz, each with four cheftestants remaining, fill in the roles of their hypothetical Resturant Wars team. Who's the No. 1 prospect for executive chef? Front of house? Tom and Kevin hash it out and recap LCK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 7: Hands Off with Dale Mackay
April 21, 2023 05:00 - 57 minutesKevin and Tom get their hands dirty with the Gaggan Anand episode of Top Chef: World All-Stars and take stock of the competition as we near ever closer to the Restaurant Wars mark. Cheftestant Dale Mackay of Saskatchewan fame joins the show to talk about his rollercoaster ride on Top Chef, daily life as a triathlete in reality-television isolation and the difference of this particular season vs. Top Chef Canada. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 6: Top Chef is No Picnic
April 14, 2023 16:42 - 53 minutesWith the most confusing Top Chef episode of the season, Kevin and Tom fight off whiplash and vertigo as they recap the Downton Abbey episode. Tom bids farewell to one of his top picks but discovers a budding crush on another and rants about sandwich toppings. Meanwhile, Kevin does a victory lap on one of his picks who continues to deliver and gets wistful about one of his other cheftestants heading to LCK. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 5: Holiday Vacation with Sara Bradley
April 07, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourTop Chef heads to the Kent countryside, where a shocking ending sends a cheftestant home. Kevin takes issue with the cheftestant's fate while Tom defends his squad. Then, World All-Stars contestant and Season 16 finalist Sara Bradley of Freight House in Paducah, Kentucky joins the podcast! We discuss her stat-keeping, experiences on the show, favorite Jewish dishes, raw eggs and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 4: Spurred Lines
March 31, 2023 19:21 - 1 hourKevin and Tom put their green velvet blazers on and recap Episode 4 of Top Chef World All-Stars. We get introduced to the glory that is Paul A. Young and deliberate on the value of an English biscuit. After a scouting report on the Tottenham Hotspurs stadium experience, Kevin and Tom hash out the Elimination Challenge and remark about the parity of this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 3: Cheeky Pints & Pub Bites
March 24, 2023 05:14 - 1 hourWith three episodes in the books, Kevin and Tom put it on the Ritz for Top Chef's pub crawl. With a double elimination on tap, Kevin and Tom scout the pairings and give their take on the dishes. Has any cheftestant separated themselves from the pack? Kevin and Tom get into it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 2: Rice, Rice Baby with Lorna Maseko
March 17, 2023 05:00 - 1 hourKevin and Tom welcome in Top Chef South Africa's Lorna Maseko to help recap the show and share her experience of being the guest judge in the All Star Season's second episode. If you were planning a culinary trip to Africa, Kevin and Lorna give you the scouting report. If you weren't planning one, you will now. Finally, Kevin and Tom take stock of their fantasy rosters and bid farewell to a familiar face. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S20 Ep 1: The Draft
March 10, 2023 10:00 - 49 minutesIt's our favorite time of the year at PYK HQ: Draft Day! After watching the season premiere of Top Chef Season 20, Kevin and Tom partake in their annual PYK draft of cheftestants while recapping the episode. Who goes No. 1? Where will the elimination challenge winner go in the draft? Where will Buddha, Dawn, Amar and Sara land? Who has the best roster? It's all happening. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 20 Preview
March 07, 2023 16:51 - 41 minutesTop Chef is back! And so are Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Arnovitz. To get you ready for Season 20: London All-Stars, Tom and Kevin span the globe and preview the 16 cheftestants on the board. Which cheftestants are back? How do we feel about London as a food city? Wait, is there really a Top Chef Finland? All that and more on the PYK season preview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Champ is Here! with Buddha Lo
June 13, 2022 09:00 - 53 minutesKevin and Tom are giddy at the much-anticipated arrival of the Top Chef Season 19 champion, Buddha Lo! They discuss Top Chef reality vs. fiction, where his performance ranks all-time and how to properly cook halibut. Plus, his recent interaction with TMZ at LAX, his Jurassic alligator and how he studied Top Chef. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 14 Recap: The Finale Plate with Sarah Welch
June 04, 2022 22:48 - 1 hourAnother season of Top Chef is in the books! Tom and Kevin recap the season and the final episode with the help of beloved cheftestant Sara Welch. We discuss her Jamaican roots, her bff Buddha, her restaurant Marrow in Detroit and the basics of churning butter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
S19 Ep 14: The Finale Plate with Sarah Welch
June 04, 2022 22:48 - 1 hourAnother season of Top Chef is in the books! Tom and Kevin recap the season and the final episode with the help of beloved cheftestant Sara Welch. We discuss her Jamaican roots, her bff Buddha, her restaurant Marrow in Detroit and the basics of churning butter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 13: Cactus Makes Perfect
May 28, 2022 01:03 - 52 minutesAs the show hits the road to Tucson, Kevin and Tom marvel at the city’s culinary offerings and welcome PYK favorite Chef Maria Mazon back to the Top Chef stage. A strong chef goes home, but in Kevin’s eyes, the playing field is more level than it seems. Who will be crowned Top Chef next week? Kevin and Tom call their shots as we arrive at the finale. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 12: Gone Fishin'
May 20, 2022 17:36 - 53 minutesIn this week's episode, Tom hops on a boat and guides Kevin on the joys of fishing. With the competition whittles itself down to the final four cheftestants, we bid farewell to a poor time-management victim. Tom and Kevin rearrange their power rankings as we head into the surprise domestic location of the finale. And lastly, we run through some VRBO submissions from listeners and Kevin recaps some of his favorite restaurants on his recent road trip. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
S19 Ep 11: Family Vacation
May 13, 2022 20:19 - 56 minutesWith a thrilling Last Chance Kitchen finale in the books, Kevin and Tom dive headfirst into the Galveston episode and emerge with a boatful of praise. We welcome back a cheftestant and revisit our chef vs. the field prop with some new information. Finally, Tom, inspired by the show, lets Kevin indulge in the ultimate VRBO parlor game: if you could go on vacation anywhere in the world for $10,000, where would you go? We ask our listeners to send their scouting report to our socials @PackKnives...
S19 Ep 10: Dinner in Zero Gravity
May 06, 2022 20:49 - 45 minutesThe cheftestants go to space (in theory) and the Earth-y dishes raised lots of questions from Tom and Kevin. We discuss a shaky performance from an otherwise sturdy cheftestant and debate whether we'd take one chef over the field. Also: a deep-dive into crumby foods. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 9: Freedmen's Town
April 29, 2022 16:31 - 53 minutesOn this episode of Pack Your Knives, Kevin and Tom recap a heartwarming episode where the judges taste the rainbow and do some soul searching. Kevin reveals a personal story of his classroom etiquette and his favorite restaurants on his recent travels while Tom struggles with the quirky scoring. Finally, Producer Mayes surfaces a Top Chef Reddit post that sparks serious domestic debate from the PYK panel. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 8 Recap: Restaurant Warrior Hershy Ash
April 22, 2022 22:30 - 1 hourIt's Restaurant Wars! Our friend and restaurant consultant Hershy Ash stops by for our annual Restaurant Wars viewing. Kevin, Tom and Hershy break down the Restaurant Wars experiences from Matriarc and No Nem while scratching our collective heads at a certain chef's performance. Hershy offers a lighthearted conspiracy theory and makes a prediction about the winner of Top Chef. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 7: Jurassic Joe Flamm
April 15, 2022 20:20 - 1 hourWe dig into this week's episode with our PYK pal Joe Flamm, winner of Top Chef Colorado and guest judge of the Jurassic World challenge. Flamm shares some amazing behind the scenes details from his experience on Top Chef Houston and some old callbacks to Season 15. We also discuss best movie scenes involving food and get the goods on the actual winning individual of the challenge. We get Kevin's lowdown on Nigerian cuisine, tier-out the remaining cheftestants and get ready for Restaurant Wars...
S19 Ep 6: Tough Love
April 08, 2022 17:26 - 1 hourAfter Top Chef welcomes back an eliminated contestant from Last Chance Kitchen, Kevin and Tom dive into Episode 6's drama -- or lack thereof. The competition show brings in trailblazing women to honor trailblazing women and the chefs deliver satisfactory meals, but hardly anything transcendent. With the help of producer Anthony Mayes, Tom and Kevin try to untangle their feelings about this season of their beloved Top Chef and wonder if its recent softness is a symptom of a broader cultural sh...
S19 Ep 5: Don’t Mess With BBQ
April 01, 2022 16:28 - 1 hourA tentpole challenge is presented on this week's episode, but Tom and Kevin are trying to figure out why this season doesn't seem to be hitting its mark. Tom mourns a surprising elimination, which prompts Kevin and Tom to do a mock redraft of contestants. Who goes No. 1? And can a Last Chance Kitchen juggernaut jolt the season into shape? Five episodes in, the PYK crew are hoping that's the case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 4: Doppelgängers
March 25, 2022 17:30 - 58 minutesKevin and Tom unpack what goes down as one of their favorite challenges of Top Chef in Pack Your Knives history: doppelgänger dishes! But first Kevin and Tom reveal their favorite biscuits in America and then praise a sense-deficient cheftestant’s rise. A terrific double-elimination challenge cripples one of the fantasy teams and Mayes’ squad provides hope to resolve Kevin’s lone complaint about this season. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 3: Open Market
March 18, 2022 16:26 - 58 minutesKevin and Tom recap the Asian night market episode and survey the landscape. Kevin unveils his night market power rankings, dominating Tom’s impromptu trivia. The two discuss Sam the Potato Man’s polarizing behavior. Meanwhile, trade discussions continue as producer Anthony Mayes picks up his very own cheftestant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 2: Carbo Loading
March 11, 2022 16:53 - 52 minutesTom and Kevin break down the second episode of Season 19. With Evelyn on the mind, Tom investigates hometown advantage. A trade is proposed and the two are officially engaged in negotiations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 1 Recap: The Draft
March 04, 2022 05:05 - 51 minutesAfter a season premiere chock full of surprises, Kevin and Tom take part in their fifth annual PYK draft of cheftestants. Who went No. 1 overall? And which pick created the most controversy? Kevin and Tom give their first impressions on the cast as another season of Pack Your Knives gets underway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S19 Ep 1: The Draft
March 04, 2022 05:05 - 56 minutesAfter a season premiere chock full of surprises, Kevin and Tom take part in their fifth annual PYK draft of cheftestants. Who went No. 1 overall? And which pick created the most controversy? Kevin and Tom give their first impressions on the cast as another season of Pack Your Knives gets underway. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Season 19 Preview
February 25, 2022 17:53 - 43 minutesAnd we’re back! With the season premiere of Top Chef Season 19 Houston around the corner, Kevin and Tom give a scouting report on Houston and the 15 cheftestants. Which cheftestants seem to have a leg up? Which Top Chef alumni are returning? And what’s the dirty little secret about bone marrow? Kevin and Tom dig in and get ready for another season of Top Chef. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
S18 Finale Recap: Staff Meal
July 03, 2021 00:23 - 1 hourLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 13 Recap: Abdication
June 25, 2021 04:05 - 1 hourAfter the penultimate episode of Season 18, Tom and Kevin debate the merits and joys of hunting for seafood. A Top Chef judge's table scandal has Kevin and Tom fuming. Did Gail, Padma and Tom fail in their duties as judges? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 12 Recap: Cheesy Bread
June 18, 2021 04:05 - 50 minutesKevin and Tom break down the final four as we head into toward the coast. A discussion about Dawn's gougères veers into a love letter for cheesy bread at various establishments and other gluttonous exploits. Speaking of exploits, Tom and Kevin indict chefs for taking advantage of one of their own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 11 Recap: Blind Ambitions with Gail Simmons!
June 11, 2021 20:26 - 1 hourKevin and Tom are blessed by the presence of Top Chef judge and culinary expert Gail Simmons, who makes her long-awaited debut on the podcast. Gail takes us through a most dramatic episode of the season and pulls back the curtain on her new Top Chef Amateurs show that launches July 1. Also, our mission to get Kevin on Top Chef Amateurs is one step closer to becoming reality, but he's still mentally two years away from being two years away. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/...
Ep 10 Recap: Tofu Tourney
June 05, 2021 00:16 - 48 minutesTop Chef is coming down to the final five and Kevin and Tom are locked in. This week they discuss Kevin's horrific cooking injury, Tom's frustration with the scoring format, a double feature of Last Chance Kitchens and wish that the show would solve its only issue: not being able to taste the food. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Ep 9 Recap: Portlandia
May 28, 2021 04:05 - 47 minutesRecipe books take center stage as a Top Chef twist rattles the cheftestants and sends an overmatched chef home. While Kevin expresses disdain for complicated instructions, Tom proposes a theory on elimination tells on social media, and they unite to discuss various milks, hipster or not. Plus: which cheftestant is the Jen Carroll of this season? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices