Ox Notes: September 13, 2007

I think I'm more excited about watching the last three episodes of Top Chef 3 than I am about any of the shows premiering in the coming weeks. And last night's breakfast Quickfire challenge was especially enjoyable (C.J. was right, girls do like crepes).

Fortunately Bravo has plenty of blog posts about the latest episode by Anthony Bourdain, Padma Lakshmi, Gail Simmons, Rocco DiSpirito, Harold Dieterle, and Lee Anne Wong to tide me over until next Wednesday.

Food fans can sign up for the Epicurious Name That Food challenge for a chance to win a weekend in Savannah with Paula Deen. You might want to fast for a week before the trip, just to ease the guilt over all of the butter and mayonnaise you'll inevitably consume at a taping of Paula's Party.

Simon Cowell is worried about Ryan Seacrest hosting the Emmys on Sunday: "The fact that most years it's hosted by comedians, and Ryan's not funny, is a small issue."

Ahead of next Thursday's premiere of Survivor: China, CBS has posted a couple of cool videos shot by Jeff Probst at YouTube. The first is a tour of Base Camp where the production staff live, and the second introduces members of the Dream Team -- the intrepid folks who test all of the challenges before the Survivors use them. It's nice to finally put a few faces to the headless bodies we see demonstrating the challenges while Jeff explains the instructions.