Throng

8:30pm - Thursday, December 17 on TV 3

Judge and world-class chef Tom Colicchio will find his Top Chef Season Six winner on Thursday, December 17th at 8:30pm on 3. But what road did Colicchio take to become the well respected judge he is today?

Colicchio says that his early experience fishing with his grandfather gave him a sense at a young age that food was a source of connection and pleasure.

"It was my job to come home - I had to clean the fish," Colicchio tells American TV Guide. "So, I learned to filet fish when I was about four-years-old. And then we would just cook all afternoon and eat that night, and it would last all night long."

"So, something as simple as going out for day fishing turned into a feast. I didn't know any other way, that's just the way I was raised, and I kind of expect that from everybody."

8:30pm - Thursday, November 26 on TV 3

Oscar-nominated actress Natalie Portman (Star Wars: Episode I, II and III) is joining the judging panel as this week's guest judge on Top Chef when the hit culinary series continues its sizzling sixth season on Thursday, November 26th at 8:30pm on 3.

The strictly vegan actress will be appear on this week's episode, (in)appropriately titled "Meat Natalie", where the chefs are asked to create a culinary spread for Portman and her posse at Craftsteak, Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio's Las Vegas restaurant.

This will be Top Chef's second outing into the vegan world, during the Foo Fighters' guest appearance on last season's Thanksgiving episode the chefs were requested to cater for their crew of 60 people, some of which were vegetarian.

The vegan cornbread stole the show last year. Will another vegetarian dish be a big hit this time around?

8:30pm - Thursday, October 8 on TV 3

The chefs fly high when they create food fare for a renowned aircraft demonstration squadron - the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds - in the latest instalment of the hit culinary series Top Chef, screening on Thursday, October 8th at 8:30pm on 3.

Top Chef fans may have noticed a few changes in the latest sixth season of the series. For one, according to head judge Tom Colicchio, this year's contestants are some of the best the series has ever seen.

"You'll be surprised by the quality of chef'testants we discovered this season. They really raised the bar," Colicchio revealed in a statement before the launch of the series.

But more importantly, food critic and best-selling author Toby Young somehow seems different this season. According to Young, this is because viewers are now seeing a different side to him.

8:30pm - Thursday, October 1 on TV 3

The "steaks" are high when 17 fresh chefs roll the dice and infiltrate the gambling mecca that is Las Vegas to compete in the sixth season of Top Chef, premiering on Thursday, October 1st at 8:30pm on 3.

The 17 new contestants will take on Sin City this season to see if they have what it takes to become Top Chef. And for the first time ever the series has a set of brothers competing against each other.

FOOD TELEVISION - Fridays from 10 July, 7.30pm

Top Chef, the culinary competition of gastronomic proportions is back for season 3. Top Chef sets out to find a competitor worthy of the shows prestigious title. Each week the contestants are pitted against each other in a variety of unexpected challenges, battling it out in a bid to win the definitive Top Chef title. Culinary skills are put under the microscope as the aspiring chefs take on less than ordinary challenges, The last chef standing, as judged by the panel, will receive US$100,000 towards their culinary career and most importantly, reign supreme as the Top Chef.

7:30pm - Thursday, May 14 on TV 3

Last week fans saw the crowning of Hosea Rosenberg as the season five Top Chef winner, now all 16 season five contestants return to the stage one last time on Top Chef's reunion special, screening on Thursday, May 14th at 7:30pm on 3.

This week's reunion will be dishing out on season five's good, bad and overcooked, but according to Rosenberg it was consistency that in the end trumped over the other contestants, earning him the Top Chef title and $100,000.

"I was inspired by the ingredients," Rosenberg tells American TV Guide about his Top Chef experience. "I cooked meals that I would want to eat. It was a combination of ingredients, cooking techniques, and flavour profiles that I love."

7:30pm - Thursday, May 7 on TV 3

There's something special on the menu this week when the remaining three Top Chef chefs battle it out to cook the best meal of their lives and earn the prestigious title of Top Chef: New York. Top Chef crowns its fifth season winner on Thursday, May 7th on 7:30pm on 3.

Now in its fifth season Top Chef is one of the most popular reality series on television, but what did world-class chef and Top Chef head judge Tom Colicchio think of the popular series when he was first approached to do it?

At this week’s judges’ table head judge Tom Colicchio has another difficult task ahead of him – to judge a sweet dish which was made without using any sugar! Top Chef continues its quest to find the next “it” chef on Thursday, March 19th at 7:30pm on 3.

Tom Colicchio may be considered the "bad guy" when it comes time to axing one of the cheftestants, but it seems lately the head judge has turned his image around and is now being referred to as a hero.

The reality show head judge saved fellow chef Joan Nathan from choking to death during the "Art. Food. Hope" benefit in Washington, D.C. recently.Read more