Posted by Philidelphia Daily News, PA on October 30, 2009 at 09:47:55:
CasiNotes: Caesars cooks up an Emeril competition
By Chuck Darrow
REMEMBER WHEN cooking was merely for eating? Well, those days are gone, at least at Caesars Atlantic City, where whipping up a meal is the entertainment attraction.
Through Nov. 12, the casino's Circus Maximus Theater is hosting "Taste of Emeril," an audience-participation presentation with the look and feel of a reality TV culinary competition.
Named for megastar chef Emeril Lagasse, "Taste" pits two teams of three randomly selected ticket holders against each other in a series of food-prep activities. The competition commences with each of the six contestants being given the same task (at a recent performance it was whisking egg whites). Solo judge Ralph Pagano ("Hell's Kitchen," "Iron Chef") eliminates one person from each team.
The next round finds the now two-member squads preparing a dish (under Pagano's aegis). Pagano then eliminates one of the two teams. The final round pits the remaining teammates in a heads-up battle for the grand prize, which usually involves a free dinner at one of the high-end restaurants at the Pier Shops at Caesars, as well as various Emeril-related products.
A celebrity emcee keeps things moving. Marc Summers, who seems to have starred in every cable TV game/reality show, has been handling the duties the last couple of weeks. Tuesday, the role will be assumed by Mark DeCarlo (Travel Channel's "Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo").
Lagasse, who recently opened his first northeastern United States eatery at the Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, is present via regularly inserted videotaped segments.
Besides the personable, quick-witted Pagano, the best part of "Taste of Emeril" is the stage set: Two fully stocked kitchens anchor what may be the most elaborate (read: expensive) staging ever built for a casino showroom. This isn't necessarily surprising, considering "Taste of Emeril" is produced by FreemantleMedia, the showbiz titan responsible for, among other programs, "American Idol."
As with any show that depends on audience participation, performances "Taste of Emeril" will vary in quality depending on the personalities and "fun factor" of the contestants. But thanks to the pros involved, a certain degree of fun is pretty much guaranteed. And the folks at Caesars deserve kudos for trying something a little bit different.
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