Top Chef Recap

Dallas bad boy chef John Tesar emerges as reason to watch Top Chef this season

John Tesar was the best part of Top Chef's season 14 premiere.

Photo courtesy of Bravo

Dallas reality show fans and chef groupies have a new reason to live with the December 1 debut of Top Chef, the cooking competition series from Bravo channel. Two words: John Tesar.

That's not provincialism. In the premiere episode of season 14, which takes place in Charleston, South Carolina, the colorful Dallas chef emerges as the best reason to watch, with oodles of quotable quotes.

Tesar is back as part of a crew of returning chefs who make up half the cast. It's this season's kooky plot twist, which pits eight new chefs against eight retreads who appeared on prior seasons.

The twist adds drama to an otherwise dull premiere. The newbies sullenly resent the hoggy selfishness of the returning chefs, while the returning chefs sagely sermonize about the pitfalls of reality TV.

"I'm not really interested in getting to know the veterans," whines new chef Emily Hahn. "I feel like they've had their time; now it should be ours."

New chef Jamie Lynch, the tattooed guy, makes tattooed guys everywhere proud, saying to the returning chefs, "I'm not gonna lie. My butthole puckered when I saw you guys walk in."

For returning and former Dallas chef Casey Thompson, the situation presents a canny opportunity to capitalize on the new chefs' inexperience by stealing a bed from a newbie.

The show makes a big deal out of staking out a bed. "As veterans, we all know we want to pick our room," says returning chef Katsuji Tanabe.

"My room is awesome," Casey says, after stealing said bed. "They had the room but, rookie move, they didn't put anything on their bed. So when they left to check out the rest of the house, I went right in. Veterans 1, rookies 0."

The rest of the show plods through the getting-to-know-you phase. In one painful segment with the new chefs, Padma asks in a stilted conversational manner, "Aren't you the such-and-such chef who won such-and-such award?"

Returning chef Shirley Chung refers to herself in the third person, when she talks about the questionable wisdom of returning for another season. "Seriously, Shirley Chung?" she asks.

Tesar also tosses out a third-person John Tesar, tucked between lots of first-person introspection.

"People either find me refreshing or they find me the biggest dick in the world, but I'm a kinder, gentler chef these days," he says. "At 58 years old, I'm kind of a dying breed, because a lot of people my age have either burned out or faded away or, let's face it, they're either Emeril or Bobby Flay. For me, winning Top Chef, I wouldn't call it redemption. I just think it's validation."

Tesar is one of two chefs who come in at the bottom. The climax consists of a cookoff between him and Florida chef Gerald Sombright.

"I have this dual apprehension," Tesar says. "Should I game play, or should I just beat him? People are asking, 'Where's that John Tesar I saw in season 10?' No way, brother. That guy's gone."

The cookoff theme is oysters. Tesar does oysters poached in cream. You get to see him open a bottle of cream with his bare teeth. Suddenly, he pulls out a truffle from his bag. It sparks a roar from the watching chefs.

"What — did you bring truffles?" asks one chef, agog. "WHAT?" asks another, aghast.

"Do you think I want to go home on on episode one, folks?" Tesar asks. "On Top Chef, we're allowed to bring a few ingredients. And I have some really nice truffles. And I'm going to take out that truffle and use it."

The show ramps up the sympathy for Sombright, splicing in a segment where he reveals he split from his wife and is maybe possibly living in his car. But his roasted oysters with a Thai mignonette do not have truffles.

"How can you compare a a mignonette with a creamed oyster," Padma stage-whispers to the other judges in horror. "I wish there had been more smoke," sighs disappointed judge Gail Simmons. For judge Tom Colicchio, it's just not Thai enough. "If you're going to do a Thai dish, we want a little more heat."

Sombright packs his knives, and Tesar wins.

"On day one, to be the loser of the quickfire and the winner of the cookoff, it gives you that full circle of energy," he says, tracing a circle in the air with his finger.

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Top Chef airs Thursdays at 9 pm CST on Bravo.

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Movie Review

Humans are scarier than zombies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Photo by Miya Mizuno

Ralph Fiennes in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

It’s not often that a return to a franchise after years of no activity results in an actual good movie, but 2025’s 28 Years Later proved successful by reuniting director Danny Boyle and writer Alex Garland, who made the original 28 Days Later. Another sequel, The Bone Temple, was filmed back-to-back with last year’s film, with Nia DaCosta taking over for Boyle in the directing chair.

The movie picks up soon after the end of the first film, with the young Spike (Alfie Williams) now an unwilling member of a group called the Jimmies, which are led by a man who calls himself Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell). Unlike the main group in the first film that was just looking to survive the zombie apocalypse, the Jimmies are a bloodthirsty bunch who gleefully attack any zombies they find and brutalize other survivors they come across.

The story also returns to Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), whose solitary time at his self-built bone temple is interrupted by a massive zombie he has dubbed Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). Against the odds - and with the help of some morphine - Kelson is able to bond with Samson, giving Kelson some strange but welcome companionship. But with the Jimmies lurking nearby, any peace he’s found may soon be shattered.

DaCosta, working from a script by Garland, ably steps into Boyle’s shoes, putting the emphasis on the story rather than trying for lots of stylistic flourishes. That’s not to say that she doesn’t do great work, however. The creepiness and sadistic nature of the Jimmies comes through loud and clear under her direction, and she brings out the campy comedy that comes from the unexpected pairing of Kelson and Samson.

Like the first 28 Years Later, the story is somewhat of a slow burn. The film doesn’t have many plot developments over its 109 minutes, and so DaCosta must get by on mood rather than action for the most part. But when things do get ramped up, they can get very uncomfortable as the film does not shy away from extreme gore. The damage inflicted by Samson and other zombies is one thing, but when it’s sentient humans going savage, it becomes even more difficult to look at the screen.

The juxtaposition between the chaos of the Jimmies and the quiet existence of Dr. Kelson works well for the film. Their separation for the bulk of the story gives them plenty of time to have the characters come into their own. Sir Jimmy Crystal is the ringleader, but Jimmy Ink (Erin Kellyman) gets her own showcase. Samson was already a (literally) big presence from the first film, but this film gives him a degree of humanity that gives the story more depth.

O’Connell made a big impression as the lead vampire in Sinners, and he’s just as interesting/intimidating here. Fiennes plays a character where being over-the-top is the natural reaction, and yet he keeps Kelson grounded in a number of ways that make him much more than one-note. Lewis-Parry was likely cast for his physique, but he brings out more from a zombie than you’d ever expect. Williams fades into the background a bit after his starring role in the first film, but he’s still strong.

Releasing The Bone Temple in January was not a great sign given the month’s reputation as a dumping ground for bad movies, but it actually proves to be a great choice. With most other releases being Oscar hopefuls or truly awful films, it stands out for being another compelling entry for the franchise, one that will make anticipation high for whenever the third film in the 28 Years Later series comes out.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple opens in theaters on January 16.

Top Chef Recap

Dallas bad boy chef John Tesar emerges as reason to watch Top Chef this season

Movie Review

Humans are scarier than zombies in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

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