A Top Chef Challenge

Thursday, November, 13, 2008.....

I'm a Top Chef fan and have been since Season 1. However, I always wonder, will they run out of challenges?

I've come up with one that combines a growing movement with food and would be one of the hardest challenges I can think of. Preparing food discovered on a Freegan outing.

This year I was introduced to the Freegan lifestyle, not by experience, but by watching Oprah. I can't explain it, but after seeing an episode on Oprah, the Freegan lifestyle was thrown in my face through documentaries and articles.

For people who may not know what a Freegan is, let me describe a Freegan as simply as possible. It is a person who has adopted a lifestyle that recycles everything that another may have thrown away. This includes clothes, furniture and FOOD. I commend Freegans for grasping the concept that Americans waste so much and want to recycle what we can. There are tag sales, swap meets and giving away furniture or clothes to friends or family. However, I draw the line with food.

I can't imagine preparing any meal from food that I climbed through a dumpster of dirty diapers for. Maybe it is just me, but the thought makes me squeamish (ask my sister)and a part of me believes that it is stealing food from the homeless that have to do this to survive.

However, imagine if Padma came out and told the contestants that for today's elimination challenge they were going to drop them off in a neighborhood and they'd have to create a 3 course meal (one course must include a protein) for the judges.

I really, really hope that the individuals at Top Chef responsible for creating the challenges have enough ideas and never have to resort to this.

j