Stephanie Bedford, a local book critic, food freelancer and fiction writer, reserved the URL TopSteph.com about 30 seconds after learning the show was coming to Wisconsin. A minute after that, I hired her on to do recaps for the Cap Times. 

This week on the podcast, we talk about how Steph came to be the ideal Top Chef recapper, what challenges she has loved and who she's rooting for now. 

Then I'm talking with Olivia Stowell, who as a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan has made a serious study of reality TV. Did you know that Top Chef is a "game documentary?"

This episode contains spoilers for the "Lay It All On the Table" Elimination Challenge on Episode 11 of "Top Chef" Season 21.