Chicago women may have right ingredients for 'Top Chef'

A couple of Chicago chefs didn't have to travel far from home to tape the upcoming "Top Chef" season.

Stephanie Izard, formerly of the acclaimed Scylla restaurant in Bucktown, and Valerie Bolon, a personal chef and instructor at Kendall College in Chicago, mix things up alongside 14 other chefs (a number of them from San Francisco) as they vie for the coveted Top Chef title. The Bravo reality series, which filmed its fourth season in the shadows of the Sears Tower and Soldier Field, premieres at 9 p.m. today (check local listings for channel information and head to www.bravotv.com/top_chef for cast bios and blogs).

In tonight's episode you'll watch as the cheftestants make their way to Pizzeria Uno to meet each other and hosts Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio. No time is wasted as they grab their chefs' jackets and head to the kitchen for the first quick-fire challenge: creating deep-dish pizzas that echo their cooking styles. Clearly our hometown gals should have an advantage here, right?

Guest judge chef Rocco DiSpirito doesn't seem too taken with Stephanie's proscuitto, mint and melon pie or Valerie's meat-and-potatoes pizza (but he likes versions with peaches and yeasty marmite, go figure). Yet these ladies come through in the elimination challenge, creating updated versions of classic restaurant dishes (duck l'orange and chicken marsala, respectively), so we will see them again next week and hopefully for many more weeks after that.

BTW: There's a kitchen connection between Stephanie and "Top Chef Season 3" finalist Dale Levitski (set to open Town and Country restaurant in Chicago later this year): The two put in time at La Tache in Andersonville. Oh, and the new Dale on this season's "Top Chef" grew up in Chicago but currently lives and works in NYC.

Go for the green: If you ingest a little (or a lot) too much green beer while toasting St. Patrick in the coming days, grab a Sencha Shot. These shot-sized doses of antioxidant-rich green tea can help speed hangover recovery time and get you through the day. Or at least the people at Ito En, a loose-leaf tea company, say so (I haven't had the opportunity yet to test the theory).

According to company officials a 6.4-ounce Sencha Shot has five times more antioxidants than standard green tea beverages. The revitalizing effects of green tea include boosting your immune system, which becomes compromised after a night of celebrating, preventing drowsiness and delivering essential nutrients that your body needs to fight the disabling symptoms of a hangover.

Pick up a can for about $2 at area Vitamin Shoppes.

French lessons: "Bonjour. Je m'appelle Henri!"

That's about the extent of the French I remember from my high school language class. (Yes, I knew it was a boy's name, but I was 13 and thought I was funny.)

Learning a foreign language can be intimidating and boring (sorry M. Thompson), but the folks at Mon Ami Gabi restaurant and the Alliance Francaise de Chicago have teamed up to offer a beginners course for travelers in a fun, interactive and nonintimidating atmosphere: a restaurant.

The course includes French for communication, restaurant vocabulary, meals and cultural customs. The class will be offered from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays April 12 through May 10 at Mon Ami Gabi in Oak Brook and Chicago.

The cost of the five-week course is $275 and includes access to Alliance Francais activities, weekly tastings of regional French cuisine and wines and a $50 Mon Ami Gabi gift certificate. Space is limited.

For details, call Mon Ami Gabi, 260 Oakbrook Center, at (630) 472-1900, or Mon Ami Gabi, 2300 Lincoln Park West, at (773) 348-8886.

Kids in the kitchen: Don't let the kids spend spring break sitting around eating all the cream eggs and jelly beans from their baskets. Get them into the kitchen.

Children 10 and older can learn how to decorate cookies, mini cakes, candy and more at Wilton School's three-day kid's camp. Children will open their minds to creativity while they explore with their hands at the Wilton School, 7511 Lemont Road, Darien. The class costs $200, plus a $50 registration fee (please bring bagged lunch; beverages and snack provided).

For details or to register, call (800) 722-7111, ext. 2888, or log on to www.wilton.com/classes/wiltonschool.