The honey-baked hams of “Chef Academy”

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:01:00 +0000

Jean-Christophe Novelli was born to play himself on TV. An acclaimed chef with restaurants in London, France and South Africa, Novelli has movie-star good looks, a thick French accent, a piercing gaze and a real talent for making cooking students feel intimidated, then adored, then unnerved, then undermined. Reality TV loves good-looking, temperamental, outrageous experts, of course -- particularly the ones whose sociopathic urges seem to kick in every time that little red light on the camera flickers on.

And from the opening moments of Bravo's "Chef Academy" (premieres 11 p.m. Monday, November 16 on Bravo) Novelli is dutifully outrageous. He doesn't care that his hammy new assistant Joel once worked for Tori Spelling, but he would like to know if Joel can arrange a meeting with "the biggest star ever," Peter Falk of "Columbo." Joel offers an exaggerated frown for the camera.

But Novelli is sincere. He and his fiancée Michelle Kennedy love "Columbo" and meeting him is their dream. Novelli imitates him, pressing his fingers to his face and saying, "Oh, just one other thing!" "This man is the biggest legend ever in American cinema," he explains.

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The honey-baked hams of “Chef Academy”