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Stalking 'Top Chef Las Vegas': The M Resort's Buffet Studio

Where: 12300 Las Vegas Boulevard South [map], 89044
May 19, 2009 at 12:45 PM | by Erika Pope | 4 Comments

Rumors have been circulating for a few weeks on foodie fanatic blogs that Season 6 of "Top Chef" will be filming at the new M Resort, the one we told you about yesterday that laid off 100 workers last week. Indeed, we even heard from a very inside source of our own that the popular show's sixth season would be filming here.

But our attempts to verify what would seem to be a very simple little fact have been weirdly unsatisfying. First of all, we totally don’t buy the PR rep for M who claimed total ignorance as to whether or not the show was filming there. If you’ve ever been at a Vegas hotel when they’re shooting a movie or reality show or, heck – even a local newscast – on site, you’ll see at least one PR type standing there, cell phone to ear, babysitting the crew. No one gets to film at a property unless they’ve cleared it with the PR people. It’s house rules.

Mystifyingly, we were told by the PR person to “just call the main number and ask the operator” if the show was filming on site. Huh? The operator would know and you don’t? Again, we don’t buy it.

Anyway, lacking a better alternative, we did just that and as a result might have actually collected clue No. 1 in our Stalking Top Chef Las Vegas quest. The operator we spoke with immediately seemed to know where to send us – to the buffet manager – and transferred us accordingly.

Aha! The show might just be filming in M’s buffet, Studio B, an eating establishment distinguished by its theatre-in-the-round design, multiple live-action cooking stations and 110’x6’ video monitors so everyone can watch. It is as much designed to be an entertainment venue as an eatery, so it would make perfect sense that they’d want to host a cooking reality show there.

In addition, the hotel built an honest-to-goodness TV set behind the buffet with the intent to use it for filming. When we toured the hotel before it opened, an M resort exec told us he envisioned Martha Stewart filming an "On Location" type of show there. However, we're not so sure the studio kitchen is big enough to host an entire cast of cheftestants and their quick-fire challenges. As soon as we can confirm that, we’ll let you know.

Meanwhile, Eater LA was scouring chef Twitter pages about Top Chef and found that Tyler Florence twittered then deleted his involvement with the show as a guest judge. Ditto for Penn Jillette who wrote (and deleted):"Tomorrow we spend all day shooting "Top Chef". Man, lots of people love this show. We are judges. We get to eat rabbit and dove."

Also we can't rule out judge Tom Coliccho's own Craftsteak outpost at the MGM Grand for a challenge location. But even Robin Leach had little luck in getting any of the dirt on that. Sounds like the "Top Chef" producers have serious lockdown on where any of these challenges are being filmed. As we said before, this is highly unusual for Vegas hotels to keep filming locations on the DL. Not to mention, totally annoying. We want the scoop!

We're now opening up this post to any sightings, rumors, filming locations, behind the scenes drama and anything else that you might know about "Top Chef." Become a VegasChatter Member and drop all the hot goss' here.

4 Comments

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  1. juliana

    VegasChatter Editor

    top chef tasting...

    going on tomorrow night. somewhere on the strip but my money is on either Venetian/Palazzo.
    May 19, 2009 at 11:47 PM
  1. QueerInMySoup com

    VegasChatter Member

    Dear Top Chef ...

    .... you can run ... but you can't hiiiiide!!

    *****************
    http://www.queerinmysoup.com

    May 20, 2009 at 12:50 AM
  1. foodGossip

    VegasChatter Member

    Top Chef Vegas

    You all better hurry up.  They started filming April 27th and were set to go about 5 weeks.  This would be week 4 and it is about over.  Split up and stalk whole foods.  I hear the likely store is the Vegas Blvd location.  Just what I've heard.  
    May 20, 2009 at 11:01 PM
  1. Davin12

    VegasChatter Member

    Hi,

    Nice work! Your post is an excellent example of why o keep coming back to read your excellent quality content that is forever updated. Types Of Events, Community Events Thank you
    August 16, 2010 at 5:18 AM

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