Respect Authority

After watching chef Tom Colicchio on countless seasons of Bravo stalwart Top Chef (and by countless I mean five), I’ve grown to respect and perhaps even like the bald-headed foodie icon, whose presence on reality television softens the fact that his Craft restaurant empire is way out of my price range. 

So it was a little disappointing to discover during the 81st annual Academy Awards Sunday that Colicchio has joined the ranks of celebrities hocking something inane just to make a quick buck. 

Indeed, despite Top Chef’s ludicrous pandering to sponsors Glad and Kenware, I was surprised to see Colicchio himself starring in a Diet Coke commercial. Joining the ranks of former Diet Coke spokespeople Adrian Brody and Kim Basinger, the renowned chef has hardly sunk to the bottom (where there’s currently a tie between Tony Hawk’s Bagel Bites and everyone who’s ever endorsed Right Guard Xtreme Powerstripe), but considering chemically-sweetened diet soda is a far cry from gourmet dining, it’s a rather odd pick for Colicchio. Sort of like Rachel Ray’s endorsement of Dunkin Donuts, except Colicchio wasn’t wearing a scarf that small-minded morons might confuse with traditional Arab garb. Smart thinking, Tom. 

I guess with this whole recession thing putting a damper on fine dining, even a culinary scion has to sell out every once in awhile. 

[Fun Fact: Past Diet Coke slogans have included three reprisals of "Just for the taste of it!," as well as "You are what you drink" and -- oddly -- 2006's "Light it up!"]