We took our "Top Chef Masters" complaints straight to the top last night, corralling Bravo's senior vice president of original programming and development, Andy Cohen, on the red carpet for the National Magazine Awards at Lincoln Center.

Look, we said, we love seeing star chefs face off against each other in the tried-and-true "Top Chef" format, but there's been an inconsistent lack of drama that a typical episode featuring Robin and Eli bickering might provide. We asked Cohen whether he could, you know, jazz up the show a bit.

"The Champions rounds starts in two weeks," Cohen said. "There are some really intense people that make it through. There is drama. They are very competitive."

But they are always so nice to each other, we whined. "They are a different level of chef. They treat each other differently," he said. "But there are a lot of interesting things to come on that show. Seriously. Susan Feniger, who's moving to the Champions round, is so fun to watch. "

And talk about job benefits: Cohen told us that he does get to taste the food on "Top Chef" (the plates shot for close-ups get sent to the producers after taping). "We call it 'food porn,'" he said. Somehow that phrase prompted us to confess a crush on a certain French chef. Will Cohen pass on Speakeasy's mash note to Ludo Lefebvre? Cohen said yes. Will Lefebvre read it and get in touch? A blog can dream.