Here are the finalists for the run of the contest. Thanks for participating!

Trey Massey,
Washington, DC

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Sexiest culinary tool: My hands.

Greatest all-time "success" dish: My one pound caramel ice cream, there is nothing better than turning a spoonful upside down on your tongue, it makes your loins shake.

"Sexiest food": Farmer's Market food. When mother earth gives you her bounty, nothing could be sexier. I find myself aroused when I walk into my market, something changes and surprises me every week. I love the relationship I have with my farmers and the excitement that they bring to my Sunday. If the cook is excited the passion will always transfer to the food.

Marc Ganancias
Lakeland, FL

Sexiest culinary tool:A cutting board &emdash; it symbolizes a bed, where all things are "stripped down" and sorted-out...

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Homemade Gnoccis

"Sexiest food":I think any dish that requires making a sauce is sexy - it has to be from scratch, so the process of prepping and combining the ingredients can be observed...sneaking tastes of the sauce for your "partner" is foreplay, and when it's finally done, there is greater appreciation for what went into the final result. Another dish is my Bittersweet Chocolate Hazelnut Tart - nearly impossible to resist, and also from scratch.

Stephen Vedder
Marlborough, MA
youtube.com/veddergourmet

Sexiest culinary tool:I would have to say my creme brulee torch. Being a guy, I love tools, and this one is the best: accurate, dependable, looks great by cnadlelight and just a wee bit dangerous! I use to get the cheese on my gratinee just right!

Greatest all-time "success" dish:Mmmmm...my spanakopita (greek spinach pie) comes to mind. I like a more "cheesy" interior. There's something about the crunchy phyllo outside and the soft inside that (cold or hot) is my perfect comfort food!

"Sexiest food":It would have to be my chocolate-painted eclairs. I can usually get a couple of groans of pleasure from a few people as they are passed around!

Casey Fox
New Orleans, LA
filledelaville.com

Sexiest culinary tool:The hands, without a doubt.

Greatest all-time "success" dish:Most recently, the cupcakes I made for my partner's birthday—Chocolate Stout and Coconut Tequila. To me, "success" in a dish means making the other person feel nurtured and loved.

"Sexiest food": I find it incredibly sexy to set out some red wine, crusty bread, apples or pears, a good triple creme cheese like Delice de Bourgogne, and a blue cheese drizzled in honey. Something simple and sensuous that requires minimal utensils and fosters conversation allows me to focus concentration on my partner.

Matthew Kutz
Chicago, IL
xmarxchicago.com

Sexiest culinary tool:Pasta Machine

Greatest all-time "success" dish:Boar ragu w/chocolate over fresh, homemade tagliatella

"Sexiest food": Ha. Crawfish. It's one of the few foods you must eat by hand. Fine dining imposes structure and manners and when done right can be quite cerebral, but I don't think it is sexy in and of itself. However, give me a beautiful girl with a ridiculous bib, hands and face covered in butter and crawfish juice, enjoying herself in primal fashion and I will think she's so sexy.

Ty Tafoya
Tempe, AZ
CoyoteCooks.wordpress.com

Sexiest culinary tool:Definitely my hands. In second place? My smile, and knowing when to use it.

Greatest all-time "success" dish:I'm American Indian. I love to weave traditional legends about the foods I'm cooking and the context of how we have historically prepared and used them. The "success" is pairing the right foods with the right person. I watched (and helped) my family do traditional food demonstrations at the tribal resort, and saw how stories and culture can enhance the enjoyment of food. This might be a special way of fixing salmon, or using the freshest of fruits and vegetables, while sharing our stories of how these foods were first given to us by the Creator. I also love to do something new, because I think "success" also comes in being able to explore new things with someone you love. For example, last night it was shrimp I steamed with roasted garlic, fresh corn I had shaved from the cob, and chili. This is fun for me because it gives me a chance to be creative in the sense of using traditional Native foods like shrimp, corn, and chili, but in a combination that isn't traditional

"Sexiest food":Again, I think what's "sexy" for one person may not be as "sexy" for another, so my first thought is the respect I need to show in seeing the individuality of the person. Just so, I think sensuality plays a large part of make a food sexy when I'm preparing it for someone I care about. A few days ago I lightly steamed fresh asparagus spears, and then took two of them and spiral wrapped them in a strip of excellent prosciutto. I arranged them in a sunburst to plate them (one tastes first with the eyes!) and then added a splash of freshly squeezed lemon juice. Setting them aside, I then prepared a hollandaise (always using fresh ingredients) in which I added torn apart fresh basil from the large pot on my balcony. I drizzled the basil hollandaise over the wrapped asparagus, and warmed them—not too hot, because this appetizer makes a very sensual finger food. Tomorrow I think I'll make a tiramisu! I should also add, I think what makes for sexy moments in the kitchen is when we can share not just a meal, but also share in its preparation. For example tonight my dinner partner prepared cocktails. He used fresh, lusciously ripe cantaloupe, a squeeze of fresh lemon, fresh orange juice, and vodka, throwing them with ice into the blender. We're in The Valley of the Sun in Arizona, and it was 100 degrees today. That almost smoothie type of cocktail was a perfect choice. I think it's very sexy when both partners are proud of what they bring to dinner—or to a relationship.

April Hughes
Easthampton, NJ
chstress53.gather.com

Sexiest culinary tool:Potato Masher

Greatest all-time "success" dish:Oysters Rockefeller

"Sexiest food": Dark chocolate-dipped Strawberries does it for me everytime. After all the color red is known to help stoke the fires of passion. And dipping them in chocolate will get anyone's libido moving. After all chocolate is so full of libido-boosting methylzanthines that this sexy food is a win-win to aid me in achieving the ultimate sexy evening.

Peter Shafer
Ridgefield, WA

Sexiest culinary tool: My hands (for mixing, touching)

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Incredible Bread (made as she watches without measuring)

"Sexiest food": Bread. While the wine gets all the talk, and the apparent interest and about which is told the lie that it involves all your senses... it doesn't even come close: Your bread making allows you to get stuff on you so it's fine to be touched. A woman gives herself permission to touch your flour "stains" and point them out to you (as if I don't know they're there). If flour is on your nose or cheek, all the better: innocent touches hold the promises of lost innocence to come. A woman will want to taste the bread dough if you taste it first (as part of the preparing process to avoid measuring anything and getting texture right). The texture of dough is intrinsically funny, so that lightens things up. And joking about getting the right texture, and demonstrating you're a man who can detect subtle differences between the way bread dough feels before and after you've added a pinch or two more of flour can really send her imagination places. Let's pause and think about this. Truly. If you play it right. Remember I mentioned "hands" as the sexiest culinary tool... yeah, here's where it all happens. But you have the extra good fortune of involving your tongue as well... and hers... in the kitchen! Come on, how much ammunition could one need!? Then the scent of bread baking while you talk. Ah... It comforts the woman, makes her feel safe enough, which she in fact is, to let her guard down. Almost as if home. The scent, if you've done your homework, leads you to take your lover (for she is by now) by her hand and lead her to your small, not overly impressive (that would be too much) kitchen garden where you discuss the rosemary versus the thyme and allow her to decide on an overall theme of herbs for the dinner. Then you return to finish preparing the main course before her eyes. Again without measuring a damned thing. The qualities which truly separate a Gastrosexual from those who are ultimately found lacking are three things: 1- You KNOW how to cook 2- You LOVE to cook. 3- You have an undying and earnest love for women and all their femininity. You glance never to be rude or approach but only to admire and take in what is presented as the most beautiful creature on this earth. Bread just becomes the centerpiece of everything. You hold it. You listen to the sound of the crust (putting your head next to hers with the bread warm between your two faces and near to her perfume scented ear. Then in that moment of stillness, when you have a perfect reason to be near to each other, comfortable, without moving, listening to silence when you thought you had to make conversation. Then you break it, inhale, and offer her the choicest piece to place next to her main course. And you're both laughing because listening to crust is silly! But placing your head next to a lover is the most important thing in the world when you do it. Touching each other later will be just a continuation of these sensual delights you have already shared; you have an intimacy that wine can only mimic through drunkenness and pseudo intellectual talk that only distances you from your intimate desires.

Matt Velure
Redmond, OR

Sexiest culinary tool: Chef's Knife - good and bad can be done

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Thanksgiving Turkey

"Sexiest food": Any food that when I serve it to my wife she throws her head back in pleasure after her first bite. When I see that reaction I know that she is happy and that is always my goal when I cook for her. :)

Brad Willis
Greenville, SC
www.rapideyereality.com/archives/category/food/

Sexiest culinary tool: The wooden spoon — classic, multipurpose, utilitarian, and doesn't need batteries

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Roasted red pepper risotto

"Sexiest food": Risotto isn't just sexy. It's sensual. It's unfortgettable. If it were sex, it would be the kind that made you wake up in the middle of the night feeling guilty about what you'd been dreaming. There's no one night stand regret when the risotto is gone. There's a lingering memory, a leftover lust that neither you nor your dinner companion can quite forget. It requires a slow, concentrated prep. Do too much too soon and you're left unsatisfied. Do too little and it's finished and ruined before it begins. Done just right, it something you will remember, something that will spark other desires, something that will make you give it a name like we have at home.

Willie Northway
Ann Arbor, MI
gocoho.org/blog/?p=46

Sexiest culinary tool: spatula (flipper) — it reveals the hidden side

Greatest all-time "success" dish: egg white and yolk layered omelette

"Sexiest food": Steamed Artichokes. This is a great dish because it starts off by getting the kitchen steamy, and fills the room with it's aroma. I prefer the excitement of sharing with a partner to make it feel like we're working toward a common goal. To eat it, you sensuously nibble your way through the outer layers, sometimes adding a touch of sauce - building excitement while undressing the flower bud further. If you've done it right, it's likely that your fingers and mouth are messy. Finally, delicately removing the final layers to reveal the soft fleshy part makes for an ecstatic ending which is more than worth the effort to get there.

Rachel Bradley
Oakland, CA
www.facebook.com

Sexiest culinary tool: mortar and pestle

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Shepard's Pie

"Sexiest food": The sexiest food is comfort food. Comfort food invites an individual to a safe, warm place of love which nourishes the soul while simultaneously arousing sleeping desire.

Cornelius O'Donnell
Corning, NY

Sexiest culinary tool: the mandoline

Greatest all-time "success" dish: paninni with Nutella

"Sexiest food": I'd say beautifully cooked seafood, with as little as possible done to it. I love just-seared high-quality scallops or shrimp, crunchy on the outside, buttery inside. It's the melt-in-the-mouth vs. crispy — so I'd have to say "texture" is key to my cooking. Add the fact that seafood is easy to eat — mostly fork food — but add a little touch of revved-up mayonnaise sauce and you're in heaven.

Ken Forkes
LaCrosse, WI

Sexiest culinary tool: an adventurous spice rack

Greatest all-time "success" dish: brownies

"Sexiest food": Umami has to be the sexist thing in any dish. It's deep and satisfying and sooooooo mysterious.

Tim McMackin
Durham, NC

Sexiest culinary tool: The story behind the food. Magicians use patter; good cooks, hosts, and seducers draw people into the meal with words.

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Bruschetta with fresh tomatoes is the perfect appetizer. Absurdly simple and low-key, but rich, fragrant, and textured.

"Sexiest food": Berries, but always in the right context. Traditional chocolate-covered strawberries? She'll get suspicious. A few juicy blackberries, raspberries, and blueberries with a drizzle of cream? Disarming and playful.

Mary Warner
Atlanta, GA
southernblueprint.blogspot.com

Sexiest culinary tool: A silver teaspoon. One taste of my food from a spoon and my guy was hooked.

Greatest all-time "success" dish: I think all of my desserts are successes because people still manage to eat them after my rich dinners. I love making cakes, though, since they require both cooking and construction skills. I made a birthday cake less intimidating with the addition of sprinkles. Desserts should never be too serious.

"Sexiest food": An avocado. Sometimes I think this should have been the forbidden fruit, rather than the quince, or apple, depending on the story. Avocados are once luxurious and simple. It's a food that can be indulgently consumed in private — with a sprinkling of salt — or mixed with grapefruit, coconut, and greens for an unusual version of ambrosia salad and served to friends. It's like wearing an apron; in the right context, it's sexy and enticing.

Douglas Blatt
Normandy Beach, NJ

Sexiest culinary tool: Whisk

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Perfectly cooked pasta with broccoli, carmelized garlic and tons of parmesan

"Sexiest food": cannot help but think of the adorable spaghetti scene in 'The Lady and the Tramp' (and keeping with the G-rating :) ). When done correctly, eating pasta is perhaps the most sensual food of them all. I could go on but I think I would be moving into PG-13 territory.

Ellen LeClair
Koloa, HI

Sexiest culinary tool: a huge pastry bag fitted with a large star tube filled with sily smooth ganache or italian meringue buttercream. Then the gentle squeezing undulating motions of piping just add icing on the cake!!!!

Greatest all-time "success" dish: just one? i have so many. there just is not enough space.

"Sexiest food": What could be sexier than the finest dark chocolate? Silky smooth and sensuous, it not only contains theobromides to make you feel good but flavenoids for your health. Sexy and good for you!!! It begins to melt on contact with your body temperature and slowly disintegrates it's like a perfume with starting notes, middle notes, and lingering end notes that can range from fruity, winey, and earthy to perfumy, spicy, and floral — and everything in between. it is the gift of love, the food of love, and the feeling of love. what better way to seduce a person than with the best chocolate available? it is an invaluable tool for the gastrosexual and anyone who wants to seduce another with taste and texture.

Iliana Filby,
White River Junction, VT
www.flickr.com/photos/mosaica

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Sexiest culinary tool: The Fork. It's sharp & tantalizingly dangerous, we caress it with our lips, or get the pleasure of feeding the object of our desire delicious titbits.. need I say more?

Greatest all-time "success" dish: It's hard to name one... Here's a lunch I made which I think qualifies though: it was a Japanese inspired dish to celebrate Girl's Day, and, well, it worked. Hamaguri-zushi (sushi rice stuffed into delicate mini-omelettes, salmon balls stuffed with rice and home-made cream cheese, star-fruit, strawberries, asparagus, cucumber salad, umeboshi plum, and passionfruit served in the shell. Mmm!

"Sexiest food": This may seem a bit unlikely, but after many years this still appeals to me as a perfectly aphrodisiac: fresh corn tortillas. The caveat is that you (and preferably your potential sweet-heart) need to make the tortillas yourself, with fresh masa harina. The smell of the fresh dough on your fingers is at once sweet and summery, but also inexplicably sexy and arousing.

Jeremy Konick-Seese, Seattle, WA
www.seattledimsum.blogspot.com
www.bizzarroitaliancafe.com

Sexiest culinary tool: Whisk

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Braised short ribs

"Sexiest food": Sushi. If you're trying to set a romantic mood, sushi is great for a couple of reasons. It's very sensual — it's not only about flavors, but textures too; in fact, the texture and mouthfeel are almost more important than the flavor. Sushi also takes more thought and care than most food. Selecting the best fish, making sure it's cut right, and the aesthetics are just right is a great way to show whomever you're making it for that you really care.

Dan Kim, New York, NY
www.flickr.com/photos/gastrodamus

Sexiest culinary tool: inox egg topper... or my hands

Greatest all-time "success" dish: handmade agnolotti del plin

"Sexiest food": fresh pasta. the whole process of mixing the eggs and flour, kneading the dough, and rolling the sheets is new to most of my dates. plus i get to show her how to knead and roll the dough. there's something really sexy about handling pasta dough and the silky sheets. same goes for rolling potato gnocchi from scratch.

Matthew Parriott, Huntsville, AL

Sexiest culinary tool: Cocktail Shaker

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Tequila Lime Shrimp w/Linguine and Cream Sauce

"Sexiest food": A nice, crusty, homemade loaf of bread-- First off, leavened bread isn't easy to make. A homemade loaf of bread shows you've invested the time and patience, not only to bake the bread, but to learn the recipe and execute it well. Bread is also a great blank slate where you can express yourself in a culinary way. You can make a compound butter with fresh herbs, or roast a head of garlic with a little olive oil and salt, or grab some tomato sauce, capers, and mozzarella cheese-- any of these makes a great appetizer or complement to your main dish.

Phil Nigash, Irvine, CA
www.mylifeasafoodie.com

Sexiest culinary tool: CO2-charged whipping dispenser (for foams, whipped cream, etc.)

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Rosemary-infused apple caviar.

"Sexiest food": The sexiest food is without question, sushi. Specifically, nigri. It's petite, clean, simple, and when prepared by a master sushi chef - art on a plate. Sushi is food that begs you to eat it with your hands. And, in the right setting, it's something you can feed each other. To me, nothing is sexier than having someone feed me - especially something as delicious and opulent as a small slice of expensive fatty tuna (toro).

Laura Chavoen, Chicago, IL

Sexiest culinary tool: my apron

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Moroccan stew with apricots

"Sexiest food": Any food that takes a looong slooow cook and fills the house with splendid smells is the epitome of sexy. The prerequisite breaks during the course of the recipe ensure that the meal is both an aphrodisiac and satiates all hungers. The preparation is foreplay, the braise, stew, roast or bake is the 'main event' and the finish is the perfect intimate ending.

Samuel Clark, Toronto, ON

Sexiest culinary tool: Whisk

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Avocado & Brie Sandwich

"Sexiest food": I think anything that's heavily spiced, that makes your face flush and your cheeks glow is sexy. Of course, there's also something to be said for anything that's enjoyed with unironic, intense glee. I've seen that response to pie, or barbeque, or even well-made sushi. No offense to vegans, but I've never seen that guttural, visceral response to brown-rice and seaweed.

Scott Heimendinger, Seattle, WA
www.seattlefoodgeek.com

Sexiest culinary tool: My red silicone basting brush. The soft bristles are good for more than just oiling your meat :-)

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Baked Lobster Tail with White Chocolate and Pomegranate Reduction

"Sexiest food": I love most aphrodesiac foods (oysters, figs, lamb, etc) but I happen to think an excellent piece of ahi tuna is extremely sexy. It must be handled delicately, and when done right, it melts in your mouth.

Sandra Jackson, Washington, DC

Sexiest culinary tool: the spoon

Greatest all-time "success" dish: osso bucco

"Sexiest food": Almost anything tasted off the tip of the finger of one's love is pretty sexy food. You are in the kitchen with Love; watching, looking, perhaps drinking a glass of wine. Love says, " Taste this." You reach in and a drop of sauce, broth, cream or a tiny bit of crispy salty hard skin of chicken or seared veal is held out towards your mouth. Inevitably you will also taste a touch of Love's fingers as the morsel makes it's way into your mouth. Brown butter is sexy, so's jam, mashed potatoes, sauteed tomatoes, charred eggplant strips, al dente pasta, lemon meringue pie filling, brussell sprouts with bacon fat...it's all good.

Allison Jones, Portland, OR
lemonbasil.blogspot.com

Sexiest culinary tool: A Well-worn Wooden Spoon

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Raspberry and Blackberry Cinnamon Truffles

"Sexiest food": I'm going to have to split this answer into savory and sweet. The sexiest savory food has got to be artichokes! The process of eating a steamed artichoke, fresh from the farmers' market, is intrinsically sensual. Think about it: pulling, leaf by leaf, the pieces of artichoke, submerging in golden melted butter, and sliding them into your mouth before stripping the delicious artichoke meat with your teeth... Plus, eating an artichoke is time consuming, which means more time for eye-contact and flirtatious conversation. The sexiest sweet food has to be ripe, Oregon blackberries, warm off the vine. The way the plump, juicy berries pop in your mouth with the slightest pressure, not to mention how perfectly they go with that famously sexy food, chocolate. Come summertime, I'm luring in the men with blackberry truffles, blackberry fudge cake, blackberry brownies, and whole, fresh berries with a thick, custardy homemade ice cream. Works every time.

P.L. Beck, New Haven, CT

Sexiest culinary tool: A Staub Cocotte

Greatest all-time "success" dish: Roast suckling pig, with all the trimmings.

"Sexiest food": Anything raw: from oysters and steak tartare to ceviche or carpaccio -- something about that uncooked flesh, still wet and translucent.

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