• Thursday, February 19th, 2009
The finale of Top Chef began as a roller coaster of near redemption and just missed opportunity for me. What opportunity? To be right in my choosing Stefan and Jamie as the final chef’s to be left standing. Sadly that was not to be, but in better news this episode actually had the entire roster of cheftestants bringing a deep understanding of the cuisine being prepared, and in most cases passion. more…
Category: Food Entertainment
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As the end of tonight’s episode came closer my wife kept proclaiming that “your guy” is going to go home, meaning Stefan. I couldn’t explain to her that I didn’t really like Stefan, but he’s a great chef. Did that stop her from continually harassing me about being wrong in my Top Chef predictions? Nope. There are just some people you can’t watch Top Chef with, and my wife is one of them. She’s a jerk. 
Well this episode of Top Chef made two people look like a fool. The first is me with my now lame predictions on who will be in the finale. But I’m sticking with Stefan, he’s still the man. The other fool I’ll reveal later. Bringing Eric Ripert onto Top Chef usually means two things: fish, and back to basics French cooking. And that came through in spades, much to Jamie’s apparent annoyance. Seriously, she seemed to have such a chip on her shoulder the entire time that I knew what would happen before it did. 
It’s been two weeks since I’ve been able to watch Top Chef — I was in Sundance for the last two episodes – and I come back to three of the strongest players hitting the bottom. Pile on top of that one of the weaker cheftestants, in my opinion, coming out on top in the Elimination Challenge. It was a topsy turvy world for this returning Top Chef fan. 
It’s been two weeks since last we entered Top Chef kitchen. And the return was worth the wait, even if Jean Christophe Novelli took things way too seriously. Not that he shouldn’t, but a chuckle now and then wouldn’t kill. At least Toby Young, London food critic extraordinaire was on hand to provide some of the most quotable moments in Top Chef history. 
I’m not a chick, as is evident by my supremely manly ways. That being said, I do have some experience with bridal showers. I admit that the bulk of my knowledge deals with avoiding the party to go play golf, and maybe eating some leftovers that night while my wife and her sister’s reminisce about the girly good times of only a few hours ago. Clearly the most ballsy member of Top Chef this week was Gail Simmons, who allowed the cheftestants to compete by cooking for her bridal shower. 
So it’s week three of Top Chef New York and coincidentally also Thanksgiving Eve. Actually, is that really what it’s called? I guess technically it is, so let us just go with that. In any case the cheftestants are tasked with cooking a Thanksgiving spread for the Foo Fighters, musicians extraordinaire, and their entourage. Even better Richard lets the audience know that Leah is the flirty one with a nice rack. 
”It’s not how many dragons you kill; it’s who goes home with the princess.”
If you’re expecting me to review each and every dish on the premiere of Top Chef you will be sorely disappointed. Maybe when we get down to the nitty gritty later on I’ll be able to do that, but did you see how many dishes were prepared? With 17 cheftestants going there was a lot to take in, which is why this episode was fifteen minutes longer than the typical episode. 
