Saturday, March 7, 2009

Top Chef: After the final rose


Ha ha ha. Not quite the Bachelor, thankfully. While Hosea may have gotten a little flack for winning Top Chef, it hasn't nearly had the press coverage of that OTHER reality show this week. Thankfully.

Anyway, I almost forgot about this final hoo-ha episode of Top Chef, but when I saw that it had been recorded on our dvr I was quite pleased. I always enjoy the recap and the video montages, and of course, the fan favorite! This episode was no exception, and actually went a long way toward reminding me why I enjoyed this season so much, in spite of my recent whining about the winner...

These cheftestants really enjoyed competing with each other, almost all of the time. Sure there were some tiffs and spats and Jamie didn't appreciate the love Stefan had (still has!) for her, but there weren't really any of those over the top bleep-fest-shouting-matches as in seasons past. I remember noting that when they helped each other out a number of times--either sharing ingredients or helping finish a fellow chef's dish. It seemed more collegial than in seasons past, and some of the previous "unseen" footage underscored that.

And of course, it was fun to see the video tributes to the finalists, and other bits about the birthday curse, Carla's kookiness, who was the biggest crier, and of course, the whole Hosea-Leah romance. Enough already. My favorite video was the bromance between Fabio and Stefan, of course, and all the kissing of Stefan's bald head! I don't think I buy Stefan's rather weak, "I'm relieved I didn't win" defense. Yeah, right. Because that's why you put yourself through that whole ordeal, to come in second place. Sounds about right. Hmmm.

Oh, and the other thing that pleasantly surprised me was how un-annoying Toby Young came across. Fairly mellow, a little tongue in cheek, and having a good sense of humor about how he'd been perceived so far this year. I had to give him a few points for that. The editors undoubtedly had a lot to do with how snarky he came across at the judges' table.

In the end, the lovely outcome that Fabio was the fan favorite made my day--not much suspense there, as he was pretty much the only one in major contention who hadn't had a video tribute yet. But still, he was an endearing candidate who seemed to have a good grasp on his cooking, his attitude and what it meant to compete. Kudos to him! $10K is nothing to sniff at... although maybe Stefan is glad he wasn't voted fan favorite? Ha. The way he was portrayed, I'm pretty sure he wasn't in the top 5, even.

There are some great videos at bravotv.com; I'd have posted them here, but had some real trouble embedding them, so head on over and have a laugh!

1 comment:

  1. I hate hate hate reality for exactly the reason THAT OTHER show got all the headlines this past week... but at least shows like Top Chef have truly talented contestants. I really enjoyed your episode reviews this season!

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