Top Chef: Las Vegas

[HannahP 119]

Anyone watching? (I think there was a big TC thread last season?)

I'm kind of disappointed -- it's pretty easy to tell who's going to be in the top. The women are pretty weak this season...

[Jenn! 918]

Except for that one woman, Jennifer. I think she could go all the way.

The brothers will do well, and then the two chubby guys too.

[HannahP 119]

^pretty much my thoughts exactly. The brother-rivalry will be interesting. And I do think Jennifer could go all the way -- she did REALLY well as executive chef last episode. Of course, she'll probably get kicked out during restaurant wars a la Tre and that other Asian guy who wasn't Hung.

[Jenn! 918]

Except for that one woman, Jennifer. I think she could go all the way.

The brothers will do well, and then the two chubby guys too.

Cool, these are the final five. B)

I'd like to see Kevin win, if only to spite Michael V. who keeps making snotty remarks about his food.

[Jenn! 918]

No one else watches?

[Susita 175]

I watch. I don't like Michael or Eli. They're too cocky. I like Jennifer, Bryan & Kevin.

[*julez* 124]

I watch! Totally love Top Chef!!

I am hoping Kevin will win. The Voltaggio brother's rivalry is a bit much for me. I don't think Eli or Jennifer have been consistent enough to win the whole shebang.

Looking forward to tonight's episode.

[Welshcookie 17]

I'm a Kevin fan too....I don't like the brothers too much as I think they went into it thinking they already had it wrapped up...I like Jennifer, but it has been sad to see her lose confidence in her self as the weeks have gone by.

I'd like to Eli go home tonight.

[*julez* 124]

I agree, Welshy, about Jennifer. In the beginning I had very high hopes for her, but she just can't seem to regain her earlier momentum. And yeah - Eli needs to go!

[*julez* 124]

Bye, bye Eli!

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

I am hoping for Kevin to win. The brother rivalry is getting boring.

[Jenn! 918]

I didn't catch the entire episode, but from what I saw, the challenge seemed hard. Glad Eli went home. I think the judges are taking prior weeks into account more than they have in previous seasons. Based off of this challenge alone, I think Michael would have been gone, no?

[*julez* 124]

I totally agree, Jenn. And I wish Michael had been the one to go home! I am sick of his cocky attitude. I love that Kevin won, especially since Michael said that the food Kevin makes is the food he makes on his day off. Even better that Kevin gets to participate in that prestigious French cooking event!

If one of the brothers has to win, please let it be Brian.

ETA: Jenn - your son is adorable!

Edited November 19, 2009 by *julez*

[Susita 175]

I totally agree, Jenn. And I wish Michael had been the one to go home! I am sick of his cocky attitude. I love that Kevin won, especially since Michael said that the food Kevin makes is the food he makes on his day off. Even better that Kevin gets to participate in that prestigious French cooking event!

If one of the brothers has to win, please let it be Brian.

ETA: Jenn - your son is adorable!

Michael's presentation was really good cause of the experience he's had in competitions, IMO that's why he didn't go home.

Eli's meat was cut poorly plus they didn't like it.

I'm glad Kevin won. I want Michael to go next, he pisses me off with his cocky attitude.

[Jenn! 918]

Finale tonight!

'Top Chef' Closes Out Its Best Season

December 9, 2009

by Linda Holmes

Some reality-competition shows (I hate that phrase, incidentally -- "immersion game shows"?) manage to remain solid over a long period of time, but I don't think I've ever seen one put out its best season as late as the sixth go-round, as Bravo's Top Chef has done this season. Tonight's finale tops off what has been an enormously satisfying, if predictable, run, demonstrating that you don't have to be shocked by who does well in order to enjoy the ride.

A discussion of the season to date, but no spoilers about the finale, after the jump.

What's remarkable about this season is how much fun it's been despite the fact that the top four chefs appeared to be (1) totally obvious and (2) head and shoulders above everyone else from the very start. You had the two Voltaggio brothers, Michael (the arrogant but apparently brilliant show-off) and Bryan (the much nicer, less showy one); the high-strung, never-satisfied Jennifer; and the darling, down-to-earth Kevin (whose name I almost never remember, because my friend and I called him "Beardy" pretty much exclusively). Everybody else was an afterthought, and yes, they were picked off in whatever random order in a seemingly unstoppable march to victory.

It's pretty obvious that these four people make great food. They also have very impressive resumes: Jennifer works for uberchef Eric Ripert, for instance. They're very, very good at what they do.

The difference is in their styles, and the show has done a great job of highlighting that fact and making it appear that any of the three who are left -- Jennifer left last week in the closest elimination of the season, it seemed -- would be perfectly valid winners for entirely different reasons. Michael is the most daring; Kevin makes the most consistently satisfying food; Bryan is more conservative than Michael but more adventurous than Kevin.

There's really no villain: Michael is kind of a blowhard, and he likes to make snotty remarks about Kevin's simpler cooking and how it's the kind of stuff he makes on weekends. But rather than dwell on that as meanness, the show has highlighted it as foolishness, teaching over and over again that Michael refuses to learn the lesson that it's not just about making the most complicated thing you are capable of; it's about making the food that tastes the best to the people who are eating it.

This season's challenges have succeeded in highlighting specific things people did that didn't make any sense and got them booted -- such as contestant Mike Isabella's belief that you could call a leek "protein" when feeding it to vegetarians by slicing it and trying to make it look like a scallop. For the most part, the things that happened made sense and were judged fairly (take a hint, Project Runway!), and the result is that the best three contestants are facing off in the finale, and I actually care who wins, and it's not because I hate anyone.

Though I will admit I am pulling for Kevin, who has been my favorite since the first episode. Git it, Beardy!

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