Top Chef Power Rankings
By David Mumpower
December 12, 2012
BoxOfficeProphets.com
1) Lizzie - I was tempted to list John Tesar in first place since Top Chef: Seattle has been edited to tell his story more than the rest, at least thus far. What I could not ignore, however, is that Tesar was nearly eliminated last week. Lizzie, on the other hand, is one of only two chefs thus far who has finished in the top group without finishing at the bottom of an elimination challenge. I also admire her confidence and composure a great deal. I consider her a strong contender.
2) Kristen - Kristen has only finished in the top group once thus far. What is noteworthy, however, is that she won that challenge for something as simple as an onion ring. She seems a bit too green to survive until the finals but until she slips under pressure, there is no rationale to rank her lower simply because she is less experienced.
3) Sheldon - While Sheldon’s team did struggle during Turkeypocalpyse, he has otherwise demonstrated tremendous teamwork. Kuniko and John were complete strangers to him at the time yet they won a pair of challenges together. Then, he and Bart won a Quickfire challenge after barely speaking previously and they followed up with a performance that was what qualified for better than average last week. The reigning Food and Wine Magazine Best New Chef is a sweet man but a formidable chef.
4) John Tesar - We are all waiting for his inevitable implosion. Until then, what is noteworthy is that despite his reputation, Tesar is a great team player when he wants to be. Last week’s slip-up with the duck notwithstanding,
5) Stefan - During Top Chef Season 5, Stefan acted as if all of the other contestants were unworthy of being in the same kitchen as him. In reality, Carla Hall was a better chef while Hosea beat him heads up in the finale. Stefan was at best the third strongest competitor from his season. The disconnect between what he thinks of himself and what he is happens to the largest obstacle preventing him from winning the show this season. Well, it’s that and the fact that he has narrowly avoided elimination in 50% of the challenges to date. Stefan is struggling and needs to get his act together if he wants to avoid CJ’s fate. I am ranking him this high because I know Stefan has the talent to win. He also has the ego to lose in dramatic fashion.
6) Bart - Bart is a freakin’ knight. I will probably mention this during every power ranking because he has to be some sort of cooking icon in his home country to earn such a prestigious honor. Until last week’s Quickfire challenge, I was starting to think the people who championed his knighthood were off their rockers. He had seemed very ordinary if not lacking until Sheldon and he won a challenge. If he struggles again this week, I will give Sheldon all of the credit and go back to presuming he is overrated.
7) Micah - Micah loves him some Micah. I do as well. He reminds me of Nyesha from last season in that he has a calm demeanor combined with a friendly nature. Micah has also formed a solid bond with a couple of the other players this season, something that will play dividends if all of them advance later in the game. Respect is an important commodity on Top Chef. As the youngest player, Micah has to earn his keep a bit more than the others. He is doing a good job of it by keeping a low profile publicly while demonstrating his flair during monologues. The reverse of this is what John Tesar is known for doing.
8) Brooke - Let’s call this one instinct. Based upon performance, Brooke should be at or near the bottom. My belief is that she is one of the strongest chefs this season. As such, I believe that she has underachieved thus far this season and I expect her to gradually climb up the ranks. If she is eliminated over the next couple of episodes, I have ignored the signs and voted her higher than deserved because she is attractive. But I do think she is a good chef who has had some bad luck thus far, hot or not.
9) Joshua - Joshua has inadequacy issues that will probably prevent him from winning Top Chef. He has already bristled at criticism from both Stefan and John because he found the comments arrogant. This speaks to a defensive nature that is unbecoming of a chef with such a sterling reputation. Joshua is better than he thinks he is and if he makes an extended run on Top Chef, he will probably begin to recognize it. He also gets bonus points for deferring to John rather than rocking the boat during last week’s challenge. Yes, their meal almost caused his elimination but it shows Joshua can overcome personal drama in the interest of performing better in challenges. The fact that he didn’t last week is just bad luck. Egoless players historically do extremely well on Top Chef.
10) Eliza - Always finishing in the middle on Top Chef is a nice skill. It prevents the judges from either complimenting you into complacency or criticizing you until you get trapped in an endless loop of second guessing. Eliza has mastered the skill to date. I suspect she is a better chef than has been demonstrated in the challenges thus far. She keeps getting saddled with teammates who do not mesh with her personal cooking philosophy. I lament team/dual challenges for this reason.
11) Danyele - I quite like Danyele. She seems nice and considerate of her fellow participants. Alas, she is so introverted that the show has largely ignored her thus far. Determining where to slot her versus Eliza is a guessing game right now since both have provided middling performances in each challenge to date. I eventually decided that Eliza is probably forceful enough that she will have more determination to win in the end. This may prove silly with the benefit of hindsight in a couple of months.
12) Josie - For a couple of episodes, I was asking “Who in the Blue Hell is Josie?” Now that I know, I wish I did not. While Josie has won a Quickfire challenge, what she has largely demonstrated is that she does not play friendly with others. Also, her ideas for which she will not comprise are largely ill-considered. Josie is not cursed with self-awareness and I question the decision of the producers to include her rather than a former player who would have had a legitimate chance to win.