Top Chef Finale
By Jason Lee
September 20, 2010
It sounds like Kevin won the meat course as well. Tom wasn’t a fan of the meringue that Angelo used and Ed overcooked his duck. Kevin, as mentioned during the diner cooked his duck the best, though it doesn’t sound like it was an AMAZING dish. I think this might have been the weakest round for the chefs.
Finally, we have the dessert round. There’s no question, Kevin won this one. Angelo comes in a close second, but Gail enthusiastically talks on and on about how Kevin’s dish transforms from a really subtle dining experience into something that packs a real punch.
At the end of the discussion, Padma notes that they have “a clear winner.” Wow, that’s a change. Usually the judges are up in the wee hours of the morning discussing who should win. The fact that one chef stood out is a real change.
Based on everything I’ve written, you guys know already that I’m predicting a win by Kevin. “Tonight, the Top Chef was the one who took the most risk but also cooked the best meal,” says Tom. Yup, it’s gotta be Kevin.
Padma looks up at the three chefs.
"Kevin…"
"… you are Top Chef.
“I AM!?!?!” he exclaims.
“Yes, you are,” she says with a smile.
//
And with this proclamation, Top Chef DC ends. Everyone is incredibly happy for Kevin, and the other two finalists immediately congratulate him. The judges come around to embrace the three chefs, and from the back, the three sous-chefs and Kelly emerge to share in the celebration. It’s a great moment for Kevin . . . but I think I’d feel more excited if this were a more exciting season.
As it is, Kevin is one of the least dominant Top Chef winners in the history of the show. He only won one Elimination Challenge over the entire season, a mark only matched by Harold (Season 1 winner) and Hung (Season 3 winner), and both of those seasons had fewer episodes (11 and 13) than this current season had (16), which means fewer Elimination Challenges to win.
Kevin also only won one Quickfire Challenge, which ties him with Stephanie and Ilan for fewest Quickfire wins by a Top Chef. Of course, Stephanie won four Elimination Challenges and Ilan won two, so they pass him in that respect.
But as any cheftestant will tell you, the only thing that matters is who wears the crown in the end. And Kevin won it, fair and square. Major congratulations to him.
Last note: David Mumpower and I were chatting after the finale and while we both stand in awe of how close Hung took Angelo to winning this title, seeing Kevin named Top Chef only increases our admiration of Michael Voltaggio. Why? Because during the episode, Kevin mentioned that he used to work under Michael V. So counting Hung and Marcel who also worked for him, that means that two Top Chefs and one Top Chef runner up has come out of Michael Voltaggio’s kitchen. That’s pretty damn amazing.
So if I decide to quit law school and become a chef, I bet you have a pretty good idea of where I’ll be sending my resume.
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