Top Chef Recap

By David Mumpower

January 6, 2014

Alas, superstition had no impact this week.

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Padma and hunky John Besh inform the chefs of their Elimination challenge. A party is being hosted at Mardi Gras World by Louisiana Seafood. They want the chefs prepare a dish “highlighting two different types of seafood." Padma states that there will be 1,000 patrons in attendance. As the chefs feel the blood rushing out of their face, she cracks a Cheshire grin and states that the actual number is 200. Who set Padma to "Cheeky" this week?

Before the challenge begins, the guests are treated to a special dinner…at John Besh’s house. Stephanie’s face is identical to that of a 13-year-old girl invited backstage at a Justin Bieber concert. Besh will even cook for the competitors. How does Stephanie describe her fantasy come true?

“Chef John’s cool and doesn’t seem arrogant. And I don’t think he’s ever had a bad hair day, which is just enviable.”

I don’t even know where to begin. Besh’s hair is floppy and white in all the wrong places. He does still seem to have most of it, which is fairly impressive for a 45-year-old but what Stephanie is saying simply does not mesh with what I’m seeing. I mean, if she wanted to compliment his teeth, I could see that. But the hair??? That’s the thing about intense crushes. They kick off the logic circuits in the brain.




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Besh’s dish is sampled first by the winner of the challenge, Shirley, as a tiny additional prize. As Shirley asks for more salt, Stephanie not so casually evaluates the kitchen. You can basically see the wheels turning in her head as she plays what she will keep and what will be discarded during the remodel after she becomes queen of John Besh’s castle. Since Mr. Besh is married, the Game of Thrones fan in me wonders if/when Stephanie will push her out a window. If it happens during the show, the ratings will be *epic*.

The dinner conversation, one that does include the perilously positioned Mrs. Besh, focuses upon the novel aspects of Top Chef. Stephanie notes – without getting tongue tied, which is impressive – that her self-esteem had been destroyed after her previous failure during the season 10 premiere. Even though she has not dominated this time, her cooking confidence has been rising because she has proven to herself that she does stack up well against her peers.

Besh wisely notes that the Top Chef format itself can be problematic. Great chefs such as the current Last Chance Kitchen champion, Louis, are wonderful in their profession yet they are undone by “trying to do too much and overthink it because you so want to beat everybody else”. That is truly great advice for future cheftestants. To wit, if Justin had not been in his own words “too Chef-y” last week, he would still be alive in the game.

Staying within yourself is something few Top Chef players have mastered. Carla Hall is a great example of someone who was doing exactly that right up until the finale when she moved away from what she knew in a failed attempt to impress the judges. Not coincidentally, she did not win even though she was the best player down the stretch during her season. Self-control and self-awareness represent a pair of potent traits on Top Chef.


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