Top Chef - 10/3 - Finale

Cafe Society
1

OK, for some reason thye decided this is Part 2 of the Finale, which makes no sense to me because the last episode, Part 1, was just like any other episode with a Quickfire and Elimnation Challenge and somebody getting sent home, so…go figure.

We are down to three finalist, a massively huge departure from the usual two finalists, meaning…what? I don’t know.

We have Jennifer Aniston, who is going under the psuednym Casey for the show. She woul dbe my pick to win because I think she has shown she has the skill and the imagination and the overall package to be Top Chef. She probably has the best plate and she has really come into her own in the later half of the show.

Then there is Hung, who is the designated villian of this season, which is kind of weak, because in reality he is about as villianous as Stifler from Apple Pie, Stiffler is kind of an asshole to everyone and he is very self-important, but so what, you would hang out with the guy and you would definitely want Hung to cook you dinner. Yes, Hung seems to show more passion for technique than food, yes he is a little too full of himself, but the dude has real cooking chops, the most actual skill of the three. If he wins I would be fine with that, I think between him and Casey it is a toss-up really.

And Dale, rocking the mohawk and the gaytitude and who got his first win in anything last week, b ut in reality is not in the same class as the other two, in my opinion. But he isn’t some slouch, who couldn’t pull of something great and snake the vitory. But my figurative money is on one of the other two.

Of course this being the finale, I hope that the celebrity judge is Bourdain not because I think he is particularly fair or anything, just that he is immensely entertaining. And they will bring in the losers from the previous weeks to serve as sous chefs and there will be some fake drama about whther they will step up for Hung, because Hung is the designated villian. But really, nobody hates Hung on the show, they may get annoyed, but hate, not so much. So the chefs will be judged on whatever and probably they will say something like, “This is a really tough decision.” and then there will be some final product placement and then a winner will be announced.

Probably Dale.

2

Pretty accurate assessment and prediction

As for the Final, Part II - I think it’s due to them arriving on location for the final last week (with 4 chefs instead on the customary 3).

I don’t have a problem with either of the three finalist - whichever one wins - that’s great! Casey has come on strong, Dale is great with sauces, and Hung has the technical skills.

I’m just extremely happy we got to this episode without any of the drama that plagued last season :slight_smile:

3

Casey has a better rack.

4

Before it is announced. I really doubt Casey gets it. Hung is the one.

5

Good decision!

Of the three, Hung was the most consistent throughout the whole season, his dishes were always complimented on their technical precision. It was pretty clear that the producers were giving him the villain edit even though he never did anything to deserve that. He was nothing like Marcel from last season. Dale may have been great here but he’s been in the bottom for most other episodes.

6

Hung won it by being Hung and Dale lost it because he’s Dale. Dale should have known better than to try something that requires boiling at high altitudes. I don’t want to call him stupid, but he has a habit of doing dumb things. Hung’s dishes were technically perfect, as always. Another sous vide dish, and another baffling dish with the chocolate cake.

It’s too bad Casey didn’t decide to show up.

7

Hung deserved it. I was a little surprised that Casey fell on her face as badly as she did (her best dish was the one that Howie made), but after that, there was really no choice but to give it to Hung. He made no mistakes and while the chocolate cake might not have been a reinvention of the wheel, the judges all thought it was perfectly executed and unlike the other two, Hung used his own recipe instead of relying on the sous chefs for inspiration.

I’m somebody who thought that Hung’s villain edit was always kind of silly and unwarranted. He was a little cocky and hyper but I never thought he was an asshole and he’d probably be a great guy to have a conversation with about cooking. I didn’t really have nything against dale or Casey either but I do think they were kind of hoping they could give it to a woman this year but when she booted the ball in the last challenge I don’t think could have justified not giving it to Hung. Dale strikes me as kind of hit or miss. He can bust out one great dish and then totally biff on the next one. Hung is extremely consistent. Even if he’s not always exciting, you know he’s never going to put out anything that sucks. He was the clear choice, I think.

8

:confused:

I agree that Hung deserved to win, both for this challenge and for the whole season, but i don’t recall either Dale or Casey “relying on the sous chefs for inspiration.”

9

For their “surprise” courses, Dale leaned on CJ and Casey leaned on Howie for ideas and execution. Hung gave Sara precise instructions for his cake.

10

Yes, as Dale said, his dish was “100% 50/50.”

11

It’s not comparing apples to apples though. Making a cake is following a recipe and nothing more. Making a scallop dish takes skill and cooking judgment. It would have been impossible for Dale to give him precise instructions. Even 50% input on that dish takes more time and creativity than dictating a cake recipe.

12

Except every time another chef attempted a cake/dessert during the season (including bread pudding…?) it was terrible. Hung knew a recipe for a delicious, perfect cake (I didn’t see a recipe in his hand, seemed like it was from his head) well enough to instruct a sous chef to execulte it perfectly.

The other two relied on their sous chef’s skills to know what to do- which then is not a good reflection of their own abilties to execute a dish. Create an idea, perhpas, but execute and instruct- no. All the judges complimented Hung’s inspiration to do a dessert, just not such a classic one.

13

That’s not how i saw it. Dale gave CJ very precise instructions for how that dish was to be done. In fact, i actually remember thinking at the time, “Well, even if Dale isn’t making that dish, he’s certainly the creative force behind it.” Casey got a bit more input from Howie, but nowhere near enough to work against her in the judging, IMO.

Also, you’ve spent the last 2 months saying that Hung was merely a victim of unfriendly editing, so i’m surprised it hasn’t occurred to you that what you saw on the screen might not reflect exactly what actually happened.

14

Well, based on what we saw on the screen, i thought Dale undervalued his own contribution.

15

What did everyone think of the “live” aspect of the finale?

I’m still trying to figure out what the point was other than sheer novelty. I read on another board that Bravo did it to avoid any leakage of the outcome. I don’t quite buy that. There’s always going to be speculation, but speculation isn’t the same as leaking information.

Congratulations, Hung. You weren’t my first choice, but it doesn’t surprise me in the least that you won.

16

Did the contestants know the outcome before they announced it? When was the Aspen finale filmed?

I dislike Hung. He makes me feel as if I’d have to pass a culinary knowledge test before allowing me to eat his food.

17

It was a molten chocolate cake, which any 12 year old can make out of mom’s Betty Crocker cookbook.

Dale made the fatal error of making an inedible dish for the final challenge, and Casey clearly let the pressure get to her. But Hung is a very scientific and technical chef and it served him well again by not taking any chances from the gut.

18

I’m not surprised Hung won, even though I was pulling for Casey. About the altitude though, would Hung have known the altitude adjustments for a cake recipe off the top of his head? Or was there some way to look up the info?

19

Maybe he was allowed to look stuff up or maybe the molten cake doesn’t require much adjustment for altitude since it doesn’t rise much.

20

It was obviously more than that since the judges were all clearly impressed with the execution.