Did you watch the finale of Top Chef on Bravo last night? It wasn't as exciting as the previous three seasons, but what it lacked in drama, it made up for in history. For the first time ever, a woman was crowned Top Chef. Chicago chef Stephanie Izard beat out Richard Blais and Lisa Fernandes by preparing a four-course meal -- including dessert -- that wowed the judges and outshone her competitors. I was rooting for Stephanie because all through the Top Chef challenges, she showed talent, temperment, taste and modesty (with regard to her chef skills). She consistently produced great food and even though the win last night was not based on the entire season, it could have been because she again came through.
Just to be clear, Stephanie didn't win because she's a woman and it was time for Top Chef to give the prize to the female of the species. This isn't a Hillary thing, so don't go there!
In my estimation, Richard was a great challenger, but even he said last night when facing Judges' Table, "I choked." He didn't cook his best in the most important meal of the show. He was overly ambitious and made technical mistakes. Lisa, who was cast as the villain in the show -- showing a cocky quality and a brusque manner -- actually was a close second to Stephanie based on the broadcast. The judges were loving what she created. She probably lost by a very slim margin.
Overall, I was happy with Top Chef season four, but I'm looking forward to another all-star iteration. I would like to see Stephanie go up against Tiffani from the first season, perhaps the best Top Chef chef who didn't win, or Lee Ann who was so good that Top Chef made her part of their production team. Casey in season three was also a strong female chef. So, here's what I propose, a series of all-star Top Chefs. An all-girl version, then a girls vs. the boys. But the bottom line, use the previous winners to bring us back for more.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
6-12-2008 @ 10:56AM
Alicia said...
I was so glad that Lisa didn't win... We will never know if it was cut or not, but I would have looked at Lisa and said, "Aren't you going to congratulate me?"
I moved everything out of my reach so I couldn't throw anything at the TV if Lisa won.
I disliked Tiffany... I hated Lisa.
And Casey from Season 3?? I lost all respect for her when she had immunity and the one dude from her team went home when it should have been her.
I think it's too early for an "All-Star" version of Top Chef yet.... maybe after next season. I am just HAPPY that Stephanie won. Happy! Happy!
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6-12-2008 @ 11:03AM
Eric said...
"Did you watch the finale of Top Chef on Bravo last night?"
Guess it doesn't matter if they did or not. Since if they didn't you just ruined it.
Its bad enough to give it away it before the jump, but to give it away in the title and the picture is overkill. Where's Jackie when you need her.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:03AM
Mike B. said...
I bet some ppl recorded this on their DVR and will be mighty upset if they come to tvsquad and get a spoiler like this on the front page...
poor choice.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:13AM
Darnell said...
Spoiler David Cook won AI and Richard Hatch won the first survivor. The show aired already it's not a spoiler, if a person didn't watch it last night that's their problem.
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6-12-2008 @ 4:25PM
Andrew said...
Agreed.
6-12-2008 @ 11:16AM
Donald said...
I'm really glad I watched the finale of Top Chef last night. I recorded it on the DVR but decided I didn't want to chance finding out who the winner was.
TV Squad is usually pretty good about not putting spoilers before the jump, no less in the title of the post. Bad form Allison!
Aside from that, I'm just glad Lisa didn't win. I believe Richard was definatley the better chef, but he did choke last night. That's the only thing I don't like about the show...they only consider that nights food at judges table.
Great season, can't wait for the next one!
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6-12-2008 @ 11:16AM
JPN said...
WOW. Did you know this aired a little more than 12 hours ago? And that DVRs are becoming really popular? And a lot of people can't stay up to watch shows because they have to get up early for work?
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6-12-2008 @ 11:18AM
LA Dave said...
Yeah, thanks I didn't get a chance to watch it yet on my DVR.
How about not spoiling shows in the future?
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6-12-2008 @ 11:21AM
megan13 said...
I didnt watch it, it's on my DVR. Thank you for spoiling it for me. That was a bad decision on your part.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:36AM
starky22 said...
For heaven's sake, people, if you didn't watch it last night, and didn't want to know how it turned out, why then did you come to TV Squad, knowing there was bound to be something written about it? It's your own fault, so quit blaming somebody else already!
6-12-2008 @ 11:38AM
cdawg said...
yeah I did watch it last night, and was still surprised to see the spoiler in the title. And yes, it is a spoiler... I think you should have a 24 hour rule or something about spoilers.
Of course news outlets like CNN will have the winner's name in the headline, but a TV website should know better.
Anyways, back to the matter at hand.
Go Stef! I was shocked by Lisa's performance, I'd actually probably want to eat some of that food. Gail seemed to love her.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:43AM
Fredo said...
THANK YOU FOR RUINING THE FINALE FOR ME IDIOTHEADS!
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6-12-2008 @ 4:37PM
Andrew said...
I think your caps lock button is broken.
6-12-2008 @ 11:47AM
spacy said...
Hey, thanks for the spoiler, appreciate it. Just a heads up, it's 2008; a lot of people have DVRs and don't watch shows when they air. Is it really that much trouble to post the winner after the jump? This site seems to have problems with that once and a while. Maybe it's just a few lame brained posters that have minimal respect for their blog readers.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:48AM
GL said...
Good job, Steph!
Besides that, I can't believe the world doesn't stop for people that don't watch TV when it is aired. For shame.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:48AM
Fredo said...
By the way, i didn't check the website, it just popped in my RSS feed viewer. No way to avoid that one.
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6-12-2008 @ 11:58AM
Akbar Fazil said...
sure there is.
A. Dont read your RSS reader
B. Turn off the TV Squad filter for the day
6-12-2008 @ 11:55AM
LA Dave said...
I don't have a problem with announcing who won, but not in the way that it was done.
You go to the main tvsquad website and there's a picture of Stephanie with it saying she's the winner before the jump.
If you are going to spoil it, spoil it for the people that want to know. Put a picture of Tom C. on the main page and say to find out the winner, click here after the jump.
starky22: There's other articles on tvsquad besides Top Chef stories that we might be interested in. Like maybe why Katherine Heigl decided to take herself out of contention for Emmys because of the "material".
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6-12-2008 @ 11:56AM
Akbar Fazil said...
man you people are whiners.
If you use a DVR to watch a show later, it is your responsibility to avoid news posts about a show the next day. It is not the responsibility of the news provider to keep that information from you.
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6-12-2008 @ 12:14PM
JPN said...
You sound like my parents.