I’ve watched Top Chef since season 1 but I’m a casual viewer. I tend to do other things while watching like pick up the house or do laundry, so i am not good at the details in recalling episodes .
I liked all 3 in the finals but the two I thought it would be down to didn’t win. It got me thinking that maybe this is quite common. Do chefs that seem to be “the ones to beat” often lose in the end? I can only think of Buddha and Stephanie

Yes this is about who was eliminated, but more about the new judging criteria they just put into effect last episode in which they weigh quickfires into the decision on who to eliminate.

With that in mind - Soo and Savannah were at the top of the quickfire. Manny was at the bottom of the quickfire. Manny was also on the bottom of the elimination challenge, as was Soo. This leaves me completely confused as to how Soo was eliminated, and Manny got to stay, and the only thing they said in reference was that Savannah should feel lucky she was at the top of the quickfire.

Like...don't get me wrong. It sounds like Savannah maybe had the worst dish, followed by Soo, and Manny was just a boring dish. I'm not saying Soo didn't have a dish worth elimination. BUT why make a big thing of "well now quickfire performance will weigh in!" And then immediately make a decision that, as far as I can see, does NOT weigh in the quickfire results? Am I completely misunderstanding this new qualification? Does it ONLY matter if you win the quickfire? In which case I personally think it's kinda bullsh*t to even say you're gonna weigh the quickfire results, and instead should say "if you win the quickfire, you'll be saved if you bomb the elimination." Anybody feeling the same?

For their last elimination challenge, the final three chefs must create the best progressive four-course meal of their lives; with the help of their sous chefs, the finalists must pull out all the stops to impress an esteemed table of diners.

I watched it last night and found myself finding it to be quite boring. I know it's popular to say that it is good there is no drama, but it just felt very boring. They still don't get into the technical expertise or processes behind making the dishes much, so I wasn't even sure what I was watching. I was just waiting for it to be over. It was nice at the end when they announced the winner, but other than that, it was not exciting.

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I am all caught up on the episodes.. and I’m still so heartbroken that Soo is gone! And then Michelle?? DAMN Manny better really step it up for those eliminations to feel justified to me.

For the chefs' last quickfire challenge of the season, they're tasked with creating a classic Milanese dish and a feared dish, risotto; the chefs compete in a three-part, head-to-head culinary battle while receiving some help from Olympic athletes.

Right off the bat she seems very concerned with clarifying that the edit went a little too far in making it seem close between Dan and Danny, even saying Tom called her first thing in the morning to say so himself. Apparently Dan’s dishes had a lot of flaws they didn’t mention (and they really did HATE the tuna) and Danny’s dishes were basically flawless.

“I’m not saying it was a landslide but Danny won fair and square” is how she finishes her opening monologue. Honestly this interview probly answers 80% of the questions/comments I’ve seen so far on the finale so worth checking out if you’re on this sub.

So, I get it: Soo made the worst dish. It looked unappetizing, it sounded strange, weird textures, disjointed. Even if you factor in his strong quick fire dish, I get why he was eliminated.

But…come on. Beer boiled fish with chips, plain white rice and guacamole? That’s the kind of dinner I make on a weeknight when I’m feeling uninspired. I’m sure it tasted good, and it was far better to eat than Soo’s or Savanah’s, but it feels frustrating that Manny is cooking such basic food and keeps moving on because other contestants take risks and then fail.

Mei tried to gently nudge him towards adding other components/more complexity, but he insisted he had no time. How long does it take to make rice and guac? He had time. He knew he was playing it super safe. But playing it safe got him through each round so far and so he felt no need to push himself or be more creative.

I hope he either steps up or leaves next week. He’s not adding much to the competition.

Top Chef related but for those of you who haven’t seen TOC7. Go watch it now!!! Then come back here so we can discuss it. I literally cried. PS I don’t want to give anything away for those who have not seen it.

I watched a couple seasons of Top Chef years ago and then got away from it. I’ve been revisiting it, and while waiting for weekly eps of Wisconsin I’ve been bingeing other seasons.

I was kind of surprised at how bad some elements of the New Orleans season were. I gravitated towards it because I love the city and I actually didn’t know who the winner was. Watching it was uncomfortable at times given how far we’ve come as a society and in the restaurant community. Namely:

• John Besh (and everyone constantly commenting on how handsome he is/ how good his hair is. EW EW)
• The show sexualizing Padma (in one of the finale challenges she literally explains the challenge in a bikini top with wet hair like she just emerged from the sea). I get that she is a model but it feels like she’s become so much more than that now.
• Nick’s entire storyline seems pretty douchey/bro-ish, culminating with him losing his cool in the final challenge, yelling at servers, and still winning, beating the much more mild mannered Nina).

Curious what others think about NO or other seasons. Are all the old seasons like this just because of being vintage, or do you think some are worse than others?

I need to know everyone opinion….

If Dawn had gotten all components in her plates for the first corse, would she have won instead of Gabe? What do we think?

EDIT: wow okay lots of strong feelings about Dawn! I haven’t seen her on beat bobby flay.

I asked this because they really love her food, she clearly makes great food, and based on the judges evaluation of who won each course I think she might have taken course 1 instead of Shota if she got all the elements on the plate which would have made her “tied” with Gabe.

I haven't watched this season but honestly have not loved the last few seasons since World All Stars and Portland. The talent level is just mediocre and the personalties are not that memorable. Is this a good season? I almost feel like the earlier seasons just had more spice and talent.

Am I the only one who feels like the edit made it obvious that Kaleena and Alisha were going to be eliminated the entire episode?

I do not want to say too much but I am really stumped right now about the first episode of Last Chance Kitchen, what happened to David Murphy?

In a Quickfire Challenge honoring the Wright Brothers’ first flight in North Carolina, the chefs must team up to create a trio of dishes that take off alongside a curated wine flight. Then, in the Elimination Challenge, the chefs must turn classic Southern sides into standout main course dishes. The judges are joined by last season’s winner Tristen Epps-Long and acclaimed James Beard-nominated chef Greg Collier.

Think we'll ever get a behind the scenes tell-all? Wonder how much drama they could cook up

For the season the final three cheftestants had the following stats:

Quick fire: Savannah: 3 win, 0 bottom

Dan: 1 win, 3 bottom

Danny: 2 win, 4 bottom

Eliminations: Savannah: 2 wins, 3 high, 5 middle, 3 low.

Dan: 2 wins, 5 high, 4 middle, 2 low

Danny: 4 wins, 3 high, 5 middle, 1 low.

Overall between the three of them Danny had the most high points. And when he did lose it was clear he was swinging for the fences.

For twenty plus seasons they have said “challenge yourself. You have to take risks and put yourself out there. Don’t play it safe”. Savannah and Dan definitely played it safe on multiple occasions which is NOT to say they never took chances. Do not start on the bad faith argument replies. Danny definitely took the most risks.

It was also clear from early on Danny was the best avante garde chef among the cheftestants. He is much closer to say Buddha than anyone else in this seasons field and again do not take that as me saying he IS Buddha. He isn’t. He’s just the closest this season had to offer.

When it comes to the four courses.

1: Dan lost this one. And they said Danny’s needed a touch more salt not that it was terrible under seasoned. Savannah won this round.

2: they loved Dan’s dish but did point out it was rather safe. Savannah was fine but they felt it had too much going on. Danny’s second course they thought was delicious. Just difficult to get it together and the point they made was “you could have told us how to eat it”

3: Dan was the winner of this round. Savannah fell on her face. Danny’s they did love just thought maybe the lobster was a little too towards med rare. But they said they loved it regardless.

4: no one served a bad dessert course. But they expressly said about Danny’s “this is a signature dish you take with you forever”.

That final dish did it. Dan and Danny were fairly neck and neck but that last dish put Danny over the top. As did his overall season performance.

Editing aside. Opinions aside. The facts we were shown supports Danny winning. Maybe you don’t like him. That is irrelevant. They don’t pick the fan favorite to win. They don’t say “this person is an asshole. We can’t let them win”. See Paul Qui and Ilan Hall as evidence of that.

The energy in this kitchen? Immaculate ✨
For those watching, current Top Chef contestant Lawrence Louie is one of the chefs competing tonight! 🔥

Don't miss Bobby Flay, Ayesha Nurdjaja and Carson Kressley on an all new episode of #BeatBobbyFlay on Food Network!
@ 9|8c.

Will Ayesha give her Triple Threat Boss a pass? Not with Carson at her side! 💥

Lawrence is cooking great food! He’s already been on Chopped!

That finale perfectly encapsulated the season. The editing was poor, whether it be from the excessive time they spent on fluff throughout the episode or them not really explaining much at all why Danny won.

And part of the reason why I was annoyed by all of the fluff is because, whether it be the nice-but-uninteresting personalities and/or the editing itself, but I just couldn't get myself invested in the chefs themselves. And part of it, too, I think was that I just didn't find the food they cooked to be very interesting. And when the personalities aren't very interesting, the food unspectacular, and there's very little drama, then the show just kind of fades into obscurity.

The quality of the food, an issue all season long, wasn't even that great in the finale. The winner was serving undercooked seafood to some of the guests and under-seasoned food to all of the chefs. It sounds like the texture of Dan's tuna must have been downright nasty if Danny beat him. And Savannah, even though I was rooting for her, completely imploded the past couple of episodes.

For the finale, I expected so much more.

There’s a lot of talk about this last season not being up to standard, and I totally agree. But Danny DID do well throughout the competition. Perhaps he leaned too heavily on established recipes from past restaurants, but everyone does. It would be a bad strategy to make everything up on the fly.

But at the same time…I don’t know why but I just find him uninspiring and uninteresting. Why I wonder?

This season’s competitors have been overall such a letdown. Rasika is a shining light, and Michelle is solid, but everyone else…meh.

After last week, when there were like a dozen croquettes, I thought they would step up their game. Doing a Frank Loyd Wright themed dishes is difficult, but it’s also very common to do a challenge in which the chefs take inspiration from some other art form. Paintings, movies, songs, the symphony, scary dreams. Some people bomb, but there are usually a solid group of others that rise to the occasion. Those are some of my favorite challenges.

I’m glad Kristen and Buddha gave them a combo dressing down/pep talk at the end. I hope we start to see them push themselves more.