Top Chef All Stars: LA

[starvenger]

Won't say the winner here. Will give you guys a chance to watch before making my comments on the finale.

For now, I wanted to look back at my first post:

- My preseason favourites are Bryan Voltaggio and Gregory. Volt is a beast that came second on Top Chef Masters, and Gregory lost Top Chef Boston because Mei - who was no slouch herself - went beast mode in the finale.

My preseason favourites did OK here. Bryan and Gregory both made it to Italy. And for some reason I didn't realize that Bryan has made it to 3 finales (1 being Top Chef Masters) and thus has never been told to pack his knives. It probably makes him the Marv Levy of Top Cheftestants but it's impressive nonetheless.

- Weakest chefs I thought were Stephanie (who got hosed on her elimination) and Jamie (who stupidly gave up his immunity and got eliminated)

Dead wrong on Stephanie, although in the beginning she wasn't really bringing it. She was never the worst though (the "outrun the bear" joke comes to mind for some reason) and in the end showed why people were upset that she got eliminated when Nicholas had immunity and easily the worst dishes of his team.

Jamie... sorry, that was an easy call. But I suppose they needed a chef from the Charleston season and Jim Smith was maybe unavailable?

- Dark horses IMO are Melissa and Eric

Still upset about Eric going home before Restaurant Wars, but he was kind of inconsistent so in the end the elimination wasn't that surprising.

Melissa has obviously done quite well. 6 Elimination wins (of 13) prior to the finale is really good - tied with Stephanie for second most in a season. Winning the finale would put her in sole possession of second. She did have her stumbles right after Restaurant Wars but she recovered nicely.

 

[C&Jx2]

The right person won IMO

 

[lynxstch]

The right person won IMO

I totally agree..that person was my favorite from day 1!

 

[zoo2tycoon]

Glad the person who won did!

 

[kaytieeldr]

I grudgingly agree, but would have preferred a different winner

Fan Favorite surprised me a little. Not wrong, just that based on comments here, I expected a different FF.

 

[msjprincess]

I think the win was deserved, even though it wasn't my 1st or 2nd choice.

 

[starvenger]

Fan Favorite surprised me a little. Not wrong, just that based on comments here, I expected a different FF.

My personal favourite is admittedly an acquired taste. That aside, this season was loaded with fan favourites of seasons past (and also Lisa, Angelo and Malarkey) so you could see a number of people winning. Even Zen Angelo.

Tbh the only FF winner I questioned was Chris Crary in Top Chef: Texas. I figured it would be Beverly. But it turned out that Chris mounted a serious online campaign to win that, so it made sense from the voting perspective.

 

[soccerdad72]

I think the win was deserved, even though it wasn't my 1st or 2nd choice.

ITA - it was probably the right decision, even if it wasn't who I was rooting for.

 

[Allison]

I was rooting for Bryan.

 

[antmaril]

I think the win was deserved, even though it wasn't my 1st or 2nd choice.

I feel the same way.

 

[fly girl]

Well, the right person won! Dishes were all original and executed beautifully.

All three deserved to be in the top 3. No losers in that bunch!

And I have to eat my words about Malarkey. He took his role as a sous chef and didn't overpower Stephanie. This was the Malarkey I remember from seasons ago and liked. Happy he proved me wrong.

I was happy to see Gregory make an appearance in the end. I really wonder how he would have fared if his back wasn't giving him trouble. No question, that threw him off his game. And what a nice compliment Tom gave him on WWHL last night. When asked what chef he'd work with, without hesitation he mentioned Gregory.

 

[Deb]

somehow I missed who won fan fave, please fill me in

 

[starvenger]

I will refer you to the wikipedia page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_Chef:_All-Stars_L.A.

 

[lorimay]

It was a great season , happy with the winner! Well deserved.

 

[kaytieeldr]

somehow I missed who won fan fave, please fill me in

Melissa

 

[Adelle Dazeem]

Well, the right person won! Dishes were all original and executed beautifully.

All three deserved to be in the top 3. No losers in that bunch!

And I have to eat my words about Malarkey. He took his role as a sous chef and didn't overpower Stephanie. This was the Malarkey I remember from seasons ago and liked. Happy he proved me wrong.

I was happy to see Gregory make an appearance in the end. I really wonder how he would have fared if his back wasn't giving him trouble. No question, that threw him off his game. And what a nice compliment Tom gave him on WWHL last night. When asked what chef he'd work with, without hesitation he mentioned Gregory.

Agreed - Stephanie really surprised me with her over all performance in the season. I would have expected her to be out in the first half of the show, but she finally got out of her head and started to show her talent.

Malarkey was a good soldier - did was he was told and didn't make anything about himself. That is the Brian we saw in his original season and liked so much.

Felt a bit bad for Bryan V. He's been so close every time, but just missed out. His lasagna looked amazing! I am not a foodie and most of what they cook are dishes that are way too fancy for me so the lasagna was right up my alley!

I am bummed I didn't think to record WWHL and I missed Padma and Tom.

I love watching this show and I am always so disappointed when each season ends. This was a great one with so much talent. I'm ready for another.

 

[starvenger]

Here in Canada we sort of had a double dip since they were airing Top Chef Canada as well. I like the original better though - the Canadian version feels a little too sterile and paint-by-numbers.

 

[fly girl]

Agreed - Stephanie really surprised me with her over all performance in the season. I would have expected her to be out in the first half of the show, but she finally got out of her head and started to show her talent.

Malarkey was a good soldier - did was he was told and didn't make anything about himself. That is the Brian we saw in his original season and liked so much.

Felt a bit bad for Bryan V. He's been so close every time, but just missed out. His lasagna looked amazing! I am not a foodie and most of what they cook are dishes that are way too fancy for me so the lasagna was right up my alley!

I am bummed I didn't think to record WWHL and I missed Padma and Tom.

I love watching this show and I am always so disappointed when each season ends. This was a great one with so much talent. I'm ready for another.

Me too! I was just thinking that last night ... how much I miss the show when it is done for the season.

It is funny. Before the season even started my least favorite was Voltaggio. It isn't that I didn't like him, I do, but he had been on several times and he is so successful that I wanted it to go to an underdog. However, after watching him and hearing him in the interview portions of the show, I did a 180. I could feel the hunger he had to win, he wanted it so badly. Melissa just came with really new inspiring dishes that gave her the edge. I think if he was up against any other cheftestant he would have won. She just was on fire this season. They are both amazing chefs. (and being a chocoholic I definitely would have gone for his dessert too!)

And another question for everyone else out there. It is probably just me, but did Nilou Motamed bother anyone else this season? I love Padma, Tom, and Gail. And I had no issues with Nilou when Gail was out when she was pregnant, but this season she really rubbed me the wrong way. IDK ... there isn't one thing I can pinpoint but just little things that added up throughout the season. Anyone else feel the same?

 

[robinb]

Before the season even started my least favorite was Voltaggio.

I finally put my finger on why I had not been a Bryan Voltaggio fan before this season. His brother! I *always* disliked Michael and that dislike carried over to Bryan. Speaking of which, did anyone else think that Micheal looked very sick? He was always thin, but looked very gaunt and skeletal.

 

[FigmentSpark]

And another question for everyone else out there. It is probably just me, but did Nilou Motamed bother anyone else this season? I love Padma, Tom, and Gail. And I had no issues with Nilou when Gail was out when she was pregnant, but this season she really rubbed me the wrong way. IDK ... there isn't one thing I can pinpoint but just little things that added up throughout the season. Anyone else feel the same?

She looks a lot like Gail and even sounds like her. That's what bothered me. It wasn't her, it was that she was almost a clone personality.