Top Chef finale part 2 10/3/07

Bummer. I wanted Casey to win. Since she flopped the last challenge obviously she wasn't going to, but still, I was rooting for her.

 

(Ok, not a good time for TiVo to tell me that it's deleted Bravo from my channel lineup. I manually recorded it but didn't realize it was going to run over 1 hour. Then when I came back and saw that it was running over, I hit record thinking that it was going record the whole thing. But it only recorded from when I hit record and had erased about fifteen minutes before. I guess that's how TiVo is suppose to behave when confronted with a deleted channel? Argh.)

Anyway, I was slightly surprised to see that Hung won. It seemed that Dale's dishes were better received especially given the comments that Hung's first two dishes were underseasoned. But perhaps Hung's great duck dish or Dale's not-so-great lobster dish made the difference?

Wow, Casey was a bit on edge at the judging table, wasn't she? I don't remember her ever being so defensive. Very Hung-like, even.

 

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I'm glad Hung won of the three finalists. His dessert dish was an easy layup that didn't stand out in any way, but none of the judges could find any major faults in any of his courses. I'm sure you'd have to taste his duck dish to appreciate it, but Dale's rack of lamb looked incredible. Quite a compliment from Colicchio on these signature dishes they should carry with them for life.

Didn't seem useful having a live finale. I thought the point was they would be promoting the next season of Top Chef currently filming in Chicago, but they seemed crunched on time. We didn't even get much reaction from the finalists.

I suppose next week's reunion show was taped, so they won't have any knowledge of the winner.

Lastly a to the contestants, in each of the other seasons the chefs were often going after each other personally, creating all sorts of unnecessary drama. This season's chefs let their cooking say it all. It was great seeing the finalists walk out arm in arm after their last visit at the judges table.

 

They made the right choice.


Of course Casey made it easy on them.

 

Casey's rack looked nicer than Dales.

While I actually grew to like Dale, they made the right choice. The thing is, if they could have voted based on food and heart, Dale would have won. Hung's good at talking about his passion for food but it never came out. Even on this last challange when he said he was going to show the real Hung.

He was my pick from week one and I'm glad he won.

What was up with the Chicago studio. 1976 called and they want their studio back. The lighting was horrible. Everything was washed out and yellow.

 

Might have to make a special trip to see Casey out here. And I am fairly positive she will never take a job in a high altitude.

 

go hung! i wanted him to win since day 1, so im glad to see. great show as always!

- Jon

 

Anyone see Marcel at the finale?

I think Marcel and Hung are an item.

 

Marcel and Hung worked together and they both tried out for the show and Marcel got on. Then the next year Hung got on...of course they could still be an item.

I still think Collachio was flirting with Casey the whole season.

 

Yes indeed!

After Tre left, it was Hung's to lose.

 

Hung is a creep - it takes more than fast knife work and being a prick to be a good chef,dale someone I would like to hang with, Hung is someone I would slap the back of the head of.

I did like the cell phone voters that had Casey at >50% to win, so what if she is cute, she also very inconsistent.

 

If Dale hadn't screwed up that Lobster dish he would have won easy

Obviously between Dale and Hung at that point, oh well, Hung is an ass and would be best at someone else's restaurant making stuff, not his own.

 

Supposedly it was taped at the live show, afterwards - so it should have knowledge of a winner and the reactions you're looking for

 

Dale's downfall was a dish that was disliked. Hung had no dish that was disliked. Both had stellar dishes in Dale's lamb and Hung's duck. High praise for both. (Todd English calling the duck dish Michelin 3 star worthy is high praise indeed).

Sure, his dessert was a super safe and a boring cliché seen on seemingly every menu. But it was executed well. Nothing offended out of the 4. Dale had 3 good ones, and one that didn't work out well.

I was surprised to see Casey stumble. Too bad. But she's great and I like her a lot.


So, congrats to Hung! I'd love to try his duck dish. (and Dale's lamb, too)

 

Me too. That last challenge just totally derailed her... I kind of felt like the whole cooking at altitude thing was a bit too much of a monkey wrench for the finale. How are they supposed to show what they can "really do" with that kind of twist? I know it's a level playing field and all, but I still wish they'd given them a chance to show their skills in more a a 'real life" scenario. In the end, Hung was my second choice. So I'm not too disappointed. I was impressed with Dales big push at the end. Seems like he "woke up" when he needed to.

 

Yeah I thought the last show was going to be just flat out, whoever cooks the best stuff, but the whole altitude thing just make it another gimmick type thing

 

Where were the finales previously held (I didn't see season 1 or 2)?

As for the altitude thing, isn't it a pretty well known fact that altitude decreases the boiling point? Or at least shouldn't a "top chef" be trained about these things?

 

The boiling point depression is fairly obvious, but it affects everything. IIRC they were trying to fry and they were having trouble with the food cooking properly and browning properly (either too brown or not enough). I doubt they'd be specifically trained for that, but would learn to adapt the recipes if they found themselves emplyed at altitude.