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Top Chef New York Season 5
TexasLady:
--- Quote from: apskip on March 04, 2009, 07:07:51 AM ---Tonight in the usual time slot is the BRAVO TOP CHEF 5 Reunion, hosted by Andy Cohen. I was curious on who Any Cohen is, so I investigated and discovered that he is the Sr. Vice President of Programming and Production for the BRAVO network. He loves to host reunion shows of all types, but his main job is to decided what shows get or do not get onto BRAVO and then overseeing them. I expect that Carla will walk away with the $10,000 prize tonight for the fans' most popular chef. Ariane has a slight chance and Fabio has a decent chance.
--- End quote ---
I didn't realize who he was either, thanks for posting this. I fully expect Carla will win for most popular but if not then it will be Fabio. I'm OK with either one! :hearts:
apskip:
Recap Top Chef 5 Reunion
Andy Cohen of BRAVO hosted the fifth Top Chef Reunion. All 17 of the chefs appeared to be present plus all four permanent judges. The most important purpose of the show is to set up the award of $10,000 to the FAN FAVORITE, but they also want to present the human side of these chefs to set up Top Chef 6. I think everyone except Carla and Fabio can forget that prize and Fabio has the ladies behind him. A majority of Top Chef watchers are female. Andy is presenting fan questions plus a few of his own and showing excerpts that demonstrate a particular point. Stefan is presented as a possible FAVORITE candidate by Andy. However, that's a red herring because I think Stefan would be the easy winner of LEAST FAVORITE.
Carla was mocked for her use of the phrase HOOTIE, which she uses when her husband is missing. If he hears it, he will answer WHO. Carla used this occasionally on the show. Carla also talked about how her food had lots of heart and love in it. I just cringe when I hear this.
Andy next asked who is surprised Hosea won. Stefan says that he is happy that Hoses won and he didn't. Given Stefan's competitive nature, I consider that to be misdirection because Stefan really wanted to win.
The judge were asked what was the deciding factor in the FINALE judging? Tom says that it was Hosea's steadiness. Toby says that Hosea cooked better than Carla and Stefan that day.
Jaime made the statement that Stefan cannot stand being away from Fabio for more than 10 minutes. Doubtless it was the head rubs that Fabio gave him, which were illustrated with some footage.
Fabio was asked once again to explain his accident. He said the floor was wet and he was going fast around a corner. Andy has a gift for Fabio and it's an "I LOVE FABIO" Tee shirt.
There was a Top Chef 5 Birthday Curse that nobody has really heard of. Four chefs were eliminated on or near their birthday: Danny, Eugene, Radhika, Leah.
Toby's "weapons of mass destruction" comment about Radhika's soup was highlighted. Fabio went and massaged Toby's bald spot in solidarity.
There was a segment on some of the previously not shown activities in the "Stew room" including volleyball, basketball and innovative uses of GLAD bags.
The romance of Leah and Hosea just had to be shown here. It resulted from Leah drinking too much. The impact of it caused both the partners of Leah and Hosea to break up with them. Hosea stated the only way he and Leah would be together was in the same city. Leah made it clear on camera that she's not moving from the New York metro area. Hosea is plenty busy with various business propositions in Colorado. He said he regretted the incident. Fabio's comment put it into perspective: "Hosea got Leah; I got Stefan."
Jeff was not shown with his shirt off, but apparently that was common in the morning during the taping of the episodes. Jeff was also roasted for the complexity of his dishes. Jaime said that in one blind judging contest it was obvious which dish was Jeff's because it was twice as busy as any other plate.
Stefan was shown in a segment with guest chef Andrea where he asks her to call him.
The "attack of the baldies" was emphasized with Tom and Toby from the judges and Eugene, Hosea, Stefan and Patrick from the chefs.
At the end there is a $10,000 check for Fabio, who was voted Fan FAVORITE.
TexasLady:
Thanks apskip!!! :-* We didn't get to watch the reunion show and I'm happy to learn that Fabio won Fan Favorite! I am betting that Carla was a very close second!
:hearts:
marigold:
:) gossip :lol:
The Fabio Show
Stefan might have a dubiously titled book coming out, but his Euro bro Fabio is getting his own TV show (obviously). No word yet on whether it’ll be on Bravo or what, but we’d love to see some Real Housewives synergy — the Italian stallion cooking for cougars?
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/03/the_fabio_show.html
Hosea and Leah, Sitting in a … Restaurant?
Abbe Diaz reports, on her PX This board, that Hosea and Leah recently enjoyed what might’ve been a $500 meal at Del Posto last weekend. We’re going to assume Hosea “I’m Rich, Bitch!” Rosenberg picked up the check.
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/03/hosea_and_leah_sitting_in_a_re.html
marigold:
An interview with Season 5 winner Hosea:
Top Chef Exit Interview: the Winner
Before the competition began, what did you do to prepare?
Nothing really. My job is to cook every day and to find inspiration and research. I did what I always do, which is to cook good food. I tried to memorize a few recipes before I came out, mostly pastry recipes. I honed in on a few of my better regarded dishes from the customer standpoint, things that people really seem to enjoy.
When this began and you had sized up your competition, did you think you would win?
I wasn’t sure I’d win, but I definitely put myself in the top tier. I definitely thought there was some real talent in the group, but I also thought I was going to make it farther than half of everyone.
So making it to the finale was not a surprise?
Well, ultimately no, but I was struggling at the end a bit. It’s not that I can’t handle that kind of cooking, but my mind was getting worn down by the end of our time in New York. I feel kind of lucky to have gotten into the finale because I wasn’t putting out my best dishes in the end.
What about in the final challenge? Could you tell you had made the best dishes of the night?
No, it all happened so fast. The time between courses was so fast that I had no time to analyze anyone else’s performance or even taste their food. What I did know was that I had put together a really great meal that I was happy with and I said to Blais that win or lose, I was really happy with our dishes.
Carla was the audience favorite; did she have a real shot at winning the title?
Absolutely. Especially after hearing her menu, I really thought she had a pretty good chance of winning. I was worried about her winning.
What about Stefan’s dishes?
I definitely respect Stefan’s cooking. Out of everyone in this season, he came with the most experience. He is probably the highest-caliber chef of all of us. All along I said he was the guy to beat. He’s very capable of beating Carla and me, he’s shown that time and time again. But it’s all about execution and that last plate that goes out.
Were you jealous of him?
He and I had a had a healthy competitiveness, but it was friendly. We smack talk a little bit because I think both of us felt like the other one was a threat. I don’t think he would have spent any time talking about me if he didn’t think I had it in me.
Did Richard contribute any ideas to your dishes?
What he did is help me hone my thoughts. I told him I didn’t have a menu selected until we went into the kitchen for the first time so we could see what proteins and what ingredients we had to work with. He did suggest plating the fish course in the walk-in and I thought that was a brilliant idea.
What do you plan to do with the prize money?
I do have some plans to open a restaurant of my own. I’ve gotten involved with this food company over the last few months that does gourmet, prepared foods for Whole Foods and other stores across the country. Part of the money is going toward spending time with my dad and my mom, both of whom are ill right now. But I will be investing this money in a business of my own.
Is there any famous chef you’d like to emulate?
I’ll never be as good as Daniel Boulud but I’d love to be like him, owning amazing restaurants and being very involved in the food world.
Obviously the highlight of this experience was winning, but what were the low points?
There were a few times where my food didn’t come out nearly as good as I had hoped, and then obviously the whole Leah incident was a downer for me. It kind of messed me up a little bit and I wasn’t as focused on the food as I should have been. It affected my work and I was mad at myself for that.
What does it mean to be Top Chef?
It’s humbling for me. I made a few mistakes along the way and I was able to recover from that. Being exposed to so much food here in New York City, I was reminded that the journey is so far from complete; I’ve got a lot to learn. I know how to make great flavors, and this is a great starting point for my career.
http://nymag.com/daily/food/2009/02/top_chef_exit_interview_the_wi.html
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