There are only four chefs left in this season's Top Chef competition and all will be participating in the Hawaii finale. The decision of the judges as to who will win the title of Top Chef will be decided based on their performance throughout the competition and on their dishes in the finale. As viewers, we have seen a little more of their personalities and interactions, but let's take a look at the backgrounds of the final four, as well:
Marcel Vigneron - Marcel, 26, lives in Las Vegas, NV where he is a Master Cook at Joel Robuchon at the Mansion. He attended the Culinary Institute of America, where his strongest subjects with butchery and, of course, molecular gastronomy. He prides himself on his creativity and skill in the kitchen and, as those are what landed him his job at Joel Robuchon, he is certainly right to do so.
Sam Talbot - Sam, 28, is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina and currently works as executive chef of Punch Restaurant in New York City. He attended Johnson and Wales University, but has been involved in food since his first job as a production chef at Dean & Deluca in NC when he was just 16 years old.
Ilan D Hall - Ilan, 24, is a line cook in New York City at Casa Mono, Mario Batali's Spanish restaurant. Given that is where he works, it isn't surprisng that he says that most of his culinary expertise is in Spanish cuisine, although he also studied at the Culinary Institute of America and took part in the Lorenzo de Medici Apicus Program, which is a flexible culinary school program in Italy. Bravo notes that "one of the things he enjoys the most is imitating people around him," but without saying whether that refers to cooking style or actual mockery.
Elia Aboumrad - Elia, 23, also resides in Las Vegas, where she works as an Assistant Room Chef at The Hotel. Originally from Mexico City, she studied at the Ecole Lenotre in Paris and - apparently - "earned 34 different culinary degrees and specializes in everything from French cuisine to chocolate making," which makes you wonder exactly how the school's grading system works, even if it does tell you a good deal about the range of her skills.
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