Top Chef Season Five Finale - Thrilling or Disappointing?

2-26-2009 @12:10PM Dean said... I liked Carla. So what is she was a bit goofy at times? She clearly proved she's a good cook particularly during her performance in the last few episodes. Winning praise from Jacques Pepin and Emeril shows she's pretty damn good.

As for her manner, I'd rather hang out with her (ok, I'll bring my own wine) than some of the others. Too many of the others just seemed grouchy.

Stefan is probably the best technically; he could have easily won this if he had pushed himself a bit harder or had a clearer concept of what he was trying to do. Hosea won because the others lost, not because he proved that he really is the best.
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2-26-2009 @12:24PM Natalie Z said... for me, carla would have been the "feel good" winner, but not the best chef. espite his less than congenial attitude, stefan was consistently the best of these 3 over the course of the season, and he should have won last night because of it. the finale meal should obviously be taken into large consideration in determining the winner, but i think overall performance should also weigh heavily. hosea was not the overall best chef, nor was his meal last night amazing. it was very good, but i feel like he lingered in that category (or below) for the whole season. needless to say, i left this season feeling confused to say the least.
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2-26-2009 @1:13PM Richard said... Last night was the worst finale of the 5 Top Chef seasons.

Starting with the sous chefs. Previous seasons it has been either eliminated contestants which provides interesting tv (Season 1 - Tiffany and Dave) or 4 star chefs (Ripert, Rocco, etc). Having losing chefs come back was the beginning of an anti climactic episode. Marcel, Richard, and Casey were fine chefs (possibly should have won their respective seasons) but they did nothing for the episode or for the chefs (except Casey who unintentionally contributed to Carla losing). If you are going to bring someone back bring back the winners, not the losers.

The cooking itself was fine. However the presentation of dishes let everyone know who won. Stefan blew it after dish 2. Carla shouldn't have done anything sous vide and a fan of the show could guess after that decision and her description of it that it would torpedo her efforts. Hosea's food though was consistently praised as great. He won this challenge because his food was better than the others across the board, and not just better, multiple judges made it clear during dinner that Hosea's courses were the best. They didn't all agree all the time but everyone of Hosea's dishes won significant praise. It was clear he had won before the final dish was served (though if Stefan's desert was amazing than it would have provided a little more drama) and it was a no brainer when they went to commercial just before Judge's table.

The bottom line is that this competition is actually a serious of competitions strung together and the winner is always whoever put together the best meal/dish/presentation/whatever on that given occasion. Not for the season, not for the last 2, not for the appetizers, not for all the quickfires. The only people to blame that Stefan or Carla lost are Stefan and Carla themselves. They put out a sub standard meal compared to Hosea and since all that counts is what is put on the table on that 1 occasion. Hosea is yours and my Top Chef for season 5.

Congratulations Hosea.
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2-26-2009 @1:16PM Richard said... Pardon the typo, it should read as follows in the above comment:
he bottom line is that this competition is actually a SERIES of competitions strung together and the winner is always whoever put together the best meal/dish/presentation/whatever on that given occasion
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2-26-2009 @1:32PM Barkin said... It doesn't bother me that (as Park writes) "The winner of Season 5 eked out a victory over a clearly superior chef at the last minute." That's what the New York Giants did in last year's Superbowl, too. When you have big competitions, and when you have a final that's "for all the marbles," then there's always a possibility that the superior competitor makes a few crucial mistakes at the end or that an inferior competitor performs "in the clutch." I like Carla, but she didn't deserve to win... she cooked a rubbery steak and she failed to serve a souffle. She fumbled in the fourth quarter of the Superbowl. Stefan may be a superior technical chef. But he failed to deliver when the game was on the line. His frozen fish wasn't good enough, and his dessert wasn't Top Chef Finale material. End of story.

Top Chef isn't about finding the best chef any more than the Superbowl or World Series are about finding the best football or baseball teams. It's about finding the competitors who are best at performing in those particular situations. Hosea succeeded, even though he wasn't necessarily the "best chef." The Steelers and New York Giants probably weren't the best teams in football the past two years. But they played their best games when it counted. That's the breaks.

Of course, Stefan knew this, but he chose to ignore it. In his arrogance, he ignored Marcel's advice about the fish, and he stuck to making mediocre dessert, while Hosea said to himself, "This dish is my last dish on this show, and it counts for everything. I'm going to cook my favorite meat, and I'm going to knock it out of the park." And he did, while Stefan made a lollipop.
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2-26-2009 @1:40PM chris said... "Because the winner of the final challenge is crowned winner of the entire season, the show has devolved into the contestants trying not to screw up rather than be great chefs."

My wife and I were discussing this last night after the episode finished. We both think that Top Chef should be run like Project Runway where the totality of each chef's work is considered at judging instead of judging them from task to task. Their current judging system encourages mediocre performance until the final episode. Hell, even Colichio has complained upon occasion that the chefs are playing not to loose rather than playing to win. If even the judges are complaining about the chefs' work maybe they need to retool things to encourage their best performance with each and every challenge....
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2-26-2009 @3:29PM Hillary said... I'm still shocked that Hosea won. This season was full of upsetting shocks. I do agree that his meal looked good but I think the judging should have been based on the whole season!
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2-26-2009 @4:49PM most_impressive said... "...but I think the judging should have been based on the whole season!"

And furthermore, the BCS is a fantastic way for producing a national champion, and everyone should get a 'participant' ribbon, just for showing up.

All three of them cooked well enough all season to earn the right to go to the final. That's what "the whole season" gets you: the chance to play for the big one. If you end up putting out a menu fit for the movie "Wall Street", or fail to make a simple cheese souffle, tough nerts.

/picked Hosea during Ep. 1
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2-27-2009 @3:40AM don said... If you watch closely (or from your PVR or a re-run) you'll notice at the end of the show during the credits, the producers have a say on who wins or loses throughout the show.

So in "reality" the winners throughout the season and maybe the finale, was in part led along the way by the producers.

As for Park's analysis.. I'd have to say he's way off on just about everything except the annoying product placement.

Padma is there because she's a good host, and from reading the interviews with the former contestants they also mention she's very knowledgeable.

Drama is what draws you into the show, it IS a reality show. Having a personal connection to the contestants makes you watch, and cheer for your favourite, and jeer your villain. It makes for good TV. If you ever watch a "real" cooking competition, it's BORING.

Maybe he didn't notice either, Toby Young wasn't there to take Tom's place.. he was filling in for Gail Simmons.


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2-27-2009 @1:52PM ann said... Hosea was not "top chef", he simply cooked the "top meal" of the evening. Like him or hate him, the title probably belonged to Stefan, with Carla it would of been the "underdog" feel good win. Disagree with me if you like, but Stefan, Carla, Jeff, Fabio, and even Jamie were all better chefs than Hosea. I'm disappointed with the outcome of this season, but I was disappointed with last season too. As much as I liked Stephanie, I thought Richard was deserving of the title.
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2-27-2009 @3:51PM Hogmodo said... The final show has to be winner take all or there is no drama, no crescendo to the series. Letting them fight it out on each show before the final is OK. If it was boring that it was more important not to lose than it was to win each episode, it will now get much worse in the future because that is how Hosea won. He just hung on until the end, lucked into getting the best ingrediants and best sous-chef and won by being the plodding tortoise crossing the finish line while one hare tripped over her huge inferiority complex and the other flopped over his even bigger superiority complex. Stefan blew it by coasting to his (inevitable in his mind) coronation. He underachieved bigtime in the last 3 or 4 episodes and deserved to be edged out by Carla. Her great talent and spirit could not overcome her recuring problems with temperature control and yielding to inferior team members. They should give little rewards for the quickfire challenges and huge rewards for winning each episode in Season 6 or they are going to have a show filled with plodding tortoises all hoping to be the next Hosea. JMVHO.
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3-29-2009 @10:25PM Berkeley Babe said... Like many others I am VERY disappointed in the unfair outcome of this season.

Stefan comes from a culture where personality and warmth do NOT count as much as skill.

Even though I did NOT like him, he clearly was the top chef, way above Carla and Hosea

I think this show is "fixed" like the old time quiz shows and the rules for winning need an overhaul
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3-29-2009 @10:34PM Berkeley Babe said... ONE important factor to mull over!

Bravo would NEVER have gotten this many comments, blogs, threads and publicity if Stefan won.

They are publicity hounds, so I think they may have picked Hosea, knowing that fans would go crazy!

Think about it! How could Stefan or Carla be so "careless" in the finale? Perhaps Bravo promised them future "appearances" on future seasons?


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