| 18 |
Stephen |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
-
|
-
|
| S1 Finish: 5th |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
5
|
3
|
Those who came to Top Chef a few seasons in and who felt that S7's field was somewhat weak would do well to go back and watch a little bit of S1. There were some talents near the top, but going back to see the whole field now, it's kind of shocking what a motley crew the season one cast was. Culinary school students, personal chefs, nutritionists, mental patients (Crazy Ken), sommeliers... let's just say that they covered a broader spectrum early on. Stephen was the last of that crew, a fellow who considered himself a genius first, a sommelier second, a genius third, and a chef fourth. While his teammates were trying to put together a meal under budget, he was blowing half the cash on a bottle of wine. While they were deep in the weeds back in the kitchen, he was up front teaching the wait staff how to sweep the table. While they were focused primarily on how the food tasted, he seemed primarily focused on how it looked. To say the guy's priorities were a little misplaced for what we've come to know as Top Chef is an understatement. And his ego was so comically oversized that at times you wondered if it was all an act. But despite all of that -- and this is often forgotten -- the fellow did cook a few nice dishes. They were all very stylish and very trendy, and one gets the impression that some of them were actually very good. Since Top Chef, he's launched a consulting business, and was brought on to open a restaurant in West Palm Beach. As Executive Chef of Forté di Asprinio (ego... remember?), his menu was ultramodern, stylish Italian (natch), and though it got some attention from Fodor's (does anybody pay attention to Fodor's?), he left after nine months to pursue an opportunity in Dubai, what he describes as "development of the Stephen Asprinio brand." Whether he chose to leave and pursue this opportunity or was asked to leave and pursue this opportunity depends on who's telling the story, apparently. But we'll just say that apparently he made very, very stylish very good-looking Italian food for a while and leave it at that. I don't think he has a snowball's chance in hell of winning. And that fact that speed wasn't exactly his forté doesn't bode well for him. But he could stick around longer than those who watched S1 expect.
|
|
| 17 |
Elia |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
-
|
-
|
| S2 Finish: 3rd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
4
|
4
|
I'm very uncomfortable having Elia this low, and it's largely because I wasn't quite sure what to make of her even when watching S2. She's well-trained, having worked in some decent kitchens abroad, and she seemed technically sound... certainly more so than most of the other contestants in S2. But it was almost as if her palate was weirdly at odds with the judges. Born in Mexico and trained mostly in Europe, her combinations of flavors, balance of flavors, level of seasoning always seemed slightly off-putting to the judges. It was almost like there was some kind of culinary cultural chasm that couldn't be bridged. Then there was the puzzling lackluster dessert served on heart-shaped pastry. Who does that? And yet, she had some technique. She's apparently been doing private cooking and consulting, mostly outside of the U.S., but word is there's a restaurant in Los Angeles imminent. She's a wildcard. I really don't know what to expect from her.
|
|
| 16 |
Spike |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
4
|
4
|
| S4 Finish: 5th |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
1
|
6
|
Spike was a villain-ish character from S5 who just missed the finale, but general consensus was that he got that far more on guile than on cooking talent. He played the game, and wasn't above subterfuge if he thought he could get away with it. His dishes were mostly pretty tame, not to mention all over the map stylistically, but a point in his favor was that he made a soup that Tom called the best-seasoned dish of the season to that point. He's actually been one of the more successful TC alumni, though perhaps not in a manner that suggests he'll be any more successful this time around. He's opened two joints in DC, burgers and pizza, neither of which aim particularly high. By all accounts, while solid, the burgers are a notch above Five Guys. And word is that the pizza, while perfectly tasty NY street style, is still straightforward NY street style. Both are perfectly honorable ventures, but don't exactly scream Top Chef. One gets the sense that he's more interested in fishing for a franchise, and he may very well make it happen. But he never came across as a serious chef, either during or after his run on the show. Keeping him out of the basement is the fact that despite this, he played the game well, and that's certainly not worth nothing.
|
|
| 15 |
Fabio |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
2
|
5
|
| S5 Finish: 4th |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
6
|
2
|
I sense some will call this insanity given how deep he went, and how well a couple of his dishes were received. But as much as I liked him -- the fellow was one of the most entertaining contestants in the entire run of the show -- I was never impressed with his food and thought he lasted much longer than he should have. Half of S5's Team Euro (the other half of which is the one contestant whose inclusion could have made my heart sing with glee), Fabio does Italian. Very straightforward Italian. And lord knows, there's nothing I adore more than very straightforward Italian. But aside from his roast chicken that sent Lidia Bastianich's heart all aflutter, one doesn't get the sense that he makes exceptional Italian. And if you want to win doing straight-up traditional cuisine, it had better be exceptional. What's more, the reviews of his second restaurant in Los Angeles, which was opened about a year ago, don't lend the impression that anything has changed. Weirdly, he lists molecular gastronomy among his interests, and he tried, I believe, on one occasion to do something blasphemous with an Italian classic. But though the detail eludes me, I remember thinking that as impressed as he was with himself, it looked like amateur hour compared to the MG chefs of the seasons that bookended his. I hope Fabio hangs around for a while because he's really, really entertaining. And he never got flustered, which counts for something. But I don't see him standing out in this crowd at all.
|
|
| 14 |
Tre |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
-
|
-
|
| S3 Finish: 8th |
|
Eliminations |
3
|
3
|
2
|
If there is gnashing of teeth over my placement of Fabio, I suspect there'll be ten times as much for my placement of Tre. Tre is widely regarded as the most shocking early exit in the show's history. His elimination was the one that inspired the (erroneous) conventional wisdom that the losing executive chef in Restaurant Wars takes the fall. And he's often reverentially painted as the guy who should have won S3, but got tripped up early. But I don't buy it. Don't get me wrong, he could very well have gone on to win if he'd survived Restaurant Wars. And we're already at the point in the S8 rankings where I think everybody's a contender. The guy's a pro. He's been gaining respect in the Texas restaurant scene for years. But I think his performance on Top Chef is often seen through rose colored glasses. It's true, he won three of seven eliminations before his ouster. But take a moment to consider that two of his wins involved making frozen food and serving shrimp and grits out of a roach coach. I've no doubt both were delicious, but it's hard to call that much of a yardstick for gauging the fellow's talent. His food is very hearty, very homey, with a bit of Southern and a bit of Texan, and it all seems kind of... outdated. I'm not sure it will play well against some of the more recent chefs. But like I say, the guy's a pro, he's in the restaurant biz, and he's helming a successful place and about to open another, so I feel like having him this low is asking for trouble. But there it is.
|
|
| 13 |
Antonia |
|
Quickfires |
4
|
7
|
2
|
| S4 Finish: 4th |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
7
|
4
|
Antonia's another one for whom my opinion at the time diverged a bit from the mainstream, I think. To be clear, she strikes me as a very good chef. And her hallmark was execution, execution, execution. She nailed dishes, particularly the quickfires, which bodes well for her this season. The problem was that within the context of a cooking competition, her food was boring. At the time, I was somewhat at a loss to explain what I felt was missing, and I think comparing her to S6's Kevin is the best way to go about it. They both do food that plays simply. It's very ingredient-focused, it's very comforting, it's very simple. But where Antonia's food was predictable, Kevin's was clever, and that made all the difference in the world. Still, for twelve episodes, she was iceman, nailing almost everything she did and impressing the judges with her technique and command. Which is why undercooked pigeon peas, something that would ordinarily seem like a typical Top Chef gaffe, came as such a shock when it contributed to her demise in the first half of the finale. She was also a great team player, and seemed like a generally affable gal, and these attributes also strengthened her position. Until very recently, she was still helming the same Los Angeles restaurant she was during her season's run, but apparently the place couldn't decide whether to be a restaurant or a nightclub, and the nightclub finally won. While this doesn't say much for Antonia, it's very possible it was just the wrong situation for her to shine. Currently, she supposedly has nebulous things "in the works," so we'll see what happens. I actually think Antonia could go deeper than some of the people I've put in front of her. But while she's technically sound and thinks well on her feet and could go deep because of it, her food fought to stand out in her own season, much less an all-star season, and particularly in a field where a lot of people can execute, it'll keep her out of the later stages.
|
|
| 12 |
Tiffany |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
3
|
2
|
| S7 Finish: 5th |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
8
|
1
|
Tiffany's a very recent contestant, so I doubt anybody doesn't know her story. Though she met with some success last season, coming on strong in the second half only to be outclassed going into the finals, I didn't get much of a wow feeling from her. Which, it could be argued, applies to most of the field for most of S7. But there's the trouble. She met with moderate success in what seems like one of the weaker recent seasons, and on that basis I have a hard time putting her much higher than I have. She's still at Go Fish Ocean Club (oops... Go Fish recently shut down... thanks, guys), still focusing on seafood, and I suspect we'll see more of the same this time around. And maybe the late season push means she simply needed time to find her footing and will come shooting out of the gate this time around. Problem is, the same applies to everybody else as well.
|
|
| 11 |
Mike |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
4
|
0
|
| S6 Finish: 7th |
|
Eliminations |
0
|
2
|
3
|
Mike is one of the guys who probably could have gone deep if he hadn't met with the misfortune of coming up against the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Which isn't to say I'm not still worried I have him a little high, here. But he's another guy who, like Tre, is a pro. He's been around, he's put in the time, he's run successful places. If we're playing the comparison game, I just think he showed more in a stronger season than Tre did. He recently left Zaytinya in DC, and will be opening his own place in the spring. He's ditching the Greek for what looks like Italian comfort food -- what he describes as the kind of food cooked by his grandmother. Scaled back, approachable... it's what the market demands these days. But unfortunately, it means we don't know anything about how he's running his own kitchen yet. But he showed enough creativity and skill in S6 that I think he deserves a position as an MOTPer (that'd be Middle Of The Packer, for those new to the Power Rankings) who could stick around.
|
|
| 10 |
Carla |
|
Quickfires |
1
|
4
|
2
|
| S5 Finish: 2nd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
3
|
6
|
3
|
A runner-up in the S5 finale, and I have her all the way down in tenth place. Am I underestimating Carla again? Probably. Carla is all about spirit. She's one of the most joyous and most positive folks ever to grace the Top Chef screen. And it played no small part in carrying her all the way to the finale where an implosion at the finish line got an awful lot of people awfully bummed out. Carla, like Stefan from the same season, defied the old "caterers disappear early" rule. She was the very definition of a dark horse, not inspiring confidence early in the season, only to come roaring out of the middle of the pack, displaying a level of proficiency that hadn't even been hinted at in the early going. It took the entire season, but by the end she'd made a believer out of me. Carla makes really comforting, soulful food. One gets the sense that this is where her heart is. But she's been classically trained -- a surprise revelation late in S5 -- and can bust out impeccable versions of the mother sauces in a heartbeat if need be. And she makes a killer tart. She's still doing her thing, Alchemy Catering, back in D.C., mostly eschewing the spotlight. And by all accounts, she's perfectly successful with it. That said, as much as I love her, I don't see her going deep against this field. But I hope she proves me wrong. Again.
|
|
| 9 |
Jamie |
|
Quickfires |
0
|
5
|
3
|
| S5 Finish: 6th |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
6
|
3
|
Yes, I know, she finished four positions beneath Carla in the same season and I've got her in front. What can I say? I always thought Jamie went before her time. One of the best performers of S5, racking up a couple of wins and a ton of top appearances before getting the axe, she seemed ticketed for a finale showdown against Stefan until she made a critical, unfixable error in a challenge where she had to reproduce one of Eric Ripert's dishes. Without time to redo it, and working in a challenge that didn't give her any room to improvise, she was dead in the water. It was a technical error at the worst possible time that felled her, and I was sad to see her go. Her style is a little bit of San Francisco meets Western Europe, straightforward but subtly creative dishes that seem to draw primarily from French and Italian, though it appears that she's working in some more Asian flavors these days. She's no longer heading up Absinthe in San Francisco, but has drifted down to Los Angeles (a move that should please Stefan) and has only just recently taken over the kitchen at a gastropubby place in Venice called Beechwood. She hasn't been at it long enough for there to be much intel on how it's going, but she's one of the few contestants whose cuisine I've had the fortune of sampling, and I'm a fan. She's not the favorite in this field that she was in S5, but she's a solid contender with potential, and I'm happy to see her get another chance after a tough exit.
|
|
| 8 |
Dale T. |
|
Quickfires |
1
|
6
|
2
|
| S4 Finish: 6th |
|
Eliminations |
3
|
5
|
2
|
Dale T's story is similar to Jamie's, if a season earlier. He's another who seemed ticketed for the finale before doing a bit of a faceplant and leaving before his time. In his case, it wasn't a technical error but a conceptual error -- a saccharine sweet miso caramel sauce over scallops -- that did. not. sit. well. with guest judge Bourdain. Dale's all about Asian, still working at Buddakan in NYC, though it appears that he's been recently elevated from sous to Chef de Cuisine. Buddakan isn't exactly the pinnacle of NYC dining, but it holds its own, turning out refined Asian classics in a huge space. In that sense, Dale's day-to-day must be field marshal as much as cook. But he put together some really delicious-looking, creative Asian dishes during his tenure on the show, racking up a ton of top appearances and working very well with Richard Blais, in particular. Unfortunately, I think he has a few big things going against him. First, as evidenced in his appearance on Masters, he's been known to have a bit of a short fuse. Second, it was Bourdain who bounced him with extreme prejudice on the first pass, and guess who's a regular judge now? And third, he's no longer the only refined Asian specialist in town this time around, direct comparisons will be inevitable, and I'm not so sure he's the stronger of the two. Still, I like him. Always did. And I think he'll show well.
|
|
| 7 |
Marcel |
|
Quickfires |
1
|
-
|
-
|
| S2 Finish: 2nd |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
4
|
3
|
Marcel, while no Crazy Ken, has definitely earned himself a reputation as a bit of a headcase. He was another big ego who seemed to specialize in getting under people's skin, and wanted to specialize in freestyle rap. These may or may not have been related. And he didn't do himself any favors by getting testy during the reunion episode a couple of seasons back. In his defense, the guy took some seriously undeserved punches. Literally. He was the target of the infamous attempted head shaving incident that got Cliff kicked off of S2, and though he seemed to exhibit plenty of socially questionable tendencies, it was disturbing to see the way the rest of the cast responded. What's more, after appearing somewhat villainous on the show -- attitude or editing, reasonable people can disagree -- he was attacked without provocation again after the season was over, this time by a bar patron wielding a beer bottle. So, you know, the guy has some cause to be a little defensive. He narrowly lost out to Ilan in the S2 finale, partially doomed by an MG technique that fizzled due to the high humidity down in Hawaii. Marcel is big on molecular gastronomy, and was trying to do it before the Top Chef kitchen was really equipped for it. And he came up with some really brilliant stuff. He's no slouch in the professional department. He was sous chef at Jose Andres' Bazaar in Los Angeles, working alongside Hung and Mike Voltaggio, though the fact that he was passed over for Chef de Cuisine in favor of a new hire when the position became available makes one wonder, in the context of the show, if there were interpersonal issues at work. His current gig is a bit of a headscratcher. He's essentially doing glorified global finger food for a Beverly Hills nightclub, which makes me wonder if I haven't put him way too high. But still, the feeling coming out of S2 was that he had some great ideas and a lot of skill and just needed a little seasoning to come into his own. Now that he's had some time to do so, I think it's possible he could come in strong.
|
|
| 6 |
Casey |
|
Quickfires |
3
|
-
|
-
|
| S3 Finish: 2nd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
4
|
4
|
My dilemma with Casey is that my memory of her food is very, very fuzzy. But she lost to Hung in the S3 finale (no shame there), and was arguably the strongest contestant of the season next to him. Unlike Dale Levitski, who came on late, I remember her being pretty strong start to finish. But admittedly, I'm letting her coast on reputation a bit here. What dishes I could dig up look solid, creative, interesting, and she seems to be doing quite well in the restaurant world. After doing some traveling post-TC, she came to work as Executive Chef of Brownstone in Fort Worth, where she's doing what looks like slightly refined Southern cuisine, and the early word is very positive. But she made her name locally doing Asian, so you really don't know what to expect from her. The truth is *I* don't really know what to expect from her. But I remember thinking she was pretty solid, and I'm putting her close to the top. Hope I don't regret this one.
|
|
| 5 |
Dale L. |
|
Quickfires |
2
|
-
|
-
|
| S3 Finish: 2nd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
5
|
4
|
Dale Levitski's the other runner-up from S2, and he's a bit of an interesting story in that he's an also-ran one minute, and a worldbeater the next. He's had some personal issues that have been (unfortunately, I think) covered a little too closely by the press, and one gets the sense that as long as he's feeling good about himself and his food, he can take on the world. His story, back in S3, was that he'd applied for Top Chef because he'd kind of lost his will to cook and was looking for a spark to snap him out of his funk. It turned out to be a good call, because after barely surviving the first half of the season, he reclaimed his mojo and went storming through the second half of the season, only to run headlong into the brick wall (if a brick wall could break down a chicken in 2.7 seconds) known as Hung. He came up with some wildly creative stuff, playful modern American featuring odd pairings that seemed strange but compelling, and then he'd suddenly feel a kinship with his Polish roots and do a very hearty meat and potatoes kind of dish. It was an exciting run that almost carried him to the win. And then, in the wake of Top Chef, he fell into a funk again. His restaurant was killed by the economy before it opened, and after bouncing around he was eventually brought on to try to save a joint in Chicago called Sprout... where he promptly got his mojo back again. Sprout's been getting some great press in Chicago, and that's no small feat given how much water the place was taking on when he stepped in. So in some ways, whether Dale succeeds will depend on which Dale we get. But Top Chef brought out the best in him once, and it sure would be cool if it could do so again.
|
|
| 4 |
Angelo |
|
Quickfires |
4
|
7
|
1
|
| S7 Finish: 2nd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
4
|
2
|
The knock on this pick will be that Angelo did well in a weak season, but I'll encourage those espousing that viewpoint to look at how S7 ended, not how it began. For much of S7, Angelo looked like he was going to run away with it. And if not for a horribly-timed illness, he might have. And I see a few other things going his way as well. For starters, the guy is driven. Maybe in a creepy Tony Robbins kind of way, but he's driven. And after narrowly missing when not at his best, I bet he comes back swinging. He's also not the only refined Asian specialist in the house, and in this case, I think that actually helps him, because I think he's going to come across as the better of the two. And third, his biggest impediment in S7 seemed to be confidence, and I have to believe that a return trip means he's got that ironed out. Bottom line is, though it was short-lived, his upscale restaurant in NYC was very, very well-received. He has very, very recent experience on the show, and he's shown he has plenty of those brilliant, creative dishes in his arsenal that contestants will need to stand out this season. I think you have to count him among the favorites.
|
|
| 3 |
Jennifer |
|
Quickfires |
4
|
6
|
3
|
| S6 Finish: 4th |
|
Eliminations |
1
|
5
|
3
|
I don't think we ever determined whether she was War, Famine, Death or Pestilence, but the bottom line is that when you hold your own against Kevin the Red and I Voltaggi, you have to be one of the favorites. When she was at her best, one got the sense that Jennifer Norris Carroll could have mopped the floor with some of the previous seasons' casts, but S6 was no ordinary season, and she was relegated to a 4th place finish behind some of the show's all-time greatest competitors. One of Eric Ripert's protégés, she's still running 10 Arts in Philadelphia, and I can't seem to find any recent buzz about the place. I'm not sure whether this is a good or a bad thing. But I feel comfortable putting her here based on Top Chef performance alone. In addition to being a creative, precise chef who was constantly focused on execution and finesse, she was a commanding presence for most of the season, a take charge chef who could get the unruly mob to snap to attention with one sharp comment. Like many others, she too had a lull where she struggled with confidence. But she came out of it strong, and simply couldn't hang in there against the high-powered S6 finalists. In fact, it could even be argued that she's the only competitor this season who's facing a softer field than in her season... at the top, anyway. If she can fight to the finish with those guys, she ought to be able to do it again with these guys.
|
|
| 2 |
Richard |
|
Quickfires |
4
|
7
|
4
|
| S4 Finish: 2nd (Tie) |
|
Eliminations |
4
|
7
|
1
|
Wildly creative, endlessly enthusiastic, technically skilled and good on his feet, Richard Blais stormed through S4 before -- in his words -- choking away the finale. While that unfairly downplays just how strong Stephanie was, it's hard to argue that Blais wasn't the heavy favorite heading into the last episode. And he's an audience favorite to boot, someone who seems like a swell guy in addition to being an awful lot of fun to watch. He's an unashamed cheerleader for MG, and he often pulled off the impressive feat of completely surprising and completely pleasing the judges at the same time. Tom seemed genuinely flabbergasted by some of his creations, and couldn't help but be won over despite sharing some misgivings about the kind of whiz bang techniques that are a hallmark of Blais' cuisine. Before S4, Tom seemed to heavily prefer simple foods. By the time S6 rolled around, he dove into the Voltaggios' zanier creations with gusto. I sometimes wonder if Blais was the catalyst for that apparent change. Working against him is that after the failure of his Atlanta restaurant Blais, he seems to have retreated into his culinary consulting firm, working on high concepts rather than the line. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it remains to be seen whether he'll be as primed and sharp as he was on his first pass. But so much more is working in his favor. He'll no longer be handicapped by a kitchen that isn't outfitted with the kind of equipment he loves to use, he's had a little time to draw even more experience since S4, and perhaps most importantly, he's remained an involved student of the show since his departure. More than anybody else in the S8 field, Blais has shown an incredible enthusiasm for the show itself, all of the skills it takes to win it, all of the strategies one can employ, all of the ways he can make himself a better competitor. Though he slipped up in the S4 finale, you can bet he's learned from those mistakes and won't make them again. A dominant presence wire to wire in S4 who by all accounts has continued to study winning strategies long after his departure, Blais seems to be the popular favorite to take S8. He's a great pick...
|
|
| 1 |
Tiffani |
|
Quickfires |
1
|
-
|
-
|
| S1 Finish: 2nd |
|
Eliminations |
2
|
5
|
2
|
...but he's not my pick. It's been a loooong time since anybody's heard anything from Tiffani Faison. Her participation in the show is more of a fuzzy, distant memory. But I'm going to play a bit of a hunch, here. The feeling among many, at the time, was that while Harold had one heck of a winning attitude and was far and away the fan favorite, Tiffani was the better chef, and she simply bit off a little more than she could chew by turning every course into a duo and effectively doubling her work in the finale. Tiffani was the original villain, the hard kitchen mistress who was there to win, not to be nice. She was the target of Dave's ire when he let fly the now classic "I'm not your bitch, bitch!" She was focused and driven and she just missed being the very first winner of Top Chef. And then she kind of disappeared. So what's she been doing? She's been learning. She's been in the Boston area, keeping her head down, working at some of the best restaurants with some of the best chefs covering varied cuisines. She's worked under Todd English, with Tony Maws at Craigie Street Bistro, at the critically acclaimed inspiring-Frank-Bruni-to-do-backflips O Ya, and she's only just recently taken over the kitchen at Rocca, where the early word is pretty much gushing. Her style is highly creative but approachable. Her favorite seems to be Italian-influenced cuisine that walks the line between showy and soulful, but the work at O Ya indicates that she can handle Asian and highly precise presentations as well. She seemed to inspire genuine admiration in Tom. And she's had an awful lot of time to do nothing but get better. When I imagine her working at these Boston restaurants over the past few years, all I can see is Rocky hauling a log through waist-deep snow across the Siberian tundra. Maybe I'm remembering a little too fondly, and maybe I like the poetry of an S1 ghost reappearing to surprise everybody who wasn't with the show from the start. But I have a hunch, and I'm going to go with it. I'm firmly of the belief that almost everybody in the S8 field could win it. But if I have to pick one, my money's on Tiffani.
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