Top Chef Season 4

[dougw]

Yeah, The Angry Chicken really stepped up her game tonight. I was going to be shocked if she won.

All along, Blais was so strong, but Stephanie was right there in her quiet, adorable, badass way. I am thrilled she won, but hated to see Blais looking so sad.

[GordonCooks]

I think the judges made the right choice but I also thought the dishes weren't as impressive as season's past and it was much closer than I thought it would be.

[Ndy]

I'm so sad for Richard...I was positive he would take it. In the end, I think nerves got to him. I'm very pleased to see Stephanie win though. She's a great, highly creative cook. GO HOME LISA!

[tmgrobyn]

I'm going to have to go to Atlanta to let Richard know how great I think he is. (I'm sure he cares ;-)

Richard let his nerves get to him. He had a lot at stake and was off his game. Still, I wouldn't have turned his dishes away. He's a gentleman, and humble. I think all of Lisa's blathering on and on in the kitchen may have contributed to his being off his game. I know I yelled at the set a couple of times for her to just shut up!

Stephanie owned this one. Even with telling Ripert how to fillet that fish! It was hilarious. She was right, it's her show and he was her sous. I love that she won. Her dessert didn't look all that great though. I'm a baker so I have a hard time understanding why dessert is so hard for everyone. I want some of that soup!

Lisa, oh my goodness! I though she was going to get the prize there for a bit. However, that small echo of Tom saying her dish was pedestrian (3rd?) I knew he wouldn't give it to her. aaack. I would have never watched the show again if she had won.

All in all I would have rather seen Dale compete in the third place. I think Richard may have been on his game with Dale in the competition.

[Tiny]

Richard you are still the man!!!!! If I'm ever in Atlanta, I'm eating at your place.

Congrats Stephanie!

Lisa, I will never eat anywhere you cook.

[chappie]

I think it's important to recognize that filming for this is spread over just a few weeks (right? -- maybe a short break before the final episode or two), meaning "heavy favorites" aren't quite as ingrained on the set as they seem to the viewer spread out over months of episodes, with miles of blog commentary, online and newspaper articles between airings.

When you think of it this way, it really does seem more like a tournament. Even Roger Federer loses from time to time, and in a short weekend on the links, guys from the PGA nethers can win a major and validate their careers.

In this vein, I agree wholeheartedly with Coliccio's oft-repeated statements that he and the panel judge based solely on a single challege basis. To them, Richard (just this season's example) hasn't dominated for the months we perceive, but has maybe been on a three-day hot streak on a given night.

[lucylou95816]

Yea Stephanie!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She just got me a couple of free drinks. I am excited for her, since she is so unassuming....and comes out like the badass that she is.

[Batard]

Richard looked disheveled and sleepless from the first camera shot of the show. You could see it right away and through the episode, he looked like he had taken cough medicine or something. He loaded so much pressure onto himself he forgot to have fun, and I think he just clouded over and never got his head where it needed to be.

At the beginning of the season people were doubting whether Stephanie's nerves would hold together, what with the shaky hands and all. But at the end I think Richard -- who of the three was the last person you would ever think would crack -- just couldn't keep it together.

[jsmeeker]

Congrats to Stephanie! I was pulling for Richard, but am still very pleased with the winner. She's was one of my favorites from the start. Lisa surprised me. She seemed to do pretty well.

What did Richard ever do with his frozen Tabasco? I don't think he ever used it. But it sure was cool seeing Chef Riepert learn something from him.

[prasantrin]

Lisa, I will never eat anywhere you cook.

←

Better not eat wherever Spike is working in NY. I think she's working for him or helping him out (so he says on chow).

[dougw]

It's obvious that Lisa can cook. Her attitude just put people off, including me. But it's in the context of seeing her with sweet, laid back people like Antonia, Stephanie and Richard that makes her stand out. Some peope don't handle the camera as well as others. I bet we'd all enjoy Lisa's food.

But my favorite won last night, so I went to sleep happy. Anyone know what Stephanie is doing now? I'm hoping she opens a small restaurant in Manhattan and decides to move in with me and my wife. I'm not Mormon, but I think a sister wife would be great!

[KristiB50]

What did Richard ever do with his frozen Tabasco?  I don't think he ever used it.  But it sure was cool seeing Chef Riepert  learn something from him.

←

He didn't use the tabasco pearls. I think he subbed the bacon ice cream with the banana scallop.

As much as I didn't like Lisa I will say her Tom Kha Gai looked really good.

Edited June 12, 2008 by KristiB50 (log)

[Kevin72]

The whole episode seemed rushed and anticlimatic. I don't understand the pacing this year; they rushed it along without a reunion, didn't give a long finale, etc. Which is too bad because I thought that they really improved the scale and progression of challenges: last year they were still futzing around with that ridiculous airline challenge in the Top 5.

Also, I didn't like how they set up this year's final challenge. There seemed to be many more restictions on them than the previous season finales I've seen. As I recall in other years you pretty much had a table of food laid out for you and then you chose how many courses, whether or not to make dessert, etc.

Good Lord, is Richard okay? He looked clinically depressed throughout the whole episode. In fact, despite his win last week, he wasn't really himself for these last two episodes. I guess maybe he got distracted (understandably so) with the baby and new restaurant in Atlanta and didn't get the time and space to focus on where he was going.

So that tempered Stephanie's win a little. I'm thrilled she made it all the way, but I would have liked to have seen Richard make it a little closer with her. I never would've thought he'd be the one who wound up like Casey last year.

I think they edited Lisa's comments. It seemed like during the meal she got docked alot more than she did at the Judges' Table.

[Mike B4]

There are some awesome shots of him getting all alinea on youtube... 

←

I like

one. I'm not sure what the actual dish is but it's fun to watch.

←

OUCH I think it's creepy. It looks like bugs

Mike

[Mike B4]

Lisa, I will never eat anywhere you cook.

←

Better not eat wherever Spike is working in NY. I think she's working for him or helping him out (so he says on chow).

←

The main dish is Angry Snake

Mike

[Dieck]

I was thrilled for Stephanie. She's done well throughout, and what a classy person. And I loved her interaction with Eric Ripert as her sous chef. Too funny.

And poor Richard. Going into any competition as the favorite adds to the pressure of the situation. I believe anyone who watched the show will remember him as a creative chef and a likable, classy guy. I'm just wondering -- did they have the baby before the finale? I remember those first few months of parenthood as being emotional and exhausting.

[ulterior epicure]

And poor Richard. Going into any competition as the favorite adds to the pressure of the situation.

He was favored by whom? You?

I ate at Stephanie Izzard's restaurant, Scylla, when it was open in Chicago. I had a very good meal there. I look forward to experiencing her food again.

Edited June 12, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[robert40]

And poor Richard. Going into any competition as the favorite adds to the pressure of the situation.

He was favored by whom? Yours?

I ate at Stephanie Izzard's restaurant, Scylla, when it was open in Chicago. I had a very good meal there. I look forward to experiencing her food again.

←

I noticed your photo set on Scylla just last night after Stephanie won.

[Kim Shook]

I was rooting for Richard and think that he is possibly the true 'best chef', maybe even in the history of the show, but Stephanie probably should have won last night and that's ok with me (FWIW).

What I loved was how such a class act like Richard managed to make it to the finale - good guys don't necessarily finish last. I loved his sense of play and the importance he attached to the integrity of the food. I would eat his food any time!

[ulterior epicure]

And poor Richard. Going into any competition as the favorite adds to the pressure of the situation.

He was favored by whom? You?

I ate at Stephanie Izzard's restaurant, Scylla, when it was open in Chicago. I had a very good meal there. I look forward to experiencing her food again.

←

I noticed your photo set on Scylla just last night after Stephanie won.

←

Yeah, I have foresight like that.

Edited June 12, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[C_Ruark]

I ate at Stephanie Izzard's restaurant, Scylla, when it was open in Chicago.  I had a very good meal there.  I look forward to experiencing her food again.

←

UE, Nice pics of Scylla and the other sets! I need a bucket for the drool as I work through your Michelin Guide Rouge set.

As as the Final goes: I wasn't too crazy for way the prod's unrolled this episode either... too much "I'm Lisa and I will win because I deserve it" in the edit.

In the end, very happy to see Stephanie won!

Edited June 12, 2008 by C_Ruark (log)

[ulterior epicure]

UE, Nice pics of Scylla and the other sets! I need a bucket for the drool as I work through your Michelin Guide Rouge set.

Thanks for the nice words.

I don't hate on Lisa on like many here seem to be doing. I mean, she was definitely my least favorite of the last six or so cheftestants, but I realize there's probably a lot that is lost in translation on the editing room floor. I'm just *thrilled* she chopped her hair off for the last two episodes.

[KristiB50]

There's a reunion show next Wednesday.

UE I am now hooked on your blog and Flickr account!

Edited June 12, 2008 by KristiB50 (log)

[Daniel]

Wow, seemed like killer ingredients and not a lot of results..

You can't win top chef with a standard thai meal that you can get delivered to your house..

That whole liquid nitrogen thing.. Richard had a big tank of it at his old restaurant behind the bar.. The amount of care the tank probably needs just for making an ice cream and frozen tabsco seems like a lot of hoopla.

All in all with out tasting the food, I say eh, who cares really.. Nothing to exciting about this season.

Edited June 12, 2008 by Daniel (log)

[Tsulli1]

Looks like Stephanie plans to open a new place in Chicago.