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Top Chef Season 5: Final Four power rankings!
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Top Chef Season 5: Final Four power rankings!
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As promised: After the jump, I rank the remaining four Season 5 contestants in descending order in terms of how likely I think they are to win the title of Top Chef. Don't worry, I kept it as simple as possible. No rubrics or flow charts, just short/sweet reasoning. Please share your thoughts, and/or your own rankings, in the comments.
The new episode comes on in a few minutes. Let's talk more tomorrow.
1. Stefan
Quickfire Wins: 3
Elimination Wins: 4
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Strengths: Stefan, a California-based caterer who was born in Finland and raised in Germany, is definitely the most refined member of the Final Four when you're talking pure skills. He displayed as much in Episode 11, when he wowed chef Eric Ripert with a near-perfect rendition of a Le Bernardin seafood dish. Plus, think about it in terms of diversity. Seasons 1 and 2 had white male winners (Harold and Ilan). Season 3 saw Vietnam native Hung take it home. Season 4 featured Stephanie, the very first female winner. Wouldn't it be cute and convenient for Season 5 to feature a Euro-bred Top Chef?
Weaknesses: The guy is a hothead, definitely does not work well with others (remember Episode 5, when Radhika said she'd rather cook with Satan than him?) and seems to get the hiccups when required to properly execute dishes driven by simplicity (see Episode 12, when he grossly overcooked Marcus Samuelsson's salmon). Then again, with the final challenge upon us, will any of these shortcomings even matter?
2. Carla
Quickfire Wins: 1
Elimination Wins: 3
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Strengths: Carla owns a D.C.-based company called Alchemy Caterers, which carries the connotation of her turning crap into pure gold. She's been able to do as much with her late-season surge, which began with Episode 8's Blue Hill at Stone Barns group challenge and culminated last week in a Wylie Dufresne-approved egg Quickfire and a near-win for the "Last Supper" elimination. Also, remember how she took the win in Episode 10 with a gumbo she somehow pulled off in 20 minutes? The final challenge is taking place in New Orleans. A familiarity with EmerilLand cuisine cannot hurt her. She is a definite fan favorite, too, for her vivacious, odd-bird antics, which almost always translate well to the judges. (Except for Philly's Stephen Starr, who quite memorably expressed his desire to shake her.) Also, barring a few snafus (e.g. the non-frozen frozen yogurt from Restaurant Wars), Carla is the most talented baker and pastry chef remaining in the competition.
Weaknesses: Inconsistency. Carla wasn't able to turn on the afterburners until the final third of this season. Does she have enough left to keep a step ahead of Stefan in these crucial final episodes? As much as I would like to watch Carla win, I don't see it happening.
3. Fabio
Quickfire Wins: 0
Elimination Wins: 3
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Strengths: Florentine Fabio, he of the unavoidably charming panty-disintegrating Italian accent, is definitely the ballsiest member of the Final Four. He's taken the most risks with his food, an approach that's brought him both success and spectacular failure. His unabashed boldness on the stove (he's basically the only contestant to toy with "molecular" techniques) separates him from his peers and solidifies him as a threat. If Fabio just wanted to phone it in, he could've dressed every one of his dishes up in Italian clothes, a la Rad's omnipresent Indian influence. But he hasn't done that, and has reached the finals on the strength of his originality in the kitchen.
Weaknesses: Somewhat obviously, his greatest strength doubles as his greatness weakness. I can definitely see Fabio sticking his neck out a little too far in the final challenge, miscalculating the balance between branding a dish his own and presenting something that is a triumph in a technical sense.
4. Hosea
Quickfire Wins: 1
Elimination Wins: 2
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Strengths: Hosea, who's the head chef of a seafood restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, has won more challenges than it seems, mostly due to the fact that he's been a member of a winning group on several occasions. This means he's extremely good at teaming up. While this might not come into play in the final challenge, you never know what the Top Chef producers are gonna pull out of their crisp white sleeves. His outpalating of Stefan in Episode 5 showed that he knows ingredients, meaning he understands what the hell he's doing.
Weaknesses: Hosea's the classic example of a cheftestant who's dodged enough bullets, either through holding down the not-winning/not-losing middle of the pack or by coasting in a group situation, to sneak his way into the Final Four. Does he have enough imagination and individual chutzpah to stake his own culinary claim? I don't think so. Also: Stupid novelty T-shirts, stupid beard and he grossly made out with Leah that one time.
I think that those octopuses that Padma's holding are even prettier than she is. Also, Hosea is fucking gross and I love Carla.
[...] BREW REVUE: Bell's Two Hearted• MEAL TICKET VIDEO: The $11-a-head Winter Dinner Party• Top Chef Season 5: Final Four power rankings!• Lovers and Madmen opening in March at 40th and Ludlow• SNACK TIME: Sneaking around [...]
[...] Stefan? Lovable hippie-dip caterer Carla? Seafood-searing novelty T-shirt mannequin Hosea?I’ve already put my prediction out there. Share yours — and any salacious spoiler-riffic rumors you might’ve heard — in the [...]
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