So one of the shows I've been watching a bit more of recently is one of my favorite competitive cooking shows, Top Chef. It's a very simple premise: talented chefs from across the country compete with one another in a series of teamed or individual cooking challenges given to them by the judges in a bid to be the last one voted off the show by given the judges a dish that both meets the requirements of the challenge and tastes good. Why do they do this? The person crowned Top Chef gets that coveted title, $200,000, a feature in Food and Wine magazine, and a showcase at Food and Wine festival in Aspen.
Every show there is a Quickfire challenge, a sort of mini-cooking battle, that usually involves them creating a quick dish or showcasing their cooking skills in order to win the event. The winner of the challenge is awarded either immunity from elimination at the end of the episode, or (nearing the latter episodes of a season) some sort of advantage in the next challenge. After the Quickfire they then are told what the Elimination challenge is, given time to shop for food, and then told to prep their food for whatever event it is they are cooking for. Sometimes they are tasked with making a healthy, nutritious meal for a family with only a $10 budget, or maybe they are catering for a wedding based on the bride/groom's desires, or maybe they are told they have 3 hours to cook a meal for a dining event but mid-cooking are thrown a curve ball that it's only 1.5 hours and now they've got to adjust their meals based on this sudden restrictive.
After all the cooking is done they are then taken in front of the judges which usually are composed of the host, Padma "Hot Stuff, Would Hit It Anytime Anywhere" Lakshmi, the head-judge, Tom Colicchio, and two guest judges for the episode. The guest judges are usually other highly re-known chefs in their own right or owners of certain venues, or charities that the chefs are cooking for. The winner of the chefs gets bragging rights and sometimes an additional featured prize presented to them by the guest judge like new kitchen appliances or a trip for two to some exotic location overseas. The person who made the worst dish gets sent home. The final of the season then usually pits the final two or three competitors against each other with the challenge of just making the best 3 course meal they can come up with (no real restraints, purely whatever they want to cook). The person who makes the best dish then becomes a Top Chef.
What really interests me most about this show is seeing all the various cooking techniques and methods people use to make food. There are so many foods featured on this show that I've never even heard of that the chefs even know how to use in a dish with other things is amazing. I really appreciate the effort these guys put into their dishes, especially under the time restraints, pressures, and requirements put upon them in order to show their culinary fortitude. It looks tough. Even as a guy who maybe cooks one authentic home cooked meal a month I understand the difficulty of these dishes. At the same time, though, while watching the show I fall into the habit of being that annoying TV viewer who can easily sit back and say "Oh, what were they thinking doing that?" or "Well obviously that person is going home, they should know better than to cook THAT way" when in reality I'm not even THERE and have NO idea how to even approach cooking the things they do. I guess it just brings more fun to watching it that way.
One thing I am sure of, when it comes to watching this show, is that I just don't understand people's desire to immediately, right out of the gate try something daring and bold and something they've never done before and aren't sure will even taste good JUST to show the judges that they are daring. Ok, really? It's one thing to try something crazy and outside the box if you're somewhat familiar with it, but why would you play it risky with something you're not sure of when elimination is on the line? I see this in soooo many seasons of Top Chef and more often than not it doesn't pan out well for that person. Other things that don't make sense are people who are told that their challenge is to make something super simple meal that even a kid could copy and they then go to make some overly convoluted, complex, super French technique style dish using rare ingredients because "that's who they are, they don't want to dumb down their style of cooking ever". I wish some of those chefs would just put their pride and ego about their cooking style aside and just focus on the task. Don't try to defend your dish when you're on the chopping block with an excuse of "that's just how I cook" and expect that to mean anything to the judges. They aren't going to give you a pass because you stuck to your guns and just ignored the rules of the competition.
Similar along those lines are the chefs who join the competition who either only do one style/type of cooking, like Southern American or Asian or French, or those who don't really know how to make any desserts or any other culinary classic dishes. I always feel like those people are either overly confident or just woefully ignorant in what the entire show has in store for them. It's not like the first or second season where the show was still new and no one knew what to expect. Season 9 is starting up soon, so if the competitors haven't watched all the previous seasons to understand that, yes, you will eventually need to know how to make a dessert or fillet a fish or make home-made mayo or shuck a clam, then they are just bringing any misery on themselves. I think the most bizarre was the fact that a vegetarian, who only cooked vegetarian/vegan style dishes was on the show. MEAT IS IN EVERY SINGLE DAMN EPISODE AND THEY THEN WHINE THEY THEY ARE OUT OF THEIR ELEMENT WHAT THE HELL, DID YOU HONESTLY EXPECT TO WIN TOP CHEF WITH ALL VEGGIES??? To be Top Chef you really have to be well-rounded and versed in all chefly aspects, I think. The winners have always been true masters.
Like any other reality show it has plenty of personality from the nice guy to the gay person to the silent one to the asshole who doesn't care to the unrememberable one. Plenty of arguments and conflict, and also plenty of people just syncing together. The variety of cooking styles, personalities, events, and challenges in the show really make it a must watch type of show if you enjoy watching people cook. If you can't stand food shows then this would just be one of the worst things for you, but for me I love it. It makes me want to learn to cook more and enjoy different foods from around the world.
I leave this post with a video recipe from Season 6 Top Chef winner. Good stuff.
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