Top Chef Season 4: The Winner is…..

Season 4 of Top Chef has finally declared a winner and if you haven’t seen the show yet divert your eyes.

The show was great as far as finales go and I love that they repeated a little from last year’s finale and had three GREAT chefs be there to work as the finalists sous chefs.  Who wouldn’t mind Eric Ripert filleting your fish?  Oh, well I guess Stephanie would.  I thought it was hysterical watching her hover over Chef Eric Ripert… THE chef of THE award winning Le Bernardine…a renown seafood restaurant…while he filleted.  She commented that she thought he felt a little insulted…you think???

Anyway it seems that as much as a lot of people have loved Stephanie…her character and her food, and as much as people have longed for a woman to win the title and are thrilled that she won…the story has become about Richard Blais.  I thought it was funny how the producers teased us with some incredible comment that he was going to make during the final judge’s table.  Do you love how they made it look like he was going to comment on Lisa…and why she didn’t deserve to be there?  But no, Richard is jut too classy.  His comment was that he knew he choked and he was owning up to his mistake.  I truly felt for him.  He never once threw anyone under the bus during the season, took responsibility for his own mistakes, stayed true to his cuisine and gave credit to others when credit was due.

From Ted Allen:

A final coda on The Blais, and that extraordinary moment at Judges’ Table when he offered that that he had “choked.” There, when the chefs are given their last chance to (usually) puff out their chests and fight for their lives, or to “throw somebody over the bus,” as Joey Pickles once famously put it, Richard instead felt that he needed to use it to be honest about his performance. Because that is the kind of integrity he lives. You want to talk about stepping up? Leadership? Taking responsibility, wherever the chips might fall? For my money, this was the most emotional moment in the history of this show. And one of the most impressive of them all.

I think that many of us were biting are nails a little bit last night when it was appearing that Lisa may manage an upset.  Her “it’s between you and me” to Stephanie in the Stew Room was more than irritating.  I was a little annoyed while I listened to the judges debate, but for those of you concerned, according to someone who was actually deliberating–Ted Allen– Richard was number two…of course, that doesn’t mean much to him, but I do think it is a relief to a lot of fans:

When the nine of us sat down to dinner at La Fortaleza, his menu dominated the conversation for at least the first 20 minutes of conversation. It was vintage, verbaceous Richard; bold, cheeky, and promising. It was all about a chef with a fascinating, mysterious story to tell. It was also a little controversial; the list of four courses contained absolutely no information about the food. They were:

You Are Here.
Which Came First?
Be the Bacon.
and
You Are Still Here.

Tim Zagat complained about the enigmatic descriptions, and I understand his point — it’s kind of nice to know something about what’s coming. But I thought it was original, personal, and cool. I’m more than willing to put my trust in Richard and let him take me on whatever culinary journey he likes. I wish more of you could have tasted his work this year.

But somehow, that loose, improvisational, “listen-to-the-Force, Luke” spirit unraveled for him in the kitchen. You could see the writing on the wall when Tom visited during prep, and Richard seemed shockingly unsure of where his story was going — at the worst possible time in the contest. That was the beginning of the endgame in this, the final battle that everybody thought was Richard’s to lose.

The day after the finale shoot, waiting with Barry for our flight, I saw Richard wandering alone through the airport in Puerto Rico. He looked dazed. And I felt so sorry for him. He was, of course, ever gracious to everyone after the battle, putting on a brave face with cast and judges alike for post-show drinks in Old San Juan (at 6 a.m., no less), congratulating Stephanie with complete sincerity, thanking the producers. But at the airport, in the clear light of day, it was obvious that the finality was hitting him. Nobody fights that hard for second place.

In the end it came to another favorite, Stephanie Izard.  I am sure that Chicago is excited for their win and Stephanie has an incredible future ahead.  She spent a lot of time cooking for friends to prepare for the finals and it showed.  She is currently looking for a site to open her new restaurant and if you want to see what is up with Stephanie read more at the Chicago Tribune and today…Thursday at 1pm EST they are having a live on-line chat with the winner.

Lisa has become a foot-note and just another character in TV reality competition.  I am sure that she is talented and will continue pursuing her dream, but a “Top Chef”?  We will see.

As for my fave, Richard.  He has a long, successful road ahead of him.  He intrigued Eric Ripert and taught a Master something new.  I admire that he continued to push the envelope and not restrict himself to some Zagat Rulebook.  It sucks that he chose the final challenge to choke, but it was what it was.  He is an incredible talent who has already battled the likes of Mario Batali in Kitchen Stadium and in my book is a Top Chef and a Top Person.  Knowing what I do about how having children drastically changes your perspective on life and the entire world, I would venture a guess that now after the birth of his beautiful baby girl, he feels he has the greatest prize and title life can offer.

As a whole, it was a great Top Chef season.  I have a few gripes.  I would like to see a lot less catering challenges.  I don’t know what happened to the finale automatically having three chefs…keep it down to two…Lisa did not deserve to be there.  And my biggest gripe….the finale should look at the chef as a whole and all their wins, vision and food.  Both Richard and Stephanie had a great deal of wins, prepared some incredible food and offered a lot during the entire season.  I was very nervous last night when Tom said that it comes down to what meal they would want to eat again.  Richard blew it, and shouldn’t have won, but what would they have done if it was a toss-up or even a split-decision?  Being a Top Chef is more than one meal and this competition should be treated as such, especially at that last judge’s table.

I am sure that everyone has there take on the finale and the season.  Are you happy with the winner?  What is your reaction to The Blais?  Did you think that Lisa as going to carry-off an upset?

It appears that there is no reunion scheduled and I have seen nothing about the competition for Fan Favorite.  So, it appears that we have another 9 months or so before we can get our next Top Chef fix.