TOP CHEF FINALE (SPOILERS)

[pinkroses]

I have many thoughts on this, but also a ton of work to do today.  So I will keep it brief and come back later.

I liked the cooking in front of the judges, family, past contestants part.  I DID NOT like the live round by round judging.  At 10:55 when they were judging round 4 and Kristen was up 2-1 you knew she was going to win, because there was no time left in the episode for a fifth round.  Dumb and killed any suspense there might have been.  Also, I wanted to see their desserts!

I love both Kristen and Brooke so I was not all that invested in who would win, because I would be happy either way.  Also, I watched Watch What Happens Live after and they both were so gracious and kind. 

[pinkroses]

Yeah, Brooke definitely seemed bummed on WWHL and I don't blame her.  But I still think she handled it well and was very nice.  Also I think she is overall a bit more awkward and nervous than Kristen, and it showed more in this format than on the edited show.

Tom Colicchio tweeted that he didn't like the new format either and doubts they will do it again.  So that's encouraging.  It was too bad because it was such a strong season and the finale was really not all that enjoyable to watch.  Let me know what you think if you go back and watch the whole thing.

I would love to go to Stir!  I wonder if they are totally slammed now with the extra publicity.  It seems like it would be tough enough to get a seat there anyway with only 10 per night. 

[LoveTrains]

I was not a fan at ALL of the format. I thought the course by course judging sucked, and I was annoyed that we didn't get to see them do the dessert course. I was watching mine on the DVR so I had no awareness of how much time had passes, but when it was over, I had the same thought that if I had been watching live it would have been incredibly obvious that Kristin was going to win because there wasn't enough time for the last course.

[LoveTrains]

Saw this on twitter, and I agree with the assessment.

www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/69704/the-top-chef-seattle-finale-was-ruined-by-meddlesome-magical-elves

[pinkroses]

Feb 28, 2013 15:09:42 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

Saw this on twitter, and I agree with the assessment.

www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/69704/the-top-chef-seattle-finale-was-ruined-by-meddlesome-magical-elves

Thanks for the link, I really enjoyed this.  I think this part really is true:

As for next year, I think Top Chef learned the same basic
lesson its judges repeatedly tell the contestants: Stay true to yourself
and don't stray too far from your comfort zone.

[noodleoo]

Finally watched the finale nd I was so disappointed! The finale sucked! And overalls really liked this season. It was so anticlimactic the way they did it. Also bummed we didn't get to see the desserts. I think they should be judged on the whole meal and not course by course. I think Brooke gets really nervous and losing the first course probably really shook her confidence. I liked both chefs, but I'm sad Brooke didn't win.

What is Stir?

[elfinia7]

I didn't mind the finale so much. I kinda liked the iron chefish feel to it though I agree that the concept should they stick with it needs to be tweaked as it was easy to determine who won before the official announcement based on time. I loved that it was two women in the finale though I think the better chef defintely won. Though that's not to say Brooke was a bad chef, I just connected with what Kristin made more often.

I'm really glad Sheldon won fan favorite.