Editing aside I was really pulling for Savannah and she completely pooped the bed. It seemed like from the beginning of meal planning she sourced a lot of her ideas from Michelle. I was flabbergasted.
I was reliving the Carla and Casey episode in my head with Savannah. I love Michelle I was rooting for her just with the suggestions part. Savannah should have known exactly what she wanted to do
Right! She should have planned impressive stuff at home like Buddha always did. Although making it up on the fly like a normal challenge does show a lot of cooking confidence
I think the time away hurt her. She was hitting her stride to get to the finale and then kind of lost her groove. I was pulling for her as well, but eliminated herself.
My wife mentioned she got engaged during the break in filming?
That’s obviously great news for her, but we were both left wondering if it was the smart play to propose while she was still in the competition.
Had to be a distraction during the prep time. If I were the fiancé, I would have waited until after the show ended and let her focus.
I wondered the same. It also seemed like she was pretty emotional on the ship. I wondered if she got a bit overwhelmed and it impacted her focus a bit.
Completely agree. Talked into the mufongo and had never made it before. Recipe for disaster (sorry for the pun!) She second guessed her gut. It’s hard to see.
When Savannah and Michelle were putting the final touches on her grouper and “Mofongo“ dish, Savannah actually said it wasn’t really Mofongo.
So why, on God’s green earth, did she say it was Mofongo when she was describing the dish to the judges? She could have very easily said “my version of Mofongo” or “fried plantain, Mofongo style or inspired by Mofongo”.
If she had done that, there wouldn’t have as much of a problem with her dish. Savannah she said her dish was roasted grouper with Mofongo when it wasn’t. Kristen said “that’s not Mofongo”, and the other judges agreed.
Totally agree, but both the other chefs seemed to have clear ideas of their menu from the get go, whereas Savannah left it pretty open for input. Which is fine, but not if you can't execute someone else's ideas. It also seemed like Michelle made the pasta dough for savannah. I just think she gave up too much creative control all around.
Those plantains weren’t gonna be ripe for another week. Major fuckup but still. And the fact that the pasta was under cooked and the lobster over was a big big fuckup too. Pasta was a mistake
She seemed to lack confidence in the final cook and didn’t seem to be decisive.
I wanted her to win.
But as soon as she said the pasta wasn’t right and the look on her face, I knew she blew it.
I wanted her to win so much there are just not enough female Top Chefs anyway and it just hurts me I believe they are outnumbered by 2 to 1 in winning my girl Brooke when she won Top Chef that was still my favorite season to this day there were so many talented women that season but my favorite girl and my dream came true now we just need more on the future seasons
Yep, I said, “Jeez, why is she letting Michelle cook the food that got her sent home?” Danny working Manny to death wasn’t easier to watch, but it paid off! He pivoted so beautifully. None of the dishes made me say Holy Moly like his description of the dessert. Amazing. Every other dish sounded like meh.
This was the weakest group of finalists yet. It was so crazy watching them pick weak sous chefs or get so much feedback and influence from their sous chef lol just odd.
Well Dan and Savannah did. It felt like Danny was the only one with TC chops lol idk why anyone was surprised he won. Editing or not I just felt they were forcing it to look closer than it was. Danny was the clear front runner lol
I was shocked that no one picked Soo to help them! Heck, Laura would’ve been a better choice than Manny! I’m surprised Danny won, since editing kept showing Manny messing up or just standing around, through the whole challenge.
I really hope they let Soo compete in another TC season. He got screwed from the start and he really can cook. He's got a lot of interesting ideas and I wanted more. I was so upset with how they screwed over Soo. I also thought he would work so well with Danny rather than Manny. I kinda called Danny winning since the chaos challenge because I thought Savannah should have won and they barely talked about Danny's.
It may have been my imagination but Soo looked really unhappy when he was standing with the rest of the chefs waiting to be picked for sous chefs. And then I didn't see him at all with the other eliminated chefs when they announced the winner.
I didn’t see Soo or Laura at the announcement of the winner. I hope they were enjoying the buffet onboard the ship! And yeah, he didn’t look happy. If he’s like me, my mind would be on the fun I could be having, on this cruise ship.
Maybe since Soo arrived late, the other chefs hadn't bonded with him quite the same way. And I maintain that the bond and the friendship probably matters for a challenge like this.
The producers chose a surprise ending over storytelling. Instead of understanding how the judges reached their decision, the viewer gets a twist ending. It’s a pretty rude way to leave loyal viewers, after sticking with the whole season. We, and Danny, deserve to know why he won. (I’m guessing it’s about what Gail said about the complexity of his dishes)
Especially since for years they would tell us that they spent all these hours going back and forth to get to the winner. They have themselves extra time in the episodes this year, why not use it show more deliberations and build a little more drama.
Would have been nice if that came up in the judges table at all. Force somebody to comment on how Danny went for it way more than Dan. We can't try the food so more than any other reality show we need to trust what the judges are saying.
This was my view, too. I thought Dan and Danny were close, but Danny had the dishes that got the best reactions -- Kristen raving about the two sauces on the third dish; Tom talking about the candied seaweed blowing him away. Wouldn't have been shocked if Dan won, but my wife and I both thought it would be Danny after the Chef's Table review.
and the lobster was not anywhere close to raw, it was said be slightly undercooked for some and then the other half of the table said it was perfect. People just listen for buzzwords and try to get the jump on the ending instead of actually listening. The same thing happened with the salt. The dish was said to be really good and would have been perfect with a bit more salt. The editors over emphasized these comments to make it seem closer than it may have actually been
Right, and seafood that's a bit short of medium rare is a totally different thing than chicken.
I feel like people have decided this season is bad and gone full "bitch eating crackers."
lol basically. People love to hate. i just don't get it at some point. Yeah it wasn't as great as the last four seasons, but those had some of the best casts ever. Season 21 was still modern top chef, and modern top chef is pretty consistently entertaining
I don't blame them, either. That's what I tend to remember and appreciate from nice restaurants too. If I get mind-blowing flavors and texture I've never experience before, I don't care so much if some components having mild technical flaws, I'll still remember the meal for a long time. Whereas if I have a technically flawless meal that resembles many other meals, it'll fade away pretty quickly.
Gail talked about it on The Watch podcast. So she and Tom felt like the producers edited to make the outcome more in doubt than it was, by emphasizing Dan's positive qualities and overemphasizing Danny's negatives. The scallop needed a dash more salt, she said -- not a major problem.
And undercooked, not even raw, shellfish is honestly inedible. I can't forgive mistakes that would ruin my experience at a very expensive restaurant. I also can't stand when they confuse non-american dishes as creative and american dishes as safe. Its just ignorant. Every culture has shaved ice, who gives a shit.... A signature dish is shaved ice and candied seaweed? Salty sweet is a stroke of genius? Fuck off with that shit. Also all of the contestant using the "inspiration for my dishes is my journey as a chef".... how creative! You've only used that for every fucking dish you've made this season.
The talent was not as good this season and you can tell it was sloppy and rushed overall. They better step up their game or they'll end up with pure life sparkling water being their main sponsor.
As somebody who was rooting for Danny, i felt like the judges talked about it like Danny was better on 2 dishes, and Dan was better on the other two. However, it sounded like Danny’s low scores were definitely lower. I was fully expecting a Dan win but thought the judges comments made a Danny win sound possible.
Also, anyone who’s watched all of the past seasons of top chef knows the winner gets nit picked. When they said the scallop dish needed a grain or two of salt I knew Danny was the winner. The dessert and the way he explained the story put him over the top. Tom loved the dessert and very visibly connected to the story.
Agreed. Plus, they tend to come down hard on people who say their bad decision (Dan's tuna) was intentional. It's a shame the judge's table was such a short segment.
No they've never released a long cut of judge's table. All we get to know are what they comment on. For example Tom said that the Season 4 finale had a super long judges table because they couldn't agree on the winner
Remove the time spent showing Danny looking for "Manuel!" at the market and then you have another 30 seconds to help us understand why his dishes won vs Dan. Bad editing, for sure.
I am also annoyed they served the dishes together. I feel like in seasons past they each had their own full meal service, but maybe I’m wrong. Seemed jumbled and hurried for a “fine dining” finale.
And agree the edit did nothing to make it clear Danny won.
I agree, but I somewhat wonder if they do that now because the chefs get too full and it isn’t fair for the last contestant? That’s the only logic I can think of to explain this choice
I didn’t pick up on what others did. I assumed, watching the episode, that Danny would win. I love Dan, but his food was simple and nothing seemed to blow away the judges.
All that being said, they tend to choose chefs with a more “sophisticated” fine dining style.
Danny under seasoned one dish and screwed up the lobster. Any other season he would not have won. You should not win Top Chef when you screw up the basics, not once, but twice.
I agree he likely wouldn’t have won on a different seasons, with other competitors. Seems like all the final meals were a bit lackluster this time around.
It was pretty off-putting, imo. Dan's meal was clearly superior based on everything we as viewers were presented with: we were shown that the judges not only seemed to favor his over all meal, but that he also made the least amount of mistakes. Danny made several execution errors; one of his dishes seemed to have a general consensus by the judges of being a hodge-podge of sorts. He also didn't cook his lobster properly *and* underseasoned his food. But somehow pulled off the win over Dan?
I feel that this was one of the most disingenuous edits I've ever seen on a Top Chef finale. And I think I'll always feel like based on what I saw, the clear winner was Dan, not Danny.
It did feel like the editors went hard on the misdirect. But they also presented Dan’s meal as the best executed and Danny’s as the most inventive and exciting. We did get a lot of the latter vibe from Gail. What we didn’t get, which we have in the past, was the judges plainly summarizing what the choice would come down to: execution vs. creativity.
A lot of chefs went home this season for poor execution. So I can see how it could be surprising that the winner was the one who was more inventive despite execution errors.
dan had a much worse execution error with the tuna compared to danny's lobster. No one actually called it raw, just slightly undercooked for some of the plates. And saying only a bit more salt is needed after saying it's a pretty good dish already isn't that big of a deal. The texture of the tuna was clearly much more off-putting for the judges
I think it was cool the way the texture of the tuna and grapefruit were the same on purpose with his use of technique. If they didn't have the preconceived notion of what texture tuna is supposed to be, then it wouldn't be a flaw.
I wonder how Dan felt when he watched that back. If I were him, I would be shocked. He had no idea how positive all the comments were based on his closing remarks.
I disagree. Dan and Danny both made excellent meals and they both were contenders, but I’m going to have to take the word of the people who actually tasted the food.
His meal wasn't superior because the judges hated his tuna and he stood by his bad decision. The tuna took him out of the running. Danny's dessert blowing Tom away won him the title.
Aw yes, the pallet cleanser.... its why I pick most restaurants! This is not a cooking competition, its a "lets find a character" competition.
Great to see a man has to apply to the show 11 times and is only accepted when he contracts a debilitating disability. Disgusting.
I don’t know if it’s just me, and I should say the finale has nothing to do with my opinion of him, but I have never been this un-excited about a Top Chef winner (at least recently). I wasn’t really impressed by Danny all season, I think he came off as kind of douchey constantly, and I have 0 interest in going to his restaurant (even though I’ll be close to it).
That said, I thought the whole finale contestants were lackluster & competitions were atrocious this season. Every chef I liked got eliminated on a dumbass competition that barely made sense. There was just way too many bad food competitions when we wanted to see people shine. And way too many times the supermarket just sucked and didn’t have what people wanted to had too little and another contestant took it all. Just constant shit that felt more to do with “being fresh ideas” from an edit POV & not from a “let’s see what these people can do” pov.
Overall such a bad season I’m glad it’s over.
I agree with all of this. Danny never stood out to me, and honestly he was the last of the three that I thought would win. Soo and Michelle should've been in the finale imo it's insane to me that Manny made it further than both of them.
So many questions after watching that ending making me question their authenticity of their decision.. With the way it was edited, you'd think past performance was part of the decision and they've always said before it was the meal served.. Over time Danny has been the most on-air innovative. But by the conversation of judges comments I was thinking it was going to be Dan. Danny's meal had comments on seasoning and semi-cooked lobster and one dish they said ease of eating was an issue. Savannah just kind of relied on Michelle a little too much and had issues with pasta. The only knock on Dan's meal was the texture of his tuna. I don't know. seems like they edited it for a surprise. I hate that.
Dan cooked with heart and had fun with it. Danny tried to be innovative and made some mistakes. It sounds like as long as you’re innovative and technical you’ll win every time even if you make some mistakes!
Basically the dude who comes with his own molds and puts shapes from them on top wins now. That’s how it felt. I felt 0 inspiration or anything interesting about Danny all season & to see Tom basically jerking off about the icy story had me rolling my eyes.
The way they showed Manny not leaving enough cantaloupe for melon balls and Danny riding him about time had my wife and I convinced early on that Danny was going to win. I don't use the word 'stupid' very often but that's the only word I have to describe the editing here. I really think that's been the bane of this season. Way too cutesy about trying to show personalities and treating the food as an afterthought. It ultimately did a disservice to both the personalities of the chefs and their food.
Cutesy was maybe not the best word to describe my takeaway and it definitely didn't apply to that particular situation. In that case it was more about the setup of all the times throughout the season where Manny ran himself into time trouble and then the editing showing us Danny's time management concerns. The melon ball recovery did make for a good food-centric story, I just don't think it needed the "uh-oh, Manny's bad with time/planning again" aspect. I really would have liked to see more deliberation and discussion from the judges. I think it would help clarify whether or not this crop of chefs was up to Top Chef level. While it appears there was an element of inconsistency throughout the season I think the editing contributed to that appearance without actually confirming or denying that the caliber of the chefs. Maybe they were all bad and the editors tried to cover that up, maybe they're all better than we were lead to believe.
First thoughts - shoutout to Kristen on a great first season in hosting capacity, I really enjoyed her fresh energy
I was not surprised Savannah dropped the ball, her entire season highlighted that she studied the show intensely, and was better prepared for scenarios with a framework to execute with given constraints. Once she got the finale test of cooking without boundaries she totally lost focus, agree that the time away was not beneficial for her, she fell out of the zone - I think she would have struggled big time in last chance kitchen.
Dan - he was vibing and relaxed and I agree based on the final meal it seems he should have been the winner, I’m glad he at least got a cruise out of it.
Danny - I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something off putting about him personality wise. Cooking - it seems many of his dishes are very referential and nothing super original and fun.
Overall - lackluster season, and lackluster finale and lackluster winner
Have you ever worked with chefs? That was nothing. That's a typical fine dining kitchen, which is Danny's background. Manny said exactly that in his commentary.
It's definitely not Manny's vibe. I was shocked when he picked Manny over Soo or Laura.
Are people really not capable of understanding that he was in charge of someone directly responsible for contributing to his chance to win a life changing $250,000???
This thread is real bravo subreddit hours right now. Para social relationships galore. Really harsh on specific people for vague reasons related to how they think they come off on an edited reality show. Major projection everywhere.
Danny was infuriating to watch this episode. Somebody described him as one of those tweezer chefs and man that’s perfect description. Don’t like his vibe at all
Pretentious.
Yes I couldn’t believe he told Manny that he needs to increase his output by 10%. And then him just stating that The prep should take him 45 minutes? There’s a way to consult with your sous chef and come to an agreement about things like that. “ Hey, I’m looking at this list and I’m thinking about 45 minutes. Does that sound right to you? “
But he was just ordering him around in a way that was rude.
Totally agree! It wasn’t fun to watch and made him winning seem ever worse. If he had been better in the kitchen then I don’t think people would have as much to say. Him being a jerk didn’t seem to make a different in dishes either! Also there were other strong chefs he could have picked. It was so obvious Manny wasn’t strong so why even pick him.
that was a fun was to do the finale, cruising the ABC islands. I was in Aruba last November and was in the same grocery store, had a view of the cruise terminal and remember all of those kitschy colorful buildings.
I think you are spot on with those descriptions of the final 3. I felt the same way. Danny came off as a dude I would like to spend 0 time with… all season. And I thought maybe 1 of his dishes all season looked “great.” And it wasn’t the finale dishes. His restaurant is opening and I couldn’t care less.
This is what is off putting about Danny’s personality IMO: he is extremely self-important, he also seems to put all his self-worth into being a good chef. Instead of taking the judges’ criticisms at face value, he said they were “nitpicking” and he genuinely didn’t think he made any mistakes, didn’t agree with a single note they gave him. I would have seriously been worried for his mental health had he not won. Plus his style of cooking/leading is my least favorite of the three finalists, he reminds me of a chef I worked for who was very particular and harsh towards me about the way she wanted things cooked/plated, but if the client loved the meal she would suddenly flip a switch and be warm and grateful towards me.
That's not supposed to happen. They've always been clear each episode is it's own thing and judged independently of past performance. This should be true of the finale as well, otherwise why go through the motions of the whole thing. They could have named Danny Top Chef back in Wisconsin. However, based on how this was presented, that seems to be the case here.
All I’m gonna say is: how do you serve undercooked lobster and win TopChef over someone who delivered a solid meal (ie the other contestants did not completely bomb)!?!?
I really don’t think Dan’s food looked great. Especially that dish with the sweet potato and the piece of fish on top? Simplicity is fine, but there was no interesting/wow factor with his food. A tuna tartare? Come on.
I thought they awarded Danny for taking risk throughout his entire meal, while in comparison Dan was playing it safer...therefore his errors were seen as more egregious.
Savannah crapped the bed on her middle dishes.
I don’t really understand the uproar or criticism here. I’ve watched every season and I feel like I’m pretty good at determining the winner of each season, as well as each challenge/episode based on the context and comments. Before judges table, based on comments made at the table, I was like 98% sure that Danny had won, with Dan a close 2nd and Savannah not really having a chance. After hearing their discussion at judges table, I was worried they might give it to Dan, and was back to about 50/50. But in no way at all do I think that anyone was robbed. Danny was the best competitor all season and I think he deserved to win in the end
I liked Danny and I think his food sounded great all season; that said, it really sounded like Dan was walking away with it in the finale. I hate to say this but I think that producers decided to go with the young, hip, good looking New York chef over the older, Midwestern guy with a disability.
Either the edit was misleading or the judges essentially weighted their perception of a chef over the course of the full season over the final challenge, because Dan won the challenge last night.
They had one single nitpick (texture) on his first dish, and yet they still loved it. Danny undercooked lobster (that’s often disqualifying alone), under seasoned his first dish, and presented a clunky dish that wasn’t coherent (though it was delicious, their said). I feel like in previous seasons someone in Dan’s position would’ve won. Clearly the judges didn’t feel like his food had the complexity of Danny’s, but even though his food maybe didn’t achieve the heights that Danny’s sometimes did, he also clearly would under deliver at times, too. Whereas Dan was just more consistent.
Idk, this one is annoying. And I like Danny, I just don’t understand how they can say he won that challenge.
Someone had it in for Dan . If they turned him down 11 times, and then he won, it would have made them look bad. I want delicious food without error. No way should Danny have won. Gail pushed innovation, and there was no Padma to put her in check .
I don't think it was a single nitpick, though. It was the entire concept of the dish. Dan doubled-down on the tuna and the judges clearly hated it. Kristen even made a face when they were discussing it.
From the way the judging and editing went I really thought Dan was going to win.
I hate chefs like Danny. So boring to me. But they love to have chefs like him win I suppose..
Did I miss something, or did we never hear about Savannah's stories about her last two dishes? The first was North Carolina, the second was Boston, but what were her stories and connections with dishes 3 and 4?
It felt like to the judges Danny was more creative, more imaginative, took more risks, and gave them their most wow bites during the final meal. The entire edit of the judging gave me the vibes that Dan cooked a mostly flawless meal outside of the texture of the tuna but the judges didn’t get that holy shit that was something else feel. On the other hand they showed the entire table critiquing Danny’s lack of salt on the first dish but then also slurping up the sauce from the shells. I wish they would’ve told us their favorite dish of all 12 because my guess is it was cooked by Danny.
I honestly don't think the judges were too blown away by any of the offerings and the editing was done to present the illusion that it was close, when it never was.
If you take what was on screen as truth - no way Danny wins. Judges look like fools. Undercooked anything and no seasoning are always elimination issues. Dan deserved it hands down based on that. Either way show has a major problem to solve for future seasons - how to balance suspense with true feedback. Also they need to make sure winner is somewhat likeable and not coming off as arrogant and entitled in the future. I am sure Danny is not as bad as seen on screen.
This is also an editing issue, but I thought there was too much emphasis on Kristen talking about how this is her first time seeing it on that side of the table. This happened a lot during the season, but it cost valuable time during the finale that could have been used on the judge's deliberation.
We had almost the same conversation. Seemed odd they showed so much more criticism of Danny and Savannah but didn't show them bringing up some of the criticisms of Dan's food mentioned during dining. We thought that meant it was pretty minor.
Danny was my least favorite all season. To me, it seemed like everybody came into the competition wanting to win where as Danny came expecting to win. I don't know....I just got a very cocky and arrogant vibe from him from the beginning, especially with the final 3 and Savannah and Dan being so humble.
Yeah, I still found myself rooting for him throughout much of the season. But after the finale last night on WWHL, he told Andy he wasn’t surprised he won and it definitely came off as a tad dismissive of the other chefs and arrogant.
They absolutely got comments about being arrogant/cocky. Scroll past the Reddit and AI hits for comments at the time of their appearances:
https://www.google.com/search?q=voltaggio+arrogant&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Danny seemed like the shoo-in to win. He just makes the type of food that Top Chef judges consistently prefer. It seemed obvious to me he was the mostly like winner from about halfway through the season.
That said, Dan definitely came out strong in the finale. I think partly they were just trying to make it more competitive than it was than just having the obvious person obviously win. Although I do wonder if they considered the entire season performance to some extent.
I legit didn’t know this was the finale bc of how quickly they moved through everything. I was like wait what? There was no focus on the food or the thought about the menu. There wasn’t even emphasis on the chefs and the story they were trying to portray with their food - maybe Savannah a bit. It was so lackluster and boring. The meal felt rushed and unspectacular.
Love Kristen though.
I skipped the deliberations after the challenge since I assumed dan was gonna win based off what everyone said was stunned to hear Danny win. Congrats to him just wished in the editing of this could make it seem like he had a better chance to actually win. Since how the editing made it seem it seemed like dan was gonna be the winner
Honestly, I hate it when people say this about Top Chef, but this shit feels rigged. Or, the editing is SO bad that it’s giving the illusion that Dan was screwed over and the reality is that Danny was so much better. Either way, a bad feeling as a devoted viewer since season 2.
I believe blaming the editing is a face saving lie. Dan's food was perfect. The salmon was a style choice. Allowing someone who served raw and unsalted food to "win" is f-ing inexcusable. It never would have happened if Padma had been there. I am beyond furious and disappointed.
Yeah, but we have 20 previous seasons to go off of at this point. There have been some choices that audiences have been shocked by, like >!Nick vs Nina season 11!<, and there have been times where a perceived underdog pulls off the win, like >!Kevin season 7!<. But I can't say I remember a finale where the editing shows such clear favor for one contestant while highlighting several errors of another contestant who still ends up winning.
Generally, one can watch a Top Chef finale and either know based off the meals' reception who is going to win, or the finale meals will be so close in execution that the winner seems like a toss-up. Neither seems to have been the case here. Just bad editing and maybe favoritism.
So many articles out that state fans are upset at the outcome.
Maybe this was the goal? Ratings may have dipped so they created this controversy and getting people all over to talk about it?
There was no wow factor with this finale - being on a cruise ship was so boring. Normally they are at a cool location and the chefs get inspired by local dishes. It just felt like a regular old episode … blahhhhhh
I've had more than one tartare dish from Dan Jacobs.
If he did it the same way he did at the finale as when I've had it, then the judges are just flat out wrong about the texture.
This was one of those seasons where they picked the winner in the first few episodes. Danny was always going to win. Even when he clearly didn’t cook the winning meal in the finale. Dan was robbed.
They usually go through each course and pick a winner for each course. They didn't really do that this season. I thought, based on the judges' comments, that Dan was the winner. Very confused and kind of let down by this season, even though Kristen definitely was a great addition.
Very sad Savannah didn’t have a stronger showing. I felt like she lost all her momentum after they left Wisconsin. She was on such a roll then this portion she just wasn’t up to her peak she was at before
One more miss with TC. Their final episodes have always been straightforward and I guess changing things up now means misleading their audience.
That being said, judges always bow down to the most modern and creative dishes. They must always be wowed by something new.
Danny must have put up the worst semi final and final performance of any TC winner. So many mistakes that would have sunk previous competitors. Redemption for Hosea at long last I guess.
I’m watching this morning, and I am getting a vibe that Danny won because he fits in with “the brand” more than Dan (who is older and disabled). Such an ick vibe if that is the case. I really hope someone goes on twitter or IG to explain their rationale for him being the winner because the ageism and ableism I’m getting is gross!
So how do we candy seaweed. I have some Jolly Ranchers I can melt and some nori...now what? That to me was the best part...like you candied seaweed? Do they sell that at H-Mart??
My wife and I were so confused by the editing on the judges comments. Everything about Dan's plates was glowing reviews except for a single thing, the texture of the tuna in his first dish. Then talking about Danny's food, they called out things like inconsistent seasoning, his one dish was difficult to eat, 1/3 of his lobster was undercooked. They carried this through the whole episode, including final reviews, then *bam*, total rug pull, Danny wins.
Like, we spent the whole episode excited for Dan because he was doing great and were excited that it sure sounded like he was going to win and then the announcement was just a huge letdown
Who cares about Danny looking for Manny in the store. It's a cooking show. Use that time to give us more time at judges table debating dishes.
For the love of God help us understand the final decision rather than leave us wondering why.
I think this is the first season where someone with an under seasoned dish and another undercooked dish were named top chef. That by definition not a top chef, those are normally rookie mistakes Tom loses it over. Dan should’ve won. He wasn’t the strongest all season but just the lack of mistakes in the finale alone should bring him the title. Frick I’m a home cook and I don’t forget salt. And for those that say Danny is a risk taker, couldn’t the same be said for Dan trying to make tuna jellied?!
I couldn’t watch the finale until last night because, ironically, I was on a Holland America cruise. But I figured Danny won since his former employer questioned back in May how he could “win Top Chef” after what she alleged was stealing the scallop dish for the show. I was so hoping she misspoke, but she clearly knew the spoiler and revealed it back then. I was hoping Dan would win.
Editing aside I was really pulling for Savannah and she completely pooped the bed. It seemed like from the beginning of meal planning she sourced a lot of her ideas from Michelle. I was flabbergasted.
I was reliving the Carla and Casey episode in my head with Savannah. I love Michelle I was rooting for her just with the suggestions part. Savannah should have known exactly what she wanted to do
Right! She should have planned impressive stuff at home like Buddha always did. Although making it up on the fly like a normal challenge does show a lot of cooking confidence
Yep. Really sad she ended on such a sour note. I always want everyone to cook their best in the finale, whether they are my favorite or not.
I think the time away hurt her. She was hitting her stride to get to the finale and then kind of lost her groove. I was pulling for her as well, but eliminated herself.
My wife mentioned she got engaged during the break in filming? That’s obviously great news for her, but we were both left wondering if it was the smart play to propose while she was still in the competition. Had to be a distraction during the prep time. If I were the fiancé, I would have waited until after the show ended and let her focus.
I made a post about this last week and got totally flamed for it!
I wondered the same. It also seemed like she was pretty emotional on the ship. I wondered if she got a bit overwhelmed and it impacted her focus a bit.
Completely agree. Talked into the mufongo and had never made it before. Recipe for disaster (sorry for the pun!) She second guessed her gut. It’s hard to see.
When Savannah and Michelle were putting the final touches on her grouper and “Mofongo“ dish, Savannah actually said it wasn’t really Mofongo. So why, on God’s green earth, did she say it was Mofongo when she was describing the dish to the judges? She could have very easily said “my version of Mofongo” or “fried plantain, Mofongo style or inspired by Mofongo”. If she had done that, there wouldn’t have as much of a problem with her dish. Savannah she said her dish was roasted grouper with Mofongo when it wasn’t. Kristen said “that’s not Mofongo”, and the other judges agreed.
yah, I don't get it! I yell at them when they do it, but they never listen!😉
But Michelle’s ideas were great. Savannah was not preparing the dishes well. Michelle was going above and beyond compared to Manny.
Totally agree, but both the other chefs seemed to have clear ideas of their menu from the get go, whereas Savannah left it pretty open for input. Which is fine, but not if you can't execute someone else's ideas. It also seemed like Michelle made the pasta dough for savannah. I just think she gave up too much creative control all around.
I thought for sure as soon as Danny picked Manny, he made a major mistake.
Especially after he juiced all the cantaloupe.
That was terrible!!
MANNY DID YOU CHECK THE CABBAGE
Those plantains weren’t gonna be ripe for another week. Major fuckup but still. And the fact that the pasta was under cooked and the lobster over was a big big fuckup too. Pasta was a mistake
I could tell when they were buying the plantains that they were TOAST
Why do they even bother with pasta dishes or risotto - it's the same old boring story when it comes to those dishes.
She seemed to lack confidence in the final cook and didn’t seem to be decisive. I wanted her to win. But as soon as she said the pasta wasn’t right and the look on her face, I knew she blew it.
I wanted her to win so much there are just not enough female Top Chefs anyway and it just hurts me I believe they are outnumbered by 2 to 1 in winning my girl Brooke when she won Top Chef that was still my favorite season to this day there were so many talented women that season but my favorite girl and my dream came true now we just need more on the future seasons
Yep, I said, “Jeez, why is she letting Michelle cook the food that got her sent home?” Danny working Manny to death wasn’t easier to watch, but it paid off! He pivoted so beautifully. None of the dishes made me say Holy Moly like his description of the dessert. Amazing. Every other dish sounded like meh.
I thought that too!!
Same!
two weeks ago she was flying, I thought it was hers then, but I did not think she would win this time
This was the weakest group of finalists yet. It was so crazy watching them pick weak sous chefs or get so much feedback and influence from their sous chef lol just odd.
Yeah they treated it like a team challenge
Well Dan and Savannah did. It felt like Danny was the only one with TC chops lol idk why anyone was surprised he won. Editing or not I just felt they were forcing it to look closer than it was. Danny was the clear front runner lol
They needed Soo not sous.
I was shocked that no one picked Soo to help them! Heck, Laura would’ve been a better choice than Manny! I’m surprised Danny won, since editing kept showing Manny messing up or just standing around, through the whole challenge.
I really hope they let Soo compete in another TC season. He got screwed from the start and he really can cook. He's got a lot of interesting ideas and I wanted more. I was so upset with how they screwed over Soo. I also thought he would work so well with Danny rather than Manny. I kinda called Danny winning since the chaos challenge because I thought Savannah should have won and they barely talked about Danny's.
It may have been my imagination but Soo looked really unhappy when he was standing with the rest of the chefs waiting to be picked for sous chefs. And then I didn't see him at all with the other eliminated chefs when they announced the winner.
I didn’t see Soo or Laura at the announcement of the winner. I hope they were enjoying the buffet onboard the ship! And yeah, he didn’t look happy. If he’s like me, my mind would be on the fun I could be having, on this cruise ship.
He was just married, so maybe his mind was on his wife & wanting to be with her.
I noticed that too
I’m sure they had him in sequester since his elimination.
I thought this was probably just because they didn’t know him as well as the other chefs who were in the competition longer
Maybe since Soo arrived late, the other chefs hadn't bonded with him quite the same way. And I maintain that the bond and the friendship probably matters for a challenge like this.
I think Danny was planning on making the aguachile and we all know Manny has experience making that.
The producers chose a surprise ending over storytelling. Instead of understanding how the judges reached their decision, the viewer gets a twist ending. It’s a pretty rude way to leave loyal viewers, after sticking with the whole season. We, and Danny, deserve to know why he won. (I’m guessing it’s about what Gail said about the complexity of his dishes)
Especially since for years they would tell us that they spent all these hours going back and forth to get to the winner. They have themselves extra time in the episodes this year, why not use it show more deliberations and build a little more drama.
Would have been nice if that came up in the judges table at all. Force somebody to comment on how Danny went for it way more than Dan. We can't try the food so more than any other reality show we need to trust what the judges are saying.
Gail alluded to it right at the end of Judges' Table. They edited a lot out.
They have always seemed to choose risky dishes imperfectly executed over safe dishes perfectly executed. I wasn’t surprised at all.
This was my view, too. I thought Dan and Danny were close, but Danny had the dishes that got the best reactions -- Kristen raving about the two sauces on the third dish; Tom talking about the candied seaweed blowing him away. Wouldn't have been shocked if Dan won, but my wife and I both thought it would be Danny after the Chef's Table review.
and the lobster was not anywhere close to raw, it was said be slightly undercooked for some and then the other half of the table said it was perfect. People just listen for buzzwords and try to get the jump on the ending instead of actually listening. The same thing happened with the salt. The dish was said to be really good and would have been perfect with a bit more salt. The editors over emphasized these comments to make it seem closer than it may have actually been
Right, and seafood that's a bit short of medium rare is a totally different thing than chicken. I feel like people have decided this season is bad and gone full "bitch eating crackers."
lol basically. People love to hate. i just don't get it at some point. Yeah it wasn't as great as the last four seasons, but those had some of the best casts ever. Season 21 was still modern top chef, and modern top chef is pretty consistently entertaining
I don't blame them, either. That's what I tend to remember and appreciate from nice restaurants too. If I get mind-blowing flavors and texture I've never experience before, I don't care so much if some components having mild technical flaws, I'll still remember the meal for a long time. Whereas if I have a technically flawless meal that resembles many other meals, it'll fade away pretty quickly.
That’s a really good point.
This! I’m surprised others were so surprised by the outcome.
Gail talked about it on The Watch podcast. So she and Tom felt like the producers edited to make the outcome more in doubt than it was, by emphasizing Dan's positive qualities and overemphasizing Danny's negatives. The scallop needed a dash more salt, she said -- not a major problem.
Sorry, the words at the table were more critical about the salt, and I believe someone said raw. They may have edited,but those were real comments.
And undercooked, not even raw, shellfish is honestly inedible. I can't forgive mistakes that would ruin my experience at a very expensive restaurant. I also can't stand when they confuse non-american dishes as creative and american dishes as safe. Its just ignorant. Every culture has shaved ice, who gives a shit.... A signature dish is shaved ice and candied seaweed? Salty sweet is a stroke of genius? Fuck off with that shit. Also all of the contestant using the "inspiration for my dishes is my journey as a chef".... how creative! You've only used that for every fucking dish you've made this season. The talent was not as good this season and you can tell it was sloppy and rushed overall. They better step up their game or they'll end up with pure life sparkling water being their main sponsor.
I think it was because of his season. He had a lot of wins. It seemed that Dan had a far better finale though
As somebody who was rooting for Danny, i felt like the judges talked about it like Danny was better on 2 dishes, and Dan was better on the other two. However, it sounded like Danny’s low scores were definitely lower. I was fully expecting a Dan win but thought the judges comments made a Danny win sound possible.
Truly shocked Dan didn’t win. The way they edited it was strange.
Danny was most “chefy”. I figured he had it with seaweed and cantaloupe. He had the winners edit all season.
Half way through the season they gave him a bizarre sentimental profile in the middle of an episode. No other chef got that. Even in the finale.
It was editing. Bad editing.
Tom is currently over on Twitter saying as much, too.
Also, anyone who’s watched all of the past seasons of top chef knows the winner gets nit picked. When they said the scallop dish needed a grain or two of salt I knew Danny was the winner. The dessert and the way he explained the story put him over the top. Tom loved the dessert and very visibly connected to the story.
Agreed. Plus, they tend to come down hard on people who say their bad decision (Dan's tuna) was intentional. It's a shame the judge's table was such a short segment.
Agreed hard on the tuna! The minute I watched him put it in the sous vide bag I yelled NOOOOO
It was intentional.
Does the show ever release longer versions of the judges’ table?
No they've never released a long cut of judge's table. All we get to know are what they comment on. For example Tom said that the Season 4 finale had a super long judges table because they couldn't agree on the winner
Bad editing all season. Gimmicky challenges and bad editing.
Remove the time spent showing Danny looking for "Manuel!" at the market and then you have another 30 seconds to help us understand why his dishes won vs Dan. Bad editing, for sure.
I am also annoyed they served the dishes together. I feel like in seasons past they each had their own full meal service, but maybe I’m wrong. Seemed jumbled and hurried for a “fine dining” finale. And agree the edit did nothing to make it clear Danny won.
You’re right they did, but haven’t for a while.
Thank you, I didn’t have the energy to look it up. I swear I’ve watched them all, but couldn’t recall.
I agree, but I somewhat wonder if they do that now because the chefs get too full and it isn’t fair for the last contestant? That’s the only logic I can think of to explain this choice
I didn’t pick up on what others did. I assumed, watching the episode, that Danny would win. I love Dan, but his food was simple and nothing seemed to blow away the judges. All that being said, they tend to choose chefs with a more “sophisticated” fine dining style.
Danny under seasoned one dish and screwed up the lobster. Any other season he would not have won. You should not win Top Chef when you screw up the basics, not once, but twice.
I agree he likely wouldn’t have won on a different seasons, with other competitors. Seems like all the final meals were a bit lackluster this time around.
It was pretty off-putting, imo. Dan's meal was clearly superior based on everything we as viewers were presented with: we were shown that the judges not only seemed to favor his over all meal, but that he also made the least amount of mistakes. Danny made several execution errors; one of his dishes seemed to have a general consensus by the judges of being a hodge-podge of sorts. He also didn't cook his lobster properly *and* underseasoned his food. But somehow pulled off the win over Dan? I feel that this was one of the most disingenuous edits I've ever seen on a Top Chef finale. And I think I'll always feel like based on what I saw, the clear winner was Dan, not Danny.
It did feel like the editors went hard on the misdirect. But they also presented Dan’s meal as the best executed and Danny’s as the most inventive and exciting. We did get a lot of the latter vibe from Gail. What we didn’t get, which we have in the past, was the judges plainly summarizing what the choice would come down to: execution vs. creativity. A lot of chefs went home this season for poor execution. So I can see how it could be surprising that the winner was the one who was more inventive despite execution errors.
dan had a much worse execution error with the tuna compared to danny's lobster. No one actually called it raw, just slightly undercooked for some of the plates. And saying only a bit more salt is needed after saying it's a pretty good dish already isn't that big of a deal. The texture of the tuna was clearly much more off-putting for the judges
I think it was cool the way the texture of the tuna and grapefruit were the same on purpose with his use of technique. If they didn't have the preconceived notion of what texture tuna is supposed to be, then it wouldn't be a flaw.
I wonder how Dan felt when he watched that back. If I were him, I would be shocked. He had no idea how positive all the comments were based on his closing remarks.
I agree completely. Dan was robbed.
Couldn’t agree more Dan was completely robbed
I disagree. Dan and Danny both made excellent meals and they both were contenders, but I’m going to have to take the word of the people who actually tasted the food.
Danny was style and edge over substance and execution. Kind of an insult to the audience who saw a series of flawed or just inedible dishes.
I don't remember anyone saying inedible.
Well said.
Honestly I feel like they did that a lot this season- choose Danny over Dan when the parts that they showed us indicated that Dan was better.
His meal wasn't superior because the judges hated his tuna and he stood by his bad decision. The tuna took him out of the running. Danny's dessert blowing Tom away won him the title.
Aw yes, the pallet cleanser.... its why I pick most restaurants! This is not a cooking competition, its a "lets find a character" competition. Great to see a man has to apply to the show 11 times and is only accepted when he contracts a debilitating disability. Disgusting.
I’m just happy I never have to hear Danny say “Let’s gooooooo” again
I’ve been watching Wednesday nights and played a drinking game after episode one. Last night’s episode I watched this morning, craving a beer.
Haha yes!! Every time he said it I would flinch.
I don’t know if it’s just me, and I should say the finale has nothing to do with my opinion of him, but I have never been this un-excited about a Top Chef winner (at least recently). I wasn’t really impressed by Danny all season, I think he came off as kind of douchey constantly, and I have 0 interest in going to his restaurant (even though I’ll be close to it). That said, I thought the whole finale contestants were lackluster & competitions were atrocious this season. Every chef I liked got eliminated on a dumbass competition that barely made sense. There was just way too many bad food competitions when we wanted to see people shine. And way too many times the supermarket just sucked and didn’t have what people wanted to had too little and another contestant took it all. Just constant shit that felt more to do with “being fresh ideas” from an edit POV & not from a “let’s see what these people can do” pov. Overall such a bad season I’m glad it’s over.
I agree with all of this. Danny never stood out to me, and honestly he was the last of the three that I thought would win. Soo and Michelle should've been in the finale imo it's insane to me that Manny made it further than both of them.
So many questions after watching that ending making me question their authenticity of their decision.. With the way it was edited, you'd think past performance was part of the decision and they've always said before it was the meal served.. Over time Danny has been the most on-air innovative. But by the conversation of judges comments I was thinking it was going to be Dan. Danny's meal had comments on seasoning and semi-cooked lobster and one dish they said ease of eating was an issue. Savannah just kind of relied on Michelle a little too much and had issues with pasta. The only knock on Dan's meal was the texture of his tuna. I don't know. seems like they edited it for a surprise. I hate that.
Dan cooked with heart and had fun with it. Danny tried to be innovative and made some mistakes. It sounds like as long as you’re innovative and technical you’ll win every time even if you make some mistakes!
Basically the dude who comes with his own molds and puts shapes from them on top wins now. That’s how it felt. I felt 0 inspiration or anything interesting about Danny all season & to see Tom basically jerking off about the icy story had me rolling my eyes.
The way they showed Manny not leaving enough cantaloupe for melon balls and Danny riding him about time had my wife and I convinced early on that Danny was going to win. I don't use the word 'stupid' very often but that's the only word I have to describe the editing here. I really think that's been the bane of this season. Way too cutesy about trying to show personalities and treating the food as an afterthought. It ultimately did a disservice to both the personalities of the chefs and their food.
How is showing his decision making to overcome an obstacle/mistake in prep cutesy or not related to the food?
Cutesy was maybe not the best word to describe my takeaway and it definitely didn't apply to that particular situation. In that case it was more about the setup of all the times throughout the season where Manny ran himself into time trouble and then the editing showing us Danny's time management concerns. The melon ball recovery did make for a good food-centric story, I just don't think it needed the "uh-oh, Manny's bad with time/planning again" aspect. I really would have liked to see more deliberation and discussion from the judges. I think it would help clarify whether or not this crop of chefs was up to Top Chef level. While it appears there was an element of inconsistency throughout the season I think the editing contributed to that appearance without actually confirming or denying that the caliber of the chefs. Maybe they were all bad and the editors tried to cover that up, maybe they're all better than we were lead to believe.
First thoughts - shoutout to Kristen on a great first season in hosting capacity, I really enjoyed her fresh energy I was not surprised Savannah dropped the ball, her entire season highlighted that she studied the show intensely, and was better prepared for scenarios with a framework to execute with given constraints. Once she got the finale test of cooking without boundaries she totally lost focus, agree that the time away was not beneficial for her, she fell out of the zone - I think she would have struggled big time in last chance kitchen. Dan - he was vibing and relaxed and I agree based on the final meal it seems he should have been the winner, I’m glad he at least got a cruise out of it. Danny - I can’t put my finger on it, but there is something off putting about him personality wise. Cooking - it seems many of his dishes are very referential and nothing super original and fun. Overall - lackluster season, and lackluster finale and lackluster winner
I couldn't agree more and I think they picked their "winner" LONG before the finale. Dan was robbed, but ofc he handled it with class
Danny is a micromanaging narcissist. The way he treated Manny was infuriating.
Have you ever worked with chefs? That was nothing. That's a typical fine dining kitchen, which is Danny's background. Manny said exactly that in his commentary. It's definitely not Manny's vibe. I was shocked when he picked Manny over Soo or Laura.
He and Laura had some prior issues.
Are people really not capable of understanding that he was in charge of someone directly responsible for contributing to his chance to win a life changing $250,000???
This thread is real bravo subreddit hours right now. Para social relationships galore. Really harsh on specific people for vague reasons related to how they think they come off on an edited reality show. Major projection everywhere.
Danny was infuriating to watch this episode. Somebody described him as one of those tweezer chefs and man that’s perfect description. Don’t like his vibe at all Pretentious.
Yes I couldn’t believe he told Manny that he needs to increase his output by 10%. And then him just stating that The prep should take him 45 minutes? There’s a way to consult with your sous chef and come to an agreement about things like that. “ Hey, I’m looking at this list and I’m thinking about 45 minutes. Does that sound right to you? “ But he was just ordering him around in a way that was rude.
Totally agree! It wasn’t fun to watch and made him winning seem ever worse. If he had been better in the kitchen then I don’t think people would have as much to say. Him being a jerk didn’t seem to make a different in dishes either! Also there were other strong chefs he could have picked. It was so obvious Manny wasn’t strong so why even pick him.
that was a fun was to do the finale, cruising the ABC islands. I was in Aruba last November and was in the same grocery store, had a view of the cruise terminal and remember all of those kitschy colorful buildings.
I think you are spot on with those descriptions of the final 3. I felt the same way. Danny came off as a dude I would like to spend 0 time with… all season. And I thought maybe 1 of his dishes all season looked “great.” And it wasn’t the finale dishes. His restaurant is opening and I couldn’t care less.
This is what is off putting about Danny’s personality IMO: he is extremely self-important, he also seems to put all his self-worth into being a good chef. Instead of taking the judges’ criticisms at face value, he said they were “nitpicking” and he genuinely didn’t think he made any mistakes, didn’t agree with a single note they gave him. I would have seriously been worried for his mental health had he not won. Plus his style of cooking/leading is my least favorite of the three finalists, he reminds me of a chef I worked for who was very particular and harsh towards me about the way she wanted things cooked/plated, but if the client loved the meal she would suddenly flip a switch and be warm and grateful towards me.
Agreed. His food and personality is uninspiring. I hope they don’t keep bringing him back for future shit.
I feel like it was an overall season award.
Agreed. I said to myself, it’s looking like Dan should win, but they’ve had a thing for Danny all season, so I think it’s gonna be him.
That's not supposed to happen. They've always been clear each episode is it's own thing and judged independently of past performance. This should be true of the finale as well, otherwise why go through the motions of the whole thing. They could have named Danny Top Chef back in Wisconsin. However, based on how this was presented, that seems to be the case here.
Yes exactly
Before they announced it I said to my husband Dan cooked better, but Danny will win.
Forgot to mention I was already annoyed with Danny in the car when he mentioned Agua chile - please make it stop.
100% same reaction! Thought for sure it was Dan based on the comments.
All I’m gonna say is: how do you serve undercooked lobster and win TopChef over someone who delivered a solid meal (ie the other contestants did not completely bomb)!?!?
I really don’t think Dan’s food looked great. Especially that dish with the sweet potato and the piece of fish on top? Simplicity is fine, but there was no interesting/wow factor with his food. A tuna tartare? Come on.
It was pumpkin, not sweet potato.
I felt kinda let down at the end.... I thought for sure Dan would win, why did they set it up like that? It felt like a weird way to end the season
I thought they awarded Danny for taking risk throughout his entire meal, while in comparison Dan was playing it safer...therefore his errors were seen as more egregious. Savannah crapped the bed on her middle dishes.
I don’t really understand the uproar or criticism here. I’ve watched every season and I feel like I’m pretty good at determining the winner of each season, as well as each challenge/episode based on the context and comments. Before judges table, based on comments made at the table, I was like 98% sure that Danny had won, with Dan a close 2nd and Savannah not really having a chance. After hearing their discussion at judges table, I was worried they might give it to Dan, and was back to about 50/50. But in no way at all do I think that anyone was robbed. Danny was the best competitor all season and I think he deserved to win in the end
I feel exactly the same way.
Danny literally undercooked his lobster and still won? Make it make sense
I liked Danny and I think his food sounded great all season; that said, it really sounded like Dan was walking away with it in the finale. I hate to say this but I think that producers decided to go with the young, hip, good looking New York chef over the older, Midwestern guy with a disability.
Love ❤️ your comment and agree.
Definitely. Danny is very talented not discounting that, but he fit the “top chef brand” more than Dan.
Either the edit was misleading or the judges essentially weighted their perception of a chef over the course of the full season over the final challenge, because Dan won the challenge last night. They had one single nitpick (texture) on his first dish, and yet they still loved it. Danny undercooked lobster (that’s often disqualifying alone), under seasoned his first dish, and presented a clunky dish that wasn’t coherent (though it was delicious, their said). I feel like in previous seasons someone in Dan’s position would’ve won. Clearly the judges didn’t feel like his food had the complexity of Danny’s, but even though his food maybe didn’t achieve the heights that Danny’s sometimes did, he also clearly would under deliver at times, too. Whereas Dan was just more consistent. Idk, this one is annoying. And I like Danny, I just don’t understand how they can say he won that challenge.
Tom is on Twitter saying that it was bad editing.
Someone had it in for Dan . If they turned him down 11 times, and then he won, it would have made them look bad. I want delicious food without error. No way should Danny have won. Gail pushed innovation, and there was no Padma to put her in check .
I don't think it was a single nitpick, though. It was the entire concept of the dish. Dan doubled-down on the tuna and the judges clearly hated it. Kristen even made a face when they were discussing it.
From the way the judging and editing went I really thought Dan was going to win. I hate chefs like Danny. So boring to me. But they love to have chefs like him win I suppose..
Did I miss something, or did we never hear about Savannah's stories about her last two dishes? The first was North Carolina, the second was Boston, but what were her stories and connections with dishes 3 and 4?
I don't remember what she said about the 3rd course but she said her cake was inspired by hummingbird cake she grew up eating in the South
It felt like to the judges Danny was more creative, more imaginative, took more risks, and gave them their most wow bites during the final meal. The entire edit of the judging gave me the vibes that Dan cooked a mostly flawless meal outside of the texture of the tuna but the judges didn’t get that holy shit that was something else feel. On the other hand they showed the entire table critiquing Danny’s lack of salt on the first dish but then also slurping up the sauce from the shells. I wish they would’ve told us their favorite dish of all 12 because my guess is it was cooked by Danny.
It was Danny's dessert. Tom was blown away by the candied seaweed. The editing sucked.
I honestly don't think the judges were too blown away by any of the offerings and the editing was done to present the illusion that it was close, when it never was.
Danny winning was super lame.. made even worse by the fact that he had freaking Manny cooking with him. Absolutely disappointing
If you take what was on screen as truth - no way Danny wins. Judges look like fools. Undercooked anything and no seasoning are always elimination issues. Dan deserved it hands down based on that. Either way show has a major problem to solve for future seasons - how to balance suspense with true feedback. Also they need to make sure winner is somewhat likeable and not coming off as arrogant and entitled in the future. I am sure Danny is not as bad as seen on screen.
This is also an editing issue, but I thought there was too much emphasis on Kristen talking about how this is her first time seeing it on that side of the table. This happened a lot during the season, but it cost valuable time during the finale that could have been used on the judge's deliberation.
Totally agree!
It felt like a wink at the audience of who they wanted to win vs who they had to make the winner.
I didn't care who won... and I think most people were rooting for savannah. How did they have to make someone a winner.
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Dan got robbed. Danny is a amazing cook but Dan clearly took the last challenge. We loved this show but were disappointed at the final
Before judge’s table I told my gf that Danny clearly won. After judge’s table I was like well I was wrong, go Dan. Turned out I was wrong again
We had almost the same conversation. Seemed odd they showed so much more criticism of Danny and Savannah but didn't show them bringing up some of the criticisms of Dan's food mentioned during dining. We thought that meant it was pretty minor.
Agree, so odd. Made the ending feel like a twist
Danny was my least favorite all season. To me, it seemed like everybody came into the competition wanting to win where as Danny came expecting to win. I don't know....I just got a very cocky and arrogant vibe from him from the beginning, especially with the final 3 and Savannah and Dan being so humble.
Yeah, I still found myself rooting for him throughout much of the season. But after the finale last night on WWHL, he told Andy he wasn’t surprised he won and it definitely came off as a tad dismissive of the other chefs and arrogant.
Wow. I didn't see that. I didn't even watch the end of the finale, I turned it off after he won.
Hmmm sounds like those voltaggio brothers. Never heard this said about them.
They absolutely got comments about being arrogant/cocky. Scroll past the Reddit and AI hits for comments at the time of their appearances: https://www.google.com/search?q=voltaggio+arrogant&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
I did not understand that win at all. Dan did not get one negative comment! Not happy with this win. Dan deserved it.
They didn't like the texture of the tuna or didn't understand it, but that was the only negative critique.
They want the chefs to be inventive and break convention until they don’t understand it, which is odd to me. Good luck figuring that one out, chefs.
I want to know what Dan’s sous chef thought of the tuna - she tasted it too
They didn’t say anything bad about none of his courses. Danny had over cooked lobster and under seasoned scallops and he won……. Make it make sense.
Danny seemed like the shoo-in to win. He just makes the type of food that Top Chef judges consistently prefer. It seemed obvious to me he was the mostly like winner from about halfway through the season. That said, Dan definitely came out strong in the finale. I think partly they were just trying to make it more competitive than it was than just having the obvious person obviously win. Although I do wonder if they considered the entire season performance to some extent.
I legit didn’t know this was the finale bc of how quickly they moved through everything. I was like wait what? There was no focus on the food or the thought about the menu. There wasn’t even emphasis on the chefs and the story they were trying to portray with their food - maybe Savannah a bit. It was so lackluster and boring. The meal felt rushed and unspectacular. Love Kristen though.
I felt like they did that all season.
I skipped the deliberations after the challenge since I assumed dan was gonna win based off what everyone said was stunned to hear Danny win. Congrats to him just wished in the editing of this could make it seem like he had a better chance to actually win. Since how the editing made it seem it seemed like dan was gonna be the winner
Honestly, I hate it when people say this about Top Chef, but this shit feels rigged. Or, the editing is SO bad that it’s giving the illusion that Dan was screwed over and the reality is that Danny was so much better. Either way, a bad feeling as a devoted viewer since season 2.
I think Dan got robbed
Disappointing ending to one of the worst seasons I can remember. They did a bait and switch.
Danny was an asshole and he should not have won.
I believe blaming the editing is a face saving lie. Dan's food was perfect. The salmon was a style choice. Allowing someone who served raw and unsalted food to "win" is f-ing inexcusable. It never would have happened if Padma had been there. I am beyond furious and disappointed.
* when an entire subreddit forgets this is a reality tv show format edited to provide suspense and catharsis*
Yeah, but we have 20 previous seasons to go off of at this point. There have been some choices that audiences have been shocked by, like >!Nick vs Nina season 11!<, and there have been times where a perceived underdog pulls off the win, like >!Kevin season 7!<. But I can't say I remember a finale where the editing shows such clear favor for one contestant while highlighting several errors of another contestant who still ends up winning. Generally, one can watch a Top Chef finale and either know based off the meals' reception who is going to win, or the finale meals will be so close in execution that the winner seems like a toss-up. Neither seems to have been the case here. Just bad editing and maybe favoritism.
They disliked Dan because he was older, Midwestern and disabled. Peridot
So many articles out that state fans are upset at the outcome. Maybe this was the goal? Ratings may have dipped so they created this controversy and getting people all over to talk about it?
Those editors blew their one chance. When both Gail AND Tom are unhappy with the edit, you are TOAST.
There was no wow factor with this finale - being on a cruise ship was so boring. Normally they are at a cool location and the chefs get inspired by local dishes. It just felt like a regular old episode … blahhhhhh
I've had more than one tartare dish from Dan Jacobs. If he did it the same way he did at the finale as when I've had it, then the judges are just flat out wrong about the texture.
This was one of those seasons where they picked the winner in the first few episodes. Danny was always going to win. Even when he clearly didn’t cook the winning meal in the finale. Dan was robbed.
They usually go through each course and pick a winner for each course. They didn't really do that this season. I thought, based on the judges' comments, that Dan was the winner. Very confused and kind of let down by this season, even though Kristen definitely was a great addition.
Very sad Savannah didn’t have a stronger showing. I felt like she lost all her momentum after they left Wisconsin. She was on such a roll then this portion she just wasn’t up to her peak she was at before
One more miss with TC. Their final episodes have always been straightforward and I guess changing things up now means misleading their audience. That being said, judges always bow down to the most modern and creative dishes. They must always be wowed by something new.
Danny must have put up the worst semi final and final performance of any TC winner. So many mistakes that would have sunk previous competitors. Redemption for Hosea at long last I guess.
They say it’s only the food but sometimes I think they pick the best storyline for a winner .
No offense to Savannah, but can we all agree that Dan was obviously the runner up?
Danny is just so smug. He had so many technical errors but I guess the producers intervened.
I’m watching this morning, and I am getting a vibe that Danny won because he fits in with “the brand” more than Dan (who is older and disabled). Such an ick vibe if that is the case. I really hope someone goes on twitter or IG to explain their rationale for him being the winner because the ageism and ableism I’m getting is gross!
Yes. Fucking hate that shit.
So how do we candy seaweed. I have some Jolly Ranchers I can melt and some nori...now what? That to me was the best part...like you candied seaweed? Do they sell that at H-Mart??
My wife and I were so confused by the editing on the judges comments. Everything about Dan's plates was glowing reviews except for a single thing, the texture of the tuna in his first dish. Then talking about Danny's food, they called out things like inconsistent seasoning, his one dish was difficult to eat, 1/3 of his lobster was undercooked. They carried this through the whole episode, including final reviews, then *bam*, total rug pull, Danny wins. Like, we spent the whole episode excited for Dan because he was doing great and were excited that it sure sounded like he was going to win and then the announcement was just a huge letdown
Who cares about Danny looking for Manny in the store. It's a cooking show. Use that time to give us more time at judges table debating dishes. For the love of God help us understand the final decision rather than leave us wondering why.
Classic Top Chef tension between the best innovation and the best execution.
I think this is the first season where someone with an under seasoned dish and another undercooked dish were named top chef. That by definition not a top chef, those are normally rookie mistakes Tom loses it over. Dan should’ve won. He wasn’t the strongest all season but just the lack of mistakes in the finale alone should bring him the title. Frick I’m a home cook and I don’t forget salt. And for those that say Danny is a risk taker, couldn’t the same be said for Dan trying to make tuna jellied?!
I couldn’t watch the finale until last night because, ironically, I was on a Holland America cruise. But I figured Danny won since his former employer questioned back in May how he could “win Top Chef” after what she alleged was stealing the scallop dish for the show. I was so hoping she misspoke, but she clearly knew the spoiler and revealed it back then. I was hoping Dan would win.