Finale of Top Chef: It's Hung! .....
After four months of culinary competition, Season 3 of Top Chef came to an end last night on Bravo TV. All-in-all, I think this year's installment of the series definitely improved on last year's. It is - as always - a show about cooking AND characters ..... face it, when it comes to 'reality' shows, the best way to get more airtime is to be more outrageous in what you say and do - that's show business, even if that's not what you are in real life. This year, though, producers placed a little more emphasis on the cooking, and that helped.
Still, there were characters ..... I noted in my first post on Season 3, that someone who had already established his character presence was Hung, a sous chef from Las Vegas, Nevada, who happened to be a friend of one of season 2's more memorable characters, Marcel. "Somebody has to be the bad guy," Hung said in early promos for Season 3, "and I am really good at it." But, he was also a really good cook ..... and while he was not a front-runner through much of the season, he remained a strong competitor and - following last night's finale - emerged as Top Chef, serving a four course meal, with one course rated as good, two as excellent and a fourth - Duck with Truffle-Scented Broth & Mushroom Ragout - that 'wowed' the judges, one of whom suggested that Hung keep this recipe as one of his signature dishes.
Finishing a close second behind Hung was Dale. Frankly, the fact that he made it to the finale was a surprise to me, albeit a pleasant one. Rarely at the top of the pack through the season, he still displayed a determination to compete well, and to occasionally push 'the edge of his envelope.' Self-taught, Dale has been a chef and consultant for six years, with plans under way to open his own restaurant. He showed increasing strength towards the end of the season, and he might have won last night's finale, had one of his four courses not been less-than-good. By the way, another one of his courses - Seared Scallop with Purslane & Marinated Grapes - also 'wowed' the judges, and also drew the suggestion that he keep it as one of his signature dishes.
Still, there were characters ..... I noted in my first post on Season 3, that someone who had already established his character presence was Hung, a sous chef from Las Vegas, Nevada, who happened to be a friend of one of season 2's more memorable characters, Marcel. "Somebody has to be the bad guy," Hung said in early promos for Season 3, "and I am really good at it." But, he was also a really good cook ..... and while he was not a front-runner through much of the season, he remained a strong competitor and - following last night's finale - emerged as Top Chef, serving a four course meal, with one course rated as good, two as excellent and a fourth - Duck with Truffle-Scented Broth & Mushroom Ragout - that 'wowed' the judges, one of whom suggested that Hung keep this recipe as one of his signature dishes.
Finishing a close second behind Hung was Dale. Frankly, the fact that he made it to the finale was a surprise to me, albeit a pleasant one. Rarely at the top of the pack through the season, he still displayed a determination to compete well, and to occasionally push 'the edge of his envelope.' Self-taught, Dale has been a chef and consultant for six years, with plans under way to open his own restaurant. He showed increasing strength towards the end of the season, and he might have won last night's finale, had one of his four courses not been less-than-good. By the way, another one of his courses - Seared Scallop with Purslane & Marinated Grapes - also 'wowed' the judges, and also drew the suggestion that he keep it as one of his signature dishes.
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