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February 9, 2012
 
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Top Chef crowns a new winner: a woman!

by Allison Waldman, posted Jun 12th 2008 10:35AM

Top ChefDid you watch the finale of Top Chef on Bravo last night? It wasn't as exciting as the previous three seasons, but what it lacked in drama, it made up for in history. For the first time ever, a woman was crowned Top Chef. Chicago chef Stephanie Izard beat out Richard Blais and Lisa Fernandes by preparing a four-course meal -- including dessert -- that wowed the judges and outshone her competitors.

I was rooting for Stephanie because all through the Top Chef challenges, she showed talent, temperment, taste and modesty (with regard to her chef skills). She consistently produced great food and even though the win last night was not based on the entire season, it could have been because she again came through.

Just to be clear, Stephanie didn't win because she's a woman and it was time for Top Chef to give the prize to the female of the species. This isn't a Hillary thing, so don't go there!

In my estimation, Richard was a great challenger, but even he said last night when facing Judges' Table, "I choked." He didn't cook his best in the most important meal of the show. He was overly ambitious and made technical mistakes. Lisa, who was cast as the villain in the show -- showing a cocky quality and a brusque manner -- actually was a close second to Stephanie based on the broadcast. The judges were loving what she created. She probably lost by a very slim margin.

Overall, I was happy with Top Chef season four, but I'm looking forward to another all-star iteration. I would like to see Stephanie go up against Tiffani from the first season, perhaps the best Top Chef chef who didn't win, or Lee Ann who was so good that Top Chef made her part of their production team. Casey in season three was also a strong female chef. So, here's what I propose, a series of all-star Top Chefs. An all-girl version, then a girls vs. the boys. But the bottom line, use the previous winners to bring us back for more.

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tarheelbookworm

I continue to believe Lisa was in the finale not for any skill as a chef but to bring in the viewers who were actually afraid she might win.

- My personal message to Lisa is "congratulations" for showing everyone who watched the show that you are a genuine bitch, we'll NEVER remember anything you cooked.

- To Richard, you were way too up and down. I would think man he's great and the very next week man what! is he thinking.

- Lisa; congratulations in becoming the first female Top Chef. You got it the "old fashioned way" by EARNING it. climbing up the latter one step at a time. I'm looking forward to hearing more from you.

June 17 2008 at 7:30 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Picviewer

Rosebud was a sled
Norman Bates was the killer
Darth Vader was a whiny bad actor in the first 3 movies but was Lukes father
Leia is Lukes' sister
Germany lost 2 world wars

Better check your DVR's before reading about those facts then.

Lisa never should have been in the final 3 but since they never took into consideration past placements didn't really matter.

June 13 2008 at 12:53 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Michael

I'm amazed at all of the comments just talking about the spoiler and not the finale itself... Jeez. It was ruined for me as well, but not by TVSquad (which I didn't visit since I assumed it would be a headline) but by USA Today that hasn't written once about Top Chef. Anyway...

I was really rooting for Richard. He's been a solid performer all season, incredibly original and creative with his cuisine, so I was disappointed to see how he "choked" for the finale. However, if it wasn't going to be Richard, Stephanie was certainly my 2nd favorite throughout the season. I was in suspense until the end due to Lisa's strong performance and would have been very displeased had she won.

Congrats, Stephanie! Richard, I'll catch you at Home at some point.

June 12 2008 at 11:10 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Andrew

One thing I think people are forgetting about: it's just a television show! Nobody should be this angry about entertainment! I get my entertainment out of watching the show, not just finding out who won.

June 12 2008 at 4:50 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fredo

@ akbar STFU = Shut the F**k Up, not commit suicide...

June 12 2008 at 3:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Fredo's comment
Akbar Fazil

you must have missed the part where they said "/wrist"

I know what STFU means.

June 12 2008 at 5:23 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Eric

To me the biggest gripe is the lack of consistency on this website. If every post gave away who got voted off, or who won, in the title, then we would be use to it, and not come here at all, until we had watched what we hadn't seen.

But that is not the case, this has only became an issue recently, its seems like the majority of the writers on the site, use the after the jump to give away major plot details, such as the Hell's Kitchen reviews, or Lost, or American Idol, or Dancing with the Stars, etc.

This made those of us that use a DVR feel safe coming here, because with multiple shows airing the same night, sometimes at the same time we may have had to save some shows for later, but we could read the reviews and participate in the comments for the shows we watched, and avoid opening the posts for the shows we didn't.

The website needs to pick a policy and stick with it. The readers of the website will adjust when we view TV Squad as needed, we just need consistency. To avoid issues such as this.



June 12 2008 at 3:21 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Eric's comment
Andrew

The problem is there are so many different bloggers, and apparently there is no guideline as to how to handle these types of situations.

Even though I'm in the "don't come here if you can't handle spoilers" camp, I think consistency either way would be the best policy for all involved.

June 12 2008 at 4:34 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
brett russell

Allison, We'd like for you to pack up your keyboard and go home!

June 12 2008 at 1:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
dkny

Sara - you stole my thunder - if this site didn't have a post on this they would be seriously negligent in their reporting and a headline omitting the essential detail would be moronic. NEW PRESIDENT ELECTED - find out who after the jump - give me a break - if it's that important stay up till 11 but not later I wouldn't want you seeing to news and finding out what else happened that day

June 12 2008 at 1:14 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to dkny's comment
Thom

The problem is that typically that *IS* how its handled here. The articles for reality/game shows where there is some reveal at the end (see Survivor/AI posts) have always been careful not to reveal the info until after a click.

I'm not gonna crucify the author as it was a simple mistake, but it was NOT a necessary choice as you put it. It would not have been negligent to not reveal the winner and have the winner's picture appear before a person clicked on the article.

That is the point. This site typically is sensitive to time-shifted TV, and this was just a slip-up. No need for anyone to get so upset about it, but at the same time it WAS a mistake worth pointing out.

June 12 2008 at 1:26 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Allison Solow

Okay, guys, good points about saving the news for after the jump. I'll keep that in mind for the future. But we can't embargo the news. This story was all over Yahoo, Google, AOL and every major news site when I turned on my Mac this morning. You couldn't avoid the news. But, since many of you have made salient points about how you use TV Squad, I'm going to learn from this experience and become more of tease from now on!

Just keep on reading!! Thanks, everyone!

June 12 2008 at 1:01 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
2 replies to Allison Solow's comment
John

TV Squad should know better - you guys put tons of stuff after a jump because of spoilers. There's a difference between "embargo" and "put after the cut".

As a previous commenter mentioned, websites are about hits, and you don't want people to think they have to stay off your site until they watch everything on their DVR. I know I told a few other people who love Top Chef not to go to TV Squad until they watch it.

The thing I think it's funny is that after all these comments, it's still up!!

June 12 2008 at 3:18 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Fredo

@ Allison, Thank you! that was a lame non-pology but appreciated nonetheless

June 12 2008 at 3:24 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Sarah

I can't believe how many people said they DVR'd this show because they couldn't stay up since they had to go to work today, but apparently they're spending their "work" day playing online.

It isn't a spoiler because the show has been aired. And imagine a television web site actually writing about a television program that aired the night before. The nerve!

June 12 2008 at 12:43 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to Sarah's comment
Akbar Fazil

Thank you!

And also, doesn't Bravo stream the show online? Couldn't these same people who seem to have all this time to waste complaining about it being ruined gone and just watched the show?

June 12 2008 at 12:47 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

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