Top Chef Season 18 Spoilers and Spoiler Discussion

[FormerMod-a1]

The  place to discuss spoilers related to season 18, just announced as being in Portland, OR.

[Mmazeo]

Will they be cooking for the rioters, lol?

[Bossa Nova]

On 9/29/2020 at 10:00 AM, Mmazeo said:

Will they be cooking for the rioters, lol?

Will they be cooking for the protesters ? 

Edited to add:

Will they be cooking for the  * Peaceful * protesters ?

Edited October 4, 2020 by Bossa Nova

[catrice2]

I wonder if Greg will be a guest? I was planning to visit Portland and see my sister and was going to track him down ha ha

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, catrice2 said:

I wonder if Greg will be a guest? I was planning to visit Portland and see my sister and was going to track him down ha ha

Yes. He is part of the “dining panel” of alums that will be helping judging.

[CrazyInAlabama]

6 hours ago, Bossa Nova said:

Will they be cooking for the protesters ? 

Some of the food pod people have been taking food down to the protest areas.   It's not as if a restaurant right in that area is going to open for dining.     I saw the food pod on 90 Day Fiance Happily Ever After? when the Asuelu family ate at the food pod.   The food looked amazing at the various pods or trucks, and I hope they incorporate that food truck scene into the show.  

[FormerMod-a1]

bump

[seltzer3]

So, I watched preview clip by clip.  Looks like Dawn and Shota make it relatively far (seen both of them in a lot of pictures.)

 

Picture attached looks like to be a Final 11 quickfire.

(L-R) Avishar, Byron, Sara, Jamie, Chris, Gabriel, Gabe, Nelson, Maria, Dawn, Shota.
Looks like to be a giant female slaughter 😞 as Kiki, Sasha, Brittany are not pictured (granted one of them could come back as a LCK returnee).

[seltzer3]

Tonight's episode is a coffee/beer challenge.
 

Episode 2 Beer vs Coffee

Avishar/Shota (Dark Blue)
Brittany/Sasha (Brown)
Gabe/Sara (White)
Gabriel/Dawn
Jamie/Kiki (Yellow)
Chris/Byron (Red)
Nelson/Maria (Green)

Since Kiki and Brittany were seen in future challenges, Sasha is going to be eliminated.

[seltzer3]

Next week is movie week

Teams are 
Green: Dawn, Avishar, Maria, Byron, Gabe
Yellow: Gabriel, Jamie, Chris, Sara (Don't see Shota/Nelson)

Since there is a final 11.  I wonder if the quickfire is an elimination quickfire and Nelson goes.  Or if it is maybe the winner doesn't have to participate.

However, here are some future challenges

Covid Nurse challenge?
Maria, Jamie, Chris, Avishar, Dawn, Byron

 

Some outside challenge (looks like oyster challenge or fishing). Shota, Dawn, Sara.

So it looks like one or two of Nelson/Gabe/Gabriel gets eliminated next.  I have a feeling Nelson is eliminated for sure.

 

[seltzer3]

There is some challenge looks like a quickfire.  Since they are running to the doors (and there is three of them), I wonder if its a team quickfire relay (teams of 3).  So maybe Jamie, Shota, and Sara makes it to the final 9

Shota is in a challenge featuring Alice Waters.  Shota definitely looks like he's making it far.

Another elimination challenge?  This was implied that Kristen Kish and Brooke Williamson were the judges of this one.

[seltzer3]

Okay so looks like Jamie probably comes back from Last Chance Kitchen.  As you can see her in future challenges.

Teams for next week
Byron/Maria (Red)
Chris/Avishar (Blue)
Gabriel/Nelson (Green)
Gabe/Dawn (?)
Sarah/Shota (Gold)

Looking at future challenge Gabriel and Nelson get eliminated in the double elimination.  Jamie beats both of them in LCK.

[BlackberryJam]

11 hours ago, seltzer3 said:

Okay so looks like Jamie probably comes back from Last Chance Kitchen.  As you can see her in future challenges.

Teams for next week
Byron/Maria (Red)
Chris/Avishar (Blue)
Gabriel/Nelson (Green)
Gabe/Dawn (?)
Sarah/Shota (Gold)

Looking at future challenge Gabriel and Nelson get eliminated in the double elimination.  Jamie beats both of them in LCK.

I’m absolutely fine with that.

 

[seltzer3]

So F9 is the hospital challenge.


F8 Restaurant Wars (Melissa/Gregory)

 

F7/F6/F5
Fishing challenge.
Shota, Dawn, Sara? (But the person has long hair)

Alice Waters Challenge
Shota, possibly Dawn, but could be edited.

Some challenge with Kristen Kish/Brooke Williamson
Jamie, Dawn, Maria, Shota

I feel like all of these are eliminations.  It looks like quickfires are specifically inside.

So Shota is definitely making F5/F6 minimum

Dawn is making F7/F6 minimum

 

Safe for next week: Jamie, Dawn, Maria, Shota, maybe Sara?

In the previews Sara/Maria are standing next to each other and Avishar/Byron are standing next two each other.  Maybe Avishar/Byron are in the bottom along with a missing person.

 

[LeighLeigh]

Shota, Sara and Byron are the top three. As per social media, they are all currently best friends and spent the most time together while on the show. 

[Irlandesa]

There is part of me deeply disappointed that Dawn isn't a possible winner.  I've started hard core rooting for her lately.

[LeighLeigh]

On 5/8/2021 at 12:49 PM, Irlandesa said:

There is part of me deeply disappointed that Dawn isn't a possible winner.  I've started hard core rooting for her lately.

I love Dawn too. Have you heard the podcast Pack Your Knives with Brian Malarkey? He had some interesting theories, namely that Dawn is not getting a winner’s edit. 

[seltzer3]

Restaurant Wars.

Shota/Byron/Maria either Jamie or Gabe

Dawn/Chris/Sara either Jamie or Gabe

Based on information above, it sounds like either Chris or Gabe goes next

[LeighLeigh]

Not sure where to put this comment: I am rewatching from episode one. Like him or hate him, the magical elves are giving Gabriel a bad edit. Every thing that he mumbled under his breath was shown. Any negative or arrogant thought seemed to be highlighted. I am sure others made negative comments. They just weren’t shown. It seems that he got a bad edit. Thoughts?

[Macbeth]

On 5/15/2021 at 2:07 PM, LeighLeigh said:

Not sure where to put this comment: I am rewatching from episode one. Like him or hate him, the magical elves are giving Gabriel a bad edit. Every thing that he mumbled under his breath was shown. Any negative or arrogant thought seemed to be highlighted. I am sure others made negative comments. They just weren’t shown. It seems that he got a bad edit. Thoughts?

Gabriel should never have been on the show.  He worked with Tom in his NY restaurant.  Tom can't be objective with a former employee.  He just can't.  And he's getting the villain's edit as he was abrasive and nobody wanted to work with him at the end.

[stewedsquash]

Jamie mentioned Gabriel twice in this column and it seems she didn't have an issue with him.

https://vegas.eater.com/2021/4/23/22399612/jamie-tran-acl-surgery-anxiety-top-chef-portland-recap

I think I am going to go to the media thread for a little more talk, I seem to be off topic here responding. 

Edited May 20, 2021 by stewedsquash

[seltzer3]

So there was another picture I missed in the overall preview.  The upcoming challenge is a replication challenge.  Noticed that it did not have the relay challenge, or the one with Kristen and Brooke as the judges.  So Dawn, Jamie, Shota, and Maria are safe.

I have a feeling the picture will not be in the next episode.  It seems like the contestants are bathing (because they are recovering from fishing in the mud.  (The one that has Shota and Dawn in the boat).

So if that's true. Gabe is definitely the next to leave.  If its not then its one of Gabe, Chris, or Byron.

Also is the Shota, Byron, Sara final 3 still true? (assuming Sara gets back from LCK?)

[seltzer3]

Tofu challenge

Head to head

Jamie vs Byron
Shota vs Maria
Gabe vs Dawn

Losers will go to round 2.  Bottom 2 will go to one final round where the person is eliminated.

It looks like this does not show the outside challenge nor the one with Brooke/Kristen.  So Jamie, Shota, Maria, Dawn are safe.  I think its between Gabe and Byron.

[PackYourKnives]

People can dig more into this, but I've been looking at all the judges social media activity.

 

The one thing that stand outs to me is that Nina (who we know is a judge coming soon to the show) only follows Shota and Dawn from this cast. But out of the remaining chefs, Gabe is the only other chef to follow Nina as well. I have to assume then the final 3 is Shota, Dawn and Gabe. 

 

I'm going to bet Dawn wins this, but hopefully Shota does.. 

Edited May 30, 2021 by PackYourKnives

[Jextella]

This is an interesting season. 

There are clearly some stronger than others - Gabe, Shota, Dawn, Sara, and Jamie are the ones who seem to have pleased the judges the most, but each has been hit-or-miss the whole season.

The other odd things is that this season is the first season I've actually sought out recipes - mostly from those listed above but also from Avishar and Roscoe.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Jextella

[PackYourKnives]

People are speculating the scene with Byron and Chris in the tub with Shota is around the finale and Shota picks them as his sous chefs.

 

If Shota picks Chris as his souf chef he isn't going to win. I'm also getting the sense bc of how much Dawn talks about Jamie in confessionals, she'll be one of her sous chefs. 

[LeighLeigh]

I love the idea of looking at people’s Instagram feeds to learn more about the friendships in the cast, and potentially who sous for whom in the finale. 
 

Dawn visited Jamie in Las Vegas with Maria. Are those her sous? If Chris and Byron help Shota, what about Gabe and the returnee from last chance kitchen? 
 

Could it be Sara? With Gabe and who else as sous? Gabriel?

[CayennePepper]

On tvguide, they have the descriptions for the rest of the season but skip over episode 11, "Blind Ambitions." It makes me wonder if this is when the LCK winner comes back and they didn't want to spoil it. 

Scratch that, I found the description on another site: "In teams of two, the chefs each take a turn entering the box where they blindly taste a dish created by guest judge Gabriel Rucker and then must try to re-create it." 

Episode 10 (Tournament of Tofu), we go from top 6 --> top 5 

So the episode 11 description supports my theory that the LCK winner comes back because how else would we get teams of two from five contestants? It kind of looks like Brooke entering the box alongside Jamie and Shota, but it would be unfair and make no sense for her to be on one of those teams of two. 

But then the tvguide description for episode after that, 12, says " As the final four chefs near the end of their journey in Portland, Padma is joined by Vitaly Paley and Gregory Gourdet to introduce an old school Quickfire Challenge paying homage to the Oregon Trail. For the Elimination Challenge, legendary chef and special guest Massimo Bottura tasks the chefs to pull inspiration from his famous parmigiano reggiano dish and create delectable dishes utilizing cheddar five different ways." I feel like this is where the Alice Waters clip (w/ Shota and Dawn) comes in since a google search has many articles about Alice Waters pivotal role in the California's artisan cheese movement.

So (final four?) could this mean a possible double elimination (or quick fire elimination, although we haven't had one of those in a while) in episode 11?

And then episode 13 (description) is when they go digging for clams with Brooke. From a trailer, we know Dawn, Shota, and a third taller guy (who I suspect is Gabe- see reason below) make it this far. And someone noted that Nina Compton follows Shota and Dawn, and Gabe follows Nina. And guess what? The description for this episode states Nina is a guest judge. 

Episode 10 elimination: As others have pointed out, Dawn, Maria, Shota, and Jamie are part of a challenge with Brooke and Kristen that has yet to be shown. This leaves Bryon and Gabe. If you rewatch the preview, it appears that Dawn and Maria are standing next to each other waiting for results. This suggests they loose their head-to-heads in round 1 and have to compete in round 2 alongside Byron. Since Dawn and Maria appear in a challenge yet to be shown, I think Bryon goes home. This could also mean Dawn or Maria leave and re-enter via LCK but that seems less likely. I think Sara is returning?

 

So going by this, maybe we have a two person finale (even though it was three people last season)? Everything is pointing to a Shota vs. Dawn showdown imo. Off-show controversy and chatter and a weak overall edit makes me think Gabe leaves right before the finale. Sara and Byron could be Shota's finale sous chefs which could possibly explain their friendship. I think Dawn has kept a low enough post-top-chef profile that I think she wins, although her edit needs to be kicked up a notch these last few weeks (think season 15's Adrienne) for me to be fully confident. I get fan favorite runner-up vibes from Shota although he seems like the obvious winner right now. My only thing is I can't really pinpoint how the LCK winner fits into all this.

[PackYourKnives]

6 hours ago, LeighLeigh said:

I love the idea of looking at people’s Instagram feeds to learn more about the friendships in the cast, and potentially who sous for whom in the finale. 
 

Dawn visited Jamie in Las Vegas with Maria. Are those her sous? If Chris and Byron help Shota, what about Gabe and the returnee from last chance kitchen? 
 

Could it be Sara? With Gabe and who else as sous? Gabriel?

Gabriel and the others who aren't watching the recent LCK's all got sent home. Even though Gabriel is in Portland, I don't think he's eligible to be a sous chef. 

 

Based on the Nina IG following I'd bet Gabe picks Sara as a sous chef 

4 hours ago, CayennePepper said:

On tvguide, they have the descriptions for the rest of the season but skip over episode 11, "Blind Ambitions." It makes me wonder if this is when the LCK winner comes back and they didn't want to spoil it. 

Scratch that, I found the description on another site: "In teams of two, the chefs each take a turn entering the box where they blindly taste a dish created by guest judge Gabriel Rucker and then must try to re-create it." 

Episode 10 (Tournament of Tofu), we go from top 6 --> top 5 

So the episode 11 description supports my theory that the LCK winner comes back because how else would we get teams of two from five contestants? It kind of looks like Brooke entering the box alongside Jamie and Shota, but it would be unfair and make no sense for her to be on one of those teams of two. 

But then the tvguide description for episode after that, 12, says " As the final four chefs near the end of their journey in Portland, Padma is joined by Vitaly Paley and Gregory Gourdet to introduce an old school Quickfire Challenge paying homage to the Oregon Trail. For the Elimination Challenge, legendary chef and special guest Massimo Bottura tasks the chefs to pull inspiration from his famous parmigiano reggiano dish and create delectable dishes utilizing cheddar five different ways." I feel like this is where the Alice Waters clip (w/ Shota and Dawn) comes in since a google search has many articles about Alice Waters pivotal role in the California's artisan cheese movement.

So (final four?) could this mean a possible double elimination (or quick fire elimination, although we haven't had one of those in a while) in episode 11?

And then episode 13 (description) is when they go digging for clams with Brooke. From a trailer, we know Dawn, Shota, and a third taller guy (who I suspect is Gabe- see reason below) make it this far. And someone noted that Nina Compton follows Shota and Dawn, and Gabe follows Nina. And guess what? The description for this episode states Nina is a guest judge. 

Episode 10 elimination: As others have pointed out, Dawn, Maria, Shota, and Jamie are part of a challenge with Brooke and Kristen that has yet to be shown. This leaves Bryon and Gabe. If you rewatch the preview, it appears that Dawn and Maria are standing next to each other waiting for results. This suggests they loose their head-to-heads in round 1 and have to compete in round 2 alongside Byron. Since Dawn and Maria appear in a challenge yet to be shown, I think Bryon goes home. This could also mean Dawn or Maria leave and re-enter via LCK but that seems less likely. I think Sara is returning?

 

So going by this, maybe we have a two person finale (even though it was three people last season)? Everything is pointing to a Shota vs. Dawn showdown imo. Off-show controversy and chatter and a weak overall edit makes me think Gabe leaves right before the finale. Sara and Byron could be Shota's finale sous chefs which could possibly explain their friendship. I think Dawn has kept a low enough post-top-chef profile that I think she wins, although her edit needs to be kicked up a notch these last few weeks (think season 15's Adrienne) for me to be fully confident. I get fan favorite runner-up vibes from Shota although he seems like the obvious winner right now. My only thing is I can't really pinpoint how the LCK winner fits into all this.

Someone mentioned or in a press release I think that they specifically mentioned, "This is the first double elimination of the season" regarding when Nelson and Gabriel went home. I always assumed it's another double coming up, probably right before the final like New Orleans. 

I see nothing in the previews that indicate Sara wins LCK. Given that Nina is a judge earlier than I thought, I think we're getting a F2 Shota Dawn. 

 

Tom also had a comment talking about all the female winners of TC so I just have a feeling it's Dawn who wins. I think Shota should win, but he doesn't have a lot going in his favor currently when they filmed compared to Dawn (no hate on Dawn, just the circumstances).. 

[CayennePepper]

I actually looked further into the Instagram follows thing and Nina actually only follows Dawn. She doesn't follow Shota or Gabe, even though both follow her. Then again, Sara also follows Nina so this seems really low-yield lol. The only big takeaway here is that she follows Dawn which means nothing tbh since we already know Dawn makes it that far. 

Another thing is that there is a tvguide description of the finale: "After 13 grueling weeks of competition, the chefs must create the best four-course meal of their lives for their final challenge at Willamette Valley Vineyards. They'll serve it to an esteemed table including Padma, Tom and Gail, this season's All-Star dining panel, and a few additional noteworthy guests including Tiffany Derry, Edouardo Jordan, Peter Cho and Naomi Pomeroy. Former winners Melissa King and Richard Blais join the judges one last time to deliberate and crown the next Top Chef." 

Tiffany Derry (Top chef alumna from season 7 DC and all star) is a finale guest judge and she follows both Dawn and Gabe on Instagram. They both follow her back as well. She does not follow Shota though. Points to a possible Dawn vs. Gabe showdown. I actually feel like this has to be it. Why would she exclude Shota? Shota could potentially miss the finale.

I looked at the other finale judges as well:

Finale guest judge Edouardo Jordan appears to only be following Dawn. Dawn is not following him back. Gabe and Shota are following Edouardo Jordan but Edouardo isn't following them back. 

Naomi Pomery appears to be only following Shota. Gabe is following Naomi but she is not following back. Nothing on Dawn here. 

Shota is following Peter Cho. Only interaction between judge Peter Cho and any of the contestants. So Shota could be in the finale after all. I just think the Tiffany think is weird, since she is only Top Chef alumna, but doesn't completely rule him out.

 

-------

On LCK:

I have one of two theories regarding the LCK winner: theory 1 is the LCK winner comes back in the "Blind Ambitions" episode, giving us six contestants to create three teams of two in the quickfire. The bottom team of two compete against each other in a sudden death quickfire (they haven't done a sudden death quickfire since season 15 so seems unlikely imo) where one person goes home. Then a second person goes home on the elimination challenge. 

Theory 2 is that there is no quickfire (the episode description only makes mention of this one "box" challenge. They usually provide a short description of both the QF and EC), the box challenge is actually an elimination challenge and the bottom team of two gets eliminated in a double elimination. The only people accounted for past this episode are Shota, Dawn, and Gabe so any of Jamie, Maria, or the LCK winner could join those three to make the top 4.

-------

I just think the top 3 is Shota, Dawn, and Gabe. I say it's Sara as the LCK just based on edit and ability. She is a stronger cook than Byron imo. It could be Bryon, stranger things have happened, but his edit is nonexistent. Another thing is that Brooke follows Gabe, Dawn, Shota, Maria and Byron. She doesn't follow Jamie or Sara (although Sara follows her). So that might support Byron coming back? Although a lot of these follows could be based on relationships or interactions outside the context of the Top Chef competition as well. Either way, I don't think the LCK winner matters in the grand scheme of this season tbh.

Edited May 31, 2021 by CayennePepper

[PackYourKnives]

2 hours ago, CayennePepper said:

I actually looked further into the Instagram follows thing and Nina actually only follows Dawn. She doesn't follow Shota or Gabe, even though both follow her. Then again, Sara also follows Nina so this seems really low-yield lol. The only big takeaway here is that she follows Dawn which means nothing tbh since we already know Dawn makes it that far. 

Another thing is that there is a tvguide description of the finale: "After 13 grueling weeks of competition, the chefs must create the best four-course meal of their lives for their final challenge at Willamette Valley Vineyards. They'll serve it to an esteemed table including Padma, Tom and Gail, this season's All-Star dining panel, and a few additional noteworthy guests including Tiffany Derry, Edouardo Jordan, Peter Cho and Naomi Pomeroy. Former winners Melissa King and Richard Blais join the judges one last time to deliberate and crown the next Top Chef." 

Tiffany Derry (Top chef alumna from season 7 DC and all star) is a finale guest judge and she follows both Dawn and Gabe on Instagram. They both follow her back as well. She does not follow Shota though. Points to a possible Dawn vs. Gabe showdown. I actually feel like this has to be it. Why would she exclude Shota? Shota could potentially miss the finale.

I looked at the other finale judges as well:

Finale guest judge Edouardo Jordan appears to only be following Dawn. Dawn is not following him back. Gabe and Shota are following Edouardo Jordan but Edouardo isn't following them back. 

Naomi Pomery appears to be only following Shota. Gabe is following Naomi but she is not following back. Nothing on Dawn here. 

Shota is following Peter Cho. Only interaction between judge Peter Cho and any of the contestants. So Shota could be in the finale after all. I just think the Tiffany think is weird, since she is only Top Chef alumna, but doesn't completely rule him out.

 

-------

On LCK:

I have one of two theories regarding the LCK winner: theory 1 is the LCK winner comes back in the "Blind Ambitions" episode, giving us six contestants to create three teams of two in the quickfire. The bottom team of two compete against each other in a sudden death quickfire (they haven't done a sudden death quickfire since season 15 so seems unlikely imo) where one person goes home. Then a second person goes home on the elimination challenge. 

Theory 2 is that there is no quickfire (the episode description only makes mention of this one "box" challenge. They usually provide a short description of both the QF and EC), the box challenge is actually an elimination challenge and the bottom team of two gets eliminated in a double elimination. The only people accounted for past this episode are Shota, Dawn, and Gabe so any of Jamie, Maria, or the LCK winner could join those three to make the top 4.

-------

I just think the top 3 is Shota, Dawn, and Gabe. I say it's Sara as the LCK just based on edit and ability. She is a stronger cook than Byron imo. It could be Bryon, stranger things have happened, but his edit is nonexistent. Another thing is that Brooke follows Gabe, Dawn, Shota, Maria and Byron. She doesn't follow Jamie or Sara (although Sara follows her). So that might support Byron coming back? Although a lot of these follows could be based on relationships or interactions outside the context of the Top Chef competition as well. Either way, I don't think the LCK winner matters in the grand scheme of this season tbh.

Umm Nina follows Shota. Look again. 810 people and one of them is "ChefShota". You are wrong on this: Nina follows both Shota and Dawn.

And yes, weird on Tiffany! She also follows Nelson for some reason, and Tiffany doesn't follow Shota either. UH OH! If Shota doesn't make the finale somehow, I am going to be devastated...  Not to make it a race thing, but I could see Tiffany wanting/thinking Dawn should have won/pushed for her to win and the judges gave it to Shota, and Tiffany is upset because of that. IDK, that's my speculation of as of now. 

Looking at the judges panel, it might be a split decision!! I could see it being VERY close between Shota and Dawn for the win and there is disagreement, but it sounds like Richard/Melissa will have the most relative sway when deciding the winner. And from the comments so far, I think Shota has the better chance from that POV, especially with Melissa.

Another thing to note is I believe Gail said preseason that the winner (or the cooking of this season not entirely sure) was very, "homey" style cooking and the first Chef she highlighted was, "A Japanese chef who makes homestyle cooking". Would Dawn's food be considered homey? I'm not sure, it seems a bit more high end. Point to Shota. 

But on the other side, Tom made a comment preseason talking about, "All the great female winners top chef has had" on twitter which leads me to believe this season is again another female winner. 

 

Has Kwame commented or liked anything regarding Shota or Dawn? He seems a bit sour and tough and I think would end up hinting or spoiling at the outcome to some degree. Gregory is nice to everyone.. 

 

Does not seem like LCK plays any factor this season, unless of the chance which I think is still very much in play that Gabe goes home next week and ends up coming back from LCK. This would make sense if the finalists after LCK end up being Gabe, Dan, Shota, Maria and Byron. 

And yes I too have F3 of Shota, Dawn and Gabe. Tiffany not following Shota gives me now even more confidence Shota DOES win and her lack of a follow is in protest to him beating Dawn. 

Also of note, Edward Lee is followed by Dawn and Shota with Dawn commenting on his photo recently. Not sure if that indicates anything, but perhaps he's a fan of hers. 

Production has done a very good job of hiding the winner this season! Yes it's most likely between Dawn and Shota, but it's still very much a toss up. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by PackYourKnives

[CayennePepper]

5 hours ago, PackYourKnives said:

Umm Nina follows Shota. Look again. 810 people and one of them is "ChefShota". You are wrong on this: Nina follows both Shota and Dawn.

I checked again. You are right! Not sure how I missed it. I must have checked 10 times lol, but it was late when I was checking. Although, we already deduced that Nina is a guest judge on the challenge where both Shota and Dawn (and Gabe) are still in so the Nina follow doesn't reveal any new information to me. 

I don't know about the "Tiffany being upset" theory cause she follows Gabe as well. Plus, it seems a little petty and far-fetched imo. I don't think grown people think that way. It's only Shota she doesn't follow. It could mean she didn't really interact with Shota as a finalist, while she interacted with Dawn and Gabe as finalists. Another possible reason I just considered is that Dawn is from Houston, Texas, Gabe is from Austin, Texas, and Tiffany is from Dallas, Texas so maybe there's a loose Texas connection there? Shota is from Seattle, WA.

I think it's Dawn vs. Shota/Gabe. Dawn seems guaranteed. The other slot seems like a toss up. 

Edited May 31, 2021 by CayennePepper

[PackYourKnives]

4 hours ago, CayennePepper said:

I checked again. You are right! Not sure how I missed it. I must have checked 10 times lol, but it was late when I was checking. Although, we already deduced that Nina is a guest judge on the challenge where both Shota and Dawn (and Gabe) are still in so the Nina follow doesn't reveal any new information to me. 

I don't know about the "Tiffany being upset" theory cause she follows Gabe as well. Plus, it seems a little petty and far-fetched imo. I don't think grown people think that way. It's only Shota she doesn't follow. It could mean she didn't really interact with Shota as a finalist, while she interacted with Dawn and Gabe as finalists. Another possible reason I just considered is that Dawn is from Houston, Texas, Gabe is from Austin, Texas, and Tiffany is from Dallas, Texas so maybe there's a loose Texas connection there? Shota is from Seattle, WA.

I think it's Dawn vs. Shota/Gabe. Dawn seems guaranteed. The other slot seems like a toss up. 

Do we know if it's a final 2 or final 3? Obviously Dawn wins if it's her vs. Gabe in a final 2. The Texas thing is possible, but if Shota follows her IDK why she wouldn't. I still think she is being bitter lol. 

[CayennePepper]

Well looks like there is no LCK winner, which is why I was having trouble trying to figure out where they come in. So that confirms a 2-person finale. 

[Irlandesa]

On 5/23/2021 at 9:31 PM, seltzer3 said:

Also is the Shota, Byron, Sara final 3 still true? (assuming Sara gets back from LCK?)

Now we know that it's not; although Shota is still alive. 

[marmarlady]

so no LCK winner means there has to be an episode where no one goes home right? since the cheese episode says it's a top4, i'm wagering that one

[CayennePepper]

10 hours ago, marmarlady said:

so no LCK winner means there has to be an episode where no one goes home right? since the cheese episode says it's a top4, i'm wagering that one

It works out to one elimination per week. so 5 --> 4 --> 3 --> 2 (finale). Had someone won LCK like last season, it probably would have been a three-person finale. As I figured out above, Gabe, Dawn, and Shota are the top 3. I'm 100% sure on this. There is a clear shot of those three walking in the episode where they go digging for clams with Brooke for the quickfire, which is top 3 week. I'm certain Dawn is the finale. I cannot figure out the other chef. I'm leaning toward Gabe, but that's an educated guess.

I think Dawn is winning. Her edit this episode was such a roller-coaster. Very complex. She has the most depth right about now. Maria also has an in-depth edit, but I think there's too much of a gap between her and those three. Dawn had a weak edit and/or narrative earlier on. Sara's elimination made room for the editors to dive in to Dawn's background more, especially in the last two episodes. She's an interesting case cause I cannot remember the last time a contestant has had no on-screen criticism in regards to their food. From what we have seen, she has essentially cooked a good final dish in every challenge. She has had plating issues, but they have never put in her in any real danger of going home (unless you count tonight which one could argue but that seemed like a more complicated issue with the injury). Very reminiscent of Brooke Williamson. A lot of drama leading up to the finished product, and then they somehow pull it off. However, even Brooke had less than successful dishes, especially during her second run on the show. 

I think they started off with the most focus on Shota, but that has sort of died down. He puts his head down, cooks his food, and is usually successful with very minimal problems. Ideally, he should be an easy finale competitor, but I get Sheldon vibes from him for some reason. One thing that they have pointed out is that Shota struggles when he doesn't feel inspired by the challenge. We saw that with his two mishaps with the drive-in movie theater and cooking for frontline workers (he had immunity here), so I don't think Shota missing the finale is entirely out of the question. He still has a chance of winning just solely on his edit, trajectory, and incredible talent. 

Gabe has had a flat edit this whole season. There's 0% chance he wins. They have made no real effort to make him likable or really tell his story. All we really know is that he can cook really well.

[PackYourKnives]

Yeah I think Dawn is winning sadly. Shota should win!! 

 

I disagree on editing: Shota is getting so many confessionals constantly it could just be bc he's way more interesting than the others, but I think Dawn/Gabe just are sorta flat in confessionals or very serious. 

 

Should be close, but obviously if the final 2 is Gabe/Dawn, Dawn clearly wins that. 

 

That shot of Shota, Chris and Byron in the bath tub still makes me think he gets to F2 

[PackYourKnives]

Are we clear on when Tiffany arrives to judge? Is she there ONLY for the final 2 or comes earlier?

If she's only there for F2 a very bad sign she doesn't follow Shota but follows Gabe and Dawn.

 

If it is a F2, I also think it could be a bad sign that they had Shota saying a bunch it was better if the LCK winner did not come back because it'd make it easier for them... when in reality if it's a F2 and Shota goes home at F3, he would have most likely cooked a finale meal had Byron come back.

 

Absolutely ridiculous if Shota doesn't win or cook a finale meal. 

[milliewillie]

Just throwing this out there in regards to Tiffany only following Dawn and Gabe:

Tiffany recently opened a spot in Austin where Gabe was running one of the more well regarded Mexican restaurants at the time. The follow could have been purely organic.

[PackYourKnives]

On the TC wiki it says 4 episodes left. We are at 5 chefs, so it's a final 2 basically. 

 

Also Tom's comments on a podcast:

"

How to be successful on Top Chef (vs Restaurant):

In both cases, you have to have a lot of skills. But I find that the chefs who can really think on their feet quickly and conceive of a dish in their head and execute it really well, are the chefs that are going to do better on TV. And I know chefs that—I mean, listen, that's how I work. I don't plan a lot. Friends of mine, for instance, Alfred Portale, great chef. One the best chefs of the country's ever produced. He writes out the dish, he sketches it out first, spends a lot of time with it, works on it, works on it, works out before it goes on the menu. Certain chefs do that. The heyday of Gramercy Tavern, when I had just an amazing team, I had a ten-course tasting menu that was was never written. It was in my head. And when somebody order it, I would just tell people what to do. I had the team to do that. 

Yeah, I think [being an improviser] works best. Yeah."

 

Sounds a lot like Dawn to me.

 

 

[PackYourKnives]

Shota is in LA and just had lunch with Stephanie Izaard (from same season of Iron Chef Gauntlet with him), Kelsey and Mei...

 

could it be an all winners lunch????

[PackYourKnives]

Another good sign for Shota is that they've been consistently hiding Tom's comments about him (other than his reaction shots) which was a major thing they did with Melissa in All Stars too.

 

I also keep going back to the comment he made in the middle of the Restaurant Wars episode where he was talking about the critic who hated his food bc it was not enough flavor or something, but he said that's how Japanese food is - and he worried how that might be perceived later. It was a nice moment, and it's obvious Tom/Gail like that sort of food.

 

This is tough! Perhaps based on the preview Dawn starts to struggle as it gets closer to the end bc she keeps forgetting to plate things, and would tie back into her story from early on where she would just make mental mess ups. 

[Jextella]

I like Shota, but his food has not interested me at all.

I'd LOVE to try Gabe's, Dawn's, and Sara's food the most.  I'd like to see Dawn and Gabe F1 and F2. I don't care which of them wins, but I think it might be Dawn. 

[SailorGirl]

If Dawn is one of the top two, she's going to have a hard time winning if she does her final meal the way she did Restaurant Wars and is as disorganized as she's been in some challenges. 

She couldn't pull together her dishes in time for the others to taste and work with, and she couldn't even convey to them what she was making because she was essentially just going with where the food was taking her. And there's been at least two, and maybe three, challenges where she was too disorganized to fully plate everything, or something got left off one judge's plate that was on another. 

How is she going to prepare an entire meal that way? Her sous chefs are going to be standing around or completely lost.

She may make the top two or three but ultimately I think the winner is going to be Shota or Gabe. They are more organized start to finish overall, communicate well and clearly with their fellow chefs/sous chefs, and have been more consistent throughout the season. 

I guess we'll see!! 

Edited June 22, 2021 by SailorGirl

[PackYourKnives]

More active speculation, but Dawn has been actively promoting the "fan Favorite" award on her IG (which awards $10K) and Shota has barely posted about it at all (Shota is in the lead, Dawn 2nd, Jamie 3rd, Maria 4th). 

 

Could be that Shota won the show and $$ so doesn't necessarily want to promote it too much?

 I'm heavily assuming next week it'll be between Dawn and Shota for Fan Favorite when they cut it to 2, but if we continue to see this pattern heading into finale episode, I'll be way more certain Shota wins the show. 

[PackYourKnives]

Another concerting sign for me is that on last episode, Shota was saying how happy he was to make F4 (in editing it seems like he's ok with whatever happens from here), while it was clear Dawn desperately wants to win and be the first black female chef winner. Same with Gabe who mentioned Mexican American winner. 

[PackYourKnives]

Revisiting the follows now that the final 3 final meal is set:

Tiffany Derry: follows Dawn and Gabe. Not Shota.  (Could be a flavor thing and she preferred one of their meals over Shota's who is traditional Japanese)

Eduardo Jordan: Is following both Shota (wasn't previously) and Dawn. LOL although now he is dealing with his own Me Too issues, but still interesting. 

Peter Cho: Seems like he reset his IG. Only follows Melissa and 4 others. Shota follows him, Gabe and Dawn don't.

Naomi Pomeory:  only follows Shota. Also saw her comment on Shota's IG about "representing" from wherever they're from. 

 

Also as said before, Dawn is promoting the fan vote a LOT. I have to think she doesn't win and would like the 10K (with Shota not promoting it at all). Someone thought Shota won bc he immediately reopened Taku back, and Dawn is not currently have a restaurant opened.

Also just saw Dawn and her friends/family do a toast on IG for the "finale" (before this episode aired) and to me I'm getting more of a sense she doesn't win. 

 

Could Gabe win this?? I'm getting the sense he might. 

 

Gotta hand it to the producers, it's close. I'm setting myself up to be prepared when Shota loses, but anything can happen. Was NOT expecting a F3 for the last episode so even Gabe is back in this too. 

 

--

Also watching Padma say "you are top chef" and the reaction after, makes me think it is NOT Shota based on the somewhat muted response from everyone. I'm really considering the fact Gabe wins this... 

Edited June 25, 2021 by PackYourKnives

[PackYourKnives]

More Spec:

Does anyone know if they film the interviews all at once (for a block of 2-3 episode's) or episode to episode? With the time constraints, I would think they fill it up all at once.

In which case, Shota definitely seems the most chipper, and Dawn has a sadness to her. Gabe I've noticed zero change this entire season in his interviews, always very serious. +1 to Shota.

 

On the other hand, Dale called this crab challenge episode his "favorite of the season"... which means possibly the final is controversial in some way? We know he's a big Shota and Gabe fan.... so I give that a +1 to Dawn.

 

 

[Leeds]

At this point I just want Shota to win.