S12.E15: Mano a Mano

[Rammchick]

And speaking of Aaron, it didn't look like he was there for the finale, whereas he was in Mexico at the start of the finals.  No loss.

 

As much as I applaud Gregory taking risks with his menu, I don't think the finale was really the time to do it.  As we've said before, risks only pay off if they work.  And considering that this was supposed to be "cook the meal of your life", this was really the time for his beloved Asian flavors.

[cooksdelight]

An interview with Gregory from his local newspaper. No mention of the carrots.

http://www.oregonlive.com/dining/index.ssf/2015/02/after_top_chef_gregory_gourdet.html

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Why do I think they've done other seasons as well. And Texas? I just wanted that over. Yeah, Paul Qui rocks and I don't want to see the rest of these folks on my TV again, thank you very much. Go. Away.

 

Yes, they've definitely done other seasons.  IIRC, during a couple of seasons they announced the fan favorite at the reunion. 

 

Mei had octupus which was declared dry and chewy, congee which was liked but not rated superb, duck which had mixed reviews, and a superb dessert. So, I think they both made mistakes.

 

 

Mei's congee was clearly the winner in that round over Gregory's soup/gumbo (in fact, in reading this recap, it is clear that the congee was more than just "liked," it was loved and a few of the judges did, in fact, rate it superb) and while her duck had mixed reviews, it was clearly superior to Gregory's sweet fish. Yes, she made some mistakes but her mistakes were fewer than Gregory's.

 

As much as I applaud Gregory taking risks with his menu, I don't think the finale was really the time to do it.  As we've said before, risks only pay off if they work.  And considering that this was supposed to be "cook the meal of your life", this was really the time for his beloved Asian flavors.

 

I think I disagree with this, rammchick. Gregory made some of his worst food in the period in which he was just coasting - I suspect he is the kind of person who needs to push himself to ultimately make really great food. If he hadn't of made the mistake with the carrots and the sweet fish, pushing himself could have paid off handsomely. I think, as a viewer, I would have been really annoyed if he just continued to play it safe.  I think it was the right strategy to take risks, but unfortunately, his execution was off.

Edited February 12, 2015 by eleanorofaquitaine

[biakbiak]

It seemed like Gregory knew he lost the second he asked Mei how her dessert went and she broke into that huge smile and said that it was amazing.

[Lura]

Congratulations to both chefs for a great season and to Mei for the title!

 

I'm giving out my personal awards for Finalist with the Most Class and Finalist with the Biggest Potty Mouth.

 

Gregory:  "Thank you."

Mei:  "Holy sh**.  Holy sh**.  Holy sh**."

 

What a way to end a season!

 

 

 

 

[CatWarmer]

 

Rebecca must be a really good chef since she kept getting picked for a sous.

 She has an impressive background as a sous and the other chefs knew it:

 

 

Trenchermen executive sous chef Rebecca LaMalfa.  A Culinary Institute of America graduate, she worked at several Michelin-rated restaurants, including Michael Mina in San Francisco and Daniel Boulud Brasserie and Le Cirque in Las Vegas, before moving to Chicago in 2012 to assist in opening Trenchermen (named one of Bon Appetit's "Top 50 Best New Restaurants" in 2013).

She's married to the executive chef of Sixteen (in the Trump tower in Chicago).

[Totale]

Weird camera work while Mei was presenting.  The two tables with judges at them seemed to be like 20 feet apart, and they stood behind one while she was talking to the other in a not well miked little blip in the corner.

 

I also liked the shot in the car with Gregory talking excitedly about what he had in mind, while Dougie and George stared silently out of their respective windows looking like they'd rather be in Philadelphia.

 

Mole isn't any one sauce.  In fact I just watched a Bayless rerun about the seven moles of Oaxaca.  I'm sure Greg's was tasty, and would have been better if he'd had a day to make it rather than a few hours.  But the actual Mexican guy at the table with Katsuji was the only one who got across that he made a good sauce rather than the good sauce.

 

I was looking forward to this season because I lived in Boston for more than a decade, but I mentally checked out weeks ago.  Boston was wasted and Mexico was rendered boring.  The most loathsome entrants were weeded out fairly quickly which was somewhat of a blessing, but I'd like the show better if they just decided to forego casting loathsome people at all.  They can tell, and they make choices.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Totale

[WearyTraveler]

All I have to say about this episode is ........

 

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO---HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

 

Go, Mei!

[locomoco]

I think the real reason Mei will never be a success in her parent's eyes is that she was born without a penis.

Sadly, in some Chinese families, this is all too true. In college I dated a Chinese girl who was incredibly smart and motivated. Her parents had only saved enough money to send her older brother (who was a lazy idiot) to college - when he failed to get his CPA in accounting, they decided they'd help him get a Subway franchise, and the parents worked as free workers.

 

My girlfriend had her own part time jobs, saved up enough to get her bachelors degree, and then went on to get her degree as a pharmacist pretty much on her own. We broke up because of the long distance when she went to Pharmacy school, but I always gave her a lot of credit for succeeding without much help from her parents who were determined to prop up her idiot brother.

[Noreaster]

Mei and Gregory have been making the media rounds.  Here are some links:

 

Mei's exit interviews with EW, The Daily Meal, and The Detroit Free Press.

Gregory's exit interviews with Portland Monthly, NBC News, and The Oregonian (also linked above by cooksdelight).

 

From the interviews, it sounds like Mei will be doing some collaborative pop-ups and traveling near-term. Then will look for an executive chef position to get experience. Gregory intends to expand his Departure restaurant concept around the country with one planned for Denver in 2016. He has also been traveling in Asia. 

Regarding Top Chef reunions, the show used to do them every season. Texas was the last one. My guess is it's because the show has been so damn boring ever since. Maybe budgetary reasons too. Prizes/sponsorships have been kind of lacking.

 

Random observation...Mei is the 4th Asian winner on the show.  Seasons 3, 9, 10, 12.  

Edited February 13, 2015 by Noreaster

[Bees]

At this point in the season, I was okay with either or winning. They were both great and they both were likable and gave it their all. I was rooting for Gregory a little more than Mei but I was okay with Mei winning. The moment I saw that carrot sauce screw up, I knew Mei was going to win. Also, when Tom Colicchio sings those kind of praises and knowing how he's always dead set on certain cheftestants, I knew it was pretty much in the bag for Mei. That mole looked amazing and Mei's dessert was pretty awesome looking too. 

 

One thing I know for sure is that this season ended a lot more satisfyingly for me than last season. 

[cooksdelight]

I didn't realize Gregory was 39 until I read the interview with him that I linked above. He looks and acts so much younger. But hey, isn't that what we all strive for? :)

[rozen]

I was pulling for both of them throughout the episode. A woman winner, or an African-American winner, either would be pretty awesome to me (even more awesome if we ever get an AA female winner :P). And they both appear to have awesome personalities. I kind of liked that Mei got final vindication, though. She's a very smart and disciplined chef, whereas Gregory is more free and creative, they are a good complement to each other. But Mei's style is more how I approach things, so go Mei!

 

If Mei's parents don't think being a chef is an acceptable profession, it doesn't matter what she does. She could open a Michelin-star restaurant and all they would admit was that she was very good for a chef. It's so annoying to me when parents project their aspirations onto their children and refuse to accept them as they are. At least she has M Volt to pump her up. I wonder if in a few years we'll see one of Mei's proteges compete. 

 

Glad both chefs had competent and respectful sous chefs. I feel like there've been a lot of finales where the sous chefs screwed up something, or were so overbearing that they compromised the finalist's vision. I loved Rebecca's side-eye when she said "this yogurt's sweet." I imagined her thinking girl did you seriously just snatch up whatever yogurt was in front of you? This is basic dessert making!

 

Edit: I always find Top Chef dessert making hilarious because savory chefs make on the fly adjustments as they go. Whereas on Top Chef: Desserts everything is an entire day ordeal, usually followed by hours of not looking at it the wrong way while it sets, or bakes, or whatever. The skill gap kind of cracks me up.

Edited February 13, 2015 by rozen

[Rai]

I would've been fine with Gregory winning since he's clearly a good cook, but I cheered when Mei won.  And then I was surprised by sort of getting something in my eye when Mei was crying and swearing at the same time.  Soul sister, right there.  And while I'm still down on Melissa and her clam theivery, the fact that she and Mei really did become good friends and rooting for each other was really refreshing to see on television.  Women propping each other up!  Not tearing each other down!

 

The payoff of Mei's dessert and the way the judges talked about Gregory's fish course gave me home it'd be Mei winning, since that fish dish was the only one where everyone was outright "No" about it.  Calling Mei's third course her weakest course is a far cry from outright disliking the dish all together.  And having a fish course be sweeter than a dessert?  Oh god, that sounds awful.  Poor Gregory!  Keep working on that mole and short rib instead!

[Julia]

If Mei's parents don't think being a chef is an acceptable profession, it doesn't matter what she does. She could open a Michelin-star restaurant and all they would admit was that she was very good for a chef. It's so annoying to me when parents project their aspirations onto their children and refuse to accept them as they are. At least she has M Volt to pump her up. I wonder if in a few years we'll see one of Mei's proteges compete. 

 

I loved that M Volt told her not to call him chef any more, and that she couldn't do it :)

 

What makes the situation with Mei's parents kind of tragic is that they're restaurant people. I can't imagine having that kind of disrespect for what I chose to do with my life.

[The Solution]

 Replace Blais with Hugh Atchisen or Emeril or Hubert Keller.

 

HAHAHAHA! At first glance I read that as Helen Keller! Which would decidedly be an improvement over Richard...

[Noreaster]

The view by Mei's parents is not uncommon. There are many Chinese families who opened up restaurants because they were new to this country and didn't really have other skills, but wanted their children to do something "better".  In the interviews I linked to above, Mei said that her family wanted her to be a doctor or a lawyer.

 

This view is not confined to Chinese families either.  George from this season said in a recent Northern Virginia magazine interview:

 

I got my business degree from the University of Mary Washington because my father tried to scare me out of restaurants altogether. [He’d say] ‘George, there’s so many other ways to make money, you don’t have to go into the restaurant business.’

After I got my degree and went on some job interviews, I’m like ‘Dad, there’s no way, I can sit in an office all day. That’s not for me.’

When my father opened the diner he kept telling me, ‘George, when we opened the diner, this is all we knew when we came here. We learned this from the other Greeks and they learned this from other Greeks. You were born in this country, you have an opportunity to do something better. So if you want to go into the restaurant business, you’re gonna go to culinary school.’

Edited February 13, 2015 by Noreaster

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I think that running a restaurant is hard work and that there are a lot of parents who want their children to have what they consider to be an easier life.  I suspect that is the case with George and his father.  But at the end of the day, George's father is seemingly proud of George's success, and that is different from Mei's parents.  Mei's parents may have wanted an "easier" life for her but they also seemingly wanted her to follow a job that has higher status in their minds, and that's too bad, because she is obviously talented and hopefully will go far in her profession.

[Special K]

During the preview montage, I saw a glimpse of that chef named Katie, and I thought, "haha, the editors screwed up and put in a photo of that woman Katie who was in last season!"  And then I was like, waaaait a minute...  Yeah, the season felt THAT long to me.

 

I was happy to see Mei win (would have preferred Doug TBH), but I'm not sure about the editors.  Ending the season with her litany of "holy sh*ts" didn't seem, well, like a very complimentary portrayal of her.  Not the swearing, actually, just the supreme, immature inarticulateness of it. I mean, I know she was emotional, but she's in her 30s -- surely she has developed more of a a vocabulary!  I was actually surprised and a little saddened that the show chose to portray her in the final moments like that.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Special K

[cooksdelight]

It may have been all she gave them to work with. Or, it could have been worse and we saw the watered-down version. At any rate, some people just react differently than others in the heat of the moment.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

Mei is 28, according to wikipedia, not in her mid-30s.  Not that means anything about her vocabulary but it has been my sense that most chefs swear a lot.  Even Stephanie Izzard swore quite a bit (including, IIRC, saying "holy $#%" when she won, though obviously she didn't say it repeatedly like Mei).

[gaytrekkie]

I think it was pretty one-sided and the editing made it seem much closer than it really was.  If it was close at all, the judges would've said something to the effect of "this was a very hard decision" or "this was a very close race".  But there was none of that.  Mei made one mediocre dish (the duck one), 2 good/superb dishes and the dish that pretty much sealed it - her dessert.  I think the dry octopus thing was just clever editing - everyone seemed to really like the dish despite the octopus being a little chewy and thought it was beautifully presented.  Gregory had 2 good/superb dishes (but neither got the same level of praise as Mei's dessert), a mediocre dish and of course the sugary carrot fish disaster.  I think both chefs are equally talented but in different ways and it all came down to who made the most mistakes - and Gregory just made far worse mistakes than Mei.

[Lura]

I couldn't help but notice how quiet Doug was during this episode.  During the scene in the car, when Greg was discussing his menu, George had things to say, but Doug said nothing.  It was pretty much the same thing in the kitchen.  It must be terribly hard to want something as badly as he wanted the title and lose it, then to come back and work for your former competition.  In a way, I felt sorry for Doug, yet every season there's someone disappointed who returns to work good-naturedly for their winning friends.  I always wonder how they can manage to be ssuch good sports, but they do, bless 'em.

[attica]

M-Volt's admonition "Stop calling me 'Chef'! You're Chef now! You're Top Chef!" gave me a fit of the feelz.

[Noreaster]

I think that running a restaurant is hard work and that there are a lot of parents who want their children to have what they consider to be an easier life.  I suspect that is the case with George and his father.  But at the end of the day, George's father is seemingly proud of George's success, and that is different from Mei's parents.  Mei's parents may have wanted an "easier" life for her but they also seemingly wanted her to follow a job that has higher status in their minds, and that's too bad, because she is obviously talented and hopefully will go far in her profession.

My point was mainly that immigrants wanting their children to follow a different career path is not uncommon. The restaurant industry is not desirable to many. For some, it was the only option. We're not talking about high-end places. Instead it's the Greek diners, the Chinese takeout joints, etc.

 

Obviously, at this point, George has the support of his father who has gone so far as to invest in his restaurant. But based on that interview, George was also dissuaded from going into the restaurant industry initially and went to college and graduated first. Mei's parents might eventually change their views. There could also be some different things at play here. Maybe Mei wasn't close to her family to begin with, while George was. I don't remember if Mei tried going to school or dropped out.  Every situation is different.  

 

Just my thoughts.  There were some comments here about how bad the parents are and it's probably because she's a girl or they only care about status or whatever.  Possibly, but some parents just want "better" for their children, whatever that may be. 

[biakbiak]

I was happy to see Mei win (would have preferred Doug TBH), but I'm not sure about the editors. Ending the season with her litany of "holy sh*ts" didn't seem, well, like a very complimentary portrayal of her.

I actually found that absolutely adorable and given one of the line of this season was that Mei was so stoic with her resting bitch face and lack of emotion that it was moving how overwhelmed she got about actually winning. The phone call with Michael was also adorable.

[BC Mama]

Count me as one of the ones who would have been happy with either chef winning (or Doug!). I was rooting for Mei and Greg from the beginning. From the version of the finale that the editors showed us, I would say Mei earned her title. She tried some new things by mixing together ingredients that don't traditionally go together, and had some misses, where Greg made some straight up mistakes. While I applaud Asian-flavour-obsessed Greg for tackling a mole, Mei's dessert sounded AMAZING, and I am not usually a dessert girl!

As for the judges, I would have been thrilled to have swapped out Richard for Rick Bayless. Chef Bayless is consistently one of my favourite tv chef personalities, for consistently showcasing his expertise and kind demeanour, in equal measure. I don't have the hate-on some have for Richard, but he seems so awkward as a judge, and tries way too hard to be witty! And his hair... It was just wrong. It was like he couldn't decide between spikes or a rockabilly swirl, so he did a bit of both.

[eleanorofaquitaine]

My point was mainly that immigrants wanting their children to follow a different career path is not uncommon. The restaurant industry is not desirable to many. For some, it was the only option. We're not talking about high-end places. Instead it's the Greek diners, the Chinese takeout joints, etc.

 

Obviously, at this point, George has the support of his father who has gone so far as to invest in his restaurant. But based on that interview, George was also dissuaded from going into the restaurant industry initially and went to college and graduated first. Mei's parents might eventually change their views. There could also be some different things at play here. Maybe Mei wasn't close to her family to begin with, while George was. I don't remember if Mei tried going to school or dropped out.  Every situation is different.  

 

Just my thoughts.  There were some comments here about how bad the parents are and it's probably because she's a girl or they only care about status or whatever.  Possibly, but some parents just want "better" for their children, whatever that may be. 

 

I understood your point and yes, I agree that there are many immigrant parents who go into the restaurant business and want "more" or "better" for their children.  But at the end of the day, IMO, Mei's parents don't really need your defense.  Their lack of support for her isn't really that defensible, even if they share elements of their story with many other immigrant parents who espouse a similar philosophy.  Some parents want "better" for their children, but once their adult children make a choice of career - and then becomes successful at that choice - those parents should get over whatever it is that they conceive is "better."

[Noreaster]

Offering a different point of view is defending someone? Good talk. I'm out.

[BC Mama]

Also, I think that Greg's soup sounded interesting, but he would have been better off using the fish heads to create a stock, and remove them before serving, or deep frying them and serving atop the soup to add texture.

And, as a gal who has to constantly watch what words I use in front of my children, I have no problem with Mei's potty mouth! I found it refreshing, and pretty true of the vocabulary of most of the chefs I know.

[biakbiak]

Just realized that while it didn't work for Marcel, knowing Michael Voltaggio is good luck. He worked with three of the winners: Hung, Kevin, and Mei before they won.

[zxy556575]

We only have Mei's words about her parents feelings, filtered through her own. Maybe she's blown it up in her mind to more than it is. We did see that she isn't close to her brother, either, so I'm willing to give her parents the benefit of the doubt.

[biakbiak]

Didn't Mei talk about it in front of her brother and he didn't correct her, the fact that her brother who she clearly wasn't close with was the family member that came could also be telling. The fact that their parents owned restaurants and he could barely peel vegetables also indicates that cooking was probably not a priority or something they encouraged for their children.

That said clearly she cares about her parents, in one of the interviews she mentioned a goal before opening her own restaurant is to help out her parents so that they can retire.

Edited February 13, 2015 by biakbiak

[ProudMary]

We only have Mei's words about her parents feelings, filtered through her own. Maybe she's blown it up in her mind to more than it is. We did see that she isn't close to her brother, either, so I'm willing to give her parents the benefit of the doubt.

This is a possibility.

Also posssible: The editors found the story they wanted to tell about Mei and milked it for all it was worth, editing her accordingly. We viewers see what they want us to see.

Although I wanted Doug to win, I'm very pleased for Mei. She's a very worthy winner and it's great that there are now three femaleTop Chefs!

[Wings]

I have been rooting for Mei since day one and thrilled she won!  I loved Tom saying that hers was the best dessert he has had in his entire life.  I would so love to eat that.  I agree that this was not a close race.  The editors tried but failed to hide Mei's superior meal.  Fabulous season! 

[Morgalisa]

Oh WWHL, the viewer poll on who should win Top Chef, was:  Gregory 55 percent; Mai 45 percent.

[Bastet]

I have been rooting for Mei since day one and thrilled she won!  I loved Tom saying that hers was the best dessert he has had in his entire life.

 

He said it was the best dessert he'd had on Top Chef, and one of the best desserts he'd ever had, period.  Still very high praise.  It certainly looked delicious to me, and I don't often get excited about desserts.  But I wanted to try that one!

[Wings]

I liked Gregory, just okay.  I am surprised to see how many wanted him to win.  I guess I didn't register on his personality.  I found him boring.  He had no chance of beating Mei so I was not worried and able to enjoy the finale. 

Edited February 14, 2015 by wings707

[Kromm]

I really wish Doug has been in the finale, but since he wasn't I was glad to see Mei win over Urkel.

[BC Mama]

He said it was the best dessert he'd had on Top Chef, and one of the best desserts he'd ever had, period.  Still very high praise.  It certainly looked delicious to me, and I don't often get excited about desserts.  But I wanted to try that one!

I'm not saying this to be snarky! I'm just wondering what the difference is between the best dessert you've ever had, period, versus the best dessert you've had in you entire life?

[Kromm]

I liked Gregory, just okay.  I am surprised to see how many wanted him to win.  I guess I didn't register on his personality.  I found him boring.  He had no chance of beating Mei so I was not worried and able to enjoy the finale. 

While ultimately the winner of this show shouldn't be about personality... I do agree.  He's not an interesting guy at all.  Blah blah blah former druggie blah blah snooze.  

 

Melissa and Doug would have been my ideal two, but hey, it was not to be.  

[Bastet]

I'm not saying this to be snarky! I'm just wondering what the difference is between the best dessert you've ever had, period, versus the best dessert you've had in you entire life?

 

Nothing.  My use of different words that mean the same thing wasn't to say, "Tom said it was the best dessert he'd ever had, period, not the best he'd ever had in his entire life."  I was just pointing out that, contrary to how OP phrased his remarks, he did not say it was the best dessert he'd had in his life (or ever, or period, or whatever), but that it was the best dessert he'd had *on Top Chef* and one of the best he'd overall.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Bastet

[eleanorofaquitaine]

I'm not saying this to be snarky! I'm just wondering what the difference is between the best dessert you've ever had, period, versus the best dessert you've had in you entire life?

 

I think it's the difference between saying "this is THE best dessert I've had" vs "this is ONE OF THE best desserts I have."  Either way, in this context, it was some of the highest praise I've ever heard from Tom Colicchio.

 

I liked Gregory well enough - he seems like a nice guy, etc.  His discussion about his prior drug use and the way he turned his life around didn't bother me. But at the end of the day, I feel as if he is basically a very passive person and because of that, he was occasionally passive-aggressive (like his criticism of Adam? I think? not taking leadership when he himself refused to take leadership during Restaurant Wars).  And I didn't like his coasting the back half of the season but to be fair to him, I think that was more a involuntary reaction to the criticism he received at Thanksgiving.  All of that being said, I didn't have much of an issue with him but I did think that Mei was overall a better, more consistent chef throughout the season and was rooting for her to win.

[KarmaG]

I really wish Doug has been in the finale, but since he wasn't I was glad to see Mei win over Urkel.

 

LOL @ Urkel. That's what we were calling him all season in my house.

[Snarklepuss]

OMG, I'm glad someone else said it before me because we were calling Greg Urkel all season long at my house too.  About his personality, I found him a little too "one note" with the booze/drug thing.  I am sure there is more to him but even if so he didn't give off the self awareness that Mei did.  Mei seems to be a thoughtful person, although she does suffer a bit from "bitchy resting face".  Early in the season I thought she had a chip on her shoulder but once I got to know her a little better I realized it was just BRF.

 

Just wanted to say I'm happy with the Mei win as I was rooting for her.  I almost thought she wasn't going to get it.  There didn't seem to be a clear winner from my POV.  It looked like in the end the judges were just picking over nits to make their decision.  Mei looked like she was going to pass out at the judging.  Alll season I thought they often looked exhausted by the time they filmed those scenes.

[Lura]

I've been reading some of the interviews with Greg that Noreaster posted near the top of this page.  They've very interesting to me, partly because I loved Greg and partly because he seems to translate better in print than he did on TV.  Greg is 39 years old, which makes him quite a bit older than some of the other contestants, and could account for some of his seriousness.  I was really happy to read that Greg is happy for Mei, has already cooked with her in an event, and looks forward to his own future -- sort of an "onward and upward" attitude, which I think is healthy.  I think "Top Chef" turned out to be the best it could be, even if it meant that Greg lost.

 

Speaking of Mei, I'd like to nominate her for the most beautiful smile on television.  Absolutely beautiful! 

[hks]

I enjoyed this season more than any other in recent memory. No super gimmicky challenges (looking at you Texas season), no wild personality clashes, just good food and a feeling of camaraderie.

 

Me too! I mean, yah, it did stretch out a bit, but that didn't bother me too much. Other than hating Aaron, and finding the blond girl annoying, once they were both gone, I really liked everyone. I was rooting for Mei pretty much since the beginning, but I wouldn't have been super pissed if any other finalist had won.  

 

Based on the judge's comments, Mei straight killed it! Correct me if I'm wrong---the only bad comment I can remember about Mei's food was that in the first course her shrimp were a little overdone & dry. Then, Gail said she didn't mind the chewiness.

I think they also made some barely negative comment about the duck fat rendering. But I think both comments were thrown in there to make it seem close - to have some "debating" at judges table.  Because after hearing the judges' comments on both meals, it was super clear to me that Mei had won.  Giving it a point scoring system: Mei's first course got maybe a 7 and Greg got a 9; second was Mei 8 to Greg 6, third was Mei 7 to Greg 3, and fourth was Mei 10 to Greg 10.  So Mei: 32, Greg: 28.  Ok, maybe closer than I thought, but still. Mei wins. Although I think I was being harsh on Mei.  (I am such a nerd). 

 

I was super happy for Mei.  Her issues with her parents really had me rooting for her. I am lucky to have supportive Asian parents, but I've seen a lot of that harsh parenting with some relatives and close friends.  I wanted her to win because I really hoped it would turn her parents around.   And of course, I wanted her to win because she's a kick ass chef.

 

M-Volt's admonition "Stop calling me 'Chef'! You're Chef now! You're Top Chef!" gave me a fit of the feelz.

It was the sweetest. If her parents DON'T come around, at least she's got him. 

 

Speaking of Mei, I'd like to nominate her for the most beautiful smile on television.  Absolutely beautifulz!

Probably because her mouth has a lot of rest from all the bitch face. :) 

[Norma Desmond]

My two cents on the finale: Mei is by no means an undeserving winner, she's been there head to head with Gregory and from the beginning it was fairly obvious these two would battle it out in the finale. But, early on it was pretty transparent that the whole narrative was gearing towards a female win. Maybe to redeem the show from last season's debacle, where  yes, a female chef kicked ass the whole season and then  lost to the mediocre guy who skated by the whole season. Plus, the Michael Voltaggio connection that Mei inexplicably kept dropping. Oh well. I would rather eat Gregory's food. As the judges say in the blogs, Mei's a "chef's chef", her food "is not to be eaten every day" and "makes you think" and that is NOT a compliment to me. I'm so tired of weird ass food passing for high art, "food that makes you think" (that was their excuse as well on Top Chef Duels to give the title to CJ). I want books and movies that make me think and food that makes my belly happy, but whatever.

[Darth Nigel]

I would have been happy with whoever won; this season had very few annoying competitors.

I was struck by a shot from the very first Judge's Table of the season, where the top three for the first challenge were lined up to see who won.

Gregory, Doug and Mei.  

 

I wonder how often that happens?

[Lura]

Someone upthread mentioned the absence of Aaron in the finale, and that reminded me about his latest escapade, which may have been mentioned already.  He was arrested in LA for domestic violence against his girlfriend.  He allegedly struck her and caused her to injure both knees.  He spent a night in jail and was released on a rather expensive bail.

 

I've wondered a couple of times why Tom lets a guy like Aaron on the show.  I can see why he would add drama to the party, but the Aarons of the world are also taking up space that might have been filled by a good candidate.  I think that Aaron only wanted to be on the show to show off and cause trouble on TV.  The writer of the article did his best to get Aaron fired from his job by deliberately writing the name of Aaron's restaurant three times!  While it doesn't fit into the timeline, I like to think that Aaron wasn't around for all of the finale because he was busy with his court date!

Edited February 17, 2015 by Lura