Monsters of Television

This has been a super strange season of Top Chef Masters. My assessment derives from a comparison with only one other season, so perhaps I am being unfair. But some of my pleasure with the series has abated, and after some reflection, I can pinpoint two reasons for my lessened enthusiasm.

NOTE: Kelly Choi still annoys me. She is no Padma. But she’s been consistently unsatisfying, but I’ll leave my annoyance of “Padma-lite” for another post.

Last summer, Top Chef Masters satisfied on a number of levels. First, it provided a bit of a bridge between reality programs, filling the gap between the spring and summer television seasons. It also conveyed a completely different attitude than Top Chef, regular variety.

Perhaps a metaphor will help explain. I often tell students that summer classes are terrific because the teachers, too, have a “summer attitude”—less intensity, more camaraderie. Season 1 of Top Chef Masters demonstrated this same summer attitude. Not only were the chefs deeply respectful of one another, but so too were the judges respectful of the chef contestants. Also, the fact that the chefs were there to win donations for their favorite charities contributed to the goodwill the program encouraged.

In other words, everyone was there to have some fun and do some good. Sure, ego was on the line, and some chefs exposed theirs (ahem, that’s you I’m talking about, Chiarello). But in the end, the nicest and most consistent chef won, Rick Bayless. And along the way I discovered the genius of Hubert Keller, felt the love offered by Art Smith, and suffered through/laughed with the absurd puns of judge James Oseland.

This season, however, that spirit of fun has been lacking. Ultra competitive chefs like Marcus Samuelsson and Rick Moonen contribute to this enhanced intensity. Yet I can forgive contestants being eager. For me, the judges are the greater thieves of joy. On numerous occasions, they have awarded prize-winning, esteemed chefs a score of 2 out of 5. This was unheard of last season. Instead of camaraderie, we have witnessed brutal food evaluations and shocking disrespect. Read more »