Let’s Talk About Hung, Women in Bravo Land, And Project Runway (Top Chef 3; Finale)

Well, it finally ended. For some, Top Chef 3 turned out to be a real bore; while others fell in love with this season’s well-behaved cast. I suspect Casey will win the fan favorite award. The lovely Texan has gained quite a following throughout the blogosphere. Now, let’s discuss the finale.



First, let me just say that I was very pleased with the finale. Bravo got it right. Rocco DiSpirito, Michelle Bernstein, and Todd English were recruited to serve as sous chefs, adding some excitement to the mix. Casey, Dale, and Hung were noticeably shocked and excited about the opportunity of working with these culinary experts. I don’t care what anyone says, I think Rocco is a cuttie.

The cheftestants were asked to create a three-course meal. The day before the actual serving, the cheftestants and their amazing sous chefs spent hours preparing for the big day. Ah, but things got interesting when Tom delivered some very bad news a few hours before show time—the chefs were asked to prepare a fourth dish. Hung didn’t seem affected by the news; he was there to win no matter what.



As the judges feasted and scrutinized each and every dish, I experienced déjà vu. Images of the Shear Genius finalists, Daisy, Ben, and Anthony, were dancing around in my mind. Like Daisy, Casey seemed unstoppable during the last few weeks of the show, but her luck ran out in the finale. What happened? Maybe soul is a finite commodity that one should use judiciously. Did Casey use it all up during the last few episodes, leading up to the finale? I have no idea. I think she just lost control of Howie and the situation. And she didn’t seem to work well under pressure. Dale once used the word miraculous to describe his team’s success during the second part of the Restaurant Wars challenge. And that word can be used to describe his impressive success on the show. He, like Ben before him, owed everything to lady luck. I acknowledge that Dale made some very impressive dishes, but his lack of consistency was, to borrow a phrase from Anthony Bourdain, his major malfunction.



When Padma called out Hung’s name, I was more than pleased. Yes, I thought to myself, Top Chef is all about the food. From the beginning, it was clear that Hung was Top Chef material. His victory just seemed fair. Of course, some Dale supporters weren’t too happy with the results, and they’d probably disagree with me. But, in all honesty, one of his dishes was a total disaster. I commend him for not holding anything back. On a positive note, he rediscovered his inner chef.



This season of Top Chef was far from perfect. With the exception of Howie and Dale, most of the cheftestants were not very entertaining. And, as we all know, that’s what drives most reality television programs. There are other issue that I won't go into here. Interestingly, Hung tried his very best to be perceived as the show’s asshole, but he failed miserably. Seriously, he was quite harmless, but he was fun to watch. I have to say that Gail and Ted were great on the show. Ted didn’t really contribute much during the finale, but I still love him. And I love Gail, too.



Ok, I know this will probably annoy the hell out of some people, but I just can’t stop thinking about the lack of female talent on this and other Bravo reality television competition shows. However, there is hope. And I’m talking about Project Runway, the greatest of all Bravo reality shows. PR’s Chloe is the only female Bravo reality show winner to date. And even though Kara and Uli didn’t win in their respective seasons, they both did a phenomenal job. So, I may bitch about the sad state of affairs for women in Bravo land, but I can’t overlook the success of female contestants on PR. And thank goodness for that. I’m really looking forward to the new season of PR.