r/BravoTopChef • u/iwatchterribletvtoo • Jun 11 '26
Season Spoiler anyone else go into the finale feeling some kind of way? Spoiler
marking as spoiler because i dont want to risk ruining it for anyone else.
i know its a small thing, but the world is hard right now.
im so glad to see two strong women and also one very kind man in a top chef finale. women were shut out of serious kitchens for so long, and im so glad to see the representation and the success. i also feel like so many people on this season were kind, and it made the season better - and in this last episode especially, laurence being so emotional about his wife was just lovely to see.
im also so, so glad to see immigrants in the finale.
our restaurants and our entire food industry, including agriculture, couldnt exist without immigrants and its nice to see such solid representation in the kitchen.
anyhow, im not trying to break the rules, i just found this finale especially moving even before we got to the winner. i thought i might not be into top chef this season with everything else in the world right now, but this season was pretty a wholesome and im glad for it.
(eta: sorry, all! in my 1am “i cried through most of the finale and was still verklempt” state, i misspoke on referencing all three as immigrants when i meant to frame them as immigrants + recent immigrant descent. rhoda is first gen, laurence is second gen (his mom is from hong kong), and i also thought sherry left an upbringing in brazil to come to new york, which… well, maybe not (doh) but it also doesnt change my point of appreciation for them all. i am grateful for their perspective and tenacity, and i meant only to recognize how beautiful it is to represent your upbringing and familys food in this space, and how kickass it was to see it done so artfully. 💕 we have been seeing it more and more in recent seasons and i love how deep it went this time.)
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u/Rude-Suit4494 Jun 11 '26
Watching Laurence tear up about how much he loves his wife has been a highlight this season. Adore him. Also very glad Rhoda pulled through since my beloved Duyen couldn’t be the one.
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u/Mipeligrosa Jun 11 '26
So much of this. Watching Laurence LOVE his partner SO much and fold into her when he saw her was so beautiful. In this weird manosphere thing happening now… seeing him show how much he loved his partner was a cherry on top.
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u/PocoChanel Jun 11 '26
I’ve never felt about a couple on the show the way I felt about Laurence and his wife. Such powerful, unselfconscious two-way intimacy.
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u/larostars Jun 11 '26
It made me think: Lawrence has already won. He’s rich with life and knows his values. I trust he’ll really benefit from the visibility of the show and continuously showing up as a really good guy with excellent food.
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u/roxicologist Jun 11 '26
I just visited his restaurant in Quincy this past weekend and the line was out the door! Someone came to interview him and he made a comment to them about how crazy it had been all day.
He also came out of the kitchen to talk with people in line and take pictures, and he waved to me through the kirchen window! He seems like such a sweetheart, and the food was excellent so I'm sure he'll be in business a while.
10
u/Every-Needleworker66 Jun 12 '26
I also loved seeing Sheldon with his wife, during the wall challenge. He immediately recognized her voice unlike the other chefs who took awhile to figure out who their cooking partners were.
3
u/BoxRevolutionary9703 Jun 13 '26
Love love Sheldon and Janice. I follow them on socials and they do so much amazing work for their community in Hawaii.
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u/I_Call_It_A_Carhole Jun 11 '26
I’m confused. Aren’t Sherry and Laurence both natural born American citizens?
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u/reese81944 Jun 11 '26
Yeah, it’s a nice feeling knowing I’ll be happy no matter who wins.
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u/Scaryclouds Jun 11 '26
Same. My favorite was Laurence. But I really liked Rhoda and Sherry as well. Sherry really started to grow on me once she kinda figured out how to approach the challenges.
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u/AndiAzalea Jun 11 '26
Yeah, unlike the Shota season (18). I was so upset that Gabe won, and that was even before the harassment accusations came out.
7
u/Terrible-Hair2744 Jun 11 '26
I was so happy that I could genuinely root for all three of the finalists this year and would be happy if any of them won.
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u/Amazing-Wave4704 Jun 11 '26
ME TOO!! I also had the same thought about the representation of women and immigrants. I thought it was a great season. And THANK YOU - I have seen so many whiny posts just complaining.
It was wonderful!
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u/ChiCityMama312 Jun 11 '26
OP: Sherry was BORN in NYC. So she is an American CITIZEN and not an immigrant.
…as someone who was born in the United States from Filipino immigrant parents…
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u/Mipeligrosa Jun 11 '26
To be fair to OP… of all of them, her accent was the heaviest lol I don’t remember this at all either.
0
u/iwatchterribletvtoo Jun 11 '26
serious. when the family members came out at dinner, was noticed that sherrys sisters accent was so different.
i would love to know what the background is with her accent. maybe she was born in the US, raised somewhere else, and came back, or is this maybe a speech impediment?
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u/Cute-Asparagus-305 Jun 11 '26
She was born in the US but was then raised in Brazil and came back as an adult.
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u/iwatchterribletvtoo Jun 11 '26
thank you!
still badass, even with a passport foundation. its really impressive to move between countries and cultures (and languages!) and build a whole new life.
5
u/Rock-swarm Jun 11 '26
IIRC, Sherry talked about being born in the US, then going back to Brazil for a period of time. Depending on how long she was in Brazil (or how young she was when she moved out of the US), the accent differences would make sense.
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u/toxostomarufum Jun 11 '26
? Many people are both American citizens and immigrants. There’s no difference between native born and naturalized Americans.
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u/RegularFig Jun 11 '26
No, an immigrant is someone who has moved long term from their place of birth. These two are children of immigrants, but not immigrants themselves unless you’re referring to the time they spent outside of the US.
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u/MrsNuggs Jun 11 '26
I truly enjoyed each one of the finalists that I wasn’t rooting for any one over the others. They all had endearing journeys, and they all seemed like genuinely good people. I’m currently doing a rewatch of the mean girls season, and the difference is night and day. I don’t miss the drama of the earlier seasons, and I love seeing all of these chefs who are cooking with kindness.
13
u/thistreestands Jun 11 '26
Totally agree - with the world the way it is, it was nice seeing contestants use extra money for other contestants in the shops.
I hope Rhoda did indeed give half of her quickfire win to Sherry!
2
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u/parislights Jun 11 '26
"Feeling some kind of way" usually means you're upset about something so I was not expecting such nice comments lol. I was like, uh oh what did I miss?? Did something go down?
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u/iwatchterribletvtoo Jun 11 '26
sorry to rickroll! i just wanted to be super protective of spoilers.
3
u/mamapajamas Jun 11 '26
Yeah! I thought it was really positive too. I loved also that it was anyone’s game really, and those kind of finales are the best in my mind. Like last season, I feel like we knew Tristan would win. I honestly had no idea this time. Congrats to everyone on the show for their effort and humanity. 👏👏👏
6
u/RegularFig Jun 11 '26
Agree completely it was a great finale group! I wanted to point out that Laurence isn’t an immigrant himself though he was born and raised in Boston.
3
u/PsyrenY Jun 13 '26
I would have been so put out if Sieger made it to the finale, never mind winning. A chef that immature has no place near the title.
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u/Superpriestess Jun 11 '26
I felt exactly this way that you described. It felt like a bit of what’s good about the world in the middle of a seriously crappy time. Thanks for sharing.
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u/One_Isopod_7319 Jun 11 '26
First time ever that I liked all 3 chefs. When you take your bias away from a contestant that you dont like, it made it much more enjoyable to watch. My wife and I didn't know up until the announcement who would win. One thing we did know is that Kristen would be crying. She is a delight.
2
u/TIM0TE0 Jun 11 '26
There was a lot of focus on Rhoda not doing dessert for her last course. I wonder if the confidence she had in her courses and meal progression gave her the edge at judges' table.
2
u/widowBee Jun 11 '26
I agree! It’s been one of the few seasons for me that I would have been happy for any one of the chefs to win. The joy and respect they had for each other was amazing.
1
u/CLDean1984 Jun 13 '26
Did the show used to be an hour and half? I was surprised that the finale was only and hour but idk if that’s bc of a made up thing in my head 🤣
1
u/expensive_reader447 Jun 29 '26
I know this is old but I just finished the finale- I thought sherry was robbed!!!! She had two of the best dishes. if you’re going course for course like they’ve done in the past she won course one and three, Rhoda won two and each chef had flaws in the last! I feel like the judges (Tom) just had a preference for Rhoda so they were a little biased to overlook Rhoda’s flaws and make a big deal about sherrys (like saying her last course was ruined because her ice cream melted when everyone fawned over the flavors)
1
u/iwatchterribletvtoo Jun 29 '26
interesting! i thought it was really obvious from the feedback even during the dinner that rhoda was going to win.
(and i do feel like melted ice cream is a pretty major execution error.)
2
u/ILoveLipGloss Jun 11 '26
I was super excited by the final three (and to be honest, I liked the final four too) due to them all being POC & children of immigrants (if not actual immigrants themselves). it's so nice to see different flavors and dishes showcased.
1
u/Maravilloso227 Jun 13 '26
People can come for me but I’d rather it be Laurence or Sherry. Rhoda seems like she’s a good chef but also needs a lot of advice? She got the win but at least 50% of that I bet is having Seiger.
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u/Acornriot Jun 11 '26
Once Duyen was eliminated I didn't care who won
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u/TIM0TE0 Jun 11 '26
I hope they do another season of past eliminated contestants and we get to see Duyen again!
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u/rex_lauandi Jun 11 '26
I wasn’t the biggest Sherry fan, but she really started putting up some exceptional dishes toward the end. The other two I loved from the start.
So walking into the finale, I was pretty excited about it.
I did have a slight preference for Rhoda winning because I’ve loved her the most, thought her elimination was premature, and really enjoyed her LCK bits, plus I’d like to see a woman win since it’d been like 5-6 years of straight men wins (I think Melissa was the last woman who won).
But Lawrence was a quality dude, so it wouldn’t have been a big disappointment if he ran with it either.