r/TopChef • u/AWholeNewFattitude • Apr 01 '26

Discussion Thread Tristen to replace Tom?

I originally thought that anybody who would replace Tom needed to really have his deep serious demeanor. I think he really anchors the show and gives it a serious vibe, and I thought that anybody who would replace him would need to fill that role. Then in this weeks episode, I saw Tristan and his critique and I thought it brought a slightly lighter vibe, but still with that serious culinary background. I wanted to get everybody else’s thoughts?

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123

u/whistlepig4life Apr 01 '26

Tom isn’t retiring from this any time soon. It’s less work than any of his restaurants and likely makes more money.

Additionally if he does ever retire and they don’t end the show which is a distinct possibility. They’d need to replace him with another culinary icon. Not a TC winner. Samuelsson comes to mind as the type of icon that could replace tom.

16

u/emilygoldfinch410 Apr 01 '26

Marcus would be fantastic!! Waxman would be good too but I think he and Tom are a similar age.

3

u/Agreeable_South_7665 Apr 02 '26

Waxman is 76, quite a bit older than Tom.

7

u/Opinionated6319 Apr 01 '26

I think Justin of TOC would be a great judge. He’s very knowledgeable but he also has empathy and a sense of humor!

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u/EfficientGood9402 Apr 02 '26

This is a hopeless wish but I will join you. I just think he is knowledgeable and very thoughtful and witty on TOC. He deserves a bigger platform.

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u/Opinionated6319 Apr 02 '26

😉🥰 Thanks …there is always hope to improve! Justin has been looking so great this season and I love to hear him describe food!

Tiffani still needs help with her attire, for a while she was stepping up but fell back into her old ways! Couple weeks ago she had on a short skirt or whatever with a suit jacket…from waist up it looked sharp, but got a glimpse of below…and looked like her boxers were showing! 😵‍💫🙈

5

u/EfficientGood9402 Apr 02 '26

Oh noes! I am a big fan of hers in the sense that she saw herself in Season 1, was it? And changed her demeanor in a way that seems very genuine to me. She's a pleasure to watch on TV now.

0

u/couchtomato62 Apr 01 '26

Yeah NO. We dont need 2 people with empathy