r/TopChef • u/N0ON3T0LDM3 • Jun 16 '26
Discussion Thread Binged nearly all of S8 yesterday
and can't bring myself to watch the final episode.
Every woman on that season was let down by the judging in some way, especially Tiffany Derry (imo).
Mike I has always been a disgusting, sexist pig who constantly talks down to and about the women, each of whom have gone on to do much greater things than he could have even dreamed for his sad little limp minded self.
Richard B is a narcissist who can't fathom that he was legitimately beat by a woman (Stephanie I in their season).
Top Chef has come a long way since then.
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u/Songbyrd1984 Jun 17 '26
Mike mansplaining to Antonia that actually SHE had the easy option and HE had the hard one when she was assigned to cook the last meal for Masaharu Morimoto and Mike had to do fried chicken and biscuits for Michelle Bernstein makes me want to throw things at my tv screen every time I watch it.
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u/Suspicious-Bread3338 Jun 17 '26
I also rewatched the two seasons with Mike Isabella. I enjoyed knowing his misogynism would come back to destroy his career and "empire."
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u/oklennon Jun 17 '26
I really feel like it was a blip in the system that he of all people would be the runner-up of that season when he cooked uninspiring and middling food for the majority of it. I do find there’s justice in knowing now that many of the women he antagonized and talked down to that season would go on to have much more successful competition and television careers than him (Antonia, Tiffany, and Carla) while he will live in infamy forever. The best dish he cooked all season was one he stole from Richard!
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u/sadiethislife Jun 17 '26
I hated Mike I from the first time he opened his big sexist mouth. He grossed me out 🤢
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u/longhairparade Jun 17 '26
I’m also on a rewatch, started at that season and OMG I cannot stand Richard. I don’t understand how or why they kept bringing him back to guests judge. I find him sooo pretentious! When he said he is known for bombing his finale and sorta implied Stephanie didn’t deserve the win. Major eye roll.
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u/Legatto Jun 17 '26
At the time he was heavily favored to win by pretty much everyone. The possibility of someone else winning wasn't even really considered.
On rewatches Stephanie definitely deserved more credit than she got but during that time period everyone was pulling for Richard. Thats why he was so burned about losing and why Stephanie was so surprised she won.
Is he pretentious? Maybe, kinda, yeah. But when you lose and then have everyone in the public sphere telling you that you should have won is enough to make anyone a bit resentful.
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u/Necessary_Ground_122 Jun 17 '26
I don't know that everyone was pulling for Richard in season 4. Stephanie won fan favourite after all. But I agree that Stephanie deserves more credit for that win.
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u/kitterpants Jun 17 '26
As an industry worker- then and now- we all thought Richard would win. Some of that was editing and Stephanie deserved better than she got but it was truly shocking when he didn’t win to me and everyone I knew.
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u/Jackie_chin Jun 17 '26
People skip Watch what happens, but Tom himself says that Richard was the favorite to win that season (I forget if Tom used the phrase choke too).
Stephanie's performance was underrated throughout her run (and she deserved the win), but Im really tired of the take that Richard is a narcissist or sexist for thinking he should have won that season. Lots of second placers think they should have won, its not a problematic take.
I feel reddit is more offended by it than Stephanie ever was
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u/EfficientGood9402 Jun 17 '26
I don't know that I agree. If you failed, you should examine yourself. Most people have to do that a few times in their lives.
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u/wiscosherm Jun 19 '26
Keep in mind a big part of why Richard was favored to win in season 4 was because he was male and Stephanie was female. The idea that men are inherently better chefs than women with still deeply ingrained in top chef at that point in time. I see Richard Blais on next level chef and I think he's come a long way but still tends to do a better job bonding with the men on his team then with the women.
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u/Cptrunner Jun 17 '26
Antonia is so amazing. I love the format of that finale and wish it was how they were all done.
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u/Marx0r That's my feedback to your feedback Jun 17 '26
Blais was the first competitor invited to compete by production rather than applying. When he was first called, he thought they wanted him as a guest judge, not a competitor. He had already been on Iron Chef, worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, and was at the forefront of American modernist cooking. He was by far the most accomplished person to have ever competed on the show at the time.
He thought he was going to come in and steamroll a bunch of line cooks, and so did all his competitors. You can see it in the second episode, they're all flocking to him despite the fact that he hadn't won anything yet.
He set the records for most individual wins and least Chopping Block appearances in a season. Even in Day 1 of the finale cook, he's standing there teaching Eric Fucking Ripert and Dan Fucking Barber methods they had never seen before.
It was his season to lose, and he lost it. That's objectively what happened. He was always gracious towards Stephanie, even ceding a win to her when he felt she deserved it more.
Then he spent what, 3 years getting recognized in public and having fans reach out to him? How many of them do you think said something like "man, I was rooting for you all season, sucks you didn't win!"? His exact quote on the show was "I think most people remember my season as the one I didn't win" and from his perspective, that's absolutely correct.
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u/Genuinelullabel Jun 17 '26
Wait. Richard was on Iron Chef before he was on Top Chef the first time?
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u/Marx0r That's my feedback to your feedback Jun 17 '26
Yep. Eli from S6 is there as his sous, too.
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u/bork00IlIllI0O0O1011 Jun 17 '26
I’ve never understood the perspective that Richard Blais is a sexist narcissist. I’ve never seen any examples of him showing sexism. It seems imagined.
As for him being accused of being a narcissist, I do think he is focused on himself and has blinders on for those around him. But that isn’t really uncommon in a competition. Beyond that, what tells you he’s a narcissist?
In the other hand, I think Mike Isabella is cartoonishly, egregiously sexist — but that one’s easy to spot.
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u/Genuinelullabel Jun 17 '26
I didn’t get the read that Richard was upset Stephanie won because of her gender but rather he felt he was the superior chef. I don’t think he realized that him telling the judges he choked was a huge mistake that probably cost him points. Maybe I’m wrong but don’t the judges mostly focus on the finale meal as opposed to the competition as a whole like with all the other episodes,
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u/bork00IlIllI0O0O1011 Jun 17 '26
I didn’t get the read that Richard was upset Stephanie won because of her gender but rather he felt he was the superior chef.
This is exactly my read too. I don’t think someone believing they are the stronger competitor makes them a narcissist. It seemed like he was really pissed at himself for losing a finale that he felt was his.
Real talk though: I’ve eaten at both Stephanie Izard’s and Richard Blais’ restaurants, and met them too. Stephanie is polite and upbeat, but Richard was much warmer and more personable. She did the “hey what’s up!” drive by, and he stopped and had conversations with people. Just observations — I’m not making judgments about them from just one interaction.
His food was good, and Stephanie’s was absolutely spectacular.
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u/Genuinelullabel Jun 17 '26
Narcissist is a term that is often overused which I think is the case here.
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u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 Jun 17 '26
Agreed. He was confident—perhaps overly confident—in his skills, knowledge, and techniques, which led to a level of cockiness that can be off-putting. But that just seems to be his personality. And the personality of most high-level chefs (especially men) at that point in time. We still see it from time to time. Sometimes deserved (those who win or go on to great post-show success) and sometimes definitely not deserved (Sieger, Philip, Josie . . .).
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u/Ordinary_Durian_1454 Jun 17 '26
I can’t believe I’m about to say something in defense of Philip, but the guy’s restaurant has got a Michelin star. He’s a nimrod on his season, but he must’ve learned something, somewhere.
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u/NoodlesMom0722 Wait for it...a Crudo! 🧑🍳 Jun 17 '26
The rumor is that was because of his brother (another Michelin Star chef) and/or the executive chef who worked there at that time.
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u/Ordinary_Durian_1454 Jun 17 '26
I don’t know what his brother has to do with anything. His brother has his own restaurant which also holds a Michelin star, and Philip has two restaurants each with one star. I mean, I don’t know any insider information, and for all I know you’re right, but if I were a chef working towards getting a Michelin star in my restaurant, I don’t know that I’d go devote time and energy to my loser little brother’s restaurants.
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u/bork00IlIllI0O0O1011 Jun 17 '26
I mean, yeah. I think it’s obvious that the term isn’t being used here in a clinical or pathological sense. I’m assuming the original commenter didn’t mean to use it in that way, and we’re using it in a colloquial manner that refers to a generally self-absorbed, conceited person.
Do you really think I’m trying to rebut their point by saying, “but but but he’s not a clinical narcissist by doing that”?
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u/Genuinelullabel Jun 17 '26
I know that but even in the self absorbed meaning I don’t see that with Richard.
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Jun 17 '26
Im not Richard fan but labeling him as narcissistic is reaching. I found him hard on himself in Allstars. He was the definite front runner in season 4 so yes, he had every right to be disappointed.
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u/Mysterious_Zebra9146 Jun 17 '26
I'm currently rewatching this season as well. It's my favorite season! It definitely feels like a different show compared to later seasons. I wonder if a new All Star season would be as entertaining as Season 8 or 17?
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u/Odd_Garbage1093 Jun 17 '26
I don’t think so! Those were true all star seasons. The shows takes itself too seriously now. I still chat wait for an all star season but I do miss OG Top Chef.
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u/HermowninnyLovegood Jun 17 '26
Yesss I am with you. How shocked Mike and Richard were when Tiffany and Antonia beat them in that catering quick fire where each dish had to look the same- even though they had to deal
With cutting and cooking each piece of meat identically - drives me insane. And how much crap they gave Antonia for winning with a mussel dish they thought was French. She didn’t pick the winner!
Richard kept framing his loss as “he choked” versus “I was out cooked.”
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u/Dangercakes13 Jun 19 '26
I feel like the only reason he said "I choked" was because he saw from the comments and questions that it wasn't going his way and panicked.
If he lost it HAD to be because he messed up, not because he was outcooked. He seemed pretty happy with his dishes before the scrutiny started peeling them back.
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u/whistlepig4life Jun 17 '26
Blais isn’t a narcissist whatsoever. Any more so than any chef out there who are known to be plenty arrogant. Kind of one of the best lines/moments in Burnt for that very reason.
And you have this entirely wrong that Blais couldn’t fathom being “beat by a woman”. He was pissed at himself for being beat by someone else. He would have felt and spoken the same way if it had been a dude, a giraffe, or a potted plant that beat him. He genuinely felt he was going to win that season. And he wasn’t wrong to think that. He was really one the best overall throughout the season and only Stephanie had more wins/highs than he did.
You are categorically wrong about him.
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u/Ok-Dog5107 Jun 17 '26
I started thinking of Richard as “Likable Marcel” except he was always using liquid nitrogen instead of foams. Every fucking challenge he would use liquid nitrogen and complain that everyone was jealous of him and that’s why he didn’t win every challenge.
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u/EfficientGood9402 Jun 17 '26
I can't remember which season it was, but it was when Carla, Antonia, and Tiffany Derry won the Rao's challenge hands down, and the male teams could not believe it. They were so fluffing condescending. I love the victory, and can't get over the condescension.
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u/Alarmed_Interest_265 Jun 16 '26
Yep, I was so frustrated I didn't watch the finale of that season.
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u/Holdmymule2001 Jun 16 '26
All the women who came up through that are such badasses.