Please Pack Your Knives...

...and go. The Top Chef season finale was this past Wednesday and I not really surprised who the winner was, but I'm not going to lie, I was disappointed. This season was chock full of talented chefs, even more so than in prior seasons. I can't remember a season in which it was so clear cut who the finalists would be. Not far into the season, my husband and I both knew the final four would be the brothers Voltaggio, Kevin and Jennifer. There really was no question about it. From there though it got a little unclear as they were all so strong, that is until Jennifer starting sabotaging herself by not trying and getting into her head. She was a good chef and she should have done much better than she did. So after the top four were chosen, it was clear Jennifer would be the next one gone and the final would be between the brother Voltaggio and Kevin. And lo and behold we had the face off we had been waiting for weeks to see.



Early on, my husband and I staked our claims on who we liked. He instantly liked Kevin and even though she lacked a, oh I don't know, personality, I found myself liking Jennifer. I liked how strong of a chef she was and I loved seeing her beat the brothers Voltaggio. If you can't tell by now, I am NOT a fan of the either of the brothers. They were rude, nasty, egocentric, bossy, cocky, self-important and just not nice people. Now, I will concede, they are amazing chefs (I speak as if I have tasted their food, which clearly I have not), but if the judges enjoy the food then it must be pretty good right? Anyway, their behavior, especially the one who always wore the hat, was just uncalled for. You are good, everyone knows it, you don't have to be a jacka** 24/7. I didn't care for them so much, that I didn't even bother to learn their names to differentiate between the two. I know that their names are Michael and Brian, but honestly, I have no idea which is which. And, really? Who cares?



So anyway, back to my point. When Jennifer was ousted in Napa (which, by the way that place is amazing) I sent my loyalties to Kevin. He has been a pretty strong chef himself and really seemed like the best match to take down the brothers Voltaggio. Then in true Top Chef finale fashion, it came time to pick the Suez Chefs that would help the contestants on their way to victory. And of course, the choices of Suez chefs were past contestants from the season. Only this time, instead of them just picking who they wanted, the had to draw knives with the names of the Suez chefs. Poor Kevin. Karma has just not on his side that day. He picks and his first pick is Preeti. She left in, oh I don't know, episode three or something ridiculous like that. Then the one Voltaggio brother picked and he picked Jennifer. Killer pull. Then the next brother pulled and picked Jesse, who I believe went home on a lark Quick Fire challenge. Then Kevin picked again and it was Ash. Ash lasted a bit longer than Preeti, but he still wasn't top quality. The first Voltaggio brother picked Ashley. Definitely not as strong as his first pick. And finally the last Voltaggio picked Eli. Eli was the one who was eliminated before they went to Napa, so he lasted quite a while. Another pretty strong pick of the Voltaggios. Meanwhile, Kevin's got Sucky and Crappy on his side. It was clear. Kevin was going to have a tough go of things. I'm not going to lie. I was hoping that one of the Voltaggio's would have picked Robin because, well, she is worthless and it would have been hysterical. I'm just saying.

Then there was some cooking (well most of the people cooked, Preeti did not), some eating, some criticizing and judges table. It's a good thing I DVRed the thing because I fast forwarded through the judges table. Its all so redundant. They just repeat the things they said while they were eating and then they repeat it all again when the discuss just between the judges. Then it came time to reveal the winner. Of course Kevin was the one who was told to pack his knives and go. I was sad. Kevin seems like he is a great chef and I really believe that he could have beaten the brothers Voltaggio. I think that he just let some things get into his head and he let that get the best of him. I've seen it a thousand times. Finally in surprising turn (not) the mean(er), cocky(ier), cranky(ier) Voltaggio won (again I can't even remember his name). Shocker.

Anyway, I am looking forward to the reunion when we find out who the fan favorite was. I am sure that the brothers Voltaggio will NOT win, and again I am pulling for Kevin because really? Everyone else on this season was kinda flat and a snoozer. Here's hoping next seasons chefs are a bit more likable.