I’m disappointed about the whole show, this is the only reality show I watched because I thought it was about cooking not getting liked…

Stefan was not the judge’s favorite, mainly because of his over confident attitude, but, that has nothing to do with the way he cooks, he was great and it seems that judge Tom did not wanted him to win, he was the strongest one in the whole competition, the guest judges acknowledge that, I do not know, why the judges decided to give the win to Hosea, he did not cook that great (all his dishes were in the middle the whole competition)… it seems that the lesson is to be mediocre like Hosea and just be in the middle, do not stand out or be confident because the judges like people that look out to them instead of looking for someone that is really a Top Chef....

It is really sad something like this happened.

Really?... I live in Mexico, I just finished to watch Top Chef NY FINAL... and I'm in shock! I mean, are you kidding me? is the worst season ever!!! Stefan deserves to win!! not Hossea... Tom, are you a really serious judge? are you kidding me? Gail, are you under the influence by your boss? OMG! this seriously sucks! even if Stefan was arrogant he was the best... I though this contest was about, who si the best chef... not who is the best kisser asses! I'm really upset and dissapointed! even Jamie deserves a better place than Leah or that "Calvin Klein" Hossea...

Hi Chef...Did we clear up who stole the pee puree? Did Alex steal it? I really would hate that this great show would encourage a cheater to win. Thank you for your great show of TOP Chef.

Kenny who? Oh, him. The one who kept telling us how good he was, and how much we should have appreciated his superior cooking ability over his competitors. Apparently his words had more flavor than his food. Sorry, Kenny, but it's hard to like someone who is so full of self-entitled appreciation for their own ability ... especially when their skill doesn't seem to match up to the hype.

My money is on Angelo. I guess we'll know soon enough, right?

It was obvious that Hosea was willing to stop at nothing to undermine Stefan - hording the ingredients, the joy he expressed in selecting Stefan to use the Alligator.... Stefan may have been confident; however, the real arrogance was shown by Hosea. The inappropriate hand gesture alone was enough to disqualify him in my book. If this is what you consider quality t.v. programming, you have lost me as a viewer. In your pursuit of selecting a top chef, you have rewarded the poor sportsmanship and manipulative behavior that Hosea displayed in the finale.

I always watch the show and one Saturday I was watching where the chef's had to prepare a Latin meal for the cast and crew of the Telenovela Dame Chocolate. Someone on the show said that they watch Dame Chocolate all the time and that it is very popular in Mexico. Well it is not very popular in Mexico. They have muchas novelas in Mexico but Dame Chocolate is not even shown in Mexico. Telemundo is a television station in Florida not Mexico.I just wanted to let the people on Top Chef know this for I live in Mexico.
Sincerely,
Allen

Hi Gail,

Is there any place where the show tells what knives they use? Or what knives the chefs and master chefs prefer? The only knives I see in my local area are made by a total of 4 companies...

Thanks!
John

Bring back Top Chef!! This new show "Top Chef Masters" is disappointing to say the least!! Top Chef was a great show it had everything, great judges, competitors that were real people,excitment, suspense,humor and more. Simply put Top Chef had the all the right ingredients and was the recipe for the entertainment perfection!!! PLEASE BRING IT BACK. I will not watch Top Chef Masters it leaves me with a bitter taste..

To Gail and Top Chef producers: Please bring Padma back, wow, what a difference a host makes. I am trying my best not to be rude, but the choice of this woman with no personal connection to the TV audience is ridiculous. Thank goodness we know this show produces top quality food by amazing chefs which is mesmerizing to watch; otherwise, I would not watch Top Chef again.

May I suggest that TC join the 21st century and buy a scoring machine and ask judges to rate each dish as well as add other categories for menu flow progression or other more general categories. Then the numbers at the end can be crunched, and the chef who is consistently the best will win. I don't think this should be played like the Superbowl where one dish can destroy an entire season of homeruns or make an otherwise mediocre performance. To make it more interesting it would be neat to hear a discussion at the end of whether the judges agree in their gut with the final tabulations - because sometimes our decisions are emotional based on a variety of factors, including personality. I don't think personality is unimportant in a chef, because that chef's personality will influence the people he/she works with, and thus the atmosphere and culture of that chef's restaurant - and diners will notice that "personality" as it manifests itself in many different ways, not just through the food.

I was very disappointed that Hosea won. Stefan was consistent throughout the season. I just watched a rerun of the finale and again I thought that Stefan should have won.
Judging should be based not only on the final dishes but the chef's performace throughout should be taken into consideration.
I will undoubtedly continue to watch Top Chef, but I hold my reserations when it comes to the judging

Roxanne

Gail,
We Can't waite for Season 6! Sorry, I never wasted my time to post last season. I was too Ashamed, after telling my husband.. "Stefan will win, or this show is truely fixed!" Pleez...{not just about the food,) but the Top Chef we know and Love... Leave Real World back in the 90's.... See you soon..Vegas(Uhg)
Ntilthn

My friends and I were so disappointed to see Hosea win the title 'top chef'. If its called 'Great Chef', then maybe Hosea.
Guys, remember how universities' courses were judged? Not just a last test, but also attendance, mid-year test, essays, and the final test/essay. If the show used a more scientific measuring system like that, I am sure Stefan would have won.
Look at finale of the cooking show 'Masterchef 2009' from the UK, there were much more rounds and episodes to showcase contestants' full skills. Top Chef has a long way to go.

I never miss TC. I really wanted Cara to win and was very disappointed when her last two dishes were not "hers". That said, all the "Stefan" fans need a reality check. When he was allowed to choose who he would go against he ALWAYS selected the individual that was thought of as the weakest (Superbowl challenge) he never took on the best. He did this all the time. And when it came to the challenges where the chefs could choose their dish, he always took the simple dishes. If you want to be the best and win you need to take on the Best and Hardness to prepare. Don't kid yourself the judges saw all the short cuts he took. He never proved himself to them or me. I felt Cara should win until the last two dishes. So the best man did win. Get over it and have Stefan over, maybe he could prepare you a good hot dog!!

Definitely disappointed in the finale. Stefan not only was the apparent top chef throughout the season but he provided a complete meal in the finale that the judges were very happy with. I agree with many of the viewers that the judges made a big mistake.

I just think Gail is HOT HOT HOT!

I for one was glad Stefan didn't win, because his arrogance was just totally off-putting. I was also sorry that Carla flamed out in the last challenge, but Hosea, who appeared to be sort of a dum-de-dum kind of guy throughout the season, stepped up to the plate and deserved to win. I do have to say, though, that this year there were fewer true weirdos on Top Chef than has been the case in past years (think Marcel in Season 2 and Andrew in Season 4). This year Jamie was really the only one who mixed it up a lot, and she was gone mid-way through. That was kind of nice, actually, that there wasn't the hysteria that was seen in other shows. After all, in Season 2, two of the chefs bowed out voluntarily and one had to be kicked out of the game for behaving sophomorically. I suppose that's good television, but it takes away from the central issue -- who can cook? I'm looking forward to Season 6.

It was a bit disappointing to see the personalities becoming such a big issue. Tom clearly did not want Stefan to win and that I think spread to the other regular judges, even Gail - I'm sad to say. That's my impression of the finale episode. Overall a bad and amateurish call.

Hey Gail, My name is also Gail Simmons--by marriage. I live in the Wichita KS area and was the managing editor of a small weekly publication for 12 years. I am now trying to get through court reporting school. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in the courtrooms! I will have to watch your show. I didn't know you were a judge on the top chef show until I just was browsing through Bravo.com. I wonder if your middle name is also Lynne. Peace Be With You. Will have to watch now to see you.

Wow. Watching Carla go with Casey's advice was painful. I can only imagine that tasting the difference in her food against Casey's influence was really notable. Sadly, Casey seems so poisonous about it.

I think you guys rewarded the guy who made the best meal that night, but you didn't reward the most competent chef of the season. The judging needs to change and weigh prior performances more, because the winner barely measures up to Harold, Hung, or Stephanie. You can count on Stefan to hold his own among 'em, but not necessarily Hosea.

STEFAN should've been named Top Chef! He was by far the most consistent & most talented in every single category. Why did the judges even bother having other very esteemed chefs share the meal and invite them to share their well-trained opinions if they were simply going to be ignored? They almost entirely had Stefan as their choice for Top Chef!

I was sooo sad to see Carla cave to Casey's suggestions! The food I wished to try consistently, every episode, was that prepared by Carla. For me she is Top Chef. Stefan's food was also interesting but Carla had the nice factor added and that made her special. Too bad.

This season was great you whiners, and Hosea deserved the win. Every episode has to be treated independently. Do I think Stefan is the really the best chef? Yes, I think he is. It doesn't matter though, Hosea won the last round. Of all the judges, Tom commands the most respect. He not a critic, he's a REAL CHEF, not just a critic. Who did he pick and why? Listen to what he said. Think of it like a football game like the Superbowl. On any given day.... And on that day Hosea (the underdog) won. Four okay to great dishes in a row. No clunkers. But, one crapper for Stefan (2 if you count the desert) and 2 crappers for Carla. Congratulations to Hosea.

Oh and by the way, if Jeff didn't have to WIN his comeback challenge to stay, Stefan would have got canned earlier, eh?

I hope Gail reads this and can mention this to the producers of the show... I think there should be a challenge on a future season where the Top Chef's volunteer time to an endeavor like this. No matter what city the next season will be held in... This reminds me of what Carla would support... SAME Cafe, Wonderfully Different. http://www.soallmayeat.org/

I would say the fact that you needed to write this post justifying your choice, shows what a poor choice it was, and shows your lack of conviction in that choice.

I do not remember in previous seasons you and Tom and Top Chef in general, having to explain your choices. Not one of the judges are able to "stand behind your dish"...

Between the lame choice for winner, and the even LAMER Toby, I can assure you that I have watched my last episode.

BTW...Tell Padma to get over herself.

jiminy crickets there are some LOONS on this website!
CASEY did NOT ruin anything! if you'll watch the show again, you'll hear Carla say, "the pressure of doing this o'heure d'oeuvre is hanging me up and I can't even focus on the rest of the meal"...
oh... yeah, by all means, let's blame Carla's lack of focus on Casey.
as Stefan would say, "Get a Life"

It may be time to get some new blood in there, like Toby Young and others. Maybe you're tired of the whole thing. It seems to me that you may be spending more energy on selecting those push-up bras than trying to be a fair and responsible judge.

As others have written I can't really be critical of the judges, who of us has taste-o-vision? One thing I think we can all agree on however is Gail's choice of dress for the finale. Get those girls out there girl. Took my breath away!

The reunion show was great! Everyone looked and sounded happy and it was fun to watch the footage/laughing. The final four chefs were all winners of a nice prize. Hosea got the big money, Carla got the Car, the Superbowl tickets and the respect of many fans/chefs, etc. Stefan gets the great opportunity to work with and travel with Eric Ripert, and Fabio gets the Fan Favorite money and title.. A nice ending to a season of real characters..Many called the show boring in the beginning, but I think the show got better each week by the good challenges and guest judges that were brought in. It became more competitive, informative to the viewers, and more interesting when they added the farm, Chef Ripert's restaurant, the Last Supper, etc. It showed more of the venues, cooking techniques out there and emphasized using fresh food, respecting food/meats, butchering techniques, fish challenges, and the importance of good cooking/taste of food/comfort foods, and not just the trendy extravagant foods/sauces which dominate many menus/restaurants today.. NYC and New Orleans were great locations to showcase.. I hope that the finally in New Orleans helps the economy/rebirth there, also. Great to see you back and look forward to next season.

To all of you sheep bleeting the old standard "the people complaining weren't there and didn't taste the food" line, Toby Young, Hubert Keller, and Rocco DiSpirito were there.

Toby and Keller had no problems with Stephan's salad, Rocco felt Hosea's fois gras scallop was uninspired (and he was rudely dismissed by Gail and Branford Marsalis, both non-chefs). All but Gail and Tom enjoyed Stefan's dessert.

The dessert itself wasn't judged by taste, but by presentation. Gail thought it looked like it was from 1982. Tom thought it was just there. No one complained about the taste, and Hosea was munching on a banana lollipop while they waited, so it doesn't take Jaques Pepin to tell you that the dessert was fine.

We didn't have to be there or taste the food to see what happened. Stefan was robbed, and the judges should be ashamed of themselves for what they did.

Gail Plese tell us that Carla will be hosting a show soon. With her fun loving approach to life , her balaced approach to cooking and they way she seasons both with love I can't wait to watch.

Hooty Hoo

Casey definitely wrecked it for Carla. Some people just can't stand it when someone else gets appreciated and rewarded more than they, even when they're not in the contest. Casey must be one of those. Coming into the Top Chef show must have brought back the pain of her own loss, and she didn't deal with it in a healthy or moral way. She may not even have recognized her own impulse to sabotage Carla, but pushing the contestant she was ostensibly helping away from that contestant's strengths was unquestionably malicious. Especially so since she didn't even deliver by properly doing the method of cooking beef that she said she knew, and didn't monitor the cooking of the souffle that she talked Carla into, after convincing Carla to abandon pastry which is Carla's strong suit. The other helpers may have jumped in to rescue the progress of a dish when the contestant was otherwise occupied, but none of them had the nerve to question the overall plan. The helpers, no matter how talented, were not on the chopping block so the other two knew that the contestant was in charge. I hope others in the restaurant business notice Casey's destructive personality, and keep her out of their kitchens.

This is the last season I will watch. It sucked!!

Not only that....but every judge should learn the proper way to hold a fork!! It is held with the index finger & middle finger resting between the thumb & index. NOT like a cavewoman!! dummy!! Why the hell did you come back???

What a severe letdown and you guys try to sugarcoat your decision! *geez* Stefan is the winner and 95% of the people know it!!! At this rate, why bother to call the show Top Chef? You let a cook win who can't do half of the things a real chef is supposed to do!!!!! How lame is that?!

I find it hard to believe that so many people can comment so adamantly about who is/isn't the Top Chef without ever having tasted the food! You may not agree with the judges, but give them a little credit. They all have extensive experience and sophisticated palates. I respect their decisions.

Gail

You (and the other judges) do not deserve the criticism
that the majority of viewers gave you. I thought Hosea deserved the win. Carla gave it away and Stefan was so over rated. He messed up a few weeks back and was lucky he was not sent home at that point. I do believe that this seasons chefs were the weakest of all the seasons. I liked a lot of the contestants, but no one (other than perhaps Carla) stood out throughout the entire season. In every other season there were at least two or three standouts. Hosea won it fair and square. The viewers who criticized you and the other judges are poor losers.

I have to say right off that I am definitely not questioning the outcome or the integrity of the judges as im certain they chose exactly who they thought won the challenge. My big complaint is that the final challenge was not a level playing field.
When you throw in the wrench of having to draw knives for the appetizer and each person is forced to cook something that they may or may not be familiar with then that directly affects the outcome of the whole season really. Save that BS for any other episode but not the final. Who is to say that if Stefan or Carla had Fish for the app that they wouldnt have made the best tasting food all night with it. No one needs a twist in the final episode where it really is good to see them cook their 'best' meal. Kinda tarnished the season if you ask me. Bad call by the producers.

WHAT A RIPOFF! I am still fuming and it has been a week since the finale. Any show that can screw up that bad doesn't deserve to be on. I am done with the show! What a shame because it use to be fun.

I'm dreaming of a one-off competition where the first round losers from each season meet and compete against each other to find out who, in fact, is the WORST chef to ever appear on Top Chef. Conversely, the chef who wins this competition could be awarded a second-chance slot on an upcoming TC season to redeem him/herself.

It feels like all through the season, Hosea didn't consistently "win" but consistently "didn't lose". I wish I could have been there to taste it all. The frozen fish of Stephan's did NOT sound good. Carla started out as my least favorite, but her passion and fun and attention to TASTE won me over. I feel so bad, as I'm sure you do, that she wasn't strong enough to hold Casey at arm's length and had her HELP with CARLA'S creations.
I don't envy the judges tasks. At least you're not conjuring drama like the Bachelor!

Hey, I'm not going to vent at the judges. The editing of the show is probably to blame, as at no time did any of Hosea's cooking talent become apparent to us lowly viewers, which is why everyone is so mad.

Gail, I AM going to slam you for saying Stefan's so arrogant. in TV viewer land it looked like he just really tried hard, and he made many thoughtful gestures towards his competition. Arrogance wears many faces. We all need to look more closely in our own mirrors,

Gail, I love you but Stefan should have won Top Chef. I love the show and will definitely watch the next season, however I think that the final 3 should have been 1) Stefan, 2) Jamie 3) Fabio. I enjoyed watching Carla's soul cooking but she has been in the bottom three in many challenges. Hosea was great throughout the season but I don't think that he is top chef. The winner should have been chosen for great technique, taste and consistency throughout the season, and it is clearly STEFAN!

Please bring Toby Young back, his insights were spot on!
P.S. I was never a fan of Casey and she proved once and for all how classless she is.

I'm truly disappointed with the regular judges this year! I'm glad Toby was on this season, he was a breath of fresh air. I believe that the rules were changed this year in the finale to help Hosea to win. I have watched top chef every season and the regular judges should be ashamed of themselves..it's suppose to be Top Chef not Let me play it Safe and manipulate my way to stay Mediocre Chef! HOSEA IS MEDIOCRE AT BEST. I BELIEVE THAT RIGHT IS RIGHT and Stefan did consistently better than Hosea the whole season and it always mattered in the past seasons when it came to break a tie for the title of top chef but was totally disregarded in this one. I WILL NOT WATCH ANOTHER SEASON of Top Chef, it's not based on how well the chefs cook it's based on how well they can kiss butt. Hosea did all he could with his sidekick Leah (the worst chef) to stay alive! It was disgusting to watch, I mean really alot of better chefs were sent home while he remained. Whereas Stefan was a bit arrogant at times but he was a darn good chef and friend to many on the show. I thought this competition was based on the chefs ability to cook not on their personalities. I believe Tom Colicchio didn't like Stefan and exercised his persuasive power on the other regular judges to vote against him. In addition Tom made good on his threat to Stefan(at the judges table in finale part 1), when he told him "you come in here confident almost cocky and with that attitude you better be able to deliver!" by holding Stefan to a higher standard than everybody else. By the way, I wouldn't be surprised to find the recipes of the food Hosea cooked in the Finale in the cook books of the Best chefs of New Orleans (he has no originality)!!!

The Bravo Executive Committee, Staff, Judges et all should seriously consider all the blogs posted re: Hosea's win.

It is clear and there is overwhelming belief that the wrong chef was titled.

Consider a new line up to your Judges Table - its much needed.

Gail,

You stated that the question of "How do you not take into account how many challenges Stefan or Hosea won, bringing them to this point?", but you never answered it...

It was clear to me and many others that Stefan was the best chef from the beginning, how could the fact that he won a record 8 challenges not be taken into consideration...? Mind blowing...seems like the wrong decision had been made once again...

I am an ordinary person w/o culinary exp. who just enjoys the show and have been watching since epi 1. This season failed when Jaime was eliminated and it became clear Leah continued because of the "kiss" drama. There are many other reality shows out there full of random drama to choose from, don't let Top Chef fail to that level. Hosea should not have even been in the top three.

I love the show watch all the time. The chefs work really hard for the mostpart. Most have real talent others i can do without. I think that the judges are full of themselves. IT'S FOOD PEOPLE---JUDGES YOU ARE NOT ALL THAT.

Susan:

I asked the same question, along with questions about Gails qualifications to judge ANYONE when she is not a chef herself. I doubt this will be published either :(

Please, Gail, explain to us why your 1982 comment stuck, and Stefan went down, while Rocco DiSpirito, a CHEF, was treated with disdain and IGNORED while making a similar comment about the dish that allegedly carried Hosea.

Hosea won by, among other things, dishing up a perfect SCALLOP???

Oh please. How pedestrian can Top Chef get?