Fifteen stars, who says better?
To celebrate fifteen years of
“Top Chef”
, M6 and the production company Studio 89 called on two new recruits of choice to the jury of the culinary competition.
Stéphanie Le Quellec, winner of season 2 of the show, now honored with two Michelin stars, and Dominique Crenn, first and only woman with three Michelin stars in the United States (she is based in San Francisco).
To discover
TV tonight: our selection of the day
And, as if the pans had to sparkle again, Pierre Gagnaire, a regular on the program, will this time be in charge of the hidden brigade.
Its goal ?
Surprise everyone by re-entering the competition by surprise with a drafted candidate.
“At the beginning, it was a television show that everyone made fun of a little
,” remembers Hélène Darroze.
Today, it is unanimous.
When we manage, after fifteen years, to bring together so many stars, I think that says everything about the strength of the program and its credibility in the world of chefs.
»
Also read “Top chef”: discover the candidates for season 15, soon to be broadcast on M6
No cheat sheets...or almost
In Studios 210, in Aubervilliers, where “Top Chef” is filmed, an assistant surprises Glenn Viel, the chef of Oustau de Baumanière, in Baux-de-Provence, languid in his armchair.
She comes to explain to the jurors the ordeal of the day.
A challenge imagined by culinary critic François-Régis Gaudry: candidates must cook a dish without cooking in forty-five minutes.
Not one more.
Discussions begin.
Very involved, the jurors believe that, the day before, they did not have enough time to coach their protégés.
This year, the participants are divided into only two brigades and therefore have the chance to be guided by three leaders.
For more fantasy on the jury side, the women face the men.
“It happened like that
,” assures Hélène Darroze.
But also by affinities.
»
The cook is, in fact, very good friends with Dominique Crenn and immediately adopted Stéphanie Le Quellec, one of only three women to have won the culinary competition, with Naoëlle d'Hainaut, in 2013, and Louise Bourrat, in 2022 The chefs strengthened their friendship a little more last season.
Philippe Etchebest, Paul Pairet and Glenn Viel Julien THEUIL / M6
The challenge is about to begin.
The jurors won their case: the participants will have an hour of cooking.
It turns !
If the leaders guide their candidates, they do not have the right to get involved.
Young cooks must find their own recipe and complete it within the allotted time, with almost no cheat sheet.
When the show launched, the participants knew nothing of the trials that awaited them.
This is no longer the case today.
For around ten years, the production has provided them, one month before the start of the competition, with a "book" bringing together around fifty themes likely to come up during the competition, such as "trompe l'oeil" or "cooking with wood fire”.
“On the other hand, they do not know when the test will take place and do not know the guest chef or what the pantry contains
,” confides the host of the program, Stéphane Rotenberg.
It was an important change, which avoided major failures.
» Grégory Cuilleron, participant of the first season, confirms: “The competition has lost a little of its spontaneity, but the dishes sent today are twenty times prettier than those we cooked…”
Read alsoPierre Gagnaire as reinforcement, jury, brigades… Discover the new features of season 15 of “Top chef”
The drum of Philippe Etchebest
Once their advice has been distilled, the jurors return to their dressing room.
Everyone has a personal space, but everyone likes to meet in the main living room, equipped with comfortable sofas, where they have their little habits.
“We prepare, for example, guacamole for Philippe Etchebest, because it’s his guilty pleasure
,” confides Virginie Dhers, the producer.
Another hobby of the chef: drums.
Normal for a cook…
“I never sit idle
,” confides the latter before settling down in front of his electric instrument.
Headphones on, he taps to the rhythm.
No music is audible outside, except for a regular clicking sound.
“
The drum is painful… That’s one of its big flaws!
»
, says Paul Pairet with humor before slipping away to go smoke a cigarette.
Dominique Crenn and Stéphanie Le Quellec Julien THEUIL / M6
Dominique Crenn makes phone calls to schedule her ministerial schedule.
The chef, at the head of Atelier Crenn, travels back and forth between California, where she raises her two daughters, and Paris.
She recently opened Golden Poppy in Paris, her first restaurant in France.
“Being a juror represents a strong commitment and requires a lot of sacrifices.
I did it for young cooks, but also to reconnect with France.
It is a very inspiring experience.
“Top Chef” has a much higher standard here than in the United States
,” she notes.
The French program, in fact, immediately emancipated itself from the American version, centered on the reality TV aspect.
He put cooking at the heart of the show, invited star chefs, created brigades or invented tests that have become legendary, like the black box (later adapted in the American version, a sign of absolute success!).
Also read “It’s too much for one person”: a former “Top Chef” candidate decides to close his restaurant
No diving on the board
For Stéphanie Le Quellec, the experience has another flavor.
“I was very touched by this proposal.
I come to close the loop and pass the baton to the new generation
, she explains.
“Top Chef” is a big family.
I found people from the technical team who were already there when I was a candidate!
»
.
“Around a hundred people work on the program every day”
Virginie Dhers, producer of “Top Chef”
Bringing together six star chefs on set for two months is a feat, but organizing the show is a headache in itself.
“We don't suspect it, but between the production teams and the technical staff, the candidates, the management or the makeup artists and hairdressers, around a hundred people work on the program every day
,” confides Virginie Dhers.
“Top Chef” has the particularity of being both entertainment and a culinary competition, with its own imperatives.
“At the end of an event everything must be cleaned and put back in place.
The first year, we didn't plan on diving.
We couldn't manage less than two hours between two events
, remembers Stéphane Rotenberg.
Today, we have almost a restaurant brigade to do the shopping, set up the utensils and dishes…”
The candidates for season 15 of “Top Chef” PIERRE OLIVIER/M6
Also read: HPI, “Top Chef”, “France has incredible talent”...: filming of series and shows disrupted by a technicians’ strike
An incident stops filming
On the set, the participants are busy.
The chefs monitor the progress of their creations when an incident disrupts the progress of the challenge.
One of the shellfish, cooked by a candidate, seems to have turned.
“In fifteen years, this has never happened…”
, underlines Sébastien Zibi, director at the helm of the program since the first season, who, after discussion with the jurors, decided, for the sake of fairness, to stop filming and to completely rerun the test.
“We guarantee this level of requirement.
It’s an eliminatory event, there is something at stake
,” notes Philippe Etchebest.
The pantry of “Top Chef” Julien THEUIL / M6
Barely thirty minutes after the challenge ended, the members of the kitchen manager returned with their arms loaded with fish and seafood. Vincent Meslin, the kitchen manager, proved to be extremely efficient.
Every day, he works with his team to stock and set up the pantry starting at 5 a.m.
A trained chef, he chooses products based on the proof and possible combinations, and manages the quantities.
Despite the profusion of ingredients, nothing is lost during the competition, with leftovers being donated to the Red Cross.
“Top Chef” has even become, this year, the first certified eco-production show, with less plastic, more recycling and tests that enlighten consciences, such as the green box, which invites candidates to cook leftovers from the day before.
Also read “Top Chef”: Dominique Crenn and Stéphanie Le Quellec join the jury for season 15
A must-see karaoke
Filming resumes.
The cooks (re)throw into battle under the watchful eye of the chefs.
The latter, present from 7 to 8 p.m., or even more, invest enormously.
But they also know how to release pressure.
“We all get along very well.
Stéphanie and Dominique have integrated well.
In the dressing room, we discuss the tests, the candidates, but also life in general… With always a lot of jokes
,” notes Glenn Viel.
Most of them come from the person concerned who, as a child, was destined to become a comedian.
“The objective of his day is to know how many jokes he will make until he is exhausted!
»
laughs Paul Pairet, who considers filming to be a breath of fresh air.
“Every year, it’s my enchanted break.
It feels good to be away from my operations for three months.
»
Especially since the complicity does not stop at the filming gates.
The three-star chef based in Shanghai has established a karaoke which has become essential while Hélène Darroze still invites the joyful troupe to her home every day before the final.
This year, a disco evening at Podium, Stéphane Rotenberg's restaurant, was added to the list.
Nannies who pamper bosses and candidates
“Chief, do you have the right jacket?” »
asks a young woman to Philippe Etchebest.
Ambre Mélina is the “nanny” of the jurors.
She manages their schedules, their journeys, their outfits and ensures their well-being.
The candidates also have two assistants, who make sure they wake up, transfer them from the hotel to the studio, take care of their meals... But that's not all.
“They have a very important human role.
In terms of emotions, this competition is a roller coaster.
The nannies know how to find the words and build very strong bonds with the participants
,” analyzes Virginie Dhers.
The test has just ended.
François-Régis Gaudry will judge the plates.
Over the past ten years, straightening has been introduced.
A few moments before the start of the tasting, participants have three minutes to reheat (and not cook) and prepare their dishes...
End of clap for the chefs, who disappear into the night.
If the women go their separate ways, the men remain inseparable.
This year, they even decided to rent apartments in Paris a few meters from each other!