The anniversary season of
“Top Chef”
was highly anticipated.
For the 15th edition of the culinary competition, M6 had promised plenty of new features, starting with a 15-star jury.
Thus Stéphanie Le Quellec (2 Michelin stars) and Dominique Crenn (three stars in San Francisco) joined Hélène Darroze, Paul Pairet, Philippe Etchebest and Glenn Viel.
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The six jurors, separated into two brigades (the women in orange against the men in gray), had to choose, during this first episode, the candidates who would join them.
15 candidates competed yesterday in this first episode since Anicée, winner of “Objectif Top Chef” joins, in fact, the gray brigade with Philippe Etchebest.
They had to cook on different themes: egg, pear and carrot.
For each challenge, one of the jurors from each brigade went to meet them: Hélène Darroze and Glenn Viel for the first test, Dominique Crenn and Paul Pairet for the second and Stéphanie Le Quellec and Philippe Etchebest for the third.
Also read “Top Chef”: fifteen years of delight on M6
An injury from the first minutes
The first event had barely started when an incident disrupted its progress.
Lise, one of the candidates, was seriously injured by cutting her finger.
She even almost rolled her eyes.
A nurse intervened and explained that his gash needed stitches.
The young woman then showed herself to be very worried about her possibility of remaining in the competition.
Eventually she was allowed to continue with a bandage and glove.
Despite the pain, this former engineer in retraining having done Maths Sup and Maths spé managed to complete the event and even qualified for the rest of the competition by joining the orange brigade (women).
Pierre, another candidate, who worked the egg surprised and made Internet users laugh.
This chef, who runs a traveling restaurant, declared that he did not like city dwellers.
He even took over Glenn Viel, who was talking to him about his
“food-truck”
, telling him:
“I’m not American, I have a mobile restaurant”
.
The candidate managed to qualify in the gray brigade.
In this first challenge, it was undeniably Jorick who won over all the jurors.
Executive chef Guillaume Sanchez at Neso (one Michelin star) says he is very shy and explained that cooking
“is a way of remaining shy but existing”
.
Praised by the two jurors, he finally chose to join the orange brigade.
Shirley, who participated in “Objectif Top Chef” six years ago and wanted to take her revenge, is the third candidate to be chosen by the orange team.
Read alsoStar in the US, three stars in San Francisco, rock personality… Who is Dominique Crenn, member of the “Top Chef” jury
An inspiring journey
The second test also had its share of emotions with, in particular, the discovery of Valentin's profile.
The young chef working in Marseille already has a CV renowned in the world of gastronomy for his cooking exclusively done on the barbecue - an appliance that he also brought back with him.
Questioned by Paul Pairet who asked him if "
he had fire"
, he said more about himself explaining having lost his father very young and having been the victim of eye cancer as a child forcing him to wear a prosthesis.
This speech greatly touched Dominique Crenn, who herself had breast cancer.
At the end of his successful test, she chose him in her orange brigade.
A pretty declaration of love brought a blueprint to this second round of the culinary competition.
While she presented her recipe, Marie, a young woman of 27 at the head of a brigade of 25 very strong people, admitted to being an absolute fan of Philippe Etchebest explaining with humor “
if he doesn't choose me, it's He is the one who will be disappointed
.
While he was supposed to stay with Glenn Viel and not intervene in the challenge, the latter broke the rules to go greet her.
To further mark this moment, the production did not hesitate to put music from
Disney's Beauty and the Beast
in the background !
At the end of the ordeal, she was chosen in the gray brigade.
Also read “I think I paid the price”: Stéphanie Le Quellec opens up about snobbery in the world of cooking after “Top Chef”
Clotaire, who works in Copenhagen in a two-star restaurant, has won over the chefs with his cuisine very inspired by nature.
He is chosen by Paul Pairet in the gray brigade.
As for Pavel, a chef who has gained many experiences in Michelin-starred restaurants but regrets not having had a mentor, he had difficulty developing his recipe around poached pears.
Despite everything, he was acclaimed by the two jurors and decided to join Dominique Crenn's team.
Chemistry on the menu
The third test revealed culinary surprises.
Bryan, a Belgian candidate with bleached blonde hair, put his knowledge of chemistry (he has a degree in organic chemistry applied to pharmaceuticals) into practice.
Not without humor he says of himself:
“I am a mix between a redneck and Einstein”
.
He chose to transform a carrot into a sunflower.
A recipe that particularly appeals to Philippe Etchebest who has included it in his gray brigade.
Arnaud, the youngest in the competition at 20 years old, was first shaken by Philippe Etchebest who told him that his work plan was messy.
Despite this, the Belgian cook passed the milestone by joining the orange brigade.
Quentin, 24 years old and deputy leader of Guy Savoy, impressed the jurors who fought to get him back on their team.
His heart finally changed for Stéphanie Le Quellec.
Also read “Top Chef”: what’s cooking behind the scenes of season 15
Inès, Paul-Henri, Thibault and Pierre-Pascal failed to qualify from the start and had to go through a final test centered on mullet.
Paul-Henri, who had provoked a burst of laughter from Paul Pairet and Dominique Crenn at the start of the show by nicknamed himself “Popol”, was qualified thanks to a dish judged as
“fantastic and magical”
by Glenn Viel.
Pierre-Pascal, Swiss candidate, also managed to obtain his jacket to continue in the competition.
Both will evolve as solitary candidates.