Tom Colicchio discusses Top Chef season four

Posted by Vogt

June 10, 2008

Top Chef’s season finale is this Wednesday, with Richard, Stephanie, and Lisa competing for the title. Head judge Tom Colicchio recently sat down with Salon to talk about season four of Top Chef, the judging process, and other celebrity chefs. Here’s a rundown of some of the chef’s remarks:

Colicchio doesn’t feel pressured to give a woman the title of Top Chef. Plenty of female contestants have been in the finale or come close to winning.
He called season four’s contestants the “strongest group as a whole.”

If you meet one of the Top Chef judges, resist the urge to second-guess their decisions. Colicchio likes to “lecture” people who criticize him. He explained that the judges’ deliberations last up to two hours, and viewers only see a few minutes of that discussion. The judges also make their choice to eliminate a contestant based on that week’s performances alone.
Fans were shocked when Dale, a favorite to win, was sent home. Tom Colicchio wasn’t judging that week, and confessed that the elimination surprised him as well. However, he was told that Dale’s dish was clearly the worst dish of the week.
He disagreed with a contestant’s claim that the key to winning Top Chef is “getting your point of view across.” Cooking good food is the way to win.
When asked if he would hire any past Top Chef contestants, Colicchio singled out Tiffany and Harold from the first season, Sam (season two), and Hung (season three).

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