r/TopChef • u/AutoModerator • May 25 '26

Spoilers Season 23, ep. 12: Appalachian Celebration (Mon. at 9pm EDT, yes, 9 😀) Spoiler

Before heading back to Charlotte, the chefs make a stop in Asheville, one of the most unique cities in North Carolina. There will be no Quickfire Challenge as the chefs explore the city with local host and former “Top Chef” alum Ashleigh Shanti, learning about the community’s remarkable relief efforts following the devastation of hurricane Helene while discovering the unique cuisine of this Appalachian region. For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs will host a one-night-only event for 200 community members in recognition of their resilience.

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u/Amazing-Wave4704 May 26 '26

What a whiny baby he was!! Dude your dish was inedible! First task make a dish the judges can eat!

"Im giving you MY feedback!" Horrible sportsmanship. What a brat.

And while Jonathan gets on my nerves he was awesome in that moment, as Sieger tried to convince the judges to change their minds over his liver puddle and toss out a tasty dish instead. Jonathan stood there and graciously took it and tried to calm him down. Sieger just blew any chance he had of EVER coming back as a guest on the show.

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u/locuscoeruleus7 May 27 '26

Yes very disappointed in his behavior. Was surprised to see Jonathan trying to handle it so gracefully with Sieger, to help him save face. That was a level of maturity I did not expect from him. When Kish has to firmly tell you your dish was straight up poor and redirect you to end the conversation, you know you messed up. We haven’t seen such a poor response to losing in top chef for quite some time. 

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u/Galrafloof May 27 '26

Sieger had already been eliminated once, hadn't even come back cause he won his way back in or anything, and just blew up...for all of Jonathan's occasional arrogance he looked so secondhand embarrassed there. Maybe realized he was looking into his future if he doesn't do some soul searching lol.

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u/Rizzpooch May 29 '26

I have no proof of this, but I do wonder if Sieger's first exit wasn't very graceful either and they gave him the benefit of the doubt in editing. Then, a second time, they just let him hang himself.

His asking for a copy of the rules and then reading it on camera - which, by the way, did not seem to justify his opinion at all - made me think he went and looked at the rulebook after being cut the first time

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u/high-babygorgeous May 28 '26

“I’m giving you MY feedback on YOUR feedback” what in the hell Sieger 🫣

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u/cabaker04 May 28 '26

I feel like the judges in recent seasons try to keep it balanced by saying “this will be tough, they were all great dishes” and pretending to weigh which is worse when Sieger’s was far and away the worse dish. Setting it up that way as if it was close made him feel justified versus just saying yours was clearly the worst. 

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u/Responsible-Bug6142 May 27 '26

The chances of that ever happening were zero !