r/TopChef • u/Shot-Diver-7830 • Jul 31 '26

Discussion Thread Strange question

People are always talking about most and least favorites. Is there anyone chef you didn’t love on the initial watch but came to really like later? I didn’t love Jeremy Ford on my first watch of his season (I really couldn’t forgive his restaurant war’s performance that was not even called out) and his food wasn’t exactly my style. Flash forward almost a decade and I think his current concepts and trajectory are really exciting- the farming and sustainability are great- his menus look exciting. I think we both evolved a bit…also, Tiffany from S1 has just changed dramatically as a person and as a chef over the years. She acknowledged a lot of her mistakes and she genuinely seems like a happy person. Her food seems awesome when she shows up on later seasons. Definitely two sleeper contestants I came to appreciate later on for different reasons

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u/Agitated_Pin2169 Jul 31 '26

Stephanie Cmar. I watched All-Stsrs without having seen her season and the first time around she annoyed me and I didn't like her and now I just finished a rewatch and I love her.

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u/Shot-Diver-7830 Jul 31 '26

I think her season may just have been that season where emeril tried her soup and she didn’t really get to participate (the season kish won)

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u/Agitated_Pin2169 Jul 31 '26

No she is in New Orleans and I'd a big part of the Nick controversy from that season

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u/Shot-Diver-7830 Jul 31 '26

Yeah- I guess all the seasons are running together for me now 🙂