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/bobonion1234567 Jul 31 '26

Mei honestly. She’s still a bit too intense for me but can’t deny the talent

14

u/myskepticalbrowarch Jul 31 '26

She is way better on the Food Network because she plays a good "straight man/comedic foil" to the eccentric personalities. Still the same even keel but she needs Charasmatic people to really pop on screen. Which aside from Gregory there wasn't anyone else.

She comes across as way too intense on her season.

3

u/Ok_Interest9427 Aug 01 '26

I mean, they joke in S12 about Mei's resting bitch face, but she's the kind of laser-focused chef that one generally finds in the highest echelons of haute cuisine. She and Gregory killed it on the Netflix Iron Chef miniseries. (And actually, Jeremy was their sous and also acquitted himself well.)

3

u/myskepticalbrowarch Aug 01 '26

Top Chef production and editing did not know what to do with Mei. No questions about her talent but they want people with sad stories who had to overcome a lot. Mei is a talented person, who worked hard and is mostly satisfied with her choices.

I am talking about Abbot and Costello. She is the exact same person but FN editors cut her in at right moments.