And The Kenmore Pro Kitchen Goes To...

For some reason, last night's season finale of Top Chef felt a little anticlimactic. Perhaps it was because my pick for winner, Sam, was relegated to a line cook. Or maybe it was because there didn't seem to be enough analysis from the judges, neither during the meal nor at the judges table later. While it was a little underwhelming, it was nonetheless still compelling, due in no small part to the extremely gratifying opportunity to see Marcel squirm when Ilan was announced as the winner. His expression and post-game interview after his loss made my night. The only thing that would have made that moment better is if Padma had announced the winner by saying " Marcel...congratulate Ilan on being the Top Chef."

Enough with the petty personal politics though. That's not what this show is about, and it's for that reason that it is one of the only reality shows that I can actually stomach. Mostly, this is because it actually focuses on the competition rather than on the personalities. It also functions the way similar situations really would in a working kitchen. Frank Bruni, the New York Times restaurant critic, speaks to all of this and more in a piece from yesterday's issue:

No, Mr. Vigneron, 26, and Mr. Hall, 24, aren’t the most likable of the 15 chefs who participated in the competition. Could it be that they’re the last two standing because they’re actually the most talented? It’s possible. Definitely possible.

And that’s a big part of why “Top Chef” works so well and why so many food lovers will tune in to the season finale tonight on Bravo.

For all its generically hyped-up drama, cheesy gimmickry and abject fealty to the tropes of reality television, “Top Chef” really is about cooking: what goes into it; what comes out of it; what reliably succeeds in the kitchen and on the plate; what predictably doesn’t.

It’s not just “The Apprentice” with the chef Tom Colicchio subbing for the emperor Donald Trump, not just “America’s Next Top Model” with a much higher calorie count. It’s a look at the imagination, desperation, judgment and serendipity that inform any great meal.

Bruni's whole article is definitely worth a read as he breaks down all the reasons to like this show.

After thoroughly (and surprisingly) enjoying season one, I was a little afraid Top Chef in its second season might fall into the trap that a lot of these reality competitions do: changing focus to the interpersonal relationships rather than the contest. It's for that reason that I stopped watching The Apprentice after its first season and conversely is why it should be no wonder The Amazing Race wins Best Reality Emmy every year. They focus on the competition primarily, and not the adolescent relationship crap that is the ultimate legacy of The Real World.

Regardless, my fears were unfounded. Not only was the cooking at the forefront of each episode this season, but you could tell by head judge Tom Colicchio's expressions when confronted with whining from the contestants that he wants nothing to do with petty carping and relationship counseling. He simply wants to see these folks cook. You cold almost sense his exasperation in the second to last episode when Elia and Ilan tried to peg Marcel as a cheater. After sending someone home for cheating in one episode, not sending someone home for the same reason in another, and having to send yet another home for a non-competition rules violation, he seemed pretty happy in the finale to be focused solely on judging cooking.

That sort of centeredness is a major reason why I will be tuning in when season three hits the airwaves.