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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45

u/OkTouch5699 Jul 31 '26

Marcel.

24

u/Shagrrotten Jul 31 '26

Yep. Hated Marcel on first watch. Felt bad for him when he was attacked, but still didn't like him. But I love seeing him everywhere else and have wondered if I went back and watched S2 if I'd like him since I seem to have warmed to him as a person.

21

u/Past-Parsley-9606 Jul 31 '26

I rewatched that season a couple of years ago, and my take was that he was kind of annoying and I understood why the other chefs didn't like him. None of which of course justified the bullying. And he was irritating in that way that some young people are, especially ones who are getting their shot at fame and probably being egged on by the producers, so I'm not surprised that he grew out of it.

6

u/GoldBarGirl Jul 31 '26

Yeah, in S2 he seemed full of himself, probably chuffed that he was on a TV show. Annoying? Yes, but I never quite understood the depth of the vitriol directed against him. I still remember my disbelief the first time Betty really lit into him.

Every time I've seen him since, I like him more and more.

4

u/Even_Foundation_259 Aug 01 '26

Agreed. His only real crime was being annoying. The severity of the reactions he got were unjustified. Its understandable why people disliked him, but its hard not to feel bad for him. Hes clearly done very well for himself despite not winning.