Cliff_Crooks

<i>Top Chef: Los Angeles</i>

Top Chef: Los Angeles

Season 2 of American television series

Top Chef: Los Angeles is the second season of the American reality television series Top Chef. It was first filmed in Los Angeles, before concluding in Waikoloa Village, Hawaii.[1] The season premiered on October 18, 2006, and ended on January 31, 2007.[1] Padma Lakshmi replaced Katie Lee Joel as the host, with Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons returning as judges.[1] The winning recipe from each week's episode was featured on Bravo's Top Chef website and prepared by Season 1 contestant Lee Anne Wong in a web video called The Wong Way to Cook. Bravo cited negative viewer reaction to the Season 2 chefs' attitudes and overall behavior as the reason why no reunion episode was filmed.[2] In the season finale, Ilan Hall was declared the winner over runner-up Marcel Vigneron.[3] Sam Talbot was voted Fan Favorite.[4]

Quick Facts Top Chef: Los Angeles, Hosted by ...

Contestants

Fifteen chefs competed in Top Chef: Los Angeles.[1]

More information Name, Current Residence ...

Marcel Vigneron and Elia Aboumrad returned to compete in Top Chef: All-Stars.[5] Josie Smith-Malave returned for Top Chef: Seattle.[6] Vigneron later competed in Top Chef Duels, and returned again for Top Chef: Colorado, competing in the Last Chance Kitchen.[7][8] Sam Talbot returned for Top Chef: Charleston.[9]

Contestant progress

More information Episode #, Quickfire ChallengeWinner(s) ...

^Note 1 : The chef(s) did not receive immunity for winning the Quickfire Challenge.
^Note 2 : Otto voluntarily withdrew before Lakshmi eliminated anyone, deciding that his misconduct over the unpaid lychees contributed the most to his team's loss.
^Note 3 : After allegations of cheating, the judges decided not to eliminate anyone. Consequently, two chefs were eliminated in the following episode.
^Note 4 : There were five winners in the Quickfire Challenge. These winners did not compete in the Elimination Challenge.
^Note 5 : Mia voluntarily withdrew before Lakshmi eliminated anyone, fearing Elia would be eliminated.
^Note 6 : Following the Elimination Challenge, no winning team was declared. The Bottom 3 was decided based on each chef's individual performance.
^Note 7 : Cliff was disqualified for aggressive physical contact with Marcel. No one else was eliminated going into the finale.

  (WINNER) The chef won the season and was crowned "Top Chef".
  (RUNNER-UP) The chef was a runner-up for the season.
  (WIN) The chef won the Elimination Challenge.
  (HIGH) The chef was selected as one of the top entries in the Elimination Challenge, but did not win.
  (IN) The chef was not selected as one of the top or bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge and was safe.
  (LOW) The chef was selected as one of the bottom entries in the Elimination Challenge, but was not eliminated.
  (OUT) The chef lost the Elimination Challenge.
  (WDR) The chef voluntarily withdrew from the competition.
  (DSQ) The chef was disqualified from the competition.

Episodes

Main article: List of Top Chef episodes
More information No. overall, No. in season ...

References

Notes
  1. The contestants' city and state of residence during time of filming.
  2. Otto voluntarily withdrew from the show. As Team Korea loaded up their SUV with groceries, Marisa overheard Otto saying that he thought the store cashier neglected to ring up a case of lychees. She later revealed this to Colicchio, who forced Otto to return them to the store. Otto returned to compete in the Elimination Challenge, but announced that he was withdrawing from the competition during the "Judges' Table" segment, citing the drama surrounding the incident as the primary reason for his team's loss.
  3. At the judges' table, the losing teams made allegations regarding the "bending" or "breaking" of the rules in the Elimination Challenge by members of the winning team. Sam stated that he saw people excessively squirting bottles of olive oil, but refused to name anyone. Mia stated that Betty had used sugar instead of Splenda; a claim that Betty herself later confirmed, explaining that she thought she had not violated the rules because her team would still be under the 500 calories (2,100 kJ) limit. However, the other contestants understood that the rules required that once the calorie calculations had been completed by the nutritionists, the recipes could not be further modified. As a result, Colicchio stated that all the contestants would remain "on probation" and nobody was eliminated.
  4. Mia voluntarily withdrew from the competition during the judges' table segment, believing that she was saving Elia from elimination.
  5. After the Elimination Challenge, but before the Judges' Table segment, Cliff, Elia, Ilan and Sam got drunk and decided to forcibly shave Marcel's head. Cliff approached a sleeping Marcel and wrestled him to the ground. Marcel freed himself from Cliff's hold and slept in a bathroom. Ilan videotaped the incident with a video camera borrowed from production and could be heard in the recording encouraging the other contestants to use the clippers on Marcel.[10] This sequence showed Ilan and Elia shaving their heads before deciding to shave Marcel's. However, the editing is misleading as Elia is shown briefly with a full head of hair in the background as Cliff wrestled Marcel. The next day, Cliff was disqualified from the competition, as the show's rules explicitly forbid contestants from touching one another in an aggressive manner. However, it was mentioned that during the judges' deliberation that Cliff's dish was the weakest of all five, and that he likely would have been eliminated at the Judges' Table anyway. Colicchio stated in his blog post for the episode that he was willing to send home all of the contestants involved except for Marcel, holding them all accountable either for their actions that escalated the situation, or their decision not to speak up for Marcel while he was calling for help. However, the producers intervened, not wanting to end the season on a sour note and give audiences an anticlimactic ending giving the title of Top Chef to Marcel by default.[11]
Footnotes
  1. [1]
    Rocchio, Christopher (July 13, 2006). "Bravo's 'Top Chef 2' to begin filming this month, premiere in October". Reality TV World. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  2. [2]
    Andy Dehnart (February 8, 2007). "Bravo VP: "we did not alter the integrity of what happened" with Marcel hazing; no reunion due to viewer reaction". Reality Blurred. Retrieved February 8, 2007.
  3. [3]
    "Top Chef: May the Best Chef Win (Season 2 Finale Recap)". PopSugar. February 1, 2007. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  4. [4]
    O'Donnell, Kevin (December 30, 2014). "At Home With Top Chef's Sam Talbot". The Daily Dish. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  5. [5]
    Reyhani, Monica A. (October 8, 2010). "'Top Chef All-Stars' Cast is Announced!". The Daily Dish. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  6. [6]
    Gennis, Sadie (September 20, 2012). "Bravo Sets Top Chef: Seattle Premiere Date, Adds New Judge". TV Guide. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  7. [7]
    Ng, Philiana (June 4, 2014). "Bravo's 'Top Chef Duels' Lands Premiere Date, Celebrity Guests (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  8. [8]
    Rosenfeld, Laura (November 29, 2017). "What?! A Top Chef Alum Could Return to the Competition in Season 15". Bravo. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  9. [9]
    Spence, Shay (October 20, 2016). "Top Chef Is Bringing Back 8 Fan Favorite Contestants — See Who Made the Cut". People. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  10. [10]
    Andy Dehnart (January 19, 2007). "Editing of Marcel's head-shaving attempt may have understated Elia's role". Reality Blurred. Retrieved January 19, 2007.
  11. [11]
    Colicchio, Tom (January 17, 2007). "Shave And A Haircut. Dim Wits". Bravo. Retrieved January 17, 2007.
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