Cloche to You

I loved Chopped, I watch it all the time.  It's a brilliant concept: four chefs square off against each other with a mixed basket of secret ingredients.  Bison, kumquats, fava beans, breath mints.  Make it delicious!

I like Chopped when the best person wins.  Not just the best chef, but the best person. 

Remember the woman who wanted to win so she could go back to France and see her ailing grandmother, the woman who taught her to cook?  And it was neck-and-neck through the dessert round, but she ended up losing to another talented chef and then Chef Lance offered to share his $10K prize so she could still travel overseas?  

Sometimes tears get served up as the final course on Chopped. 

I know reality television thrives on competition, but does a cooking show really need trash talking and bravado along with the culinary skills and sharp knives?  

I watched an episode where they invited back a bunch of losing chefs.  Everybody said they deserved to win, everybody said they could not, would not, get chopped again.

So this sous chef from Alabama ends up taking the big prize in the end.  Biggest ego ever. Huge, enormous.  I assume the producers encourage (insist?) that every participant talk about how great they are and how they can cook circles around the competition, but it seriously depresses the hell out of me.  Why all the ego?  Just make your goddamn entree.

I guess there's no show in letting your cooking talk for you.  Nobody wants to watch four polite and unassuming people compete for anything, but I would watch that show.

I really would.