"A season of" Top Chef "under the sign of audacity" for Michel Sarran

• M6 broadcasts the second of three parts of the Top Chef quarterfinals this Wednesday evening .
• Michel Sarran talks about this season 11, which has not always been easy.
• The Toulouse chief also severely judges government measures in favor of restoration, seriously affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

The second part (out of three) of the quarter-finals of Top Chef is this Wednesday evening on M6. The four surviving candidates will first have to make a trompe-l'oeil dish evoking a natural landscape under the aegis of the 3-star chef Christian Le Squer, before a second test at the Casino de Paris. Toulouse juror Michel Sarran assures him: it will be "very complicated" for Mallory, David, Martin and Adrien.

Before this eleventh season, you said that the candidates had to be "impeccable and daring". Are you satisfied?

Yes, but it’s more for viewers to say. It is a season under the sign of audacity, after a season 10 under the sign of excellence. Paul Pairet has brought his boldness and a strong culinary character. Candidates like Adrien, who is a bit crazy, dare incredible things.

A word on Mallory, who won a pass last week (like David; it takes two passes to go to the semi-finals)?

He is a very endearing boy. He is full of life, of sensitivity. He had small problems in his youth but he came out stronger. He fights, he is very young (23 years old) since he is one of the youngest in the competition. I took great pleasure in coaching him and taking him home.

Mallory Gabsi no longer wishes to "run after the stars" https://t.co/KMaFin1biy

Philippe Etchebest explained in 20 Minutes that this year, "there was a lot of level" as well as greater homogeneity. Do you agree ?

I do not know. For some candidates, it is not that they were not at the level, but it is necessary to enter this competition, and to enter it very quickly, because it is unforgiving. Those who stood out, they are all there today. Others could have gone further but they were not present on D-Day.

In Top Chef , you have to be both a good cook, but also have a very good mind and good physical condition. When the form goes down, which is often the case because the season is long, if you don't have the mind, you sink.

We saw you getting mad at candidates, which is quite rare with you ...

It's a bit anecdotal, but I had a little trouble making myself understood by my brigade. I got a little carried away on this famous story of fries. I had let them finish and I saw that they needed to be coached in a more directive way, which is not too much my temper. I was sure of myself but Jordan too. At one point, it annoyed me a little. I tried to get the message across a little more strongly.

Jordan is a very nice boy and his life doesn't end at Top Chef . I know it will bounce. It was not against them, I wanted to see them win. It hurt me a little to see them camp in positions that I thought were wrong.

For the first time since your arrival in 2015, at the same time as Philippe Etchebest and Hélène Darroze, Jean-François Piège is no longer part of the jury. What has changed with the arrival of Paul Pairet?

They are two very different cooks. Jean-François wanted to move on. I think we had to bring some new blood and a different vision of the kitchen. Choosing M6 to replace it makes sense. Paul brought something different and he got into the character very quickly.

The gift (gourmet and supportive) of chef Michel Sarran to the caregivers of @CHUdeToulouse # SolidariteCOVID19 https://t.co/X3gMP0DEFB via @ 20minutes pic.twitter.com/wCbp8UKTJy

Would you be ready to stack again next year?

We do not know yet. We are not yet asking the question of the next season. I think there will be another one because it works very well. This is an important program for M6. But with who ?

With containment, cooking has become even more important, both in life and on TV. We saw it with the success of Top Chef or the show by Cyril Lignac…

Besides, I'm participating this Wednesday in Cyril Lignac's show (laughs). This is one of the positive points of containment. Cooking belongs to everyone. As the restaurants were closed, it was the same phenomenon as for DIY. Everyone started cooking as well as tinkering. There are a lot of tutorials that have appeared on social media. We made dishes with the parents, the grandparents, and we talk at the table, which we didn't necessarily do anymore.

The cry of the heart of Michelin-starred chef Michel Sarran to President Macron https://t.co/MAAwWA9P0T

Coming back to your job as a restaurateur, we saw you launch an appeal to Emmanuel Macron, then push a rant…

I'm quite worried. We had a videoconference with the President of the Republic and some ministers. It seemed to me that we had been heard. And when I saw the intervention of Edouard Philippe, I was disillusioned. Our profession is in danger, undermined by more than two months of closure, after having already suffered "yellow vests" and social movements. Many have knees on the ground and will not rise.

In terms of insurance, it's scandalous, and the government is just telling us that they are adamant and don't want to move! This is unacceptable. He is not able to put the pressure on as in Bavaria where the losses of exploitations were taken care of. Why can't we do it in France?

At the resumption, we will need air because the companies are suffocated. We will work with a maximum of 50% of our capacities according to the president's statements. We will not be profitable. Even if we also take on the social aspect, if partial unemployment is called into question ... It is not reassuring.

Television

"Top Chef": "This year, many candidates had the opportunity to go very far", assures Philippe Etchebest

Television

Coronavirus: "The time they had extra, the French chose to spend it in front of television programs," explains Julien Rosanvallon, of Médiamétrie

• Covid 19
• Television
• Coronavirus
• Toulouse
• M6
• Top chef
• Cooked