• The thirteenth season of 

    Top Chef

     was launched last Wednesday on M6.

  • The public was able to get to know the fifteen chefs in competition, selected from the hundreds of applications sent to the production.

  • An incomparable springboard, the excitement of appearing on TV, the desire to measure up to someone stronger than oneself… But why do the candidates pass the casting for the show?

Running in all directions, sweating profusely, answering questions while watching the stopwatch run, having your shoulder smashed by Philippe Etchebest… You have to have strong nerves if you want to take part in

Top Chef

.

Still, that doesn't scare away the hundreds of people who send their resumes to production every year.

Among them, fifteen managed to qualify for the first stage of the season last week.

Besides the desire to meet Stéphane Rotenberg, the motivations of each other are not always the same.

" Hi Mom ?

I'm on TV!

»

Unlike

The Voice

, which solicits cross-talents at a concert or on social networks,

Top Chef

does not identify fashionable chefs in order to ask them to enter the competition.

“There's such word-of-mouth that they know when the castings are going on.

These are only spontaneous applications, ”says Florence Duhayot, the producer of the show.

“Yes, some say they are going to be on TV, concedes Stéphane Rotenberg.

But strangely, those who come are not so much those who think they are going to crush everything.

There are just one or two.

However, with 3.9 million followers last year, the fame acquired in a few weeks thanks to the program's audience is dazzling.

It is also perhaps for this reason that the majority of the fifteen candidates on the starting line of this edition are at the head of their own establishment, like Lucie, Louise, Mickaël, Logan or even Ambroise. .

"They may have wanted to be there, to show themselves and to show their cuisine to as many people as possible," said the host of M6.

Be judged by the greatest

For most of the members of the

Top Chef

brigades , the competition is primarily used to confront their cuisine with the opinion of professional chefs, whether members of the jury or prestigious guests, French or international.

Noting the impact that the feedback could have on the motivation of the candidates, the production decided to have them attend the tasting a few years ago.

“When there is this moment when you have extraordinary comments, it changes someone, underlines Stéphane Rotenberg.

We realize that they need to hear that since these are well-argued compliments from pros judging pros.

A respected leader may yell at you once, but when he gives you thumbs up, it's super important.

»

Know where we stand

At 25, Lilian wanted to open her own restaurant, become one of the greatest chefs of her generation and accumulate stars on her apron.

Unfortunately, a few days before the signature which would change his life, the first confinement fell on the country.

To support himself, the young man became the director of a hypermarket and did not touch a knife between this event and his entry into the competition.

“There are people who want to know where they are in their kitchen and also on themselves, testifies Philippe Etchebest, citing in particular the name of Lilian.

They ask themselves questions.

This year, we will see, it is very revealing.

"How am I positioned? Where am I in what I do in my job?"

And they need judgment.

To confront the opinion of the professionals and the level of fourteen competitors is the perfect opportunity for him to find reasons to get down to work again.

Get out of your comfort zone

As we saw in the first episode of the season, the fifteen candidates all have a very distinct, even “radical” universe.

This is particularly the case of Ambroise who decided to surprise everyone by cooking a huge catfish to qualify.

In his restaurant, the cook only prepares fish caught in the Loire.

Thibaut, he wants to have the smallest possible carbon footprint in his establishment and has won a green star.

By participating in

Top Chef

, everyone is aware that among the thirty or so dishes offered by the chefs, some will include meat while others will be entirely vegetable.

Something to destabilize Lucie and her very green kitchen or Mickaël for whom "fat is life" as was the case last year with finalist Sarah.

"We have candidates who say: 'That, I've never done. That, I don't want to do, that doesn't inspire me,'" relates Stéphane Rotenberg.

However, with the pressure of the competition and the cameras, they will try to step out of their comfort zone.

"Sometimes it will work beyond what they imagined," reassures the host.

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