Sorry everyone, I really wanted to write up an article on every contestant for this season of Top Chef All-Stars, but needless to say, I ran out of time. Instead, here are some final thoughts about the remaining chefs:
· Tiffani Faison: She's got spunk to her and I like that. Tiffani isn't there to make any friends, she's only worried about winning over the judges. If I had to guess, I'd say she feels that there is a lack of respect for Season 1 contestants. Look for her to finish as one of the top four women.
· Stephen Asprinio: A lot of people write Stephen off as gimmicky and overrated. This will be his chance to prove his naysayers wrong and produce top of the line food for the judges...but I don't think he will. My guess is one of the first two eliminated.
· Elia Aboumrad: I wish I had some deep insight about Elia, but I really don't remember her from Season 2. All I can say is I get confused when I see a picture of her because I think I am looking at Carla.
· Dale Levitski: Dale has great personality and it comes across in his food. In Season 3, he was constantly exceeding expectations and I don't expect that to change this time around. Bold prediction: Watch for Dale to make some sort of parsnip purée within the first two episodes (Ok fine, that wasn't bold at all).
· Casey Thompson: Casey was introduced to us as a sweet Southern girl, but was quickly turned into a villain when she seemingly took control of Carla's food during the Season 5 finale. I wouldn't be surprised if Casey won back a lot of fans this year and even made a nod to the Season 5 "incident" by serving some sort of sous-vide beef dish early on in the competition.
· Spike Mendelsohn: It's time for Spike to show that you can have fun in the kitchen and be respected at the same time. With no filter on his creativity or his personality, look for some more great moments inside the stew room.
· Fabio Viviani: After his season finished filming, Fabio went through a lot of ups and downs, both inside the kitchen and out of it. A positive was all of the attention and endorsement deals (San Pellegrino, Bertolli, etc.) he received since the show, but those came at a price. Fabio went through a divorce with his wife and also split with his business partner at Café Firenze. Watch for Fabio to "re-find himself" as he stays grounded in the things that made him successful in the first place.
· Carla Hall: Speaking about "finding one's self" during her season, Carla grew in front of our eyes and found herself in the finale. As mentioned earlier, she had a meltdown in the kitchen and wasn't even in the running by the end of the episode. A big question this year is will Carla stick to her style of cooking and will it be enough to impress the judges amidst the sea of all-stars?
· Mike Isabella: Is there such a thing as Jersey pride? You betcha. Mike Isabella is already convinced in his mind that he will win this competition hands down, now he just has to convince everyone else. Also, is it just me, or do you think we'll see Mike doing a Fabio impersonation within the first 10 minutes of the premiere?
· Tiffany Derry: It is a great advantage to roll straight from Season 7 to Season 8. Tiffany is going to keep on trucking as if this were a double elimination tournament.
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