Tag Archives: top chef
Texan Fil-Am Paul Qui Wins Top Chef–and Hearts All Over the Country
Tyson Cole and Austinites celebrating Paul Qui's win at Uchiko in Austin (Source: Statesmen.com)
Paul Qui won Top Chef! Which I’m ECSTATIC about because he totally reps me as a Texan, a Filipino American, and general lover of Japanese and Southeast Asian cuisine.
I really hope that Paul not only challenged stereotypes about Asian Americans (especially in a field as competitive as the restaurant business), but also that he changed people’s perceptions of Texans and the food we cook and eat (it’s not chili and BBQ all the time!).
Arguably the most endearing thing about Paul is that he stayed humble throughout the entire competition. In these final episodes of the season, we saw him give shouts out to his grandfather, who emigrated to the Philippines from China, and his parents, who emigrated to the U.S. from the Philippines.
Many of us in the AAPI community are intimately familiar with his story, which makes Paul’s victory even sweeter for those of us who, y’know, enjoy living the American Dream vicariously through supertalented people…
You’re a badass, Qui. But how hard will it be to get a table at Uchiko these days? Ah, but there’s always East Side King. I just hope Bourdain–or anyone–won’t be filming wherever I’ve got a hankering for some eats.
P.S. Check Best Week Ever’s funny recap of the Top Chef season finale.
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Hell Yeah! Paul Qui and Beverly Kim are Top Chef Finalists
Cheftestant Paul Qui of Uchiko restaurant in Austin, TX
I just watched the latest episode of Top Chef and I’m excited that Paul Qui and Beverly Kim made it into the final round. I, like so many of my fellow Austinites, have been rooting for Paul Qui since day one. Paul has such a heart of gold, a positive attitude and enormous talent that I almost forgive him for trying to serve me some crazy nuoc mam sorbet at Uchiko on my first visit to the restaurant.
Beverly is a different story. I, like so many of her haters, did not want to like her. She’s a perfectionist, precise, driven, laser-focused, could be seen as selfish. Moreover, she’s mousy, quiet, apologetic, tended to get emotional, could be seen as weak. Quickly I realized that the reason for my dislike was a personal one–I did not like her because she reflected a stereotype I was all too familiar with. And I didn’t want that stereotype on TV.
Cheftestant Beverly Kim engrossed in slicing some veg
Now I realize that I was fool. It’s not only important for someone like Beverly Kim to be on TV; it’s necessary. It’s all too easy for her competitors and the rest of the world to hate her and to be infuriatingly condescending and superior to someone–to a personality shaped by upbringing, values, belief systems, life experiences and lack of privilege–they just do not understand.
When fellow competitor and challenge partner Heather Terhune threw Beverly under the bus for no good reason and proceeded to direct all kinds of unwarranted aggression at her, my blood boiled with an empathetic rage. After the Restaurant Wars episode, wherein the other two finalists Lindsey Autry and Sarah Grueneberg berated Beverly like they would a child or puppy, I shrieked for vengeance. I felt a kind of Schadenfreude-like glee when Bev won Last Chef Standing, moseyed back into the competition, won a spot in the finale, and made the supposed finalists faces melt into a look of disdain and fear.
Perhaps Beverly Kim will get the last laugh, if she hasn’t already. She could win the damn thing, which would be very cool indeed because women and people of color competing in the Top Chef finale (much less winning the season) is a rare thing. Even though I adore Paul Qui and think he will probably win, I’m rooting for Beverly with all my heart. She’s not just a woman of color on TV; she’s a class act. Considering all the shit she’s been through, you’d never even expect her to be.
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Diversity on Top Chef Masters
marcus samuelson
So, Marcus Samuelson won this season of Top Chef Masters, which I was really excited about, even though I was slightly hoping that Susur Lee would win. Actually, I wouldn’t have minded if Rick Moonen won either. Bottom line: this season was infinitely more exciting than last season. To be fair, I was interested in the finale last year because I like Hubert Keller, Rick Bayless and Michael Ciarello. But as far as diversity goes, they were three white guys cooking some very classically refined and recognized food. Keller cooked French. Ciarello cooked Italian. And Bayless cooked the most exotic food that season–Mexican food–which I’m glad to see got him the title of Top Chef Master. But this year, the top three master chefs cooked Swedish and Ethiopian food, Asian fusion and local/sustainable seafood, respectively. In my humble opinion, the food this season really spoke to the direction we’re going in modern food culture–ethnically diverse, cross-cultural and environmentally aware. You know, that and the fact that an Ethiopian/Swedish guy and a Chinese guy made it to the top three!
P.S. Have you seen Marcus Samuelson’s wife? She’s totally hot and has a master-chef husband! JEALOUS!
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