Top Chef season 21 finale: Tom Colicchio on winner controversy

Did the right person really win Top Chef season 21? Well, if you look to social media, you can argue that there was a lot of debate.

However, this is where we all have to remember that this is a television show, and what you see on screen is only a small piece of the overall puzzle. Based on the edited TV show, you could argue that the final result was super-close, or that Dan had a tiny edge over Danny based on the seasoning of Danny’s scallops.

Yet, here is the thing: This response is based on the edit the show gave us and if you have an issue with the winner, that’s the culprit rather than the judges.

In a series of posts on Twitter, Tom Colicchio himself dove into some of what we saw last night, reminding everyone that the judges have sole say in decisions (and not the producers). Meanwhile, he also indicated that Dan’s tuna dish was more of a misfire than the show made it seem. Here is what he had to say in summation of everything we saw:

From what you heard in the edit, yes [Dan could have won] but if you heard the unedited hour and a half discussion it would have been clear Danny had the better meal.

We know that there were some textural issues with that dish, but were they worse than it seemed? It feels that way. We also think that Danny’s creativity and innovation with his food was also a factor. Yet, the whole point of Top Chef is to create suspense sometimes and if a Danny win was obvious, would the finale be as exciting?

We would at least understand why any judge could be frustrated with the final edit here — mostly because they now have to answer for things they have no control over.

Related – Here is what we know at the moment about Top Chef season 22 on Bravo

What do you think about the events of the Top Chef season 21 finale, one day removed from it airing?

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