Top Chef: Hey everyone has their opinions.

My winter indulgence. I loved Top Chef from the very first episode and I haven't missed one in the ensuing five seasons. Suffice it to say, I am hooked and I find it a great, frame of reference widening, part of my life that gets me away from cars, racetracks and driving really fast.

The culinary arts fascinate me and I like that I am like many others and consider myself a foodie or junkie for food related television. I rarely get on bandwagons, but I will admit to this one.

I wrote down some thoughts on the finale'. Actually, these comments were sent in almost this exact format to a friend who asked my opinions on the end of the show. They're all in good fun, but it's how I saw it.


They really need to bring in a new editing crew for the next season.

It's become just like a bunch of other reality shows (American Chopper, for example). The first couple of seasons were interesting and "new", but then they fell into a rut and every episode is the same with the exact same story set ups and same scenarios all set up through the editing process.

I LOVE the show, but this season really disappointed me because almost without fail there would be the short clip in the beginning of the episode where a comment by a Chef would let you know immediately they were the one that was eliminated.

They need shake up the show for next season, have a new director and editing crew and only hire those production people that have never seen the show before.

Actually, I thought it was sad how the Chefs became storylines this year instead of the competitions. Focusing on the kiss and relationship between those two was very "MTVish". It was like a Hills episode (I would imagine, having never seen one). They should have pulled those two aside, told them to quit with each other and get back to the show at hand, but no, it was good TV so they left it in and probably told them to do it more.

I think it's too good of a show to continue down this path of making reality stars, but starting mid-season last year and all of this season, it sure seems like that's where it's going.

With that said, Carla was clearly over her head. Having a lot of natural skill and some talent is one thing, but she was always in the deep end of the pool and the fact she always survived is very admirable, but come on, she doesn't have the skills of the others. She was, however, a captivating character and made for great television. Perhaps a JV player on a Varsity team, but I bet thousands upon thousands followed the show solely because of her.

Hosea never shined until that last meal. I don't defend him, but he picked it up when necessary and made a great meal. Good for him. One must remember what the principals always discuss on their blogs. Judging Table is often hours of discussion all edited down to a few seconds for television. The full range of good and bad is never known by the viewers. We must trust that our Judges made the right decision and I have no problem with this one.

Stephan was reality villain like Omarosa and he paid for it. Fabio, too much emotion and too much reliance on Italian food. That pasta he made in New Orleans, even though Padma loved it, looked like Chef-Boy-Ardee. Fabio is the one who will see the most celebrity from this season though. No doubt about it.

I liked the lesbian celery girl. I thought she was kind of hot and probably had the most technical skill even if she was devoid of most personality. The Wonder Woman/Queen Isis headgear was a bit much for me, but her skills and commmitment to what she wanted to do made her definitely stand out. Maybe she's not compelling television, but she will make it as a Chef if not a celebrity.

Love the show. I just hope they shuffle things and don't go with the same formula next season. It's like Behind the Music. That show was magic for the first 10-15 episodes then it became a joke because you could insert any band and you always knew that at the 3rd commercial break the music would get ominous and that was when it all fell apart. 4th commercial break, bright music and redemption. Regardless of the band, it was a formula that worked. I just don't want to see that happen to Top Chef.