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Little did Joey and I know when we planned to record an episode about Top Chef season 1 episode 10 that it was a reunion episode! That’s right, apparently they used to do the cast reunion episode before the finale. And the contestants on that reunion episode used be super drunk. Like slurring words and being messy drunk, and maybe almost throwing up. Was that the show producers being unethical, or just what people in the restaurant industry did in those days, left to their own devices? Either way, great TV.
We discuss all the other topics on our mind, like Ken Lee returning for his (I believe) only other television appearance (he claims on the show that he got interviewed by Howard Stern, but as far as anyone can tell that doesn’t exist anywhere). Meanwhile, the contestants all seemed to gang up on Tiffani. Were they being too mean or did Tiffani start it when she kept trying to steal Dave’s thunder? At one point, she stormed off the stage crying, saying “I don’t want to be someone’s monkey,” at which point someone else onstage says “oh, she just walked off again,” while Dave says “oh, she’s gonna throw up,” which really underlines how drunk everyone is.
Then there’s an editing package lovingly dedicated to Brian’s sexual harassment. Gail Simmons grills Harold about whether he’s single, and finally, season one’s MVP, Stephen, apologizes to Candace for their big fight. And then Ken Lee interrupts him by laughing, and Ken and Stephen get in a big yelling fight. Stephen calls Ken Lee “White Trash,” (which is a weird insult for an Irish guy, but sure) and Ken Lee calls him… a “piece of muck?” I thought I heard “wog” in there, but maybe I’m imagining things. Either way, we analyze the game tape.
Should Top Chef bring back the reunion show? We say yes.
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