Hung Over

Is it just me, or was Dale robbed?

Just finished the TOP CHEF live finale (at 12:21 a.m., since we'd Tivo'd it, which makes it, somehow, less live), and I'm stunned. Like the OJ verdict, or when Chloe Dao stole the PROJECT RUNWAY title back to Houston after Season 2. It just seems wrong.

Here's why:

First, Trey was robbed when he took the fall as Executive Chef in the restaurant challenge. At that point, neither Dale or Brian had shown enough spark or stamina to win the race. Brian never fully delivered, and I'm frankly surprised he made it as far as he did. Casey--well, that's a sad story. Casey go stronger and stronger as the season progressed, and I truly thought she was the one to beat. Both she and Dale, who also grew by leaps and bounds, brought a kind of fire to their cooking that Hung only aped, during the finale episodes, with the clear help of a media coach.

As we all saw, Casey clearly faltered in Aspen. I feel badly for her, but know that she'll kick ass all up and down Dallas' restaurant scene. And it's not that Hung's cooking didn't look wonderful. I wonder if Hung's win was a backlash against the asshole Ilan turned out to be after Season 3. Marcel surely should have won, and maybe this was the producers' gimmee to the Vegas crew.

But truly--who saw Dale flying out of the background like that with flavors as robust, and recipes as elegant, as he ultimately threw down. Yes his brilliance was unsteady, yes his "aw shucks, two snaps" demeanor might have worn thin, yes, he was uneven. But he was human, and a great cook. So he faltered a few times. Don't we all?