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Top Chef S15 Power Rankings (Pre-Game: Top 15)

Dec 6, 2017 by PowerRankings101

A new season of Top Chef is underway. We have four previous contestants participating in Last Chance Kitchen, but I will not rank them here until they have appeared on the actual broadcast show. So how do these NEW 15 chefs stack up with one another on first impressions alone? And will Kwame, Jennifer, Marcel, or Lee Ann be able to make it all the way to the end of Last Chance Kitchen to return? My money is on Marcel, but we’ll see. Let’s rank the 15 people currently competing in the game. These rankings are based on interviews and credentials.

15. Rogelio Garcia- The biggest thing going against him is that he didn’t go to culinary school. Now, no one needs to go to culinary school to be successful, but in “Top Chef,” he is going to be surrounded by lots of seasoned chefs. He’s big on recreating traditional dishes and making them new and innovative. A lot of people claim to elevate traditional dishes, but few succeed in doing that. Sometimes, you need to stick to the roots and pleasing others, rather than trying to be ambitious for the sake of doing something different. Right now, he hasn’t won me over.

14. Claudette Zepeda-Wilkins- Claudette is going to be entertaining to watch, and should provide some good entertainment. But I just think she may get lost in the shuffle, and won’t be able to compete at the level of everyone else. Right now, I’m predicting her as an early boot, but she could change my mind.

13. Adrienne Cheatham- She seems to know food well, but she has more journalism and business background than she does food background, so she may find herself plating nice plates, but not necessarily delivering on the flavor. I could see her being an early boot.

12. Joe Sasto- He’s got a cool mustache. But he seems like he could be a bit of a trouble maker as well. I don’t know, it might just be the mustache and witty smile. I don’t know how he’ll place in the competition, but I think he’ll be interesting to watch, whether he’s good at cooking or not.

11. Tanya Holland- She has quite the biography and is definitely going to cook with lots of heart and soul. She’s going to do soul food real well, but I don’t know how she will handle some of the more modern techniques, and twists that Top Chef will throw at her. She seems to be in her comfort zone, but breaking out of that comfort zone will be her biggest challenge.

10. Laura Cole- Laura seems like a storyteller, and I’m sure she’ll be a fun contestant and provide lots of entertainment. She’s also going to be a good team player. This could work well for her. But I don’t know if she can win, because in “Top Chef,” you need to be able to be cutthroat, and Laura seems like the sweeter woman who will try to play it cool. But playing it cool could eventually hurt her.

9. Carrie Baird- She’s a Colorado native, so she already has a bit of a home-court advantage. But that doesn’t necessarily mean anything, and being stuck in the Colorado bubble may even hurt her if she’s not versatile enough. I can’t even tell you what Colorado cuisine is.

8. Tu David Phu- I’m interested to see how Tu uses his Vietnamese roots in his cooking. I hope he doesn’t get stuck pairing the Vietnamese food with the Colorado theme of the season. That could be his downfall, or could make him that much more impressive. He’s a wild card for me, but I like him nonetheless.

7. Christopher Scott- He’s all business. He’s there to cook and seems to be very professional. I love that about Chris. But I also think he needs to loosen up a bit, because there is also some fun that Top Chef brings. And if he’s too stiff and focused, he may turn some people off.

6. Melissa Perfit- We don’t get much about Melissa’s personal life in her bio, but her food credentials are quite impressive. She seems to have a good maturity to her that will keep her head in the game the entire time. I think she’ll do well, and am interested to see what she’s like and how her personality will reflect her cooking.

5. Joseph Flamm- Joseph has cooked for lots of big names and big faces. He seems like a larger than life personality, and his Italian background means he knows how to put heart and soul into his cooking. I’m interested to see how he does.

4. Bruce Kalman- Bruce has won lots of other cooking competitions, specifically a Chopped championship. I like those odds, and Bruce also seems to have a personality that will fit the big flavors that he’s going to be cooking.

3. Fatima Ali- Fatima is the epitome of someone who took a dream and made it her career. She dreamed to be the best and came to America to train to be the best. I admire her story, and how she climbed the ladder of a young dreamer to a chef. She’s someone I’m going to root for. Plus, she’s already won “Chopped,” which may be one of the more difficult food competitions out there. I hope she goes deep in this competition.

2. Tyler Anderson- Tyler has been cooking from a young age. He has been nominated for a James Beard Award for 4 consecutive years in a row. That is hard to beat, and I’m sure Tyler will be a strong force out there. He also has a good heart, being a father and family man, so that will also give the viewers a likability factor as well.

1. Brother Luck- Brother has lots of great credentials, and while I said being a Colorado native could essentially hurt Carrie’s chances, I think Brother has more to him than just Colorado. He has been cooking from a young age, and was also highly acclaimed as a teen chef as well. He beat Bobby Flay, and has won other local awards. I love his chances to win this thing. He’s my winner pick right now, and hearing Padma say “Brother, you are Top Chef” would be funny.

Right now, I honestly can’t tell how anyone is going to do. But whoever wins, they’ll deserve it, because this is a strong group of chefs. Right now, I have to look at credentials and it seems that Rogelio and Claudette have the least training, so I’ll peg one of them as our first boot.

PREDICTIONS:

Going Home- Rogelio Garcia

#casting

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Top Chef S15 Power Rankings (Pre-Game: Top 15)

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