Did **** Want To Go Home On Top Chef? (SPOILERS AHEAD)
Everyone was sorry to see Kwame Onwuachi go from Top Chef last night. Lots of people (me included) really thought he was going to win it all, at least for a while. The judges seemed to think so too. Everything Kwame made for them was the best thing they’ve ever tasted. Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio couldn’t get enough of him, and he couldn’t get enough of Padma (but that’s not important right now.) He won two elimination challenges, which makes him tied with Jeremy Ford for the most wins. But the “Back in the Day” challenge really tripped him up, and after that episode he wasn’t the same Kwame. He stopped being the shining star of the season.
Of course, as the episodes go on, the competition gets tougher. He was competing against better chefs. I know that. I understand that. But come on. There were six contestants left. His dish was chicken and WAFFLES. His restaurant concept was called WAFFLE Me. His pitch included sweet potato waffles and gluten free waffles. Waffles waffles waffles. And he used frozen waffles.
Is it possible Kwame wanted to go home?
I KNOW. But hear me out. Top Chef is tough stuff. It’s a long time being away from friends, family, a normal routine, and life in general. Everyone starts to lose it at least a little bit at this point in the season. And maybe Kwame saw that he was slipping and just wanted to be done with it. He’s smart. He had to know that the frozen waffles would do him in, because he’s seen it before. Historically, chefs go home for using ingredients they don’t make themselves. Just this season, Frances Tariga-Weshnak (my other OG favorite from this season) went home for using canned chickpeas.
Kwame second guessed his decision almost immediately after making it, but still. He had to know when he bought those waffles that it was a one way ticket to packing-your-knives-and-going-ville. Are we reading too much into this? Probably. But it’s valid.
Anyone have any other conspiracy theories from this season of Top Chef? Discuss.
