“Much like working as a chef in any restaurant kitchen, no matter the caliber or cuisine, “Top Chef” can be a particularly unique and rigorous experience. In many cases, a general sense of grit and toughness is the norm, oftentimes calcified after years and years of tense kitchen interactions, incredibly frenzied cooking, frantic moments and immense stressors.
This is often shown throughout “Top Chef,” too, particularly during certain challenges, like Restaurant Wars or the Mise en Place Race, as well as any moment of the finale cook.
For Chef Kevin D’Andrea, though, he added a certain je ne sais quoi, if you will — nodding to his birthplace — oftentimes contributing a sense of levity, a bright smile, a wink and a nod. In both the competition proper and also Last Chance Kitchen, D’Andrea was consistent a bright spot, often adding humor and lightness in a competition show that often times finds itself lacking such ebullience. In addition, he made some pretty stupendous dishes, too, combining his culinary background and expertise with his previous experiences on “Top Chef France” to make him quite the well-rounded cheftestant.”
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