It’s back for Top Chef objective ! At the start of the school year, Philippe Etchebest will be back on M6, looking for a new protege for his brigade in Top chef. And this year, for the eighth season of the program, he will be accompanied by Pierre Chomet, ex-candidate of Top Chef 2020.
It is precisely together that they presented themselves at the press conference on Wednesday July 20, from the location of the filming at the Château de Carignon, about twenty minutes from Bordeaux where they are looping “the final stages” of the competition. “What I can tell you is that I take the candidates in hand even faster. I’m in the kitchen from the start with them. This is the real novelty of this season. I follow them much more diligently than before. This makes it possible to have something more precise, closer to the candidates, to see their progress“, announced Philippe Etchebest, specifying that there will be this time 60 candidates, compared to 108 last year. A substantial reduction that “will allow viewers to better follow the candidates and get to know them better“. Especially since each week there will be six in the running and only one will qualify on Friday for the final phase.
The choice of customers takes precedence over the choice of Philippe Etchebest
Another novelty: the integration of mystery guests to taste the dishes of the candidates in a pop-up restaurant. There will be anonymous people but also well-known personalities such as Miss France, figures from M6 or even David Douillet and Jérémy Frérot, as revealed by the first images. And everyone will have an important role to play since they will be able to send a candidate to a qualifying round. “The choice of customers takes precedence over the choice of Philippe Etchebest. There were plates that the chef liked and the customers liked less, or vice versa. (…) They are not in the figuration, they intervene“, explained Pierre Chomet, who is in charge of welcoming them and will taste “out of chief’s curiosity” the dishes, without sharing his point of view so as not to influence them. “The axis of this new season is to combine excellence with a desire for proximity and accessible cuisine, everyday“, specified Guillaume Charles, director general of programs at M6.
Pierre Chomet, who recently became a father for the first time, also had the mission of being alongside the families of the candidates. A precious help for Philippe Etchebest who, during this time, goes to the kitchen. “He relieves me, his arrival allows me to concentrate more on the culinary“, he rejoiced. One thing does not change, however, is that Philippe Etchebest was “taped” by certain plates. He remembers in particular a “vegetable for dessert“, an original idea.”And the result… it’s good! Oh yeah, I don’t make a fuss about it, it was amazing“, he dropped. It promises!
The launch date has still not been announced.