Top Chef, putting (tele)reality to the test
Labeled a reality show when it was launched, the culinary competition broadcast on M6 has become, over the seasons, a veritable breeding ground for chefs who are appreciated and recognized by the profession, but the recipe for success isn't always what you'd think.
"Top Chef is my story and part of me."When she looks back on her time on the show, Fanny Rey is nostalgic. The candidate from season 2 (2011), who made it all the way to the final against Stéphanie Le Quellec, remembers every detail of the tests:"Even if my journey didn't end in victory, it wasn't a failure at all."The reason is obvious: "Top Chef enabled me to open my own restaurant."After seven years at the Oustau de Baumanière in Les Baux-de-Provence, Fanny Rey announced her very first service at the Auberge de Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (16/20 3 T) in 2012, just one year after the program was broadcast. It was an easy call to make, since the bank trusted her right from the start, thanks to the Top Chef card.
Media hype
"Top Chef production had warned us that if we opened a table immediately after the show, we'd be sold out for four or five years", Guillaume Pape points out...
