“Top Chef” final, season 13: behind scenes of gastronomic competition

The two finalists, Louise Bourrat and Arnaud Delvenne, invested the kitchens of the gourmet restaurant of the Parisian palace Le George-V. On the menu: mountains of potatoes to peel, a hell of a hell and a pressure that goes up.

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This Monday morning in January 2022, everything seems normal in the “Golden Triangle” district, in Paris: the luxurious avenues are empty, the palaces like the George-V wake up slowly. In a cozy atmosphere, American or Middle East families and some French businessmen have their breakfast around brilliant pastries like jewelry. Nothing suggests intense activity in the basements of the hotel which host the final of “Top Chef” season 13, which will be broadcast on June 15, on M6.

at 1 er basement, the decor is a little less licked. The floor is a tangle of black cables, colored adhesive tapes and plastic movies to protect the soft carpet. A large buffet was erected for the studio 89 teams, which produces the program, and it has nothing to do with the delicate croissants seen at the top: ultra-suckled chocolate bars and compotes are lined up between soda cans and soda cans and soda cans and soda cans and soda cans and soda cans Hydroalcoholic gel bottles.

Behind the buffet, in the “Chantilly” living room, the George-V paneling was devoured by the screens of the Régie, the 18 cameras, the microphones, the batteries, the talkies-talkies, the projectors. Since the early hours of the morning, production has been on the war foot, ready to welcome the four chefs (Hélène Darroze, Philippe Etchebest, Paul Pairet and Glenn Viel), as well as their ten candidates. When the latter arrive, they show with enthusiasm the “thirteen” tattoo that nine of them carried out before the final, in tribute to this thirteenth season.