• This Wednesday, it is the grand finale of season 14 of "Top Chef" on M6.
  • With Danny Khezzar, will chef Hélène Darroze win her fourth consecutive victory? Or will Philippe Etchebest and his candidate Hugo Riboulet succeed in bringing the trophy back to the blue brigade?
  • While waiting for the verdict tonight, the four jurors of the show and the 100 guests of the Red Cross at the final round have already returned their tasty note on the menus of the two participants.
  • If one of the finalist chefs put on a show with each dish on his menu, the other revived flavors already known to our taste buds. A little taste of coming back that is reminiscent of previous editions.
  • "20 Minutes" tells you behind the scenes of this appetizing finale. And almost spoiler-free.

"You're going to have a plate that's going to arrive with a vaporizer. Do not hesitate to put some to reveal the surprise of the chef, "explains Clara, the director of operations on the set, to the volunteers of the Red Cross, present on December 12, at the Four Seasons George V, in Paris, for the finale of season 14 of "Top Chef".

At this stage of the competition, the identities of the finalists of the M6 show were still a mystery. But six months later, it is Danny Khezzar, the lucky winner of Hélène Darroze's hidden brigade - who made a great comeback after his elimination in the second week - and Hugo Riboulet, youngest of the competition and revelation of Philippe Etchebest's blue brigade who are preparing to take up the ultimate challenge: to create an exceptional gastronomic menu for 100 people from the Red Cross and the four members of the jury.

A taste of déjà vu

Back to the plate. The vinegar magic trick must sublimate the entry of the A menu concocted by one of the two super chefs. A beautiful "promise kept" that delights one of the guests, seeing the black sauce of her dish lighten, but makes other participants in the tasting more skeptical.

As every year, the staging is honed to offer a bewildering finale to the viewers, but returns this question to the taste of déjà vu: should it be simple or sophisticated to delight the palate and the voices of the greatest number of people? "The chefs are very happy with this year's level. It was a great promo," says Stéphane Rotenberg, who is in charge of the show's presentation.

To impress their guests, Hugo and Danny did their own thing, "even if the themes had some similarities," says Sistine, a Red Cross volunteer and juror of the evening. On the one hand, a rather technical A menu with demonstrations. After the vinegar tour will come that of steaming nitrogen for dessert. On the other, a B menu with reassuring tastes and a rather iodized red thread. "There is a risky issue on dessert. There is one who has ensured more than the other, says Stéphane Rotenberg. Good for undecided guests. *SPOILERS* Moreover, the two final sweet proposals are chocolate, a blow for my colleague from Télé-Loisirs who can't stand the smell of melted chocolate.

"We value risk"

"Before, candidates didn't take too many risks, because they were afraid of tasters. Today, there are very inflated things, which are welcomed by people. We value risk," says Stéphane Rotenberg. A cheeky bet that had succeeded Louise Bourrat, winner of season 13. His very bold menu, with unexpected combinations of flavors, had prevailed over Arnaud who had bet on simple and comforting dishes.

But we know that tastes and colors are not discussed. For Adriana Karembeu, the patron of the Red Cross, "the A menu is very sophisticated. Sometimes simplicity is the best choice." She will give more points to menu B, even though she particularly enjoyed menu A.

In addition, without instructions for tasting the dishes, there were some misses. On the Sistine table, for example, we tasted seaweed that served as a decoration for a dish on menu A. For the young woman, "one menu was still more bland than another". So sophisticated or simple? On the journalists' table, it is the "simplest" menu that garners the most votes.

Our file on "Top Chef"

But it doesn't matter, because as Stéphane Rotenberg reminds us: "It is rare for the public to vote like the chefs." And then, as Gérard, a Red Cross volunteer, says, to whom we leave the last word, "the evening was very nice".

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