An Open Letter to Top Chef’s Marcel Vigneron
Dear Misunderstood Marcel,
I wanted to let you know that I don’t believe a word of the negative hype around you. You seem like a good egg. Normally I can see where the TV producers and other show participants are coming from when they push a “bad guy” of a show (i.e: Puck, Santino, etc) but this time I’m not falling for it. I see no evidence. In fact, you seem like a good ‘old nerd! A food Nerd, and that’s cool. Someone breaking a bottle over your head cause they didn’t like your “character” on a reality show, that’s not cool!
And I also must commend you at not stooping to the level of you show-mates who acted like jealous petty teenage school girls, poking fun at you, trying to shave your head, calling you names. Even when Elia (shame on you!) and Ilan (the biggest brat of them all) implied that you cheated, you were very upfront about it and didn’t sling the mud back at them. All in all you are an extremely good sport and you deserve some credit for putting up with all the crap on the show.
How this all started and you got pegged as the bad guy - I’m not sure. My hunch is that these guys just couldn’t deal with your confidence, your skills and well, they couldn’t deal with your hair. You have got some crazy good anime hair and it was just too much for them.
Here is a bit about how intimidating your hair is: (Laws of Anime #33)
Law of Follicular Permanence
Hair in anime is pretty much indestructible, and can resist any amount of meteorological conditions, energy emissions, physical abuse, or explosive effects and still look perfect. The only way to hurt some-one’s hair is the same way you deal with demons… with bladed weapons!
So keep rocking the hair and the gastronomic mad-science! We are wishing you the best of luck in the finale! Kick Ilan’s ass (he deserves a good wholloping!). And, if you are ever in Brooklyn, we’ll treat your right and make you a cake.
-Tammy
January 26th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Tammy you go girl..you nailed the truth about Marcel..!!! He just loves his work and it shows….the other chefs are just soooooooooo Jealous….He is going to Win!
February 2nd, 2007 at 2:53 pm
I agree! Thanks for this blog - I can’t get my comments on Bravo’s blog, they won’t post it. I thought more fuel for fire, I hear on good sources that the “edits” to the Shave Episode, were done backwards, that the group went after Marcel and then shaved their heads as a cover-up to say it got carried away. WOW. Also thanks if you let me this post the below, Bravo won’t. It may be of interest here.
I agree with the majority on those Blogs, who are saying: were the judges on Crack?
I get the same cook-off with Bobby Flay and the other competitions on Food Network without the lack of integrity.
Last year was so phenomenal, that this year, well, the ending is what ended it for me,
actually beginning with the Head Shaving, I’d had enough of the producers lack of CORRECT action. Ilan was as guilty in the eyes of the law, as Cliff.
THE SHOWS NEW TITLE:
TOP AVERAGE COOK,
judges? They should have a check-list because at 4am, they even turn what they said about Marcel, around into saying it about Ilan in the Blog**, justifying their giving him the
“win”. (**Item # 5 BELOW )
1. Marcel did not forget his fish, he took the product trays and “delegated” the
refrigerated trays, as a good Chef would do, but unfortunately for him, he could only have Refugees from the Lord of the Flies Cookout, no matter who they were.
2. Sam (whom I rather thought had some integrity) making the comment w/a smirk on face about the sea beans was pathetic, when in fact the entire dish was served “as Marcel planned it” - sans the refrigerated product left behind by “Sous Chefs”, that in the real world would have been fired. . Uh huh. We all know better. And we expect the judges to pay more attention; sadly they did not BY leaps and bounds.
3. Truth and Integrity the Producers and Judges, if they wish to retain sponsers and their credibility - for starters - Ilan LIED. His dish was 90% already decided upon. No matter what, he said, he was going to do Spanish, he set down his menu FIRST. Yet stated “no I decided from the market”.
3.a) According to ex-employees of the Casa Mono, the Bay Leaf is their signature dessert. !!! He took full credit as if he thought of the idea as a surprise. When asked if he was going to do flavors of the island, there was simply a firm NO. He was
resolved to do only what he can do. And where is the orginality factoring. Ingenuity,
vision, creativity? I won’t mention that one chef even stated his Main Course Dish was
more like “casual food”…. Show is down 98% in integrity.
3.b) ALL the mandates the show professes to be “about”, were completely denied in this finale. (I’ll never watch again, without integrity, it’s just another “crazy” reality show
where anything can happen and IS ALLOWED to happen”). To wit:
4. In a court of law, there is a reason that the person who “caused” the pulling of the
trigger is guilty along with the person who PULLED the trigger. Albiet, this may have been a shocking incident to producers/judges; however, NO Excuse. They have people on payroll who can explain how to respond, if you have such true intent.
4.a) I believe it was even Ilan’s suggestion - WHO was holding it, WHO was endorsing, encouraging like a cheer-leader? This was ASSAULT people!!!. Charges could be equally brought between Cliff & Ilan for assault in a court. ASSAULT, JUDGES/PRODUCERS.
4 b.) Sam would have been standing with Marcel, as Ilan should have also been REMOVED due to that ILLEGAL episode. Almost EVERYONE would have been happy (Sam=viewers favorite), as well as justice would have been properly served. Maybe there are rules for a reason.
Therefore, If the show has SUCH concern and integrity, it was not shown. Marcel might not have been hit over the head with a bottle in Las Vegas (requiring stitches) if they had taken appropriate action!
—
The judges have no “method” of judging. They keep no tallys, write nothing down. Discuss til wee hours in the morning, and forget what they already said at the meal. They may consider more integrity in the show by having a structure, where such & such challenge carries 40% weight on, X% on, and they actually (privately) tally their scores, and then discuss. At least there is some weight and structure for both the judges & contestants.
that’s all it has become - just another hokey crazy reality show. I do not trust it for being “real” henceforth. In fact, to be blunt, it just became a joke. Unfairly against Marcel everywhere!
# 5) For the example: Tom (and I quote from memory, so…), quote: Said specifically that
Marcel’s meal went together, progressively into the next plate, Ilan’s did not” enquote,
WATCH the reruns (i will to remind me of my outrage and why my favorite show is off my list now).
HOWEVER in the Blog he specifically says the same thing (Page 8 of his finale post), BUT
REVERSES THE NAMES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MARCEL WAS CHEATED. ILLAN SHOULD BE IN JAIL FOR ASSAULT ALONG WITH CLIFF, AND THE SHOW either needs to apologize to Marcel or NEEDS TO GO. We can watch the Food Network for this stuff people, THEY HAVE INTEGRITY.
Thanks, Tammy, for your wonder letter to Marcel.
February 2nd, 2007 at 3:00 pm
So Sorry for the above long mess - don’t know what happened when I was editing with all those space. But also wanted to say Way Cool on the anime! Awesome work Tammy!
February 2nd, 2007 at 3:22 pm
I couldn’t disagree more… Marcel is a evil little jerk. I hope he dies in a macrobiotic food accident… like drowning in foam.
February 2nd, 2007 at 5:46 pm
You sound a little crazy here. It’s just a tv show. It’s always kinda frightening when people starting capitalizing words like Truth and Integrity in the middle of a sentence.
Marcel’s hair is bad and he really comes off as an annoying pipsqueak.
February 2nd, 2007 at 7:01 pm
Thanks, but in deference to Tammy, this post is hers and Titled for “apology” to Marcel, and her light-hearted Anime is quite appropos and cute. The real shame is how people are so influenced by TV edits, lies, as to make sworn enemies of someone they never met. That is why integrity in such an important thing, children are swayed so easily without the facts! Consider that you probably didn’t know that Tom C. was enraged, (that’s good to hear) , and states that they attacked Marcel (a crime), before they shaved their heads, and that the producers would not allow Tom to handle it by removing all accomplises, –they wanted the ratings. I want a show that is “real” competition allowing people to do their best, and win the PRIZE!…There is an article, very revealing in MS-NBC, in which Tom C. said much of this, and it’s important because again, gullible and hateful people watch a gang-buster and side hatefully enough to crash a bottle over someone’s head causing stiches. I guess crime and stupdity go hand in hand.
February 3rd, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Refreshing to know there are viewers who support Marcel. I never once saw or heard him do or say anything negative or insulting towards his competitors. I was hoping he would win because he seemed to put his heart and soul into cooking. Unless scraps are lying on the floor in the editing room, I never once saw any of the other chefs take their work home with them the way Marcel did. Kudos to Sam, however, for saying he thought he could learn something from Marcel when Marcel picked him for his team.
April 27th, 2007 at 8:34 pm
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August 30th, 2007 at 5:20 pm
When is reality not reality…
Sorry, Marcel, you just entered the twilight zone, where nothing makes sense to anyone but the people raking in the money. I suspect you know what game is being played and are willing to accept it for your own reasons… not the least of which is more than a little fame and fortune that would be difficult to come by so quickly in a normal chef’s position. And because you’re probably one of the good guys and have a world class talent, those of us who hate the phony entertainment format can still appreciate your gift, and enjoy watching you work the magic of your art on TV.
To those of you who are still stewing over Marcel’s loss, please remember this is no more reality than ‘professional’ wrestling - someone’s idea of entertainment based on appealing to the more gullible folks in our society who are easily duped into getting caught up in manufactured scenarios calculated to engage them emotionally in battles of ‘good and evil’ and ‘good guys versus the bad guys’. Everything you see… EVERYTHING… is suspect and cleverly designed to serve this objective. Despite what you see, there is no reality - only ratings.
To the producers and promoters of this type of entertainment I can only ask - We know you have no shame… but do you have any idea how great the negative impact this kind of entertainment has on American society? I one generation we have moved from a society of ideals and the ability to respect and praise our heroes, to one in which we idolize crooks, fools, and a_ _ holes who champion everything from dog fighting and drugs, to wars of imperialism and the torture of captured enemies. Men and women of real character are too often trashed and rejected by our new elite, and as often as not, blamed for the sad state of affairs we increasingly find ourselves confronting.
Free speech, free enterprise, free trade… don’t kid yourself. The price of freedom is not just eternal vigilance, it’s RESPONSIBILITY.