‘Top Chef,’ Better Now Than Ever, Has Outgrown the Chaos of Restaurant Wars (Column)
Caroline Framke Chief TV CriticSPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers from the Restaurant Wars episode of “Top Chef” Season 19, which aired April 21 on Bravo.The most stressful storyline on TV this year, bar none, has been the exquisite tension of waiting for everyone on the 19th season of “Top Chef” to find out that contestant Jackson Kalb was competing without a sense of taste, thanks to a nasty bout of COVID before production began. Incredibly, Kalb had kept it a secret for weeks as he cooked spectacular dishes lauded for their bold flavors — none of which he could taste at all.