Television Arnaud fails in the final of ”Top Chef”, season 13: “The show allowed me to mourn mourning”


For several weeks, he was clearly the favorite on social networks. But against Louise Bourrat, Hélène Darroze’s protege, Arnaud Delvenne, Glenn Viel’s colt, had to lose (53.81% against 46.19%) in this final of ”Top Chef”, season 13, filmed in January at the Four Seasons George V hotel in Paris and broadcast this Wednesday evening on M6. The 37-year-old Belgian candidate who always had more than one fries in his bag failed with his menu to seduce the taste buds of the 80 guests of the Red Cross and the four members of the jury. For us, the ”Top Chef” finalist with an atypical career – he started as a waiter, before becoming assistant manager at ”Quick” and cook in a prison – looked back on his adventure alongside the 14 other participants. . Interview.

Did you watch the broadcast of the episodes and follow the comments on social networks?

-I watched the semi-final which was broadcast on Monday in Belgium. I followed what was said on social networks a little, but I’m not fully into it because I find that there is not only positive. However, in life, we must keep only the positive!

In what state of mind did you approach the final?

-Very positive! I had the pressure, but it is better to have it than to suffer it. I still felt stress related to the competition, but reaching the final was already very, very good. This adventure was just a bonus, it’s the little kiss that makes life smile a little more.

In this menu, which plate are you most satisfied with? And the least?

-The starter, the mussels and fries! And the least is the dessert, because I didn’t work on it.

Significantly, you helped Louise’s team, late…

-We helped the competing team, and that seemed completely logical to us, in keeping with the osmosis that we had been able to create between us throughout the competition. It wasn’t strategic at all, it really came from the heart. When a colleague is cornered, we help him. The strength of our profession is mutual aid. If everyone gave a hand to someone in life, we would go much further.

This season, you have shone in several events, including the famous “restaurant war”. Is this one of your best memories?

-Yes, it’s one of my best memories, but there are plenty of others like the black box, or the ”offs” that viewers don’t see, but during which there are really knocks of heart and moments of pleasure between us. I did not participate in previous seasons but I think this year was strong in emotions and cohesion. In any case, that’s what I get out of it, and I come out grown from this adventure.

And the worst?

-I would say the first event, where I got off to a bad start with my coffee from Liège in a chocolate bar which looked, it must be said, like a little poo. And then you had to understand the dynamics of the competition, it was very stressful.

From a solitary candidate to playing in the final, there is still plenty of room for improvement!

-There are a few steps, let’s say! In ”Top Chef” as in life, I do things with the heart. I respect the frame but I like the lightness, I don’t really like having restrictions. I keep the state of mind with which I entered the competition, without the fuss. One challenge at a time, one day at a time. I thank the person who is above and who watches over me because she helped me to hold on in the contest.

Your mother, who passed away ten years ago, you thought about her a lot during the program…

-I thought about it a lot and I talked about it a lot because, beyond a competition, ”Top Chef” was for me an introspection and a professional and emotional upgrade. Talking about it with an open heart, it also allowed me to move forward better, to mourn the loss, because I had been carrying it for ten years like a weight that weighed on my professional and personal life. Today, I tell myself that we must never look back because otherwise we stumble. You have to live with the things of the past but make something positive out of them. And that, Glenn instilled in me during the three months spent with him, and it’s something that I put into practice today.

Between Glenn Viel and you, we feel a particularly intense understanding. How do you explain this almost immediate rapprochement?

-We are two ”true” people at heart. We also went through a few ordeals that inevitably bring us closer: he lost his mother, I lost mine, and then we have a rather atypical work path: we weren’t super good students in class, we were always a a little against the tide of the others… But we had the determination and the will to do things from the heart. If you don’t like what you do, you can’t do it, in all areas. (…) Life is well done, it is beautiful, you just have to look at it differently and with Glenn, you have the same perception of life. Since the end of filming, we stay in touch, we call each other or we send text messages every two or three days.

Was a real friendship created with Wilfried and Mickaël? Do you have time to see each other?

-We see each other when we’re on ”Philosaucisse” (the ephemeral restaurant that won the restaurant war, editor’s note) but the three of us also have our respective time-consuming jobs and our respective personal lives. We don’t see each other as much as we would have liked at the start, but that’s logical, life is back to normal, and we live in three different cities: me in Liège, Mickaël in Lille and Wilfried in Paris. This does not prevent us from being close, we remain a linked group. When we’re friends, we don’t have to get along or see each other every day anyway!

Do you have an example to follow, a favorite contestant seen in previous seasons of the cooking competition?

-I haven’t always watched ”Top Chef” in previous seasons but, out of patriotism, I will answer every Belgian who has entered the competition: Jean-Philippe Watteyne (season 4), Mallory Gabsi (season 11) I’m close to, Mathieu Vande Velde (season 12)… We all have this endearing little side. Afterwards, there is also the example of Ch’ti Camille Delcroix (winner of season 9), a friend of Sébastien, whom I like very much. But choosing only one would be sad, we all have something to bring to the competition.

What are your immediate and longer term plans?

-Perpetuate my restaurant ”Nono” (the nickname that gave him his mother child editor’s note) which opened on March 15 in the city center of Liège, ensure a few one-off events such as ”Dinner in the sky” to which I took part in Brussels… And there is my book which comes out on Thursday.

A cookbook with slimming recipes?

-There are, but not only. It’s not because we had a ”by pass” (he lost 50 kilos after the operation, editor’s note) that we can’t have fun with junk food from time to time! We still tried to lighten the slightly greasy or classic recipes as much as possible, which I dusted off a bit. There are also childhood recipes, stories about Liège, my city, an evocation of my best friend, a look back at my career in ”Top Chef” in life…

Reassure us, no advice for making light fries anyway?

– So no! There is even a recipe for Béarnaise sauce, which is the best sauce in the world, in which I use real butter. Yes, I still use fat, butter, oil, but sparingly. Just because you’re careful doesn’t mean you should only eat lettuce leaves!



Source link -124