Top Chef Season 15 Episode 2: Le Trompe-Palais and Gus the Intruder

The trompe-palace test puts candidates to the test

In this episode broadcast on Wednesday March 20, 2024, the Top Chef candidates were faced with an original test to say the least: trompe-palais. As soon as they arrived in the kitchen, they were blindfolded and had to taste a mystery dish without being able to visually identify the ingredients. Enough to test their taste buds and their ability to recognize flavors.

Unexpected associations

To make the exercise more difficult, the chefs have designed dishes with surprising combinations: eggplant for Jorick or mustache in prime rib for Pierre, for example. Faced with these creations, which were confusing to say the least, the candidates sometimes lost their means and proved incapable of reproducing the dishes tasted blind. The stakes were high, since elimination awaited anyone who strayed too far from the expected flavors.

• Veganism and meat on the menu
• Culinary trompe-l’oeil sows confusion
• Fatal errors for some candidates

Gus the intruder, new challenge and surprising guest star

In addition to the trick-or-treating, this episode of Top Chef was also marked by the appearance of an unexpected character: Gus, a talented chef against whom the candidates had to compete to avoid elimination. This young culinary prodigy literally shook up the habits of the participants, who had to revise their copy in order to hope to stay in the competition.

To read: Who was eliminated from TOP CHEF season 15 during the first episode?

Defeats that are difficult to take

During this dreaded test, a candidate was eliminated after making a serious mistake. Unable to contain her emotion, she burst into tears in front of the cameras, aware that her mistake had cost her her place in the competition. A moving sequence which testifies to the pressure felt by budding chefs during these intense events.

Audience success confirmed on M6 in the face of competition

This episode 2 of Top Chef 2024 will have attracted many viewers, thus consolidating M6 in its role as leader of French television channels for this type of program. Indeed, “Top Chef” positioned itself at the top of the evening’s audiences, notably ahead of the detective series “Tout le monde ment” broadcast on France 2, which attracted 3.28 million people. It seems that the show’s culinary challenges are popular with the public.