Matthias dazzled the jury of “Top Chef” with his “apology for excess” – Marie ETCHEGOYEN / M6
- M6 broadcast this Wednesday the twelfth episode of season 12 of Top chef during which the candidates had to propose a surprising tasting to the jury.
- With his “apology for excess”, Matthias Marc amazed the chefs and qualified for the quarter-finals.
- “There was not necessarily a form of crazy but there was substance”, describes the candidate for 20 minutes.
Michel Sarran applauds, Paul Pairet evokes a “form of genius” and, icing on the cake, Philippe Etchebest kneels. Never before has a plate aroused such enthusiasm this season in Top chef. This farandole of compliments was attributed to Matthias, who decided to “praise excess” to stick to the theme of the culinary experience and who then produced the “dish of the year” in his own words. judges.
Behind this enigmatic name hides a tasting in two stages: first, four bites too fatty, too spicy, too sweet and too acidic. To believe the heads of the members of the jury, it was not easy but they ended up finding balance thanks to the tartlet placed in the center of their palm. “It is clear that this is the plate that suits me the most, decrypts Matthias Marc for 20 minutes. It fits well with my line of conduct and what I want to do later. It’s really cool that this is the one that worked so well. “
“The idea came to me very late”
For the young chef, however, this ordeal was not the easiest to tackle. Like all candidates, he was aware, before the season started, that this theme would fall at some point, not knowing when. “Revolutionizing tasting is a bit hard to imagine. The idea came to me very late, towards the end, we were already shooting, ”he recalls. Matthias then thinks of revisiting the lemon pie, a perfect example of the mixture of fat, sweetness and acidity.
“In the approach, it was a board with four condiments and my hand drawn like a 6th grade child. I found it simple, ”he notes. On the other hand, the chef knows that he has a good idea if the jury lends itself to the game: “there was not necessarily a form of crazy but there was substance. “
The magic begins to operate when Hélène Darroze, Paul Pairet, Philippe Etchebest and Michel Sarran “fall for the trap” and lick their fingers while letting their imaginations mingle with the tasting. “Afterwards, it is better that the last bite works otherwise I will really look like a sucker”, remarks Matthias, laughing. His mission seems successful but he keeps a cool head: he has seen the achievements of his comrades and does not necessarily see himself finishing in first place.
Are you ready to lick your fingers?
Deliverance comes when the name of the winner is discovered. “When Chief Etchebest knelt down, I didn’t understand what was happening to me,” describes Matthias. Everyone was shocked, even the candidates, everyone was hallucinating. If the cook and chef of his own restaurant is also surprised, it is also because he did not see the entire tasting of the chefs, a story that the production leaves in doubt until the end.
In order not to deprive viewers of the pleasure of tasting this more than intriguing dish, Matthias has decided to add his “apology for excess” to the menu of Substance, his Parisian restaurant, when the health protocol will allow its reopening. “I have every interest in doing it again and continuing to work in this direction,” he observes.
Before reaching this deadline, the leader will have to prove himself in the quarter-finals of Top chef that he approaches “in free wheel”, relieved of part of the pressure of the competition since he won the restaurant war, the objective he had set himself before embarking on the show.