I caught the final 5 episodes of season 4 of MasterChef US. By this stage, we were down the final 5 chefs – all incredibly talented chefs. What followed was the eventual elimination of the final 4 competitors by the finest of margins. I was very pleased about the eventual winner – Luca Manfe.
Each of the 5 chefs were excellent and had their own evident strengths and weaknesses. In every case, their elimination was due to one costly decision or a bit of bad luck. For instance, Jessie Lysiak, the 3rd place contestant and my other favorite, decided not to include a salad side in her final dish despite having kept it ready. The moment the judges tasted the dish she left out, they declared it the highlight of the night. One bad decision. Out.
So, why the delight around Luca Manfe? Well, he was the undisputed nice guy. He was clearly popular amongst all his competitors – most of them predicted he would win. But, more importantly, he always made the “kind” choice when the going got tough. When they were down to the top 5 and when eventual second place winner, Natasha, forgot an ingredient, Luca lent it to her.
The best moment, however, came when they were down to the top 3. Jessie Lysiak forgot to bring in butter from the pantry. So, she went to Natasha (the same contestant who was helped by Luca earlier) and asked her if she might borrow butter. Natasha had 3 large slabs of butter but refused. And, before Jessie could ask Luca, he threw a large slab over. When the camera man asked him why he did this, he said – “If she wins because of that, good for her. At least tomorrow I’ll still be able to look at my face in the mirror. I’m a nice guy, forget about it!”
Great guy. Great example to everyone watching. He didn’t win despite his nice-ness. He won because of it – it’s folks like him who can pour their heart into what they do. Congratulations Luca..!
A Learning a Day 