“She felt guilty”: eliminated from Top Chef, Shirley talks about this special bond with one of her chef mentors

On Wednesday April 17, the public could discover the new episode of season 15 of Top Chef. Unfortunately, the black box test was fatal for Shirley, who had to leave the competition. A real disappointment for the young woman, but also for the leaders of her brigade. One of them was particularly marked by this departure. We will explain everything to you.

This year, the black box was back. An even harder, more spectacular, and trying test for candidates and chefs alike. Two candidates, supported by their brigade and their leaders, faced each other. On one side Marie from the gray brigade and on the other Shirley from the orange brigade. The objective: to reproduce MOF Guy Krenzer’s dish by tasting it in the dark.

During the test, Shirley made the decision to be accompanied by chef Stéphanie Le Quellec to enter the black box and taste the dish blindly. “strategic choice” according to the candidate who spoke on the subject duringan interview with Télé Loisirs : “Firstly, it’s a strategic choice, because chef Stéphanie Le Quellec has a huge palate. Stéphanie Le Quellec has already worked with MOFs, so I found this choice more logical. Secondly, it was also to please him. When she participated in Top Chef in 2002, the black box test did not yet exist. I said to myself that it would make him happy to finally experience this legendary ordeal.”

Unfortunately, despite the help of the chef, Dominique Crenn and her comrades, it is ultimately Marie who wins the duel. A bitter verdict for Stéphanie Le Quellec who was particularly involved during this ordeal: “The chef had tears in her eyes. She hugged me and kept saying, ‘I’m sorry.’ In fact, she was personally angry with herself for having done this test with me and not having passed it. My start in the competition was too accelerated, so she felt guilty for not having managed to keep me in the adventure longer. His reaction touched me enormously. I told her, “Don’t be sorry.”

Shirley’s departure from Top Chef did not mark the end of this bond that was created between the chef and the candidate. Indeed, months after filming, the two women continue to exchange: “I am still in regular contact with the chef Stéphanie Le Quellec. We sometimes drink coffee together in Paris. We often write messages to each other and check in on each other’s news. She warned me that if I needed anything, advice or anything else, I shouldn’t hesitate to ask her. It’s really great to have kept this link. Generally speaking, the leaders of the orange brigade are always there for us, and that makes me extremely happy.”