Top Chef and I: Cynthia Sestito, Season 1

We've past the first eliminated contestant, and now it's time to move on to the next. Well, it's not exactly per elimination. Read on to find out why!

But before you do, take a look at the kitchen guidelines to get a reference point on how these dives are constructed.

Got them down? Good! Let's continue then!

The second contestant up on the list is Cynthia Sestito, and in this blog post, I'll be taking a look into her time on the inaugural season of Top Chef.

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Cynthia Sestito

Residence: East Hampton, NY

Position: Personal Chef/Caterer

Synopsis

Episode 1 (Who Deserves to Be Here)

Having previously been in the restaurant business, Cynthia Sesito has shifted gears and comes into the competition as a caterer to parties for the likes of people such as Nicky Hilton and Beyoncé. Though her life sounds glamorous, she is currently in an unglamorous rut of dealing with her father succumbing to cancer. While not as painful on the heart, Cynthia has also had been in unglamorous ruts on the line in a kitchen. With such vast knowledge on the subject as part of her 19 years in the game, you’d think she would pass the quickfire of working at Hubert Keller’s Fleur de Lys for 30 minutes rather easily...only for her ass to be instantly disqualified for wearing the wrong shoes to the party.

Damn Daniel! What are those?!?

During the elimination challenge the next day, Cynthia has difficulty shopping despite having many signature dishes (given the limit of an hour and $30 placed upon her). She later ends up being placed in the second group of chefs to cook, but gets to eats the first group’s food beforehand finding contestant Ken Lee’s dish to be her least favorite.

When it’s time for her to cook, she creates a lamb dish with this “crazy rice” she describes to judge Tom Colicchio in a rather...no I take that back. Actual shitty manner.

While we’re on the subject of color, Cynthia’s million thoughts and tendency to think on the spot comes to a boiling point when she accidentally calls the extra pale competition Stephen Asprinio by the wrong name.

This is Brian btw

Turns out there was no actual shit on the plate, but that didn’t stop Cynthia from shitting on herself. Her peers that tasted it weren’t as harsh, but they didn’t find it super pleasurable either. Ending up in the middle after the judges’ deliberation, Cynthia moves forward in the competition.

Episode 2 (Food of Love)

Cynthia’s plate of seeds during the fruit platter design challenge doesn’t do much at potentially winning nor are the desserts she made at the sexy dessert elimination challenge. Granted, there was supposed to be a "chocolate bomb" in addition to those desserts, but the constant freezer usage from the cast didn’t allow the dessert to set in time. None of that really matters though as Cynthia hasn’t had much time to settle on the thought of her dad dying.

Cynthia's dishes in episode 2

Learning about it right before she arrived, the incident is taking a toll on her in a way separate from her crazy antics, but she decides to conceal that info from the judges when she finds out she’s in the bottom so that it doesn’t affect the judges’ final decision. She ends up not getting eliminated in that round anyway as the judges send fellow competitor Andrea Beaman home.

Episode 3 (Nasty Delights)

The stress with her father succumbing has become harder for Cynthia to deal with it by the time the third episode arrives, but she manages to make it through the octopus quickfire with a dish that utilizes a technique to keep it tender. Alas, the lack of seasoning on her dish put her at the bottom of the leaderboard.

From there on, Cynthia is grouped with Stephen and other competitors Lisa Parks, Miguel Morales, and Candice Kumai to work on a meal for kids, but a phone call from her cousin regarding her father leads Cynthia to effectively make the decision to bow out of the competition.

Episode 10 (Reunion)

In the season’s reunion episode, Cynthia returns back on the program with all the other contestants to dish on the competition. Among her opinions regarding oven usage and finger tasting, the latter in which she kisses finalist Harold Dieterle on the cheek when he claims that all chefs have double dipped, Cynthia has some thoughts on finalist Tiffani Faison when she is put under the microscope.

As if her thoughts weren't sporadic enough, Cynthia doesn't give a clear-cut answer between her, Harold, and other finalist Dave Martin when asked who will win the competition, but she does make it a point to not have a super preference for Tiffani.

Analyzation

With footage of Cynthia drinking out of the bottle in her casting tape and her saying "Fuck You" toward Ken when he makes a comment on the pad's kitchen fitting her aesthetic as part of the first impression she elicits toward the audience, you knew Cynthia was gonna be a crazy gal (and a fun one at that). The IDGAF-ness she would have in particular was certainly hilarious to watch for me in the short span she was shown.

Surprisingly, she’s not featured on the “It Is What It Is” segment during the reunion (showing many chefs toying with the phrase "It Is What It Is" after their dishes are less than desired in their eyes) despite carrying that type of energy in the competition from the outside looking in. I guess she didn’t say phrases like that per se so…it is what it is.

On the flip side, it was evident that her dad dying put a temperament on her that affected her cooking skills. She even admits that with this crutch, it has caused her for the first time to not be into food, That’s a pretty powerful statement given her 19 years of experience. Hadn’t that unfortunate incident occurred as she was competing, her skills could’ve shined more. Take the octopus quickfire for example: Her knowledge with tenderizing the octopus was deemed impressive by guest judge Laurent Manrique despite landing in the bottom after.

Even with a not-so-winning dish, Cynthia still managed to intrigue guest judge Laurent Manrique with clever maneuvering

This was just one of seemingly many potential nuggets of wisdom she could’ve shown if her headspace was right. Granted, her headspace is all over the place like all the time, but 19 years of experience in the game is bound to be worth something (even if a slip up happens every now and again). The gal cooked for the likes of Nicky Hilton and Beyoncé. She clearly has skills.

However, viewers at home aren’t gonna know shit if she doesn’t ground herself when she’s competing. What I mean is...her frazzled behavior is all the viewers are getting from her, and even if the food was indeed shitty, being firm in some sort of stance would show authoritative control. However viewers choose to interpret it in accordance to her as a person afterward is up to them, but at least she wouldn’t be vulnerable in being seen as someone who cooks as opposed to being seen as someone who is a chef. I felt like I saw more of that during the reunion where her opinions were…well opinions. There was a sense of grasp and control you could feel when she was speaking because she retained a sturdiness in tone. Even when the thought itself wasn't complete (such as not having a decisive choice on who should win), that power could still be felt.

With time to process her situation with her dad, who did pass away by the time the show aired, Cynthia could articulate stuff that complemented her frazzled energy. Had that been present during the competition, she could’ve gotten further as it would center her to make potentially great food.

Either way, Cynthia did end up having an impact on the competition. Her departure allowed Andrea to be brought back (where she managed to last quite a while on a good stride before getting eliminated again). At least it was good knowing that her self-removal from the competition was not in vain.

The competition goes on without Cynthia, but the impact remains ever so strong