"Top Chef" 2025: "We're not going to serve in our underwear!" Margaux fumes during the restaurant war

A delightful return this Wednesday evening on M6 of the legendary restaurant wars and to spice things up, former " Top Chef " candidates are joining the party: Mallory Gabsi and Matthias Marc - both winners of the competition during their season - and Norbert Tarayre, whose restaurant, at the time, hadn't opened. "They're not responsible for anything, the poor things, but I have revenge to take," the latter says. "I'm here to blow them away." The tone is set.

Among the three elders, he is serious at heart, but joking in form. And, they seem to have fallen in tune with the troublemaker Norbert. Facing them, Charles, Charlie and Quentin on one side, Claudio, Esteban and Margaux on the other. In Poissy ( Yvelines ), they must choose between a crêperie, a two-story lounge restaurant - that only the elders covet - and a brasserie in its own juice, old-fashioned... That no one wants.

There's a fight over the crêperie. It's a game of flipping paper between Charles and Esteban, scissors against paper, and the latter's team wins. What to do about it? Claudio's team is a bit tense. Ideas are flying, sometimes outlandish. Esteban comes up with the idea of ​​a festive restaurant. "To get in, you have to wear a wig," he says, laughing. "We're not going to serve in our underwear," Margaux fumes, refocusing the discussion and settling on a Woodstock theme. The name will be Euphoria.

For the others, everything's going well. The elders will build a hunting lodge. "Shall we call him Pan Pan?" asks Norbert jokingly, thinking of the rabbit from "Bambi." Dare you! "How can you disagree with such a genius?" smiles Mathias. But be careful, this is a "2025 hunting lodge, with plenty of tolerance." While there will be venison for the starter and venison for dessert—yes, grated—the steak and its royal sauce will be 100% plant-based.

In their rotten brasserie, the boys go for a mafia theme, imagining a restaurant hidden behind the facade of an Italian grocery store, with a code to decipher on the menu. It's fun. But first, the renovations and the decorating, and those traditional scenes of delirium and a few reckless purchases. A life-size lamp horse for Charles, which he christens Mafioso.

"No," "no," "no"... Margaux is getting a little tired with an overexcited Esteban who is multiplying his desires at will. "You're calming me down too much, it's going to be crazy," he pleads. Claudio, having gone his own way, brings back a cactus and a giant traffic light. Not at all on topic. "No, but I'm dying," says Margaux, struggling to contain herself. "It's really freaking me out, damn it, it's breaking my back," she fumes, storming off.

At the hideout, we do Italian, of course. A Cacio e Pepe starter, trompe-l'oeil pasta, a escalope, and a daring finale, guanciale ice cream, a rather fatty dried meat, with a coffee cigar broth. Upon visiting, the promise is pleasing. "I want to go inside and see Al Pacino eat the pasta," says Stéphanie Le Quellec .

At Pan Pan, the decor is "for Nono," who struggles to place the fake fireplace and the cow's head, making frequent trips upstairs. "I'm going to have a nice firm little bottom, my wife will be happy," he laughs. In the kitchen, the two-time Michelin star chefs are hard at work.

At Euphoria, the good mood is back. Not for long. While Margaux battles in the dining room, the kids act like idiots in the kitchen, there's dancing, there's singing, but is it actually cooking? And Margaux gets angry. "But you're really sick, this is the second time you've made me dizzy," she remarks again. Joy will return but will be short-lived: they won't open.

In the voting, it comes down to one point. What's the fault? Perhaps the fact that they offer to eat seated on the floor; not everyone is comfortable there, Etchebest pointed out. Of the three, the clandestine restaurant outrageously dominates with nine votes; the veterans had a close call with three votes, Euphoria only two. "The score is killing me, it comes down to one vote," sighs Margaux. At her side, Claudio keeps smiling.

Time for the tastings. Pan Pan first. The venison ravioli are a sensation, the vegetable steak and its sauce are impressive – "there's meat in there, that's for sure!" exclaims Glenn Viel . Failure. "What's the point of this dried venison in this dessert?" laughs Paul Pairet. The suggestion works but unsettles some. At La Planque, the password on the menu is decoded, and the guests discover the boys' speakeasy behind the red curtain.

The jellied pasta is appealing, the veal mafioso, inspired by a Milanese escalope, is delightful, perhaps a little too spicy... On the other hand, the affogato with guanciale is intriguing. "It sticks to your teeth," notes Viel. Some find it successful. But something scratches at the back of the throat. The tobacco. "It's beyond chili, it burns," judges Le Quellec. Time for the vote and the verdict.

"I hope the new guys kicked the old guys' butts," Viel murmurs. Another failure. With 12 votes to three, the old guys win. It's a slap in the face for the youngsters, who all—except Charlie, immune thanks to his two favorites from the inspectors—go through to the elimination round. A cold starter prepared in half an hour that very morning. Claudio bows, but keeps smiling. Always.