Many viewers of the show, Yes, Chef!, airing on NBC want to know why Chef Katsuji Tanabe was seen at the beginning of episode 5, "Chefs Rank," for about 3 minutes and 30 seconds, and then in the next scene you hear Peter say, "and then there were eight." This post will tell you why he left abruptly mid-episode.
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| Chef Katsuji on Yes, Chef! (credit: NBC) |
Was Chef Katsuji a Villain in the NBC Show, 'Yes, Chef?'
Chef Katsuji Tanabe on NBC's cooking competition Yes, Chef! was very much a polarizing character to the point of doing selfish things that made him a reality show villain. He frequently labeled himself as the "best chef in the kitchen" several times in the 4 complete episodes he was in, but something happened to him at the beginning of episode 5, titled "Chefs Rank."
Play-by-Play of What Happened to Chef Katsuji By Episode
This was very unexpected, because in many ways Chef Katsuji was very much the villain at times, such as the infamous episode where he takes all of the eggs during episode 3, "What's in the Box?" where Chef Katsuji is given the hardest task of making spheres via "Spherification," and fails miserably at the task, despite telling José Andrés that he can play around with it and essentially figure it out, but he is unable to achieve the task. Lee successfully wins the Spherification challenge, and gains admiration from Chef José Andrés for this win.
*Spherification is a culinary process that involves using sodium alginate to form liquid into spheres.
At the end of the episode 3, Chef Katsuji maintains that he is playing the game by taking all of the eggs, while other chefs desperately need eggs to make their dish, but the move was purely out of gameplay to keep others from using the eggs in a pure villainous move.
In episode 4, Peter was in charge, but could not cook, and Chef Katsuji was placed on Peter's team with Christopher. Chef Katsuji was clearly annoyed that neither of his dishes was selected by Peter, but their team still won the challenge thanks to Christopher's skilled dishes, elevating first a hot dog and then nachos.
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| Chef Peter, Christopher, and Katsuji in Yes, Chef! episode 4 (credit: NBC) |
Chef Katsuji is Seen at the Beginning of Episode 5, Chefs Rank
He was seen with the group at the beginning of episode 5 as they listened to co-host José Andrés, but this scene is cut about 3 minutes and 30 seconds in, and when the competition resumes, Chef Katsuji is no longer in the competition. He was last seen in episode 5 patting Peter on the shoulder, considering that Peter had the guts to not put out either of Katsuji's dishes in the challenge the just took place in episode 4.
At the 4:40 into the episode José Andrés says, "We are starting with one less chef than expected, and that "Chef Katsuji had to leave the competition."
Distractify reported that "Martha Stewart said that Katsuji decided to self eliminate."
Did you notice that Chef Katsuji disappeared in episode 5 of 'Yes, Chef'?
