Been watching a lot of Top Chef since we got Bravo last week. So far we've only seen the current season and about the last half of last season. One thing I really appreciate is that the show really seems to be a meritocracy. Even more than Project Runway (which has always had an element of reality TV backstabbing), it's a show about people doing stuff, there are concrete results to be judged, and it really seems that the chefs rise and fall based on what they do. Either that or the producers are much better at hiding the machinations.
In one of the episodes from last season, Colicchio asked a really smart question: which is more important, that a dish be well conceived or be well executed? Of course, there's never an easy separation between the two. Bourdain said earlier in season 3: "it's top chef, not top cook." But I think maybe it's not even a question of whether you can execute your ideas but rather that a lack of technique/execution can limit your ability to come up with good ideas.