Antonia busts out the hamachi but it smells weird and feels slimy. She tastes it and says it tastes like it's about to go rancid, so now she doesn't know what to do. Blais can't get the top off his pressure cooker, which is a metaphor for his brain. Blais goes on and on about how he choked in his finale, and he did, but Stephanie also outcooked him. Of course, she's a lady, so she should be discounted. She's probably the best FEMALE Top Chef winner.
The judges all arrive: Tom, Padma, Gail, Wolfgang, Morimoto, Michelle, and Melanie Dunea, a photographer who produced a book about the last supper fantasies of various chefs. Melanie looks like a cross between Jane Adams and Mary Louise Parker.
Antonia explains that she had to sub tuna in for the hamachi, even though she knows it's not as flavorful. She puts together her bento boxes and hopes that the components are good enough. Her food is served: a bento box with tuna sashimi with pickled daikon, mushrooms and eggplant, miso soup, and rice. Morimoto thinks the miso is too salty, and he notes that Antonia added some vinegar to the rice, but he likes it. Gail complains that the tuna has harsh seasoning, specifically the Scotch bonnets. Michelle thinks the rice was the toughest part to get right, and she nailed it. Gail likes the pickled vegetables, and Wolfgang did too. Colicchio liked the eggplant, but he thought the food wasn't subtle enough for Japanese cuisine.
Mike is pleased with how everything came out, and he tried to reinterpret what Michelle wanted with his own flavors. He serves fried chicken with pea puree, and an egg yolk empanada with mustard gravy. Wolfgang thinks it's elegant, and Michelle says that she gave him creative license. She loved that he put an egg inside of an empenada and called it a biscuit, because she thinks it worked. Gail points out that the batter slid off her chicken, and Tom points out that when you sous vide the chicken before frying, the batter doesn't adhere. Which is why no one cooks it that way. Tom thought the flavors were good, though. Michelle loves that Mike made the dish his own.
Blais says that he's feeling good about his dish. WHAT? Who kidnapped Blais and replaced him with someone who likes his own food? Anyway, Blais says that his philosophy is to use modern techniques to take traditional flavors and create a new experience. He serves beef goulash, spaetzle with sour cream, and apple strudel with tarragon cream. Wolfgang asks Morimoto if the food is enough to get him to move to Austria. Colicchio thinks the onion is undercooked and the dish is a bit cold. Wolfgang thinks it may have sat in the kitchen for a while. Gail thinks the strudel is outstanding, and Michelle loves the touches of Blais's cooking philosophy, but he kept the integrity of the dish. Wolfgang thinks that his mother would have approved.