Still have room for dessert? David has a nectarine crêpe, suzette-style, for the judges. He sautéed those nectarines in butter and brown sugar before flambéing them in cognac. "The secret to a good crêpe is the color," Gordon says. "And the thinness. And the texture. And, of course, the filling." Sounds like a lot of secrets. Well, David apparently delivered on enough of them, as both Joe and Gordon seem to like the crêpe; Graham's more a fan of the filling. Whitney's turn: It's a white chocolate bread pudding that she's put her own spin on. "It's a take on somewhat of a soufflé, but more of a bread pudding style," she says. Whatever it is, it doesn't look terribly appetizing -- the dessert is sunken in the middle and adrift in a sea of syrup. But Gordon likes the moist texture and declares the dish delicious, sunken top or not. In fact, both desserts impressed the judges, so that's something to hang your hat on.
Anyhow, we're overdue for a judgment. Gordon, Graham and Joe must now decide, based on the three dishes they've tried, who becomes the first American MasterChef and receives all the baubles and accolades that go with such a title. Joe thinks David excelled with the appetizer and liked his intelligent plating. "The thought process behind it was light years ahead of what Whitney put up," Graham agrees. But while Whitney's approach didn't work on the appetizer, it most certainly did on the entrée. "Two things on the plate, but it sang," Graham says. And dessert? Both Joe and Graham like the crêpe that David whipped up; Whitney gets credit from Gordon for attempting a soufflé in the final. But does she get credit for making it taste any good? On that point, the judges are silent. Anyhow, Gordon points out, there can be only one MasterChef. Because it's not like you can fit two author names on to the title page of a cookbook. Time to put some poor would-be chef out of his or her misery.
Back in the MasterChef kitchen, the contestants are surrounded by their family and one-time colleagues, as Gordon, Graham, and Joe stride into the room. "Both of you arrived inside MasterChef kitchen as amateur cooks," Gordon begins. "On tonight's performance, both of you cooked like professionals." In a way, you're both winners, But in another, more accurate way, only one of you is. And that one of you is... Whitney. Because, well, why not? Her food seems pleasant enough. Sure, no one ever really articulates why it's better than David's or what put Whitney over the top. But who has time for such niceties when there's confetti to release and champagne to pop? "My dream [was to win] the title of America's first MasterChef," Whitney tells us, "and I could not be any more happy than I am right now." Sounds great -- I'm sure the cookbook will read terrific in its original crayon.