By Kim
After breakfast on the Creole Queen, the final three meet Padma and Tom for their final challenge. It's simple: Cook the best three-course meal you've ever made in your life. Desserts are optional. They are doing their cooking at a legendary place called Commander's Palace, and they'll be cooking for 12 judges. Richard, Casey and Marcel (all of whom made it to their season finales, but didn't win) are back. They draw knives for who gets to pick first. Hosea wins and picks Richard, who he thought should have won last season. Stefan generously "gives Marcel another shot." He says Marcel is a great chef but a bit of a twat. I'm quite sure the same has been said about Stefan. Carla gets Casey. And its girls against the boys.
Stefan and Hosea butt heads over foie gras during prep. Then they butt heads over caviar. Casey teaches Carla how to cook meat sous-vide.
Then, after prep, they hang out at the hotel and get their fortunes told. Stefan talks about how he's been stabbing Hosea and Carla voodoo dolls, in order to get an edge.
The morning, they walk in and Tom's standing in front of a table that’s got alligator and other wacky ingredients. They've added a fourth course, which is an appetizer; they have to use either crab, red fish or the aforementioned alligator. Carla's butterflies have turned into bats. They use a king cake to figure out who gets what. Just in time for Mardi Gras (almost). The person who gets the baby gets the pick. Hosea wins it, keeps red fish for himself... gee, that's a challenge for a seafood chef. He gives Carla the crab and sticks Stefan with the alligator. Stefan wrestles with what to make with the alligator. Carla gets pinched by a crab, and then there's a lot of cooking.
Hosea's three courses are: Trio of Sashimi, Scallops & Foie Gras with Pain Perdu and Venison Loin with Wild Mushrooms.
Stefan's whipping up: Halibut & Salmon Carpaccio, Squab with Braised Red Cabbage & Schupfnudeln and Ice Cream & Chocolate Mousse with Vanilla Syrup and Lollipops.
Carla's creating: Seared Red Snapper with Saffron Aioli & Crouton, Sous-Vide New York Strip Steak, Potato Rod with Merlot Sauce and a Cheese Tart with Apple Coins & Marmalade.
A whole bunch of acclaimed chefs -- and Rocco -- are on the judging panel. Hosea's the first out with his appetizer, which is Blackened Red Fish on Corn Cake With Creole Remoulade & Micro Cilantro. That's a big description for the teeniest little hors d'oeuvres you've ever seen in your life. But it looks like it's on an upside down shot glass, which is kind of cool.
Stefan strolls out with Alligator Soup with Celeriac, Parsley Leaves & Puff Pastry, which he serves in itty-bitty espresso cups. Fabio's there. He likes it, he really likes it. Team Europe never says die.
Carla presents her Shiso Soup with Blue Crab & Chayote Thai Salsa. Toby Young is there too... sigh. And, randomly, Branford Marsalis, who is not a chef, so why he's there I've got no clue.
The judges sit down and talk about the food. They seem to really like Carla's first course. Branford likes to listen to chefs talk, because they talk just like musicians... except not really at all. Second course, they like Stefan and Hosea. Carla's attempt at Sous-vide didn't go over so well. Last course, Stefan says that Hosea's not making a dessert because he's chicken. Carla has oven issues (well, she forgets to turn it down) and her soufflé goes bad. They like Hosea's venison, they aren't impressed with Stefan's lollipops. They put Fabio on the spot to pick between Hosea and Stefan… and Team Europe crumbles as he picks Hosea.
The chefs say thanks to their sous chefs, Stefan and Hosea share wine, they all hug and then head off for judges table. They tell Carla that they liked her appetizer and first course, and then it all went down hill from there. They basically try to get her to blame Casey for all her mistakes. They like Hosea's appy, but not his first course. They love his foie gras-filled second course and his non-dessert final course. Toby questions why he didn't do a dessert. With Stefan, they like his alligator, but not his first course. The liked his squab, but his desserts weren't impressive. They all think they should be Top Chef. Carla starts crying and says that when she's in charge of her own food and makes her own decisions, she's deserving... then she starts crying and even Stefan tries to comfort her.
The judges basically put Carla out of the running, and debate forever between Hosea and Stefan. And then they decide on freakin' Hosea. Whatever. - Angel Cohn
Discuss this episode in our forums, then see what we think were this season's Biggest Misfires!
After a quick review of the season thus far (Did you know Hosea really wants to beat Stefan? And that Stefan won a lot of challenges? And Carla kind of came out of nowhere?), we head back to New Orleans for the final challenge. The cheftestants prep in different ways: Stefan brushes his teeth, Hosea puts on his shoes, and Carla does an amazing yoga move that looks like The Worm. Wouldn't it be super fun to be seated at Carla's table at a wedding? Even if you didn't know her? She could critique the food, you know she'd be the first one on the dance floor, and she could be your designated driver, since she doesn't drink alcohol. SCORE!
The final three cheftestants are delivered to a riverboat, the Creole Queen, where they eat breakfast. Carla interviews that she's astounded to still be there, but she feels like she's "building momentum." She adds portentously that if she can continue to make the food that got her to the finals, she has a good chance of winning. DUM DUM DUM! Hosea tells the others that this competition really opened his eyes to the fact that there are tons of chefs out there who want to be on top, to borrow a phrase from Tyra. That sounds dumb until you think about the fact that Hosea was a big fish in a smallish pond out in Colorado, and then he came to New York, the biggest pond of all. Hosea interviews that he has more to prove because, unlike his competitors, he still works for someone else and hasn't started his own business. Stefan interviews that he's pissed that Fabio got eliminated, but he really still thinks he has it in the bag. I bet the producers love Stefan because I get the vibe that, in his interviews, they barely have to ask him a question and he just starts delivering gems like, "Hosea, get the fuck out of here" and "It's in the bag. It's over." You may not like Stefan, but he is reality television gold, much like Santino was on Project Runway, probably because he presumably hasn't watched much reality television. Give me 12 Stefans over one All-Star season where everyone has been on television before and is way more concerned about their image and the editing than on just being honest. Maybe that's easier for me to say now, knowing the outcome of the season, but I think I've enjoyed Stefan all along, even if I didn't necessarily want him to win.
After breakfast, the cheftestants don their coats and head to a museum to meet up with Padma and Tom and find out about their final challenge. Colicchio lays out the ground rules, which are pretty simple: cook the best three-course meal of their lives. He emphasizes that dessert does not have to be one of the courses. Stefan interviews that it's almost too much freedom, because there are so many options regarding what to cook. Padma tells them that they'll be cooking at the famous New Orleans restaurant Commander's Palace, and then serving to a panel of 12 judges and guests. They get two hours to prep today and three hours to cook tomorrow. Colicchio pulls out the not-really-surprise that they will be getting some help, and Carla interviews that she didn't think it would be contestants like seasons, because they were already brought back once. True, but then production could save money on plane fares and hotels, right? Instead, they've brought back Marcel, Richard and Casey from seasons. I remember Marcel and Blais, but Casey took me a second, because she was so nondescript, even though she almost won the whole thing. Hosea interviews that all three of them were strong contenders for the title, so it's cool that they are there to help.
The three cheftestants draw knives. Carla goes first, and gets to choose her sous chef third. Stefan is supposed to go , but he's already starting with the head games, and he lets Hosea pull his knife instead. Hosea gets number one. Now, he might have got that no matter which turn he took, but it does kind of put a kink in Stefan's plan to get in Hosea's head, doesn't it? Hosea interviews that Marcel reminds him of Stefan, so he didn't want him at all. Hosea chooses Richard, which is who I would have chose, too, and seems like a good fit for Hosea, because he might push Hosea to be more creative. I think that's one thing Hosea has lacked a bit this season. Stefan chooses Marcel, and explains in an interview, "He's a great chef. He's a bit of a twat, but who's not?" We can say "twat" on television now? Wow. Also, that made me like Stefan more. So Carla gets Casey, and claims that she wanted her all along, and explains in an interview that she remembers Casey as being "very meticulous." Padma wishes them all luck and dismisses them.
The cheftestants arrive at The Audubon Tea Room, where they will do their prep. It is jam-packed with ingredients, and they all head to the walk-in to choose their proteins. Hosea ducks in and then quickly ducks out with an armful of ingredients as he interviews that his strategy is to start out with the best ingredients that he can. Meanwhile, Stefan and Marcel are busy chit-chatting and miss the fact that Hosea has just taken all the foie gras in the walk-in. Stefan chases him down and asks for two of the three loaves (or whatever unit foie gras comes in) back, claiming that he had set them aside. Hosea gives him one, and they argue over who had dibs. Hosea (generously in my opinion) offers to split another loaf in half so that they each get one and a half. Stefan is pissy about it, but you know, finders keepers and all that. As Sars was fond of saying, it's Top Chef, not Top Montessori School. Stefan interviews that he thinks it's bullshit and now he wants to beat Hosea more than ever. Is there really time to be arguing about this? Let it go, dude. Just cook better food.
Hosea interviews that he's going for strong flavors in his food, and he knows he wants to do a raw fish first course, something with scallops for the second and a game for the third course. He's skipping dessert because they don't have to do it, and he knows it's not his strength. He's going to sleep on his choices tonight (not literally -- that seafood would really start to stink), and make his final decisions tomorrow. Stefan comes by Hosea's station and asks Richard how they got all three tins of caviar. Richard tells him to take it up with Hosea, which is smart. Stay out of it, Blais. Richard interviews that he knows how much it sucks to lose, and he's really rooting for Hosea to win, and will do what he can to make that happen. Stefan brings up the caviar with Hosea, who seems to capitulate on that, too. So if Stefan is going to claim that Hosea bogarted ingredients, he doesn't really have a case.
Carla interviews that she also wants strong flavors. Does any chef want weak and bland flavors? She plans to use her French cooking skills, so she's going to start with a bouillabaisse, and then do a beef course. She doesn't mention what she's doing for the third course yet. Casey interviews that Carla has good ideas, but her second course, the meat and potatoes, needs to be jazzed up a bit, so Casey suggested cooking the sirloin sous-vide. This seems like a terrible idea to me for a number of reasons. First, while I have never cooked sous-vide myself, I understand that you put the food in a vacuum-sealed bag and cook it in boiling water at a constant temperature, and it ensures evenly cooked food. So, Carla's cooking sirloin steak. Don't you WANT sirloin steak to have a caramelized crusty outside and a pink inside? Isn't that the drawing point of steak? In addition, as Carla herself said earlier, she needs to keep cooking the food that got her here, and she has never cooked anything sous-vide. I'm sure Casey can help with the technique, but how does it show off Carla's point of view? It just makes absolutely no sense, and we don't really see enough of the conversation between Carla and Casey about it to know what really happened. Did Carla immediately cave in? Did they discuss the points I raised above (and which tons of other people raised on forums and blogs)? Anyway, those were my first thoughts upon my initial watch of the episode, and they haven't changed. This was Carla's first mistake, and it's a big one. Hosea interviews that he spotted the sous-vide preparation, and he hasn't even seen Carla do that, so he figured it must be Casey's influence. He thinks it could work for her, but it's risky. So Hosea basically just summed up what it took me an entire paragraph to say. Thanks, Hosea!
Stefan and Marcel discuss their food. Stefan interviews that he's grown up cooking basic food, but doing it well. His mother was a chef for forty-two years. Man, I would love to see an A&E Biography about Stefan. He fascinates me. Anyway, Stefan thinks it's much sexier to cook basic food well than to add on a bunch of bullshit. He just described my cooking philosophy. I'd rather know how to make really good homemade bread and marinara sauce from scratch than cook something sous-vide with foam and other molecular gastronomy tricks. Stefan yells that they only have 12 minutes left, and everyone starts packing up their food. Hosea interviews that they can't make any mistakes in this round; whereas before they might have been able to slide by if they forgot a component, that's not going to fly now. The chefs bid good night to their sous chefs and take off for the night.
Weird interstitial. The cheftestants are "treated" to a voodoo tarot card reader in their hotel room. She also has a crystal ball. And chicken bones. Hey, New Orleans Chamber of Commerce -- you might be perpetuating some stereotypes here. There's a fine line between local color and stereotypes. Stefan asks her about his love life, and specifically about a girl named Jamie. She looks at his palm, because apparently she is a psychic generalist who uses any and all tools to predict the future, and tells Stefan that Jamie is a possible girlfriend for him. Everyone laughs, except Jamie's actual girlfriend, who is probably throwing things at her television right now.
The day, the cheftestants arrive at Commander's Palace and find Colicchio standing there to introduce the famed finale twist. Tom announces that they're adding another course. Carla interviews that she's already feeling rushed for time, and the butterflies in her stomach are turning into bats. And she imitates the bats. It's quite a thing to see. Colicchio tells them that they have to make an appetizer using either crab, red fish or alligator. Stefan interviews that alligator is "a wacky meat," like kangaroo or raccoon. Tom announces further that they'll be eating King Cake, and whichever cheftestant gets the baby Jesus in his or her slice gets to choose which ingredient he or she wants, as well as which ingredient the others have to use. Hosea interviews that none of them want to cook with alligator, since they aren't used to it, unlike the crab or fish choices. Each cheftestant takes a giant slab of cake and starts eating. Fairly quickly, Hosea finds the baby figurine. He takes the red fish, gives Carla the crab, and sticks Stefan with the alligator. In an interview, Hosea gives Stefan the finger and tells him he'll really have to work for the title. Here's the thing about Hosea: I would like him a lot better if he didn't care so much about Stefan. If he would just focus on his own food and stop giving Stefan the attention he so desperately wants, everyone would be a lot happier. Except the producers, because this conflict makes for good television, I suppose. Stefan interviews how lucky Hosea is. Colicchio dismisses them and promises to come back and check on them later.
The sous chefs show up and the cooking begins in earnest. Hosea decides to focus on his appetizer, which is going to be a corn cake with Creole remoulade and a piece of blackened red fish. He lets Richard start the cooking for his other three courses. Hosea feels like his appetizer represents New Orleans well.
Stefan runs over to the alligator and whacks off the tail, which he knows has the most meat in it. He starts getting the meat out and tells Marcel that he's going to make a soup because he doesn't know what else to do.
Carla is working with the crabs and somehow gets her finger caught in one of the crab's claws. Stefan rescues her, and asks if she's okay. See? He's not always an asshole. Carla has decide to do a cold appetizer with Asian flavors and served in Chinese spoons. She interviews that thinking about the appetizer is hanging her up and taking her focus away from the rest of the meal. That's not good.
With half their time gone, everyone starts rushing around and we're treated to the recapper's favorite trope: the montage. So while nothing interesting or dramatic is going on in the kitchen, we get to find out the menus of the three cheftestants.
Hosea: Trio of sashimi, scallops and foie gras with pain perdu, and venison loin with wild mushrooms. He explains again that he's not doing a dessert because it's not his strong point, and he doesn't want a weak dessert to be the last dish he serves in the competition. Strategy! At least he's thinking about it.
Stefan: Halibut and salmon carpaccio, squab with braised red cabbage and schupfnudeln, and ice cream with chocolate mousse with vanilla syrup and lollipops. He explains that when he has a three-course meal, he wants to have dessert. Sure, but on this show, you want the dessert to have some coherence with the rest of the meal. He seems to be making his take on some traditional European dishes here, and then it all falls apart with the dessert, which seems thrown-together. But we shall see.
Carla: Seared snapper with saffron aioli on a croûton, sous-vide New York strip steak, potato rod with merlot sauce, and a cheese tart with apple coins and marmalade. The steak is just a weird choice to me, especially since Carla has been touting her French cooking background lately. And I've already registered my objections to the sous-vide. Carla explains that she's going to focus on the sauces, since they pull everything together. She's also doing cheese as her third course, since that's what is done in traditional French cooking. This makes sense to me, since Carla was known early on for her pastry crusts. She should reintroduce that in the finals; the judges always praised it. Casey steps in and suggests that they do a soufflé instead of a tart. Without, it seems, much discussion or objection, Carla hops on board. While I can see her argument that a soufflé is more traditionally French, I also think she should play to her strengths. Soufflés are known to be risky; it seems like every '70s sitcom had a subplot where someone's soufflé kept falling when the boss was coming over for dinner, and that's kind of turned me off from ever even attempting such a thing. But Carla goes for it, and we'll see how that works out.
Stefan explains that, in order to slice his carpaccio thinly enough, he had to freeze it. Marcel interviews that he thinks it's a bit of a travesty to freeze a nice piece of fresh fish, and I agree. Although I rarely eat fresh fish because I live in the sticks, my brother-in-law fishes a lot, so I have had it in the summer before, and there's nothing like it. The frozen fish that I cook sometimes (and am cooking tonight, in fact) is like a whole different dish. And especially since he's serving it raw, you're going to taste all the water added from the ice crystals in the freezing process. I would cut it thicker and avoid freezing it, but what do I know? Also, why am I agreeing with Marcel? I hate that dude.
There are 20 minutes left. Carla interviews that this is like "that last 6.2 miles in a marathon." Let me tell you, if I ran a marathon, the problem would be the first 6.2 feet, not the last 6.2 miles. They all put the finishing touches on their food and wait for service.
In the opening montage after the break, they show a shot of beignets and coffee that looks better to me than anything the three finalists put out there later. I don't know if that says more about me or about their food. Anyway, back at Commander's Palace, the judges and guests are arriving. Padma thanks everyone for being there, and gives special thanks to Ti Martin, the owner of Commander's Palace, for opening her kitchen to the finalists. Some of the other guests include Hubert Keller, Susan Spicer, John Besh and Rocco DiSpirito, all famous (or in Rocco's case infamous) chefs.
Hosea tries to plate his appetizer, but his hands are shaking so badly that he can't do it. He's got tiny corn cakes balanced on upended shot glasses, and then those are topped with a dab of remoulade, a piece of blackened fish, and then topped with micro cilantro and corn shoots. It looks interesting, although I still don't quite get the whole balanced on glasses aspect. The guests all love it, and say that Hosea nailed it. They loved the taste and the presentation both.
Stefan has to serve , and he interviews that Hosea tried to screw him over by giving him alligator, but he's confident that he will win anyway. He actually sings tauntingly, "My hundred thousand dollars, dude." Has Stefan never watched a movie or read a book before? Everyone knows that the taunting villain is about to fail miserably. So Stefan serves his alligator soup in little cups to the guests. He explains that it has celeriac, parsley leaves and a tiny puff pastry floating in it instead of the more traditional croûton. It looks like a chowder. The judges and guests all love it, and Fabio, who is also a guest, can't stop beaming for his friend.
Carla serves her appetizer last. She explains that her spoon contains shiso soup with fresh blue crab and chayote Thai salsa. The judges and guests (including Branford Marsalis and the executive chef of Commander's Palace) all like the dish, and note that you can taste the crab, and the crab is cooked perfectly. So it looks like the appetizer round is kind of a wash, since they all did well.
Back in the kitchen, the cheftestants are preparing for the first course. Richard suggests to Hosea that they plate their food in the walk-in. Not sure if that is due to temperature or room, but Hosea is on board. The guests are seated and the cheftestants walk out to meet them. Padma introduces the guests (I'm not going to give their resumes, because I figure you can just Google it if you really care): Rocco, Hubert Keller, Branford Marsalis, Fabio, Susan Spicer, John Besh, Tory McPhail, Ti Martin. The judges are there as well: Gail, Toby (he's back!), Tom and Padma.
The first course is served. Stefan explains that his is a smoked salmon and halibut carpaccio with microgreen salad, citrus vinaigrette, and caviar, with a fennel salad underneath. It looks watery even from here. Carla made red fish over a saffron aioli, braised fennel, and a grilled clam on a croûton. Hosea explains that his is a trio of raw fish: tuna, hamachi, and black bass dressed with hot fennel oil to cook the fish a tiny bit, citrus, and fried tempura bits. Hosea's plate is really colorful but it looks kind of messy, like everything is just piled on there willy-nilly. He used fennel as well, so fennel is officially the trendy ingredient this season.
After sampling the food, the diners discuss their thoughts. Besh thought Carla's dish was special. Colicchio liked the idea of Carla's dish, but he doesn't get to finish his thought because Branford Marsalis starts talking some nonsense. Ti Martin goes on and on about a sense memory from France and no one cares, lady. She does say that she would definitely order Carla's dish again. They all agree that Hosea's dish looked very colorful, but was missing seasoning. Colicchio doesn't like Stefan's choice of fish, nor the fact that he froze it first. Keller liked Stefan's dish, though. Toby thought both Stefan and Hosea executed well, but their dishes were bland. So they weren't executed well, because they underseasoned. TOBY! Branford Marsalis notes that chefs talk about food like musicians talk about music. Yes, Branford. You should hear it when a group of recappers get together. Actually, you shouldn't, because we're probably talking shit about you. So the first round seems to go to Carla, although no one screwed up too badly.
Now it's time for the second course. Stefan goes first, and explains that he has a pan-seared squab with braised cabbage, schupfnudeln (hand-rolled dumplings), foie gras, and grape jus. I feel like this dish is totally Stefan, and that he did the best job cooking something that really represents his culinary point of view. Carla explains that she was going for refined comfort food, so she made sous-vide New York strip steak with seared potato in a merlot sauce. I think she said that the steak was grilled as well as prepared sous-vide, but it was hard to tell. Hosea explains that his dish is seared scallop with foie gras on pain perdu, served with apple preserves and foie gras foam. Oh, that foam. I blame Blais for that one.
The diners dig in, and Gail quickly asks if everyone is finding Carla's sirloin to be tough. Colicchio blames it on the sous-vide. Ti Martin compliments the sauce, but both Colicchio and Toby point out that the dish doesn't seem like Carla at all. Fabio doesn't think it was a winning dish. In contrast, everyone loves Stefan's squab, and Gail points out that it gave a good sense of who Stefan is as a chef. Gail adds that Hosea's dish is incredible as well. Rocco whines that he's tired of eating foie gras. The thousand people that got laid off this week in New Orleans (and everywhere else) all rise up as a nation and beat him about the head with a rack of lamb. Shut up, Rocco. Just when I was starting to like you. Branford Marsalis wins me back as he chuckles that he could never get tired of eating foie gras. So it looks like Hosea and Stefan were a tie for this course, with Carla bringing up the rear. Stefan may have had a slight edge in terms of praise.
Back in the kitchen, the cheftestants are prepping to serve their final course. Carla puts her soufflé batter into tiny cups and sticks it in the oven. Hosea interviews that Stefan did a dessert for his final course, and Hosea didn't, so that could be the difference between winning and losing. Stefan interviews that he thinks it's bullshit that Hosea's not doing a dessert.
Just before plating, Carla watches her miniature soufflés in the oven, and notices that they are bubbling because the oven is too hot. She interviews that she forgot to turn the oven down, so the soufflé boiled and curdled, and she realizes that she couldn't serve it. There are only four minutes until service when she makes this discovery. She realizes she needs to serve everything but the soufflé, but the soufflé was what brought the whole dish together. It's really heartbreaking as you see Carla realize that there's no coming back from this and there's no way to fix it in the two minutes she has until service.
The finalists walk out to introduce their last course. Stefan says that he made stracciatella ice cream, chocolate mousse with vanilla syrup, and a banana lollipop. I still maintain that all of those items are great, but they seem like a plate you'd bring back to the table at Old Country Buffet or something. Carla says that she has an apple tart coin with a blue cheese and walnut crumble. She comes right out and tells the diners that her soufflé sank. I don't know if I would have tried to pass off the dish as complete or admit to my mistake. Maybe I'd wait until judges' table to admit it. Hosea made the non-dessert course, which is pan-roasted venison on a chestnut and celery root puree, with wild mushrooms and a blackberry demi-glace. Blais also added carbonated blackberries. I don't know if that sounds good or not. I think I'd like to try them, though.
The diners eat the final course. Rocco asks about the missing soufflé, and Gail says that she really expected a great dessert from Carla, and she's "incredibly disappointed." The executive chef from Commander's Palace liked Stefan's dish the best, and thought it was a great finish to his meal. Colicchio isn't impressed, because he doesn't think Stefan's dish is "a complete thought" and Gail thought the presentation was dated. Tom and Gail both think Hosea's dish was well-done and played to his strengths. Fabio admits that Stefan's dish is a bit lackluster for a finale, and thinks that Hosea's dish was better, as much as he doesn't want to admit it. Padma asks what Fabio thinks of the meal overall, and Fabio reluctantly admits that Hosea's was better, due to his final dish. Keller wonders if they're saying it's okay to avoid making a dessert, since he thinks a Top Chef should be able to make at least one good dessert. Ti Martin clearly agrees with him. Padma thanks them all and the judges leave to reconvene at Judges' Table.
Back in the kitchen, Carla gives Casey a big hug and thanks her, and Casey says she's sorry she didn't get to show Carla off. In a really chopped-up interview, Carla says that she knows this wasn't the best meal she's ever made, but she knows that parts of it were great. Stefan thanks Marcel with a hearty man-hug. Hosea tells Richard that he owes him, no matter what the outcome of the competition. He interviews that he doesn't know what to think, because he's been surprised by the outcome of the competitions before, but he knows that he can face the judges because he's proud of the meal he made tonight. Stefan interviews that you just don't know how the judges will react. He and Hosea toast each other and Carla comes over and gives them both a hug.
Judges' Table. The cheftestants enter. They start talking to Carla first. Gail says she loved Carla's appetizer. The judges also loved the flavors in her first course, the bouillabaisse. The judges tell Carla that her sauces were excellent in her second course, but the texture of the meat was all wrong. Toby thought it was too refined and fussy, which is not what he expected from Carla. Tom asks her what Casey's influence was, and Carla admits that Casey suggested the sous-vide, which she doesn't normally do herself. Colicchio flinches, probably knowing it was the death blow for Carla. Padma brings up the cheese course, and Carla explains what happened with soufflé. Tom asks her why she tried to do a soufflé in the first place, and Carla says that Casey suggested it instead of the tart she had planned. Colicchio delivers the storyline for the editors: "It seems that you let your sous chef talk you out of cooking the food that got you to the finale, and I'm not quite sure I understand that." So that's Carla's storyline in a nutshell, and it probably is a simplified version of what actually happened, Casey and Carla's denials in post-finale interviews notwithstanding.
The judges move on to Hosea. Toby loved his appetizer. Hosea says he hasn't cooked red fish often, and he knows it's a strong flavor, but he wanted to cook bold flavors for the finale. He laughs that it was fun to get to pick the proteins for the appetizer and Colicchio asks if he's saying that it was fun to "stick it to Stefan." Hosea laughs and says Stefan would have done the same to him, which is true. The judges tell Hosea that his first course looked good, but lacked seasoning. The judges have nothing but praise for Hosea's second dish, and tell him it was his best dish of the night. They ask how he came up with venison for his final dish, and Hosea says it's one of his favorite meats to cook. Gail liked "all of the earthy components" but the blackberry didn't do it for her. Luckily, unlike Carla, Hosea didn't let his sous chef completely dictate his dish. Toby points out that, without a dessert, Hosea's meal didn't have a real ending. Hosea wanted to showcase his flavors and cooking through savory dishes. No one points out that you can make a savory dessert, although they're not typical.
And now on to Stefan. Gail asks if he's ever cooked with alligator before, and Stefan chuckles that he hasn't. Toby praises the alligator soup, as does Tom. Gail complains that the carpaccio was watered down. Tom doesn't understand why Stefan would freeze it, and Stefan asks about the flavor, which Tom found to be somewhat bland. So I guess Stefan was going to try to argue that any drawbacks of the technique were outweighed by the flavors, and then had his legs taken out. Gail says, "I really enjoyed Stefan's squab" and she's almost blushing, which makes me think there's a double entendre in there somewhere: "That's what she said!" Toby liked it as well, and Tom thought it was the strongest dish of the night. Stefan looks like he's still stewing over the frozen fish debacle. Stefan takes the opposite tack that Hosea did, and argues that you need to have a dessert to end a meal. Gail asks if that dessert is what he wants as his final dish, and Stefan just says yes, which leaves Gail nowhere to go, so she just nods.
Padma wants each of the finalists to say why they should be Top Chef. Stefan thinks he deserves it because he's been very consistent and has always produced good food. Hosea thinks he put out bold flavors and delicious food that represented his culinary point of view. Carla says that when she cooks her food, it's delicious and full of heart and soul. She starts breaking up a little as she says that when she makes her food, it's delicious. Everyone just stands around awkwardly and watches her cry until Stefan (who wasn't even standing to her, HOSEA!) rushes over and comforts her. Carla continues to cry and Hosea sits there like a lump. Padma excuses them so grown-ups can talk now.
Back in the suite, Carla keeps crying and again, Stefan comforts her while Hosea sits there like a lump. He totally seems like the type of guy who is frozen by a woman's tears, like he would agree to anything if you would just stop crying. Take note, Leah. Cry to get what you want. Men love women like that! So do other women!
Back at judge's table, the judges quickly agree that Carla is out of the running, and they think Carla knows it. So Carla's name never really comes up again. Tom contrasts Hosea and Stefan, since Stefan has more of a classical background. Padma thinks Hosea's food is thoughtful, and Tom points out that he put out a cohesive menu in this final challenge. Toby argues that Stefan's menu was structurally better, although I don't see why that matters if the food sucked. Tom reminds everyone of the frozen fish debacle. They all agree that Stefan's squab was the best dish of the night, though, and represented him as a chef beautifully. Tom, who clearly does not want Stefan to win at this point, rags on his lame dessert. Toby didn't mind it, and Padma gives him a withering, "It was pedestrian at best." Ooh, Padma. Rrowr! Tom goes through Hosea's four dishes, and points out how they all led into one another and complemented one another. Even Toby admits that Hosea's venison, his final dish, was the best of the three final courses, but he goes back to his argument about Hosea's meal having no ending. So grab a mint on your way out, dude! If the judges really cared about a dessert, they should have made it mandatory. Tom points that out, and Gail says that Hosea left her satisfied and smiling. (That's what she said!) I'm sorry. I know that joke is played out. I just couldn't help it. (That's what she said!) Gail doesn't think Stefan's progression was as strong as Hosea's, because his dishes were kind of all over the place. I wonder if it would have made a difference if they had eaten one chef's entire meal, then another chef's, and then the third chef's? I mean, no one could eat that much food, but maybe do it over the course of three days? I don't know. Gail and Tom are kind of convinced that Stefan may have the technical skill, but no soul. Toby points out that if they're rewarding soul, Carla should win. I had a leap of hope for Carla when he said that.
Back in the suite/Stew Room, Hosea tells the others that Richard helped him, but ultimately he cooked his own food tonight, CARLA! God, what a dick thing to say while Carla is still recovering from her crying. And she's too nice to say so. I hope Hosea feels like a dick. Anyway, the judges have reached a decision, and after the commercial break, they're going to tell us what they've decided.
The cheftestants reappear in front of the judges for the final time. Padma tells them that one of them is Top Chef, and reviews the prizes. Tom thanks them for an exceptional finale. He tells Carla that she was strong all the way, and they always enjoyed seeing her food cooked her way, with the subtext that it's not what they saw tonight. He tells Hosea that he's "steady across the board." Thanks? And he tells Stefan that he had amazing highs and amazing lows, but they ultimately based their decision on the overall flavor of the meal. After an interminable pause, Padma tells Hosea that he's Top Chef. The other two congratulate him, and the judges come out to join him.
The former contestants join them too, and there's a pretty intense kiss between Hosea and Leah. An intense kiss for two really fucking boring people. Stefan interviews that he would have won if he'd done a different dessert. Maybe so, but I think his carpaccio didn't help. An amazing dessert might have won it, though. He goes on to say he would have loved to have won, but he's going to keep moving on in his career. In Carla's final interview, she says that she should have done her own food, and she won't make that mistake again. She cries that she wanted to show people that you could compete with love, and she feels she accomplished that. I'd agree. Carla was a class act all the way. Everyone toasts Hosea, who interviews that the victory was even sweeter because he beat out Stefan. Maybe he's in love with Stefan. Leah needs to look out. Hosea promises us that things are going to change for him. I know one that that's going to change -- new contestants and a new season, because this one is all over but the reunion week.
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Kim plots world domination, one domain at a time, at her blog Fresh Hell. You can contact her at reedkim@gmail.com.