Top Chef: We have a winner!
Being part two of the finale, there’s no quickfire, there’s just a jump right into the final competition – four course meals for 9 people, following the traditional steps: Appetizer, fish, red meat, and desert. Padma and Tom introduce the big wigs – April Bloomfield, Dan Barber and Eric Ripert. They’ll each be acting as sous chef for the contestants, and have their own tray of proteins that the chefs that choose them will have to use. Stephanie and Richard are tied for the most wins, so they draw knives to see who picks their sous chef first, and Stephanie pulls number one. She picks Ripert, Richard picks Barber and Lisa works with Bloomfield.
Lisa is awfully chipper, and it’s kinda weirding me out. She’s all positive and light-hearted, while the other two are all business and nerves, and I’m not sure I can handle a happy cheerful Lisa after weeks of her bitchy pout…
So the sous chefs help prep for the first day, but the next day Tom delivers the bad news – they are on their on, to live or die by their own hand. Lisa maintains her cheerful confidence while Stephanie worries as usual, and Richard looks stressed and out of his depth – he even snaps a little at Tom so we know it’s not going well. Service starts, and I get more nervous by the minute because of all the praise Lisa is getting – she can’t win this, right? Not with her performance all the way through and getting there by the skin of her teeth? I mean, she just CANT right?!
The first course seems split between lisa and Stephanie. Second course is a clear Lisa win, Stephanie’s third course has everyone raving. Richard’s best dish was his desert, even though we’ve seen it twice before. At the judges table, Richard says he choked, while Lisa is confident and Stephanie is nervous. The judges deliberate for a really long time – they mention hearing the early morning birds sounding outside – and finally award the prize to…
STEPHANIE! (whew!) She wins for having the meal the judges would most like to have again, and we get our first female Top Chef. Hurray!
