Top Chef: Michael Wins!
It was the Voltaggio Brothers versus Kevin in the “Top Chef” season finale. The three had won 12 of the 13 elimination challenges. The final challenge was to cook a three course meal. For the first course, they each received a box with identical ingredients and had to use all those in their dish. For the second course, they could cook with any ingredient they found in the kitchen. The third course had to be a dessert.
Fortunately, they got help in the form of the former chefs, including Jen and Robin. They got two sous chefs each, but they had to draw knives to choose and that was a bit scary. Kevin got Preeti and Ash, Bryan got Jen and Ashley, and Michael got Jessie and Eli. Thankfully no one got Robin.
The mystery box ingredients (rockfish and matsutake) threw everyone off a bit. Then there was a knock at the door – it wasn’t a bad thing, it was everyone’s mom. Oh wait, Tom added a course in honor of the mom’s – a course dedicated to your mom and inspired by their favorite childhood memory. Thank God the moms didn’t have to replace the sous chefs. Michael’s first course was broccoli reinvented. Bryan’s first course was sardine casserole. Kevin’s first course was chicken-n-fixins. Michael’s third course was squab. Bryan’s third course was venison. Kevin’s third course was pork belly. For their desserts, Michael did a chocolate caramel coolant, Bryan did a cheesecake, and Kevin did a rousted banana with chocolate bacon. Ew, I love Kevin, but bacon in the dessert?
The moms got to eat the meals with the judges, which included Tom, Gail Simmons, Toby Young, chef Douglas Keane, CEO of Terlato Wine Group, Bill Terlato, restaurateurs Donatella Arpaia, Stephen Starr, Drew Nieporent, and Sam Nazarian. The judges didn’t care for Bryan’s sardines and you could tell it hurt his mom. They also didn’t like Michael’s prawn, saying it was undercooked. But, some judges liked the broccoli. The moms left after the first course.
For the mystery box course, the judges loved Kevin’s fish, but the mushroom was still tough. They wanted more seasoning on Bryan’s dish and Gail called it “safe.” Tom liked Michael’s dish and it seemed as if his was the favorite of the judges.
They loved Bryan’s third course and found it perfectly seasoned. They also loved Michael’s squab, but Gail wanted more mushroom. They found Kevin’s pork belly hard, but liked the sauce.
Some of the judges were turned off by Kevin’s bacon. They liked Michael’s pumpkin seeds, but thought the cake was dry. He admitted to overcooking it earlier. They called Bryan’s cheesecake skillful and a pleasant end to the meal. I had to laugh when the judges asked each chef by they deserved to win and Michael’s first response was “I just don’t want Bryan to be Top Chef.”
It seemed as if all chefs had their ups and downs. My personal fav, Kevin, was eliminated first. So, which Voltaggio would it be? As it turned out, it was Michael who won.
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