Can you guess from this quote?
I didn’t think I won at all. I really had no idea because they said negative things about all of us which in the end feels good because I know that nobody was perfect that day but of course I would have wanted to be much more perfect. But they definitely made it hard for us all to have any idea what happened. You can never read the judges and I just had no idea.
Episode recap, winner interviews, food porn and more, after the jump!
Who knew braised pistachios were the key to ultimate Top Chef glory?
Well, kids, Hillary may have only cracked the glass ceiling, but first female Top Chef Stephanie Izard brought the house down with her innovative dishes. Last night’s big hit (the only dish to earn the word “love” from the judges) was her “Roasted Lamb Medallions with Maitake Mushrooms, Braised Pistachios and Blackberry.” But I’m getting ahead of myself…(and hungry)...
The season finale was really all about the food: choosing it, cooking it, and watching the pretty, pretty judges slurp it up. We began with three guest-star chefs — Eric Ripert, Dan Barber of Blue Hill, and the Spotted Pig’s April Bloomfield— showing up to play assistants to the finalists. Since Stephanie and Richard had won an equal number of challenges, they drew knives to see who could choose their celeb sous chef first. Stephanie won, and chose Ripert. Richard went with Barber, and Lisa was happy to end up with Bloomfield.
One baby-twist here was that each celeb chef came with a set group of proteins; so in essence, you choose your sous chef while also choosing your menu. Once the teams paired up, it was a few quick hours of frantic prep work in the kitchen. The chefs were instructed to create a four-course menu, serving fish, then poultry, then red meat, then (gasp! the horrors!) dessert.
During prep, Stephanie fretted that she micro-managed (and therefore ticked off) Eric Ripert. (who could hate Stephanie?) Lisa, who could start a fight with a fallen log, gets along amazingly well with April Bloomfield. They hugged it out at the end of prep, and Lisa used the term “girl power!” But the most adorable moment of the entire show was when Richard used liquid nitrogen to make bacon ice cream (yes, all those words go together) and all the celebrity chefs gathered around to watch. Seeing the pure joy and excitement of these veterans as they learned something new was awesome.
The next day the chefs show up to — of course — a surprise twist! None of their sous chefs would actually be there to help them cook. Richard was frazzled; Stephanie was not happy with her ricotta pound cake; and Lisa was…happy? Calm? Cool? Collected?
It is the rare reality show that later makes you question reality, but c’mon: was Lisa actually a joy to work with all this time, and the producers took one or two moments of nastiness and used them to create her “personality”? We went through the looking glass on that one, but then it was time for the meals…
Again, Lisa’s dishes looked great, received a surprisingly welcome reception, and I still want to make her Tom Ka Soup with dumplings. You had a feeling that if there hadn’t been cameras there, at least half the judges would have licked their bowls. (And probably at least one would have licked Padma…) Stephanie blew folks away with her red snapper fillet and roasted lamb, but the pound cake was a miss. Richard’s food looked spectacular, and his dessert—a banana “scallop” with bacon ice cream—was much beloved, but overall the judges seemed to think his food lacked taste.
Stephanie’s sautéed red snapper filet with truffled white asparagus and clam broth
Stephanie’s seared quail breast with butter-poached lobster ravioli and mango
Stephanie’s roasted lamb medallions with maitake mushrooms, braised pistachios and blackberry
Stephanie’s ricotta pound cake with lime glaze, pineapple and salted banana cream
Then came the judges’ table, where the final-moment big shocker was Richard saying he “choked.” The judges were floored, and even though they slightly agreed, you could tell no one expected, you know, truth or humility. In the end, the judges praised all three contestants (and I still want some of Lisa’s soup)…but it was Stephanie who was crowned Top Chef.
Here she is, giddy and cute as all get-out: