We all knew this was going to be a heavyweight fight between Richard Blais and Mike Isabella on “Top Chef All-Stars.” But I think these two guys exceeded their own expectations as well as those of the viewers and judges and also their fellow chef-testants. The episode began with Richard and Mike chilling in their hotel suite–and with host Padma Lakshmi telling the eliminated chef-testants that they would be making a small bite (they call it an amuse-bouche) which would determine who the two finalists would be having as sous chefs on their respective teams. Mike wound up with Jamie (ha!), Carla and Tiffani; while Richard had Spike, Angelo and Antonia. Nicely done for Richard.

The challenge was to create the restaurant of their dreams, and Richard called his Tongue in Cheek; while Mike’s was Restaurant Iz. The judges were Padma, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons; and guest judges were Lydia Bastianich, Hubert Keller, Bill Terlato and Alfred Portale.

The judges liked everything, but had only tiny critical things to say about a few of the dishes.

Richard made oysters with creme freche ice balls; raw hamachi with crispy sweetbreads; pork belly with black cod cutlet; short ribs with red cabbage marmalade; and finally, cornbread with foie gras ice cream. Wow.

Mike made a salad with spiced beets and a chocolate vinaigrette; halibut with kumquat marmalade (is marmalade trendy right now?); pork shoulder with pepperoni sauce; and a rosemary caramel custard. Wow for him, too.

At the judges’ table, Colicchio said he thought what Richard and Mike made for them was the best food they have ever had at any finale on the show to date. That’s pretty amazing, considering not only that this is Season 8, but also that this is “Top Chef All-Stars” we’re talking about. So while the judges tried to deliberate, Mike and Richard were bundles of nerves, as you might expect. But this was it…the moment of truth.

Padma?

“Richard, you are Top Chef.”

Sweet! It was so deserving and Richard may have been the most worthy champion on the show yet, for sure. And Mikey Iz got second place, which he claimed was “first loser.” Um, his words, not mine! But I think this is great for Richard and will launch his career into the stratosphere. Congrats Richard!

Thanks for reading, everyone!

Okay, now in a finale that seems to be lasting a month, because it is lasting a month, we are finally down to the final two chef-testants who will battle it out for the title of Top Chef next week. But first host Padma Lakshmi started out with celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck for the quickfire challenge, which would be to do a choice of a past quickfire challenge. However, the chefs would be assigned these by a competing chef. Yikes. Mike chose first and had Antonia do the “only canned food” challenge; Antonia gave richard the hot dog challenge, which wasn’t a huge stretch; and Richard gave Mike the one-pot-only challenge. Then Padma entered the kitchen halfway through, and added one more twist–they would have to use a crutch from a previous quickfire–Richard assigned Mike the “no utensils” challenge; Antonia gave Richard the one-hand-only challenge; and Antonia had the one remaining, which was to finish the task while having recently-eliminated Carla tied to her.

Antonia made a curry soup; Richard made hot dog and homemade roti bread with a ketchup sauce; and Mike made pork and beans with pork shoulder cooked in a pressure cooker.

Then, for the elimination challenge, the chefs had to make the “last supper” request of a specific celebrity chef–Puck, Michelle Bernstein, or Masaharu Morimoto. Yikes. Mike won the quick fire so he had the choice of who to cook for, and also who to assign his competitors to–he chose Michelle, and gave Antonia Morimoto and gave Richard Puck. So Puck’s last supper was goulash with spaetzele and apple strudel; Michelle’s was fried chicken; and Morimoto’s was a benton box of fish and sticky rice.

Each of them did nicely, but each had faults as well. Now, Padma had told them to be warned of an envelope that contained another twist. And that this was the judges’s table, which included her, Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, and the three celebs they were cooking for. Well, the first thing they did was to tell Richard he was in the finale. Whew. Thankfully they gave the guy a break this time and didn’t make him sweat any more. But then here came the twist. Padma opened the envelope and said that Mike and Antonia had to cook again–45 minutes to create one bite for the marbles of getting to the finale and face Richard. Yikes.

So Antonia made a coconut curry and Mike made a surf and turf with lobster and beef tartare. And the judges loved and disliked things about both of the bites. This was gonna be a tough decision. Mrs. Mike thought Mike was going home and I had hoped he was right, because he’s become super-cocky. But it was Antonia, who fell just short again.

So the finale next week for all the marbles will be Richard vs. Mike. I’ve been touting Richard all along but I’m quite surprised Mike made it this far. But he really is blowing these people away with his dishes.

So there you have it…..who do you like? And see you all next week for the grand finale of Top Chef All Stars!

Last night we got from Final Four down to Final Three, maybe sort of in the spirit of the NCAA basketball tournament. The “finale” series continued in the Bahamas with host Padma Lakshmi introducing this week’s guest judge, Lorena Garcia, and the quick fire challenge to the finalists–Tiffany, Mike, Richard and Antonia. They would have to break into two teams and create a dish that they had to serve on 100 plates, and make them as uniform as possible. That’s something you don’t think of so much, but as Richard said, it’s SO important for a chef in a restaurant–consistency. So Mike and Richard made a pork bolognese with homemade macaroni that looked amazing. Tiffany and Antonia made a beef tenderloin salad with lentils and chimichurri sauce. The girls won, in large part because of the uniformity of a dish that had a higher level of difficulty. Mike, of course, was bitter.

For the elimination challenge, the chefs had to go to a small island by boat and then go snorkeling and fishing for live conch in the ocean, with the conch being the focal point of the lunch they would serve for the 80th anniversary of the Nassau Yacht Club, complete with very rich people eating. They only had a wood fire grill, a table and some pots and pans to work with. Yikes.

Antonia made a tartare of conch with lobster; Tiffany made a conch/coconut chowder; Richard made sweet potato “pasta’ with conch and lobster; and Mike made a grouper cooked in banana leaves and a warm conch vinaigrette.

The judges liked all of the dishes but saw flaws in them all as well. The winner, though, was Mike. And of course, he rubbed it in Richard’s face a bit, again. Going home….Tiffany. Her soup was apparently a bit cold and too sweet, so she once again got close with no cigar.

So the final three–Mike, Richard, and Antonia–meet next week and I think they are going to eliminate one more chef before reaching the finale. I still think Richard is going to pass Mike and take the crown–and when he does, I hope he rubs it in Mike’s face a little. Okay, that’s my take. What do you think? Thanks for reading and see you next week….

Okay, so last week we were fired up that “Top Chef All-Stars” would have a final five instead of a final four, but that would change last night. When they got to the Bahamas for the finale, I wondered if this was it, if this was the episode they would name the Top Chef. But it didn’t feel like a finale. So what it wound up being is a competition that would bring them down to four.

It started last night at Fort Charlotte, where the chef-testants would compete against the chefs that won their season–Stephanie, Hosea, Michael, and Kevin. The quick fire challenge would be to compete against the chef that won their respective season, using a secret ingredient chosen for them ahead of time. Mike was up against Michael Voltaggio, maybe the best chef in the history of the show, and they had duck; Antonia and Richard would square off against Stephanie using veal; Carla was up against Hosea using lamb; and Tiffany squared off vs. Kevin using pork. The winners would each take home $10K.

Mike beat Michael with his cashew dusted duck breast; Richard beat both Stephanie and Antonia (roasted veal with leeks and almond puree) with his seared veal loin and braised veal cap with carrots, raisins and potatoes; Carla lost to Hosea when she made harissa lamb with rice; and Tiffany beat Kevin with her pork stew with potatoes and peppers. So Tiffany, Mike and Richard had confidence heading into the elimination challenge.

That challenge was to cook for a dinner party for the King of Junkanoo. But whether it was a conspiracy or not, the deep fryer in the kitchen of the restaurant they were in caught fire, which forced them out of that kitchen and having to start over again. Antonia and Carla each changed their dishes as a result. At the judge’s table, host Padma Lakshmi was joined by Tom Colicchio, Gail Simmons, Eric Ripert and of course, the King of Junkanoo. Tom said that overall, the dishes missed the mark.

But they did have a couple of favorites, and the winner this week was Mike (chicken, mushroom and lobster hash with yams). Richard was also safe, with his lamb loin “cannelloni” with pickled turnip). Richard, of course, thought his dish sucked, but the judges liked it enough to keep him around. So facing elimination were Carla (pork loin with sweet potatoes and apple chips); Antonia (fried shrimp over grits flavored with pork, and slaw); and Tiffany (roasted spiced pork with dirty rice). I thought that they said enough good things about Tiffany’s dish, and that it would come down to Carla and Antonia—and it was Carla. So Carla heads home and our final four is Antonia, Tiffany, Mike and Richard. Okay then. I still like Richard but any of them can win, and that’s how it should be.

I have to admit, I was very surprised that none of the chefs made a fish dish, though Antonia’s shrimp and Mike’s use of lobster were the only things from the ocean. Still, no fish, in the Bahamas? Kind of interesting, or maybe the presence of Eric Ripert coupled with the fear of losing were the reasoning behind that.

So who do you like now? I still like Richard, despite his own self-doubt. See you all next week!

I love “Top Chef.” And I love “Top Chef” more now that they did something so right last night. But more on that in a bit. The show began as the chef-testants were being filmed in their dorm, which, as it turns out, is in Brooklyn with a great view of Manhattan. Then host Padma Lakshmi showed up and asked them to meet her on the building’s roof, which really showed off the amazing view. You could also see Ellis Island, which is where immigrants had to pass through on their way to the “new world” a century or so ago.

The quickfire challenge would be to create a dish using only the ingredients and cooking utensils that were on board the ferry boat to Ellis Island. So, you know, hot dogs, chips and Twinkies. Blue Hill’s Dan Barber was the guest judge and would be for the elimination challenge as well.

The least favorite dishes were Richard’s hot dog jerky sandwich, that was partially aided by some packets of something that boils hot dogs that he had in his jacket; Tiffany’s nachos and popcorn with candied mango; and Mike’s peasant soup made with bread, cheese, sour cream and jalapenos. Dan commented that that soup could have sunk the ship. Ha! His favorites were Carla’s orange papaya salad and Antonia’s grilled cheese sandwich with apples made on the hot dog roller. And the winner was Carla.

For the elimination challenge, it was mighty interesting. As they were on Ellis Island, genealogists had helped each chef-testant trace their family trees a bit, and the challenge was to create something that showcased their roots. But joining them for dinner and in helping to come up with their ideas were family members and loved ones…..the moms of Antonia, Mike and Tiffany; Richard’s pregnant wife and Carla’s husband. Too cool. And then as they were looking at the geneaology results, they realized that Mike and Antonia are actually distant relatives. Ha! Now that was funny, and they kept playing up the whole cousin thing.

So Carla and Tiffany, who are both African American, found out where their ancestors had originated from in the US–Carla in the south in states like Tennessee and Mississippi; and Tiffany in Texas and Louisiana. So Carla made pork shoulder with grits and cheddar biscuits; and Tiffany made short ribs with stewed okra and rice with oxtail marmalade. Antonia and Mike were both Italian, and Mike made gnocchi with pork ragout; and Antonia veal shank with risotto. Richard had Irish and English roots and made short ribs with bone marrow, corn puree and pickled glass wart (or sea beans). Wow.

So Padma asked all of them to come into the judge’s table, and what they found out was that they loved every dish. How could they possibly eliminate someone? Well, first they announced that the overall winner was Antonia. She was automatically advancing to the finale and also won a new Toyota. Mike was also safe and in the finale. So it was down to Richard, Carla and Tiffany. Padma said, “Richard, please pack your knives……you’re going to the finale!” Yikes! Of all people to do that to, they made Richard sweat for 10 seconds and made me and Mrs. Mike angry for those 10 seconds.

Okay, down to Carla and Tiffany. Man, what a tough choice. Padma said, “Carla…….Tiffany…..you’re both going to the finale!” And folks, that’s why I love this show. The judges decide who will be eliminated and they are almost always fair. And in this case, they made absolutely the right call–turning a Final Four into a Final Five.

So there you have it. Next week Mike, Antonia, Carla, Tiffany and Richard will compete for the grand prize of Top Chef, but with the added status of Top Chef All-Star. And that will all take place in the Bahamas, with this added nugget–each chef will compete head to head against the chef that won their respective season. Oooooohhhh. That’s good TV.

Thanks for reading and see you all next week….