bravotv.com

Last night, Top Chef’s sixth season wrapped up in fairly dramatic fashion. Dramatic chair-leaning was involved.

First off, it should be said that this final three — brothers Bryan and Mike, and Kevin — is, in my opinion, the strongest in the show’s history. Unlike last season, when I (and some of the rest of y’all, i’m guessing) boo-hissed at my screen due to the groan-inducing nature of the conclusion, I knew that all the remaining finalists were worthy adversaries for one another. While it’s easy to argue that these three were groomed from the outset by producers based on their manifold archetypal value — tall good-looking blonde dudes! vicious sibling rivalries! jolly Southern gentlemen! pork fetishes! tattoos! beards! — you can’t knock the numbers: This threesome combined to win 12 of the 13 elimination challenges this season. No joke.

bravotv.com

To be honest, I was surprised and a little disappointed that they decided to switch up the free-for-all format of the final challenge this year. While in previous seasons the judges had final cheftestants cook up whatever they pleased (the transcendently beautiful Padma would always say something melodramatic like “cook us the best meal of life,” and then make a series of sensual gesticulations), this year’s ultimate challenge carried a barrage of stipulations and limitations that I believe hampered the overall results for the worse. At first, Bryan, Mike and Kevin are told that of the three courses they’re required to cook, they’ll have free reign over only one. For the other two, one must feature ingredients out of a Chopped mystery box (above — rockfish, kobacha squash, meyer lemon, etc.), and the other — the other must be DESSERT. Nooooooo.

Before they get their prep started, the chefs draw knives to see which eliminated contestants will back them up in the kitchen. Kevin pulls Preeti (who was probably offended by this facepalm-worthy WaPo correction) and Ash. Mike adds Jessi (”She’s a workhorse”) and Eli to his team. Bryan gets Ashley as well as our girl Jen.

While the three finalists sit and stew in a really nice hotel room, they’re thrown for yet another loop when their adorable mothers show up and immediately start crying and matting down their sons’ cowlicks with spitty fingers. This, of course, translates into even more work for the guys — now that mamadukes action is in the house, they have to tack on a fourth course, one inspired by a favorite childhood dish.

bravotv.com

The cheftestants cook, Kev gets mad at Preeti for chopping veggies too slow, Bryan reveals that he hunts to “be more in tune with his ingredients,” yeahyeahyeah. The final table, at Douglas Keane’s Cyrus, features all the usual suspects, plus a murderers’ row of big-deal restaurateurs, including Sam Nazarian, Donatella Arpaia and Philly’s own Stephen Starr.

Kevin’s mom dish, chicken skin over a complex squash casserole, is a huge hit. His mystery box dish features a wack matsutake mushroom, and his pork belly is also poorly received — odd, since pig is his wheelhouse. His similarily kosher-unfriendly dessert, a banana/peanut/chocolate/bacon deal, moves Starr to declare that he doesnt’t want pork in his sweets.

Bryan’s mom-homage sardine starter wins praise, but his sous-vide rockfish mystery box dish is deemed too safe by Gail. His venison/sunchoke purée main, on the other hand, is a smash, as is his polished dulce de leche cheesecake to round it all out.

Finally — Mike dehydrates broccoli for his childhood memory plate (he was a picky eater), but serves an iffy spot prawn with it. His dashi-glazed rockfish is generally well-received, and the same goes for his squab breast with pistachio cassoulet and ’shrooms. A chocolate/caramel/squash coulant/brulee combo for dessert doesn’t quite come full circle.

bravotv.com

At judges’ table, Kevin’s zapped at the outset (the unfortunate timing of some personal issues might’ve played a part), so it comes down — much to Bravo’s devious glee, I’m sure — to the Voltaggio brothers (have I mentioned that they have a SIBLING RIVALRY?!). Bryan’s food is “well-presented and beautifully constructed,” says Tom C, while his brother “reached high, and often delivered.” So who the hell is rightly supposed to take this thing?

Mike Voltaggio is your new Top Chef, winning $125,000, the title, and psychological dominance over his older brother for years to come.

Questions and thoughts for y’all (let’s hear what you have to say in the comments):

• Hell of a close call between these two, based on both season-long success and finale performance. What, at the end of the day, do you think bumped Mike past Bryan?
• What went wrong for Kevin in this episode?
• What did you think of all these final-table curveballs — the mystery box, the mandatory dessert, the mom course? Good to level the playing field? Or squelching for the competitors?
• How much of a role — in any — did the Voltaggio sibling rivalry play in both of them to the very end?
• Is Mike the father of Padma’s baby?

Check back on Meal Ticket a little later, when we’ll chat with Stephen Starr about the Final Table.

Top Chef Las Vegas Episode 14: The Final Table

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 6:53 pm and is filed under Food TV, Top Chef. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.