09x17 - Finale

[bunniefuu]

- This season
on Top Chef:


for the biggest showdown ever.

[Bike horn honking]
- Can you believe it?

- Why are you playing
with a [bleep]ing plastic spoon?

Get rid of that,
get rid of that.

- You went there.
- This is--

- You love driving the bus,
hitting people.

- Let Paul do it, and let
one person stay doing it.

- This is the hardest thing
I've ever done.

- We love you.
[Sirens wail]

- Now only two chefs remain.

- I did well in Texas.

- The person we felt
hit it out of the park was Paul.

- Paul.
- That'd be Paul's.

- Thank you so much.

There's been
a lot of battles won,

but it's about winning
the w*r.

- Welcome to Whistler.
Welcome to British Columbia.

- Paul's the favorite to win,
but I'm kind of on a roll here.

- Sarah.
- Oh, my God!

This is the kind of momentum
I need to win this thing.

So I would be nervous
if I was him.

- You can win this.
I think you will win.

- At stake for the winner,

a feature
in Food & Wine magazine,

a showcase at the annual
Food & Wine classic in Aspen,

$125,000
furnished by Healthy Choice

to bring their culinary dreams
to life,

and the title of Top Chef.

You should feel very proud
of yourselves.

You made it to the finale.

Only one challenge remains

for the grand prize
of $125,000,

furnished by Healthy Choice,

and the title of Top Chef.

- We want you to create
a four-course tasting menu

in the restaurant
of your dreams.

- Okay.

- You'll be cooking at two of
Vancouver's finest restaurants,

Black + Blue
and Coast,

and you'll have
outstanding sous-chefs.

- We're really looking forward
to what's coming next.

- Thank you.

- See you tomorrow
for the final details.

- Good night.
- Night.

- This is the goal that I had
the entire competition.

I even pushed back
my wedding with Jamie.

I'm ready to win
this title of Top Chef.

The sous-chefs...
Think it's gonna be the 29?

- No, 16.
- I [bleep]ing love Heather.

- Yeah.
- Of course, Grayson.

- Nyesha, she's a rock star
in the kitchen too.

- Yeah. You know,
I'd like to see Keith.

- Dude, I love Keith.

- Malibu Chris.
- Yeah.

- And he's so beautiful.
- [Laughs]

- I don't even know if I can
cook around him, he's so hot.

- [Laughs]

- Welcome to Vancouver.
- Thank you.

- Some of you competed
in this season,

and some of you just missed
the final 16.

- Beverly, do you know
how to open this?

- I'm not sure. I'm sorry.
- No?

- What happened?

- I lost the tip
on the foamer.

- Please pack your knives
and go.

- Much love to y'all.

- And joining us are two of
the best chefs in the country,

Barbara Lynch
of No. 9 Park in Boston

and Marco Canora
of Hearth in New York City.

All of you
will be competing

to be one of the sous-chefs
for the final two.

- Whoa.

Marco is a iconic figure,

and I have followed him
for a very long time.

For the two finalists,

having the master chef
on the team is super valuable.

- You'll have 45 minutes
to create a dish.

Your time starts now.
Good luck.

- Behind you.
[Silverware clattering]

- Sorry.

- How 'bout we get
these burners cranking?

- I smell bacon.
- Smells good.

Feels like the old days.

- Oh, yeah, my back's
already sweating.

- [Laughs]
- 30 minutes!

- [Nervous shudder]

- I hope they'll bring
Lindsay and Beverly back

'cause they're monsters.
- Yeah.

[Chopping, machines whirring]

- I kind of need that.
- Take it off.

- I'll just want it
just a moment,

real quick,
then you can have it.

The first round, nobody got
the full picture of Tyler Stone.

I don't see a tailbone there.
- Yeah, it's all cut up.

- There's no way that
this is going to get through.

Pack up your knives,
and you can go.

- Yeah, okay.

I don't care
who I'm going up against.

I'm not intimidated
in the slightest.

Think we're cooking
for a small army.

[Laughs]
- Yeah, man.

- [Bleep].
- What's the matter, babe?

- I need butter.
- There's butter.

- Where?
- It's in there.

- Hey, buddy.
- Hey, buddy.

- Those are pretty.
- You're pretty.

- Somebody's got something
in the fryer that's burning.

- Always something
in the fryer that's burning.

- It's hard to write the menu.
I want to do so many things.

- And you don't want to do,

like, your ten menus
into four dishes.

- Absolutely not.

- I'm probably more nervous
than Sarah is at this point.

Should we get going?
- Absolutely.

- Throughout the competition,
a big fear of mine was

to choke and not finish,
but I've just got to make sure

that I stay focused
and finish strong.

- Two minutes even.
- You've heard that before.

- Okay.

- Grayson, you got flour
on everything.

- You talking about me?

- You okay?
- Yeah.

- Come on, Colin.

[Silverware clinking]

[Timer goes off]

- All right!
[Squeals]

- There we go.

- Here they come.

- Please welcome
the final two.

[Applause]
- Yay!

- My biggest surprise is seeing
contestants from the Alamo,

Tyler, Ashley, and Colin,

who I never thought
I'd ever see again.

- Are you ready
to pick your souses?

- Sure.

Barbara Lynch and Marco Canora
both have James Beard awards.

This is craziness.

- In front of you
are 11 dishes.

Pick your favorite four,

and those chefs
will be your sous-chefs

in each of your restaurants.

Start tasting.

- I don't know why
I'm shaking, but I am.

- I'm shaking too.
It's not just you.

- I'm, like, so nervous.
- I'm shaking.

- I made
a Asian-inspired dish

to try and lure Paul
into choosing me.

- Are you both ready?

- Yeah.
- Yeah.

- Paul, you won the last
challenge, so you'll pick first.

- Butter soup, shellfish,
milk, honey, caviar.

- Wow.

- I'm really excited about
having a master chef on my team.

But the challenge of dealing
with a master chef

is that they're the sous-chef,
and it could get awkward.

- Halibut, green lentils,
and pomegranate.

I'm so happy
that I have Nyesha

because she's amazing
at sauce-making,

which is crucial
for the team.

- Buckwheat noodles
with local shellfish.

- Nice.
- Nice to help you, chef.

- [Sighs]
I really want Heather.

I know her dish is
the dumplings, and then I go,

"Oh, [bleep], that scallop
with the raisin and the curry--

"That's a dish
on her menu.

Oh, my God, is she trying
to tell me that that's hers?"

Sea scallops
with the raisin citrus sauce.

- Yeah.

- I'm not letting you butcher.

[Laughter]

- I think
I'll do just fine,

but I look forward
to working with you.

- Welcome.
- Absolutely.

- Uh-oh.
[Laughs]

- Think I'm going to go
with the lamb

with the blueberry mustard
and crispy parsnip.

It's good to have
Chris Crary on the team.

His food always looks pretty.
He has a delicate touch.

- I'm going to go
with chicken, black pepper,

buttermilk dumplings.

I'm so happy.
Heather was a pastry chef.

And she can definitely
run a kitchen.

- Congratulations.

- Okay, Paul,
this is your last pick.

- I'm going to go
with dungeness crab.

- Sarah, who's it gonna be?

- Uh, pasta carbonara
with fried brussels sprouts.

Yay!
- [Laughs]

Silly, it was me, yay.
- Oh.

This is restaurant wars again,
girls versus boys.

- We have Tyler.
- We have Tyler.

- Jeez, one guy and four women.
- Oh, come on.

- Trust me, you'll be fine.
- Oy.

- Both of you missed out

on one of the best chefs
in the country,

who made the salmon.
- Damn.

- But Marco will be joining us
for dinner tomorrow night.

Thank you all for being here.
- Thank you.

- Bye, chefs.
Thank you.

- Paul and Sarah,
you'll have six hours today

to prep and cook
in your restaurants.

- Okay.

- And then you'll have
an additional three hours

tomorrow before 100 guests
and judges arrive.

- Whew.
- We'll see you tomorrow.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

So this is
what I was thinking.

- This is our last time
we're going to cook,

and it has
to be no drama.

Fun.
- Right.

- This is me taking
my German side

with my Italian side,
and really making it my own.

I have to do food
that is

totally outside
of my comfort zone,

because if you're not going
to push some limits,

then I don't deserve
to be here.

- What I'm thinking--
it's gonna be

maybe a more southeast
Asian twist on it.

So the way that plate's
going to look--

- Can you do, like,
kale and nuts?

Or, like,
sesame seeds,

kind of toast
the sesame seeds or--

- Right, we--yeah,
we can try to do sesame seeds.

I'll try that out.

- I'm completely honored
to be able to cook

with Chef Barbara Lynch.

But there's no way
that I would allow a chef

to get in the way of what
I set out to accomplish.

- Have you guys
pickled vegetables

where you put it
in the saline?

- Sous-vide them.
Do a quicker version.

A little fresher.
- I never sous-vide it.

- Yeah, but then you have
to worry about timing the oven.

- I know, but it makes me--
- You don't have to do it.

I'm just telling you,
it works great.

You'll never overcook it.

- I will never forgive myself
if I went with it and I lost.

I cannot believe
the balls on Tyler.

I just don't feel comfortable
coming into something new

with somebody who didn't make it
past the first challenge.

This is not the time to do
new [bleep] you don't know.

- [Laughs]
No.

- How thick do
you want the wedges?

How much celery
do you want me to do?

Is there a vacuum machine?
I-I'll prep one--

- Just chop the celery.
- So old-schoo

- Thank God we're not having
to buy plants.

Wow, look at these.

Granville Market--
it's, like, actually an island

underneath this huge bridge
that connects Vancouver.

It is so cool.

Tyler, did you find
the pumpernickel by chance?

- I haven't yet.
I haven't seen the bread.

What about chocolate?
- White.

- That's the kale I was
looking for. It's gorgeous.

- Would you sell us
some prosciutto fat?

- Do you have
white chocolate?

- With Tyler, my strategy
is to give him

precise things to do.

- Sarah, they have lardo
and spot prawns down here.

- Yes, nice job, Tyler!

I'm trying
to make him feel like

he's part of the group
and to get him to feel

like I actually
give a [bleep].

Great.
All right, Sarah.

- Crab.
Three's plenty.

- So three's gonna be okay?
- Yeah, we'll do three.

Oh, those are good.

- Think I should
pick up prawns?

Or stick to the plan?
- Stick to the plan.

- Don't deviate,
don't deviate.

- If you want to win, just
don't start making things up.

You know, be confident
in what you're doing.

- I'm thinking about
the shrimp on the congee.

Slow-scrambled eggs.
That--you got the rice.

I decide to get the shrimp
just in case.

It doesn't matter
if I have a plan

'cause I'm always looking
for the best option.

- Do you have everything?

- Do we want to get
the persimmons here also?

I really want persimmons
for the veal cheek.

I think that
it's not a common pairing.

So can I get some
of these soft ones?

This is
what this is about.

Do things that
the judges haven't seen.

- Have a good day.
- Thank you.

- Found the receipt.
- Thank you.

- It's chilly
here in Canada.

- Keep going, going, going.
- Yeah.

- This is six pounds.
- Perfect.

- Okay.
- Oh, that works.

I started cooking
late in the game.

After I failed
out of college,

my parents were
really disappointed in me.

But winning this would
prove to my parents that

I can follow through and
actually succeed in something.

Four, five, six.

- Whoo!
That was fun, ladies.

All right, guys,
let's go.

We run into Black + Blue,
and I have a lot on my plate.

My head is definitely
going 80,000 ways.

Is this it?
- Yup, we're good.

- I know that I can't make every
single thing for this meal.

- Just want to get
all this stuff going,

and then I'm going to jump
on those with you.

- What I can do
is lead the team

to make them
as if it was me making it.

We're gonna [bleep]ing k*ll it,
ladies and gents.

- Chefs, if you guys
have a question,

I'm putting the master menu
right here.

I'm definitely excited
to be cooking at Coast.

- You wanna give me a demo
on the radishes?

- Done.

My style of cooking is Japanese
with an Asian influence.

Try to keep as much
of the green as possible.

It concerns me a little bit
that none of my chefs

know what type of food
I'm doing.

Let's do this size.
- Okay.

- I'm going to have
to watch them closely.

- It's a little sweet.
I'm gonna go add some water.

- Yeah.

- My first course is going
to be chawanmushi with crab.

Chawanmushi is
a steamed egg custard.

My second course is going
to be grilled loup de mer

with honshimeji mushrooms.

Hey, do you guys think
I should do the eggs today,

or should I do them
tomorrow?

- How about we cr*ck them today?
- Yeah, cr*ck 'em today?

- Get 'em cracked and in a bowl.
- Perfect.

My third course
is going to be congee

with slow-scrambled eggs,
fresh uni, and fried kale.

Wow, that thing
froze fast, huh?

My fourth course
is coconut ice cream

with some kumquat confit
and puffed wild rice.

- Delish.
- You like?

- Okay, you want to save
all the shells, right?

- Yes.
- Great.

- My first course
is a squid ink pasta

with a spot prawn tartare.

- That's a trout?
- Yeah.

- This is going
with the pumpernickel?

- Yes.
- All right.

- Second course is a rye-bread
crusted steelhead trout.

My third course is
veal cheeks and sweetbreads.

- Kumquat and ice cream base
are both done, Sarah.

- Yeah!

The dessert is hazelnut cake,
roasted white chocolate,

and a peppermint ice cream.

I want


It's so comforting
to have my girls.

They're rocking it.

Is that the big piece
or the little piece?

- Big piece.

- You guys are
[bleep]ing awesome.

- Are those the onions
from my list or--

you want me to rinse those?

You wanna do the creme anglaise
in the circulator bath?

Let it cook?
- No.

- You don't have to stir it.
- No.

Sorry, Tyler.
- You're so old-school.

- No matter how hard
I try to keep Tyler

wrangled in with the team,
he's, like, in another land.

- How thick
do you want the wedges?

How much celery
do you want me to do?

Is there
a vacuum machine?

- "How much do you want?
Is this enough?

What do you think?"
Just chop the celery.

- 29 minutes.

It fits, it's just--
[Bleep]. [Bleep].

- I don't want
to leave nothing out.

- It's good.
Really good.

Sarah and I--
we've had our tiffs,

but at the end of the day,
she is an amazing chef

as well as person.

I would love
to help her win.

[Timer beeping]
- Let's go, guys.

- Great job, you guys.

- Here's to
America's next Top Chef.

- Ha, thank you.

- Hey, chefs.
- How's it going, chefs?

- After the prep, Paul and I
go see Tom and Emeril

to taste some Terlato wines
to pair with our dishes.

- Do you have much experience
with pairing?

- I like to drink.
[Laughs]

- I have less experience than
her when it comes down to it.

- I like to pair.

- Two caps, barrel select.

A more Bordeaux style.

- Think I'm gonna go
with the Chardonnay.

- I think I'm gonna go
with one of the cabs.

Any advice for both of us
tomorrow?

- I would definitely take
a snapshot of restaurant wars.

- Absolutely.
I regret restaurant wars.

'Cause I should have been
a team leader,

but I didn't step up
till the end

'cause I didn't want
to step on anybody's toes.

You think
you can handle tickets?

- Sure.

- Oh, [bleep].

We forgot the mushrooms
on the salmon.

Whatever.
What's done is done.

Now that I'm here
in Vancouver,

my strategy to make this
restaurant successful is just

definitely take a strong lead
right from the beginning.

- Bye.
- Okay, chefs.

We'll be cracking
the whip.

- I'm holding steady
at this moment.

[Laughs]
Emotionally.

- Okay.
- So--

we're back in the suite

and I called
my fiance Jamie

because this is
an emotional roller coaster,

and he has
that calming nature.

Drinking at a bar by yourself
when I'm here?

Almost a full year Top Chef has
been all I've thought about,

and he's supported me
this whole way.

- Good night.
I love you no matter what.

- Thank you.
I love you too.

- All right.
- Bye.

[All whooping]

This is real deal,
ladies and gents.

I have three hours
to cook today for 100 people.

This is not a lot of time.

Tyler, you're gonna start
peeling all those celery st*lks.

My boy Tyler Stone's
in dress pants and dress shoes.

What is he doing?
Does he know he's gonna cook?

Cool?
- Yeah.

- Great.

You don't need
a ton of sauce, you know?

- Yeah.

Sarah is
a natural-born leader.

She runs one of the most
amazing restaurants in Chicago.

I think our team
is going to take it.

- Hey, Grayson, have you given
that a stir by chance?

- I got you, girl.

This ain't my first rodeo,
Sarah Jane.

- First thing, guys,
you know what we need?

Put up your bags.

You're on sauce.
Grill.

First thing, grab the eggs,
Keith, and grab the dashi.

Chris, you're going
to need eggs as well.

Right when we walk
in the restaurant,

I assign stations.

Keith's gonna help
with the chawanmushi,

Chef Barbara Lynch
is gonna do dessert.

I have Ty on fish
and Chris on congee.

I just want you to kind of
pull it apart gently.

These are roasted in foie fat.
- Right.

- I just want them shocked
in ice water to crisp them up.

Stir, stir, stir,
throw the eggs in,

stir, stir, stir,
done.

- Working with Paul
in the kitchen is amazing.

He's got his passion,
drive, wisdom,

and I'm very proud
to have this opportunity.

Oh, that's how you wanna do?

- We in business.

- [Exhaling]

Ah, breathe it in.

- Behind.

- Tyler, make sure
that you're doing everything

as efficiently as possible.

We're going to need you
to help do other things

besides just the dessert
when it's done prep.

- Yeah, I know, I'm gonna be
done this in five minutes.

- Okay.
- All right, ladies.

Two hours!

- Wow, 45 minutes
goes by quickly, doesn't it?

- Hot behind you.
- Oui, chef.

You have a hot behind.
Heard.

- Heard on that.
- Heard on hot behind.

- Double check?
- Triple check.

All hands on deck.

- Hmm.

The crab sat overnight,
and it has a little odor to it.

- What happened?
The crab taste all right still?

- So we have to change
the game plan.

- [Bleep].

- Crab tastes
all right still?

I check on the crab,

and I taste it,
and it doesn't taste good.

[Bleep].

So I've gotta go
to plan "B."

Let's grab the spot prawns.
- Yes, sir.

- Thank God that
I've got shrimp, just backup.

You don't flinch
at these kinds of problems.

When they come, they come,
and you find a solution for 'em.

We'll just
get them all peeled.

- How's it going?
- I'm almost done.

Just trying to do it
so it's more smooth, you know?

- Then do it in the mixer.

- No, mixer
doesn't work well, 'cause--

- I've done it
with a mixer every time.

- No, trust me, it's super
smooth when you do it this way,

so you're going to have
the perfect texture.

- Okay.
- What in the hell?

Tyler is definitely
moving at his own pace,

which I think
is highly inappropriate.

So we're gonna jam out
with our clams out,

and Tyler's gonna do
what he does.

That's all I got.

- I'm planning on expediting
from the inside of the line.

So one guy stationed here.
Sounds good?

[Murmured agreement]
Thank you, guys.

- One hour till tasting.

- Fire in the hole.

Once the door's open,
you're open.

And with service,
you can't go back.

You can't take back
what the guest is eating.

- Are you happy?
- I want more foie fat.

- Less aggressive,
more aggressive?

- It's good.

- Keith, get that station
cleaned up.

- You will be
the maitre d' for the night,

so you're going
to be up front.

Table 30's gonna be VIP.

- That was only 6 pieces.


- We're gonna k*ll it,
we're gonna k*ll it.

This is the most important
service of my life.

It's time to show
that you're Top Chef.

[Timer beeping]
All right.

We're open.
Let's go.

- Hi.
- How are you?

- Good.

- Looks good.

- This is what we do,
and this is how we do it.

Make it happen.

The service starts,

and I just have butterflies
in my stomach.

But I'm going to use
my nerves to my advantage.

You guys are badass, dude.
Let's kick ass.

- Welcome to Qi, guys.
- Yes.

- I like the menu.
It's nice and clean.

- But yeah,
there's no meat,

and there's two egg courses
and two fish courses.

- Unusual choice.

- Okay, judges are in.

- Keith, I need
five VIPs please.

- Heard.

- The chawanmushi
looks perfect.

Texture looks good.
It's nice and jiggly.

And it's exactly
how it's supposed to be.

- Looking nice to you?
- They look good.

- Hi, Paul.

I'd like to introduce you
to our chefs and judges.

Chef Marco Canora from Hearth
restaurant in New York City.

- Good to see you again.

- Chef Mark McEwan,
head judge of Top Chef Canada.

You know Tom Colicchio,
our head judge.

And Cat Cora, co-host
of Bravo's new competition show

Around the World
in 80 Plates.

- Good to see you again, chef.

For the first course,
I have some chawanmushi.

I used edamame, pea sh**t,
and spot prawns.

Enjoy.
- Great.

- Looks nice,
texture-wise.

- It is wiggling beautifully.

It has a really, really
pleasant flavor profile.

He seems to really know
his ingredients.

- There's just such
a delicious saltiness to it.

- Mm-hmm, the edamame
in there is nice.

I'll finish whatever.
You know me.

- I think it's just a really
nice opener to the meal.

- Good evening.

Thank you.

- Beautiful, Grayson.
Beautiful.

- Hello.
- How are you?

- Welcome to Monte Verde.

- This really looks interesting,
this menu.

There's a few words
in here

that wouldn't necessarily be
in her repertoire,

like dashi.

- To another wonderful finale.

- Cook,
are you almost ready?

- I was just gonna let it cook
for a second in the sauce.

- Oh, my God, so good.
- [Bleep] yeah!

- All right, guys,
I'm going on, judges' table.

Let's go quick, quick, quick.

- Hi, Sarah.
- Hi.

- I'd like to introduce you
to your judges.

Returning judge
Emeril Lagasse.

Hugh Acheson.

Bill Terlato,
CEO of Terlato Wines.

David Meyers, chef and founder
of Comme Ca restaurant.

- Hi, chef.
- Nice to meet you.

The first course is
a squid ink tagliatelle

served with spot prawns
and fresh coconut.

- Great.
- Enjoy.

- Delicious.

- I was really worried about

the different regions
represented.

You have the coconut,
and you have the shiso,

but it is just so perfectly
pulled together.

- I really like the color
contrast in the pasta,

and I thought the flavors really
worked well together in it.

It's delicious.

- Is this the judges'?
- Going right now.

- I think I want
a little more fennel.

- Okay.
- All of these are judges'.

Five.
Nice job, Nyesha.

Second course is
a rye-crusted steelhead trout.

It's served with
a caramelized fennel sauce,

pickled beets,
and then gras pista,

which is whipped lardo.

- Thank you.

I love Sarah's trout.
I love the crust.

A lot of fennel.

- But the beets on Sarah's dish
here are just raw.

- They might not
have been pickled enough.

- I like the idea of using
the rye as the crust.

I think that's really cool.

- Chef, they'd like
to speak to you at table 30.

- All right,
I might have to go off.

- There he is.
- Oh, [bleep].

- Hi, pa.
Hi, ma.

[Laughter]

I'm pretty shocked.
It's Deena, my girlfriend,

my mom, and my dad.

And my dad's just beaming
with a huge smile.

- Were you surprised?
- Yeah, I'm surprised.

- [Laughs]
- You're crying.

Why are you crying?

- It put me at ease,
and it got me

fired up
to win this thing.

- Aww, so cute.
He cried.

- That's my dad, my mom,
and my girl.

- Oh, my God.
- Nice.

- Wow, really?
- Yeah.

These portions
are the judges' portions.

- Oui, chef.
- They're good to go.

- Ooh, that looks beautiful.

- This is
grilled loup de mer,

with clam dashi,
picked radishes, and mushrooms.

- Lovely.
- Thank you.

- Paul has
a great aesthetic eye.

You know, the pink
and the scores on the mushroom,

and it's just very beautiful
to look at.

- The broth
was really aromatic.

You had good contrast
of the smokiness

and the salty
from the clams.

It's hard to fault this.

- It's so nice.
Anything else?

- Needs a little salt.

Congee for the judges.
All these go out.

- Well, here's
our third course.

- For this course, it's congee
with slow-scrambled eggs,

uni, purple kale, fried green
kale, and smoked albacore.

- This course is good.

It's not as interesting
as the other courses.

The texture of the rice and
the fish, they're very similar.

- Course, I thought the taste
of albacore was amazing,

especially with
that little bit of zest on it.

I would just--I don't see
where it fits in the menu.

- I don't know
if it was a home run,

but it was
definitely a triple.

- Should we fire
our sweetbreads?

- Sure.
You have no idea,

I think I'm gonna
throw up everywhere.

- You're okay.

- The dish that I feel like
I'm taking the biggest chance

with is the third course,
veal cheeks and sweetbreads.

- I don't like the polenta.
It's weird to me.

I think it's, like,
really chunky.

The polenta
and the persimmon sauce

do not look awesome
on the plate.

- It's got
a good nutty texture.

- Five for the judges.

- Do not carry three plates,
please, do not carry three.

This dish is
a braised veal cheek

and crispy veal sweetbread.

Thank you.
- Thank you, Sarah.

- That veal cheek
is luscious.

- The polenta underneath
reminds me of breakfast porridge

and I want to put
some cranberries

and some maple syrup
on it.

- Brown butter and the cinnamon
really, really work for me.

- I'm not big
on the texture though.

- These look really nice.

- You want it right here?
- Yeah.

Just right in a diagonal.

It's a hazelnut cake,
served with candied kumquat.

It's a roasted
white chocolate ganache.

Thank you.

- The white chocolate--
what an incredible surprise.

- Well, 'cause it's not
really white chocolate.

She turned it into caramel.
- Which is brilliant

and something
I'm sure that

we're gonna have fun ripping off
over the next few years.

- That's the best course.

- The chocolate's lovely.
It is the best course.

- Sarah's meal was
really, really spot-on.

Dessert?
Over the top.

- I think, overall, incredible.
I mean, really incredible.

You see strokes of genius
throughout this menu.

- Let's go
to Paul's restaurant.

- The first service winds down,
and I am really upset

that the texture of the polenta
and the buckwheat don't match.

I grab the Anolon pans.

I start to cook
the persimmon down.

It's too...Chunky.

And add a touch of cream
and blend it.

- How is it? It's good?
- It's, like, smooth now.

I want the next judges
to really get the dish.

These look
really nice, Grayson.

- It's just
too cold right now.

It just needs a temp burn.

The goal for the ice cream
is to make sure

that it's light
and fluffy.

Liquid nitrogen can freeze it
and make it soft

without making it
too sweet.

[Blender whirring]
- Oh, there you go.

- Booyah!

Got the mangosteen on there?
- Yes, yep, yep, yep, yep.

- Can I get a runner?
All these to the judges.

- All right, dessert.

- For dessert, coconut ice cream
with puffed wild rice,

candied kumquats,
some mangosteen,

Thai chili foam, and
a little bit of jasmine gelee.

Enjoy.
- It's beautiful.

The foam is spicy.

- Wow, that foam is
no joke right there.

- Your first mouthful
is a power punch,

and the puffed rice
has a nice contrast.

Beautiful.
- Very delicate.

- But there's
some boldness to it, yeah.

- It was a sexy meal.
- Yeah.

- It was--
- it was a sexy meal.

That's a good way of putting it.
- It was.

- I gotta say, Paul really
knocked it out of the park.

And hopefully Sarah
can do the same.

- You better be
buying me something.

- I was worried,
working with Barbara Lynch.

It was definitely
awkward at first

for her to play the sous-chef
and for me to play the chef,

but she has been
a big asset on my team.

Up there.

- Oh, my God.

I'm going to lose
if I serve the judges

a piece of fish
with bones in it.

You think there's a bone in it?
- Those tiny little [bleep].

- Table upstairs--they really,
really, really want to see you.

- All right, guys.
I'll be right back.

- You got it,
you guys.

- Oh, my God!
Oh, my God, I'm going to cry.

Oh!
- So good to see you.

- I see my family,
my fiance,

and then it was, like,
over from there.

- I love you.

- [Gasps]
Oh, my God.

[Crying]
Mom. Aww.

I loved that feeling
of seeing

my mom
so proud of me.

- I love you.

- My mom raised me
as a single mother.

I grew up with her
having to work long hours,

lots of traveling,
and really doing it just for me.

And I would not be here
if it wasn't for her today.

When did y'all get in?

- Um, yesterday.
- Yesterday.

- I guess--it seems like
we've been here awhile

but just yesterday.

- I can't believe
y'all are here.

All right.
Enjoy, guys.

It was my mom,
Jamie, Jamie's mom,

and my best friend Rob.
All: Aww!

- Oh, man.

- Thank you.

- First course goes out
to the second set of judges,

and I hope
they're going to love it.

This is a tagliatelle neri.
Enjoy.

- She was able to infuse coconut
in a way

that is really
an accomplishment.

- Yeah, mm-hmm.
- You do get a richness from it.

It's actually a very,
very successful dish.

- It's fabulous.
- How's the meal?

- Good, awesome.
- Fish?

- Oh, my God.
- Pasta?

- We love the rye bread.
- Perfect.

- Oh, my God.

I'm going to lose
if I serve the judges

a piece of fish
with bones in it.

That's, like,
Culinary 101.

You think
there's a bone in it?

- Those tiny little [bleep],
man.

- One service
is pretty close,

so I tell Keith to fire off
a bunch of the chawanmushis.

And they end up
being overcooked.

It's all [bleep].
I got no choice now.

I can't get mad at Keith
because I trained Keith,

and I can't make a new batch
of chawanmushi

because I don't have
any more eggs.

They're all the same.

We just got to use these.
- Okay.

And I'm just thinking, "[bleep],
I'm going to go down for this."

- What's up?
- How's it going back there?

- Service so far has been smooth
I think up until right now.

- Yeah.
- [Takes a deep breath]

Well,
it's good to see you.

- Thank you,
thank you.

- I had such high hopes
for this dish,

but the texture of this
is not great.

- It had very long chives. They
were kind of a tangled mess.

- And I think that the bun
is overcooked as well.

- Five fish.

- Five.

- The fish is perfectly cooked.
- Mm-hmm.

- Perfectly cooked
but it's underseasoned.

- The rye crust
was extraordinary.

- They couldn't have been
more perfect.

- Yeah, good.
- Incoming, incoming.

- Sarah's veal--
I think everything kind of had

that deep richness.

- It just needed a crunch
of some kind.

Other than that, I'd be
happily paying for that dish

in a restaurant.

- I rehydrated
the straw mushrooms

and a little bit of the dashi.
- Perfect.

- Oh, we're turning it around.

- Paul's dish
is cooked perfectly.

- And I love the skin.
It's so crispy.

- The broth is delicious.

- I think this is
my favorite dish so far.

That's a [bleep]load of uni
right there.

I need these to go now.

[Overlapping chatter]

- He's nailing richer contrast,
textural contrast.

- I don't think I've ever tasted
anything that has approached

what this is before.

- It looks really nice.

Tyler, you're doing great,
by the way.

- I think Sarah
delivered a great dessert.

- It has a bitterness to it,
which I actually think helps

break up the sweetness.
- Yeah.

- All right.

- So six more desserts
after this and we're done.

- I think the coconut's
very refreshing.

- I don't know the process
of how you puff the rice,

but it almost seems like
it's a little overdone.

- Thank you, guys.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, sir.

- Thank you.
- Congratulations.

- My pleasure.
- Good job, top chefs.

- Yeah.
- Good job. Good job.

- When service ends,
it's really important

for my parents
to be proud of me.

They've always been
nothing but supportive,

and this is something
that I can do to give back.

That would mean
everything to me.

- Congratulations,
Paul.

- Everything went right.

- It was great.

At this point, the fate's
in the judges' hands.

Hopefully, they'll see that
I deserve to be Top Chef.

- I think we should head
to Rocky Mountaineer

'cause we have
a lot to discuss.

- Bill.
- See you.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- [Sighs]

- Sarah and Paul,
I think in nine seasons,

including All-Stars,

this is the best food
we've ever seen in a finale.

- Ah.
- [Laughs]

- It was exciting,
so thanks.

- I feel really good
standing up here

for the first time,
actually.

Heh!

I feel like I poured,
you know,

a big part of me
into this and, um,

I tell you, I feel that,
I guess, I mean, that menu--

I don't even sound
confident right now.

I'm back--I'm back
to nervous Paul. I'm sorry.

[Laughter]
But, um...

Yeah, I feel that it
represents a lot of me

and what I like to do
and what I love.

- Sarah.

- I'm very proud
that I had a mom

who was a single mother
who pushed me

to be a successful woman
on my own

and to know that
I had to fight for that,

so it would be a huge thank-you
being named Top Chef.

- You know, there are moments
when you're eating a meal

and you come across a dish
that is so out of the blue

yet somehow feels like

you can't believe it wasn't
thought of before.

Your pasta dish, Sarah,
was exactly that dish.

To put a tartare
over pasta,

it really made sense.

- The fish, for me,
was perfectly cooked,

and I loved the crust,

but the beet was
a little bit too raw.

- How did you prepare them?

- Just let 'em
basically marinate

in the cooler overnight.

- So no cooking.
- No cooking.

- They were a little bitter,

but all this
is splitting hairs.

- Got it.

- It was the one dish
in your repertoire

that was kind of like,
eh.

- The cheeks
were perfectly cooked,

nicely glazed,
ton of flavor.

The dashi came through
on the finish.

I thought that was a big risk.
I think it paid off.

The sweetbreads--I thought
they were a little dry.

- The polenta didn't work
for me.

- Halfway through the meal,
I ended up blending it,

and it was smooth
and it was perfect,

so I wish I could have had that
for the first seating.

- We had very--
two very different dishes,

which is okay.
- Absolutely.

- I mean, we're very glad

we were in
the second seating.

- Dessert--I thought it was
your dish of the night.

I thought everything
married well.

I thought I saw
your career in it.

It was awesome.
- Thank you, chef.

- I hate white chocolate.
- [Laughs]

- And I thought this was the
best dessert I've probably had

in all the seasons
of Top Chef.

- Nice.

- [Laughs]
Thank you.

Wow.

- Paul.

- The whole menu--
I wanted to do

something more focused
on seafood,

so I started off
with the chawanmushi.

I just wanted something
really warm and comforting.

- I was sort of blown away
by it.

It was so silky smooth,
it was like glass,

and the spot prawn
was still quivering.

- Barely cooked, yeah.

- Which is exactly how
you want it to be.

- Thank you.

- I think universally
at our table,

they were overcooked.

- I totally agree, chef.

I was definitely
a little frustrated

and a little rattled

when I brought that out
to you guys.

- What happened there?

- There was a certain batch

that some of them
slightly overcooked.

- I wish the three over here
got what we got

for the first course
because it was exceptional.

- Paul, you nailed the fish.
It was great.

Everything else melded
really well.

The earthiness
in the mushrooms was great.

The dashi
was beautifully clear.

I thought it was
a stellar dish.

- Thank you, chef.

- This brilliant broth
lifted the whole dish

and all of the components,
like, to the moon.

- Thank you, chef.

- Your congee--I thought it
showed great confidence

to put this long leek
just sitting there.

- I wasn't quite sure how it
worked in the progression

of the whole menu.

- I disagree in that way.

I thought that it had
an inherent richness

that was important
after the fish course,

and I thought
the smoked fish

mimicked the richness
of meats in that way.

- Thank you, chef.

- I really loved
the dessert.

I liked it because I don't--
I don't care for sweet desserts,

and this was--it's like
another savory course.

- Yeah.

- I thought the textures
were great on it.

Could have been
my favorite course of the night.

- Thank you, chef.

- Walk through
the puffed rice.

- You just boil
the wild rice

and just deep-fry it
at a really high temp.

- Probably more crunch
than you probably wanted.

- Whatever happens here,
you both did an amazing job.

- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you.

- Thank you.
That'll be all for now.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you, chefs.

- Wow.

- [Sighs]

- Oh, my goodness.

- The highlight
of my night

was my dad, like,
smiling.

It's been a while since he's
been proud of me like that.

- Yeah, my mom was crying,
and I just liked

that they could come
into this world for a minute.

- Both these chefs did
an amazing job tonight.

- Both Paul and Sarah really
just peaked at the right time.

Just two very special meals.

The difficulty is that
it sounds like we had

a very different
first course.

- There was something
about Sarah's pasta

that was really unique.

It had so much flavor,

but it also had a lot
of refinement and finesse.

- Paul's custard that we had--
it was a failure.

Mine was overcooked.

- God,
I just wish you guys

didn't get that custard
like that.

Jeez. For me, it was
almost a toss-up here.

The pasta, you know,
may have a slight edge.

- I mean, to have them say
such great things

about my first course
is great.

That sets the tone
for the whole meal.

- Sarah's fish
with that rye crust

was perfectly cooked.

On the other hand,
Paul's broth,

I'm still tasting it.

- Paul had flavors
going on

that were complex
yet separated.

Everything sung
on that dish.

- Third course, I think,
is the hardest to decide.

It sounds like Sarah fixed
some of the parts,

but if she had just left
the cheeks on their own,

she might have been
better off.

- It was all very one-note.
Everything was soft.

- But I gotta say, the congee--
was it really that great?

- I think it was.
- You thought so?

- Yeah, I thought
he nailed it.

- I liked both desserts.

However, my palate is
telling me something

that I'd want again--

Sarah's dessert
is doing that for me.

From the hazelnut cake
to the roasted white chocolate,

it was really delicious.

- When I think back
to both experiences,

Paul's dessert
woke me up.

It was refreshing and juicy
and sweet and spicy.

- He took a lot of risk too,
to put chilis with that,

and I think it paid off.

- But I just think Sarah
just had a beautiful dish.

Hazelnut cake is not
an easy cake to nail like that.

- I think Tom liked
your dishes better.

- Padma liked
your dishes better.

- What we saw from Paul
is what Paul does every day.

I think Sarah took
a lot more risks.

- Overall, it think he sweated
the details a little better.

- Yes.

- Those little, tiny details
that make everything memorable,

I think that's what
he excelled at.

The real difficulty here
is that they were both so good,

you don't want
to see one lose.

- Not for these meals.

- It was that good.
- Yeah.

- This is it.

Nice job.
- Nice job.

What's done is done.

- I don't know
how it'll go.

It could go either way.

- You should just hit up
that, uh, rum.

You've been eyeing it.

- Are you gonna do one
with me?

- I'll do one.
It's the good stuff.

There you go.

Here's--
- to the two Top Chef finalists.

- Cheers.

- Oh, jeez.
Whoo!

[Applause]

- Sarah, Paul,

one of you will take home

the grand prize of $125,000
furnished by Healthy Choice

and the title of Top Chef.

[Suspenseful music]

- It's just been
an absolute pleasure

watching the two of you
cook all season long.

Tonight's meal
was just spectacular.

Sarah, you clearly grew
as a cook.

You took a lot of risks
tonight,

and it really paid off.

Paul, all season long,
you've just brought it,

and tonight
was no different.

You just really cooked
your heart out.

In the end, this was about
as close as it can get,

and you both should be
very, very proud.

[Suspenseful music]

♪ ♪

- Paul...

You are Top Chef.

[Cheers and applause]

- I'm Top Chef.

I am extremely happy to see
my dad and my mom being there,

Deena, and everybody that I've
met throughout this journey.

- I'm so happy.

- It's finally come
to an end,

and the magnitude of what we've
done since San Antonio,

it's so broad,
I can't describe it.

[Overlapping chatter]

- [Cries]

I thought for a second
it was gonna be me,

and it wasn't.

I think I deserved to be
Top Chef,

but it wasn't my day.

[Crying]
- [Whispers]

- I'm sorry.

- [Crying]

- Seeing my dad cry
makes me realize

that he's really proud of me
at this moment.

It feels really good.

- I'd like to propose
a toast

to two great dinners
and two amazing chefs...

And to our new Top Chef.

- Cheers.
- Cheers.

[Glasses clink]