#2893 Top Chef S22E14 Part 2: Fin

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1:45Ben Mandelker: Hi everyone, welcome back. This is part two of a two-part recap. If you're wondering where part one was, well go check in the feed and be sure to subscribe. That's that way you always get your episodes. But enough of that, let's get right back into the episode. Shui, Shui, what did you make for your first course? He's like, well, I wanted to showcase what my grandma once made for me, and I want to show that Chinese food can take many forms. Sort of like my grandma, shopping for different looks and outfits. So today, we're starting off with a little panipuri with a cured scarlet red shrimp, aji verde, salsa matcha, and then on the side, a little photo of my grandma.

2:22Ben Mandelker: Enjoy.

2:22Ronnie Karam: and Tristan is like well I always looked at my own cuisine as something that wasn't really revered and valued at tables like this so I dare you to say anything

2:32Ben Mandelker: you're damn right but that's only because I have no idea who you are, I refuse to revere anyone who I've never heard of

2:41Ronnie Karam: so he said the black sauce is bacala mbongo something that he grew up with and was disrespected and so they're like so how did you cook the fish and he said he steamed it in a little bit of epi sputter so they like all the food

2:59Ben Mandelker: richard is saying um he's this guy richard oh richard blaze oh he's like if this was a fight they all came out and punched each other in the face hard i love bailey's use of the octopus and the mozzarella because it's dumb and it's brilliant wow sort of like your hair but that's just dumb

3:21Ronnie Karam: Wow, they sure did come out and punch each other in the face Wish they'd aimed a little to their left Stupid Richard Blaze and the stupid haircuts I can't take it I've died and I still have to put up with Richard Blaze hair God

3:35Ben Mandelker: Fidaz Hassoun and I were chatting and he said The worst thing I can imagine is someone who went from faux hawk to side hawk And there you are I had to shield him from this episode

3:45Ronnie Karam: So Kristen liked the mozzarella She said it helped tamper and tame the char, balance out the sweetness. I think that's what Gail always tries to do when she rubs corn on the cobs all over her face.

3:58Ben Mandelker: It does not tame and tamper anything, Gail. The last thing Gail tampered with was a snack machine at the motel.

4:06Ronnie Karam: So Claire's like, schweizdisch, just like flavor explosion. Crunchy, lovely acidity, that wonderful heat coming through. So why do you sound like you hate it? You're saying your words are saying you love it, but your face is saying you hated it.

4:24Ben Mandelker: It was absolutely disgusting. I loved it. The gazpacho verde chutney has such beautiful herbal notes. Oh, really? Then why are you wearing it in your hair, Gail? It's not a hat.

4:40Ronnie Karam: And Santiago is Santiago. Oh, Carlo is the one who's like Tristan's dish. Very simple, but very, very perfect. Every time he eats something of Tristan, he's like, this has changed my life. This is a chef who has come out. He's stolen my heart. He's stomped on it. He put it in a little brulee. He cracked the top. I ate it. It was delicious. Please kill me and turn me into food. I love them. I'm obsessed with them.

5:07Ben Mandelker: And there's this guy, Santiago, who's like, well, I do think my fish was a bit under. And I'm like, no, no. The fish looked undercooked. but since we've already decided that Tristan's going to win, I will declare that it looks undercooked, but it didn't eat undercooked. So if you're watching at home and say, that looks undercooked, guess what? It's perfectly cooked. It's the most perfect fish I've ever eaten. Congratulations.

5:27Ronnie Karam: He's like, it was just right on the border, right on the border of undercooked and not cooked at all. But you know what? He's on the border of winning and we're about to cross it. So everybody shut up. So Tristan is like, you know, Gregory is like, Tristan and I are aligned in ways that we want to elevate certain cultures of food. And he did it great. He's like, yeah, that was so good. You know, I'm going to go in and give him a little encouragement. Hi, chefs. It's me, Tom. Guys, be more like Tristan. Too late. Okay. Bye. Yeah.

5:58Ben Mandelker: I like Gregory. Gregory's kind of like, yeah, I did kind of do this already on the show. And you guys didn't let me win. So I just want to remind everyone I was here first. So, yeah.

6:10Ronnie Karam: So Zubera is Zubera is pan frying the shrimp And he's like oh my god you know My favorite thing this whole night is shrimp toast But done with Inera The size of the moment is getting more real So Shua is like You know the texture's Not really right on the ravioli I'm just nervous about the dish But I can't linger on emotions right now What am I a grandma? I'm just kidding I love you grandma It's your fault grandma It's my Everest

6:40Ben Mandelker: so uh then yeah schwa is like he's pivoting with his with his raviolo because he has to poach it now it wasn't what he wanted to do now it's time for the second course to come out so uh bailey's like all right everyone who wants some rhyming because guess what you just got an annalini albini right if that sounds like a girl you went to elementary school with you're correct she's a quirky friend of mine from when i was eight annalini ampollini she also was the star of children's literature. Great series of books.

7:09Ronnie Karam: And obsessed with Peony, which is why she was so popular in high school. So the filling is roasted porcini, a little bit of shallot, you know, raviola, parmigiano, a little ricotta. Am I boring you? Okay, listen, we're in the mountains of Calgary. And that was the most important challenge. You know, it built confidence for me because now we're in North Italy, near the Alps, and porcinis are in season. So mountains, mountains, porcinis, porcinis. Is anybody following me? I'll just be quiet. You know, just eat it. Or don't. I don't care. Whatever you want to do.

7:40Ben Mandelker: I just wanted it to be a little quirky. So in honor of Canada, I did do some minced up Celine Dion cassettes. And I also added some Andrea Bocelli cassettes in honor of Italy. It was just a quirky little touch, a little crunch. Okay, enjoy.

7:54Ronnie Karam: Gail's like, so why? Have you ever made this size of soup dumpling before? Did you mean to make a human head size dumpling, you dummy?

8:05Ben Mandelker: he's like i never have but i know my grandma used to love bowling and this is to honor her her favorite sport okay well okay that's great so tristan now presents his durango which is short as we all know for dora watt so um it's the chicken poached in niter kibbe and it's in ethiopian fermented spice butter and then the shrimp toast and the jam and the butter and everything and Santiago he's like oh it's just next level so wonderful and someone named Jeannie is like my chicken was cooked beautifully but I think the star was the shrimp toast I love the

8:43Ronnie Karam: crispy chew and um Tom found a couple of the great he said the seasoning's right up to the edge you know I mean some are salty a couple of you it's not seasoned you know so he's playing his game and he's doing it really well some are salty some aren't some some are great some it's just all mixes is perfect. Basically, this tastes like an award that we're giving to Tristan, so can we go now? It's the season finale of Matlock. Gotta get home. God, I love that Kathy Bates. What a talent.

9:12Ben Mandelker: Bailey's dish is really wholesome. I love the fact that she's using porcini. They're in season here, and I'm loving that she embraced that because I was wondering, how could someone take an ingredient that's so wonderful and make something so disgusting out of it? Get this out of my face.

9:27Ronnie Karam: She's not the only one that's embraced a porcini. Have you seen Gail's cotillion pictures?

9:36Ben Mandelker: You know, she took a trumpet mushroom to prom once.

9:42Ronnie Karam: So Sarah's like, if I close my eyes, I remember the broth that my grandma made. Grandma's yes, nailed it. I'm winning this thing. No, you're not. Go back to the kitchen, please. Thank you, Shway.

9:54Ben Mandelker: Yeah, really hit the grandma bullseye on that one. And then Gregory is like, you know what? I'm still at three restaurants and I'm still having a great time. Okay. Oh, gosh. Thanks again for not making me win our top chef.

10:10Ronnie Karam: So now Lana is like, okay, so I'm going to pull the fish when it's a little under, right, Bailey? And Bailey's like, no, mid-rare, mid-rare. I mean, no, no, don't do that. And she's like, okay. And Lana's like, yeah, I would have pulled the fish, but I don't know. I'd probably want to cook all my proteins, but whatever she needs me to do, I'll do it.

10:30Ben Mandelker: Yeah. This is a fatal flaw for Bailey, who wasn't going to win anyway. But the mid-rare call winds up to be something that is not well done for her. So Bailey's like, well, I'm noticing that the fish is over, which is not very quirky. But we don't have time to refire it. So I can do the quirkiest thing I could ever do, which is serve overcooked fish in the finals of Tap Chef.

10:52Ronnie Karam: Yeah. Dun, dun, dun. So Bailey's presents hers. This is black and styled orana with a Calabrian chili crunch and whipped tahini. It's kind of inspired by Seth Monteverde. And by inspired, I mean I stole it from her. Because she grew up fishing redfish with her grandfather. Wait a minute. Was her grandfather married? I think so. Grandmother, yes, I'm winning this thing.

11:19Ben Mandelker: So I was like, wait a second. She can't take my grandparent glory. Okay, here I go. this is tangu ossobuco with long beans radicchio burgundy truffles sweet and sour sauce and i guess it was inspired by you guessed it my grandmother for growing up she used to make me this sweet and sour for fuck's sake man you know there's so many other people in his family in his life who are like uh hello i'm here too like what about your wife hasn't your wife made

11:49Ronnie Karam: anything that's inspired you come on i know uh so tristan is like this one's so close to me it's very west indian but it's the structure of milanese in the middle it's oxtail braised with whole and on the bottom are carolina gold rice grits with the curry butter and on top more bone marrow with gremolata and um a guy was like tristan how did you in what say again it's a gremolata veil. Someone's like, Tristan, how did you keep the individual grains of rice separate? And he's like, I cooked it more like pasta and then I mounted it. Curry butter.

12:33Ben Mandelker: Well, chefs, your final course on top chef is about to be plated. So get back there and we'll see you in a bit. And just remember, take this all in right now because it's a special I've been there. I've been in your shoes. Do it. Do it now.

12:47Ronnie Karam: So the judges talk and Jeannie is like, my fish was overcooked, but I did appreciate the creaminess of the tahini. And Gail's like, you know what? It just didn't have that brightness that I wanted to. I wanted it to basically say Tristan in big, bright letters. It didn't do that. Yeah.

13:04Ben Mandelker: Yeah. It wasn't the sunny, happy food that I know Bailey is used to making. Wow, Gail. Gail wants sunny, happy food. Well, I spoke to Leonardo da Vinci, and he says, Sonny happy food is stupid. Wow, way to get on the wrong side of history, gal.

13:22Ronnie Karam: So then Gregory loved Oxtail. He's like, we have been historically underserved Oxtail here, okay? And Tristan took the time to pull it, create the beautiful, huge, maybe too big a portion of Oxtail, and then cover it with that gremolata, dare I say, veil, okay? And he didn't forget the marrow. That is very, very smart.

13:45Ben Mandelker: Carlo, do you have anything you'd like to add? Maybe a critical thought?

13:50Ronnie Karam: No, it is perfect.

13:52Ben Mandelker: I can die now.

13:53Ronnie Karam: I just creamed my pants. So good. So good. The best.

13:59Ben Mandelker: They liked Schwa. Clara's like, Schwa's dish, it was rustic. And by rustic, I mean stupid. Why is this being served to me? I've got three Michelin stars. I don't need to be served any stupid granny porridge out of my sight.

14:12Ronnie Karam: Kristen thinks the amount of dairy and the grits took over because she wants her richness from actual also bucco. So now it's dessert time and Shui is like beside himself that he's going to serve Ambrosia salad to some of the best chefs in the world. He's like, I am so wacky. This is literally crazy. They're going to go nuts.

14:33Ben Mandelker: Bailey is also bruleeing again, by the way. This is her thing. She's like, I'm quirky, so here comes the blowtorch. Okay, Lana, turn around. I'm just going to I'm just going to brulee your calf, if you don't mind. Just going to get a little test brulee going.

14:45Ronnie Karam: So she likes zucca. That's one of her favorite pastas. So, you know, I'm wearing my line. So I decided to try and make a zucca and a true dessert. You know, roasted squash filling, pizal cookies, mascarpone cream, and an espresso stache de la gelato.

15:00Ben Mandelker: And Shui is doing his, he's talking about his ambrosia, but he's going to elevate it with like pears and goji berries and Italian meringue and um you know just a little bit of polydent just something really special to honor

15:14Ronnie Karam: grandma little served on a reader's digest magazine um and tristan tristan serves his carrot coke made carrot coke carrot cake uh made with the parsnip or pone basically and um he's like you know i paired it with different roots that i found here sunchoke sweet potato garam masala. Can I have some ice cream? This is dessert.

15:41Ben Mandelker: There's a katsurip sorbet though with a sunchoke veil maybe. So Kristen is, they serve it and Kristen. I don't want

15:49Ronnie Karam: sunchoke and roots for dessert. No. Everything will look amazing, but this I will say no to.

15:57Ben Mandelker: Yes. I actually recently had an ice cream that was served on a sunchoke chip and it actually worked surprisingly well. I was like, wow, sunchokes with ice cream, but it was good.

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19:16Ronnie Karam: Jess before you go back And realize that you never had a chance Unless your name is Tristan I just wanted to say you know It's amazing having such food You know, last night Our chefs cooked and Gail made a salad, lol Just wanted to get that in there Stupid Gail, okay, go back All of you are better than Gail, okay

19:38Ben Mandelker: Chefs, I just want to say From heaven, it's been a pleasure Watching you all season think That you are somehow going to become famous After this, congratulations On your delusion, goodbye

19:49Ronnie Karam: None of your hair is stupid enough to be on the Food Network. Am I right, Richard?

19:55Ben Mandelker: So now the chefs leave and everyone claps and Claire goes, wow, what an end. I think Bailey really brought it home all that quirk and I kind of really can see Bailey's style quite clearly now and her style is terrible, terrible food. Congratulations. You lived up to your promise.

20:16Ronnie Karam: Yeah, Tim really liked Schweiss. He said every time you dig in there, there's like something different it's all successful and they all actually love schwez dessert they thought it was really good and then it goes it comes back to carlo and he's like tristan chapel what a chef what a chef richard is like well i think it's interesting but to me

20:41Ben Mandelker: this is where the whole thing got off the tracks here i mean i don't want effervescent ice cream I think it's too spicy. It's interesting, but is it delicious? I mean, this is stranger than that thing. What's it called? Kimchi.

20:54Ronnie Karam: Oh, no, he's been at the Food Network too long. Yeah, he's talking about Tristan's dessert, and they do not take kindly to any criticism of Tristan. Tristan's like, um, well, I don't have a strong opinion of like or dislike, but appreciate 100%. You fucking heathen. Who let this person in here? We've already given him the win.

21:14Ben Mandelker: Please say nice things about it.

21:16Ronnie Karam: so tom's like well it's the future of food i mean well let's face it it'll probably all be freeze dried the world's ending but you know uh they're doing great things and i mean wow ravioli am i right so you know wow we've done it guys so they send them home and then they send the uh guests home and now it's time for this the judges table and by the way i'm so so glad that richard blaze

21:40Ben Mandelker: was not a part of the final judging i was really worried that he was gonna be sitting there at that table i was like please don't please don't yeah he's the worst he's you know from the second he's

21:48Ronnie Karam: come on tv he's been the worst he's shown a lot of talent you know he won this right didn't he won like i'm in like win his season the second he he lost to stephanie isard who went on to become

21:59Ben Mandelker: like very acclaimed um but then he came back for like an all-stars and won all-stars and he is very talented but like he's been terrorizing us with that faux hawk for nearly 20 years and it's like the the hair i mean it's just yeah he bought you know he was it was just really when he went to food network and he became media trained he just really became insufferable that was that was the

22:19Ronnie Karam: turning point yeah so they bring the chefs out and uh tom's like well you know what i don't have much of a poker face if i'm not happy i'm not happy but i was happy and i will say this i do have poker face on my peacock saved because i love that girl she can really solve a mystery Tristan you won I'm gonna go watch Poker Face bye

22:40Ben Mandelker: I just have one to say while I was eating this food I was definitely bluffing with my muffin Poker Face

22:50Ben Mandelker: Bailey can you explain

22:52Ronnie Karam: your first course well you know it's just like I've been working on my confidence so oh gosh I just sound like who am I outside of Monteverde I don't know a person who comes to top chef and cooks all the recipes from Monteverde, apparently. So,

23:09Ben Mandelker: I hope it's one. I just thought it'd be kind of fun to do Octo and Mats together. I mean, who are we to judge them if they're happy together living their lives? I have to tell you, all my life, I was like, I want to do something crazy someday. Let's cook Octo and Mats.

23:23Ronnie Karam: You know this girl, like, she's like, I just wanted to see who's my personality outside of the place I work. That's why I came and just presented recipes from people I've worked for.

23:33Ben Mandelker: what the hell the bailey come on i think there's a terrible pov for this final challenge i don't think terrible honoring other people and putting your own spin on it like i understand the vibe that she's going for but ultimately what it's saying is you don't have your own vibe even though the the act of adding your own spin to it is showing your vibe i think it like you're setting a ground level um limit to how how high your scores can really be because they're you're gonna build in this idea that like, well, it is her own spin, but it wasn't a wholly original idea. And I think that was a really...

24:09Ben Mandelker: Yeah, and they don't know what the

24:10Ronnie Karam: spin is because they haven't had the original dish from your restaurant. So they don't know that you're spinning. All they know is you're walking out there and telling them it's somebody else's dish. So it's just a stupid move on her part in my opinion. So Tom's like, well, you know, I think it showed extreme confidence from the chef who originally came up with it. You know, the idea of putting those two things together. I mean, wow, You made it work. You made it work. And you are not going to win. And Claire's like, yeah, you know, from the octopus, there's like lots of little elements of like pickled things.

24:39Ronnie Karam: And it's just, it kept popping in my mouth, popping. Furious about it, but it was great. What a great dish.

24:49Ben Mandelker: So I guess no Italians were harmed in the making of that dish. Gail, I just spoke with Elaine Boosler. Actually, she's still alive, But I haunted her house, which actually wound up me being the one who was more scared by it. Anyway, I ran that joke by her and she says, do better. It's a message from Elaine Boosler. Thank you.

25:11Ronnie Karam: So, Shway wanted to start with a little snack. You're not the only one, am I right? Gail just pulled trail mix out of her purse. By the way, for the record, Gail, the tablecloth is not a snack.

25:24Ben Mandelker: You can take it out of your mouth now.

25:27Ronnie Karam: he's like you know i knew the meal was going to be heavier so panapuri that's that little explosion of textures and flavors and they love that one and the technicality was on point and so now tristan's first course it was subtle it was beautiful everything was wonderful only question okay this is going to be controversial so i'm going to nip it in the bud right now the cooking of the fish it looked undercooked but it didn't need undercooked what were you thinking with that fish? And he's like, oh, I like monkfish almost like scallopy. So it was undercooked. Tom's like, oh, good answer. Perfect answer.

26:02Ronnie Karam: Love it. Love it. That's what I needed to hear. Everybody, it's going to cross the country now. Everybody's going to eat undercooked monkfish. You started something.

26:10Ben Mandelker: All right. So now we've learned a trend. If you ever go to a seafood market and you see fresh scallops and fresh monkfish, get the fresh monkfish and undercook it. So just like the scallops that you could have bought in the first place. Love it. Love that

26:21Ronnie Karam: concept all right bailey what about your anilini panopini and she's like well being in calgary i mean that worked out you know so i wanted to transfer them to the alps of italy you know it's like me being in calgary but being in italy with another chef's recipe you know what i mean

26:40Ben Mandelker: you know what it was vile and disgusting why do canadian alps when you've got the italian alps right here i mean it was just a silly stupid poorly consumed dish i ate every single bite of

26:53Ronnie Karam: it thank you love that so christian's like wow comfort and bowl am i right okay shui talk us through your grandma because you're going to let's do the soup dumpling this time he's like well you know i struggled with the steamer so i decided to grandma it okay um i poached it and it's not the texture I wanted. And Gail's like, the dish was there. It's just that one piece. It was so big. You know, then with chicken soup, I mean, I just had trouble figuring it out.

27:22Ben Mandelker: Wow. Struggling with the steamer. That's like Gail when she locks herself in the bathroom and is on that turf for 15 minutes. If you know what I'm talking about, it's called fiber, Gail. Look into it.

27:33Ronnie Karam: I mean, whip it in, but you know, maybe cut out the gelatin and put it on top and try it's like uh where where were you while i was making that i could have used that could have used that advice like oh okay tristan your chicken dish well you know what working the reworking of chicken morango just brilliant wow chicken morango part two who says sequels don't work no you know a lot of a lot of people sometimes talk a good game and they

28:01Ben Mandelker: can't execute i don't know like just thinking top of my mind my son's saying he wants to have a career, you know, but you nailed it. You absolutely nailed it.

28:10Ronnie Karam: Well, the shrimp toast, there was a snap, there was a crunch, there was a binger. That was a binger. That had rizz. That had rizz your fish.

28:20Ben Mandelker: It was a snap, crackling, pop. Okay. It was great. All right, Billy, how did you cook your fish? And she's like, well, I seared it on the top side, which is the quirkiest part of the fish. And then I finished it on the skin side. Thought about adding some more octo and mots because, you know friends should be friends but i just decided to keep it a black and red fish and claire

28:41Ronnie Karam: is like you know it was blackened sort of charred robust flavor there it's supposed to be dry it's blackened and kristen's like um yeah well 80 of mine was overcooked so well the first two courses

28:54Ben Mandelker: were so unmistakably bailied and then you told a story about sarah and you may not remember this but we eliminated her for a reason and it felt like this was a dish for her who's not even famous that was for you padma as opposed to a dish that showed us more of you yeah i'm glad

29:11Ronnie Karam: someone said that to her because that whole thing was ridiculous and kristin asked about uh shawai's asubuko and he wanted i guess i can't with this guy he's like it reminded me of my grandma we fucking know for fuck's sake man so kristin's like i love the flavor of the grits and i love the flavor of the asubuko but marrying them all together with the truffles and salad i mean it's Just like it was a lot. It was very confusing. Tristan, what about your oxtail Milanese?

29:40Ben Mandelker: So he says he called it oxtail Milanese, but he just really wanted to make a Caribbean kind of flavor. And he goes, the curry grits really did pay respect to Milan. But when you took a spoonful, you were absolutely in Trinidad. It was amazing.

29:56Ronnie Karam: Fabulous dish. Fabulous. So let's go to dessert.

30:01Ben Mandelker: Are you sarcastic, Claire?

30:03Ronnie Karam: no i meant it i loved every goddamn bite of that awful thing that went down my throat

30:08Ben Mandelker: awful wonderful dish amazing now are you being sarcastic no now are you i can't do this anymore

30:19Ronnie Karam: fucking americans all right bailey tell us about your dessert well i love fratel de zucca so does sarah so i made hers and it was uh you know one like pasta dessert who knows what it is this is Is it a detective? Is it a cat? I mean, I don't know. It was disguised. It could have been anything. It was undercover. It was tiramisu pretending to be a pizza working for the government trying to get your tax money. You know what I mean? Quirky.

30:44Ben Mandelker: That's our Bailey. That was the Bailey that I lost for a second. And then I got her right back.

30:50Ronnie Karam: Well, the gelato was fantastic. This felt like you. It felt like you. Confusing. Stolen. I don't know. Tristan, you're the winner. Tom, come on, poker face.

31:02Ben Mandelker: Great show. Schwe, will you tell us about your ambrosia? Yes, I'd like to say this was my first time having ambrosia. I lived all my life being a three-star Michelin chef without having to taste one of the terrible concoctions that you Americans make. And now here I am having to degrade my taste buds with your disgusting mayonnaise-y, sour, creamy, whatever the fuck this thing is in front of me. And guess what? I loved it.

31:29Ronnie Karam: It seemed like this was their favorite thing of the night. I mean, they loved the dessert. They went crazy. They jerked off all over this. And Tom's like, whoa, that was amazing. And Kristen's like, yeah, that was the dish of the night. It gave me giddy, small, childlike playfulness. You're still not going to win now. But good job.

31:49Ben Mandelker: You know, Tristan, yours was so complex for dessert. Well, you know, a lot of the ingredients are just simple roots, but they're put together in a way where it just has your head spinning. I mean, to some people maybe a little bit too much, aka Richard Blaze, but you know, not everyone can deal with complex concepts. Sort of like my son. That's why he's a mixologist.

32:09Ronnie Karam: And Claire's like, I've never had anything like that. The sunchoke, the sweet potato, the pineapple. I just wished it tastes more like charred fish. Claire's the only one standing up for Bailey. Claire loves her some Bailey. So Kristen says that Chef Carlo came all over the table like he loved it. And we have a lot to discuss, so leave. So, you know, they delivered. Tom's like, well, it has everything you can ask for a finale. We tend to go course by course, but, you know, looking at their meals are just so different. Everyone wants to see that in a finale. All of us enjoying food. Gail dying at the end.

32:46Ronnie Karam: Gail dying at the end. Wait a minute.

32:47Ben Mandelker: Where did that come from? That was arc. You know, normally we do head-to-head with each dish. but you know since Tristan was better than them and everyone it's sort of dumb to do it that way so you just want to like you know let's just talk through the menus you know and so Tristan's saying like how he's a dweeb and he looks up stuff and you know he's worked in Italian restaurants and sometimes he's like sometimes when Bailey and Bailey and and them start talking about food and everything I'm like I don't know what she's talking about I'm so simple suddenly Tristan is doing the like i know nothing even though he's like well i worked in sweden under marcus samuelson and here's a coconut veil and here's a foam and now he's playing the yeah he vacillates between

33:28Ronnie Karam: those two for sure all the time yeah and so bailey's like well you know sometimes you talk about things i don't know what you're talking about either so come on and uh tristan's like i'm gonna go stage at monte verde tristan's being so nice tristan knows he got this thing he's in That's a good mood. And he deserved it. He's being very humble. So Tom's like, well, yeah, what a great dish. And Gail's like, on paper, a lot of the things shouldn't work, but then I ate the paper. And I even liked the paper.

33:59Ben Mandelker: Bailey's octopus course, the mozzarella with the octopus and the tomato dashi. I mean, there's just layers and layers of depth. And one little humble bowl of food.

34:09Ronnie Karam: Reminded me of season one when I was just that little humble bowl. Yeah. You know. The problem I had was the fish. I really wish it had been more undercooked, like it should be. You know? I mean, it just felt like such a departure from the other two dishes. It was just out of place. Like, where was the fish? Why was the fish even on a plane? Shouldn't fish be at the movies or something? I mean, what was it even doing sitting on a plane? A fish? A fish on a plane?

34:34Ben Mandelker: Well, I really liked the chili factor. I liked the flavor she created. But overall, the dish didn't work much like Gail's ensemble right now. Wow. Team Claire

34:47Ronnie Karam: Thank you for taking that one Claire I'm trying to teach Leo DiCaprio How to sink his iCloud I'm sorry Leo Da Vinci

34:54Ben Mandelker: But Leo DiCaprio also Because we were friends while I was alive He's famous and I'm famous It just happens that way

35:03Ronnie Karam: Um so Kristen's like But she brought it back home with dessert It was Bailey through and through And Claire's like it was well made I love the layers It was so clever

35:15Ben Mandelker: Yeah, it was like pumpkin spice tiramisu, but in a good way. And yet it wasn't tiramisu. Wow. 0 for 2 with the actual tiramisu. Tarzan, don't tell Tarzan. He's going to be traumatized.

35:25Ronnie Karam: I felt like I was walking into hipster Nona Central. Good one. You know what I mean? She knew who she was. She went with it. Okay. Wow, you're like dripster Nona Central, Gail. Please. Are you wearing a shawl to the finale, or is it just figurative?

35:44Ben Mandelker: Gail I feel like you might be walking into Hipster No Central As in Gail You're not allowed

35:53Ronnie Karam: So Gail's like you know Tristan came in with such a mission Every single ingredient on every single Plate had so much of an every single Story to every single tell It made it stand out I love Stories did you know that Italy Tried to invade Ethiopia

36:09Ben Mandelker: Wow You can never forget about that perfectly cooked chicken breast. I will never forget it. And then the shrimp toast. Genius. Everyone at this table, remember this. It's going to be important. It'll stick with you. That's so interesting. It was so innovative. It was so flavorful. Yeah. And as much as I love this chicken dish, the oxtail was just, it was just so well done. I mean, being able to see individual pieces of rice, I mean, the hair that goes into it, it's just extraordinary. Oh, I feel like my mentorship really just did wonders for Tristan.

36:40Ronnie Karam: Yeah. Oh, and Kristen, Kristen is like, yeah, Yeah, you know, and Tristan's dessert, I'm straight down the line of just complete appreciation. I don't know if I like it still.

36:48Ben Mandelker: So outside, Tristan is talking about how Schwy always makes great broads. And then back in the judges, Tristan's saying, did anyone else feel like Schwy was maybe just a collection of dishes as opposed to a through line of a menu? And they're like, yeah, that was great. But it was just it was delicious. But that's it. There was no story behind it. Schwy is probably like, how many times do I have to say my grandma for there to be a story?

37:13Ronnie Karam: it's my grandma yeah so um like uh kristin is saying you know the progression was was clunky and he had two dishes that were the highlight for a lot of people so that's something and they love the panty prairie and um tom's like you know that bite was so sophisticated what a balance what a balance you know i just wish he had more stories well you know i just need i need to eat stories. I loved them. Who did the Panopuri invade? Did the Panopuri invade anybody? That's what I needed to know.

37:46Ben Mandelker: Schweiss Raviolo was like a great love letter in the wrong envelope. Gail, it's not a love letter if it's a Reese's Pieces peanut butter cup. I've told you that so many times.

37:56Ronnie Karam: So they think that everybody accomplished something really special tonight. But you know what? Someone delivered very distinct flavors and a distinct point of view and I can't get it out of my head. Can't get you out of my head. okay let's bring him in okay we know who the top chef is bring him in here it's Tristan okay

38:15Ben Mandelker: uh chefs this entire season we got to see the three of you just really blossom and define yourselves and finding your mission and just cooking with a lot of joy and while each of you deserve the title of top chef I think it's been about six weeks now that we knew we already won it so you shall be really proud of yourself for cooking almost as good as Tristan.

38:34Ronnie Karam: Tristan has already shot his first Saratoga ad. So, Bodma? Bodma? It's Tristan, stupid. Even Monet knew it was Tristan.

38:45Ben Mandelker: Exactly. So, Tristan says, the next Top Chef is Tristan. Of course, we already knew that. And everyone's like, oh my god, and cheers and hugs and everything. And Gail goes over and hugs Bailey. Gail's always on, like, they always make Gail go and hug the runners-up first. you did some great work you did some great great work but you failed ultimately good job so yeah that's it i mean look he deserved it i mean yeah i agree he was amazing all season and he was amazing all to the very end he only had like two dishes that were like mediocre at best i mean or at worst so well deserved and yeah i think he did a good job it wasn't the most

39:27Ronnie Karam: exciting ending because you know obviously we've known forever who's gonna win but it was a deserved to win.

39:33Ben Mandelker: So yeah. And it was actually quite lovely because he did like he did sacrifice a lot to you know with his dad dying and so great food the whole time. He really yeah it was great. So that was it. That's the end of Top Chef. Another season in the books. Season 22 done and dusted. Thanks everyone for being here. We always appreciate you and we'll catch you on the next episode of Watch What Happens. Bye

39:59Ronnie Karam: Bye

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40:44Ronnie Karam: She gets an A, it's Kelly B. Kristen the Piston Anderson. Get a B in your bonnet with Lacey B. K, sirrah, sirrah, whatever we'll be with Lauren Sillsby. Brigging the funk, it's Leslie Plunkett. She gets an A from us, it's Lindsay D. Let's give a kisserino to Lisa Lino. Fresh as a daisy, it's Maisie McHenry. We love her on the rocks, it's Melissa Cox. Megan Berg, you can't have a burger without the Berg.

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41:38Ben Mandelker: Somebody get us 10 cc's of Betsy MD.

41:40Ronnie Karam: We're taking the gold with Brenda Silva. Let's get real with Caitlin O 'Neill. Don't get salty with Christine Pepper. Can't have a meal without the Emily sides. Let's go into the woods with Guy Tubbs.

41:53Ben Mandelker: Who, what, why, where, and Gwen Pentland. It's our queen, it's Queen Laifah Nobody holds a candle to Jamie Kendall Hail the cork master, the master of the cork Jennifer Corcoran We got our wish, it's Jen Plish She's not harsh, she's Jill Hirsch She's a little bit loony Junie Knock knock knocking on Katie Manok's door My favorite Murdo, Karen McMurdo We love him madly, it's Kyle Pod Chadley In the study with a candlestick, it's Leslie Peacock We're ride or die for Lisa Ryder Barron She's a whiz, it's Liz Sarthy Always killing it, it's Lola Alkalani

42:30Ronnie Karam: The Incredible Edible Matthew Sisters She eases our woes, it's Melissa St. Rose We're on the floor with Molly Dorsett There's a chance of meatballs, it's Rebecca Cloud

42:40Ben Mandelker: She's the Queen Bee, it's Sarah Lemke We cannot tell a lie, it's Sarah Talifson Shannon, out of a can, and Anthony Come on, shake your body, baby, do the Sidney Cogdon Let's take off with Tam La Plaine

42:53Ronnie Karam: It's always a good time when you're wasting time with Bravo. She ain't no shrinking Violet Kuchar. We love you guys.