I had a culinary letdown last night

So last night was the finale of the fifth season of Top Chef on Bravo. Having worked in a restaurant a great deal I've served my share of good food (a hearty emphasis on served; I'm far to lazy too cook at all much less very well), but being a man of humble means, I've seen only glimpses of the crème de la crème. The best I can probably recall was the five course taster menu that my brother and I enjoyed at Alan Wong's in Honolulu for his 25th birthday (highlight's included "soup & sandwich" Tomato soup and Mozz/foie gras grilled cheese, poached lobster, onaga, twice-cooked shortrib, and coconut tapioca).

However the finale two challenges this season took place in New Orleans, and I certainly have some fond foodie memories of that place. There was dinner at Arnaud's my freshman year with my father (My first taste of turtle soup to start followed by Chicken Pontalba). There was the Brennan's two-fer for my 21st birthday: the Bourbon House the night before, and of course brunch at the original Brennan's on the day of (Eggs Nouvelle Orleans has yet to be dethroned as my most delectable breakfast ever, but the best part was the Banana's Foster fireball that nearly consumed my brother's head). And of course there was the no holds barred tour for my college graduation, that included lunch at Galatoire's (an unparalleled softshell crab sandwich), and dinner at the site of last night's Top Chef finale Commander's Palace (soup trio, and resplendent Gulf fish).

Coming into the finale we had the prohibitive favorite, the caustic Stefan who after displaying his prowess over the rest of the competition challenge after challenge, is starting to slow down at the wrong moment. We had Hosea, by all rights a strong chef, but not entirely the most consistent throughout the competition as he's been too easily distracted by Stefan's largess, and Leah's feminine wiles. And we had the Martian Carla. She nearly got eliminated twice for being less than assertive, but she clearly has the most momentum coming into the finale. I would have to say I was rooting for Carla.

Every season has had its heel (Stephen, Marcel, Hung, Howie) and often times it is one of the most talented, if not the most talented competitor. I've only ever rooted for the once before (I was satisfied when Hung took the title in Season 3). While Stefan was undoubtedly the strongest in this season, I didn't want him to win.

As the judges all commented favorably on each contestant's hors d'œuvres it looked to be shaping up to be one hell of a competition. And Carla killed both the boys with her first course; should serve as a warning against future chefs to think against presenting raw fish in the final round.

Unfortunately this was the peak for Carla as she revealed her weakness in her last two courses, relying to heavily on her sous chef Casey's advice. She won an earlier challenge by showing her ability w/ simple cooking, and yet she chose to sous vide her protein. How do you send the love in the sous vide bag Carla? And you absolutely killed w/ your tart's previously. The small oversight with overcooking the souffle was almost like karma kicking you for straying from your strengths.

In the second course Hosea showed up well with his foie gras & scallops. I'm a little astounded that there was even an issue in the kitchen about the foie. Hosea, if their are THREE portions of foie for a competition with THREE contestants, shouldn't you only need one? Stefan shouldn't have even had to contest his right to some of that foie. I think karma again reared its ugly head, as Stefan's perfectly cooked squab & braised cabbage out-shined Hosea's dish.

The final course became a semantics argument that truly deflated the competition. Hosea chose to forego the logical choice of doing a dessert, chosing to stay true to the natural progression of him dishes by cooking venision (on an unrelated note, I've been craving a good venison dish for months). This decision can viewed as cowardly or cunning. Hosea mentioned that he didn't want to lose Top Chef on a dessert, and who can blame him. But a good chef should have at least one good dessert up their sleeve.

Stefan never thought twice about doing a dessert. Why should he? His desserts in the Restaurant Wars challenge single-handedly saved Leah from going home. But he somehow forgot that this was the last course he would be serving in this competition, and he under-delivered in a big way. Its a shame that he had the stones to do a dessert, yet lost b/c of it. I actually think that next season that the dessert should be made a mandatory part of the final challenge. In my mind's eye I see it as a pitch-perfect twist: Have them plan their perfect meal excluding dessert only to throw it on the table for the contestants in the eleventh hour.

Overall I was disappointed. Hosea clearly won the final challenge, but he is by far the weakest chef of the five victors (Harold, Hung, & certainly Stephanie are leagues ahead of him). Hopefully next season turns out better.