" It's tight." " What'd they say?" "They said it was really close, and they think that she stumbled a little bit, and she didn't fully regroup." "Antonia, very aggressive on the spice." "Antonia, please pack your knives and go." "I've been here before." "It feels worse this time." "I hate to see it happen." "I'm just glad to move on." "I felt bad for Antonia 'cause she's worked so hard." "But it's my time right now." "This is it." "This is the championship round." "I came to win, and I'm gonna win." "I'm gonna beat Richard." "I'm a better cook than he is, period." "Ugh, I was hoping she was gonna knock you out of there." "I would rather go up against Antonia, because I've already beat her once." "And I think I could have beat her again." "Been here before, man." "I mean, no offense or anything, but I hope you lose." "As I do you." "Mikey's stronger competition right now." "He came back a different chef creatively." "And that's my strength." "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't concerned." "Chefs." "Congratulations." "You've made it to the finale." "Really nice work all the way through." "After weeks and weeks of grueling competition, it all comes down to this." "Chefs, your last challenge contains no twists or turns." "What'd we'd like to see is a glimpse into your future as a great chef." "We want you to create for us the restaurant of your dreams." "Goose bumps." "Two chefs remain to fight it out in the finale" "Atlanta native Richard Blais..." "I've always wanted to be the best of chefs." "Last time you were confident, me and you ended up on the bottom." "My record for wins has been amazing." "So, you know, he's a big shot." " Richard." " Richard." " Wow." " You're our winner." "My strength is that consistency." "Blais has always been one of the favorites to win this competition." "He thinks outside the box more than anyone that I've competed with." "Don't get confused by the technique." "It's about the plates being perfect." " All right." " Whoo!" "People thought that I was just gonna be an average guy coming in here, but I knew that I wasn't gonna do that." " Mike." " Mike Isabella." "Yes!" "Yeah!" "That's a huge accomplishment, to make it out of New York 24 challenges deep." "Down to the wire as always, baby." "Mike's just riding this tremendous high now here in the Bahamas, so it's gonna be tough to kind of match that." " Mike Isabella." " Michael." " Michael." " Back-to-back, you know?" "I'm getting hot now." "Redemption is why I came back, you know?" "Second place is the first loser." "All right, let's cross our fingers." "Only one will win the grand prize-- a feature in Food  Wine magazine, a showcase at the annual Food  Wine classic in Aspen," "$200,000 to pursue their culinary dreams, furnished by Buitoni, and the title that's eluded them all" "Top Chef." "♪ Top Chef:" "All-Stars 8x16 ♪ Finale Original Air Date on March 30, 2011" " sync, corrected by elderman " "Chefs, we want you to create for us the restaurant of your dreams." "Before I had my wife and my family, I had nothing." "The kitchen was the first place that I really felt was a home for me." "I have a burger restaurant, but I've always wanted to open up a place where you come in, and I cook for you my style of food." "You'll have to create a four-course tasting menu that shows us, without question, which one of you deserves to win Top Chef All-Stars." "Meet me in the kitchen tomorrow morning for the rest of the details." "How am I gonna sleep?" "See you tomorrow." "Good luck." "Thanks." "How do you feel?" "It's awesome." "To be one challenge away from being Top Chef is really huge." "I quit my job." "I missed my honeymoon." "I have to win." "I'm the underdog." "You're not the under-- you won eight challenges." "I won four." "You won the last one." "You're the favorite." "You're not the underdog." "I have a underdog mentality." "Everyone expects you to win." "I feel like I'm a underdog in this competition." "But I was running one of the top restaurants," "Zaytinya in D.C., for Jose Andres for the last four years." "I know what I'm capable of, and when I win, then it's something that no one expected, and it's just more gratifying." "Everyone's expecting me to blow it." "Well, that probably might-- that probably will happen, but" "I mean, you're probably gonna, you know, get a little nervous and choke at the end." "I'm the underdog, dude." "People think I'm the favorite?" "No way." "I don't want that pressure." "You know, I've choked once before." "Yeah, sure, I'll say it." "I mean, I feel like I, you know, choked a little bit." "Let me be the underdog." "It's better that way." "If we get the whole cast, who would you take as first pick?" "Hi, Chefs, and welcome to the Bahamas." "Some of you are gonna be working as sous chefs for Richard and Mike." "To determine which one of you will be helping them, you have 30 minutes to cook an amuse-bouche for them to taste." "Your time starts now." "I mean, without question, I'd take Jen Carroll, honestly." "I mean, she's from my season." "We're good friends." "I mean, the one person you don't want is Jamie, not just because she's Jamie, but just because she's slow." "Hot." "The question is, who--who wants to be there?" "Who wants to work?" "Who's gonna listen?" "All right, Mikey, let's go do this, dude." "Showtime, baby." "Good morning, Chefs." "In front of you are 15 chefs and 15 plates." "You'll pick your favorite three dishes in a blind taste test." "The chefs that created those dishes will be your help in the kitchen." "This is a big decision." "Go find a great chef, and you're gonna find two or three great sous chefs working underneath them." "All right, start tasting." "Oh, interesting." "Looking over these dishes," "I can't match the chefs to the dishes." "I'm just gonna pick my team based on flavor profile." "I would love to have Jen Carroll, because we know how to work together." "We've been teammates before." "And she's a beast in the kitchen." "You guys aren't making it easy for me." "I'm really trying to figure out which dish would be Marcel's, 'cause that's the last guy in the world" "I want working on my team." "We didn't work well together in our restaurant wars." "Keep that hotel pan like that, yo." "Just keep on cooking, all right?" "Yo, watch the way you talk to me." "I don't want him to be a part of this challenge." "Sorry." "You want to pick specialists, so I'd love to have Dale Talde, 'cause he's a strong competitor and I know him really well, and Angelo or Jen Carroll." "I feel like they kind of have my back." "I'm ready." "Richard, you won the last challenge, so you get to pick first." "All right, I mean, honestly," "I think all of them are worthy, for sure." "And besides whoever said they had jet ski reservations..." "I think I'm gonna take the ceviche of squid." "The first one I pick ends up being Spike, who did have jet ski reservations an hour later." "So that's a little bit concerning, because I don't know if his mind's in it." "You upset?" "No, no, no, no, no, no." " We've done this before." " Yeah." "Love you." "Okay, Mike, you're up." "Uh, I'm gonna go with this yogurt curry." "I thought it might be Jen's, so that's why I picked that one first." "Tiffani can be tough to work with sometimes, but her pedigree is top-notch, so I'm really happy to have her." "I think I'll go with the chicken wing." "Angelo, the guy's just a thoroughbred." "I'm glad that I made that pick." "That's a big, big pick." "I'm gonna go with the pork tenderloin." "Jamie didn't have a great season this year." "Is she cranky and tough to deal with sometimes?" "She is, but that's just Jamie." "Richard, this is your last pick, so choose wisely." "I'm gonna go with the--the egg." "I knew it could have been Antonia, and at first, I'm thrilled." "My only concern with Antonia is that she just went home." "Can she get her head in the game?" "All good?" "I'm okay." "Okay, Mike, last pick." "Uh, the tropical salsa." " Yay." " Carla's a strong competitor." "I'm really excited to have her on my team." "Having these three awesome ladies is like having the angels, you know?" "They're like my angels." "I'm really excited to work with all of them." "I'm going jet skiing, baby!" " You okay?" " I'm good, I'm good." " We're here for you." " Thank you." " Good luck." " See ya." " Good luck, guys." " Good luck, guys." "Later, Angelo." "Bye." "Richard and Mike, you have one hour to plan." "Tomorrow you will have five hours to cook before opening up your restaurants for 70 customers and the panel of judges." "Good luck to both of you." "Right off the bat, you know, thank you so much, man." "I'm calling the restaurant "Iz."" " Nice." " Be great in there." "Growing up my whole life, a lot of people call me Izzy." "I want people to know that they're coming to my restaurant." "I wanted to do a little bit of mozzarella." "And then I want to do some pancetta." "I'm really just inspired by things I grew up with." "I mean, I grew up eating mozzarella, pancetta." "So, obviously, I want it to be a part of my finale." "And I think the name of the restaurant's gonna be Tongue  Cheek." "So everything has got to have a duality of its meaning." "Angelo, I want you to handle the first course." "And, spike, I'm gonna give you dessert." "Then we'll segue you to the front of the house." " Okay." " This is a team." "I know what Angelo is capable of." "I know what Spike and Antonia can do." "I'm gonna let them do it." "Dessert--I'm debating between two things." "What about, um...?" "I do this thing-- it's like a parmesan mousse." "Yeah, I don't-- I-I just like-- kind of a mousse-y Cream cheese, essentially." "They say that you can do golden ones as raw." "I love to listen to people's ideas." "But at the end of the day," "I have all my dishes planned out already." " Maybe just doing chocolate." " No, I don't want to do that." "I want to kind of do my own thing." " This is you." " This is me." "I just heard so many different ideas that I decided, "listen, I'll come up with a dish myself." ""You guys just focus on all the other details that I gave you."" "What's the pickup on the dessert?" "Cap'n Crunch ice cream." "I feel like all the pressure's on Blais, and the bottom line is, is I'm gonna outcook him." "I've been in his ear all day." "I was like, "you know I'm gonna kick your ass."" "Thank you." "Mike's strengths are confidence and swagger." "His weakness is the same thing." "It's confidence and his swagger and his bravado." "Guys, we got to push." "This is a real test of what a chef's job is." " Who's running today?" " It's not just making dishes." "Hey, let's bake one off, and let's cross our fingers." "It's about being able to lead a team." " We're behind on time." " The word "chef" means "boss."" " Who's talking to me?" " ." "For this final challenge, we have to open up a restaurant and do a four-course tasting." "I picked Seafire at the Atlantis." "This challenge-- it's about being a leader." "It's about being a great cook." "It's about being able to run a restaurant." "Hold on the apples." "We'll go with the celery." "Could Mike from season Las Vegas handle this challenge?" "No, not at all." "I just wasn't mature enough at that time." "And I feel like I've learned so much over the last two years." "I feel like I'm ready right now." "You want the seeds on the jalapeños, yeah?" "Just be careful with the amount you put in." "I'm opening up my restaurant at Cafe Martinique at the Atlantis." "I didn't win my season, because I tried to tell too much of a story, instead of just cook delicious, tasty food." "What I'm trying to show is that I'm over creativity for creativity's sake." "Angelo, u doing okay?" "Very good, sir." "Spike, can you add on to your list the shaved kumquat?" "I definitely am a better leader now, three years later, and a better team player." "And, um, I think my failures have served me well." "Speed rack." "Thank you." "We have five hours before we have to open up a restaurant." "There's not much breathing time." "These are gonna be handwritten checks." "Who's running today?" "All right, who's the backup runner?" "There's so many elements to running a restaurant." "Once Jamie puts up the three salads, you write 30." "You have to really be thinking about what's going on everywhere in the restaurant." "The Terlato Pinot Noir 2007 is a good wine." "This is perfect for the beets, for the pork." "This is great food, drinking wine." "I mean, you got 10, 20 things going on at once." "We can get everything set up right now, and I'll be back in a while, so I'll be back and forth." "Front and the back, front and back, all night long." "Sauce on the plate." "Chocolate vinaigrette." "Okay." " No, use panko." " It'll come through." "It'll come through." "Basically, what I do with my sous chefs is have them set up stations." "I'm gonna have Tiffani working fish station." "I'm gonna have Jamie work cold station." "And then Carla--I'm gonna have her work on the desserts." "And I'm gonna send her out to the dining room." "I want to put them in a situation to succeed." "You want it darker?" " No, perfect." " Okay, good." "There's nothing safe on my menu." "And if I execute it to perfection, which I will..." "All right, let's put it in for another 15 minutes." "And I have great service, how do you not win with that?" "That goes out." "That's it." "Do we have enough cake, Spike?" " I do." " Okay, let's bake one off." "And let's cross our fingers a little bit here." "This prep period is gonna be an absolute crush." "For some reason, I decided to put, like, four proteins on every dish." "I'm braising pork belly and braising short rib and brining sablefish and cooking bone marrow." "And I've decided to also do an amuse." "There's a lot going on." "Maybe too much." "The sous chefs' assignments are" "Angelo's handling all the mis en place for the cold dishes." "Antonia is doing all of the vegetables." "Spike is gonna get the dessert ready and then go into the front of the house." "Hey, guys we're gonna scrub the oysters real quick." "Can we do that?" "Angelo, can you give a demo on scrubbing the oysters?" "Chef, Angelo needs a hand." "Thank you." "Basically, there's this membrane here." "Take your time, and peel through this." "All right, so, Spike, can you join me to taste real quick?" "All right, so let's go with the Terlato Chardonnay." "And, uh, we'll go with the Merlot as well." "You have that ice-cream machine on over there?" "Yeah, let's do the foie." "I'm concerned about the dessert, because I think it's the least thought-through dish that I have on my menu." "And there's six loaves of foie gras sitting around." "So at the last second," "I make the change from Cap'n Crunch to foie gras ice cream." "I'm taking a risk, and I-I hope that's a good thing." "What's the matter?" "Is it chunky?" "Ah, the texture's just a little" "What's the matter with it?" "It just needs to be colder." "Guys, we got to push." "Hey, Mike." " Hey, chef, how you doing?" " Good, how's it going?" "Good, I'm in the weeds, but, you know..." "In the weeds?" "Why are you in the weeds?" "For me, it's, um..." "It's a lot, and I can't just cook." "So thank God I have a good team around me to help me out." "I have Jamie, Carla, and Tiffani." "And you haven't been through this before." "I don't know if anybody really sort of picked you getting all the way here." "I'm the only person who picked me getting here." "I'm just here to prove myself and to cook good food." "I'm just doing what I need to do to try to make it happen." "All right, I know you're busy." "I'll let you get back to work." "I appreciate it, Chef." "Thank you very much." "Hey, Richard." " Chef, how are you?" " Good, how's it going?" "I got Angelo, Antonia, and Spike." "I mean, I couldn't have picked a better team." "How are you dealing with the pressure right now?" "I mean, obviously, this is it." "Yeah, I trying not to think too much about it." "You know, all I can do is my best." "And, uh, you know, hopefully I don't blow it this time." "At this point, what can go wrong?" "What can go wrong?" "Running a restaurant is about managing mistakes." "So right now we're looking okay, you know?" "I mean, we're trying to do tasty, beautiful food." "I think it's gonna be an epic battle, I hope." "I'll let you get back to work." " Thanks, Chef." " Good luck." "I checked in on the chefs in both restaurants." "And Richard knows the pressure." "In his finale, he made some pretty bad mistakes, and--and it cost him." "I got a sense from Michael that he's feeling the pressure." "You know, I could see it in his face." "He has plenty of time." "Right now, doing a dinner like this, organization is so key." "I think this is a real, true test of what a chef's job is." "It's not just about making dishes." "It's about being able to lead a team." "I mean, the word "chef" means "boss."" "Angelo, how long do these cook for?" "Until it's crispy." "Honestly, I think we're gonna have to go flour, egg." "I don't think it's gonna stick on with it." "My sous chefs are being ultra-collaborative." "And I think that's great." "Perfect." "Thank you." "They're taking the dishes that I gave them and making them better." "I'm gonna throw it out there." "We do it with sriracha." "Go for it." "Make it tasty." ", who cares what it-- make it tasty." "Here's the situation." "We're behind on time." "Are you capable of doing a seating chart or not really?" "I can check it out, and then I'll come check with you." "Right." "Mike, all I need to do is portion these beets, and I'm good to go." "Mike's slightly concerned about his first course." "You know, $200,000 is on the line." "You know, he wants to start with his best foot forward." "Talk to me." "I'm thinking about pulling the amuse." "The oysters are kind of hacked up, know what I mean?" "Well, let's just get the prettiest ones." "It's another thing to be judged on, and all the oysters aren't great." "I've been waiting for 2 1/2 years." "And I don't know if I can do it." "I just might be that person that can't win it-- always a bridesmaid and never a bride." "Hello." "Good evening." "Good evening." "Right this way." " Thank you." " Thank you." " Tongue  Cheek." " Yeah." "Sounds good to me." "Richard seems to have a surf-and-turf theme going here." " Uh-huh." " That's exciting." " Judges are in the house, guys." " Judges are in the house." "We're ready to open up for business." "So you know what?" "The pressure's on." "Hopefully, I don't blow it." "I don't think the foie gras really adds a lot." " It's a controversial dish." " I'm really worried." "I got all the way up to this point again and didn't do it again." "Two more, guys, so it's ten followed by four." " 14 all day, chef." " No, I need to finish, please." "I'm a little bit worried about the amuse." "At the last second, I decide that I'm gonna serve it." "You know, we'll have a beautiful raw oyster with creme fraiche pearls." "I'm happy with it." "I think it's a good start to the meal." "Hi, everyone." "How are you?" "I'd like to introduce you to your guests." "We have Lidia Bastianich." "Pleasure, Richard." "Chef, pleasure." "Our guest judge, and the first judge to ever appear on Top Chef, Hubert Keller." " Happy to." " Chef." "Alfred Portale and Bill Terlato." " Hi, chef." " As always on Top Chef, it's an honor to cook for these people." "Lidia Bastianich is just all about authentic, slow-cooked Italian food." "Alfred Portale, a pioneer in creative American cuisine." "Hubert Keller, one of the best chefs in the states." "So concept of the restaurant Tongue  Cheek-- a little bit of whimsy and also, sort of in the spirit of things, chefs like to eat in the kitchen." "Enjoy." " Mmm." " Very nice." "It's refreshing, and it melts, and it makes everything very creamy, right?" "I think it showed a lot of sophistication, um, and a lot of skill in execution." "Spike is very crafty, so, you know, one of his major jobs is to get feedback from the dining room." "Did they enjoy the oyster?" "Do you know?" "Yeah, they did." "They loved it." "Loved it." "Loved it." "Really well balanced." "Let's go on the first courses, guys." "Thank you." "The first course is raw hamachi with crispy veal sweetbread, garlic mayonnaise, and pickled celery." "I'm serving this course because the flavors are explosive." " I love the portion size." " Mm-hmm." "Also, all the different elements." "You know, he's got different colors, different textures." "And they're harmonizing." "So they're making a unity." " Really good." " It's really delicious." " Mmm." "Good." " Mmm." "Rich, I don't know where you are, but they licked their plates on that hamachi dish." " Okay, were they happy?" " Very happy." "Hello." "How are you?" " Good." "How are you?" " I'm great." "Well, let me seat you." "Welcome to restaurant Iz." " How are you?" " So good to see you." " It's a pleasure to be here." " Yes." "Did I hear $200,000?" " $200,000." " Hello!" "Yeah, that's a lot of pressure, right?" "Restaurant Iz is about to open up." "This is what I've been waiting for my whole career." "I finally get the opportunity to do 100% Mike Isabella." "And this is it." "It's showtime." "Done, done." "They're beautiful." "Look at that." "Nice." "I have my first course." "The chocolate vinaigrette could go either way." "It's about execution." "There's no in between." "Fish is on." "My beef is ready." "I'll plate it when I come back." "Well, welcome ï to restaurant Iz." "I wanted to introduce you first to our guest diners that are eating with us today." "Chef Art Smith." "Chef." "And the new host of Top Chef Masters," "Curtis Stone." " It's a pleasure." " Nice meeting you." "First batch of judges, we have art Smith, who has restaurants in Chicago and D.C." "He is a James Beard-winning chef-- and Curtis Stone, who is an acclaimed chef." "So I'm excited for them, uh, to see what I have to offer." "We're an American-style restaurant." "You know, kitchen and bar, very casual, but elegant food, you know, good food." "All the dishes are gonna be reinspired with an Italian influence flavor profile that I grew up with as a kid." "So the first salad we have is a spiced beet salad." "Some roasted red and yellow beets with a little pistachio, mozzarella, and a chocolate vinaigrette." "Thank you very much." "Enjoy your meal." "Thanks so much, Mike." " This chocolate's very subtle." " It's a composed dish." "You get the richness from the nuts and then the freshness from the mozzarella." "I think Mike's off to a good start." "What--what time is it right now?" "Yeah." "So it's been 18 minutes for the judges." "No, they're still cold." "I am kind of concerned about the amount of time." " Oh, the waiting." " Yeah." "It's just about where we want him to serve." " Fish for judges." " Fish for judges." "Get it out right away." "Second course is my elegantly steamed Halibut with my kumquat marmalade, cauliflower bean puree, and my pancetta crumbs." "This is the dish I really wanted to kind of give it to 'em, be like, "wow."" " It's a nice-looking dish." " It is." "Very fancy presentation, isn't it?" "Beautifully cooked." " It is beautifully cooked." " Yep." "I don't think I've ever had a piece of fish on this show cooked this nicely, ever." "I think it really-- it's great." "Really is great." "You soon forget about the wait when you get something put in front of you that tastes fantastic." "Very true." "This is good." "It's very nice." "Once you have everything together, it balances out." " Yeah, it's good." " It's really good." "Good, like it." "Super flavorful." "Did you pull the sweetbreads out?" "The marrow is out of the oven." "I'm sorry, Antonia." "I'm not nervous." "All right, let's go." "The plates for the judges are coming out as I want them to." "I think I'm making the prettiest food that I've put out on All-Stars." "We're just behind." "We're just far, far behind." "So let's go." "I need a runner." "Let's go, let's go, come on!" "The second course is pork belly and black cod and some little bits of bone marrow." "It's exactly what I want to display with this restaurant." "Food you want to eat." "This is a beautiful dish." "Wow." "Richard did a great job on this-- on this dish, I think." "Absolutely." "The crust on that cod." " Mm." " That was really good." "It was nice and crunchy, but the fish was nice and tender on the inside." "So that was good." "Yeah, it's really good." "This is Richie at his best." "Do you think that they're not eating because they have other meals to eat?" "I mean, these are the judges' plates." " Hey, hey." " What?" "They loved that dish." "Richard." "Just concentrate on what you're doing." "They loved that dish, bro, okay?" "So the third course is, you know, a little bit rustic." "A rib of beef, braised short rib, with some red cabbage marmalade and a celery root horseradish puree." "I think it's simple, but hopefully it shows some restraint." "This looks beautiful." " It's lovely." " Mm." "Now, for creativity, I wouldn't give, really, necessarily hi marks for this dish." "But execution was good, and it's really delicious." "Your personality needs to go out in your food." "And I think his personality has come out here." "This is the best so far." "This dish is absolutely delicious." "He felt that you had a little-- a lot of restraint on the short rib dish." "There wasn't much going on in it, you know?" "Right, okay." "This sauce is ridiculous." "The pepperoni?" "Love it." "I hope Tom likes it." "All Tom talks about all the time, whenever you do braised meat," ""it's not glazed." "It's not glazed."" "That mother- is glazed." "Third course is my braised pork shoulder with pepperoni sauce, roasted cabbage, and turnips." "I call this my Tom dish just because the way he loves his meat," "I executed it to the "T"." " Looks great." " Smells great." "It's pepperoni sauce." "Wow, that is a nice plate of food." "It really is." "That's pretty fantastic." " Kid's got talent." " Pepperoni sauce." "Pepperoni sauce." "It's a sort of dish that you will crave." "This is as good as anybody's food in the finale." "In fact, it's better than most." "The fourth dish is my rosemary caramel custard." "Little, crispy pine nuts that I cooked in syrup, then deep-fried." "I think they're gonna love it." "What do we have here?" "What do you think of it?" "Slightly overcooked, but it's also cooked too fast." "I like the flavor." "But I don't like the way it feels in my mouth." "This is his weakest of the dishes by far." "Yeah." "There's nothing wow about it at all." " It doesn't stand out." " No." "It's not wow." "Spike, let's go on desserts, dude." "Okay." "We're gonna bring 'em in right now." "When was the last time you actually had foie gras ice cream, right?" "Never." "How 'bout never?" "Never, but the better question is after we have it, will we want it again?" "Okay, go, go, go, go." "Let's go." "Four, table 11." "Fourth course I'm doing is cornbread with whipped mango and foie gras ice cream." "The foie gras ice cream is the biggest concern." "Potentially has a crumbly texture." "One mistake can blow this whole thing." "So I'm worried." "Well, I like the cornbread." "I wasn't expecting this freeze-dried..." "Whatever this is." "I don't think the foie gras really adds a lot." "It's--it's a-- it's a controversial dish." "The main criticism is the ice cream." " Yeah." " Okay?" "So maybe if you use little bit of milk and do the same thing and make another batch right now for--for the next service, the judges-- maybe it's a little bit better." "I want to see the plates when they come back." "Let's go." "Let's move on." "Yeah." "It's controversial, Spike says." "And I can't really take the risk of giving away a course." "So we're gonna have to tinker with this dish a little bit to make it more appealing." "Hubert, did Richard do well today?" "I think Richard did extremely well." "We all were excited right away." "It build up, it build up." "And then I think we were maybe too build up for the dessert." "Any more pork fired, any more fish fired, any more desserts, anything?" "I feel like I put out four perfect courses for the judges." "But it's not over from here." "The second group of judges are coming in, and these guys have eaten all over the world and back." "So for me, it's a little nerve-wracking cooking for such icons." "Round one." "Looking great, guys." "Looking great." "I think overall he did a great job with his restaurant." "Just the whole restaurant experience." "I think with the exception of the wait between the first and the second course, everything was great." "Well, I could go home happy right now." "But unfortunately, we have a full other meal to eat." "So let's go see what Richard made." "Oh." "Feeling good about the next service, right?" "Spike, how do you-- what's up with this, man?" "We are halfway through." "I'm exhausted." "And I'm really worried, you know." "I really feel like maybe I came all the way out here, got all the way up to this point again, and didn't do it again." "I have to win the other judges that are coming in, so we have to take the ice cream that we already made." "Maybe I can switch it and change it a little bit to make the dish better for the second round." "Either one of you is worthy of this title." "But unfortunately, only one of you will get it." "He's been good, I'm telling you." "Pork rising." "I do think Mike and Richard deserve to be here." "They were the two top players." "Mike has worked and worked and worked in the past couple of months." "I know Mike has a hell of a shot at it." "And you girls rocked it out for me." "Izzy!" "I really respect Mike as a chef." "I've seen his personal growth." " Yeah, they're-- - that's amazing." "Richard, he's probably one of the most talented chefs that I've ever cooked with in the country." "Really big team player." "I have so much respect for Richard." "Food was tasty and delicious." "Mike has been cooking good food." "I think it's gonna be tough." "This is what it's all about, you know." "One more service." "Now it's time." "Chefs are here." "Let's get ready on five perfect plates." "The second group of judges I'm serving come in pretty quickly." "Welcome to restaurant Iz." "This season has been a dream season for me." "How you doing?" "First course is a beet salad." "So hopefully you guys enjoy tonight." " Thank you." " Thank you." "I'm glad I got a second chance to really show" "I have evolved." "I'm much better and much stronger now." "I've never had chocolate vinaigrette." "No, it's very clever." "He's reaching out in the tradition, the Italian, in this tradition well." "Fish for judges." "This is just a journey to become great one day." "The fish is cooked very well." "The flavors are great." "Well, it's very different stylistically than the first dish." "Shows a lot more finesse." "It shows a lot of range, you know?" "I knew that I have it in me, and I just feel like I'm putting it all together." "I feel awesome at this point." "I wonder how they liked Richard's." "The name of the restaurant's Tongue  Cheek." "So it's a little bit about whimsy." "Enjoy." "Thanks so much." "It's been the hardest, toughest, craziest season of Top Chef ever." "And the only way for redemption for me is gonna be to win Top Chef." "It's a nice start." "I love an amuse-bouche." "I love to sit down and get the meal underway." "I like the frozen creme fraiche." "It just chills everything down." "'Cause, you know, you want a cold oyster." "Four judges' hamachi." "This would be the biggest moment for me." "To validate my hard work." "This has been in my head for years." "It's haunted me." "And I'd like to exorcise, you know, some demons." "Beautiful texture." "Nice flavors." "This one we need to cook a little bit longer." "Judges' plates are all clean." "Beautiful piece of fried fish." "Beautiful, I thought." "We've got two dishes with lots of components." "And in that short period of time." "Sounds like he's got the dream team back there." "They ate the last one, yeah?" "They cleaned the dish." "All right, for the judges, we got the braised pork." " Brilliant, very good." " It's delicious." "I think it's brilliant." "We got the rosemary custard." "You know, I just wish my wife and my family was here to be a part of everything." "And I really feel like" "I did everything I possibly could." "I couldn't ask for anything else." "And I really feel like I'm gonna be the next Top Chef." "You definitely see grandmother's influence here." "Not in the foie gras ice cream." "And I think the style of the dessert fit perfectly the menu, right?" " Proud of you, kid." " I feel--yeah, thank you." "Feel like I've evolved a lot over the last especially couple months." " Two good meals." " Yeah." " Amazing." " Two good contestants." "Antonia, can I get more sweetbreads?" "Okay, I'll grab 'em." "Hold on." "Short ribs for the window." "The short rib is perfectly cooked." "It's nicely glazed." "But it's so strong and so delicious that it, like, just wakes you right up." " How's that ice cream?" " Better." "Winning Top Chef All-Stars would be my biggest accomplishment ever." "My wife's raising a family." "Like, I owe it to her." "And now the moment of truth is here." "I was kind of very skeptical on the foie gras ice cream, but it's very, very subtle." " Very subtle." " It was well done." "I think we did well, better with this round than the first round." "The whole menu, it's been really about bal-- everything was nice and balanced." "But it's exciting." "You've got two very talented chefs." "Hubert and I have to get back to judges' table." "Thank you." " Glad to see you, Tom." " You, too." "That's it." "It's over." "Guess so." "Guess so." "You know?" "You going crazy again?" "What, you--you're-- you're cool?" "You're just like" "I did everything I wanted to do." "Team worked like I've never seen 'em work before." "Jamie just worked like she was--it was her final." "Right?" "Nice." "How'd your team do?" "They do good?" "No complaints." "Team--team rocked it out." " Good." " Good team." "Yeah." "We'll see." "You know, if you win, you deserve it, 'cause I cooked my heart out, and I'm sure that, you know, it's gonna be splitting hairs." "This is--I wouldn't want to judge this challenge." "Maybe, maybe not, dude." "I mean, it sounds like you killed it." "This is one of our last times at judges' table." "♪ ♪" "I'd like to start by saying you both did a wonderful job." "I would venture to say the best food we've had in any finale." "Mike, was it harder than you thought it was going to be this time around?" "The toughest part of this season was challenge one, challenge two, challenge three, 'cause you could go home at any one of 'em." "This season was tough top to bottom." "Richard, what are you thinking of five minutes before service starts?" "To focus, you know, and to taste." "I also want to throw up." "Last plate goes out." "How do you feel?" "I'm a sentence or two away from absolute emotional breakdown." "Michael?" "I felt really good at the end of the service, and I felt like that my guests left really happy." "And I was really happy to serve them and give them what-- what came from me." "Mike, tonight at restaurant Iz, there was a subtlety, there was an understatedness, almost a femininity." "Now, I don't know if it had anything to do with the girls in the kitchen." "There was so much finesse." "It really delivered." "Thank you." "I appreciate it." "What do you think was your strongest dish?" "It was my fish dish." "Steaming fish is kind of ballsy, I think." "Often it's, you know, it's like hospital food, almost." "This wasn't." "Can't find a flaw with it." "Pepperoni sauce." "That was crazy business, Mike Isabella." "It was a risk." "It was a stroke of genius." "That dish was serious." "That was probably the biggest hit of the night." "Really, with that shoulder," "I think you blew everything away." "Definitely was a dish that you have to leave on your menu when you open your restaurant." "Thank you, chef." "I really appreciate it." "The custard cooked at too high a temperature, too fast." "You had bubbles in there." "All in all, I think you did a great job." "I mean, this is some of the best food you've done your season plus this season." "It's the right time to get hot." "Thank you." "Richard, you hit us with the most intense, extraordinary flavor, course after course after course." "The amuse was just perfect, just brilliant." "Great start, great kickoff." "I kind of have a special sort of feeling about that dish." "I mean, I think that's what the restaurant was all about." "Tongue  Cheek, oyster and pearls." "First course, hamachi, was your strongest course." "The flavors were just really, really strong." "But also clean." "To me, I mean, I think it was very explosive." "And I wanted to start on that track." "Really, really successful dish." "The black cod was flawless." "Yeah, I thought there was a lot of, you know, guts to that dish, and kind of the way I like to treat seafood." "You know, almost more like a meat." "Your beef dish was safe." "But it was all perfectly done." "Probably could have used another 30 minutes, you know, to come up with a little wow, uh, factor to it." "Richard, what was the difference between the foie gras ice cream that we got and what they got?" "Well, because I, you know, had my ear to the ground," "I heard Chef Keller talking about the dish a little bit." "I thinned out the dish." "You--you actually got-- the presentation was a little softer." "Mike, why do you think the restaurant you created tonight should earn you the title of Top Chef?" "The number one thing I wanted to do was get here and cook for you and show you really who I've become and what I am." "You know, to have my-- my wife support me 100% through this." "And for me, I feel like it's just as much a part of her as it is me." "It would mean the world to me." "I couldn't explain it." "I'd probably break down." "I'm probably gonna break down either way." "It's just everything that I could possibly want in life." "Richard." "I mean, hopefully, you know," "Tongue  Cheek showed a little bit of creativity and whimsy and, um, my newfound understanding of the pleasure principle." "And that it's not about me, and it's about, uh, the guests." "This is the biggest professional moment of my career." "For me, it would mean my own restaurant." "Let me compose myself here..." "A little bit." "Whew." "You know, I mean, as chef, sometimes you have to do things because of money and finances." "And, uh, this would give me the opportunity to do something that I want to do as a chef." "Thank you both so much." "We'll call you back when we've made a decision." " Thank you." " Thanks." "I know." "Well, it shouldn't take that long, dude." "There was definitely some heavy petting going on for Mikey Isabella." "Don't say that to me." "Because we throw two desserts out of the window, it's three on three." "I mean, you know, you won the first course." "I probably won the third course." "And it could go either way for the second." "My amuse comes into play." "It was a good dish." "If you win," "I'm gonna feel like ." "If I do win," "I'll give you some money to open up graffiato." "I'll take it, 'cause I need it." "Me and Richard sitting there, kind of being quiet." "And I hear someone coming." "I'm just waiting to see who it is." "I see my wife and my mom and my sister, and it was just-- it was just great to see them." "I wish that my wife could be here." "But she's very pregnant and probably very tired right now." "But my Uncle Scott is here." "I hope that he didn't have to come all the way out here just to watch me blow this thing." "Jazmin told me to give you a big hug, so this one's from Jazmin, all right?" "I know my family loves me regardless of what I do." "But it's definitely a lot of pressure." "I love my wife, and I miss her, and I know she's been nervous for me." "And I feel bad leaving her for these competitions, but hopefully she can watch me win Top Chef." "I was so impressed by both chefs tonight." "I think we stepped up the challenge." "They stepped up their game." "And they gave us two meals unlike we have ever had before." "I'm on the fence." "I loved both meals." "And I'm not quite sure yet who I think won." "And I think having only five hours to put that together, that was remarkable." "Richard's amuse-bouche was beautiful." "Texturally, it was amazing." "Excluding the amuse for now," "I have to give Richard the first course." "I thought the hamachi was one of my favorite dishes of the night." "I thought that Michael gave us the weakest dish of the night with his salad." "It just didn't compute." "That hamachi-- maybe because the mozzarella wasn't very good." "All of us loved Richard's second course." "I thought Richard's dish was a beautiful dish." "To me, between, um, Mike and Richard," "I think Richard went an extra step when it comes to the black cod." "I was impressed by it because it was so flaky." "As soon I touched it, that flake," "I mean, that thing came off." "Right, so I said how delicate it was." "Tom, you said that Michael's fish was the best you'd ever tasted on Top Chef." "I tasted that before I tasted Richard's." "All of us loved both these braised courses." "Richard's dish was a simple, rustic dish." "The flavors, everything came so together." "There was nothing in Richard's dish that blew me away." " Right." " We're nitpicking." "We're really digging deep." "But it wasn't pepperoni sauce." "It was rustic in flavor, but not in presentation, not in conception." "That's why I so loved Michael's pork shoulder." "I loved that Mike was able to do elegant food that was still comforting." "They loved your fish course." "You know?" "And they loved the pork course, so it's two to one." "If I had to order one or the other dessert, it's definitely Mike's dessert." " I preferred Richard's." " I did, too." "I thought the cornbread was excellent." "Mm-hmm." "As much as the foie gras ice cream was not perfect" "It wasn't offensive." "Obviously, the dessert that we had on our table, right, was not exactly the same dessert." " Yeah, sounds like it." " True." "Everyone at our table was much more receptive to Mike's dessert than to Richard's." "Is that fair?" "Definitely." "I think it's fair." "I could see that." "So it sounds to me like the first two courses are going to Richard." "The last two courses are going to Mike." "Sure." "I think when it comes to me, since the challenge was about having your own restaurant and writing out the menu, giving the name," "I think a few little disagreements between us" "Look, if I had to eat at these restaurants again," "I would want to eat at Mike's during the week, and I want to eat at Richard's on the weekend." "Yeah, both these chefs at this stage of their career, they've been through a lot." "They've done a lot." "You know, Richard owns four restaurants." "Michael was an executive chef for Jose Andres' restaurant." "Very successful." "I think both of them have a long career ahead of them." "But I think at the end, there's just one restaurant that I think we'd prefer." "I think we have a new Top Chef." " Think so." " Yep." "Absolutely." "Let's get them both out here." "♪ ♪" "♪ ♪" "Mike..." "Richard..." "One of you will take home $200,000, furnished by Buitoni... and finally earn the elusive title of Top Chef." "You guys fought it out all season, and especially here." "Richard, all season long, just performing steady." "Michael, coming on really strong here in the Bahamas." "Whatever happens here tonight," "I'm sure that both of you will have long and successful careers." "I would suggest that either one of you is worthy of this title." "But unfortunately, only one of you will get it." "Richard..." "You are Top Chef." "What?" "♪ ♪" " Congratulations." " Congratulations." "I just--I didn't think I could do it." "You know, I just--I-- you don't know." "You know, and I don't want to be cliche." "Where there's a will, there's a way." "But I willed this." "It--it hurts." "32 challenges." "To come in second is tough." "You know, I made it to the finale, and I competed with the number one seed, who was considered to be the best chef to never win a competition." "And I feel like I beat him." "I just didn't get the prize." "Hello?" "Jazmin." " Yeah." " I won Top Chef." "What?" "I won Top Chef." "I'd like to raise a glass to our new Top Chef." "And thank you to Mike." " Isabella." " Mike." "I'm--I can't believe it." "I'm lost for words." "I'm just..." "I'm Top Chef." " sync, corrected by elderman " "for more about the recipes seen tonight,"