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“If this was a fight, they all came out and punched each other in the face hard,” Richard Blais, former Top Chef competitor and now intimidation-inducing finale diner, declared of our final three challengers of season 22. Now, the cooking might have been that cutthroat, with each toque turning out the very best of their respective cuisines and styles: Tristen Epps’s modern reclamation of Trinidadian traditions and the Black diaspora (“I’m trying to un-colonize colonized dishes,” he proclaimed at one point in the ep); Shuai Wang’s finely-tuned, full-flavored interpretations of Chinese classics; and Bailey Sullivan’s eccentric renditions of Italian plates even her fellow competitors have never heard of. (Dubbing her finale theme as “giro stravagante,” or Italian for “extravagant turn,” Bailey characteristically professed: “I want to keep it a little quirky and fun.”) But that knife-sharp competitiveness didn’t translate to a bitter smackdown between our trio (though Tristen did nearly sabotage Shuai by purchasing all of the cilantro). As was the case with much of the twenty-second season, sweetness abounded, with each frequently fessing up the clear admiration they shared for their brethren, even in the face of the largest prize package in Top Chef history.
Host Kristen Kish has recounted the haul every single week but just in case you need a refresh: That’s $250,000, $125,000 to spend on travel, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, and, for the first time in show history, a special headlining dinner at the famed James Beard House in New York City. Oh, and the pride-soaring title of Top Chef.
After a little inspiration from Leonardo da Vinci—the chefs coolly got a galvanizing private viewing of the Cenacolo (The Last Supper) at Basilica di Santa Maria delle Grazie—the final three started preparing for just that: the last supper. Tasked with cooking the best four-course progressive meals of their lives and equipped $2,000, seven prep hours across two days, and a little help from their friends (Lana Lagomarsini, Zubair Mohajir, and Paula Endara Larrea all sweetly returned to serve as our finalists’ sous chefs), Bailey, Tristen, and Shuai capped off the “really great, long, extremely emotional ride” that is Top Chef with some top-notch cooking.
And given the caliber of the finale diners, nothing short of top-notch would do: Along with the aforementioned Blais and our regular trio of judges (Kish, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons), the final tasting featured the discerning palates of three-Michelin-starred chef Clare Smyth, Italian powerhouses Carlo Cracco and Sarah Cicolini, Food & Wine editor-in-chief Hunter Lewis, heavyweight husband-wife duo Tim Flores and Genie Kwan of Chicago’s Kasama. The bench was stacked with people to impress.
And impress our finalists did: Blais called Bailey’s opening salvo of pulpo e mozzarella with tomato dashi both “dumb and brilliant”; Clare Smyth praised the “flavor explosion” of Shuai’s panipuri with scarlet shrimp and aji verde; and one bite of Tristen’s root vegetable cake with cassareep ice cream and charred plantain cream had Cracco declaring: “This is a chef.” Even Tom had to pause his chewing to rush into the kitchen to cheer the final three on.
That’s not to say there weren’t some culinary stumbles. Bailey’s blackened orata with whipped tahini and Calabrian chili crunch was overcooked and lacked the sunny brightness that the judges have come to expect from this season’s quirkiest competitor. The dairy in Shuai’s grits overtook his tangcu ossobuco with sweet-and-sour sauce. And though Carlo Cracco was clearly a big fan of Tristan’s root-veg cake, Richard Blais wasn’t entirely convinced: “It’s interesting, but is it delicious?”
However, all of the back-and-forth talk between that illustrious panel seemed to simply be delaying the inevitable. Per what’s been on the plate and what’s been on the screen all season long—a built-in, heart-swelling arc that producers didn’t have to manipulate or overly garnish one bit—it seemed all but predetermined which of the three would take the Top Chef title this season. That said, Tristen’s inevitable victory didn’t feel tedious but, instead, entirely rewarding, a fitting ending for not only the best story of the season but the best chef in the kitchen. “I almost quit because I was hurt, but somebody believed in me enough on their deathbed for me to stay; and I’m so happy I made it worth it,” Tristen proclaimed, full of tears. And the second his mom cheered over the phone, I was full of tears too. Congrats Tristen!
Stray observations
- • It was wholesome AF seeing Tom, Kristen, and Gail personally cook for our final three, all in a beautiful Milanese lodging (Residenza Vignale). Having that iconic trio trotting out tortellini en brodo and chicory salad and clinking glasses of red wine as equals alongside the contestants was “a once-in-a-lifetime experience” for Shuai & co.—but also a true treat for viewers too.
- • We’re still sad about Massimo missing out on Italy but his spirit did permeate the prep session, when Tristen had too much gusto and accidentally chopped his cutting board in half.
- • As with last week, the judges are turning out the looks for Milan. That turtleneck on Tom? Another perfectly tailored blazer for Kristen? Work!
