And the Winner of Top Chef 5 New York is Hosea

Tonight either Carla, Hosea or Stefan will be winning Top Chef 5 New York. It's kind of strange that the final three are in New Orleans to win a season in New York but that's just me complaining. The morning before their final cooking challenge the three ate breakfast and discussed why they should win. Hosea says he deserves it the most since he needs it the most. He is the only of the two who doesn't own their own restaurant. Stefan was arrogant, as always, by saying Fabio going was a shock to him, but it gives him a better shot at winning. When arriving in front of Padma and Tom they were told their final task is to cook a three course meal. They can cook whatever they wanted, which was somewhat stressful for the three. They'd rather have some "theme" and some help, and were expecting some past chefs. However it was past season chefs: Richard, Casey and Marcel. None of them won but surely came close to it and it was time to pick. Hosea chose Richard, Stefan chose Marcel while Carla was stuck with Casey. It seems like three great pairs and it will be interesting to see what they come up with.

At prep time it was all about getting the best products. Hosea took all the meat, which annoyed Stefan. They both wanted to use it in their dishes, but Hosea took it all, forcing Stefan to change his plan. Hosea's initial idea was raw fish, scallops and some sort of game. Maybe he should have wished for Jamie back if he was doing the scallops! Over on Carla's team she wanted big flavors and French food. She's known for doing simple dishes and Casey was really pushing her to be "different". That could be Carla's down fall but I hope she can pull it out! The next day all met Tom at their head cooking station where he told them a fourth course was being added. They all had to make an appetizer out of crab, fish or an alligator. Hosea became "king" for the day by finding the golden baby and got to choose which meat went to who. He chose the red fish for himself, gave the crabs to Carla and the alligator to Stefan. Both baldies are really at each others throats and kind of forgetting about Carla. Not sure why though considering she won how many of the final challenges.

With only three hours to go the chefs began their final preparations. Stefan didn't really want the alligator but played with it to make a soup. Carla's appetizer was hanging her up, forcing her to neglect the rest of the meal. As things picked up both the time and heat sped up. All went through their three dishes with Hosea doing no desert while Stefan did. They both seemed to have very differing approaches and once again, neither are looking at Carla as a competitor. She was still focusing on the French theme but Casey changed it up by changing her desert. Carla seemed to be all for it though, but yet again I hate that she's changing her plan to go with someone who doesn't agree with her "simple" methods.In the dining room the judges plus Fabio waited for their food. Fabio was lucky to be invited the finale but its somewhat sad that he's not in the finals cooking.

Hosea's appetizer was up first and most of the comments were really good. Stefan's was next and it was time for alligator soup. Many found it to be "fantastic" which is surprising considering it is alligator. Last up was Carla who sent out her crab appetizer. Tom really liked it, and that's what counts, but others loved it as well. Moving on to the table it was time for the first dish to head out. After introducing all the guests it was time to comment on the first dish. Carla's dish was found to be "special" and reminded the one judge as what she ate in French. She didn't like Hosea's dish though, and it apparently had too much salt. Stefan's dish was also getting bad reviews as being frozen but still had some good comments. Dish two then being readied but Carla already had a one up it seems. Carla's sirloin seemed to be somewhat tough and they all realized it wasn't her dish. Stefan's dish however was found to be cooked "beautifully" and showed his personality. Hosea's dish was also said to be well done however Rocko didn't like to see the same meat over and over again from him.

They only had one more dish to sent out and once again Hosea and Stefan were only worrying about each other and not Carla. Seems they didn't have to for the last dish though considering her desert bubbled over. She decided not to serve it and just set out half of her dish. Not looking good for her. She made the mistake of telling them that her desert didn't work out, which was a bad move. Gail kind of backed her up though, which was nice to see and may just have saved her. Stefan's however was getting mixed reviews. Some liked the mix but they believe it looked eighties. Hosea won the last dish but one chef believed Hosea's meat dish was a "safe way out". Padma then asked Fabio who was better between Stefan and Hosea, once again leaving Carla out of the mix.

It was then time for the final Judge's Table of the season where one of them would take home the $100,000 prize. Carla's appetizer and first dish were praised however they all agreed the rest was somewhat of a flop. They didn't really like the idea that Casey pushed her to make certain dishes, which is exactly what happened. Hosea was up next and his dishes received the same positive and negatives as it did during the initial eating. They didn't really like the idea that he didn't pull out a desert but he backed it up well. Lastly Stefan discussed his dishes. They felt he had the strongest dish of the night and also backed up his desert by saying it was deserving of his last dish. As the judges began to discuss who should win they immediately took Carla out of the running. I can see why, although it somewhat isn't fair. It was then down to Hosea or Stefan as winning.

Carla, Stefan and Hosea then walked out to face the judges and learn who was to be crowned the winner of Top Chef. Obviously it wasn't going to be Carla so the guys were the only two in the running. After Tom gave a small word for each of the finalists Padma revealed the winner: HOSEA as won Top Chef 5 New York. Although he wasn't my favorite he did do well towards the end and pulled out the better of the three final meals. So that ends Top Chef for this season but wait! It's returning! Make sure to check back here at Reality Rehash for Top Chef 6 when it airs who knows when!