The Brothers Battle in Top Chef Las Vegas Finale

So I've been out of the Top Chef game for the past few weeks but that doesn't mean I've stopped watching. I've recorded the episodes and watched them while I was in the mood since well... the season was starting to put me to sleep! With the finale just beginning it's back to Las Vegas... er Napa Valley as the final four of Bryan, Michael, Kevin and Jenn return to see who will take home the win. The four arrived at a Napa Valley train station and were happy to be reunited. I don't understand why they wait a few months before jumping into the finale, it would make sense to have them finish things up while their mind is still in the game and their heads can still fit through the door.

The four didn't seem to change too much during the break and things returned to normal as Padma + baby bump exited the train. She pregnant now so she's trying to become the next Julie Chen! Her partner in crime this time around was guest judge Michael Chiarello who was on Top Chef Masters. For their last Quick Fire the final four would create dishes incorporating grapes while riding a train. They were all nervous cooking while on the move but all did well. It was a cramped kitchen it seems, but all four did rather well and none of them had negative reviews by guest judge Michael. In the end he chose who would win the last Quick Fire and take home a 3rd Generation Prius. It seems Jenn would finally win something but Bryan took home the last win and the car.

Napa Valley was the overall theme for the round as they had cook two dishes that would be served to 150 people. One dish had to be vegetarian while the other had to include a local protein. Both could only use ingredient produced within 50 miles of the valley. Jenn struggled to choose her ingredients but stuck with duck. During preparation the coals on her wood stove died out, forcing her in another direction of roasting the duck. She didn't like the idea, but still felt it tasted ok. Kevin was going for another simple dish with great flavor. His brisket wasn't fully cooked to his liking but still plopped it on the plate as he said he would.

The brothers seemed to only focus on each other, both said they wanted the other to stay but still wanted them to go?!? Um can't have both but it's editing I'm sure. Their dishes were both somewhat complicated, Michael went with a poached egg which he feared wouldn't be done, but it was, while Bryan uses local ingredients all the time so he felt he was built for this challenge. When the tasters and judges finally arrived it was obvious how many people they were serving. The event was called a Crush, where people come to dine and help crush the grapes. They lacked most of the crush aspect as the food was the main event.

The judges didn't really say much about Bryan's dish and he was the one we saw the least of. It seemed he would fall somewhere in the middle, however that wasn't the case. Michael's dish was a mixed bag as some loved it while the judges didn't like the look of the egg and felt he had too much flavor at some points while too little at others. Kevin's dish surprised everyone as it was fairly simple yet had great taste. Both judges and tasters loved it and he seemed like a winner. Jenn's was last featured and although Padma and Gail felt her vegetarian dish was too salty, most everyone else loved it. Her duck was also said to be very "ducky", which was a good thing. However their over hyping of Jenn's dish wasn't really the case.

In the end the judges chose Bryan as the winner of the elimination while Jenn was sent packing and would not compete in the finals. That leaves the brothers Bryan and Michael along with Kevin to compete for the big win and become Top Chef. This season had been all about the brothers so it isn't a shock that both would be in the final two. The only question now is which brother will win, or will Kevin pull out a surprise and actually not make the brothers the focal point of the last episode. That seems like a tough thing to do but what do you guys think? Who should win Top Chef? Leave a comment and let us know!