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One 'Top Chef' takes the top honor

By Liane Bonin of HitFix.com Whoot! It’s the finale of “Top Chef”! I’ll be honest; I’m rooting for Richard. I’m sure Mike is very talented and he only sweats into some of the food he cooks and he doesn’t steal recipes that often, but really, he’s not a contestant I can get behind. Richard has stuck-in-the-80s hair and he’s clearly so neurotic it must be hell to be married to him,

By Liane Bonin of HitFix.com

Whoot! It’s the finale of “Top Chef”! I’ll be honest; I’m rooting for Richard. I’m sure Mike is very talented and he only sweats into some of the food he cooks and he doesn’t steal recipes that often, but really, he’s not a contestant I can get behind. Richard has stuck-in-the-80s hair and he’s clearly so neurotic it must be hell to be married to him, but I love the fact he makes crazy food that sounds disgusting but must be good, as he’s gotten this far. But enough rooting. Let’s get on with it!

Tom and Padma announce the final challenge – each of the two finalists must create the restaurant of his dreams, concocting a four course tasting menu in the process. The chefs are as excited as rabid dogs, because they are ready to COOK, dammit. Mike missed his honeymoon, so he has to win. Really? Is that some kind of reality TV show bylaw or something?

Fifteen of the chefs from this season are back! And if they want to cook with one of the finalists (and I’m not convinced they do, because, hello, free trip to the Bahamas), each one must cook an amuse bouche in thirty minutes. Then, Richard and Michael will choose their teams based on a blind taste test! Bah! What tastes like Marcel so they can avoid it?

Richard picks Spike. Spike looks sad about this, because he has jet ski reservations. Richard is worried about Spike. I can’t blame him.

Mike picks Tiffani. He’s not extremely thrilled, but he thinks she can do it.

Richard picks Angelo. Richard is psyched, because Angelo was on his wish list along with Dale and Antonia.

Mike picks Jamie. He’s bummed, because Jamie moves like a turtle and likes to cook chickpeas for hours on end.

Richard picks Antonia! Yay! He’s excited but he’s worried. She just went home, so her head may not be in the game. But hey, she’s not Marcel.

Mike picks Carla. Good choice. Mike feels like he has his three angels on his team. As in “Charlie’s Angels.” I was thinking one angel, one dock worker and a tired panhandler, but I guess that’s another TV show.

They’ll be serving 70 customers and they have to design their menus right away. Mike gets lots of suggestions from his team. He says he’s open to suggestions, but we discover in one hot minute he isn’t really. He’s one step away from telling the girls to shut up and cook, you can just tell.

Read the full recap at HitFix.com.

Want to skip ahead to the winning moment? Just watch the video below.

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