Top Chef 6/8/26--"The Final Toast" summary

 

Previously on “Top Chef”: we had the Quickfire where everyone has to guess what Tom cooked based on the remnants of the dish and 20 questions. Rhoda won, and it's implied it's because she thought the sauce had a slight red tinge, so she used paprika, and no one got chorizo but the paprika got her close. Then it was We Want Plates time, where everyone had to pick out a “vessel” and make a dish that matched. Sherry won for making short ribs with various vegetables hanging off a clothesline. Just go with it. Jonathan made brioche buns and served them in pumpkins, but he didn't really use the “vessel” so he was eliminated. Also he made buns and compound butter (not even fresh butter); while Laurence made four different fillings and four sauces for his cheung fun. So I think the idea that he didn't do enough was also in play. (click for more)

It is the usual montage of finalists. Sherry left home before her son left for boot camp, but he wanted her to compete. Sometimes she does too much, but she's also been on a roll and won twice for making Brazilian food. Rhoda won the first two Elimination Challenges, then was eliminated, and returned via LCK. She is back to doing well. Laurence does not have classical culinary school training, but he has won the most Elimination Challenges. He is willing to do whatever it takes.

The final three are at Grandfather Mountain. They kind of got shafted by not getting to go anywhere else for the finale, and also not having any kind of a break. This view is beautiful though. There is a narrow bridge the contestants are walking across to greet Tom and Kristen. The finale is pretty standard: four course progressive meal, each course must be a “toast” to someone or something that has impacted their life. They draw knives, which say “Sara”, “Stephanie”, and “Joe”. This is Stephanie Izard, Joe Flamm, and Sara Bradley. It is kind of funny that this is two winners and a two-time finalist. Not that Sara can't help in this situation, but you couldn't find another winner? There are 21 of them. Well, 20, Kristen isn't on the list. So they are going to help the contestants with advice before they do any shopping. These aren't going to be sous chefs, though, more like mentors. It's eliminated contestants for sous chefs, and Sherry gets to pick first since she won last challenge. The only options are the last three chefs to be eliminated: Jonathan, Anthony, and Sieger. I'm shocked that Sieger is both allowed to be here and also he agreed to be here. Sherry takes Anthony, and then says Rhoda can go next. Rhoda takes Sieger (I guess?) so Laurence has Jonathan. Five hours to prep today, and then two hours before service starts tomorrow. They probably wouldn't kick Sieger out entirely, but he got eliminated like a week ago at most. I've seen more than once that someone on Project Runway is brought back to be a helper, and they say “no thank you” and leave. So I wondered if that would happen.

It seems like Stephanie knows Laurence already? They talk about his meal, which is going to be a progression about his community. He wants to have one course be dim sum, because he wants to really push it. But he has given himself a lot of work. Rhoda tells Joe that she also went through Last Chance Kitchen, and they talk about how you relax a little bit because you've already gone home. She doesn't make Filipino food professionally, but she won with the cabbage rolls so she wants to begin. She also doesn't want to make dessert. Joe just kind of looks at her, and she voiceovers that based on who she wants to toast and honor, no dessert makes the most sense. Rhoda sort of starts to freak out, but Joe says to trust her instincts. Sherry talks about New York, where she learned as a line cook, and also Brazil. She says something about a duo, but Sara tells her that's so tricky, because if both proteins are not perfect, they will notice. Or if one is better than the other, they get compared. Maybe no duos. There is a shot of Sara and Sherry from behind, and you can see that the parking lot is right there. It felt like they were maybe implying that everyone had hiked to the top of a mountain, but apparently you can drive there and walk up what looks like the equivalent of one or maybe two flights of stairs. Sara tells Sherry she was excited to walk up and see two women in the finals.

The sous chefs show up, each in their own car, so we can get to shopping. They have $2000. They had the sous chefs get out like they're going to be driving but no, it was a trick. Sherry talks about Le Cirque and frog legs, but maybe she's going to make that one with langoustine instead. She says it's impressive if you can cook langoustine properly, but in the list of things she says they need to pick up, she still lists frog legs. Langoustines are like small lobsters, or enormous prawns. Laurence also has Chinese BBQ, and he's talking duck. Jonathan says he has a technique where the duck is perfectly rosy pink, or something. I include this because it's a sous chef telling the finalists they have the perfect method so it's foreshadowing. Rhoda is making lugaw, which is congee with abalone. Sieger is basically just writing everything down. He asks what kind of rice she's using, and she's like “for what?” because she's already forgotten what she just said.

First stop is Whole Foods of course. Rhoda is trying to only buy stuff that makes sense. She doesn't want to buy a whole pile of stuff and then not use half of it, but then also get paralyzed trying to use it all. Streamlined. She says she wants to make sweet potato and uni for her first course. Sieger asks her if she bought two pounds of butter, but the box she grabbed is only one pound. She's really got to focus. Laurence is also making congee. His first course is for his mom, who left him her bakery. She said the only thing she requested is he keep the congee and the you tiao on the menu. You tiao (youtiao?) is the long fried dough sticks that are common for breakfast in China. Sherry has a plan to get some proteins at another market.

Everyone ends up at Super G Market, which I think is an international market. Sherry finds frog legs I think, to make moqueca, which is a seafood stew. Rhoda teases her because her cart is overflowing. Laurence is buying a bunch of things for a bunch of sauces. Sherry says everything is important, but Anthony thinks she's buying for several plans. I guess in case stuff gets messed up.

So they had supposedly four hours to shop, and I'm pretty sure Kristen implied they could go to a bunch of stores, but I guess it was just those two. Five hours to cook today. Everyone has a list and things to work on, that have to be done today. Rhoda has a lot of Filipino food, all of which sounds great. Her third course is related to her first food memory, which is an eggplant omelet with XO sauce. Laurence is making hoisin sauce from scratch. His second course has multiple parts, because he's given himself extra work. He tells Jonathan that he's going to sous vide the duck breast, I guess instead of whatever technique Jonathan was telling him about in the car. Probably a good idea. He says when you find the hanging ducks, you have found the Chinese community. Heh. I mean, I immediately thought of where the hanging ducks are near me, and it's the spot where I went to buy roast pork for New Year's and the place was full of old Chinese ladies who didn't speak English buying twice as much pork as me. Sherry has potato dumplings in pig ear broth. Interesting. We do get a list of her first three courses, and each one is a toast to a different restaurant where she used to work. I think they're all dishes from those places, but slightly different and with a Brazilian spin. I know her jobs have shaped her cooking and were meaningful, but I don't know if that's going to go over as well when her competitors both have personal stories about their families. Sherry also says everything has a bit of heat.

Tom Time! And the three “mentors”. See, Laurence has dim sum (the last time he had dim sum there were four generations of his family there), Chinese BBQ, and a birthday cake for his wife. Compare that to “these courses are a toast to my jobs”. He missed his wife's birthday and their anniversary to be on the show. It's a Chinese sponge cake. So his menu is all Chinese, and it sounds delicious. Sherry says Sara helped her edit, and that she also has a dessert ode to her mom which is sweet hominy. So she does have a personal family course. Rhoda has stew for the last course, so she's the only one not making dessert. Tom claims they don't hold it against them. Honestly if she nails it I don't think they will. For sure the judges would rather she have a great savory course than a half-assed dessert. Tom tells them all to meet him later after they're done.

Laurence is worried about his timing tomorrow, mostly the second course with three different dishes. But other than that he seems to be in good shape. Sherry has a lot of garnishes to work on. Rhoda still has to finish her XO sauce, which seems like the kind of thing that should be done today so it can sit overnight and the flavors can blend. She says something about hoisin, and Sieger says that Laurence made some so they could just use that? Why would he have extra for you? Jonathan tries to make a joke that for the right price, they can take care of her, but it's dumb because I would never assume he knows what is happening or has any authority. I don't think she goes for it. Rhoda interviews that Laurence is really talented and Sherry has so much training, that she's nervous competing against them. She decides to just leave the XO sauce overnight.

Tom, Gail, and Kristen, are all at some restaurant by a dock, and they walk in with the finalists. So it's not the “the judges cook dinner” which is kind of too bad. Everyone was always so impressed and in awe that Tom and Kristen were cooking. But they're all arriving together so it doesn't seem like that's happened. They sit down outside and there are shots of people cooking somewhere. There are three extra seats so clearly someone else is coming. The judges leave and come back with big serving dishes. Rhoda freaks out because one of the dishes is kare-kare and she's recognized it immediately. And she doesn't know who here knows how to make it. Laurence asks if something else is a Malagasy curry, and they're like “maybe”. “We know some people who know some people.” It's family member time. Rhoda and Sherry's sisters, and Laurence's wife. Everyone is immediately emotional. Sherry's sister sounds just like her. Kristen tells the family members that they needed a home-cooked meal and this is great. Of course she then demands everyone say what it would mean if their loved one were to win. Basically everyone cries (including Gail) about how everyone deserves to win and they're so amazing. It's touching but also everyone is basically saying the same thing.

Two hours before service starts. Sieger tries to joke that he had a late night and can he go home early. Sherry is moving some things around, specifically moving her matsutake mushrooms to course two. Noting for foreshadowing. Laurence works on his congee, with the stock he made yesterday. He overhears Rhoda talking about congee, so he asks if she's doing that too. She says “This is Filipino congee, sir” which is really funny to me for some reason. They establish it's different courses, and then Sherry yells that she's making congee for her third course. Heh. Laurence thinks the most difficult thing today is making sure the duck is consistent and cooked right. He has century eggs, which might be a hard sell. Century eggs are cured in clay and lime? And ash? For weeks, and then they turn black and the whites are like, dark but also transparent. They are extremely strong. He tastes his congee and says it's the best congee he's ever made.

The judges arrive and it looks like there are maybe 12 people? Kristen is the tallest one which I think is hilarious. She's got a sleeveless top with a high neck, that looks like silver chains draped down the front. Like a million necklaces covering the front of her torso. But I think it's just like, the fabric of the shirt and not actual chains. It looks really cool though. There is some frantic working, but no one seems like they're going to fail. Laurence starts plating, and someone (I assume Jonathan) asks if he's doing that this early, and he says congee retains heat really well. Foreshadowing.

Rhoda says her menu is a toast to why she's here. First course is for California, where she first lived when she came to the States. Rhoda: roasted sweet potato with miso butter, fresh uni, and charred sweet potato leaves. Sherry talks about moments and places that have shaped her. Sherry: moqueca with frog legs and langoustine, chayote, zucchini, and shiitake mushrooms. I know for sure when she was talking to Sara, that she had said she was making langoustines and like, beef, surf and turf, and that's when Sara told her not to do a duo. Isn't frog legs and langoustine a duo? Laurence says this is how he eats now, and the meal is a tribute to the people who made that happen. Laurence: pork and century egg congee with youtiao.

The congee has a lot of layers of flavor, but it's kind of thick. Because it's not as warm as it could be. But the youtiao is not greasy at all. Sherry's dish is unique, and it feels French but also a little Southern. Rhoda had some spectacular uni, and no one seems to have had the combination of sweet potato and uni. Tom is like, we all eat out, when's the last time you saw something new? Everyone has an interesting perspective, and Stephanie says they're all ambitious in the best way.

Laurence is really frantic because he basically has three dishes to finish and plate for this course. Sherry says she likes to plate early because she always has a lot of steps, and she feels the extra time gives her great attention to detail. Another foreshadowing of plating early. I think Laurence does get done, although his plate is like, three separate bites so it's not like big pieces of food.

Rhoda says her congee is for her mom, who would make congee when they were sick. Rhoda: abalone lugaw with abalone liver mousse. Sherry talks again about a restaurant, although she does say they honor simple ingredients, which is related to her dish. Sherry: potato dumplings with pig ear broth, matsutake, and pickled hon-shimeji mushrooms. Laurence says dim sum is a gathering point for everyone. Laurence: dim sum: daikon cake, lobster sticky rice, scallop and shrimp roll with fresh tofu skins.

Rhoda had amazing flavors and the abalone is a wonderful texture. The liver sauce is also great. Sherry's broth is not as warm as it could be, and Kristen says that all the different solid components (aside from the dumplings) were kind of chewy and slimy. The dumplings are light so those are good. Laurence's dish was complex and the sauces are amazing. Someone says there are a lot of little touches that elevate the “normal” dim sum experience. Tom says no one has thrown a knockout punch but it's a good fight.

Laurence sears all his duck breasts, and he says it's had time to rest and he's just crisping up the skin. Sherry has another duo, beef tongue and foie gras together. I think the beef is supposed to be the star? Rhoda says she can't believe she's making this dish on Top Chef.

Rhoda says her dish is called torta, and is an ode to her first food memories. Rhoda: grilled eggplant omelet with XO sauce, vinegar, crispy pork belly, chili, and fish sauce. It looks like a whole half an eggplant, that's been hollowed slightly and filled with egg and then topped. Sherry mentions Per Se and “Tournedos Rossini” which is one of the dishes there. Actually it's a classic dish of seared beef and foie gras, with truffles and Madeira or cognac sauce. Sherry: tournedos rossini with braised beef tongue, Carolina reaper leche de tigre, and seared foie gras. Laurence made a toast to community. Laurence: seared duck with sorghum glaze, fermented tofu, hoisin, and duck broth.

Sherry's dish is perfect, and Gail loves the Carolina reaper. It's a lot of big flavors. Laurence's duck is over-rested and Sara says her duck is tough. Oof. The broth is also underseasoned. Rhoda's dish is both crispy and soggy somehow. Is it supposed to be? Her XO sauce isn't quite an XO sauce, it doesn't taste right. But the flavor of the eggplant and egg is great.

Rhoda knows Sherry and Laurence are both making dessert, but her dish makes sense for her progression of dishes. Laurence says he's just going to call something “white chocolate cream”, and they'll put it on at the end because it's hot in the kitchen. I'm guessing something didn't set up. Sherry is also talking about plating quenelles last, but she's also starting to plate with seven minutes left. And it looks like the quenelles are of ice cream, which immediately melts. She says it's not going to work, because they're too small, so they put all the dishes in the freezer and I think plan to remove them with one minute left. It sort of works but Sherry knows there's nothing she can do.

Rhoda's final course is kaldereta for her dad. Rhoda: braised short rib with liver sauce and vegetables. Kaldereta is normally a stew with goat and liver sauce made for special occasions. She says it was important to honor her parents, so no dessert. Sherry talks about her uncle growing corn, as this is the one course that wasn't inspired by a job. Listen I know I'm harping on this a lot, but everyone has been honoring their family members and Sherry chose to copy dishes from places she worked at, and just add some Brazilian ingredients. It doesn't feel on the same level. Sherry: hominy porridge with corn husk ice cream, toasted Brazil nuts, candied peanuts, and candied ginger. Laurence admits he's missed some important dates for his wife while he's been here. Laurence: broken birthday cake with peaches and caramelized white chocolate cream. He says the cream is supposed to be melting, because it's kind of sad. Which is also a great way to explain how it's melted. Kristen tells the contestants it was a pleasure eating their food, and her voice breaks with emotion. Aww. She hopes they all feel proud of themselves.

Rhoda's dish is delicious, and the short rib is really cooked well. Stephanie says the other stuff on the plate didn't get enough love, and Sara thinks this is the start of a beautiful dish, maybe with tweaking. They all know they're nitpicking. Sherry's flavors were great but the plating is not great. The ice cream is all melted. Laurence's cream is good, but maybe soak the cake in the liquid he cooked the peaches in? This is going to be a very hard decision.

Judges' Table. Tom says there were amazing highs today. They're going to go course by course. Rhoda's smoke on her sweet potato really came through, and Tom says it was very original. Sherry made one of her best dishes all season. The heat was surprising but you got used to it. The sauce is the star. Laurence admits he wanted his congee to be hot, and he doesn't seem to know it was room temperature. It wasn't a big enough portion, or a thick enough layer in the dish, so it cooled off. But the youtiao was not greasy at all and the layers of flavors in the congee were there.

Rhoda's abalone had a great texture and the liver was not overwhelming. Tons of flavor. Sherry wanted to highlight the potato dumplings, but while they were great the rest of the dish had really strong flavors and it was distracting. This was also not hot enough because of early plating. Laurence was happy with his dim sum. The sauces were amazing. He made good representations of the dishes, but then he also was able to expand to put his spin on them.

Third course. Rhoda says she just blended the XO so it would be like banana ketchup, but they wanted the texture. She says she wanted the eggplant to be soft, and Tom kind of laughs. So I think this is a situation where the dish is supposed to be soft, but Tom doesn't “get it” so he doesn't want that texture, even though the dish is made correctly. Kristen says she was all over it and didn't mind that it was soft. Sherry cooked the beef tongue perfectly and Tom says that's hard. They really loved it. Laurence talks about not having enough time to cook the duck, and Tom is confused. Laurence didn't think he would have enough time to cook and rest the duck if he did that all today, so he did the sous vide so it could rest overnight, I think. The duck was tough, and then on top of that the broth was not seasoned enough.

Rhoda explains that kaldereta is usually served at big celebrations, and you just eat it over rice. Everything was cooked well, but she “cheffed it up” so it wasn't as good. I guess they wanted it more rustic? She lost something by trying to be fancy? Tom does acknowledge that going from eggplant to dessert wouldn't have been a good idea so doing short ribs and no dessert was the right move. Sherry says this is a version of kanjika that her mom used to make. I can't figure out exactly what kanjika is, but it seems to be an Indian fermented drink? The ice cream melted and failed, but the rest of the dish was interesting and felt personal. Laurence's dish was a success, and everyone liked the flavors. He says something about how you have to have all the little pieces to get the big picture of everything together? I'm not sure but OK.

It is a very close decision. Everyone had some standouts and they all had issues. Sherry took bigger swings, she had Kristen's favorite dish (frog legs) and least favorite (dumplings). Her dessert was a mess but it tasted good. Laurence had a great story throughout and he had a good progression. He was probably the most traditional, but he did do some riffs on things. The dim sum was refined and they want to eat that again, but the duck is a sticking point. Rhoda also had a good progression. Gail calls her sweet potato and uni the most delicious dish of the night, and it was sort of out of left field. Also she cooked her proteins the best out of the three finalists. Tom loved her first two dishes but maybe she lost steam. Kristen points out that both Laurence and Sherry served dishes that weren't the way they wanted because of their timing issues. Rhoda served the dishes she intended. Good point. Gail says they have to pick a lane in the end.

All their family members and sous chefs and the mentors are also here. Tom says they all put their heart and soul into every dish. Sadly only one person can win, and that is Rhoda! As she's celebrating you can see Laurence's wife hugging Rhoda's sister. Aww. She's emotional about how proud she knows everyone is. Laurence is not thrilled but he did go all the way, so no complaints. Sherry says she's on a mission and this is just the first step. Rhoda makes a speech that if you put your heart into what you're doing you can make it happen. Kristen says this was a great meal of toasts so a toast to you. Aww. She says in confessional that she's Top Chef. Cut back to the Judges' Table where she's saying “fuck yeah dudes let's go!” and jumping up and down.

Thanks for reading and sticking with me! Hopefully next season the show will be on at a better time and they won't screw with it so much. I'll be back next month for Project Runway, as long as I can stand it.