They have two hours to prep before tomorrow's meal, and Hosea and Stefan immediately start fighting over ingredients. Hosea has grabbed all of the foie gras and most (if not all) of the caviar. Stefan is basically trying to rip the foie gras out of his hands, and Hosea offers to split it, but Stefan backs down and gives him one (and throws a snit-fit). This scene totally shows that Stefan is the alpha dog between the two of him. He complains and complains but doesn't know how to actually stand up.

Hosea says, "I'm a flavor junkie" and plans his meal around strong flavors. His ideas aren't firm yet, but he says he wants to do a raw fish course, scallops and foie gras second, and game as the third dish. He says he's going to sleep on it to firm up the menu.

Carla wants to do French comfort food and imagines an immersion of a bouillabaisse (I think that's what she said, though you guys should correct me if wrong, because I have no idea if that actually makes sense or not). Actually, she said a version of the bouillabaisse. :) Casey suggests they sous-vide the sirloin, and Carla agrees. Hosea makes it sound like this is a mistake -- "if it works for her, it's really going to work for her" -- and I have to agree. It doesn't seem very Carla of Carla. Yeah, my alarm bells went off when Casey said, "Girl, sous-vide is so easy. All it is is cooking in a bag." She shouldn't listen to Casey and stick to her simple food. That's what helps her win.

We don't get a whiff yet of what Stefan's working on, besides an attitude, but we do learn his mom was a chef for 42 years. That's cool.

Prep ends, there's a little commercial break moment about voodoo, and they walk into Commander's Palace the next day to find Tom standing in front of a huge (dead) alligator. I am once again glad that I can't smell through my TV. The twist is there will be one more course, an appetizer, and the chefs have to use one of three New Orleans-centric proteins: blue crab, red fish, and alligator. Carla says, "These butterflies are now like bats or something!" and makes an awesome wing-flapping noise. I can't blame her; that alligator is intense.

This is cute: They'll use a king cake to decide who gets to choose proteins -- the person to get the baby will choose their own and then assign the other two. Hosea pulls the babe out of the cake and chooses the red fish for himself, the crab for Carla, and the alligator for Stefan (of course). Stefan hacks right into it, chopping off its tail, and gets to work on a soup. (Ew, ew, ew, ew, EW!)

Stefan says it in a much cruder way, but I have to agree: Hosea seems charmed this episode. But I think it's a good move to give Stefan the alligator, both strategically and to light a fire under his butt. Stefan seemed to get way too comfortable in the last few episodes and needs a poke to get him making some amazing food. This won't be a King? Cakewalk, Stefan. (I slay me!)

Hosea plans to make a griddled corn cake with Creole remoulade and Creole blackfish (as much as i hate to admit it, that sounds really really good), and Carla is freaking about the blue crab shiso soup she's planning. She says the pressure of the hors d'ouevre is distracting her from the rest of the meal, and time is counting down fast. This is not good. (I don't even know if an Asian appetizer jibes with the rest of her French comfort food menu.)

We get their menus:

Hosea is doing a trio of sashimi, scallops and foie gras with pain perdu, and a venison loin with wild mushrooms.

Stefan will make a halibut and salmon carpaccio, squab with braised red cabbage and schupfnudlen (I had to spell that verrrry slowly), and then ice cream and chocolate mousse with vanilla syrup and a banana lollipop. That's a lot of dessert. Everyone has talked about Stefan studying up on desserts before the show, but I think he knows desserts for the same reason I know desserts: He loves to eat them. I can respect that.

Carla is cooking seared snapper with saffron aioli and crouton, sous-vide New York strip steak and potato rod with merlot sauce, then a cheese tart with apple coins and marmalade. She says she wants to focus on the sauces and cook everything fairly simply.

Right away, though, her menu changes. Casey suggests a blue cheese souffle instead of a tart, and while I didn't totally get her reasoning, Carla agrees. I love the idea of finishing with a cheese course; I think that's a nice way to solve the "dessert or not?" question.

We see Stefan freezing the carpaccio so he can slice it thinner, and Marcel comments that he's trying to be supportive, but he wouldn't have done that to such fresh fish. (Marcel and Casey show the two problems with being a good guest sous chef in this competition -- Casey says too much, and Marcel not enough. Though this could all be due to editing, too.)

Dinnertime! Guests include Ti Martin, the proprietor of Commander's Palace, and chefs Hubert Keller, Josh Besh, Rocco DiSpirito and Susan Spicer. (We also later meet jazz legend Branford Marsalis and the Commander's Palace top chef, Tory McPhail.) We also get Toby, Gail, Tom, Padma and ... Fabio? Yep, he's part of the dining and judging, which just confirms that he's got something in the works and needs to keep his profile up. I wonder how the other cheftestants felt about that, though Fabio is quite gracious about their food.

I have a feeling part of this whole parade of New Orleans chefs on the panel is also a way to not-so-subtly advertise to foodies that New Orleans is back. I only wonder about this out loud because it worked for me. Anyone else?

All of the hors d'ouevres go over well: Hosea "nailed it" with his red fish, Stefan's alligator soup in tiny mugs is "fantastic," and Carla's blue crab soup also gets rave reviews.

First course

The cheftestants introduce their dishes, then sprint back to the kitchen to get the next one ready. Besh says Carla's snapper is "really special," and Tom liked the idea, which included a clam and a crouton. Martin says Hosea's didn't pop in her mouth, though it did on the plate. Tom's very critical of Stefan's carpaccio, saying the salmon overpowered the halibut and questioning his freezing of the protein, which made it watery upon melting. The musician has the best compliment of all: He says they cook food like musicians make music. I love that. Actually, Marsalis said he loved being around all these chefs because they talk about food like musicians talk about music. One of the coolest comments of the night, I think.

As for the dishes, I'm a little biased here -- I'm rooting for fellow Howard alum Carla -- but her dish was the only one I thought was appetizing, at least from description and look. Stefan's carpaccio just looked too messy, and Hosea's seemed overly fussy. And, honestly, Carla's looked like it was bordering on too fussy, too.

Second course

The moment arrives almost immediately: Carla's sous-vide(d) sirloin is tough. All the judges who know her say it's not reminiscent of Carla, and this is already enough to take her out of the competition. It's heartbreaking, but it just gets worse. (Foreshadowing alert!)

As one of the judges said, it was missing her soul, her love. It looks like Carla fell down one of the classic "Top Chef" traps -- trying a new technique without testing it. It makes me so sad. Why, Carla, why?

They love Stefan's squab and says it's cooked perfectly and gives a window into who he is as a chef and a person, and Gail says she can't stop eating Hosea's dish. DiSpirito says he's tired of foie gras (!).

I love the blah blah motion Gail makes when DiSpirito says he's tired of foie gras. And Marsalis is quite the firecracker guest: When asked about the foie gras, he says, "Rocco's crazy. I could eat foie gras all day." Love it. Foie gras aside, I had a gut reaction about Hosea's dish. The scallops and foie gras just sounded delicious.

Third course

The moment with Carla is almost immediate, again: Her blue cheese souffle is bubbling and curdling in the oven; she forgot to turn the temperature down. She makes the decision not to serve it, and instead creates a plate out of the apple medallion, a piece of blue cheese, marmalade and a tiny salad. It's a good save, but she's done for.

There's disappointment all around. Carla's disappointed, Gail's disappointed, we're disappointed. This should have been a home run for Carla. I'm inconsolable at this point.

Stefan's dessert is intense: the banana lollipop, stracciatella ice cream, chocolate mousse, vanilla syrup, and a chocolate drizzle. Gail says the whole presentation is outdated, and while I thought they'd be glad he made a dessert -- I know I'd be glad to eat one at that point! -- expectations for Stefan fall a little flat. Tom says it's like "eh," "not a complete thought."

Stefan's dish did look a little dated (Gail said it was from 1992! Hee!) and a bit much, though I would've eaten everything on that plate. He needed to edit and focus on one amazing dessert, rather than a bunch of little things.

Right after that, they get to eat venison! Mmm! Hosea's has chestnut and celery root puree with wild mushrooms, and a nice touch from Richard: carbonated blackberries. I want to eat THOSE for the rest of my life. The judges agree that venison plays to Hosea's strengths.

Hosea's dish is the winner in this round, and as a whole -- even Fabio says so! But, call it whatever you want, he got in easy, with Carla's kitchen meltdown and Stefan's conceptual one. I guess that's the sign of a true Top Chef, the one who can keep it all together when it counts, but I'm disappointed. It's kind of like Blaise's meltdown last season: For once, I'd like to see all of the chefs compete with their A game, and fight it out through the flavors, not the gimmicks.

Judges Table

The judges are effusive with praise for the food Carla made that was truly Carla's food -- her hors d'ouevre and first course. Tom asks why she used the sous-vide technique, and she basically just says she thought Casey had a good idea. "I know about it; I don't do it," Carla says. She also says she let Casey talk her out of her original idea of a cheese tart, though I'm realizing now that the blue cheese souffle could have been a good finish if only it had cooked right, so that's part of what's going on here. Either way, Carla's upset, and so are the judges.

For Hosea's meal, Toby says he loved the red fish appetizer but that there wasn't enough citrus in the raw fish course to bring out the best of the dish. Tom says the apple compote in the second course was a good counterpoint to the foie gras, and Gail says she liked the different components of his meal. Toby argues that the food had one beginning and two middles (no dessert), but Hosea defends his choices, saying he'd rather showcase his work through savory dishes.

It's a smart move, and something Carla should have taken a page from. She says she's her worst critic, and I have to say that moved her to listen to Casey more than she should have. Hosea listened to himself first and ended up with four (mostly) good dishes.

Stefan's food was well-executed, the judges tell him, but Tom dings him on the frozen carpaccio. Stefan shoots back: "Did it taste good or not?" I'm not sure Tom actually answers. (He said it tasted bland, I think that's a no.) The judges agree that the squab was fantastic and that parsnip was a nice touch, and Stefan defends his dessert, saying that a proper menu requires it.

Padma asks all the cheftestants why they should be Top Chef. Stefan says his food has been consistently good, Hosea says "I put a piece of myself out there," and Carla starts to cry, and says, "When I cook my food, it's really delicious. ... There's a lot of heart, there's a lot of flavor. ... Do I think that my food is good? Yes. When I make it? Yes." She's very clear that she knows she should have stuck to her guns, and Stefan gets a little weepy, too, and hugs her. The judges look emotional, as well. We were all pulling for her! She's so darn lovely! (I'm so dang sad for her at this moment. We all know who won at this point. Well, I knew before I watched it this morning, but it's apparent regardless of spoilers.)

They cheftestants head backstage (no stew room here), and the judges almost immediately rule Carla out as Top Chef. The debate is now Stefan -- classically skilled, well-executed, but hit a flat note with his carpaccio and dessert -- or Hosea -- whose progression of courses made sense and was well-balanced. I can't tell who they're leaning toward for a while, and Tom says about Stefan's: "I didn't see any soul there." Toby shoots back: "If we're going to give it to the most soulful, it would be Carla." Ah, so true. Toby's made a lot of sense this episode, and is generally free from overdone metaphors.

The cheftestants come back out, and Tom thanks them. But the winner is Hosea, for a start-to-finish meal that was the best of the three. There's champagne and celebrating and Hosea patting himself on the back (OK, he's allowed), and we see Carla says she's never going to make those mistakes again, she's going to stick to her food. But she says she came to the competition wanting to prove you could compete in a different way -- compete with love. She says she accomplished one of the two things she wanted to accomplish in that sense, then bursts into tears again. Aww, man.

Hosea says beating Stefan was the "icing on the cake." If we're to believe the comment on our last post was really Stefan (and I'm inclined to think it is), they're all buddies and are going skiing in Boulder next month.

Final thoughts: I know I've been grumpy about this throughout the recapping, but this season really disappointed for me, and I'm curious what y'all thought both overall and about the winner. I thought the challenges were mostly contrived, and while I loved Fabio and Carla throughout, they ultimately disappointed in terms of winning. I'm ready to watch some old seasons on marathon!

I'm disappointed, too. I'll stick to my previous comment -- I think this season revealed the great flaw of this show. As Fabio said, it's not cooking, it's rushing. I know that gimmicks and twists and such are what make "good" TV, but for once, I would have liked to see the three of them compete on level playing field, cooking with the first, original challenge: Give us your best dishes. Perhaps we'll just have to do that ourselves, from D.C. (Carla) to Santa Monica (Stefan) to Denver (Hosea). Road trip, anyone?

(Correction: I fixed a misspelling of Marsalis' name in this post. I regret the error. -Mary)