Finale tonight. Maybe the three best cooks ever to appear on Top Chef. Will Kevin play it too safe? Will Bryan stab his brother with a carving knife? Will Michael sneer his way to victory?
If Kevin doesn’t win… please please please let it be second to Brian, not Michael!
I’m really afraid my boy will do a Richard, but so far he’s stayed cool under pressure.
I’m thinking it will be Bryan. He’s really been consistently at the top of a tough field every week (I don’t think he’s ever been in the loser’s circle), and I think his technical chops will give him a slight edge over Kevin in the finale. he’s also been able to successfully combine advanced technique with a little bit of soul. The narrative for Michael has been to be mostly cold technique without a lot of soul, and Kevin has been overachieving with soul, but without the advanced technique of the Volt Bros and Jen.
I think Kevin will win fan favorite, though.
Kevin will take it. I think. If Brian doesn’t. But I am pretty sure it will be Kevin. I am still bitter that Michael is in the final three- but how could he not be? It does up the drama…brother against brother and all that. I am looking forward to the look on Michael’s face when he loses tonight though. 
Michael, despite his douchebagginess, is a very good chef. He has finished in the top group eight times.
Up until now, the chefs have had to react to circumstances they couldn’t anticipate - but tonight they know they will have just about anything they want at their hands, plus a sous chef. The very best ingredients to make the best meal of their life. I think this might play into Michael’s strength. Of the three left, he seems to me to be the one who can pull off something really masterful.
Michael is the one I would least want to win, but I have a suspicion that he’s going to take it.
Kevin has set the record for most elimination challenge wins (unless you count Stephanie winning the final, then he’s tied). Bryan is the only Top Chef contestant to never be in the bottom during an elimination challenge (and he’s got one more win that Michael). I really hope it’s either of those two.
No clue, but I voted for Kev to send out some positive mojo. Go Yukon Cornelius!
(though Brian would be fine, too)
It’s definitely going to be a close one, but I think Bryan will edge it out in the end. I don’t think any of them are going to break under the pressure. I don’t think any of them will make any serious mistakes, and there’s no doubt that the 3 best in the competition made it to the final round.
Remember the camping episode? Bryan won that elimination challenge. And that morning over breakfast, he sat and he studied his cooking space for an hour. And I doubt very much that he was staring off into space. He was thinking about what he had to work with, what he wanted to do, and working out the best way to do that. He’s extremely focused and methodical, and every time he’s run into trouble this season (ie, not won) it’s usually come down to making a minor mistake or having a time issue. Very, very little trips him up, and he’s not the kind of person who gets in his own way–though I think Michael might be. If it comes down to technique, Bryan will win.
Having said all of that, I think both the brothers have an Achilles heel–seasoning (Tom has mentioned on his blog that both the brothers tend to under season their food). And this competition could very well come down to seasoning. If it does, Kevin will probably take it.
Had to go with Kevin. He’s been winning left and right all season, and he always seems to make the correct choices to meet a challenge and come up with something that looks delicious. This one is more open ended than a regular challenge and the other guys have been good, but I can’t bet against him. Beard power!
Apparently, People Magazine has let the cat out of the bag a little early.
The winner is Michael.
Home sick today and watched every single episode of the marathon for a refresher, so I really gotta go with Kevin.
And he’ll win fan favorite. I mean, who else is it going to be? Robin?
Not reading the spoilers, but wow, Kevin got screwed on this team thing.
Wow- thanks if that spoiler is true- do people not realize that emails don’t hide the spoilers!!
No kidding, that was ridiculous. They should have let them choose their sous chefs, and just had them draw knives to determine who chooses first.
NoNoNoNoNo! Still serving…just now critiquing Bryan’s sardine dish…and I am so hoping People Magazine is wrong. I just don’t like him.
On Kevin’s dish with the bad mushroom…
Toby: That was an easy fix, you just didn’t eat the mushroom.
Gail: But he put it there to be eaten.
But they told them they had to use all the ingredients in the box, didn’t they? It sounded like Kevin didn’t want to use it but didn’t have a choice.
Darn
Rewatching the judge’s commentary, it sounds like Kevin won the first course, Michael the second, Brian the dessert . . . so I guess the third course was what decided it.
(Possible spoilers proceed at your own risk!)
So disappointing! I will admit that he is obviously an amazing chef, but as a person, and his attitude and arrogance…bleh…I just don’t think he should have made it as far as he did in the competition based on “sportsmanship” alone. The comment he made about (I think it was Kevin’s dish) that it was “the kind of food I cook on my day off” and the comment about the protein in a protein in a protein that if he had understood the directions he would have made one better than the guest chef (who had spent months and months perfecting his dish) just killed any respect I may have had for him.
Kevin (and to a lesser extent Bryan) just seems like a genuinely nice person, who was always happy for others and gave credit where due, and who also happens to be a pretty amazing chef. I know it is about the food and not the people but really…one of those two should have won.
It looks like Michael earned it fair and square, and he didn’t seem like that much of a dick in this episode. Bryan actually seemed pretty happy for him, and I think they both felt satsified that the ended up as the final two, no matter who ultinately won.
They could probably really capitalize off this season if they were to start a Voltaggio Brothers restaurant together, but they would have to find a way to bury some of the sibling rivalrly and work together.
Even with the squabbling that went on between them, you could tell those guys really care about each other and would die for each other at bottom. They reminded me of me and my brothers a lot. The rivalry is intense, but theres a strong affection and bond underneath it all.