As the two-part Top Chef finale opens, we learn there's been a one-month break since the New York City elimination of Sara the Cheesemaker. The remaining contestants—Hung, Casey, Dale, and Brian—reconvene in Aspen, Colorado, and head for the hills.

The introductory segment takes the chefs on a gorgeous hot-air balloon ride with some heartwarming words from Dale and Hung about what brought them to the competition. The balloon ride ends in a clearing near a mountain stream, where we find guest judge Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin brandishing some fresh trout. The Quickfire Challenge is to cook the fish over a camp stove in less than 20 minutes. [Warning: Spoilers after the jump!]

Everyone is pretty rusty from the time off. And the fact that their stations are basically tree stumps doesn't help matters. Hung finished early. Brian wiped out and dumped half his fish in the grass. Dale wasn't that great at cleaning fish. In the end, Casey kept it together and won the challenge. In the words of Ripert, her dish had "soul." At that moment, the other chefs' jealousy was palpable. Of course, this late in the game, Casey won't get immunity, but she does get to use $200 worth of her own personal ingredients in the Elimination Challenge.

The Elimination takes place at Moon Run Ranch, where the four chefs are told they will be catering an annual dinner for the local rodeo. They're told they'll each need to prepare 45 portions of elk. Like most game, it's very lean and has a strong flavor all its own.

No one seems thrilled. Brian is bummed. "It's not seafood," he muses wistfully. Then he decides to challenge himself by braising (in a mere three hours) the elk shanks and finishing them with everything under the sun, including pancetta corn asparagus relish, and blackberry balsamic and sage brown butter, and horseradish and sour cream potato purée. If that doesn't scream "high-end chuckwagon cuisine," I don't know what does.

Hung, on the other hand, is just plain angry. He decides to make seared elk loin in a chocoate red wine sauce with pommes boulangère, and he doesn't really care who eats it. It's all the same to him. He decides he's cooking for the judges, and if the cowboys like it, too, that's a bonus.

Casey decides to differentiate herself and cook loin instead of shank. She ultimately prepares mushroom crusted loin of elk with smoked tomato butter, whipped and carmelized cauliflower (Casey does love cauliflower), and poached pear.

Enter Colicchio. He grills the contestants. Brian says he "wants to put everything into this dish." Dale decides that his strength is his sauces and he's going to play to his strength. Also, the word comes down that three of the contestants will make it to the final cook-off, rather than two, as in previous seasons.

As the chefs move from kitchen back to the ranch, we get a rare treat—strategic cooking. Dale wasn't sure that his goat cheese tart was going to work, so he prepared a simple back-up of fingerling potatoes and cauliflower. We've seen chef after chef take chances, with mixed results, but this may be one of the first times we've seen a chef take precautions. It was a smart move that clearly paid off when Dale discovered that his tart hadn't set properly and tasted "nasty." As the meal was served, Dale was very proud of his spiced elk loin with huckleberry and blackberry sauce.

The dinner went well. No clear disasters. The quality of the food was described as uniformly "excellent." At the judges' table, the chefs were asked to describe their thought processes and justify their choices. Dale went first and came across as confident. Whether it was his last-minute side-dish save or a month of soul-searching, we've never seen Dale like this before.

That makes it absolutely no surprise when Dale wins the challenge. And guess what: It was his first Elimination win. As his prize, Dale will get to hang out with Ripert and do a cooking demo.

On the downside, it was Brian's last stand. The seafood specialist from San Diego made it a really long way on his charm, flair, and inventiveness. And he's clearly a really great showman. He took his elimination with grace and humor, and hit the trail, leaving us with three talented chefs looking to claim the Season Three title next week.