"I talk to Stephanie all the time, Richard just emailed me pictures of his new baby, who is so cute. Dale and I are totally cool, I've seen him four times in the last couple of weeks. Andrew and I are fine, he gives me a big hug every time I see him. It's all good." More

Tom announces that the final challenge will be simple: Create a four-course tasting menu for nine diners, starting with fish, moving to poultry, then red meat, and finishing with dessert—with three famous chefs serving as assistants. More

The season finale of Top Chef: Chicago is tonight of course. If you'd like to catch up on what's gone down in previous episodes, check out Serious Eats' Top Chef coverage here, including Lisa's infamous denunciation of food bloggers "who can't even afford to eat in my restaurant, let alone know how to cook." After the jump, our predictions on who will win.... More

Most people are surprised that she's made it this far—the finals of this season of Top Chef—what with her back-stabbing and pettiness. Everybody seems to hate her; bloggers don't seem to be fans; commenters everywhere seem to generally despise her. Maybe Bravo's producers painted her as the villain, but when asked by the New York Daily News if she's read the reactions online, Top Chef contestant Lisa Fernandes responded: Oh no, I don't read the blogs—you couldn't pay me to read the blogs. I don't want to know what people who can't even afford to eat in my restaurant, let alone know how to cook have to say about me, and the few comments I did read on Eater.com... More

Time has passed. Fauxhawks have changed hue. Do-rags have been discarded. Hair has been shorn. Other than that, it's a remarkably familiar bunch that arrives in sunny Puerto Rico for Top Chef's penultimate competition. More

As this week's episode begins, there's just one more elimination before the remaining four chefs head to the finals in Puerto Rico. On the way to the Top Chef kitchen, the group makes a side trip to Allen Brothers, a well-known meat purveyor in the Chicago area. Here, the contestants don hair nets, gird their loins, and sharpen their knives before heading into the back to cut some steaks. More

I have a feeling that Tom Colicchio regularly shows up at 5:45 AM in most of the chefs' nightmares. That said, at the beginning of this episode, well before the sun cracked the horizon, the head judge arrived loudly at the Top Chef barracks. And if the pre-dawn wake-up call wasn't enough, Tom tells the six remaining chefs that their Quickfire challenge will be to work the egg station at one of Chicago's best-loved (and busiest) breakfast spots. Of course, in the hustle, I managed to miss the name of the place. Any Chicagoans? A little help in comments, please... [Spoilers, over easy, after the jump.]... More

Alright, we're still in Chicago and we still have six more chefs to sort through, several of which I hadn't pictured making it past week two, much less week ten. Here's who's left, with a cheat-sheet in case you still don't have the names straight: Lisa (pierced eyebrow), Antonia (unflappable expression), Stephanie (curls) , Richard (fauxhawk), Dale (headband, grimace), Spike (hats), Andrew (beard, crazy eyes). As we head into the Top Chef kitchen for the Quickfire, we see that this week's guest judge is Sam Talbot, a popular finalist from Season Two. He and Padma introduce the opening challenge, which is to make an innovative salad, or as they embarassingly put it: "bring the sexy back to salad." [Insert eye-roll... More

Looks like we've got a supersized hour-and-fifteen-minute episode this week called "Wedding Wars." So, before it even starts, we already know it's a group catering challenge. Right out of the gate, the eight remaining chefs head to the knife block and break out into two teams of four. On Team Fork, we've got Antonia, Andrew, Richard, and Stephanie. (Lots of wins on that team.) On Team Spoon, there's Dale, Lisa, Nikki, and Spike. (Lots of hats and bandanas on that team.) And it makes sense that teams have formed because it's time for everyone's favorite the Quickfire Relay Race, with Tom Colicchio subbing in as referee and arbiter of relay hand-offs. [Spoilers after the jump.]... More

Last week Jen was sent home, under slightly saucy circumstances, apparently. I think that means all my local San Francisco contestants have been kicked to the curb. On a related note, I nearly ran over Zoi in SF's Mission District a few days ago. Sorry, Z. My bad. Still, even with the City by the Bay woefully unrepresented, the show must go on. The guest judge for the Quickfire and the entire episode is Oprah's personal chef, Art Smith. The Quickfire Challenge gave the nine remaining chefs 15 minutes to make a complete entrée. The consensus was that this was no easy task. Several contestants claimed that even the 30-minute challenges caused near bedlam on the cooking line. So what's... More