This is it!  Part one of the Top Chef Seattle season finale.  If you missed the show Noelle Myers gives you the play by play!  

“Top Chef is getting down to the wire! This week we travel from Alaska To Hawaii, to LA.

Back in Alaska, Sheldon and Brooke are celebrating their top two status and packing for home. Both are extremely excited and Sheldon breaks out his ukelele for an impromptu song about being in the final two.

We then fast forward six months to two weeks before the Finale and check in with Sheldon in Hawaii. From the mountains of Alaska to the beautiful beaches of Hawaii, there is again some lovely scenery to enjoy. Sheldon has been working hard these last six months and has gotten a new job at a high end restaurant in Honolulu, to grow himself for the finale. Sheldon’s family and friends are excited for him and very supportive. His wife and three adorable little girls join him and other family and friends for a cookout at the beach.

Another change of scenery and we are now in Los Angeles with Brooke, her too cute son, and her husband. Brooke is stressed about the administrative side of the restaurant business and wishes she could spend more time in the kitchen. She spends some time creating a new dish for one of her restaurants, a Pig Ear Salad. (Somehow I think we will see this again!) As she is out to dinner with her husband, Roy Choy and Sang Youn stop by to wish her luck in the finale.

Brooke and Sheldon meet up again and head to Tom Chollichio’s restaurant, Craft. They meet Padma and Tom there to find out who the winner of last chance kitchen is. After a quick recap of all the Last Chance Kitchen battles, we find out that the winner of Last Chance Kitchen is Kristen. Neither Sheldon nor Brooke is surprised, they had both predicted Kristen would be the winner.

Tom immediately tells them that they have come full circle, and for this Semi Final elimination challenge, they will be running the kitchen at his restaurant, in just 3 hours! Tom will be expediting for the three chefs. They must each come up with a Three Course meal. Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert.

The three chefs immediately dash to the kitchen to choose their ingredients. Sheldon immediately decides to use the Spot Prawns and some quail. Kristen chooses some beautiful fresh tuna. Brooke cannot decide what she wants to do. All three chefs are feeling the pressure to perform tonight, but the atmosphere is still fun and friendly during prep. Brooke still cannot decide what to do and starts to lag behind and get extremely stressed out. Tom comes in during prep and chats with Kristen. Emeril gives Sheldon some good advice, and Hugh tells Brooke, who has finally decided on using Sweetbreads, to make sure they are cleaned well.

The restaurant begins to fill up, and the judges are all excited to taste the finalist’s dishes. Martin Yan and John Besh join Padma, Emeril and Hugh at the judges table. The judges try each contestant’s food one course at a time. Tom eats back in the kitchen while he is expediting. Brooke is in the weeds almost from the start and Tom is pushing everyone hard. At one point everyone is behind a bit, but Tom keeps pushing them to get back on track.

The Appetizers are up first. All of the judges love Sheldon’s Sashimi Spot Prawns, Court Bouillon, Radish and Asian Herbs. It was delicate, and although hard to cook, the flavors and technique were spot on. Kristen’s appetizer is next. She chose to go with simple, clean flavors, a Chestnut Veloute, Duck Rillette, and Brussel Sprouts. The raw brussel sprouts give the soup a nice kick, but several judges are looking for more acid in the dish. Brooke’s Crispy Veal Sweetbread Salad with Kumquats, Beet and Mustard is well received. There are a lot of nice surprises in the dish, the Kumquats pack a nice punch. Hugh wishes the Sweetbreads were cleaned better. Overall the appetizers are a success.

Despite a large amount of eye rolling in the kitchen, the entrees go out to the judges in good time. Kristen made a Seared Ahi Tuna, with Veal Mustard Jus and Meyer Lemon Puree. Everyone agrees that her tuna is perfectly cooked but the Lemon puree is a bit too harsh. John Besh says one of his pieces of Tuna is a tiny bit too salty, but only one of them. Brooke’s Braised Short Ribs, Parmesan Sauce, Nettle Puree and Squash Dumplings are an unqualified hit. Both the judges and the customers enjoy them. The Short Ribs are perfectly cooked and the sauce compliments everything. Last but not least comes Sheldon’s Roasted Quail, Pine Nut Puree, Garam Masala and Tangerine. This dish confuses the judges. It was brave to step outside his comfort zone, but each of the judges think in is not “Sheldon” and they miss the “old Sheldon”

Now comes the course the chefs were dreading the most. Sheldon NEVER makes dessert, and Kristen could only say she was doing something chocolate. Brooke is the only one who is confident in her pastry skills, and with good reason as it turns out. Brooke’s dessert is a Brown Butter Cake, Whipped Goat Cheese and Blackberry sauce with a few fresh blackberries sprinkled on top. She gets good reviews both from the judges and the customers. The flavor is great and the dessert is well balanced. Kristen is not happy with her Curry Chocolate with Cashews, and neither are most of the judges. Some really like the flavor combination, and others really do not like it. Sheldon’s White Chocolate Mousse with Apple and Fennel also gets some mixed reviews, most thought the raw fennel was too distracting.

At the end of service the chefs are exhausted. Despite everything Tom tells them that they really had a hard task tonight and that they did well. The Judges all agree that overall the cheftestants played it a little safe, but it was a good and tasty meal.

Judges Table is intense! Only two will move on to cook in the Finale. They go through the meal one cheftestant at a time.

Sheldon – The judges thought his appetizer was great. The quail was well cooked but none of the judges liked the pine nuts. Overall they understood that he was trying to show how he had grown since Alaska, but they missed the “old” Sheldon.

Kristen – The Chestnut soup was velvety and nicely presented, but the judges felt it was too safe. Her tuna was perfect, but the lemon sauce was too bitter. Kristen expresses she is not happy with how her dessert turned out, and most of the judges agree with her.

Brooke – The judges thought her appetizer was nice. Tom comments on how she needed to be more prepped, because she was behind from the very beginning. Brooke agrees that her indecision on what to make hurt her, and says if she moves on she can do much better. The judges all enjoyed her short ribs, they were delicious. Everyone, except Tom, loved her dessert. Tom Felt it was a little unfinished.

Overall, all three had high and low points and the judges have a tough decision! My heart is pounding at this point, so I can only imagine how the Cheftestants are feeling! The judges do not drag it out at all.

Sheldon is eliminated.

Brooke and Kristen are in the finale!

For the first time ever, the finale will be held in front of a Live Audience! Next week the Top Chef will be crowned! Who do you think will win?”