'Top Chef: All-Stars' Recap - 'Last Supper'

[Top Chef - Season 8 Episode 15]

The chefs all talked about how hard Tiffany fought to be in the competition. Richard was not upset about Mike having a winning streak and continued to emphasize how he had so many wins. Antonia was a bit upset that Richard and Mike have already counted her out; she reminded them that this wasn't the boys club just yet.

The contestants met Padma and Wolfgang Puck for their last quickfire challenge. On a table, there were seven quickfire item challenges that were well known from previous seasons including Richard's winning Taco Challenge. The twist was that the contestants had to create the challenge for the competitors. Since Mike won the last elimination challenge he picked for Antonia, she picked for Richard, and Richard picked for Mike.

Antonia - Canned Foods
Richard - Hot Dogs
Mike - One Pot

Antonia was confused by the selection of "One Pot" because Mike had an unlimited kitchen to choose from when both Antonia and Richard had limited flavors. Of the quick shot of choices, desserts would have been a good challenge for Mike. She was a bit confused by her selection of cans, which included Spam, so Antonia went for strong spices. Mike was worried about cooking with one pot, so he decided to do a pork and bean inspired dish in one pressure cooker. Richard decided to make his own bread and curry ketchup, but had to use the pre-made hotdogs. While the contestants were cooking, Padma arrived with a twist, assign a twist to each competitor. The contestants chose in reverse order.

Mike - No Utensils
Richard - One hand
Antonia - The double apron (attached to Carla)

Antonia explained her plan of attack for Carla, but the two struggled being conjoined twins. Mike was laughing at Antonia in hopes that she would get thrown off. Mike had nothing to do because everything was in the pot and he just had to wait. Antonia liked the fact that Carla was her team member because she was another palate to help taste. She emphasized that Carla would be a great teammate, so it will be interesting to see who picks Carla next week for the finale. Richard thought the flavors of his dish weren’t the best, but he still wanted to win.

Antonia's curry soup had strong flavors. Richard's hot dog got appreciation for being ketchup-like because his children would like the dish. Mike's version of pork and beans got compliments on his salad. Wolfgang thought Richard's was too ketchup-y, Antonia's soup was a bit too concentrated, and Mike's pork wasn't cooked enough. He announced the winner was Mike. He won $5,000.

The chefs arrived at the Cloisters and saw Wolfgang Puck, Michelle Bernstein, and Masaharu Morimoto standing with Padma. She explained that the elimination challenge was the "Last Supper." Mike got to pick first and assign which chef the contestants would want.

Mike - Michelle Bernstein
Richard - Wolfgang Puck
Antonia - Masaharu Morimoto

Padma pulls out a twist envelope that would be announced later. Wolfgang Puck wanted goulash and apple strudel; he emphasized how his mother made strudel. Michelle wanted fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy. She didn't come from a family that had fried chicken, so it was the definition of her going out with her family. Morimoto was looking for miso soup, sashimi, pickles, and rice. His mother cooked it for him as a child and it was ready after he played baseball.

After the challenge, Mike and Antonia bickered about the competition. Antonia was convinced that she had the hardest challenge. Mike wanted to try an empanada instead of biscuits. Antonia remembered her last elimination and it crushed her.

In the morning, the three contestants were feeling stressed, Antonia was struck with nervous laughter, and Mike tried to psych Richard out. The contestants had three hours to cook. Michael wanted to do a twist and not go as traditional. Antonia was worried about creating food that matched a memory. Richard was the most worried about the apple strudel since he didn't have any recipes. It looked like he used pre-made pastry.

Mike placed an egg yolk in his empanada center, he wanted to have fun with the challenge and Tom knows his chef choice was the easiest. Richard thought that he's a bit of the underdog when he was talking to Tom. Antonia talked to Tom and was a bit worried about keeping up with the memory of Morimoto's mother. Tom thought that if she made a good version, it was more of a redeeming factor. Antonia sniffed some Hamachi, but thought that it was a bit slimy, she cut a piece and thought it was disgusting. With time running out, Richard couldn't open his pressure cooker. Antonia and Mike watched as Richard finally opened the pot nervously.

Night hit and the judges and guests, including Melanie Dunea, sat down at the judges table. Antonia decided to use refrigerated tuna in hopes that it would make it to the finale. Antonia thought her components went well together, but was afraid about matching the flavors to Morimoto's mother. Morimoto thought the soup was a bit too salty and Gail thought the flavoring on the tuna was a bit odd. They liked the rice and pickled veggies. Tom thought the food wasn't subtle enough. Mike thought his empanada and fried chicken worked well. After explaining his dish, the judges thought the dish was elegant. Michelle thought the empanada had an interesting touch; the white meat was dry and had a bad batter. Richard liked his dish because it was a mix of traditional and technological. Richard's goulash was very good, but Tom complained the onion was not cooked enough. The strudel went over well.

The judges had an analysis with the guest judges, each contestant had some problems between all the dishes, Richard coming off with the best compliments. The chefs arrived in front of the impromptu judges table. Michelle explained that the chicken wasn't juicy and not crispy. Wolfgang loved the goulash, but there were tough areas. Morimoto was a bit surprised of Antonia's dish and the soup was salty. Tom explained that Richard will be cooking in the finale.

For Antonia and Mike, Padma revealed the envelope from before the elimination challenge. She handed Antonia the envelope and she read that there will be one challenge. Tom explained that the contestants had 45 minutes to make one "bite." Both contestants were stressed out and they worried about keeping up their energy. Mike wanted to try something bold and merged beef and lobster tail. Antonia decided to use a coconut curry broth with grouper. Antonia wanted to make an aggressive dish that represented her. Mike was sweating profusely, while Antonia pointed out that this was her 31st challenge this season. With time up, the two contestants hugged. They arrived at the judges table and explained their dishes together. Gail loved the idea of Antonia's dish, but thought the sauce was powerful. Morimoto thought she complemented the simple grouper. As for Mike, the lobster was good, but Michelle wasn't wowed by the flavor. The olive sauce worked well with the rest of the dish. The judges were nervous about the subtle versus the strong. Gail, Tom, and Michelle would have voted for Michael. Antonia, Padma, and Melanie picked Antonia. The vote was left down to Wolfgang and the chefs left were shaking in the back.

After the commercial break, Tom explained that Antonia's spice was aggressive and an all-round good dish. Mike's tartar was weak but his dish was saved by the nice sauces. Padma announced that Antonia had to pack her knives. Padma looked genuinely upset that her choice didn't move on. Antonia thought that the cut this time was worse the second time around, but hopes that her daughter could cheer her up.

Next week: A dream restaurant challenge with previous contestants as their sous chefs. It will be interesting to see if Antonia's "Black Hammer" curse will doom her team.