So We Think We Can Cook Masters

It's the final episode of Top Chef Masters, in which Rick Moonen, Susur Lee, and Marcus Samuelsson are competing for $100,000 for the charity of their choice and the title of Top Chef Master. The chefs are all shoved into the backseat of a Lexus and end up at L.A.'s Union Station. Kelly is there to let them know their final challenge is to create a meal celebrating their individual journey as a chef. Choo choo!

The meal is comprised of three courses. First course: a dish inspired by the chef’s first food memory; second course: a dish inspired by the experience that made him want to be a chef; third course: a dish that describes him as a chef. The judges will be Tom Collechio and the three finalists from the first Top Chef Masters season, Michael Chiarello, Hubert Keller, and Rick Bayless, the winner of season one.

Rick was eliminated in the first round last year, but he's glad to be in the finals this year. Susur says, "It's a very emotional thing.  I've never done that before, to reflect those journeys. Three plates have to tell my story, it's pretty epic." But first breakfast at Union Station! How better to reminisce about one's first food memory than a meal at a train depot? They start to devise their first food memory menus.

Marcus: first course - smoked char with sweet horseradish and shellfish broth, mashed root vegetables
Rick: first course - hamachi and live sea scallop crudo, glazed kushi oyster, American sturgeon caviar
Susur: first course - steamed scallop with Cantonese black bean sauce, dim sum shrimp, and crab croquette with chili sauce

At Whole Foods, everyone is in high spirits. Rick comments on Susur's "unstoppable confidence." Back in the kitchen, they've got four hours to prep. The second dishes, based on the food experiences that led them to become chefs, revealed!

Marcus: second course, inspired by a holiday dinner when his grandmother was sick - salt-cured duck with foie gras ganache, sour tomato jam and aged balsamic
Susur: second course, inspired by having a Japanese meal with his wife - tuna with wasabi mousse, charred sea bream, artichoke, asparagus, and daikon salad with ginger flower
Rick:  second course, inspired by an exotic dinner with a neighbor - bacon and eggs with gnocchi, parmesan, and white truffles

And that's when we find out Susur's first wife died, en route to Hong Kong, when a Korean Airlines plane was shot down over Russian airspace. Bigtime frowny face for Susur. JUST GIVE HIM THE TITLE OF TOP CHEF MASTER, PLS.

The next day, they've got another 3-1/2 hours to cook. Kelly breaks into the kitchen in her hooker outfit, and you know this is going to be a game-changing psyche! But wait, it’s just their sous chefs to help out. YAWN. Being forced to work with previously eliminated competitors is always much more interesting. And now we find out about the third and final course of the meals, the dish that best describes each of their journeys as chefs.

Rick - third course: New Zealand venison with espresso salt, stuffed cipollini onions, matsutake mushrooms, and brussel sprouts
Marcus - third course: berbere-flavored hamachi meatballs, porcini couscous, sea urchin froth
Susur - third course: lamb thailandaise with Chiang Mai sausage, green curry, polenta

Marcus wants to use his third course to "bring Africa into the food dialogue." Rick says that "Susur Lee is like working next to a tornado....Working in Susar-land is no joyride." I’m more surprised that Rick’s identity dish doesn’t involve seafood of some kind. Whaaaaaa? 

Now, it’s time to eat, starring the judges, James Oseland, Gail Simmons, Jay Rayner, and last year's finalists.

For the first course, Rick's dish is stunning, featuring a perfectly cooked oyster. Susur has well-made black bean sauce, a good combination of flavors, and has taken dim sum to the next level. Marcus’ is also amazing and spectacular, "like a glimpse into a friend's childhood."

At the second course, Rick's gnocchi is underdone, his execution is not quite there, and his pork belly is underbraised. Marcus' liver flan so well done the judges are discussing amongst themselves how exactly he made it. Susur's dish is not as precise as usual, namely the tuna should be cut thinner.  To be fair, it does look like a crazy huge blob of red flesh with twigs sticking it of it.

Finally, the final course. Susur's Thai lamb is so good, and he nailed the flavors of the Chiang Mai sausage. Marcus hamachi meatball is odd in texture, briney even, and it falls apart too easily. Rick’s venison is so good that by not cooking seafood he is kinda "cheating on himself."

Now that they’re done with the meal, all the chefs can kick back. Contradicting himself from fifteen minutes earlier, Rick says, "Susur's a gentleman with a great exuberance. It's actually a pleasure to be competing with him in the same kitchen." Nobody says anything nice about Marcus.

At critics’ table, Jay reminds the chefs they'll only be judging them on today's dishes. He calls Rick's oyster "the best I’ve ever had." Gail says Marcus's first dish wowed her. Susur agrees his hunk o’ tuna could've been smaller. The judges beg Marcus to explain how he made his liver flan. James loves "how held back…how minimalist" Rick's third dish was (and eventually asks him to marry him), but Jay calls usually pro-sustainability Rick out on using venison from New Zealand (and apparently the tirade was edited down).  

Responds Rick, "I'm not a treehugger, I'm a chef." James didn't like Susur's polenta but Jay did. When James brings up how Marcus' third dish fell apart, Marcus explains that African food can seem weird because people aren't used to it. Which sounds like bullshit to me. Pretty sure you can make multi-culti food that also has proper consistency and texture. Gail liked his third dish, saying it was "tastes I've had before and he reinvented them tonight," but James didn’t think it worked at all. Gail counters that it's great Marcus refused to compromise. Meh. All the judges agree that the chefs’ best dishes at the meal "were beyond anything we've had this season."

Before the final scores, we see that 47 percent of Bravo's text and online voters have voted for Susur to be the next Top Chef Master (to Marcus’ 22 and Rick’s 31 percent). But their votes don’t determine the real winner.  

Here’s the scores: Susur gets 13 stars from the judges and 4 from the diners, for a total of 17 stars; Marcus gets 13.5 stars from the judges and 4 from the diners, for a total of 17.5; Rick gets 13 stars from the judges and 4 stars from the diners, for a total of 17. Sigh. So Marcus Samuelsson wins the title of Top Chef Master and $100,000 for the Unicef Tap Project. Everybody hugs. I boooooo.