I can safely say that this would be my favorite show. Gail rocks.

I honestly thought that Richard would pull off the big win because he did seem to be the most consistent while the most innovative, which is often what the judges like. But the poor guy did choke during the finale.

But, if it was to be based on the quality of the last meal and not previous performances of previous episodes (a cumulative effect), then it appeared to me that Lisa had the most approval for her dishes and should have slightly edged out Stephanie. The only dish of Lisa's that the judges unanimously disliked was her beef dish, whereas the only dish of Stephanie's that the judges unanimously liked was her lamb/olive tapenade/pistachio/blueberry creation. I understand that it was truly surprising and unique but what about consistency for all four dishes?

I know that Lisa is considered to have the more grating personality when compared to Stephanie, but aren't they judged more on what goes on during that last meal than anything else?

If anyone has a different insight, please set me straight. Did I miss something?

Upon reflection, I think the producers wanted it to appear that the unpopular one, Lisa, had a slight edge with the judges for dramatic tension and to throw us a curve ball. Probably they edited the finale to appear that there was slightly more consistent approval for Lisa's dishes, but it was going to be Stephanie who, if you evaluate her performance throughout then entire season, probably did deserve to win.

That was hilarious and so well written. I would have been happy to see either Richard or Stephanie win. I can't understand how Lisa made it to the final. And having got there by the skin of her teeth she had no humility about it at all. On the other hand Stephanie who had no reason to be humble was all humility throughout the season. In the end I think Richard did choke, although his Ice Cream technique was a wonder. Congratulations to a well earned victory for Stephanie.

I think that Lisa and Stephanie were neck and neck tonight, but the judges did say that they thought Lisa duplicated some of her flavors (the hot sauce on her prawns was used again in her beef dish). Stephanie flunked the dessert portion of the meal, no doubt, but her lamb was widely praised as the best dish of the night and I think that is what carried the day.

Richard choked hard.

Congrats to Stephanie for making Chicago proud. It really looked tight there for a minute although there was some weird editing going on there. Lisa's prawns were not met with too much praise during the actual dinner but during judging it was one of the standouts (maybe it was the guest diners that didn't care for it vs the actual judges?)

Honestly I never saw Lisa as such an evil presence as most people did (given the 4% of the audience vote that thought she should win). She was rude and a total pill but I'm glad in the end she redeemed herself with her food, at least. I know a lot of people were waiting for a breakdown like Tiffani's in season 1 but I knew that wasn't happening. LOL

Richard just bombed, a failure of execution rather than imagination. I think with time his dishes will be way better. He was actually the one I pegged to win from the start but unfortunately he didn't bring it.

The old sauce duplication. That's right; I forgot about that. Thanks for the reminder. I think the sauce no-no was a big deciding factor for Lisa, but, you have to give her credit for nearly pulling it off, whether you liked her personality or not. As another poster noted, I actually didn't find Lisa's personality so bad as to garner only 4% audience approval.

Honestly, I thought Richard would win but he really did choke. In a big way. I wonder what bacon ice cream tastes like? Smokey, salty, and sweet? Hmm. I guess it could work. I once heard of garlic ice cream; it was served at a garlic festival. That has always intrigued my gastronomic imagination. :o)

Dale was the asshole and Lisa got stuck with him consistently. (Spike and Andrew were no sweethearts to work with either.) Wouldn't you get super-bitchy too in her place?

There is a flow to the team groupings where certain high-functioners group over and over and leave the borderline personality types together to duke it out. Bravo loves to milk those spats!

Lisa was labeled because she stood up to the testosterone trio. You could see during the judgings that she thought she had been unfairly treated.

Not saying she should have won. Just think she was pushed into the asshole role by the production.

Thanks so much for this hilarious and well-written article. I was literally laughing out loud. And yes, what a relief that Stephanie won. I thought even though Lisa made a good finale meal, she showed far less imagination and originality than either of the other two candidates. For instance, even the soup that she made that everyone seemed to love was something she makes all the time. I think anyone who's been to a Thai restaurant has had a very similar sounding soup. I definitely saw again and again how she was as Richard put it, a "dark cloud hanging over the kitchen". I wish she and Dale hadn't been paired up so often throughout the season. I wish he had been able to stay in longer. The character difference among the contestants was evident. In a previous episode, when Dale left out the pork belly, Stephanie did not whine or complain, but just picked up the pieces and moved on to a new dish. But, in an earlier episode, when Lisa's rice got burnt, she went off, screaming and yelling at everyone in the kitchen. Both Richard and Stephanie proved to be far more gracious individuals. The judge that irritates me most is Tom -- he is overbearing and his opinions and fixations on random elements in a dish seem to count more because he is so loud and strong-willed. I guess I still haven't come to terms with Sam and Elyssa being eliminated last time so Marcel and Ilan could go to the finals. It seemed like it was all Tom's strange calculations...but I digress.