Top Chef season 20 finale: A global winner is crowned
The three finalists cook for their lives in front of their most formidable diners yet
TV Reviews Top Chef
“What made you want to come back to Top Chef?” Padma Lakhsmi asked our three finalists—Buddha Lo, Gabri Rodriguez, and Sara Bradley—at the last cast dinner during the supersized finale episode of Top Chef: World All-Stars. “Obsession,” Buddha replied immediately. And while it’s been clear that all three chefs, in their own specific ways, possess that culinary compulsion, that preoccupation with ingredient and tradition and flavor, one competitor’s drive clearly stood out from the pack not only during the finale but throughout season 20 as a whole.
The big 75-minute finale found us back in Paris, France, where the three chefs were tasked with their most freeing yet daunting challenge yet: “All of you have really earned the opportunity to cook whatever you like. The only thing we ask is that it come in the form of a four-course progressive meal,” Padma announced. “We want you to tell us who you are as a chef.”
That slackline quickly turned into a tightrope when it was revealed that Buddha, Sara, and Gabri would be serving said meal to an absolute murderers’ row of chefs and food pros: Along with our staple trio of Padma, Tom Colicchio, and Gail Simmons, the final meal would be held at the three-Michelin-starred Pavillon Ledoyen and attended by the likes of Marcus Samuelsson, May Chow, Daniela Soto-Innes, Clare Smyth, Food & Wine Editor in Chief Hunter Lewi and Michelin Guide’s International Director Gwendal Poullennec, among others. And, to top it all off, Top Chef France judge Hélène Darroze would be joining the judging panel.
“If I saw Hélène Darroze on the booking system, I’d be having nightmares for weeks,” Buddha said, dubbing her “probably top five best chefs in the world, an absolute juggernaut.” “Even just one of them coming to your restaurant, you’d be shitting yourself,” he declared. (Adorably, he later admitted to Darroze that, yes, that was him that fannishly chased her down earlier in the year at New York City’s Union Square Greenmarket.)
The chefs received €2,000 to shop at the upscale French market Galeries Lafayette and other gourmet specialty stores to ease some of that pressure, as well as a little help from their friends: none other than Tom Goetter (“He’s good for a laugh, right?” Colicchio asked, to which Gabri quipped: “Yeah, for a German guy!”), Amar Santana, and Ali Al Ghzawi. (Papi and Habibi are back, baby!) After the final knife-draw of the season, Sara picked Amar, Gabri chose Tom, and Buddha was paired with Ali.
The duos got cracking on their course progressions, but not without a few bumps. “I wanted to make a cake with English peas,” Sara told Amar of her planned dessert course, a dish inspired by her mother’s recipe. “You’re doing pea cake in Paris. What?!” Amar worried in a confessional, but Sara assured him: “It’s not like Tom’s apple cake!”
And the various shopping trips presented hurdles for all three toques, who each had a hard time locating key ingredients at the French markets: Gabri was forced to swap out plantains for sweet potatoes—though he wondrously whizzed around that Mexican mart like a kid in a, well actually, exactly like Gabri in a Mexican mart—Sara had to sub in liver for her preferred sweetbreads, and Buddha had a mini panic attack until he finally located the lobsters he wanted. “It’s such a sigh of relief, I don’t have to change my menu. Especially for the meal of your life, you want the freshest ingredients,” he said.
Day one featured four hours of cooking, with another two-and-a-half the following day, during which the chefs dwelled not only on if their dishes were good enough (“Is that gonna blow their asses out?” Sara worried over the spice level of her tomato water. “Hopefully the flavors will mellow overnight”) but also if they were good enough. “My whole life, I was feeling like the underdog, but I work hard. I won Top Chef Mexico and now I survive against the best chefs in the world,” Gabri proclaimed, a self-love affirmation echoed by Sara: “This Top Chef compared to the first one is very different. I’m still this small-town girl. I’m gonna do what I do best, staying true to myself and my food, and cook my heart out.” As for Buddha? “I want to be the greatest of all time.”
Lo made quite the case for that greatness with his four-course menu, a multicultural spread that mirrored the chef’s own Chinese-Australian origins. “I represent parts of the world, not just one part,” he explained to the table, starting with a New England chowder-inspired rainbow trout with clam veloute that was dubbed “very sophisticated” by Gwendal Poullennec. The menu progressed to blue lobster with a curry bisque that Padma called “beautifully executed, luscious and smooth,” as well as a lamb-focused take on ngau lam (Cantonese braised beef) with roasted eggplant. (Marcus Samuellson loved the “elegance” and “fun” of the dish’s onion pickle.) The courses culminated with that Aussie favorite, a Lamington cake, flavored with coconut, raspberry, and chocolate. “Buddha really showed us everything he’s got,” Gail praised.
For his part, Gabri surprised the accomplished table by serving grasshoppers at a finale for the first time in Top Chef history. The critters popped up in the tostada that he served in his esquites starter with huitlacoche puree, and while the diners praised his brazenness for including the insect, the tostada itself was declared “too thick and overcooked” by Tom. Padma appreciated how “rich and surprising” his sweet potato empanada was, though Mexican chef Daniela Soto-Innes stated: “I don’t think it’s an empanada. But it reminded me of Mexico, so I appreciate it.” Hélène Darroze loved Gabri’s flavorful third course, chiles en nogada (“Gabri engaged himself in this dish. I loved it.”), and his chocolate tamal with hazelnut ice cream was “incredible,” per Daniela. “He’s always the boldest,” May Chow applauded him.
And though she came in as the only finalist to not win their individual season of Top Chef, Sara ended up having Padma’s favorite dish of the entire episode: that controversial pea cake, served with pistachios and buttermilk sorbet. (The dessert had Colicchio going full Jerry Maguire: “You had me at buttermilk,” he swooned.) But Bradley also wowed with her third course, a rendition of Kentucky’s most famous stew, burgoo, served with beans and cornbread. “There’s so much refinement, but it’s rustic as well. It’s like, ‘Wow, that’s why you’re here,” Clare Smyth lauded the plate. Alas, Sara ran into several big problems with her first two courses, including that tomato water in her seafood couvillion that was, in fact, too spicy for the group, and the too-rare offal of her liver and onions with cookie butter and figs. “I’m not going to mince words: My liver was just blue,” Padma disapproved.
In the end, the winner of Top Chef: World All-Stars—of the $250,000 furnished by the Saratoga Brand, the feature in Food & Wine magazine, and the appearance at the annual “Food and Wine Classic” in Aspen, of course, but, more importantly, the global glory—wasn’t so much a surprise as a manifestation fully realized. “Winning eight challenges in the hardest season of Top Chef is already amazing, but it’s not the end goal. I’m gonna be the champ-champ, the back-to-back,” Buddha declared early on in the finale. “This is the biggest moment of my life, and I’m gunning to win it.”
And he absolutely nailed that target. Even the way that murderers’ row of chefs gushed about him at the table, with Buddha already mononymed like Monet or Napoleon or Cher, signified that the man was widely considered a culinary superstar even before his win; the crown was simply decoration. “It’s more than just the win. It’s making history,” Lo said of his much-earned victory. Long may he reign–well, until next season, of course.
Stray observations
- As viewers now know, this was Padma Lakshmi’s last episode as host, judge, and executive producer of Top Chef after 17 years. It’s unclear whether or not Lakshmi had already revealed her plans for departure to production, but her proud, sincere tears at the end of that final tasting had this recapper reaching for the Kleenex.
- Also, Gabri in that beret? Everything.
36 Comments
UGH. I felt soooooo bad for Sara after that liver came out raw. To really twist the knife, it sounded like she would have won it all if it hadn’t been for that course too. She’s got such a great attitude that I’m sure she’s fine, but man, I’d be sick about this for a long time if it were me.
But that’s Buddha for ya. You gotta be perfect to beat him because he’s so talented and consistent. He knocks it out of the park damn near every time.
Eh…I dunno. Top Chef always edits their episodes to make it seem like the finale is close, even when it’s not (Tom and other judges used to write a blog after every episode aired and admitted as such a long while back). My read was Buddha won pretty comfortably but who really knows. Wish they still did those blogs as I enjoyed the behind the scenes looks at the show.
Tom replied to some fans on Twitter that Sara would have won had her liver been cooked properly.
They more or less said that on the show as well.
Yeah, I miss those blogs too, and there used to be recipies of the dishes as well. I know I tried to make a few of them back in the day to various amounts of success.
I agree the edit may have made it seem closer than it was, but if that is the case, it was a really good edit. All the judges seemed really torn up about the fact that Sarah’s liver dish was too rare, and it certainly seemed that it would have made it a more difficult decision for them. The thing that killed me was there were 3 huge lobes of liver they cooked, and it seems they only used one of them. If you are cooking that much extra, she should have asked Amar to cook each to a different temp to hedge her bets. But hindsight is 20/20. She herself said they should have cut it much earlier that way they would have had time to throw it under the salamander if it was under.
I think you are right, those judges seemed devastated by that raw liver, because they seemed to love every other dish Sara made, even the aggressively spicy tomato water. But when the only complaints about Budda’s dishes are that the curry was too buttery and something else needed more acid, you knew the win was his.
All the food (except the liver) looked great. It was weird how the judges noted how they were aware of Buddha’s “technical” skills more than a few times—so he really came in with a highly favorable reputation among the judges. But Gabri’s meal I could—and would–eat every day.
I knew Buddha would win, but I felt his dishes looked the least exciting, or at least told the least interesting story (just for this final challenge, I think more often than not his dishes look exciting).
“What made you want to come back to Top Chef?” Padma Lakhsmi asked our three finalists—Buddha Lo, Gabri Rodriguez, and Sara Bradley—at the last cast dinner during the supersized finale episode of Top Chef: World All-Stars. “Obsession,” Buddha replied immediately.He was probably overstating for effect, but I couldn’t help but feel a little bad for Buddha in that moment: he won last season, but after the dust settled, his victory felt hollow because he was already missing the delirious highs of competition. Let’s hope this win finally gets him to move on with his life; if not, there are plenty of food competions on the Food Network, too.
I would love to see Buddha on Tournament of Champions.
He seems like a profoundly miserable person to me. During that judges table, in the midst of the copious praise, he was mugging like Donald Trump every time the mildest criticism or counterpoint was lobbed his way. He may have one the day, but there is no question that his kitchen is the worst to work in.
This is such a hot take that it’s frustrating to read every time another online commenter would go “Oh but he’s not humble! What arrogance!”Like, you don’t know the man. You don’t cook with him. What do you know? As if showing a bit pride after a win or praise in a competition with these kinds of high stakes with this many top chefs with this caliber of judges is beyond the pale for some people. As if you wouldn’t do as much if it was you. You’re not even the only one with this sentiment. Where is it all coming from? The lack of empathy is astounding.
I’m not sure why you are so shocked that a person would form an opinion about another person on the basis of their behavior. Literally began my comment with “to me,” superfan.I’m sure you’re a huge Buddha fan and all, and apologia is good fun and all that, but you seem to not be objecting to my specific take so much as to fundamental aspects of human judgment and behavior. Either your superfandom has made you totally myopic to just the human capacity to make subjective judgments or you’re an Top Chef stan AI badly impersonating a human being.
Nothing more mellow and understanding of subjectivity than incessant namecalling.
A bit shaky on definitions, huh?
“I’m not mad you’re mad!”
“I don’t personally like this public figure.”“How dare you!”Feel free to disagree my takes, but if you’re pissed at the very notion that I have one, you can go fuck yourself.
How dare you “how dare you” my “no, no, how dare you”???
Dude, what the fuck did this even have to do with you? Find a hobby.
Commenting on a public forum is a hobby (don’t sweat; I do have others). Weird that you can’t handle opinions on a public forum.
He remarked, without a shred of self-awareness.
It’s a fucking subjective take, just like yours, bro. People who watch TV programs form opinions about them. The AV Club is a destination for people to communicate their opinions about things based on what is presented in those things, not the totality of reality.Stay away from comment sections if the idea of people having ideas about things makes you clutch your pearls. Feel free to love this dude. I don’t. Get the fuck over it.
This is an odd take considering Buddha has consistently shown over two seasons that he is a decent and kind person. Every team challenge he showed that he was able to communicate effectively and respectfully with others. Outside of challenges, he consistently showed empathy and compassion to his fellow competitors. He strikes me as a great chef and perhaps better leader. Like yeah, Buddha is a perfectionist and definitely takes criticism to heart, but I’m wondering what about his actions and behaviors make you think he’s so miserable because based off watching him I get the complete opposite impression.
In both his original season and this one, he bugged me immensely for most of the season and I didn’t finally warm to him until the end. THere’s something just off about the guy.
Yeah, that was my original take here, but I got attacked for it. I don’t think he’s the most aggressively unpleasant chef ever or an outright villain, but there’s something inside there that just isn’t right, and it peeks out a lot.
I’d have to rewatch his original season to remember specifics but there were several instances where he said or did something and I was surprised the producers didn’t blow it up for the reality tv nonsense angle. And I think there was at least one where it came off like he threw another contestant under the bus. It’s not about him being humble; I’ve got no problem with someone who’s good at a thing knowing they are good at the thing. He just kinda seems like a dick until halfway through.
It’s no surprise Buda won the season. He dominated throughout. His technical skills are amazing. I feel his food is almost too precious, but then again, that’s what one pays for if they go to a place like say The French Laundry, and clearly that’s the sort of cooking Buda wants to do.If they both had restaurants near me and money was no object, Buda’s place would the be the sort of place I go once or twice to celebrate a huge event, like a graduation or anniversary, and Sarah’s place is the place I go once a month. Just seems like food that is much more approachable and soul satisfying.
He certainly showed his obsession with tuiles this season. I think the judges were so enamored by everything he did, had it been any other contestant, they would have told him to cut it out with the gimmicks.
When Padma teared up and told them how proud she was of them, I felt like it was her goodbye and my eyes got the leaks 🙁
I half hoped she’d let the know that was her last Top Chef finale as host, but then quickly realized that it wasn’t about her in that moment, so probably good to keep it close to the vest. She’ll be missed – she was great .Taste the Nation is really good, so I’m happy about that.
Buddah’s menu was the one that I would have picked if given the choice of the three, and he apparently nailed every dish. I really don’t buy that Sarah would have won if she hadn’t horribly undercooked her liver.
I don’t know about would have won, but certainly could have won if Buddha had a misstep.
I had fallen off the Top Chef train lately, but it really perked up my ears when i heard about Sara being in it. Her restaurant is down the road about an hour from me and I had stumbled onto her when I found her recipe for beer cheese online. It kicks so much butt.Way to go Sara!
Sara’s restaurant is about 20 minutes away from my home and I must say, she is the real deal. Genuine, talented, charitable and her cheerleading for our little community has done so much for a part of the country that needed it … economically and psychologically. When you have someone with as much talent and vision as Sara…. someone that trained in NY, Chicago, etc… CHOOSE, when she obviously could go anywhere, to come back home to Western Kentucky…it means a tremendous amount to the folks around here. Damn that liver! We were all truly rooting her on like it was our Wildcats in the Final Four! For real, though, nothing but congratulations on a fantastic, well deserved win to Buddha.