APPETIZER:
Truthfully, with Sam Talbot gone, this Finale is a bit anti-climactic. He was – and many people would agree with me on this – the best chef in the competition. That is not to take anything away from Ilan or Marcel, but this was a lackluster season, talent-wise. Without everyone hating on Marcel, there’d have been no real reason to watch.
SOUP & SALAD:
Ilan and Marcel are on the beach. Marcel gets stung by a sea urchin and is advised to pee on himself. Ilan graciously offers to do so because, as he admits, he’d love to ‘pee on Marcel.’ After watching this season, we figure there’d be a ton of people lining up to help Marcel in this instance. Even a gal in LV threw a bottle at the dude. He’s not well-liked.
Marcel declines the offer and pisses all over himself. Later on, the guys meet up with Tom and Padma who congratulate them for getting this far and all that jazz. They then say that for the final challenge the gents will make the best meal ever.
The judges also bring out Sam, Mia, Elia, Betty, Michael and Frank. Each chef gets to pick two helpers for his kitchen. Ilan picks Betty and Elia while Marcel chooses Sam and Michael.
MAIN COURSE:
Marcel and Ilan, along with their teams, serve up some interesting menus. They are inspired by their unlimited budget and a trip to a Hawaiian Farmer’s Market. Ilan goes first and serves his five dishes for a distinguished group of judges including Michelle Bernstein, Scott Conant, Wylie Dufresne, Roy Yamaguchi and Hubert Keller.
They are a pincho of pan con tomato – the surprise is baby eel, macadamia gazpacho with pan roasted moi, seared squab with foie gras and shrimp, beef short ribs with salsa romesco and tangelo soup with fruit and Surinam cherry sorbet.
Marcel goes next. He has a few more troubles in the kitchen in part due to the animosity people have held towards him throughout the competition…and his lost fish. Here’s his menu: sea urchin with Meyer lemon gelee, cucumber and radish salad with citrus yuzu vinaigrette, hearts of palm and maitake mushrooms with Kaffir lime sauce and sea beans. (This is the one without the fish, but the judges liked it, so why did he say anything?) Then, he finishes up with a strip loin with micro greens and a crispy taro ball and blini with Kona coffee caviar and a chocolate mousse.
DESSERT:
The judges deliberate. They call the chefs in and ask questions about who did what and why certain things didn’t work. They asked similar questions already of the sous chefs. Ilan got love from Betty and Elia. Marcel got ripped apart by Michael and Sam. Marcel also took credit for saving his own arse with the sea bean dish that was Sam’s idea, so maybe he deserves it a little.
In the end, Ilan won. He gets hugs all around while Marcel stands awkwardly to the side. I sort of understand how Marcel feels here. All in all, it was an uncomfortable end to an uncomfortable season.
