Top Chef Finale: Soul Kitchen

SPOILER ALERT: Watch Top Chef before you read this post, or it'll be spoiled like a spoonful of salmon roe in the hot sun.

Bravo Photo: Barbara Nitke

If nothing else, I'm glad for Hung that Top Chef 3 is over, if only so he can stop trying to act like he has a soul, whatever that is. The judges' chief critique of Hung these past few weeks was that his cooking, however technically proficient, lacked "soul," leading Hung to rattle on about his "passion" for food and his love for his family every chance he got. I half expected him to pull up his shirt, LBJ-style, to show his soul to the judges. "I've got your soul right here! See?"

Hung put enough soul, or something, into his sous vide duck and Vietnamese prawns last night to win season 3 of Top Chef. (The "live" finale, by the way, which consisted mainly of Padma throwing to commercial break over and over from what looked like a hotel conference room in Chicago, didn't add much.) This being a reality show, of course, I have to wonder whether the whole "soul" issue wasn't just concocted to throw suspense into what otherwise would have seemed like a foregone conclusion all season. I was pulling for Casey, who fell apart in the final challenge, but I have to wonder if--after fading into the background the first half of the season--she was really ever that serious a challenger to Hung, or if the threat was created in the editing bay.

In any case, one overcrispy pork belly later, it came down to Dale and Hung, in a decision that raised the question: is it really all about winning the final challenge, or is the decision about who did best throughout the season? From the judges' remarks, Dale's meal--with the exception of the lobster course--had more wow than Hung's, in a challlenge that was supposed to be about wowing. (Of course, that contrast too could have been enhaced by editing.) But it's hard to say that Dale, while he finished surprisingly strong, ever seemed Hung's equal during the season.

The judges seemed to pick the chef they could trust to cook the right meal most of the time, as opposed to the one who'd blow them away every now and then, which, let's face it, is probably the same choice we'd make as restaurant-goers. Yes, Dale seems like an incredibly nice guy whereas Hung described himself as a "CPA: Certified Public Professional A__hole." But I don't think most of us worry too much about who's breaking eggs in the kitchen as long as we're satisfied with our truffled omelets. What say you? Did the decision satisfy your palate?