Back to Blais. He thinks the food is coming out as he hoped, and it's the prettiest food he's ever made. He tells the kitchen that they're getting behind and tries to get them to push as the second course is served: pork belly, black cod cutlet, bone marrow, beets, Brussels sprouts and kumquat. He calls it "food you want to eat." Well, I guess. It's more like "food I would try if Blais made it but otherwise not my cup of tea." The plating makes a good first impression, and Dale T. calls it "Richie at his best." Spike tells Blais that the judges loved it, as they get ready to send out the third course: beef short rib with mushrooms, red cabbage marmalade, and celery root horseradish puree. It's delicious, according to the judges, if not super creative. Spike tells Blais that they thought it had a lot of restraint. Interesting that they show the diners making comments but we don't see what the actual judges have to say.

Moving back over to Mike, he is getting ready to send out his third course: braised pork shoulder with pepperoni sauce, roasted cabbage, and turnips. Mike knows that Tom's big thing is when braised meat isn't glazed enough, so he made sure to glaze the hell out of his pork. That sounds like a euphemism, but it's not. I hope. Gail is REALLY REALLY excited about the pepperoni sauce. She can't stop talking about it. Everyone else talks about how great the food is, but Tom. Finally, he delivers his verdict that this is as good as anyone's finale food, and better than most. Things are looking good for Mike and I'm starting to feel the bile rise.