The Judges deliberate at their table. Harold played it safe but was solid. Colicchio really thinks they have to think about risk/reward for Tiffani. All the judges agree. They go on and on about the desserts again, and Colicchio wonders who really made those desserts. "Well, I really think we could gain some insight about the entire challenge if we brought in the four sous chefs," Bot stilts.
The four former cheftestants are brought out. Starting with Stephen, Colicchio wants to know how much of his sommelier influence was felt in Tiffani's wine and food pairings. Stephen says he definitely "brought [his] perspective from the beverage end of things," and then starts to talk about how it was a difficult pairing with such an ambitious menu of so many dishes. Colicchio wonders how they felt when they found out ten dishes would be involved. "You know, as much as I'd like to hose Tiffani... " Stephen begins. Lee Anne snarfs. "No, it's cool -- gotta give her a high five," Stephen finishes. Lee Anne says she totally respects Tiffani for going for it. "So do we," Gail says smugly, interrupting her. Turning to Harold, Miguel thinks he did an awesome job, and adds, "He was really making sure that we were taken care of." Lee Anne adds, "He knows he couldn't get to this place without the support of his coworkers and his cast mates."
Colicchio turns to Dave and wonders how things went for him, especially knowing that he wanted to work with Harold. "I am a professional," Dave shrugs delicately, "I will put forth my best effort -- you know, friend, foe, whatever, ally, blah, blah, blah." Bot wants to know if Tiffani was "good" to them. "She was best as Tiffani can be," Dave says, and then goes on about how Tiffani was still snappish and bossy and yelling at them to stop talking. Stephen adds that Tiffani is in such a bad position with them because she should be kissing their asses for their help. For some reason, though, he says, "Kissing our you-know-whats." I think that's the second time Stephen has tried hard not to swear. Is he a fucking Quaker or something? Dave expounds on Stephen's point and says they are essentially helping to put cash in her pocket, and if there was ever a time for someone to be considerate and cool, this was it. Colicchio now learns that Dave did the dessert start to finish. The judges go off on how much they loved the dessert. Dave said he made sure to have some recipes memorized in the last few weeks so he could have a dessert at the ready: "So, again, being a professional, I threw it to Tiffani, 'cause I'm on her team, I gotta pull through for her." Wrapping it up, Bot asks who they would all pick to win Top Chef. Without hesitation, Lee Anne says, "Harold." Miguel says, "I love them both personally, but Harold. Absolutely." You love them both? You love the snake? Dave and Stephen both choose Harold as well. Damn. U-fucking-nanimous. The former cheftestants are excused.













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