***
This is where you wanna be, the finale.
It just feels like a dream come true.
When I got the call to go on Top Chefseason 19,
I did it for my dad and I won,
but I've still got this burning drive.
I wanna be the greatest of all time.
Chef Buddha.
- Buddha. - Buddha.
Buddha.
Obviously, I'm incredibly proud of you.
BUDDHA: 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.
This is the dessert I never knew I was missing.
- That's badass. - Wowzer.
This is the biggest moment of my life,
and I'm gunning it to win it.
Making it to the finale again in Top Chef,
it feels amazing, you know?
Growing up in Mexico, I came from a poor family.
My whole life, I was feeling like the underdog.
- PADMA: Coming from behind. - TOM G: Go, go, go, go, go!
But I work hard. I won Top Chef Mexico.
It's crazy, right?
And now I survived
against the best chefs around the world.
It really is just like a hug in a bowl.
- Gabri. - Thank you.
I'm confident in my flavors, my creativity.
My food is always outside of the box.
There's 54 ingredients in that mole.
Ooh! God, this is spicy.
This cat got more than nine lives.
SARA: Love this car.
- [driver speaking French] - SARA: Hello.
I am ----ing pumped to be back at this point again.
I really want it.
This Top Chefcompared to the first one
is very different.
Little southern pot liquor.
I'm still the small town girl.
It's a southern thing where you fry crackers.
It's very sexy.
I'm gonna do what I do best,
staying true to myself and my food,
and cook my heart out.
I love the dish. It's a beautifully cooked fish.
This is someone who actually is cooking from her roots.
- Come on, Sara. - Sara.
I wanna win, and this time,
I'm fighting it out for all the moms and the women.
This time, the pressure was like a driving force.
It pushed me forward.
I'm gonna put salt
in all of y'all sauces.
[Buddha and Gabri chuckle]
PADMA: Tonight, the final three chefs will face off
in the ultimate culinary showdown.
At stake for the winner, a feature
inFood & Wine magazine,
an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen.
$250,000
furnished by Saratoga Spring Water.
And the title of Top Chef World All Star.
[epic music plays]
- [Sara exclaims] - BUDDHA: Ooh.
Look at, like, all the little details.
- [Buddha chuckles] - GABRI: [indistinct]
- SARA: Look at this. - GABRI: Yeah.
- Yeah. - BUDDHA: Bonjour.
- PADMA: Hello. - TOM C: Chefs.
Welcome to Galeries Lafayette.
Thank you, Chef.
We are very close to deciding
who will become the first ever
- Top Chef World All Star. - Amazing.
Chefs, for your final challenge,
all of you have really earned the opportunity
to cook whatever you like.
The only thing we ask, is that it comes
in the form of a four-course progressive meal.
But we really want to see your style.
We want you to tell us who you are as a chef.
You'll be serving the judges
and a table full of amazing guests,
including Editor in Chief of Food & Winemagazine,
Hunter Lewis.
The International Director of the Michelin Guide,
Gwendal Poullennec.
- Ah, geez. - All right.
Along with award-winning chefs, Marcus Samuelsson,
- Daniela Soto-Innes... - Oh!
- ...May Chow, Clare Smyth... - Oh, wow.
...Simon Rogan, Ángel León,
and your guest judge from Top Chef France,
Hélène Darroze.
If I saw Hélène Darroze on the booking system,
I'd be having nightmares for about weeks.
The guest judges, like, even just one of them
coming to your restaurant, you would be sh--ing yourself.
This is definitely the biggest table
I've ever cooked for in my life.
As you can tell, they are the world's best of the best.
So, I think you're gonna want a little help, right?
***
GABRI: Look at them.
- Hey, Tom. - Hi, Tom.
It's time to draw knives one last time.
Sara got first. Buddha has third pick.
Gabri has second pick.
All right, Sara, who's it going to be?
- I am gonna take Amar. - There you go.
- You think that was happening? - AMAR: Of course.
Why did you choose Amar?
I think he uses big flavors like me,
and he has a lot of Top Chefexperience.
Good choice. Gabri?
- I'm gonna pick Tom. - PADMA: All right.
TOM G: I would be upset if not.
Tom is my friend, and I think he's a great chef
- with a lot of skills. - He's good for a laugh, too.
For a German guy, I mean, he is.
- [all laugh] - True. True.
PADMA: Well, I guess I know who you're getting.
- Oh, no. - [Padma laughs]
[Buddha laughs]
Before you shop for the best ingredients
that Paris has to offer,
you have a little bit of time here,
to menu plan with your sous-chefs.
Then you'll have 2,000 euros to shop here
at Galeries Lafayette Le Gourmet.
And a variety of local markets,
where your contactless Mastercard will allow you
to simply tap and go for a faster checkout.
After shopping, you'll head
- to Pavillon Ledoyen. - Yeah, Ledoyen.
It's one of the most historic restaurants in Paris,
where the likes of Monet and Napoleon
have previously dined.
This is where you're gonna cook the best meal of your life.
This is it, cook your hearts out.
Only one of you will be leaving Paris
with $250,000,
furnished by Saratoga Spring Water,
and the title of Top Chef World All Star.
- Good luck. - [speaks French]
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Bye.
- AMAR: [indistinct] - SARA: Oh, my God!
BUDDHA: I'm glad that you're here.
- GABRI: Well... - Chef.
...the menu is going to be Mexican
'cause I need to look into my roots, you know?
I'm going to do very simple dishes,
like, but-- but very strong with flavor.
ALI: What do you have in mind?
BUDDHA: The last menu in the finale,
I actually went and dedicated it all to the family.
This one, I'm gonna do a little bit more about just me.
SARA: Okay, so this is the menu.
I've been developing this menu in my head
the whole time.
I'm gonna cook Southern,
Creole-French, Jewish.
So, for my first course,
I'm thinking of making couvillion.
Second course, I'm gonna do
a play on liver and onions,
but I wanna do, like, sweetbreads with it,
and I'm calling it liver and onions.
Liver and onions speaks to my Jewish heritage.
When I was pregnant with both children,
all I craved was livers.
Third course is gonna be burgoo.
- You know what burgoo is? - No.
It's a Kentucky dish,
it was created by this French chef in Kentucky.
It has, like, all kinds of game in it.
Birds and rabbit and squirrels.
The first one is going to be esquites, it's just corn.
I'm going to add some grasshoppers as well,
but I'm going to make it more elevated.
I want to represent all the Mexican skills
and flavor that I get.
So, that's why I'm going to use
the humblest ingredients.
Mexican culinary isn't that fancy.
We're focused on flavor.
The second course is going to be...
And pasilla chili, and the third course,
this is going to be a chiles en nogada,
beef sausage with bacon.
And inside...
We can do it with agar-agar,
- we can make an apricot jelly. - Yeah.
The dessert is going to be a chocolate tamale,
and ice cream, made of hazelnut and cheese.
Not only do I represent the Top Chef US,
but my mother is Malaysian, my dad is from Hong Kong,
and I'm Australian.
Growing up in Australia,
I didn't really knew where I fit.
Me and my brother were the only Asians
in the whole community up there.
I remember there was, like, Australia Day,
and I wrapped the Australian flag
around my neck
and some white butcher just called out,
said I'm not Australian.
But this is different
in Top Chef World All Stars.
I can represent who I want in my cuisine.
The first dish that I wanna do is clam velouté.
The whole idea of this American pot,
the sauce is gonna taste almost like a clam chowder.
The next one's gonna be a lobster curry,
just to show off that side of Malaysia.
Number three is gonna be ngau lam,
Hong Kong, where my dad's from.
Number four, I'm Australian.
One of my favorite desserts is called lamington.
I represent different parts of the world,
and I want to bring all those things into my menu,
without making it confusing
and feel like it came from the same restaurant.
It's a good story to tell.
- SARA: I'm thinking dessert. - AMAR: What are you thinking?
SARA: So, I wanna make a cake, with English peas.
AMAR: That's kind of risky.
Hear me out, this is a cake
that my mother has made since we were children.
I think-- I mean that's very risky,
- if I would say. - Yeah?
If you're doing pea cake in London, I will get that,
but you're doing pea cake in Paris-- uh, what?
So, the pea soup puréed, or just chunky?
No, you purée them, there's not, like, chunks.
It's not like Tom's apple cake.
All right, let's go, buddy. Vámonos chicos!
All right, let's do it.
***
Let's go, team Buddha-Ali.
Hey BMW, take me to La Fermette.
AUTOMATED VOICE: Let's go.
SARA: Paris is the culinary capital of the world.
I'm excited to shop for the meal of my life.
There's tons of, like, cool little markets and stores.
- AMAR: This is nice. - SARA: Yup.
- Look at that romanesco. - AMAR: Look at those figs.
SARA: Oh, look at this. Get a couple of big handfuls.
AMAR: I could live here.
TOM G: Oh, my God, this is beautiful.
BUDDHA: Get some Asian produce.
Get some daikon. That's it.
If you see seaweed, get seaweed.
TOM G:
GABRI: Oh, that's beautiful, yeah.
SARA: I need three kilos of butter.
Oh, my God.
BUDDHA: Two saddles of lamb.
And then I'll get one rack. Au revoir.
- TOM G: Have a look. - GABRI: Nice. Oh, nice.
- SARA: Do you have rabbit? - AMAR: Lapin?Yeah. Three.
BUDDHA: Homard?
BUDDHA:
No, lobster. Okay, merci.
SARA: And the veal sweetbreads?
- AMAR: No? - They don't have sweetbreads.
GABRI: You have plantain?
GABRI: Ah, there's no plantain.
I cannot find plantains.
I need to substitute, or completely change my dish.
You have plantain?
Thought so.
GABRI: Let's grab the sweet potato
if we would have had the plantain--
GABRI: All of this.
SARA: All right.
I think we should buy something just in case.
- Do you have liver? Okay. - AMAR: Yeah, get 'em.
SARA: Is it exactly what I wanted?
No, but at least now I feel like the dish will be complete.
Let's get out of here.
BUDDHA: Okay. No.
There's a little bit of panic
that we might not get everything that we need.
ALI: What are you getting instead of the lobster?
BUDDHA: I don't want to pivot.
Oh, my God.
It's such a sigh of relief. I don't have to change my menu.
Merci. Merci.
Especially for the meal of your life,
you want the freshest ingredients you can get.
[terminal chimes]
TOM G: And chapulines is what again?
- Grasshoppers? - Yeah, grasshoppers.
I bring grasshoppers all the way with me from Mexico.
I'm representing this cultural part of Mexico.
- You're Mexican? - SALESPERSON: Yes.
Look at that. They got [indistinct] chilis.
This is the proper pepper for the chiles en nogada.
I'm super excited
finding this amazing store in the middle of Paris.
I don't have to change my menu at all, thank God.
TOM G: Chico, how many you want?
GABRI: All black beans? Yes.
- Four. - Play it safe.
That's not the first time you burned beans, so.
- GABRI: Bye. - That's it.
***
- SARA: It's a nice kitchen. - GABRI: Super nice.
- AMAR: Tell me about it. - ALI: We got this, we got this.
- The rabbit's first. - All right, let's go.
This rainbow trout is gonna be my first course,
served with a clam velouté,
inspired by a New England clam chowder.
Second course is gonna be blue lobster
with squash and curry bisque.
This lobster dish is gonna have
some hints of that Malaysian flavor.
Third course, I'll be inspired by a Hong Kong dish
called ngau lam.
So I'm gonna be starting on braising my lamb,
and after that, I'll jump on the eggplant.
The last course I'll be doing a coconut,
raspberry and chocolate dessert called lamington.
So, everything's gonna have, like, a little hint to who I am.
GABRI: How are you doing, buddy?
Can you help me blend in all the sauce?
My first course is going to be esquites
with huitlacoche purée and grasshopper tostada.
TOM G: I start with the duxelles?
- Yes. - TOM G: The sweet potatoes
- are in the oven? - Yep.
The second course, I'm going to make
this sweet potato empanada
with black bean purée.
Gabri, tell me about the third course.
This is going to be the chiles en nogada.
Chiles en nogada is a celebration dish from Mexico.
For the fourth course, chocolate tamale,
hazelnut ice cream, with the goat cheese.
I mean I got the craziness, I got the flavors,
but I'm using the humblest ingredients.
[gasps] I love it.
- What is that? - Grasshopper.
Amar, have you ever had a couvillion before?
- I had it once on Top Chef. - SARA: All right.
For the first course, I am making couvillion
with shellfish and trinity.
I'm gonna sauté the livers and kidneys,
so we can put it back
- and then roll it. - Perfect.
For the second course,
I am making liver and onions
with cookie butter and figs.
It's Jewish fat girl food.
For the third course, I am making burgoo,
and for the fourth course, I am making pea cake
with pistachios and buttermilk sorbet.
Getting the ice cream base done?
- Oui,Chef. - SARA: I heard you.
ALI: Buddha, what about this lamb dish?
It's gonna have some Hong Kong flavors to that.
I'm using a stock called lou soi,
which is like a master stock.
My dad actually has a stock in his restaurant
and it still lives on, it's actually older than me.
The lamb's gonna be braised in the master stock.
I said to my brother, who's now running the restaurant
and is still constantly using that stock,
if the restaurant was ever to burn down,
he has to run out with that stock.
SARA: Two hours left.
- You okay? All good? - GABRI: Yes.
I'm working on my cheese sauce
for the ravioli with sweet potatoes.
I'm going to add French cheese in the cheese sauce.
So, it has a mixture of Mexican flavors
and also French flavors.
Look at this.
It's going to be a hard dough to work,
but it's working.
I'm taking the rabbit for the crépinette.
Crépinette. So French.
- Something is burning. - SARA: Something's burning.
Gabri. Gabri.
It seems like a curse right now for me in this Top Chefseason,
I mean, I burned my beans again.
AMAR: Something's burning.
Pressure cooker burning something.
Oh, [bleep].
I burn my black beans. I burn my lentils.
TOM G: Give it to me.
- It's -----ing hot. - TOM G: Hot, hot!
Come on, dude. What's wrong with you?
AMAR: When it smells like that burn, it's not--
Yeah, you can't save it, yeah.
It's the finale. You've got no room for mistakes.
***
SARA: Something's burning. Gabri. Gabri.
There's no way to save burnt beans.
- It's ----ing burnt, right? - TOM G: Yeah.
Don't even think about it.
Yes.
I don't like to use canned food.
I mean, it's not my thing, but I got no choice.
It's the finale, I'm gonna start all over again
with my beans.
TOM G: Cooked beans from Mexico, that cannot be bad.
- Hey, chefs. - AMAR: How are you, Chef?
- SARA: Hey, Chef. - TOM C: Hey, Sara.
- Is the menu complete yet? - SARA: Yeah.
The first dish is couvillion. It's gonna be a crudo dish.
I don't want it to be too spicy on that French palate,
so, lightly spiced tomato broth.
And then I'm doing veal liver.
- TOM C: Really? - Nice and, like, medium.
We're doing it with cookie butter.
- Cookie butter? - It's like a fouetté caramel.
And then I've made a purée with that.
Okay.
When you eat it, you'll know it's my food.
- Sounds good. - Thanks.
- Hey, Gabri, how you doing? - Hello, Chef.
How do you feel about your menu so far?
I'm feeling comfortable, Chef.
I'm gonna make my authentic Mexican cuisine,
but I'm going to try to elevate it
to a Michelin-star menu, Chef.
- So, what are you making here? - GABRI: Chiles en nogada.
which is multiple layers, like sushi.
TOM C: How does it feel, you got very emotional
when you knew you were going on.
Are you still high on that emotion?
I'm super emotional all the time,
I mean, the passion bring me here
and I'm never going to let it aside.
Well, listen, it sounds exciting.
- Thank you, Chef. - Good luck.
- Thank you so much. - Hey, Buddha.
Chef. Last time.
- Yeah. - An absolute pleasure.
Yeah, I don't think there will be a third for you.
I've already applied for the next season.
Okay, good. Tell me about your menu.
As you said, you want to see me on a plate.
And I represent the Malaysian community,
Hong Kong community, American, so, I'm trying
to represent all these cultures,
but still bring it back to me using French produce.
The last one I'm going to be doing is Australian,
- which is a lamington. - So you are doing dessert?
I am doing dessert. Of course.
- Listen, all sounds good. - BUDDHA: Thank you, Chef.
Everything looks great, sous-chefs,
you have the night off.
Chefs, after you're done, meet me
at 4 Rue de Sèvres, we'll see you there.
- Oh, nice. - Thank you.
The tomato water,
you want to taste it really quick?
It's not gonna blow their ass out?
- It's spicy. - It's not spicy at all.
Hopefully, the flavors will mellow overnight.
BUDDHA: Eight minutes.
TOM G: Gabri, you hear that?
- Yes. - TOM G: Are you done cooking?
No, I'm gonna finish the beans
- and I need to blend it. - TOM G: I'll blend it for you.
I'm done with everything you give me.
There's a lot of very technical things to do tomorrow
to make sure that everything is going to be perfect.
Thank you so much.
- Appreciate it, from my heart. - You got this, bro.
- Thank you. - Yeah, you're welcome.
- SARA: Tomorrow, let's kill it. - AMAR: Let's kill it tomorrow.
TOM G: Brother from a different mother.
***
- SARA: It's gorgeous. - GABRI: It's beautiful.
There's always a special meal for making the finale
and I'm pretty sure it's gonna be somewhere spectacular.
Number 4 Rue-something.
GABRI: Oh, rue. Ruemeans a street.
We have absolutely no idea where we're going,
but we're all pretty excited
to just start walking around Paris.
Hold on, hold on, I think I've taken us
- the wrong way again. - Oh, come on, buddy.
- GAIL: Hello. - PADMA: Hi!
- Welcome. Please, follow us. - TOM C: Welcome to Marsan.
BUDDHA: Oh, my God. Hélène Darroze.
I cannot believe it.
- HÉLÈNE: Hello, Chef. - Hello.
- Hello, nice to meet you. - SARA: I'm Sara.
- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you, Sara.
BUDDHA: Hélène Darroze. is a judge on Top Chef France.
Hello.
Probably top five best chefs in the world.
Thank you so much for being with us.
We are so happy.
Absolute juggernaut of a chef.
I chased you down earlier this year
at Union Square market, I'm not sure if you remember.
HÉLÈNE: Yes, yeah, yeah, I remember.
Okay. Yes, yes, yes.
So, here you are at the chef's table.
We cooked for you something special, of course.
This first little piece is an oyster
with the caviar on the top.
We used veloutine of white cocoa beans.
I think I'm in love. Thank you.
- Can I eat it now? - Yeah.
Mm! That's so good.
Well, it's a nice way to end season 20
at one of the best restaurants
-in Paris. - GABRI: Definitely.
What made you want to come back
- to do Top Chefagain, Buddha? - Obsession, really.
In the last season, once I played it up,
I had about five minutes to kind of reflect on everything
that was happening, and it was kind of like
no matter what happened, I was just kind of sad
that I would probably never ever do this again.
And then to have that phone call,
my dreams came true.
Like, Hélène Darroze
is cooking for us right now, like--
GAIL: Yes, she is.
I feel the same, by the way, Buddha.
BUDDHA: Yeah, exactly.
Thank you.
Oh, my goodness, Chef.
There's a little foie gras stuck in here too.
-GABRI: Delicious. -SARA: It's delicious.
- C'est bon. - What about you, Sara?
What was the biggest change that you've noticed in your life
- since the last time? - Personally, for me...
- PADMA: Yeah, personally. - ...two children.
I saw her do it, Krishna was there
like, running around and, like, Eddie had children,
and Kelsey had a kid and I was like, "Oh man,
I can totally have kids
and have a business, and be a chef."
We are capable of more than we think.
SARA: Yeah.
Winning Top Chef World All Stars
would show people you don't have to be
in one of the biggest cities in the world.
You can be from a small town,
then you can be the chef that has the big name,
and I want people to realize that.
Wow. [chuckles]
I have to say, I've seen a tremendous amount
of change and evolution just since we started in London.
That's kind of the best thing, for us anyway,
of being part of this.
I owe my life to the kitchen.
I want to prove myself, you know,
what I'm capable of doing
to keep growing in my career,
so I don't want to stop any day of my life.
We are reaching the top of the top.
Having this beautiful dinner with Hélène Darroze
and all the judges, what an experience.
But I'm carrying a heavy backpack right now,
you know, because I'm not just doing it for me,
I'm doing it for all the people
that are supporting me in Mexico.
And I don't want to let them down.
Thank you for a beautiful season of food,
laughter, and a lot of tears.
I hope that you cook the best food
of your own careers and lives.
And remember every moment because today and tomorrow
is once in a lifetime.
- Cheers. - PADMA: Salute.
Today's the day, man. Top Chef World All Star.
Like, Top Chef has never gone this big.
The caliber of the judges, the caliber of the chefs.
I've waited for this moment of redemption
for four years
and now is the moment.
I got one Top Chefcrown.
But this is different. This is World All Stars.
I want this crown.
***
- GABRI: Bonjour. - BUDDHA: Bonjour.
Just getting to this stage, such an accomplishment.
- Yeah, absolutely. I agree. - It's the toughest season yet.
Today is definitely one of the biggest days of my life.
It's more than just the win.
It's making history, and there's no way
that I'm leaving without that title.
Allez, allez, mon ami.
- SARA: Let's go, boys. - ALI: Let's get this.
AMAR: All right, what do we make?
- GABRI: Bonjour. Bonjour. - Let's get it.
ALI:
You're gonna salt and pepper them
and then you're gonna roll them,
- so it gets a nicer shape. - Behind.
- It's not as spicy as it was. - No, it's settled down now.
So I need the fish done, get the liver portioned,
so we have that ready for the next course.
I'm gonna start on the cake.
GABRI: There's a prep list for you.
I'm going to focus on the second course.
This is my empanada dough.
We need to make it thicker.
I got some problems with the empanada.
The sweet potato is very runny,
and I need to be very careful
when I press the empanada.
Now we're talking.
A little technical issues but everything's good.
BUDDHA: Two hours to first course.
GABRI: Oh, my God.
Buddha, how are you feeling on time, Papi?
I'm good, I'm gonna start coating these lamingtons
to represent the Australian side.
So I'm soaking them in chocolate,
covering them in coconut.
I need to push, you know? How you doing?
ALI: Just finishing the lobster shrimp first.
Then I'm gonna start doing my ravioli, okay?
For the first three courses, I'm doing meat.
So I wanted to do vegetables for the last course.
So, I'm making some pea cake.
This dish is my heart, like, this is my mother,
who helped me start my business.
This is my mother who taught me how to cook.
Delicious.
To get to close out with my mother's dish,
who gets to write a love letter like that?
One hour till first course, everybody.
BUDDHA: How's the lamb going, Ali?
ALI: Ten minutes.
I'm working at all the elements of the dessert.
This is going to be a tamale made out of chocolate.
I don't know why it's not a thing in Mexico.
The third course, almost like Kentucky gumbo.
- Burgoo. - AMAR: Okay.
The grasshoppers are really interesting, actually,
I never had them before.
I'm making grasshopper dust,
which is, you know, okay.
It's almost like dried fish. Very savory, salty.
- I can learn a lot from Gabri. - It's 15 minutes.
***
Oh, my God. Look at the panel.
- PADMA: I'm excited. - GAIL: I am too. I'm hungry.
I just want to thank everybody for being here,
it's an extraordinary table.
I know that the chefs are so excited.
It's a very big moment for us to be in Paris,
to be celebrating our 20th season.
And we're so delighted to share this meal with you.
What's really nice is we are now
sort of seeing who they are as chefs.
It should be great, this will be really interesting.
Two minutes, guys.
TOM G: Looks good to me, but I'm German.
SARA: For all the garnish, I just want it very organic.
- AMAR: Like that, girl? - Yeah. Just a few.
GABRI: Start putting the butterflies on
like it's just landed on the flower.
- SARA: Shellfish oil. - TOM G: Nice plate.
- SARA: Thanks. - TOM G: Looks beautiful.
- AMAR: First course out. - ALI: Smash it, bro.
- I got it. - Smash it.
- MAN: Beautiful. - HÉLÈNE: Ah, yes.
PADMA: Oh, beautiful.
TOM C: Really pretty.
- PADMA: Hello, team. - CHEFS: Hello.
Gabri, tell us about your overall menu
and your first course.
My overall menu is the most humble
and traditional dishes of Mexico.
So, in my first course, a sweet corn
with grasshoppers tostada, corn mushrooms,
lemon hollandaise, and a little bit of tarragon.
- Wow. - PADMA: Sara?
So I've taken my heritage and my region
and brought them to the ingredients
that are local.
This first dish is couvillion,
which is kind of a French Creole dish.
What I've done, is used local seafood, shellfish
and I've done it all completely raw.
Where is the spice coming from?
The tomato water has some fresh chili
and you're getting that spice from there.
PADMA: Buddha?
I do represent parts of the world,
just not one part, So every single dish
is gonna be representing those parts.
I reside in America right now.
So the first course gets inspired
by a New England clam chowder.
This is a rainbow trout potato celery,
served with Ossetra caviar, and a clam velouté.
I know you have a lot to do still,
so you can go back to your cooking.
- GABRI: Thank you so much. - BUDDHA: Thank you very much.
There's a lot of personality in these dishes.
Sara blew me away.
I love the brightness, the acidity level,
and the hint of heat.
HÉLÈNE: It felt to me like it's really nice,
but it was really spicy at one stage.
And that was...
To have something so clean, yet have so much character
is nice to present her story at the start.
- AMAR: How was it? - SARA: It was ----ing crazy.
They were like, "Where is this spice coming from?"
Are you cooking liver?
AMAR: I'm gonna start searing now.
Thirteen portions. So I'll do a big and slice.
SARA: Let's do a little bigger and slice, don't you think?
I just think it'll be easier to cook them all.
I'm really excited by Gabri's first course.
Inviting grasshoppers to a final of Top Chef,
I think that shows a lot of guts.
[speaking Spanish]
- It's a first, that's for sure. - MARCUS: Yeah.
I do believe he overtoasted it a little bit.
But I love the presentation.
I think it's a combination of being too thick
and also being overcooked.
But it's a good start.
I thought it was delicious and you've just got
lots of flavor in it and I loved the heat in there.
I'm very much looking to what comes next.
Fifty minutes, Chef. All eyes on you.
I thought Buddha's looked beautiful.
You can see all his refinement.
Very sophisticated. It's a lot of mastery.
It's very gourmand,
but also maybe a bit too generous.
PADMA: With the sauce, you mean?
Yeah, it's really creamy.
The reinforcement with clam juice in the sauce,
I love that. People talk about Buddha as a technician,
but there's also soul to the sauce.
BUDDHA: Yeah, that's it, beautiful.
Get that sh-- is really hot.
Start getting ready for the lobster course now.
SARA: All right. Four minutes. Let's go.
Bring your liver right on top of here.
Nah, wait, we'll do everything but that.
- You sure? - SARA: Give me those figs.
TOM G: I follow you. I follow you.
Thank you.
SARA: Let's go, let's slice.
Start carving. Go, go, go, go, go. [gasps]
It's too rare. How did that happen?
Liver should be served medium, but it's completely undercooked.
TOM G: Forty seconds.
***
SARA: You think that's too rare?
I should have carved it three minutes earlier
and then I could have flashed it in the salamander.
- TOM G: Forty seconds. - All right, Amar, let's go.
But nothing we can ----ing do about it.
GABRI: How much time?
Move your ass. How much time?
ALI: Twenty-eight seconds, Buddha.
BUDDHA: Ali, come clean these plates.
I think it's beautiful, Chef. I love it.
- [alarm beeps] - SARA: Let's go.
PADMA: Liver and onions.
Gabri, tell us about your second course.
My second course is from the south of Mexico.
So I make this empanada
filled with black truffle beans inside,
and on the bottom of the plate, almond sauce.
And on top of that, there's a cheese foam.
- Nice. - PADMA: Sara?
Today I've made liver and onions.
So it's a veal liver on top of a onion purée.
And then there's a little cookie butter
and figs to the side.
PADMA: Buddha, please tell us about your second course.
It's a take on Malaysia, Southeast Asian roots.
So I've done a red curry bisque to go with the lobster
using the lobster shells.
Blue Lobster's been cooked, served with a pickled salad
of squash on the side and a ravioli dumpling.
[speaking Spanish]
- PADMA: Thank you, all. - Thank you.
Get back in there. [laughs]
I had a really hard time
eating even one bite of Sara's liver,
and I love liver.
But it was really raw.
And the liver is very difficult to eat when it's undercooked.
[speaking Spanish]
She took a risk. I just regret the imbalance.
A bit too sweet.
Amar, taste that. Yum?
Marcus, what do you think about Buddha's curry?
This, for me, feels a little dense.
If you're gonna start with two heavy butter sauces,
you need to have acid.
But it's, wow. Lobster, pumpkin.
Boom. It gets you there.
What I do like about the sauce is that the spice keeps coming.
- Yes. - TOM C: It keeps coming.
- Yeah. - Really well done.
It's a beautifully executed, luscious, smooth curry.
- BUDDHA: All right. - ALI: We good?
BUDDHA: We got the croquettes [indistinct] off?
I actually liked
- Gabri's empanada. - Me too.
I found it rich and surprising.
I didn't expect a soft empanada made of sweet potato.
If there was less sauce, maybe whatever the texture
of the empanada is would be more clear.
But I do love the authenticity of the flavor.
I don't think it's an empanada,
but it reminds me a little bit of Mexico,
so I appreciate it.
GABRI: She liked my dish. They like it.
TOM G: Focus. The next dish is important.
Let's get the croquettes fried off.
- Wanna fry them now? - Yeah.
The sauce is ready.
Now add a little bit of sugar.
AMAR: What am I gonna do next?
SARA: Put the beans in and then do the rabbit.
BUDDHA: The eggplant on top.
[bleep], I think it's too much meat.
Listen, we can have more meat, just smaller.
Because it's chunky.
- TOM G: Apricot? - Yeah, apricot, please.
The chiles en nogada is like a party.
I create a more refined version of the chiles en nogada.
- I feel confident. - TOM G: Like this?
GABRI: Great, beautiful.
BUDDHA: That looks beautiful.
SARA: Oh, my gosh.
After the liver dish,
I am hoping if I win the next two courses,
I still have a chance.
- That's so good. - AMAR: Get 'em, girl.
- [alarm beeps] - BUDDHA: Nice.
- That looks tasty. - PADMA: Thank you.
Gabri, tell us about your third course.
Well, my third course is inspired by the Mexican flag.
This is called chiles en nogada.
The nogada is sauce made of nuts.
A sweet filling inside of the chili Poblano,
ground beef, sausage...
Wow.
SARA: What I have for you, is burgoo.
This is, like, Kentucky cassoulet.
You have a roulade of rabbit loins,
stuffed with its own kidneys.
A boudin blanc, a crépinette that's been stuffed
with the legs of the rabbit,
and some puréed duck confit skin.
And there's a cornbread madeline there,
that should be crumbled into the beans.
- GAIL: Mm. - PADMA: Buddha?
This one's inspired by my dad, he's from Hong Kong.
It's inspired by a dish called ngau lam,
and it's all parts of the lamb
served with a little bit of eggplant,
pickled onions, and a master stock sauce.
- All right, get back in there. - GABRI: Thank you so much.
What do you think of the Burgoo?
I thought the boudin was a star.
I've never had boudin that light.
And the flavor was there. It was really nice.
It's a lot of work. Yeah. And really well executed.
When you crumble that cornbread into the beans,
it does its job so well.
So much refinement, yet rustic as well.
It's like, wow, that's why you're here.
I think that went really good.
What did you think of Gabri's dish?
The flavors are just kind of wild
and you can't figure it out, but I like it. [laughs]
It's challenging me.
It's taking me somewhere I'm not familiar with
and I'm really intrigued by that.
There were some pieces which were sweet,
but Gabri engaged himself in this dish.
I loved it.
How's the table? Intimidating?
- Yes, it is. - [Amar laughs]
Buddha's dish is a very accomplished dish,
beautifully cooked lamb.
A nice level of balance and elegance
that we find in Buddha's food.
Crispy where it should be crispy,
soft where it needs to be soft.
I love, for example, the onion pickle.
I thought it was really elegant and fun.
And once again, you know, really refined,
showing a lot of technique.
I think that's his best dish he's come out with so far.
- BUDDHA: Everything went well. - Yeah?
Yeah, let's do it, last course.
- Two minutes 50. - [Gabri sighs]
- AMAR: That's good. - SARA: This is exactly
how my mother cooks it, too.
I feel a little bit
- more generous on the-- - ALI: Gel?
One more dish to go. I'm gonna go for it.
Ready for this?
I think everyone's known how I cook.
And if I have the chance to put some theater
and add some drama, why not end in style?
[alarm beeps]
Whoo!
GWENDAL: Bring it. Nice.
Good job, boys.
JUDGE: It looks amazing.
I make this chocolate tamale
with a filling of hazelnut praline,
hazelnut and cheese ice cream,
and [indistinct] du chocolat.
This is an English pea cake. This is my mother's recipe.
It's served with pistachio butter,
lemon curd, and a buttermilk sorbet.
When I first opened my restaurant,
my mother made all of the desserts
before we hired a pastry chef.
- PADMA: That's incredible. - Nice.
I was born in Australia,
so it's an Australian dessert called lamington.
I've done some fresh raspberries
and a little bit of lemon verbena inside the center.
On top is a coconut bavarois,
a coconut gel, and raspberry jam.
You should all feel extremely accomplished.
I'm so proud of all of you guys.
CHEFS: Thank you.
It has been an honor and a privilege.
GABRI: The kitchen for me, is everything.
And just being here, for me, is the realization of my life.
I've had such an amazing journey at Best Chefs in the World.
Dream of these moments that we had in this season.
Thank you so much for everything.
PADMA: Thank you all.
DANIELA: Gracias.
[cheering and applause]
Thank you so much.
Nice. So sweet.
PADMA: What do you think of these desserts?
The chocolate tamale,
the crumb with the chocolate, it was incredible.
And I really loved the cheese in my ice cream.
I loved that texture and the way
it played off the cornet and the tamale.
He is always the boldest, he's always like,
"Okay, let's throw some goat cheese in there."
First, rule book out the window.
You will remember it.
- [Buddha laughs] - You can be proud of yourself.
GWENDAL: Buddha's dish, it's quite sophisticated.
It's surprising.
I think it's a wonderful end note.
Coconut and chocolate are really, like,
I am a total sucker for that flavor combination.
And I think Buddha really showed us everything he's got.
I think Buddha is an amazing chef.
He's everything about precision and technique.
I think it was beautiful.
- ALI: It has been an honor. - BUDDHA: [indistinct], Ali.
I'll never forget it.
Sara's, I just love it.
I love the idea of using vegetables for dessert.
It's so different, so unique, and the flavors were all there.
I love when the plate speaks about a memory,
you know, and this is a memory of the childhood.
So it works always.
[speaking Spanish]
Yeah, surprising with our humble English peas.
Um, she did 'em proud.
- Hello, girl. - Thank you.
- Bring it home, huh? - All right.
I think we have been very fortunate to have
a bite of the world today, with a lot of diversity.
It will be really difficult to say who's going to win.
I want to propose a toast.
It's very rare to have
such company all at one table
and it was wonderful to have all of your input.
So thank you.
Happy finale, everybody, and happy 20th season.
ALL: Cheers.
How crazy is it, that one of us, our lives,
is gonna completely change after this?
- Yeah. - I know, right?
***
For the three of you, this is not your first finale.
And the meal was stunning.
Individually, there were some moments
I will never forget in this meal.
You should be really proud of the work you did today.
CHEFS: Thank you.
So let's get into your first course, Gabri.
Well, the tostada for me is the best street food.
And I want to elevate that dish.
Definitely the first time
we've been served grasshoppers in our finale.
TOM C: It's so strong. It's so earthy.
It's like eating sweet dirt
- in a good way. - Yeah.
The tostada I thought was maybe a little over-toasted,
but it was a good start flavor-wise.
The taste, for me,
everything was really well-balanced
and very well combined,
and it's exactly what I expect from a first dish.
- Thank you. - PADMA: Talk to us about
your first course, Sara.
I kind of wanted to take
this French Creole dish
and instead of hammering it, serve everything raw.
It was a beautiful dish, presentation-wise,
it was absolutely stunning.
PADMA: I loved the brightness of this dish.
- It packed so much flavor. - Yeah.
That tomato water was so aggressive,
but really exciting,
because it just woke you right up.
What a way to start.
- Thank you. - PADMA: Buddha?
So I wanted to do something that was from America,
New England clam chowder, sort of my take on it.
First of all, it was a gorgeous plate.
Immediately, everyone was ooh-ing and ah-ing.
The tartare was beautiful.
Everything was really well executed.
The velouté was heavy, so think about the acidity.
For me, there was a lack of acidity.
I do think that with very small tweaks,
that would be a truly spectacular signature dish.
Absolutely. Thank you.
All right, let's move on to the second course.
Gabri, it wasn't the empanada that I know
and I loved the creativity there.
I sort of wish there was
a little less of the cheese sauce.
It buried the rest of the dish a little bit.
In terms of texture,
I think you have to work a little bit more on the dish.
But please, do not change anything
in terms of flavor, because it was amazing.
- Thank you. - PADMA: Sara?
I eat a lot of liver
and I don't think that we, in America,
give it enough credit, so...
The dish was really a great idea for sure.
A big problem for me, the liver was undercooked.
It was-- it was undercooked and I knew it was.
And I couldn't throw it back in the pan,
you know, at that point, I just went with it.
It was really hard to get through.
- Yeah. - I'm not gonna mince words,
my liver was just blue.
Sorry, y'all.
Buddha, the lobster was beautifully cooked.
- Thank you. - I thought you did
a decent job of getting some acidity
by pickling the pumpkin.
- I thought it needed more. - Okay.
I got the roasted lobster shell, that bisque flavor for sure.
And a mild curry.
I appreciated that your curry was mild.
I thought it was luscious, delicate,
and very well executed.
- Thank you. - PADMA: Third course.
Gabri, did it come out the way you wanted it to?
I wanted to add
a little bit more spice in the chiles,
because I thought it was a little bit too sweet.
I don't like spicy normally, but I would have loved
a little bit more of spice in this dish.
But the combination of everything was perfect.
- Thank you, Chef. - I like the fact
that you gave us a menu that was really humble.
You didn't go out and buy crazy ingredients.
And so I didn't expect to get a ground beef dish.
I thought flavor-wise, it was really, really good.
- It was an interesting dish. - Thank you, Chef.
HÉLÈNE: Sara, you engaged so much work
in the way of cooking the meat.
It was spectacular for me. I loved this dish.
I don't know how you made that, but I've never had
a boudin so light that still had flavor.
The work on the rabbit was beautiful.
It was slightly stuffed.
Taking that flap, rolling around, tying it, roasting it.
The amount of work was evident without it being showy.
I thought it was a fantastic dish.
- Thank you. - Buddha, I loved your lollipop.
I thought it was full of flavor
and really, really delicious.
The balance between all the spices,
for me, were well executed again.
For sure, you are a technician.
You know what you do.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
And now, for your final course, dessert.
All three desserts were stunning.
Gabri.
To put this praline
with the goat cheese on the paper,
I will say, "Okay, this guy is crazy."
- [Gabri and Sara laugh] - Okay, so, but it worked.
You finished exactly in the same way
than you started, with a lot of audacity.
Thank you, Chef.
But texturally,
I thought the dish was one note.
- Yeah. - The tamale was soft,
ice cream, soft, the hazelnut, soft.
I just think these dishes need to go deeper
in finding different textures and different ways
to get these flavors in there.
- Thank you. - PADMA: All right, Sara.
You know...
your dessert was the best thing I ate today.
Oh, my God, I was like, "What's she gonna say now?"
[all laugh]
It was just an inspiration.
It felt so playful, and yet so elegant.
I have nothing to say, except that it was delicious.
- That's it. [laughs] - Good.
You had me at buttermilk and lemon curd.
The pistachios gave it some texture.
I just really, really enjoyed it.
That was really fantastic.
Please give your mother
a big fat hug from all of us.
She's gonna be so excited.
Buddha, how did you decide to make this sculptural dessert?
I haven't really done that many Australian things
during my journey here.
And this dessert is one of my favorite things
that I would eat growing up.
I loved everything about this dessert, actually.
It was classic flavors,
raspberry, coconut, and chocolate.
But done in a really interesting and modern way.
Thank you.
Personally, I like dessert
a little bit more spontaneous than plated like that.
But, okay, it was beautiful and it was very tasty.
Okay.
And there we have it.
[all laughs]
I gotta say, it's been two years
since I really spent time in the kitchen.
And because of the three of you and the whole season,
I can't wait to get back in and start cooking as well.
- So, thank you. - Yeah, thank you.
All right, Chefs. We have a big decision to make.
We will call you back in a bit. Thank you so much.
GABRI AND BUDDHA: Thank you.
***
SARA: There's more champagne.
- Thank goodness. - That was tough.
- BUDDHA: Yeah, it was rough. - That was rough.
Call me one-texture wonder, please.
- Come on. - [all laugh]
We are about to crown our next Top Chef
and our first-ever Top Chef World All Star.
It was quite an exceptional meal.
Hélène, you did really like
Gabri's first course, didn't you?
That's the one I prefer.
For me, it was the dish
who said the most about the candidate.
If I were to just go back and want to eat
one of those first courses again,
I want to eat Sara's.
It had punch, it had acidity.
It had a lot of the things
that I was looking for in a first course.
And then there's Buddha,
that clam chowder dish came to the table
and it looked like a work of art.
I don't think there was enough of a difference
- to say one was better. - Yeah.
It's a huge step for me, and for my career.
And I'm so ----ing grateful,
I cannot even express it.
PADMA: Second course.
I loved the dish of Gabri.
I loved the flavors of this dish.
I loved the way those beans tasted
with the sweet potato.
But in terms of technique,
that is the one of Buddha for sure.
Buddha's lobster dish was stunning
and it was cooked beautifully.
PADMA: I really loved the lobster,
it had a level of sophistication to it.
It had a clarity of flavor.
Sara's liver didn't work.
There's a difference between undercooked and raw.
- That liver was blue. - It's a shame.
I hope that one dish
doesn't take me out, but it's big.
The third course, Buddha's, was beautiful.
The sauce had a lusciousness about it.
It was very delicate.
I thought there was a lot of beautiful work there
and the flavor of the sauce came through
on all of those elements.
Everything was cooked beautifully.
PADMA: Gabri's flavors had punch.
It was creative. It was audacious.
PADMA: It was thought-provoking.
The combination was good. [laughs]
TOM C: Sara comes back here with her burgoo.
It's a simple, humble dish,
and it was a great version of that dish.
GAIL: And it just fit her.
It was the realization of everything
she's been trying to do all season,
and she nailed it.
And I also think that
the dessert did all of those things, too.
I think Sara's dessert was incredible.
I thought the sorbet was amazing.
I loved the lemon curd.
I thought the pea cake was fantastic.
- GAIL: Yeah. - PADMA: Sublime.
The other two desserts were good too.
Buddha's lamington was the most playful
I've actually seen Buddha in a long time.
And it was really delicious to eat.
Gabri's dessert, I thought was really interesting.
The goat cheese in there, I thought was good.
Yeah, for sure.
GABRI: I'm so relieved that this is all over.
Most of all, I'm happy that I meet you guys.
I can say I consider you my friends,
- so... - Aw.
Thank you, I've been waiting two months for that.
It's very hard to grade them against each other,
because their food is so different.
The dishes that I enjoyed the most were Sara's.
But that second course is...
- Goddammit, that liver. - GAIL: Oh, my God.
Personally, I think that
Gabri gave us a lot of exciting flavors today.
Are you saying that Gabri should win?
If it's a question of flavor-- I'm not-- I don't know.
Me, I love the flavors of Gabri,
but there is a lot of work to do,
a need to put it as the level of technique
of the one of Buddha, you know?
I'm also ready to say,
okay, I closed the eyes
on the cooking of the liver.
It's such a big miss. I feel so bad because--
- It's a shame, huh? - Yeah, it is. It's a shame.
When you have the taste, you can learn about techniques.
Yes. But-- but we're talking what they did today.
- That's all. - Okay.
Of the three meals today who gave us the best meal today?
- PADMA: Of the day. - That's it.
Oh, my God.
It's very tight and, yeah,
I wish everyone the best.
Yeah, man.
I think we have our answer.
I think we have our first-ever
Top Chef World All Star.
- Yes? - Yeah.
All right. Let's get them out here.
***
- What's up? - SARA: What's up?
AMAR: I love you.
TOM C: Chefs, at some point in your life,
you decided to cook.
It was just a passion that was burning inside of you.
And whether you learned from your farm in Mexico,
or your mother's kitchen in Paducah, Kentucky,
or your father's restaurant in Australia.
And in a million years, you probably never thought
that would bring you, number one,
to your first Top Chefseason
and then World All Stars.
But only one of you will be crowned
Top Chef World All Star.
This was a really tough decision.
The first Top Chef World All Star is...
[suspenseful music plays]
...Buddha.
- There you go, buddy. - AMAR: Well done.
Good job.
Two for two, baby.
BUDDHA: Oh, my God.
I just won Top Chef back-to-back. [laughs]
Oh, that feels unreal to say.
- GABRI: Well done. - ALI: Well done.
- PADMA: Congratulations. - Thank you.
It's the biggest moment of my life.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
BUDDHA: Recently, I had a dream about my dad.
And he was smiling at me and I woke up,
and I couldn't stop crying at 3 o'clock in the morning.
And two days after that dream, I actually got the phone call
to come to season 20 of Top Chef.
And I felt like this was a sign from him,
saying, "The goal was to win season 19,
so you can go on to season 20 to win that."
- Congratulations. - GABRI: Thank you, Chef.
- Sara, congratulations. - SARA: Thank you.
I lost Top Chefbefore, I lose it again.
But win or lose, this is huge.
AMAR: Come on, girl. Come on.
I got to get on this platform and talk about
women being able to achieve a work and life balance.
And women being empowered. And so did I really lose?
Well, I don't think so.
Congratulations.
GABRI: I'm sad, but I'm happy at the same time,
because the whole experience has been beautiful.
Thank you so much. Thank you.
Thank you, Chef. I appreciate it.
I always pour my heart out.
There's no meal that I didn't care,
because this is my passion, this is my path.
This is my way to demonstrate love.
GABRI: Congratulations, buddy.
[laughs] I won.
REBEKAH: Oh, my God. Congratulations.
You helped me through the journey
throughout the whole way, the key to my success, so...
- [Buddha laughs] - REBEKAH: 100%.
Everyone, this is just
a milestone for us, our 20th season,
and it's all because of every single person here
who really just puts their blood,
sweat, and tears into making this show.
But also, seriously, to the chefs
who come out and just work their asses off
to really make this happen.
[cheering and applause]
You know, a lot of us grew up on this show.
It's been a long ride.
20 seasons is quite an accomplishment.
Thank you very much.
[uplifting music plays]
- To Buddha! - BUDDHA: Cheers.
Thank you.
[music stops]