Even though the ingredients aren’t sour, ukha’s almost always served with lemons sliced into it or a hearty splash of vinegar. And her beet caviar may have had vinegar too.
Brooke Williamson, who lost in the finals in Kristin’s season, returned and did the same thing (came back from LCK and then won it all) in a later season.
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I believe she only had to win one battle, not half a season.
It’s all kind of a blur to me now. But that is like Cesar vs Bailey this season (Cesar coming back after one LCK win, whereas Bailey fought through multiple challenges).
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So she has a vibe you and @ipsedixit don’t like? What else? I don’t get it. Although she bugged me on the first episode because she left out Anna, she has been fine since imho.
Bailey does not beat Kristen, IMO.
Can’t put my finger on it. She just rubs me the wrong way.
I will certainly be shocked if she pulls out a win! It’s pretty clear the competition comes down to Tristen and Shuai.
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Shuai has really pulled up his level in the past few weeks.
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Didn’t not-mustache Joe come back from LCK and win too? I don’t know how many battles he had there. Did Bailey have two? Three? ETA it was three challenges.
BTW, I had to resort to Reddit when no one was interested here on HO! Wild.
The Primetimer forum Top Chef threads are pretty lively.
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We can say this now because the right person won her season. 
As infuriating as it was to watch it go down, think about how it cast her though. She stood up as a leader and she even said as the leader, she should take the fall. Not getting into shouting matches of who did what instead I think really showcased her character and her leadership qualities. Couple that with mad cooking skills, and I think she’s certainly one of the most memorable winners in the show’s run.
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Shuai started off strong, and then kind of settled into middle-of-the-road mode. I love his callbacks to his childhood and how it’s inspiring his cooking.
I don’t dislike Bailey. I do find some of that quirkiness fascinating and endearing, but yes - quirkiness can also sometimes rub a little the wrong way. I don’t understand how she’s building her dishes, but she seems to get great results. With that, I would have preferred Cesar though. I just love his different take on everything, even when it doesn’t always work out as he hoped. I would have loved to see what he would cook for the finale.
Totally agree. Exactly what they look for in a Top Chef!
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I enjoyed this finale, and really seeing how they thought through their dishes and what they were trying to say. That Food and Wine article - great recap and that is some high praise the editor wrote in their about the winner and one of the signature dishes of that evening! Comparing the winner favorably even to some of the best of the top chef winners.
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This was fun.
I’m so happy!!! Yay, Tristan!!
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Yes! And Zubair was just on Chopped!
I’ve been avoiding this thread until I was able to watch. Great finale, and I am so happy for the winner.
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