I'm alomost 100% certain that it was shot at Resolution Digital Studio on the near west side (Around Fulton and Western). This is a state of the art, high end facility with everything needed for a live national broadcast. An obvious choice from a production standpoint.

Everything looked out of focus and then I realized they were using fairly heavy filters (pearl mist 3?) on the cameras.

I'll write up my review (like last week) tommorow evening. I have an early call time in the morning and want to watch a bit of the Cubs game.

Congrats to Hung. When they announced him I said "No! F***!" then I realized that throughtout the season he displayed the qualities that the winner of this competition ought to have.

It's tough to be Top Chef when one of your dishes is deemed "terrible" and "ineatable" by a judge, let alone the head judge, which Dale's lobster-curry dish was, sadly.

Breakdown: while Hung's raw hamachi salad won Course 1 by default more than anything (underseasoned but overall good, perhaps the 4th best dish of the meal) and his sous-vide duck won Course 3 outright (generally seemed like the best dish of the meal), Dale's scallop and his lamb chop won Courses 2 and 4 outright (seemed like generally the 2nd and 3rd best dishes of the meal). At that point, it's a wash mathematically so I'm sure that the judges ask two things:

1. Who had the better overall menu (Answer: Hung because he didn't screw up a course, 3 of his 4 were good (despite a lukewarm--figuratively and literally--dessert) and 1 of 4 was outstanding; Dale screws up Course 3, the lobster-curry, despite getting points for taking a risk, but risks that fail are still failures);
2. Who was better throughout the whole season (Answer: Hung clearly was more consistent).

Picking Hung, by this calculus, makes sense to me although I think Dale is more deserving from a personality perspective and, frankly, might come out the big-winner in the end. His weak spot throughout the competition, I think, has been on-the-fly execution and his strongsuit has been menu-planning. Executive chefs have the luxury of more of the latter than the former and he's going to come up with some really outstanding dishes. I'm really looking forward to Dale's new restaurant.

I'm alomost 100% certain that it was shot at Resolution Digital Studio on the near west side (Around Fulton and Western). This is a state of the art, high end facility with everything needed for a live national broadcast. An obvious choice from a production standpoint.

Here's what I'm thinking, and I can't believe I didn't come up with this earlier. I'll put a shiny nickel on that it was at the NBC building. NBC and Bravo are both part of the same macro-media conglomerate. Padma, Gail and Ted were on that horrendous iVillage Live show at 11am yesterday, and Dale was there doing a cooking presentation, which tapes at that building too.

It wouldn't cost them near as much as renting out another production studio, it's central and easy to get to, and near all the hotels that the judges are probably being put up in for the course of the taping.

Also, I noticed the filters too - I was convinced it was to hide the presence of well-known and familiar faces in the crowd teasing me with their attendance and torturing me being stuck at home, knowing they're just a few El stops away. Then I figured I was just being paranoid and had another beer.

Based upon what we saw of their dishes, Hung was the clear winner last night and Casey a distant third. I felt throughout the season that Hung was consistently the best chef and that, up until the last few episodes, that Casey was a clear second. But, it seems to me that Dale may have passed Casey up if not in consistently making "good/great" dishes than if making the semi-occasional "outstanding" dish.

Was anyone else off-put a bit by Casey's attititude in the finale last night both in the Chicago and Aspen locations? I sure was. She really came off, well, there's really no other way to put it, like a total b*tch . At least that's how I felt about it. She made some snide remark about "well, if the judges are really looking for precision/tech ability then I'm not top chef." Easy honey.

Also, notice the blame she put on Howie. Even if we take her at her word and don't assign any blame to Casey for the dish Howie made, none of her four dishes were in the best dishes of the night. And, the one it appeared she worked on herself primarily if not exclusively, the pork belly, was way overcooked. It seemed as if the judges were struggling to find something nice to say about any of her dishes.

Now, I can understand a little frustration in Aspen really knowing you have no chance in hell to win and now you have to wait months to find out live. But I thought she took a really sh*tty attitude last night in Chicago as well.

I don't want to go to far with this and I'm not a producer or editor, but maybe the Chicago location Casey is the "Real Casey". As opposed to all of the other epidsodes that could be edited to display a kinder, more "girl next door" personality.

I found that interesting - cannot edit live TV unless you have a delay.

Bster

Well, I was kind of disappointed that Dale didn't win. If anything, I have to believe that lobster dish really did him in. I haven't read any of the judges' blogs yet, but it will be interesting to hear why exactly they chose Hung. Was it that his final meal was that much better than Dale's, or was it really a "body of work" thing in recognition of the full season. Let's try to remember, Hung wasn't exactly at the top of the heap in every episode.

whiskeybent wrote:

I'm alomost 100% certain that it was shot at Resolution Digital Studio on the near west side (Around Fulton and Western). This is a state of the art, high end facility with everything needed for a live national broadcast. An obvious choice from a production standpoint.

Here's what I'm thinking, and I can't believe I didn't come up with this earlier. I'll put a shiny nickel on that it was at the NBC building. NBC and Bravo are both part of the same macro-media conglomerate. Padma, Gail and Ted were on that horrendous iVillage Live show at 11am yesterday, and Dale was there doing a cooking presentation, which tapes at that building too.

It wouldn't cost them near as much as renting out another production studio, it's central and easy to get to, and near all the hotels that the judges are probably being put up in for the course of the taping.

I'm guessing that the finale filmed at the same place where they are currently housing and filming the judge's table interrogations for Season 4. They've already committed production costs to that - so why not piggyback Season 3's finale on that?

Any bets that next season's judging table will be low-lit and have exposed brick in the background?

Did anyone else catch the disclaimer screen that popped up for a split second right before the credits rolled after the show? Tivo is great! I’m paraphrasing, but it said something like: “in making the decisions on who gets eliminated, the judges sometimes consult with the producers of the show and other representatives of Bravo.”

I thought this was quite interesting, particularly in light of the discussion on this thread about whether the producers have any input in deciding who gets cut.

jesteinf wrote:Well, I was kind of disappointed that Dale didn't win. If anything, I have to believe that lobster dish really did him in. I haven't read any of the judges' blogs yet, but it will be interesting to hear why exactly they chose Hung. Was it that his final meal was that much better than Dale's, or was it really a "body of work" thing in recognition of the full season. Let's try to remember, Hung wasn't exactly at the top of the heap in every episode.

God, no, Hung wasn't at the top of the heap. If anything, I found Hung's win to be disappointing if only because he doesn't seem to have any sort of signature style except for sous-viding. Hung claimed to be cooking "his food" but the flavors seemed a bit clumsy, as if he hasn't really honed a style yet. We know that Dale tends to be more assertive and aggressive in his flavoring and Casey loves to integrate mushrooms. But I think Hung is more like a sous-chef at this point - good at executing but not really good at conceptualizing a menu at the level of even Casey or Dale.

I think Tom Colicchio's judging style is very simple. Dale's lobster dish was bad, and to Tom, a winner can't have served a bad dish. Gail and Ted appeared to be pulling for Dale - rightly framing the argument as do we reward someone who played it safe or someone who took risks? But, I think, in the end, Tom was not going to sign on awarding Top Chef to a chef who served a bad dish, even if his other dishes were risky and complex and successful.

inter4alia wrote:Did anyone else catch the disclaimer screen that popped up for a split second right before the credits rolled after the show? Tivo is great! I’m paraphrasing, but it said something like: “in making the decisions on who gets eliminated, the judges sometimes consult with the producers of the show and other representatives of Bravo.”

I thought this was quite interesting, particularly in light of the discussion on this thread about whether the producers have any input in deciding who gets cut.

That's pretty standard language on any reality show where judges, and not the audience, doesn't decide who gets voted off. I vaguely remember an interview with one judge on TC (maybe Coliccio) who said that the only time producers get involved is to help the judges interpret rules or decide on a special circumstance (like if they want to eliminate 2 contestants, or 0 contestants).

inter4alia wrote:Did anyone else catch the disclaimer screen that popped up for a split second right before the credits rolled after the show? Tivo is great! I’m paraphrasing, but it said something like: “in making the decisions on who gets eliminated, the judges sometimes consult with the producers of the show and other representatives of Bravo.”

I thought this was quite interesting, particularly in light of the discussion on this thread about whether the producers have any input in deciding who gets cut.

That disclaimer has been there since the beginning and previously a subject of debate on this board.

I have never heard of Tom Collicho (spelling?) before this. Anybody know his qualifications?

And not to digress completely, but was anybody else disappointed to learn that Padma actually tapes her lines (with regard to the challenges) after a number of takes to "get it right"? She always looks good, but she seems to have zero personality. She reminds me of a model at a car show pointing to the features of the new Pontiac.

I'm guessing that the finale filmed at the same place where they are currently housing and filming the judge's table interrogations for Season 4. They've already committed production costs to that - so why not piggyback Season 3's finale on that?

Mark this date: someone on the intertron is admitting they were mistaken.

Information from someone at the taping last night tells me it's somewhere in West Town. I'll pay up that shiny nickel sometime soon.

Bster wrote:Based upon what we saw of their dishes, Hung was the clear winner last night and Casey a distant third. I felt throughout the season that Hung was consistently the best chef and that, up until the last few episodes, that Casey was a clear second. But, it seems to me that Dale may have passed Casey up if not in consistently making "good/great" dishes than if making the semi-occasional "outstanding" dish.

Was anyone else off-put a bit by Casey's attititude in the finale last night both in the Chicago and Aspen locations? I sure was. She really came off, well, there's really no other way to put it, like a total b*tch . At least that's how I felt about it. She made some snide remark about "well, if the judges are really looking for precision/tech ability then I'm not top chef." Easy honey.

Also, notice the blame she put on Howie. Even if we take her at her word and don't assign any blame to Casey for the dish Howie made, none of her four dishes were in the best dishes of the night. And, the one it appeared she worked on herself primarily if not exclusively, the pork belly, was way overcooked. It seemed as if the judges were struggling to find something nice to say about any of her dishes.

Now, I can understand a little frustration in Aspen really knowing you have no chance in hell to win and now you have to wait months to find out live. But I thought she took a really sh*tty attitude last night in Chicago as well.

I don't want to go to far with this and I'm not a producer or editor, but maybe the Chicago location Casey is the "Real Casey". As opposed to all of the other epidsodes that could be edited to display a kinder, more "girl next door" personality.

I found that interesting - cannot edit live TV unless you have a delay.

Bster

No - I didn't get that from Casey at all, really. I think she handled it as best she could and tried to salvage her reputation. I liked how she volunteered that it wasn't her night and that she reminded the other two "in back" that she had kicked their butts plenty of times.

DML wrote:I have never heard of Tom Collicho (spelling?) before this. Anybody know his qualifications?

Yep.

DML wrote:I have never heard of Tom Collicho (spelling?) before this. Anybody know his qualifications?

Tom Colicchio founded and was executive chef at Gramercy Tavern in NYC. He has won 5 James Beard medals for cooking, and owns Craft, Craftsteak, and Craftbar.

I'm surprised that Hung won, but Rocco DiSpirito's newest blog says that Hung's personality shown on TV was a result of editing and that he's not like that at all. Rocco mentions that he really likes Hung and would hire him in a heartbeat. Rocco also mentions at the end of this blog that the judges debated for 9 hours afterwards before deciding who would be top chef.

and Tom - as executive chef at Gramercy Tavern - created an amazing, consistently lauded, world-renowned pork belly dish, which has been a staple on the menu since the restaurant's opening. May not have been the best choice for Casey to attempt

It is not just Padma who sometimes retapes lines for this show. A lot of the the time at judges table you can hear an obvious overdub. The judge probably paused, stuttered or just couldn't spit out what they were trying to say. Instead of airing it on TV that way, they just retape it and when the over dub is playing there are shots of the contestants and the back of the judges heads.

I will agree though, Padma has zero personality and was terrible live last night.

Well...I was rooting for Dale, the underdog. Hung's win: ...eh...he never followed through with his promise to present "his" flavors. Two episodes ago (?) there was that embarrassing gauntlet thrown down by Colicchio vis a vis Hung's ethnicity and his need to cook that particular cuisine...whatever, dude...it's 2007. Even though he *acceded to Colicchio*, I didn't see Hung cooking Vietnamese. Huh.

So...what was the purpose of "live in Chicago?" I'd imagine they'd tease Season 4 or at least cobble together some sort of Chicago promo...instead they shot in some godforsaken, sterile warehouse...no presence, no personality, no Chicago...they might as well have been in
De Moines...

and...um...I wouldn't go so far as calling Casey a *bitch* as another poster did...that's pretty harsh; instead, I think she displayed some poor sportsmanship upon figuring that she'd screwed the pooch...she was so down and "I'm done with this," at the judge's table...

Christopher Gordon wrote:So...what was the purpose of "live in Chicago?"

In the last two seasons, wasn't the final cooking segment and/or judge's table interrogation taped live? If so, I guess I figure that they couldn't do that this year because they had already started filming season 4 in Chicago (that production schedule was probably moved up to avoid the dreaded winter). So if they can't cook live because the judges have to be in Chicago for the next season's tapings, then I think they decided to tape the finale cooking segment in Aspen, and then just go live from Chicago to announce the winner because the judges were already scheduled to be here (why fly them back to Aspen for that?) and because they already have a studio set up for Season 4 (so it would be cheaper than setting something up again back in Aspen).

The alternative would have been to just tape the naming of the winner back in Aspen, but that would create too many opportunities for leaks, so that portion, at least, had to be announced live.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

aschie30 wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:So...what was the purpose of "live in Chicago?"

In the last two seasons, wasn't the final cooking segment and/or judge's table interrogation taped live? If so, I guess I figure that they couldn't do that this year because they had already started filming season 4 in Chicago (that production schedule was probably moved up to avoid the dreaded winter). So if they can't cook live because the judges have to be in Chicago for the next season's tapings, then I think they decided to tape the finale cooking segment in Aspen, and then just go live from Chicago to announce the winner because the judges were already scheduled to be here (why fly them back to Aspen for that?) and because they already have a studio set up for Season 4 (so it would be cheaper than setting something up again back in Aspen).

The alternative would have been to just tape the naming of the winner back in Aspen, but that would create too many opportunities for leaks, so that portion, at least, had to be announced live.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

yes...I was being a tad obsequious; I was hoping they'd offer a taste of next season rather than taping live in Chicago for mere efficacy.

No - I didn't get that from Casey at all, really. I think she handled it as best she could and tried to salvage her reputation. I liked how she volunteered that it wasn't her night and that she reminded the other two "in back" that she had kicked their butts plenty of times.

Ditto this. I wouldn't call her a bitch by any means. I thought she handled it fine...it was clear she wasn't even close to Hung or Dale. I can't imagine how frustrating that had to be.

Fujisan wrote:I'm surprised that Hung won, but Rocco DiSpirito's newest blog says that Hung's personality shown on TV was a result of editing and that he's not like that at all. Rocco mentions that he really likes Hung and would hire him in a heartbeat. Rocco also mentions at the end of this blog that the judges debated for 9 hours afterwards before deciding who would be top chef.

I had to read this blog entry for myself. 9 hour deliberation? In a word, no. I have a hard time believing they devoted a 4 feature-length films worth of discussion to come up with this winner. They would have looked tired and haggard in that final "we have come to a decision" shot. Also Rocco goes out of his way to say that bloggers often go off on people without having the expertise or info to back it up. Then he goes on and does the same. In reference to Dale's lobster dish, Rocco writes that Dale hadn't served anything this poorly cooked all season. Rocco also managed to avoid the hyperbole common to bloggers with well-thought-out similes such as saying the gnocci in this dish were like hardened tempered steel. Summing up Dale's performance as inconsistent and lazy. He also went a little overboard in describing Casey's performance that they were all 'embarrassed' for her. Didn't you appear on all of one episode, Herr Self-Aggrandizement?

But enough on Mr. DiSpirito.

Some thoughts on the finale.

Dale really peaked at the right time. He got his highest praises for dishes in the final two episodes. If you go for the 'body of work' argument, he wasn't the front-runner. Then again, neither was Casey until the last 5 episodes or so. However, his highs seemed very high.

This typified his performance in the finale. 2 of the 3 best received dishes were Dales. But he rounded it out with a lackluster first course and a miss on his third.

It seemed Hung had a better average. Although, for me, the look the judges got in their eyes when describing the Scallop and Lamb dishes, that said Top Chef to me a lot more than any debate about Hung's chocolate cake.

You could see Casey was a bit all over the place in the kitchen and it showed up in her food. Many of the dishes could be accurately described as over-wrought (just listen to the number of ingredients listed a la Brian Malarkey in the penultimate episode), but she was the worst offender. When they showed her blaming the presentation of course 2 on Howie, it just sounded like excuse-making. Plus, her best-received dish was the one she admittedly leaned on Howie for, so she could have been a little more forgiving/appreciative. If she had been organized enough to manage the whole creation and her assistant rather than running around, she would have likely put out a better product. But she wasn't so she couldn't. I too felt Casey copped a bit of an attitude in the live, final taping. She could have seemed much more appreciative of the opportunity to compete and thankful she got to the final. Instead, she seemed bitter.

Now, quickfire:

- If Hung really needed more salt or acid on all of his non-dessert dishes, isn't that a problem?

- This was the best episode to date and a perfect finale. They were given range on their menu, but there were still a few twists to make it interesting. I liked the sous-chef surprise and loved the added course. Good television, and it didn't come at the expense of the food.

- I agree that I still never got a sense of style in Hung's cooking. I continue to think of him as someone who puts out a pretty plate but can't put my finger on what his cooking is like. Too subtle, I guess. Which is probably why I am left with a very 'ehhh' feeling on his winning.

Christopher Gordon wrote:

aschie30 wrote:

Christopher Gordon wrote:So...what was the purpose of "live in Chicago?"

In the last two seasons, wasn't the final cooking segment and/or judge's table interrogation taped live? If so, I guess I figure that they couldn't do that this year because they had already started filming season 4 in Chicago (that production schedule was probably moved up to avoid the dreaded winter). So if they can't cook live because the judges have to be in Chicago for the next season's tapings, then I think they decided to tape the finale cooking segment in Aspen, and then just go live from Chicago to announce the winner because the judges were already scheduled to be here (why fly them back to Aspen for that?) and because they already have a studio set up for Season 4 (so it would be cheaper than setting something up again back in Aspen).

The alternative would have been to just tape the naming of the winner back in Aspen, but that would create too many opportunities for leaks, so that portion, at least, had to be announced live.

That's my theory, and I'm sticking to it.

I was hoping they'd offer a taste of next season .

Woulda been nice . . .

Cooking at high altitude, I had a feeling that Hung's best dish would be the one cooked sous vide... A 140 degree water bath is 140 degrees regardless of elevation. Hung also kept the hamachi raw, which means that altitude will almost have no effect on that dish.

Dale and Casey cooked as if they were at zero elevation which ruined some of their dishes (the gnocchi and pork belly?) but Hung clearly planned for it... In the end it was his technical smarts that got him the win.

I was expecting Dale to win, though. In the past seasons the least popular chef usually makes it to the final only to lose.

I find this discussion of Casey's reaction and performance rather interesting.

First...I think she was really, really affected by the altitude. This is not to excuse her performance in the finale but not being able to catch your breath and watching physical science fail on you -- that can be a very difficult thing to overcome along with your nervousness and fear. I think she just wasn't herself and so didn't cook like herself.

And the reaction thing -- come on folks -- has anyone who has won this thing ever had to WATCH the episode before being confronted with the winning or losing spot? No! That episode was hard for ME to watch, much less a person in it who hadn't seen it yet. And then she's called in front of Tom Colicchio and made to explain herself? I think you're all jumping on her for being human. Usually the folks don't see these episodes until we see them -- and so they have no idea how it will come out as an edited product. It must have been very hard for her to see her performance and know that she had lost without being told as much. I think she reacted like a person who is trying to save face as best she can in front of a live audience and her family and friends would. I think she's a class act, actually. And a young chef who has great instincts and will hopefully go on to greater, better things.

Personally...this episode just capped for me the truth about cuisine. Curry ruins everything.



I really wanted Dale to win!

s

From Gail's blog: "And then there’s Hung. Headstrong, resolute, defiant, provocative. Call him what you will but you cannot deny his talent in the kitchen. More than anyone on the show, Hung has been consistent and the most sophisticated in his cooking from the first day on set. Our finale meal at the top of Aspen Mountain proved this more than ever. We ate so well that night and were thrilled with the performances from all our finalists, but while Dale and Casey served us a roller coaster of flavors and ideas (some delicious, some questionable), Hung took us for a smooth, yet exhilarating ride."

This says it all. Hung is consistent. Almost always in the top half (save for Latin food and even then not really at the bottom), able to shift gears between crowd pleasers and whimsy, and, probably most importantly, always with a clear sense of purpose. I know many here have cooked in professional kitchens. I have and I can say that of the final 3 I would, based solely on TC, line up to work for Hung and neither of the others, though I'm guessing Dale is a good leader given a normal environment. He never would have been pegged for Trio otherwise. Look at the contrast in what is shown of the three contestants in the prep time. Hung was the only one with a clear and confident plan, proper personnel deployment, and better skills than those around him. Think of what you may have read about prepairing for dinner service by the likes of Bourdain... you are repairing for battle, gathering ammo, and digging fox holes. Do you want the lieutenant that is thinking possibly a grenade here will be nice but oh wait we have a bazooka!? Or do you want the one that says, "Soldier, here is where we attack, these are the supplies you all need...follow me!"?

I have read a lot of folks saying that Hung still did not present his flavors. First off, none of us tasted it so we don't know for sure. However, given the (relatively limited) knowledge I have about cooking, I sure saw a picture of a chef in that dinner based on choice and technique alone. Even if you take the questionable stance that he should cook "ethnic" food somehow and that should define his "flavor", it sure looked to me like he incorporated elements of his culinary ethnicity into his dishes. The cooking of Vietnam tends to be light and vibrant. Hung did not and should not have had to drop off a big bowl of pho or the like to show his flavor. He incorporated the spirit of his ethnic cuisine in his dishes. No big and heavy proteins, no overwrought plates, and no conflicting elements.

Ultimately it comes back to two things. First, the chef does not (and probably should not) be the cooks best friend. He has to be their leader and their boss. He is the person with the plan. Also, to those who say the things like knife skills and such aren't important if what you are mostly doing is menu planning, purchasing, and scheduling, I say you are just wrong. No line cook will respect any up and coming chef if they can work faster and cleaner than they guy they are supposed to follow. An old established chef, sure... they made their bones... but not the folks on TC. Simple fact is that being chef entitles you to fire some one but it does not entitle you to respect. In a professional kitchen butting out two clean and spot on plates in the time it takes the guy next to you to put out one? That is respect.

Secondly and finally I'll go back to what Gail mentioned in her blog... it is all about consistency. I worked for a very successful chef in Connecticut that, on every new hire's first day asked them, "Why is McDonald's successful? The food is not very good yet they are a billion dollar company." The answer of course is consistency. You know what you are going to get. I don't much eat a McDonald's but you know that, in a pinch, you won't starve or get sick and that is enough for many people. In high end cuisine, the formula is not very different. Food is a business. Despite all the emotion and sense appeal you still need to make a profit. People talk about a single bad dish far more that 5 good ones. I think we all know that. If it were your dollars do you want the guy that has some spectacular dishes and some terrible ones or the guy that does very good dishes all the time and an occasional great one? Those who think of of the other folks should have one, would you put your cash on the line with them? If it were my $100K, it would go to Hung in a second.

"talk about a single bad dish far more that 5 good ones."

No way. At least not in what claims to be high end food.

When I dine at Moto or Alinea or Tru or Charlie Trotters, assuming a twelve course meal, I expect roughly three to four to knock off my chair, three or four that are very good but not that memorable, and a few that I might not like at all.

I am pretty content with a meal brings high and low, as long as the low is interesting and the high is memorable,

Stagger wrote:From Gail's blog: "And then there’s Hung. Headstrong, resolute, defiant, provocative. Call him what you will but you cannot deny his talent in the kitchen. More than anyone on the show, Hung has been consistent and the most sophisticated in his cooking from the first day on set. Our finale meal at the top of Aspen Mountain proved this more than ever. We ate so well that night and were thrilled with the performances from all our finalists, but while Dale and Casey served us a roller coaster of flavors and ideas (some delicious, some questionable), Hung took us for a smooth, yet exhilarating ride."

Seriously, though, you have to take these blogs with a huge chunk of salt. They are more often than not, after-the-fact attempts to justify the judge's decision and deflect criticism of them or the show. For all we know, Gail was vigorously arguing in favor of Dale until Tom pulled rank or something.

JLenart wrote:I'm alomost 100% certain that it was shot at Resolution Digital Studio on the near west side (Around Fulton and Western). This is a state of the art, high end facility with everything needed for a live national broadcast. An obvious choice from a production standpoint.

You are correct, as confirmed by Joe Gray at the Chicago Tribune's food blog, The Stew:

The Stew wrote:"I got runner-up in a field of amazing chefs," Levitski said after the live show, broadcast from Resolution Digital Studios on Chicago’s West Side, when we pulled him away for a moment from celebratory Champagne toasts and a cluster of former "Top Chef" contestants. "I proved to myself and I guess to the world that I can cook, I'm good."

Dale Levitski watch: When 2nd Place still rocks

=R=