'Top Chef' season recap

February 25, 4:49 PMTop Chef ExaminerMatt Wolf

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God forbid I'd go the whole year without a picture of Padma

Heading into tonight's finale, a look back at Season 5:

Episode 1: Stefan sets the tone in a cooking competition representing the different ethnic neighborhoods of New York, winning the day with a Middle Eastern dish. Ariane, who eventually achieved a good measure of success, dodges a bullet in the bottom three.

Episode 2: The Craft episode... especially notable for Fabio's Beef Carpaccio, which was one of the more interesting dishes all season with its spherical olives. Next time I'm in SoCal, I'm going to Fabio's restaurant and ordering it. And again, Ariane dodges another bullet.

Episode 3: Poor Richard offends the Foo Fighters with his Banana S'mores in the Thanksgiving episode.

Episode 4: Ariane starts showing her chops, winning the Today Show competition with a Beefsteak Tomato Salad.

Episode 5: Ariane wins again, though even she seemed to think that Jamie deserved it for their Lamb Curry dish. I've cooked this one... highly recommended. "Top Chef" bloggers across the internet (not me) begin predicting Ariane as the season's winner.

Episode 6: Jeff, Hosea and Stefan cook their way to the top three at a fundraiser party, but Colicchio, fed up with Season 5's mediocrity, heads to the stew room and gives everybody a pep talk.

Episode 7: Toby Young makes his debut in what was probably this season's best episode. The chefs are allowed to cook whatever they want, and also tasked with eating and judging each other's food. Jamie perseveres with her scallops, while Eugene not only is sent packing, but then makes an ass out of himself at the seclusion house, talking up Ariane-conspiracy theories.

Episode 8: The chefs head up to Stone Barns, a very cool food and agricultural research center. This was a big episode for Stefan. Not only does his team have to cook a more boring protein (chicken, rather than lamb or pork) than the other teams, but he completely takes control of his team's menu and nails every dish. Ariane is booted for poor butchering, or for being the unfortunate third wheel in the Hosea-Leah mess, depending on how you look at it.

Episode 9: Restaurant Wars... another impressive episode for Stefan, who, when the chefs divide into two teams, is inexplicably the last chef chosen. He goes on to rescue his team with three amazing desserts. Radhika is booted for not being as charming as Fabio in the front of the house.

Episode 10: Carla finally comes out of her shell, winning the quickfire, the elimation challenge, and a pair of Super Bowl tickets. Jeff gets the guillotine, losing head to head against a warm ceviche. Ouch.

Episode 11: Stefan wins again as the victim of his crush, Jamie, screws up an Eric Ripert replication and goes home.

Episode 12: In one of the all-time great "Top Chef" performances, Fabio breaks his pinkie finger and still goes on to win the "Last Supper" challenge. Stefan dodges a bullet and sneaks into the finale as Leah gets the knife.

Finale, Part 1: Carla wins again, in her fourth straight impressive performance. Fabio, who cooks well, still does not manage to get an authentic Creole taste into his food, and it costs him.

You know what I hate? When people like me sit on the fence before a finale like tonight's and say something weak like, "it's a coin flip." So screw that, I'll predict a winner. I'm taking Stefan, as much as I'm really rooting for Carla. I just think he's too strong, especially when the chefs can basically cook whatever they want. So there you have it, I'm on the record.