Top Chef Canada recap, episode 13: the winner takes it all

It’s been quite a ride. After 12 weeks of special guests, horsing around and glorious product placement, season one of Top Chef Canada has come to a close. And what better way to kick off the final episode than with a smart-alecky assessment of the final three contestants from Mercatto’s Rob Rossi? There’s Dale MacKay, with three wins to his name, who’s known, Rossi said, for “doing crazy high-end food” (translation: no soul). There’s Connie DeSousa, also with three wins, who does “sausages and home cooking” (translation: no sophistication). And then there’s Rossi, with four wins, who tries “to do a whole bunch of different things” (translation: has it going on). After the jump, the full rundown of the final face-off.
Quickfire
Rossi, MacKay and DeSousa strode out in their chef’s whites onto the battlefield, which turned out to be a busy set of volleyball courts at what we think was Diamond Beach. Since the episode was filmed last fall in Toronto, the skies were grey, a sniffling DeSousa complained of the freezing cold, and the athletes on the courts were wearing some of the least-revealing beach volleyball outfits in history. Regardless of the weather, the quickfire consisted of that most Canadian twosome: barbecue and beer (more specifically, the red, white and dark species of season sponsor Rickard’s). The chefs were given two hours to create a main and a side using copious amounts of the stuff.

Rossi got into the spirit of things right away, downing bottle after bottle of the white ale while saving the dark for his flatiron steak and citrus-spiked corn on the cob. He even joined the judges for a round (MacKay, observing the suck-uppery, dropped the episode’s first s-bomb: “Personally I think Rob could take a shit on the grill and put it up and they would applaud it”). Still, Rossi didn’t fare so well, probably because he was distracted by the “broads,” the beer and the incessant bees flying about. For his part, MacKay served up some surprisingly lowbrow (for him) fare: ribs and chicken wings with veggies on the side (the judges still chided him for being too fancy). Fittingly, the win went to the show’s butcher-in-chief, DeSousa, who served up some white ale chorizo burgers and dark ale ribs, with a little white ale coleslaw. As usual, she reacted with that trademark mix of quiet grace and deer-in-the-headlights shock that we’ll miss so: “I won a challenge…? Which is…which is awesome….”
Elimination
After DeSousa’s win, who should appear but three recently eliminated contestants—Dustin Gallagher (Grace), Andrea Nicholson (Great Cooks on Eight) and Todd Perrin—scrubbed and ready to sous-chef for the final challenge. As quickfire winner, DeSousa got to select not only her own underling (“my girl Andrea”) but also those of the other two chefs. Unfortunately, she didn’t have a scheming bone in her body (“I don’t wanna be malicious and kinda screw them up”), so she paired MacKay with Gallagher, his roommate, and Rossi with Perrin. The final challenge? To prepare a three-course menu that, as Andrews put it, “shows us who you are as a chef.” Cue wild grinning from MacKay, who was clearly so over some of the season’s more gimmicky challenges. Of course, three courses would never be enough for MacKay to lay out his grand vision, so he plotted out an extra course or two from the get-go.

For the challenge itself, the cheftestants were whisked away to Peller Estates in Niagara’s wine country. As they stepped into the winery, Peller chef Jason Parsons delivered the Obligatory Last-Minute Twist: the chefs would have to create an amuse-bouche as well, using a cabernet franc icewine. MacKay opted for a Quebec brie with crushed frozen grapes and just-foraged greens from the Peller lands. The judges called it “pleasant” and ”safe.” DeSousa made a salt-cured albacore crudo and served it on a huge pink brick of Himalayan salt she’d brought with her (no, really). But Rossi really impressed with his Salt Spring Island chèvre with frisée, apple and icewine reduction. Round 0.5: Rossi.

For the first course, all three chefs played to type. Although she didn’t do a sausage, DeSousa stayed true to her meat-loving roots, with a smoked pork hock terrine and late-season rhubarb compote. MacKay presented an intricate raw fish trio that looked like three perfect jewels on the plate. Head judge Mark McEwan could barely conceal his disdain (“I find the plate really precious”), although the resident judge Shereen Arazm, an Angelino, stood up for the “airy” and “light” plating. For his part, Rossi snuck by with a simple foie gras boudin blanc with cauliflower purée and snap peas that the judges positively mooned over. Round 1: Rossi by a hair.
It was during the mains that MacKay decided to pull his surprise, extra-course trump card, bringing out a kind of surf (black cod with barbecue pork consommé poured tableside) and turf (roast lamb with onions four ways). His punishment for bending the rules? The word “perfect” uttered a half-dozen times, with McEwan averring that the fish was probably MacKay’s best dish in the whole competition. It didn’t really matter what DeSousa and Rossi served (lamb two ways and bone marrow with roasted oxtail, respectively). Round 2: All MacKay.

For the dessert course, Rossi continued his extreme comfort food bent, serving a trio of beignets with fruit compotes and cream, which the judges all wished had been stuffed with something—which just proves the enduring power of the Twinkie. DeSousa’s last course was an homage to her two favourite things in the world: peanut butter and chocolate. Her adorable plate consisted of a chocolate pot de crème with salted peanut butter (which the judges all agreed could be crèmier), a divine looking salted-peanut caramel ice cream and a peanut butter cupcake. MacKay, meanwhile, went the simplicity-in-complexity route, with a lemon custard and a half-dozen strawberry components. Round 3: Toss-up.
And the winner is…
The poor chefs found themselves spirited back to Toronto for their final appearance at the judges’ table. At this point, to be honest, we were having a hard time calling the winner. Would MacKay’s fussy appetizer hold him back? Was Rossi’s comfort food too rich and unsophisticated? Did DeSousa play it too safe? For what it’s worth, our viewing party was evenly split between Team Rossi and Team DeSousa.
Following the usual Top Chef finale script, Andrews stared DeSousa in the face and said, “Connie. [Pregnant pause.] You are not Canada’s next Top Chef.” DeSousa was sent back to the stew room, where she found her mother and husband, who awarded her the consolation prize of “our Top Chef anyway.” Next, Andrews fixed her gaze on MacKay like some ancient deity, and intoned the words that have no doubt reverberated in the Vancouver chef’s head every day since then: “Dale. [Pregnanter pause.] You are Canada’s Top Chef!” MacKay gasped, embraced a gracious Rossi, and turned around to discover his mom and adorable son Aidan (wearing a fetching cap)—all of which went a long way toward melting our hearts for the chef who’d been cast as the Cocky One all season. Kudos to him and good luck with his new Vancouver restaurant, Ensemble. As for hometown boy Rob Rossi, we have a feeling we’ll be hearing from him again soon.
Check back later today for our post-victory Q&A with MacKay.
The final Top Chef Canada leaderboard:
No need to worry about spoilers here. Anyone paying attention to the “next on” segment at the end of last week’s episode already knew who won. Andrews was pretty obvious about what direction she was aiming her remark and anyone who saw what order the chefs were standing in could figure it out.
Btw, “pregnanter”? Not a word. Both writer and editor should know better.
i noticed Thea looking to her left as well…it was unmistakable and it did cross my mind as the final three entered the judges room.
Totally confused by their decision… Connie and Rob performed a lot better than Dale in the semi-finals, finale, and throughout the season. Not to mention Dale doesn’t act like a Top Chef; he is extremely arrogant, which to me shows his inability to accept criticism, as well as vulgar, which shows lack of refinement and maturity; he is not a diverse chef as he lacks appreciation for culinary experiences that are not his precious fine dining; and, uh… he freaking cheated in the last challenge! Connie is the true winner, in my eyes, with Rob a close second. I think the judges were probably too afraid of the tantrum that would have ensued had they told Dale he was not Top Chef.
I really dislike thea as a host, she always comes off as shes hosting an infomercial or something. Hoping Top Chef Canada will take a note from the US version (Katie Lee) and changes the host. Overall i see potential for TC Canada. I liked that they showcased a lot of chefs/restauranteurs (maroon 5 and modern family TC US…seriously?) hoping for much less product promotion though for season 2 though
The way the my former host and his fellow judges seemed to love store bought prepared food, I’m surprised that the winning dish wasn’t a Swanson’s Hungry Man frozen dinner.
Would Dale have won had he not done two entrees?
And Shereen Arazm is a liability for this show. She contributes nothing on screen.
This show was a complete disgrace from beginning to end. At least they picked the best of the worst to win. Top Chef Canada has set Canadian culinary culture back at least a decade and that is sad. There is more to our country than what is available at Loblaws and what was put on the plates on this show over the last 12 weeks. I hope this franchise dies a quick and painful death.
http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/Chef+Canada+judges+Dale+MacKay/5053654/story.html
I read this article and it really helped by showing some insight into the final decision
@ TC Fan: Meh, that article kind of helps me understand what Rob did wrong (pretty much what I thought), but I still don’t ubderstand what was wrong with Connie’s dishes. They called her meal “too casual”; but wasn’t the challenge about showing them who they are as a chef? So what if Connie’s food is more casual than the others’? The only problems they had in the episode were that one of her lambs wasn’t cooked exactly to their taste, and her little chocolate pie wasn’t creamy enough. They had a problem with every one of Dale’s dishes except for the one he ignored the rules for.
I think that Dale or Rob deserved to win. Even though I didn’t like Dale on a personal level, I thought he created some great food. Overall I thought the show was entertaining & I’m looking forward to the next season – hopefully, the producers can diverge a little from the American original & be more creative.
Dale is the better chef, even if you think he is a prick.
I watched the show from beginning to end and enjoyed. I was not impressed that Dale won. He did not follow the judges instructions and made two main courses. The judges erred in not calling him on it. The other chefs followed the rules. Has the stage been set for Season 2 in allowing the participants to change the rules to their own benefit? It will be interesting to see.
Thea is pretty to look at, but did she bring anything to the show? Perhaps a change to the host would be nice.
So since Connie said over and over again she was doing this to prove a woman can win top chef, has she now proven that a woman CAN’T win?