I too was sorry to see Michelle go.
I didn’t like this challenge. It ranks with the ice block and the rifle contest.
I did like the challenge. But also sorry to see Michelle go. I wish she had played to her strenghts and created a big table of BBQ with different sauces.
Agree that Manny dodged another bullet.
Well seems we can all agree that Manny has succeeded at the game of “dodge ball”!!!
I too liked Michele - I bet I’d love her food in a restaurant.
While (to me) it appears that Dan and Danny are the ones to beat, I have to wonder if Laura (I don’t know her resume but have not been that impressed with her on the show) or is it Savannah? - the one who cut her hand - might peak when it matters and take the win.
I think any of them, with the exception of Manny, could win it.
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Sorry Manny, but your time should have been up earlier. I’m happy with either woman winning at this point. Also very happy to see Curacao! Just watched a promo where the quick fire took place along the waterway. I’ve only been to the island once but loved that view so much that I once did a triptych watercolor from a photo. And the cruising finals will be interesting; I have a vague memory last year of reading something about a Top Chef cruise and I guess this is it.
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I have fond memories of Curacao. My wife had just received her MBA and we had a stopover on Curacao while scuba diving on Bonaire . I went in to a shop there and bought my wife a Rolex with a diamond bezel. That was in the 80’s and she wears that same watch today.
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I wonder if they have to cook in the cruise ship kitchens. Unless things have changed, I remember on our cruise tour of the ship, they can’t have open flames in the galley. Personally, I want to see the most creative delicious (at least looking) dishes, not some tricked up challenges.
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Couldn’t agree more. Let them cook great dishes.
Ah, Holland America wants to advertise their fresh fish cuisine! I was on the Eurodam in 2018 and was very unimpressed with the food other than the specialty Asian restaurant.
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They sure were setting the stage that Dan might leave. I was glad that while he had a lousy week, he didn’t.
I think at this point any of them could win either Dan or Danny or Savannah or Laura. I am least attached/confident in Laura - probably because her time before LCK seemed weak to me. Maybe this week was a good shake up for the boys.
I would love to try that blindfolded food identification challenge! Seems like it would be easy - but clearly not!
It always amuses me how badly the cooks on Hell’s Kitchen do in the blind taste test. They all seem to be smokers which will ruin your sense of taste/smell. Can’t see how you can be a high level chef without a discerning palate.
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This is the only season I’ve seen of Top Chef. I decided to watch since it’s in Wisconsin. 
Seems like Savannah is improving every week.
Interesting episode last night where all 4 chefs had one really bad dishes. The winner and runner up redeemed themselves with their second dish. All three finalists deserve have cooked some great food, but also some not good meals and each has a shot at winning!
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Disappointing performances by all four last night and certainly at a different level than this point in prior seasons. They have all been inconsistent.
I did enjoy seeing Curaçao and Half Moon Cay! I’ve been on a cruise that hit those places (on the Noordam). And I have been on the Eurodam out of San Diego, where I ate one night in the Tamarind restaurant and also enjoyed the Tamarind bar ( judges table).
So I was more interested in the cruise aspects than the cooking (not a fish eater). For one thing, I don’t think you can get from the ABC islands to the Bahamas overnight - two day trip, I think. The welcome dinner seemed to be in the daytime. The elimination challenge was while they were at a small pier on an island. The night scenes were at sea. So they must have filmed some scenes out of sequence. And I don’t think everyone was that keen on swimming with the rays!
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I’m happy with the final 3. I don’t know why, but Laura’s dishes always became forgettable to me.
Agree that the talent level we are at seems NO WHERE near some in the past. Except maybe Danny. He has turned out some high level, complex in ingredients and looks, dishes.
I also feel like this is one of the “nicest” groups of people. Not that we need “nice” on a cooking show! 
But they all seem to get along and there isn’t some of the fire of a contestant or between contestants that we have seen in past seasons. Like think back to the Voltaggio brother seasons! Michael and Bryan. Bryan is one of all-time fav TC people.
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Also, how weird was it that they kept getting splashed by those gushes of water during the Quickfire? Even the judges? Could we not stop and move people?!! LOL
I wonder if mercurial chefs are a generational thing? I used to work in a commercial kitchen in HS and college as a prep cook (kid who shucks the oysters, chops/mixes the salad, etc…) and there was a lot of F bombs and things thrown around the kitchen. The chefs and cooks were almost all men as well.
Interesting article about filming the last episode:
The article specifically mentions that the filming took place between Curacao and Aruba, so the Half Moon Cay footage had to take place at a different time.
Well, they fooled me a bit. I liked all 3 and had been partial to Dan and Danny all season. But it seemed that Dan had the most consistently liked dishes in the finale. But nope, Danny wins! Happy for him but a little puzzled.
I have to say I loved Dan’s “enjoy the moment” attitude in the kitchen. He seemed to keep his cool in the kitchen all finale. I thought Manny was going to blow it for Danny!
Enjoyed the season . Seemed it took awhile though - feels like I’ve been watching it for months.
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I agree! I was positive Dan had won (and I would have been thrilled for him). Oh, well! I loved how well they all got along this season.
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