I think exactly as you said, we the fans judged Sarah by her behavior. I know that's not what the judges look at or care about but....she was MEAN! She talked down to and was condescending to more than just Beverly. Even in the finale with Tyler she was a mean girl. I was so disgusted that she made it to the finale simply BECAUSE of her behavior. I personally would never go to one of her restaurants because I don't like her as a person. I wouldn't care if she was a better chef...she needs to check herself.

Yes, it is time for just Paul to take his bows and I won thank you very much. Smile all the way to the bank. Enjoy Life and now you can have a little down time. Bringing peace to you body and soul.

I'm delighted that Paul won. His ability to control his temper and produce delicious, complex food made him the obvious choice. Tom, I respect you, but no matter how you try to cheerlead for season 9, it was a bleak experience for most viewers. Watching Beverly treated like a football wasn't fun. However, it was rewarding to see someone like Paul, who maintained his dignity through every challenge, come out on top. YAY, PAUL!!!

"For all of you haters out there who kept posting all season long that you didn’t think Sarah was good enough and that you couldn’t understand why she was advancing… and then why she made the finale…and the final two… I trust that this episode made it completely clear to you that she’s a very, very good chef"

Omg, they aren't "haters" they're viewers that week after week watched her make pretty much the same thing, and YOU judges finding all kinds of faults with her dishes then sending someone else home.

But your cmment says everything about how arrogant you are and how you feel about the viewers. Good luck with your extremely small audience that thought Sarah actually deserved her spot over one of the others that was a better chef. I know I will never watch this show again after your comment.

Tom - thanks for your explanation.

We are not haters, we watch the show for the food. Lee Anne is missed a lot. This season was more about the gimmicks than the food. Pee Wee Herman in character? Faking like they just walked into strange restaurant kitchens? On Bicycles?

We just want Top Chef to be what it was, not another in the Real Housewives genre.

Go Paul.

This season definitely had the difficult task of following up a memorable All-Star season and while there were a few hiccups early, luckily the two best chefs made it to the finale and you kept the same finale format as the previous year (which I think you should make a staple for years to come). My favorite detail about the finale is that BOTH chefs made very intricate and memorable desserts. Sarah prepared a great meal but looking at the details at the minute level, Paul is just the better chef. He is truly a rare talent in the culinary field and I'm pretty convinced he is the best chef ever to grace Top Chef. Paul Qui in the next few years will eclipse David Chang as this nation's "hottest" chef.

Great final show. It actually made up for a sub-par season with the gimmicky challenges. I wasn't a big Sarah fan but thought she deserved to be in the final after really getting on a roll late. But I was rooting for Paul and loved seeing him get the win. I have to say though...Sarah's dessert looked unbelievable. If they do another season where they bring back former runners-up, anyone betting against Nyesha to take it all?

Agree completely about everything you said. I definitely didn't think anybody was that great throughout the season with the exception of Paul and Nyesha. I definitely thought that Sara was mediocre at best, and have definitely changed my view on that after watching the finale. Definitely really high marks for the dishes that she put out. Both meals, for the first time in any finale I can remember, looked so incredibly elegant all the way through. I think there are 2 reasons why this season took so much flack for not being that great. First the treatment of Beverly really turned a lot of people off from chefs like Sara and Heather. This might be one of the only times I can think of where I have seen so many people say that they will actively avoid her restaurant because of behavior on the show. Second was that some of the challenges were not as conducive to fine dining, and thus made the chefs look less refined. Challenges like the chili cook off, the bbq cook off, the steak challenge, the block party and even the quincenera to some extent all were not exactly conducive to "fine dining". For most of those challenges the chefs didn't really go for it either. If you compare things like the BBQ challenge and season 6 on the ranch, and you look at what Michael Voltagio did you can see why this season takes a lot of heat. Anyway a lot of order has been restored with the win of Paul but I would watch season 10 even if Sara had won. Congratulations on another fine season of top chef Tom!

Tom, the Sarah vs. Bev drama was the least of the show's problems this year. The challenges were ridiculous, and the product placement, which I've always said would make for a great drinking game, was just embarassing ("We got into the Toyota, it was so big and roomy inside"). And while I'm sure Paul is a great chef, I do find it that the winner of "Top Chef: Texas" just happens to be from... Texas.

All that said, it's ultimately about the food. I'm looking forward to the next season, and I hope the above issues won't make it to Seattle.

Just saying, maybe Paul won because he's a man. It seems the profession is a sexist one something like classical conductors... Also, Bev should own her bad behavior and stop playing the victim when she's called on it.

Tom - while I appreciate that you were not "privy to all the drama", the editors did not give the tv viewers the same courtesy. The "drama" was all we had! We did not get a feel for the wonderful food that you ate ... instead we got catering challenges, all night BBQ and high school mean girls. I am not a "hater" - I love this show but this season was terrible for the viewers and without us there won't be a show at all. Please. Go back to the Top Chef we loved with great chefs competing in interesting individual challenges with minimal drama.

I know that you say the judges weren't interested in the drama. However, I still remember the attempted shaving of Marcel's hair. Cliff, Elian, and Whats-her-name were all guilty. However, you reamed out Sam, telling him that is not how a Top Chef acts. You are correct in how great chefs should act. Have you changed your tactics since then -- or did you just not like Sam, the only un-guilty party? It's hard to be consistent, isn't it? Sarah didn't act like a Top Chef in her kitchen or in the living quarters. She was mean and petty. You owe Sam an apology.

I think what comforted me most about this episode, besides Paul's win, is the simplicity that was conveyed in his dishes. And by simplicity, I certainly don't mean boring or easy. With all the rage right now on 'molecular' techniques, and the modernist slant that was illustrated earlier in the season, it's great to know that old-fashioned cooking can still prevail. I for one am glad that I won't have to purchase a lab centrifuge any time soon in the future, though I do possess a sous vide oven.

Btw, Paul, 'I'm doing Japanese, with an Asian twist', or something to that effect -- Japanese is most definitely Asian. Lol. You're the best! Congrats!

I was glad that Paul won, I was rooting for him since the middle of the season. I just couldn't believe that Sara made it that far, she should have been elimined at the halfway pt. and Bev should have been in her spot.

Thank you for your detailed comments, Chef. It was a wonderful show to watch, full of what looked like great food and high emotion. I thought Paul showed himself the chef to beat right out of the gate with the first episode, and it was a treat to see him be so consistently creative throughout the season.

We know you don't weigh the personalities of the chefs in your decisions, and that you're not privy to the drama that we see after the edits, but as a viewer it was also such a relief to see a person who was not only a great chef but a generous person in the kitchen go the distance. It's fantastic to see a Nice Guy Finish First!

Congratulations Chef Qui!

Thanks for the brilliant commentary- that's why you're "Top judge". Great season, even better entertainment.

My DVR didn't work last night and they are not playing last night's episode for almost a week. Total bummer!

Not a surprise that Paul won. He's great but also a man! It seems a very sexist profession like many including classical music conducting. About Bev, she should please own her own bad behavior and not be surprised when she's confronted about it. It's a cute trick, behave badly then play the victim and make the other person look bad.

You made the right choice. Paul is a leader...Sarah is a bully. She didn't deserve the title and I was super glad she didnt get it!

I understand your feelings about not getting involved in the Sarah / Beverly dramatics, but it did exist. I believe that Sarah showed just how small of a person she is by the way she treated Beverly, as did a few others on this team. I'm very happy to see that karma prevailed and Sarah lost in the finale. Her behavior detracted from her skill, in my opinion. More importantly, Paul was a classy guy throughout the tournament and his skills prevailed in the end. I'm very happy for him.

All that said, I think this was another great season of Top Chef. Another thing I'd like to mention is how each year, Tom and Padma continue to evole into a wonderful hosting team. It just keeps getting better and better. The mutual respect that you have for each other becomes more pronounced each year as well. I hope you folks never quit the program because it wouldn't be the same without each of you and your great talents.

Can't wait for the next season. It really is a wonderful program!

Why is it that men always win?

Well the best chef won. I agree that some of the challenges this year went too far, but in the end they just let the last two chefs cook their food and the best menu won. I don't particularly "like" Sarah, as least as she was edited to be, but the idea that I would not eat her food because of that is simply foreign to me. I watch Movies without caring what the actor thinks, what the guy who made my car was doing to his co-workers never matters and I know not one thing about 99% of the chefs that prepare my meals and it never occurs to me to care. For most of the world results matter and Sarah apparently puts out good product. Yes I was "rooting" for Paul as he seemed consistently the best chef, but hating someone on a TV show is just beyond me.

"We’re interested in the food they make..."

Really? I couldn't tell with the circus-like challenges this season.

Tom,

You have yet to address the many complaints from viewers - not "haters", but loyal fans of the show - who have expressed deep disappointment in the gimmicky, over-the-top challenges that go far beyond increasing "pressure" on chefs but which actually impede their ability to do what they are supposed to be doing - COOKING. I'm thinking of the gondola and ice block challenges in particular, but there were others, as you well know. I would like to see an acknowledgment from you that the show took a wrong turn this season and a commitment that it will regain its footing next year. Otherwise, Top Chef stands to lose many viewers.

At least Worst Cooks in America is about cooking. No gondolas. No ice blocks. No bicycles. Just food.

Hello Tom, Thank you for your insightful breakdown of the true Finale meal. (Calling the previous 2 episodes "the Finale" was a misnomer.) A flaw to Paul's meal was that it was very one note in texture and color (beige). I'm surprised that he wasn't marked down for that. Conversely, Sarah's meal was bolder and more colorful. That said, I have to say that I'm very glad that Paul ultimately won the title. Throughout the entire season, he was humble, talented, and had excellent leadership skills. Those qualities you didn't see either. Conversely, SourSarah was manipulative, bossy, hysterical and suffered from execution problems. It was sweet justice to see a truly nice guy finish first. Next season, please cut the bull - and stay within the confines of competitive cooking. Drop the extraneous obstacle course of tricks. They added nothing but frustration to the viewing of an otherwise valid cooking contest.

I cannot believe I am about to disagree with Chef Tom Colicchio, but Sarah, deserving to be in the finals? Over the other elimiated chefs? So you doubt that Nyesha, Beverly, Ed, Grayson and even mean queen Lindsay could not have put up a meal as good as Sarah's? Not saying she doesn't deserve to be there, but to imply that she deserved to be there over the other chefs is something I cannot agree with.

And was she pushed through based on her potential? Because even to the viewer not able to taste the food, her progress was suspicious. Isn't it the point to be judged on the food you put out that day? You see, Chef Colicchio, her terrible attitude aside, it's all still very fishy.

Sarah being a bully to Bev looks like water under the bridge for the two ladies after watching WWHL, and seeing Sarah genuinely sing Bev's praise and own up to her behavior, was nice surprise.

So my disappointment now lies strictly with the judges who let her slide through to the finals.

Wow! You just don't get it, Tom. We're not haters. Sarah and her ilk (i.e., Heather and Lindsey) displayed nasty and immature behavior all season. Even to the end Sarah had to act like a jerk with Paul. When they were waiting to be called back out she made that childish comment along the lines of, "it sucks they like so many of your dishes". Not to mention, as Paul is announced the winner and they cut to her, she cries about how she is the better chef and should have won. She couldn't muster a shred of graciousness in that moment? She was one of many other chefs standing there that tried their hardest too but you didn't see them acting like twits. Congratulations, Paul! You were not only the better chef but conducted yourslef like a gentleman throughout the season.

If Sarah had won, I probably would pack my knives as a viewer and go. While the chefs' behavior may not matter to the judges, this was, as many viewers have said, a very gimmicky season that strayed from a cooking show to something that is trying to emulate Survivor or the Amazing Race. When Sarah cooked pasta week after week, I thought of Fabio's comment when Jamie kept cooking scallop "This is Top Chef, It's not Top Scallop." I'm not interested in watching mean girls on TV. If that's what Bravo thinks its audience wants for this show, they're wrong.

What I will remember of Sarah was that she was mean and condescending to others, not her cooking. I thought it was just to Beverly but she showed it again towards Tyler. This makes me believe that she is inherently nasty. There are many restaurants where I can go instead of to hers.

Happy for Paul who showed consistently great cooking as well as very good manners. He probably won the most prices among all the Top Chef winners. Congratulations!

Thank you Tom for the nice blog.

Sorry Tom. I stopped reading after your first paragraph because if we are in fact haters, we're only products of the poor editing and ridiculous challenges this season has handed us. Week after week we came back hoping to see a challenge that was about quality ingredients and cooking in kitchens that we as home cooks could only dream of. Instead we were handed challenges that became more and more bizarre to test the chef's endurance and ability to decipher ingredients that nearly all of us would consider subpar. The final four having to go through olympics complete with skiing and shooting was possibly the worst idea ever conceived. And Sarah was presented to us by the producers and editors as a bitch so what other conclusion were we to come to? We "haters" as you call us are nothing more than the products of the season. There's something to be said for standing up for your "dish" (in this case, read dish as "show") but you at some point need to be able to acknowledge just how ridiculous this was. Bring us quality like Harold Dieterle, the Voltaggio Brothers, Richard Blaise and more and we'll come back with loyalty and happiness. Give us more of this and it's not just Sarah we'll be hating on....

What I will remember of Sarah was that she was mean and condescending to others, not her cooking. I thought it was just to Beverly but she showed it again towards Tyler. This makes me believe that she is inherently nasty. There are many restaurants where I can go instead of to hers.

Happy for Paul who showed consistently great cooking as well as very good manners. He probably won the most prices among all the Top Chef winners. Congratulations!

Thank you Tom for the nice blog.

What I will remember of Sarah was that she was mean and condescending to others, not her cooking. I thought it was just to Beverly but she showed it again towards Tyler. This makes me believe that she is inherently nasty. There are many restaurants where I can go instead of to hers.

Happy for Paul who showed consistently great cooking as well as very good manners. He probably won the most prices among all the Top Chef winners. Congratulations!

How are two of Vancouver's top chefs like Tojo and Vij not guests at that dinner?

I did not enjoy the challenges in the snow at all. I want to see/understand cooking and not watch those poor chefs struggle with cross country skiing and shooting, banging on a block of ice or pass out in 100+ degree heat barbequing. It means that it's not just about the cooking anymore...it's about having physical skills, something no one expects from the finest chefs in the world. Cut out the gimicks and pick tasks that get to the heart of understanding various cuisines, rare ingredients and techniques and also gets to the heart of leading a kitchen (aka Restaurant Wars is great for that). Or what do to if something goes bad (like the crab). I'm looking to learn about the latest food trends and if I wanted to watch Survivor...then I would.

The finale was AWESOME! I was sad for Sarah but truly happy for Paul. BRAVO, we don't need the gimmicks. Stick to what has made this show a hit and stick with the FOOD! No more Pee Wee Herman and Muppets, please!

So glad Paul won! We fans (not haters, you should not call the fans of Top Chef "haters". Thats like spitting on a customers plate who sent the food back to the kitchen for whatever reason!) did dislike Sara due to her behavior, but she looked like she cooked an extremely awesome meal. I wanted her dessert so badly when I saw it and I had to make myself a cake after the show! I was worried that she would win. I don't think there has been a more gut wrenching finale than this season! Can't wait for the reunion show next week! BTW, loved the challenge that had the food in an ice block and loved the evil queen episode! And bring back Hugh next season...his blogs are fabulous!

I have no problem believing this was the best finale meal...because there were no ridiculous hoops for the chefs to jump through. If season six had the same "cook a four course tasting menu in a professional kitchen with four sous chefs and two days" I'm pretty sure the Volts and Kevin would have produced some stellar meals, too.

So here's hoping Top Chef learns that they can put as many hoops as they want in the challenges that lead to the finale, but once there, let the chefs do what they do best.

You can say the competition to you and the other judges is all about the food, honestly a lot of us viewers are saying we would like it to be too. We're not the ones who edit all the personal conflict and drama into the episode that airs on tv. I'd like to see & hear more about the cooking. I'd like the drama to come from the challenges - but not the variety of challenge that entails biking to a restaurant and pretending to charm their way into a random kitchen. Everyone loved the Charlize Theron challenge - challenges should be conceptual, ingredient, or method based. I half think they put all the personal nonsense in there to distract us from an especially silly challenge.

Thank you for pointing out Tyler's correct intuition regarding the preparation of the beets.

Based on food alone, Paul's food was so much more exciting and innovative during this season. I'm so glad he won because his record shows that he was the chef to beat from the very beginning. Way to go!

I'm glad you judge completely on the food, and not back-story or drama. I've complained about some of the drama on Top Chef before, and at times, I wish the show just wouldn't show most of it at all. I realize that's the nature of TV, and that's why a lot of people watch, but the less of it the better. That said, Sarah's actions toward Bev made me very anti-Sarah, especially considering I've met and talked with one of Bev's sisters a number of times. But even I'll admit that her meal looked surprisingly fantastic, especially considering I wasn't all that impressed most of the season. Always hard to judge as a viewer, since we don't get to taste, and we rely on eater/judge input to imagine the quality/taste. But her first course in particular sounded genius - but I'm a sucker for squid-ink pasta. Glad the finale turned out so well. And kudos to Paul, I was rooting for him all season (well, him and Ed).

Tom, I've been watching the show since Season 3 and went back and found the first two seasons just so I could have the complete experience--and this season was just disappointing in so many ways.

In earlier seasons, we had challenges like "fuse Mexican cuisine with another one"..."do a dish based on one of the seven deadly sins"..."reinvent a family classic and make it healthier"..."cook a one-pot meal on a tight budget"..."do a last meal for one of the best chefs in the world." Period. Few of the challenges had any extraneous nonsense; the chefs simply had to come up with the best dishes they could that fit the theme of the challenge.

Now, too many of the challenges, especially late in the season, have a "while" attached to them: "cook a dish while riding around San Antonio on a bicycle", "cook a dish while riding in a gondola," "cook a dish while reciting an epic poem at the top of your lungs in a windstorm and hopping around on one foot." Someone somewhere has decided that the themes aren't enough, and the show needs gimmicks to put it over. I kept trying to picture Lee Anne Wong or Sam Talbot or Stephanie Izard going through that ridiculous Top Chef Games semifinal, and just couldn't. The show had significantly more dignity in their seasons.

As for the guest judges (leaving aside the utterly pedestrian palates with more money than taste in the progressive dinner party), it's bad enough when you have celebrities at Judges' Table, but for one of them to admit on camera that she knows nothing is just appalling. If she doesn't know what she's talking about, why should she have a vote equal to Gail's or Emeril's? And even worse, why in the name of all that's savory would you have an actor do the show in character? Particularly one whose schtick wore very thin very quickly?

The editing has gotten better from the last couple of seasons, but it still needs work. Too often, basic information that we need to know - for example, who's in charge of a Restaurant Wars team - doesn't make it into the final episode. If the editors are leaving it out inadvertently, they should be fired. If the producers are sacrificing it on the altar of drama (as I think was the case in Season 6's RW), THEY should be.

I have the title on the boards as the "Unofficial TC Historian", because I used to enjoy the show, I'd watch episodes repeatedly and be able to quote chapter and verse from them at a moment's notice. Now, watching an episode is a chore I have to do if I want to interact with other people on the boards. I desperately want this show to regain its former greatness, and, as melodramatic as it sounds, you're the only one who can make it happen.

A little bit of redemption for the season with this episode, and perhaps irony with such a great chef winning what (from a production point of view) was clearly the worst season.

Please return to the food next time. Minimize the gimmicks, and, where you must have them, make sure they don't add an unfair randomness to the underlying competition we tune in for. That is critical.

Politely suggest to the producers who are altering the format that they stop making changes without the appropriate market research as to what the audience liked about the show in the first place. Finding a way to judge some of the challenges blind would also be most welcome.

I am delighted Paul won the title "Top Chef." It almost -- but not quite -- makes up for an overall bad season of silly gimmicks that had nothing to do with cooking thrown into the challenges and far too much bad, unprofessional behavior on the part of Sarah, Lindsay and Heather. I am not a "hater" -- quite the opposite. However, I, along with many other fans, found it disturbing to watch chefs bully other, perhaps emotionally weaker chefs, in the kitchen week after week. It is clear now that Sarah and Lindsay, seeing the degree to which people dislike them, are trying to damage control. Claiming to be great friends with Bev, claiming what appeared to be bullying was just an artifact of editing etc. Well, sorry, but there is just so much editing can do -- you were caught red handed on tape on national tv. And while Bev may be going along with the pretense of post-show friendship, none of us will buy it. I am grateful that a chef who was gracious and professional as well as talented, won. And I also hope that Top Chef fans boycott Sarah, Lindsay and Heather's restaurants. Behavior like theirs' needs to have consequences.

I live in Austin, and eat at Paul's restaurants a lot. His trailer, East Side King, is honestly one of my favorite places to eat, so naturally I was rooting for him from the beginning. I think that Sarah is probably a great chef, and her food looked really good last night. However, her immature attitude about everything was such a turn off. Not only was she mean to people, but she acted like a spoiled brat a lot of the time. She would grin when other people were told they made mistakes, and roll her eyes when people did well. Did you see how annoyed she looked when the judges her praising Paul last night? Then...when she didn't win...she just stood there and cried like a 6 year old who doesn't get what they want. Not only was Paul clearly the better chef, but is just a better person. Congrats, Paul...you deserve it!!

I'm with you, ABXR4ME. I understand what Tom's saying about how they only judge the food and just don't care about the drama, and I agree with them having that perspective, as judges. However, as a viewer, I could never have the time of day for Sarah, regardless of her talent level. I've seen way more than enough of her to last me forever.

Excited to see Paul win, and definitely a great finale. I wasn't all that bothered by the drama...anyone who watches reality TV has to expect this. There's always a villain. I wish there had been less screen time devoted to it, but it didn't affect my feelings about who were the most deserving chefs.

Suggestions for next season: -Loved "Last Chance Kitchen"...bring it back. -Fewer team challenges. -It's been said a million times...fewer gimmicks. More cooking. take a cue from "Next Iron chef"...that show had themes, but it was still focused on the cooking. -For the love of Pete, no more dual eliminations like you had with Dakota and Nyesha. Big mistake. -Looking forward to next season.

So I've loved this show for nine seasons and they put it on at eleven p.m. Mountain Standard Time. So my husband and I are packing up this weekend and going to CST so we can see it at ten, visit Sarah's restaurant in Chicago and when we see my husband's family in TX, visit Paul as well. Thanks Tom, Padma, judges and staff for another action-packed season.

I agree with many of the other comments. The challenges this season were the worst I have seen, I have been watching since the first season. Its OK to have gimmicky quick fire challenges, but too few of the elimination challenges alllowed the chefs to shine. In addition, there were too many where you could get eliminated because of what someone else did. I didn't mind the conflicts because they were about what they did in the kitchen. However, Heather, Lindsay and Sarah should have remebered they were on TV. I doubt that any chefs have done as much damage to themselves on top chef as these three. So many people are saying " I don't care how good Sarah and Heather are, I'm not going to eat at their restaurants."That said, if i am ever anywhere near anyplace Paul is cooking I wil be making reservations. And you have to wonder what Heather thought about him winning with all that "Asian food."

I wondered about the selection of the sous chefs by Paul and Sarah as one criteria for the final judging. It seemed to me that a good chef has to be able to tell good food from bad, a good chef from bad, just by looking at a dish and then tasting it. Paul seemed to be better at that. He assembled much better chefs on his team and I think it contributed to his victory over Sarah. I was quite surprised that Sarah tried to decide which dishes were made by the chefs she wanted and, in particular, Heather. I could not stop laughing when she gets the only Top Chef contestant to be eliminated without ever cooking a dish. She gets this guy and then just berates him along with her capo regime, Heather. Very low class. Paul is most deservedly Top Chef. I cannot imagine that I would want to eat in a restaurant where Sarah is the executive chef. And with her attitude toward others, working in close quarters in a professional kitchen, it surprises me that she is able to get a job in a top restaurant. All in all, this was not the best season of Top Chef. Many of the challenges were just plain wacky. Hey, producers, we do not need to have Olympic biathlon events on Top Chef. We want good solid cooking that shows us new ingredients and new techniques by really talented chefs.