Top Chef: Portland finale: Was Shota, Dawn, or Gabe the winner?

Tonight’s Top Chef: Portland finale was thrilling from the very jump. After all, you had a fantastic final three in Dawn, Shota, and Gabe! It’s felt for a while that these three would likely be there at the end of the season, mostly because of their overall success and then also the amount of time focused on them.

What we love about the three as competitors is that they come from totally different backgrounds, and make totally different sorts of cuisine. We always like the show better when we get to see everyone’s creativity, and that is what the final challenge was all about. All three of them had a chance to deliver the perfect multi-course meal to the judges and with that, they chose to focus on their strengths. Gabe made a ton of fantastic sauces, Shota delivered some visually stunning material, and Dawn had bold, fantastic flavors.

Our fear about Dawn’s chances started when she wasn’t able to get all of the food on the plate for the first course. Even if she was perfect the rest of the way, would she be able to make up for that? It felt like she did! By the end of the challenge, it was really difficult to know where the judges were going to go with this. We thought that Gabe had the best overall concept for his meal, but it felt like Dawn had the strongest flavors and Shota reminded us of how versatile he could be.

Out of the three, we’d be the most excited to eat Gabe’s food — but that just comes down to personal preference here. We love Mexican flavors and we think he innovated them like never before. In the end, the judges agreed! Gabe is the winner of this season and he seemed more shocked than anyone.

Related – Check out more news regarding Top Chef now, including more on what the future could hold

What did you think about the Top Chef: Portland finale?

Did the right chef win in your mind? Be sure to let us know right now in the attached comments! Once you do that, be sure to stick around to get some other news. (Photo: Bravo.)