‘Top Chef: Boston’ finale review: Was Gregory Gourdet, Mei Lin season 12’s winner?

Tonight, “Top Chef: Boston” capped off what was at times a fairly predictable season, but we will still give them at least a little bit of credit here for giving us a heck of a finale. Mei Lin and Gregory Gourdet were the two titans of the season; sometimes, a surprise is good, but we were fine with them being streets ahead most of the season and getting here. There was not really a favorite going in, since each had their individual highs and lows.

We had to say that we thought Gregory may have had it when he had a super-team of Doug (incredible with most proteins when he doesn’t bite off more than he can chew) and George, and he was also stretching himself as a cook. His biggest criticism all season was that he didn’t take enough risks, and he really tried to prove his mettle tonight. He was praised for doing so during judges’ table, even more so than Mei.

However, Mei still had enough pure skill and talent to defeat him! She created the more successful food of the night, including apparently a dessert that was heavenly.

While we know that there were many members of Team Doug out there and we liked Gregory, Mei has been our favorite since the crazy Katsuji left the kitchen. She just has such an interesting story and such a complexity about her food that she was intriguing to watch. She was also not your typical reality TV contestant; she was more subdued, rarely smiled, and you could see had trouble early on coming out of her shell.

Now, she has a trophy that she can brag about endlessly. Good on her, and from our vantage point she may be the best winner since Richard Blais back in All-Stars. Grade: A-.

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