"Top Chef" finale — let the food fight begin!

A few weeks ago we hinted that our homage to "Top Chef" would come in the form of a challenge — food-themed, of course — but were subsequently distracted by our deep hatred for Lisa.

Well, the moment has arrived. Tonight is the first part of the "Top Chef" finale — when the final three chefs will be chosen in Puerto Rico — and there's no better time than the present to share our in-house Quickfire challenge (complete with Glad bags and a trip to Whole Foods).

Each Channel Surfing blogger has been given a chef, chosen at random, of course, whom they will cheerlead through the finale. The blogger whose chef wins the competition will be treated to a lunch from the three non-winners (there are no losers here at Channel Surfing except for one Thomas Rozwadowski) and retain bragging rights as such. Trash-talking is a must and has already begun (From an email: If MJ wins, the only lunch she's getting from me is the Baconator. -- TR).

Here's the breakdown:

Richard Blais

Who says pink Crocs and a faux-hawk don't go together? Probably the same people who thought white chocolate and wasabi sauce sounded disgusting. Fools. Richard, aka: "The Blais," clearly will be the ultimate cooking champion for season four. The man has already won three Quickfires and three elimination challenges and he's still going strong. He was on fire (get it, blaze?) from the first episode and his flame has only gotten stronger since. Plus, he's the only remaining chef with a faux-hawk and clearly, it wouldn't be right if someone with a faux-hawk didn't win season four.

— Sara Boyd, sboyd2@greenbaypressgazette.com


Stephanie Izard

If "Top Chef" is going to finally have a female winner, it better be Chicago's own Stephanie Izard. Her quiet talent has impressed judges, giving her the most wins of any contestant this season, and her willingness to experiment balances perfectly with her humble, hardworking attitude. Early on in the game, I thought Richard or Dale had this competition wrapped up, but Stephanie — who won the very first challenge — has emerged as the strongest candidate so far going into tonight's finale. I mean, she should win for that amazing wedding cake alone.

— Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com


Antonia Lofaso

I've long embraced the underdog role, so no qualms about hitching my wagon to lovely Antonia, who is light years ahead of Frowny Pants O'Donnell, but is a bit like "the other guy" to Richard and Stephanie's Domingo and Pavarotti on the headlining marquee. Antonia won the most Quickfire challenges, makes a mean whole wheat stir fry, and hopefully has a few more explosive tricks up her apron. Do it for your daughter, Antonia! DO IT FOR YOUR DAUGHTER!

— Thomas Rozwadowski, trozwado@greenbaypressgazette.com


Lisa Fernandes

Stalin with a spatula. Hitler with a hibachi. Pol Pot with a ... pot. Lisa's the "Top Chef" villain we love to hate. Or just hate. But you gotta give the Cross-Armed Crank credit for defying the odds (and the very tenets of logic and decency) to stick around for the Final Four when, truly, she is just not that good a cook. But her tenacity is exactly why I'm going to keep pulling for Lisa. She may be evil, but hey, so's George W. Bush, and look how far he made it. (Photo courtesy of Best Week Ever).

— Adam Reinhard, areinhard@greenbaypressgazette.com

Check back with us for a post-"Chef" review and some power rankings for the finale. Until then, happy eating!

"Top Chef" airs tonight on Bravo at 9 p.m.