The annoying thing about starting up a new season of a show like Bravo's Top Chef is that you have to learn all about a whole new cast of characters. It is fun to watch fifteen new contestants - three more than last season - compete in the various challenges, but it is awfully hard to keep track of them all as the show finds its stride and you don't get invested in the characters until the cast has been narrowed down a bit.

That being said, the cast seems like a fairly talented bunch this time around according to their credentials. But that can all change once they move into the Los Angeles loft that they share and get in front of the cameras in the kitchen.

After weeks of challenges that forced chefs to do things like use microwaves and shop in convenience stores, the cooking got serious in the second half of the Top Chef finale and the two finalists, Harold and Tiffani, were finally asked to show the judges their full range of culinary abilities - sans gimmicks. Working separate kitchens at the MGM Grand, Harold and Tiffani had to create 5-course tasting menus to feed eight prestigious judges.

There was only one twist to the episode. Since both chefs needed help to prepare their meals, Dave, Stephen, LeeAnne and Miguel were brought back in to help out. Instead of assigning them to one of the chefs, they were asked to pick whose team they would prefer to be on. Dave, LeeAnne and Miguel all said they wanted to cook for Harold, while Stephen picked Tiffani. Judging from his comment of "Let's keep things interesting" when he said Tiffani's name, it was clear that he would rather have worked with Harold, but recognized that someone would have to be on Tiff's team. Harold, forced to choose between Dave and Miguel, had them draw knives to see what team they would join and Dave ended up with Stephen and Tiffani.

Tonight is the last night of the first season of Top Chef. While I'm already anxiously awaiting season two already, I still can't wait to see who walks away with the title of Top Chef in tonight's finale.

As you recall, the last two chefs standing are Harold and Tiffani. Harold has a lot going in his favor, since he is a good cook and calm under pressure. He has high standards for his dishes, but he will try to put the customers' interests first, as he demonstrated last week during the poker challenge. His dishes have consistently won praise from tasters and judges. Tiffani needs some attitude adjustment, but is still a skilled cook. She is not as experienced as Harold, but is perhaps even more aggressive in pursuit of her goal. Her biggest problem is that she has repeatedly cooked what she thinks people should be eating and not what they actually want to eat, losing her points with the judges. 

Personally, I'm pulling for Harold.

Who do you think will win tonight?

Now is your last chance to catch up on anything you missed this season. Read the recaps here:
Episode 1 recap
Episode 2 recap
Episode 3 recap
Episode 4 recap
Episode 5 recap
Episode 6 recap
Episode 7 recap
Episode 8 recap
Episode 9 recap
Reunion show recap
Finale part 1 recap

Tomorrow night is the second-to-last episode of Bravo's Top Chef. Only three of the final four contestants will be chosen to compete in the Las Vegas finals in the season finale. Here's a rundown of the final four and what their chances of winning are:

Tiffani Faisson - Tiffani, 28, is a Boston native who has spent the past few years living in Las Vegas, where she worked as chef de partie at the Daniel Boulud Brasserie in the Wynn Hotel. She also worked the front of the house, as a server at the Venetian, before moving back east to return to the kitchen. She's a talented chef with high ideals, ideals that she refuses to compromise. As it was first pointed out to her in Episode 3, cooking is a service industry and often you have to serve what the customers want, not just what you want to give them. She is also too controlling. She loves to micromanage, but being a Top Chef is about leadership and you can't lead people without letting them walk on their own two feet. In fact, Tiffani doesn't lead people at all. If she's not getting her way, she's saying "I knew that would fail and I let them do it anyway." The judges hate it because it is indicative of the fact that Tiffani does not work well as part of a team.