This week in TC: Stefan takes an eyeful and Emeril looks on.

The first part of the Top Chef season-five finale was jam-packed with more twists and turns than an M. Night Shyamalan picture. After a brief hiatus during which Fabio got himself a fancy faux-hawk and a hot pink scarf, the final four arrived in New Orleans with a thirst for competition. The setting for the quickfire was Houmas House Plantation and Gardens, a place where all kinds of flora and fauna can be found on 40 luxurious acres of white guilt (or just home to famed N.O. restaurant Latil’s Landing). An excitable group, the remaining chefs were greeted by N’awlins icon Emeril Lagasse, who served as guest judge.

The chefs were ready to get down and dirty, but oh, ho ho! Out of the front door of Houmas House came the last three eliminated chefs: Jamie, Jeff and Leah. For this tricky quickfire, the three could-have-beens got a chance to make it to the finale by cooking a dish using crawfish. This of course upset the final four, who felt like they’d been through enough of Colicchio’s bullgarbage up to that point. As they cooked, Emeril looked on from a grand balcony like a corpulent emperor bubbling with glee. Leah put forth a crawfish soup with andouille, while Jamie’s offering was overwrought, with corn cakes, greens, a poached egg with tasso hollandaise, and a andouille and crawfish cream sauce. Jeff’s dish of crawfish, grits and andouille cooked in beer was deemed the winner, and he skipped off to the elimination round with a copy of Emeril’s new book tucked under his arm.

For the challenge, the chefs were taken to a giant warehouse filled with Mardi Gras floats and informed that they’d be catering the Krewe of Orpheus’ masquerade ball at the New Orleans Museum of Art, and would be responsible for two dishes and a cocktail, at least one of which needed to be Creole. The winner of the elimination would not only go on to the finale, but also win a brand-new Toyota Venza. In the museum, the judges entered the event space via a dramatic staircase walk while wearing ornate masks, and it was revealed that Gail was finally back in action, having sent Toby back to his cave across the pond.

With a big smile on her face, Carla served an oyster stew, shrimp and andouille beignets, and a nonalcoholic cranberry and lime spritzer. Hosea and Stefan each had a gumbo, though Hosea flanked his with pecan-crusted catfish and a Hurricane, while Stefan made apple beignets and a black cherry and rum cocktail. Fabio ambitiously baked his own muffuletta, and incorporated Italian elements into dishes like a crawfish-studded caserecci pasta. “Second Chancey Nancy” Jeff threw down with a fried oyster with sausage, crawfish pot de creme and a cucumber mojito. As the guests and judges tasted the chefs’ dishes, there was hardly any negative criticism, though as Colicchio clarifies on his blog, there was one big mistake that practically disqualified one of the chefs (it was cut during edits so as not to be a spoiler).

At the judge’s table, Jeff was praised for having the best cocktail and a great texture on his crawfish pot de creme. Fabio’s maque choux was his only winning dish—his pasta was missing some heat and his bell-pepper martini was too sweet. Stefan’s gumbo over grits was saved by exceptional grits, but his drink and beignet were cloying. Carla received no negative comments from the judges, with Gail even saying that she could’ve popped Carla’s beignets into her mouth all night. Watch it, Gail! That’s no way for a married woman to talk. Hosea was commended for an exemplary roux.

But it was Carla who took the huge penultimate win and scored that sweet, sweet automobile. As a result of the judging (and those wacky quickfire rules), poor Jeff was sent home once more. What a tease! Though it’s hard to judge based on sight alone, we felt that his dishes were the most tight and complex, and it was tough to see him go out like that. Jeff’s elimination meant that the final three were Hosea, Fabio and Stefan. Hosea was given a free pass for coming in second place, and bid farewell to the show demanding that Stefan win or he’d make sure to kick his ass. Fabio was certainly one of the most charismatic contestants of any season, and his piss-poor English and hilarious quotes will be missed.

Next week: It’s finale time! And when an argument flares, Stefan gets a little hard in the Big Easy.—Zachary Feldman