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Food

The heat is on tonight for 'Top Chef' finalists

The fan favorite is out, the chef everyone loves to hate is in, and there is trash talk that someone will cry.

By PETER COUTURE
Published January 31, 2007

A funny thing happened on the way to the finals of Top Chef.

Dashing New York chef Sam Talbot was told to pack his knives and go, and the snooty villain - can this be? - Marcel Vigneron is in. Not only is he in, but the Mean Girls mentality toward him by the other chefs has made him into a somewhat sympathetic character.

In Part 1 of the finale of the popular cooking reality show last week, the remaining chefs - Sam, Marcel, Ilan Hall and Elia Aboumrad - were whisked to Hawaii and given the challenge of putting their own spin on traditional luau dishes.

Marcel, with his riff on poi, finally won over the judges with his "molecular gastronomy." Elia was told to pack her knives. Then it came down to Sam, the overwhelming fan favorite and Ilan for the final spot. Sam's dishes were praised, but head judge Tom Colicchio thought he played it safe by not cooking his fish - his poke was marinated. Ilan's incorporation of taro leaf into his Spanish cuisine swayed the judges who debated the close call.

The two left cooking: Marcel and his biggest rival, Ilan.

Despite viewers' love for Sam, that's probably for the best. After all, this season lacked the memorable characters of Season 1. But what it wasn't lacking in were confrontations - most involving Marcel, whose attitude had the other chefs simmering from day one.

All the enmity seemed to come to a head (literally) a few weeks back when Cliff got tossed off the show for tossing Marcel to the floor in an attempt to shave his voluminous hair. It continued at last week's judges' table when Elia joined Ilan - after some prodding - in an 11th-hour smear accusing Marcel of being a cheat from the beginning of the competition.

"Some people here disrespect the kitchen, disrespect the food," Elia said, clearly disgusting chef Colicchio, who clearly found the fusion of haute cuisine and high school distasteful.

Which brings us to the final.

Ilan has dissed his rival's style of cooking and fetish for foams. The pretentious and geeky Marcel (dude, please, no more self-penned rap songs) delights in needling him, saying Ilan smothers everything in paprika.

Ilan's parting shot to Marcel after last week's episode: "I can't wait to make you cry tomorrow."

Tonight, it all boils over.

Peter Couture can be reached at