On last night's episode of Top Chef All Stars, two chefs were sent home. Their dishes—made from fish they caught earlier in the day and served in a casual beach-party setting—didn't please the judges. We snagged an interview with both of them, who talked to us about judges table, the evolution of Top Chef, who to watch for going forward, and what's next for them. 

Casey took a risk cooking chicken feet, and it didn't pay off. Photograph courtesy of Bravo TV.

This week on Top Chef: All Stars, the chefs took a trip to Manhattan’s Chinatown to prepare dim sum for a dining room of hungry customers, and they ended up serving their snacks at a snail’s pace. Casey Thompson took a huge risk with her dish of braised chicken feet with scallion pancakes. Alas, saddled with front-of-the-house duties, she was unable to supervise the execution and plating of her dish, and her attempt at something novel fell flat. We spoke to her about bold choices, her love of butchery, and the moment she knew she was going home.

Do you agree with the judges' decision? Weigh in on our poll at the bottom of the interview.

Spike Mendelsohn is the proud owner of two popular Capitol Hill eateries, but he never lost his hunger to take home the title of Top Chef. Expectations were high when joined this season’s All Star cast, battling it out against other DC-area favorites such as Carla Hall and Mike Isabella. Alas, when the owner of Good Stuff Eatery and We, the Pizza paired a tangy tomato-tamarind soup with bland shrimp, the judges were nonplussed, asking Mendelsohn to pack his knives and go. We chatted with him about strategy, Angelo’s sabotage, and who he sees as the top competitors.

One Singapore Sling dessert and 14 episodes later, Kevin Sbraga took home the title of Top Chef. Oh, and $125,000. Photograph courtesy of Bravo TV.

On this week’s finale, the three remaining chefs created the four-course meal of their lives, as they battled it out for the title of Top Chef. Helped along by their sous chefs—previous winners Ilan Hall, Hung Huynh, and Michael Voltaggio—they each put their spin on ingredients such as rouget, duck, and pork belly. While Angelo fell ill and Ed fell apart, Kevin Sbraga stepped up to create a meal that “paid homage to every ingredient” (according to finicky French judge Eric Ripert), winning him the title and a prize of $125,000. We spoke with the New Jersey chef about winning, being called the show’s bad boy, and his plans for the future.

>>For a recap of Episode 14, click here.

Once you’d had a chance to evaluate the competition, who did you see as your biggest threat?
“I wasn’t focused on anyone. I was more focused on myself. I can’t control how good or how bad Kenny or Angelo or any other competitor performs. Really, at the end of the day, it’s all about yourself. How well they perform can’t determine how well you perform.”

How were you feeling while you were cooking for the final challenge? Could you tell you had made the best dishes?
“I was very, very confident during the finale. I felt like my dishes looked better than anyone else’s and, more importantly, I felt I executed better. At that point, it was more how the judges viewed it.”

Tom and Eric chose the main components of the meal so that everyone cooked with the same ingredients. What was the reaction?
“I loved it. Now you’re comparing apples to apples, a duck dish to a duck dish, rouget to rouget, vegetable to vegetable. I’ve done a lot of competitions and most the time that’s the way it’s set up. I hope they continue.”

It's the finale, we're still in Singapore, and our three finalists—Ed, Angelo, and Kevin—are told at the top of tonight's episode what their final challenge will be: preparing a four-course meal with "the most amazing food you've ever done in your lives."  They must start with a vegetable course, then move into fish, then meat (which Tom and Eric Ripert will choose for them), and dessert. Padma tells the chefs they've flown in "additional hands" to help with the cooking, and out walk previous Top Chef winners Hung Huynh, Michael Voltaggio (call me!), and Ilan Hall.

The pressure mounted in this week’s episode of Top Chef, as the contestants traveled to Singapore for the start of a two-part finale. After sampling an array of delicious-looking street food under the guidance of hawker cuisine guru K.F. Seetoh, the remaining four cheftestants created their own grab-and-go dishes, deciphering ingredients labeled only in Chinese characters. Kelly Liken’s seafood noodles “captured the essence of the ocean,” according to Seetoh, but they weren’t enough to win her the Quickfire and prize of immunity. In the Elimination Challenge, Kelly’s apple-and-guava salad won praise from the judges, but ultimately her chilled cucumber-and-bitter-melon soup and prawns in red curry weren’t enough to move her forward. We spoke to the Colorado chef about the best Singapore eats, her favorite judge, and how slicing her finger might have cost her the competition.

>>For a recap of Episdoe 13, click here. 

We open tonight's show in Singapore, where Not Tiffany is walking through a food market in ill-fitting red plaid shorts before she sits down to film some forced-looking arrival sequences. She's joined by Not Tiffany who says in his interview, "I take what I do seriously, so there's gonna be bloodshed." The two of them are soon joined by Not Tiffany wearing a stupid safari hat, waddling his way through the market. A sweaty Not Tiffany rounds out the group of four and I look for some sort of Russian wedding ring, but don't see one.