Overview
- Stadler edged Chris Morgan by four points, 278–274, in Wednesday’s 90-minute CBS finale.
- The episode capped a format that opened with an Innovation test reimagining dishes from Eric Ripert, Suzanne Goin, and Daniela Soto-Innes.
- Matt Peters was eliminated after the Innovation round, setting up a head-to-head three-course past, present, and future menu.
- Host Padma Lakshmi and judges Michael Cimarusti and Wylie Dufresne presided over the season’s largest cash award, with next-day streaming on Paramount+.
- Stadler competed while pregnant, which Lakshmi described as moving, adding weight to the win for women and chefs of color.