HOLLYWOOD—I really like the concept of the reality cooking competition series, “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing” on The Food Network, however, it absolutely needs some tweaks people. For starters, I’m not a fan of the judging. Something about it feels off, lackluster and lacking authenticity.

With that said, Jet Tila already judging once and eliminating competitors is back for the finale and has a say on who the winner is?! I mean there are no other culinary titans that you can pull from. It just feels lazy and that annoys me. If there is a season 4 of this series, they really have to figure out the judging that makes sense not only for the competitors, but for the viewers because the blind tasting was a massive improvement, but it needs more tweaking.

With that said, we have our final 5 of Joe, Christina, Viet, Lee Ann and Alex. I will be honest I didn’t love Alex after episode 1, but I grew to respect the chef because of his drive, calm demeanor under pressure and that fight to outwit his foe in Viet. Viet was like the guy you started to root for in the beginning, but started to turn on him near the end. His arrogance came across ill-received for me, and I started rooting for Alex. Alex Stupak is this titan and has proven his caliber as a chef.

We opened the finale with Avishar and Joe having to cook a steak to a perfect temperature; it had to be medium rare, and they COULD NOT cut or taste the steak. Talk about a culinary technique. The steak needed to be at 130 degrees, the person to come the closet without going over wins and goes to the finale. Joe edged out Avishar with his steak reading 127 degrees, while Avishar undercooked his steak at 117 degrees.

So, the final shift was all about Elevation, and speed is the first challenge, the chefs have to juice lemons for 8 ounces, dice 4 onions, turn 4 artichokes, pit 4 avocados, tournee 4 potatoes, and finally separate and whip 6 egg whites. That’s a lot when you’ve been working for nearly 20 hours straight.

The protein to select is determined on who finishes the speed tasks with the Golden Knife, giving a major advantage comes into play also. The protein selected will have to be used throughout the rest of the shift. Alex and Lee Ann were the first to move to the artichokes after finishing their onions. Out of nowhere Viet was moving at record speed completing the artichokes and avocados tasks.

It was a battle with Alex and Lee Ann reclaiming the lead, but it was Alex who managed to top out first getting the first protein of choice, where he selected pork. He considered last season 3 dishes were cooked in the finale that involved breakfast, lunch and dinner would be on the menu for the final challenge; but not so fast Alex, this is a new season, so there is always a twist, and it was. Viet finished second and choose beef, with Lee Ann finishing third and choosing seafood. Christina finished fourth and she choose shellfish, with Joe getting poultry by default.

The next challenge is you have to create 3 more dishes; 30 minutes to create a plate of elevated street food into a fine dining dish, but only 3 chefs are cooking in this challenge, Alex gets to choose those chefs. Ugh this is going to be interesting. It’s a double elimination challenge. Alex gets to choose who he wants to keep safe. Alex choose to keep Christina safe because he knows he can beat her.

So Lee Ann, Joe and Viet are cooking for their lives. I liked that Christina clocked what Alex was up to. Jeez, 4 plates in under 30 minutes that is brutal. So our three judges are Jet Tila (ugh), Alex Guarnaschelli and icon Jean-Georges. I liked seeing Jean-Georges and Alex, I could have done without Jet though. Lee Anne did a fish fry with a lettuce wrap that had a perfect fry, Viet did a chicken fried steak that may have been a bit tough, but stellar flavors. With Joe, he cooked a Thai chicken dumpling, but it may have been a bit dry.

The first chef eliminated was Joe, and I was not surprised based on the judge’s critiques alone. That means the editing needs to make things less obvious. In a battle between Lee Ann and Viet, it was Lee Ann who edge her competitor out. We have our final 3 of Lee Ann, Christina and Alex.

The next challenge saw the competitors having to elevate a weeknight family meal in 30 minutes. Christina was using prawns for her dish, while Alex selected pork tenderloin to make pork Milanese. Lee Ann decided to utilize sea bass, and she decided to meticulously take out the bones of the fish infused with ginger. Alex got rave reviews for his pork, but the cabbage not so much, Christina’s yogurt was a standout, but the prawns needed a bit more seasoning. Lee Ann’s fish was top tier, but that bone Jean-Georges found is not good.

This is difficult, cause all of the chefs had a flaw in their dish, but in the end, it was Christina who clocked out, leaving us with a final two of Alex and Lee Ann, and both of their tales gave me tears. You’re rooting for both of them. The final dish was an elevated Michelin Worthy Dish. Alex chose to utilize the iberico pork, while Lee Ann had no choice, but to use the tuna, as that was the last protein from her seafood plate remaining. Alex had a stellar pork dish with an argon oil that looked fantastic, Lee Ann’s tuna was a moment because of the technique used.

The endive and braised radish stood out for Alex in Lee Ann’s dish, but she wanted fat. For Alex, the chefs were concerned about the cut of meat that was utilized. The double pork chop may have been a better vessel to choose. I will admit it was tough to see Alex come so close but lose just by a tinge. At the same time, I was ecstatic for Lee Ann Wong.

She is an incredible chef who has been underestimated for years, so for her to get this win; it’s so well-deserved. Seeing Lee Ann breakdown in tears when it was the realization that she was victorious after decades of competing is such an understatement. Overall, a fun season, just a few tweaks on the judging and this show can be next level looking forward to season 4 of “24 in 24: Last Chef Standing.”