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Top Chef Hangs Title on Hung

Wed., Oct. 3, 2007 11:01 PM PDT by Natalie Finn

Never underestimate a finely prepared piece of raw fish.

Buoyed by his delightful hamachi appetizer, not to mention his meticulous attention to detail, 29-year-old Hung Huynh was named the winner of the third season of Bravo's Top Chef on Wednesday.

The Massachusetts-born Las Vegas resident looked beyond thrilled when host Padma Lakshmi informed him that his knives were there to stay during the live finale in Chicago.

"I am so excited!" Huynh exclaimed. "I worked so hard to get here and prove myself…I'm speechless, but I'm sure you'll hear more from me later."

In addition to bragging rights, Huynh wins $100,000 to put toward his culinary-minded dreams, a feature in Food & Wine magazine, an appearance at the Food & Wine Classic in Aspen and an epicurean dream tour of the French Alps.

In the season's final challenge, which was to prepare "the best meal you've ever cooked in your life"—and then add a fourth course once time was almost up—Huynh bested fellow foodies Casey Thompson, 29, and Dale Levitski, 34.

While the latter two were thanked profusely by the judges for sharing their considerable skills over the course of the competition, the kudos ultimately didn't measure up in their favor.

Thompson, who near-dominated the kitchen for the past few weeks, overcooked her pork belly, a major miss that prevented it from being the best dish of the night, according to judge Tom Colicchio.

"This just wasn't my challenge and I accept that. I did remind them over the break that I was kicking their ass for awhile," Thompson said, confident in her abilities but knowing that she left that pork in the oven too long.

And although she didn't go the distance, Thompson was a fan favorite, garnering 58 percent of the who-should-win votes viewers were asked to submit online.

Levitski, coming off a win for his spicy take on elk last week, also prepared foie gras—a little heavy-handedly, as it turned out.

"It needs a toast point," commented one of the judges during the meal. And the Chicagoan's French-style gnocchi with lobster also missed the mark, boasting a curry flavor that overwhelmed the dish's other elements. "Terrible," remarked a judge.

Huynh had his hiccups, as well, although everyone should be so capable of making his big mistake.

After preparing three Asian-influenced courses, including hamachi, Vietnamese-style prawns and duck, he turned out a "perfect" molten chocolate cake with raspberries and crème fraîche for his surprise fourth course.

In addition to the fact that the cake departed from the Asian theme, the judges said that such an ordinary dessert wasn't going to blow any minds.

But Huynh still seemed pleased about his selection, figuring that serving dessert would truly make his a complete meal.