‘Top Chef’: Everybody loves Stephanie

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At least there was one surprise during the seasonal ‘Top Chef’ reunion special: Stephanie won the $10,000 bonus prize for being voted the fans’ favorite cheftestant.

She certainly was the nicest, but I thought for sure Andrew had it in the bag.

Other than that, Bravo senior vice president/on-air emcee Andy Cohen delivered yet another near-uneventful overview of the season that was. I can’t understand why his network colleagues think Andy makes for a good host. The man has never heard of a follow-up question. And just take a look at the lone comment on his blog (as of 10:30 a.m. PDT):

Says commenter Lisa: ‘I wanted to say that I think the reunion shows, like last night’s reunion show, would be more enjoyable as a viewer with only the TC (or show in question) cast. I don’t believe an outside host is needed. Also, while it’s cute Tom wore a vest. Focusing on things like that (mind you it’s only 10-15 seconds) takes away a smidge of time that could be used for reunion discussion.’

I’d add that if they’re going to do all those montage packages -- I did laugh at Dale and Richard’s nipple talk during the Bromance one -- at least use footage that we haven’t seen before. Or limit yourselves to two per reunion special.

There were, of course, a few highlights:

-- Ted Allen on Spike and Mark’s hot tub connection: ‘Man soup. Nice.’

-- Saying the word ‘phallic’ on TV has really come back to haunt Jennifer. ‘But seeing Padma’s face when I said it was, I dunno, priceless.’

-- Tom thinks maybe sending Dale home -- he did not judge that night -- was perhaps a mistake: ‘Based on what I saw, Lisa blew two dishes. Dale blew one.’ (And yes, Lisa, he still thinks your groom’s cake was ugly.) But Dale said he understood the decision: ‘In that episode, I failed. That dish failed. It was bad.’

-- Mark won’t be going back to New Zealand because he just got married (and according to this interview, Andrew was in attendance.)

-- Meanwhile, Zoi and Jennifer may be splitsville -- but they’re not confirming or denying it. Whatever the case, the pair thought it was a real disadvantage to compete together during the same season. ‘It was even hard to figure out ... I almost feel like we almost tried to not support each other to be fair.’

-- Lisa, on what she thought her real chances of winning were: ‘I was really happy. Definitely thought I had a fighting chance.’

-- Tom still gives the contestants nightmares.

That’s a wrap on this season, folks. Up next: ‘Top Chef Junior.’ Yes, really.

-- Denise Martin