As the competition progresses and the stakes rise, the tension mounts for the contestants on 'Top Chef All Stars.' Last night's episode was a nail-biter, with just seven cheftestants vying for the final two spots in the championship.

Like the earlier museum challenge this season, the lion's share of the episode this week was about endurance and focus. The chefs were asked to stay up all night in an empty Target department store, where they had to create a cooking station, set up a catered presentation and prepare a dish for 100 employees to be served at 3AM when they arrived for work. It was a daunting task, and fatigue played a big part in the outcome.

Ironically, the chef who stumbled and was sent packing was an early choice to go all the way. For more about how this cook's heavy hand with the salt lead to a bittersweet exit, read on.

If you read the interview with Tom Colicchio that I posted earlier today, you read what he thought about the two-round finale from Singapore that wraps up the show's seventh season. "Quite frankly with this finale, overall was better than any finale we've had," he told me.

It's hard to top the way the final four cheftestants -- Kevin Sbarga, Angelo Sosa, Ed Cotton and Kelly Liken -- stepped up in last week's episodes; Colicchio is still thinking about the banana fritters Ed made, and he had immunity. But during this week's season finale, Ed, Kevin and Angelo are going to be battling for the ultimate prize and the title of Top Chef.

It seems like a pretty good matchup, but it feels like one of the cheftestants is peaking at the right time. After the jump, I'll talk about the three finalists and handicap their chances to get the title.

The 'Top Chef' season finale is upon us, and, despite what many (including me) think has been a disappointing season, it looks like the cheftestants have finally decided to step it up and produce consistently good food.

"Quite frankly with this finale, overall was better than any finale we've had," executive producer and head judge Tom Colicchio told me on Monday. Yes, the final four this season -- now down to Angelo, Kevin and Ed with Kelly's elimination -- have impressed the usually impassive judge that much.

The lush Singapore location has helped, of course, and it seems that the prospect of one of the finalists getting sick (if you see the ads for the finale, you'll know who) did little to dampen his enthusiasm.

We talked about the unexpected events of the finale -- he didn't give much away -- and about Tom's general frustrations with how the audience perceives the judging process. He also dropped a hint or two about next season, which has been rumored to be an all-star year.

'Top Chef' is back! For our new season, we're in Washington, D.C. We're joined by old judges Padma, Tom, and Gail -- and new judge Eric Ripert. Let's get right to the first winner on the premiere episode, shall we?

[Spoiler alert.]