You don’t have to be a foodie to be obsessed with Top Chef. The latest episode from Top Chef All Stars practically picked a winner, and it’s a name any Top Chef fan will recognize. Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi eliminated Antonia Lofaso in the first half of the finale, removing any chance that a female would be at the top.

From the beginning of the episode, it was clear Lofaso wasn’t going to happen. The haphazard chef felt the burden of her cousin Mike’s taunts from the Quickfire to the extra amuse bouche challenge, struggling her find her voice with each plating. We’ll hand it to her, though – that Bento box looked pretty darn tasty.

Lofaso’s departure made way for Richard Blais - and this Top Chef All Star is ready for redemption. Sure, Michael had a recent winning streak – but as Richard mentions a few too many times in the interviews, he’s got a strong eight wins over Michael’s meager three.

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The real star of the event, even with Michael’s win at the Quickfire challenge, is Blais. He is already a crowd favorite, and it was clear during the elimination win that he’s a judge favorite too. From interviews, the always insecure Blais told the camera he couldn’t even put together Wolfgang Puck’s “Last Supper” meal (goulash, spaetzle and strudel) without a recipe. Boy was he kidding!

Blais turned out the winning dish, securing a spot on Top Chef All Star’s finale. We knew his dish was a winner when Wolfgang Puck approved of the meal, pointing his hands to the sky to indicate even his dead mother would approve.

It should have been Richard Blais four years ago on the fourth season of Top Chef. The other All Stars should have been prepared – he’s blazing through this Top Chef season to win. He’s lit a fire under his molecular gastronomy cuisine and, in our mind, will finally become Top Chef.