Nicholas Elmi is crowned the winner of Top Chef in the season 11 finale of the cooking show, beating out longtime favorite Nina Compton.

To kick off the finale, Padma Lakshmi brought in previously eliminated contestants to act as helpers. As winner of last week’s challenge, Nick got to choose his team first, selecting Jason, Louis and Brian. Nina chose Shirley, Stephanie and Travis – her top three regardless of Nick’s “advantage.”

Each chef is tasked with preparing a four-course meal for an entire restaurant. During prep, Tom visited the kitchens and gave the chefs some last minute critique. He played mind games with Nick first, clearly disapproving of Jason as his first pick helper, before moving onto Nina where he questioned her dessert choice.

Nina planed her four courses as Island with an Italian twist, serving a first course of tuna tartare with tomato water and jalapeno. Tom loved it,...