"Bizarrely wonderful" — Top Chef judge Kristen Kish compliments Shuai's roasted cabbage dish

Top Chef season 22 released episode 12, titled Foraged in Fire, on May 29, 2025. The episode saw the remaining five contestants compete for the final spots in the last leg of the competition.

To win, they had to impress the panelists with a dish prepared with foraged ingredients from the Canmore Forest in Alberta. Shuai served a roasted cabbage, pork belly, and ants dish, which the judges loved.

While reviewing his dish, Kristen Kish said:

"It was just bizarrely wonderful."

Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio echoed a similar sentiment, calling the preparation "absolutely beautiful." Tom added that he was "jealous," he never thought of making the dish. He was confident the dish would "hold up" in any "three-star environment."

Guest panelist, Cree knowledge keeper of traditional medicine, and owner of Mahikan Trails, Brenda Holder, was equally touched by Shuai's dish. She mentioned that she could taste "the medicine" and feel connected to it.

As a result, Shuai was declared the winner of the last elimination challenge of Top Chef season 22.

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"I'm going to Milan!" — Top Chef star Shuai expresses his excitement for the finale

After Kristen explained the rules of the challenge, the contestants went foraging for ingredients. They picked shoots, roots, ants, buds, leaves, flowers, and more to incorporate into their dishes.

Soon after, they made a stop at the Calgary Co-op to shop for some additional ingredients with a $200 budget.

The following day, the Top Chef participants arrived at Jumping Pound Ranch and began preparing their dishes. Each chef had 2.5 hours to cook over an open fire, except Massimo, who had three as the winner of a previous challenge.

Shuai started with a stock, and while detailing the ingredients used in it, he said:

"I got some rose hip berries, putting that in the stock. And some lovage is gonna be really nice as a garnish."

He added that he also incorporated crystal roots and juniper into his stock to enhance its flavor.

The Top Chef star then moved on to cutting his cabbages to "throw them on the grill." While speaking to the cameras, Shuai explained that he did not want to char the cabbage "on its own," as it would give a "very dry and brittle" texture to it.

Instead, he planned on glazing the cabbage in the reduction of the stock.

A while later, Top Chef panelist Tom appeared to check in on the contestants. When he saw Shuai roasting pork belly, he inquired about its use in the dish.

Shuai explained that the pork belly would be "more like a garnish," adding that the main dish was "roasted cabbage."

"Feel pretty great about this dish. Whenever I feel like I cook out of memory and love, it always comes out pretty well, so I'm excited," Shuai said before presenting his dish to the judges.

While explaining the elements of his preparation, the Top Chef contender mentioned that for the stock, he drew inspiration from Asian cuisines, which also used medicinal ingredients similar to those used in Indigenous cooking.

Shuai said that the sisal reminded him of ginseng and the berries of goji berries.

The panlists were amazed by the way the cabbage was prepared, and especially, the ant togarashi. They agreed that it was an "exquisite dish," whose elements paired well with each other.

"It was excellent. Like, I love that Shuai went into the woods yesterday and came out with this," Gail Simmons remarked.

After much deliberation, the judges declared Shuai the winner of the elimination challenge, handing him $10,000 as a reward.

Shuai was "speechless," and thrilled at the same time, to secure his seat in the finale of the Bravo show.

While speaking to the cameras, he said:

"I'm going to Milan! The last time I was this happy was when my wife said yes. So, it's the first time I'm going to Italy, it's through Top Chef, which is nuts."

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Top Chef episodes are available to stream on Peacock.