But it was frontrunner Paul Qui, who's consistently taken risks and delivered exceptional food, who took the grand prize home with this incredible delivery of foie gras with bacon, pumpernickel, pickled cherries, and beets.
Closing the festival is Charlie Kaufman's critically exalted animation Anomalisa; having already won the Grand Special Jury Prize 2015 at the Venice Film Festival, it's a frontrunner for the Academy Awards Best Animationn category.
"The problem is that once you are frontrunner it is, I think, the obligation of the candidates who are behind to whack you over the head".
Until recently, Marc Jacobs, creative director of Louis Vuitton, was considered to be frontrunner, but it is now believed that Raf Simons is the main contender.
Within Europe, Sweden is frontrunner when it comes to public biotech market value.
(Though the acting remained phenomenal, as always). Still, it's the clear frontrunner in this year's race, and it's hard to make an argument for another drama outshining it.
Kishi's grandson, Abe Shinzo, serves as chief cabinet secretary and is frontrunner to become prime minister later this year.
Polls suggest Mr Corbyn is frontrunner in the race.
And here is where the subtleties start: Fillon had been frontrunner for a reason.
Elsewhere GlaxoSmithKline dipped 5p to £12.31 on revived talk it was the frontrunner to take a 5% stake in Indian generic drugmaker Dr Reddy's Laboratories, at a cost of some $165m.
