Top Chef

View Date: 11/17/09

The final five chefs were competing in tonight's episode, which was to be the last challenge in Vegas. The four that make it out of this episode would then move on to the finale in

Quickfire Challenge: Gavin Kaysen was the guest judge for this challenge, who had competed in essentially the “cooking Olympics” per Mike. The challengers had to make their own version of his winning dish, which consisted of a protein in a protein in a protein. The winner, while not receiving immunity, would receive a significant advantage for the Elimination Challenge. The chefs had more time than usual to complete this challenge, with 1 ½ hours. Jennifer won the challenge, and really took a step back in the right direction. The two least successful dishes per the guys judge

Elimination Challenge: It was then announced that the chefs would be participating in the Top Chef version the “Cooking Olympics”. The chefs needed to create a dish as regal presentation platter with one protein and and two garnishes, but the garnishes needed to be very intricate. Lamb or salmon were the only protein choices for this challenge. Jennifer received an additional 30 minutes to cook as her reward. Thomas Keller, the only American chef to have two restaurants to simultaneously have 3 Michelin Stars, was a judge for this challenge. Finally, the contestants would be presenting to 12 tasters, and complete the plating from the platter to the individual servings at the table. After shopping, four of the five chefs watched a DVD that was left of the actual competition. Also, Kevin asked Bryan for advice on a cooking technique, and Bryan helped him because sharing information is the true nature of cooking.

Michael is very confident in his abilities, even more so this time because he has participated in cooking competitions before. Tom came back and announced that the winner of this challenge would win $30000, which just added more pressure than the already pressure-cooker levels involved with this dish. The tasters found Kevin's food delicious but simply constructed. They then criticized Michael for a lack of harmony among his dishes, as well as finding a bone in a serving of his fish. Bryan's plating was complemented, but the execution was not the best. The judges felt that Eli's dish was unpleasant, and the lamb was significantly undercooked. Jennifer was up last, but the judges felt it lacked direction and parts were undercooked.

A final surprise was that one chef would be presented with the opportunity to compete with the next American team for the international competition. At the disclosure of that information, the contestants' jaws essentially hit the floor as they realized the true weight of this challenge.

All of the chefs were requested to stand before the judges together tonight. Michael's direction was questioned, while Bryan had to defend his quite rare lamb. Kevin's complexity was questioned, while Jennifer's salmon cooking was investigated. Eli was criticized for the fattiness as well as the done-ness of his lamb.

The winner of tonight's challenge, including the money and the competition spot, was Kevin. He also received the chef coat and reading material to help him prepare for the international stage. Eli was the chef to go tonight, which surprised me a little based on the judges' comments. But in the end, the best four chefs, those that have been consistently best throughout the season, made their way into the finals.

It was an emotional exit, but Eli knew that the four chefs going on were amazing, and he was proud to have made it as far as he did.

Thus, moving on, we have Michael, Bryan, Jennifer, and Kevin. Any of them would be totally deserving of the title of Top Chef. I am so glad it will come down to these guys as the final four. While we have seen some great dishes and I respect the work put forth by the other contestants this season, these four are truly the best this season has to offer.

10 words or less: This is the way it should be.