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Back in the kitchen, Amanda starts fighting with Alex. She had used an oven, labeled it with her name, and then TAKEN HER FOOD OUT. Alex, thinking that the oven wasn't being used, wanted to use it for his dish. But nooooooooo, Amanda had called "mine-sies" and didn't want anyone else to use it. Cause it's hers.

And wouldn't you know it, the minute she starts screaming at Alex, Tom Colicchio walks in. Amanda brushes it off as a "prison rule," that once you use an oven, it's yours for the challenge. Tom says he's never heard of that rule cause he's never been in prison. Amanda quickly confirms that she hasn't either.

The cheftestants make it to Mount Vernon where we're treated to an indulgence in stereotyping. Apparently the gay men and straight women don't know how to fire up a grill; they look to the African-American male chefs for how to do it. I somehow feel like Top Chef has been transported back to the 1960s.

The guest judge here is Jonathan Waxman, who Padma introduces as the Obi-Wan Kenobi of chefs (a joke referencing a nickname given to Waxman by Rick Moonen from Top Chef Masters Season 2).

The judges go around tasting everyone's dishes. I won't bore you with a person-by-person account of what they cooked, except to say that there didn't seem to be any dishes that blew the judges away and there didn't seem to be any out-and-out disasters along the lines of Jacqueline's banana pudding.

Just based on this, seems like Season 7 will be average in terms of talent. Certainly no Season 3, Season 4 or Season 6, that's for sure.

Wait, actually there was one dish that stood out - but not for the judges. After the challenge, Hot Angelo goes over to sample Amanda's BBQ ribs and is blown away. He says that it's the best thing he's eaten in the challenge, and even says that it's better than his own dish. He even encourages his fellow chefs to try it, saying that she "nailed it."

This inspires Tracy to try some of food created by the other cheftestants and she gets worried. There doesn't seem to be any bad food there. She's clearly working amongst some great chefs.

Back to the Stew Room we go until Padma calls out Arnold, Ed, Amanda and Angelo. Based the teams that got called out first in the last episode, no one is sure if these are the top four chefs or the bottom four.

Turns out, they're the top four. Ed gets complimented by Jonathan for using bright and bold flavors, smartly incorporating tuna into his sandwich. Arnold's lamb meatballs were full of flavor and a nice surprise to start off the meal. Jonathan loved Amanda's grilled asparagus and thought her ribs "killed." Tom thought Angelo's Vietnamese lettuce cups were nice with crisp flavors.
And the winner is...ARNOLD. Wow, I was expecting Amanda, but Arnold comes through. He's beaming, totally thrilled to have won a challenge.

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