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My fear is unfounded as the weather does not become a factor to Tiffany. Her biggest obstacle is that with nothing else to do, Antonia and Richard start crowding her as they attempt to assist her in completing her dish. Note to Tiffany’s new husband: the woman needs her space. She also has timing issues caused by Antonia’s meal being eaten too slowly. This causes Tiffany’s meal to cool off a bit, which concerns her. The dish is conch & coconut chowder with sweet potatoes & conch ceviche, and the judges immediately confirm her fear. She has served the dish cold, which is great if and only if the dish in question is revenge. Or ice cream. Tom says, “It’s a nice dish, but the flavor hasn’t developed enough.” Tiffany seems to be in third place out of three contestants thus far, meaning that she needs Mike Isabella to do worse than her if she is to survive the evening.

Mike takes time out from his cooking to monologue about the incompetence of a prior chef, Elia. God, he’s insufferable. His offering is banana leaf wrapped grouper, braised pineapple & conch vinaigrette. I want them to hate it, because I’m sick of Mike. Alas, I cannot decide where they stand on it. The first two members of the club are not dazzled by it, and Tom says it needs more butter. Then, Gail asserts that she loves what he has done with the dish. Assuming that she speaks for the judges, Mike is safe for the evening, meaning that Tiffany’s improbable run has finally come to an end.

And that is exactly what happens. At judges table, the primary surprise is that despite Richard’s daring creation of potato linguine, Mike is chosen the winner. Happy to be there, nothing to lose Mike Isabella is well positioned to win the title of Top Chef All-Stars champion. I’m in Hell. The judges seem like they are dissatisfied with multiple dishes, but we know from their reactions that Tiffany’s dish had the most wrong with it. While Lorena Garcia passionately argues in support of both women (was she the woman Richard Blais dumped when he met his wife?), Tiffany served the worst dish and is the weakest remaining contestant. Her elimination is unfortunate but justified. She still did Beaumont, Texas proud.

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