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As Stephanie hits the panic button, Kristen demonstrates an intimidating degree of confidence. She smiles and jokes with Emeril. Then, she casually reveals that she is a former winner of Model Boston. Competitions such as this are nothing new for Kristen. Meanwhile, Stephanie is so dialed up that the only words she can muster in reply to Emeril are: “Yes, chef.” I have a bad feeling about her.

The free form nature of the challenge leads to one surprise. Jeffrey attempts a chilled gazpacho. Emeril believes that there is no chance the dish will get cold enough to impress. “If he gives me a hot gazpacho, he’s out.” Jeffrey has miscalculated by adding a senseless level of difficulty to an already life changing pressure situation. The only good news is that with high risk comes high reward. Or quick elimination.

Josh is the chef with the largest problem, though. He finishes his dish too early. Nine minutes too early. Emeril quizzes him on whether he worries that the soup will be cold. To Josh’s credit, he (curtly) acknowledges that he is worried rather than provide a BS answer of denial. Moments later, Emeril exacerbates the situation by tasting Josh’s dish last of the five entries. So there is probably 15-20 minutes of sitting time for that bowl of soup. Josh appears to be in a lot of trouble.

Stephanie provides a cauliflower soup but not before mumbling “I’m going to vomit” to her Spoon Buddy. Emeril is nonplussed by the cauliflower but otherwise enjoys the dish. How important is cauliflower in a cauliflower soup anyway?

Tina delivers a delicious looking shellfish & chorizo soup. Emeril’s first word is “Garlicky!” I am amused at the way that the contestants parse through his every word in order to deduce their chances of advancing in Top Chef. Tina appears dubious until he adds that the garlic does not overpower the other flavors.

Kristen delivers a goopy English pea broth featuring lemon peel, apple and seared scallop. I would never put this in my mouth. Emeril is curious as to why poached her fish three times. She quickly replies that she wanted to “pull out the bitterness." Her ready answer impresses Emeril as much as the food does.

The real winner in this heat is Jeffrey. He delivers a chilled gazpacho that offers the sort of aesthetic appearance for which Instagram was created. We already know that there is a litmus test for this dish. Is it cold? Emeril quickly confirms that the gazpacho is nicely chilled. In the same breath, he continues that Jeffrey should grab a coat as he is going to Seattle. Jeffrey took a chance and has been rewarded. Hmm, maybe I should say that his boyfriend has been rewarded.

The other competitors are perplexed by this turn of events. They believed that there would be a round of judging followed by a ruling from Emeril. After Jeffrey’s promotion, the remaining players intuit that had their dishes been better, they would have already be confirming plane tickets for Washington. Since Emeril indicated that he may only take one contender, there is universal cause for concern.

Josh is the only one with at least some level of confidence remaining. His dish has yet to be tasted. Then again, it has only been sitting for so long now that it cannot taste the way he had intended. Emeril samples the roasted corn and coconut soup with mussels for a moment. He comments that he is “waiting for the chili to come on because it’s a little sweet." John is not given a chef jacket immediately as Jeffrey had been.

Moments later, Emeril informs the remaining participants that there are still jackets remaining. The catch is that he is seeking to promote chefs who not only cook well but also perform so impressively that he believes they can win Top Chef. Only three of them qualify under this umbrella. Stephanie has in fact fallen victim to her nerves, an unfortunate turn of events. Tina has also not qualified, which means I am in fact a jerk. Try to act surprised by this news.

The three contestants from the Las Vegas leg who qualify for Top Chef: Seattle are Jeffrey, Josh and Kristen. They join John Tesar as the first four entrants. Tomorrow, I will recount the other two heats as well as the final results from Craft. Until then, bon appetit…by which I mean “Screw Flanders!” (I’ve been wanting to write that for five seasons now. )

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