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Team Redemption has taken a calculated risk with their protein. Recognizing that all of the other teams chosen to use seafood, Stefan and CJ speculate that quail could be the better choice. Stefan suggests it while CJ largely pushes them into the idea. When they start cooking, Stefan quickly regrets the choice as the tiny quail is difficult to cook perfectly. Their resulting output is a quail breast with confit spot prawn, cherries and porcini. The plating is again sublime but my eye is drawn to what looks like an overcooked quail. It looks unappetizing.

The judges are hyper-critical to the point that Douglas comments, “Wow, you guys are tough!” This is in stark contrast to the glowing praise for the first two dishes. Tom locks in on the fact that the quail is overcooked. Emeril quickly adds that the spot prawn is also overcooked. Yikes! There is a legitimate chance that one of the returning players gets eliminated right off the bat. Tom states that it “is a pretty well-developed dish." Maybe that will be enough to save them. The judges are no kinder to Team Knight. Padma refers to her halibut as “a hockey puck." Whoever is responsible for that element may be screwed.

The final two teams are Team Danyele (because I think she’s cute) and Team Micah (because he is a take charge kind of guy). Danyele and Eliza strike me as competent chefs while Josh’s chip continues to grow larger on his shoulder. “I think a lot of people think I’m just this little guy from Oklahoma. And that’ll be their mistake.” The joke’s on them. He’s really from Nebraska! You’re ready for your next movie, M. Night Shyamalan!

Their dish is a pan roasted cod, mushrooms, fava beans, pickled green apple and garlic scape pistou. Even after googling, I’m unclear what a pistou is. It sounds like gazpacho except that it’s not soup. I see nothing on the plate that hints at being a cold sauce. Alas, the mystery of scape pistou will linger, unsolved. Tom Douglas drives the point home when he states, “I feel like I’m begging for pistou.” The apple is universally acknowledged as the best part of the dish.

Team Micah includes the equally confident Kristen and the utterly nondescript Tyler. Their plate is somehow stylish yet disgusting. The crispy seared salmon has a cake-like appearance while the local vegetables are the perfect complementary garnishes. The appeal is undone by the spot prawn butter sauce, which looks like a used handkerchief. I’m sorry for the unpleasant mental image but I cannot imagine putting that sauce in my mouth. This dish is popular as people appreciate the usage of in-season fish. As I stated earlier, this should be a theme throughout the season.

Judges Table is largely anticlimactic. Only one team is invited back. Team Tesar has won for the second time today. Given the reception to the dish, this is not surprising. Tesar of course does most of the talking. To his credit, he credits Kuniko for the chili oil, which is the flavor that sells the dish. Kuniko becomes the first contender on Top Chef: Seattle to win an elimination challenge.

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