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Only two teams are informed that they are on the bottom. Team Redemption and Team Knight, the six players who plated together, have failed at this challenge. One of them will be going home. After a few inquiries, the judges acknowledge that the three components that trouble them the most are the overcooked quail, the hockey puck halibut and the wheat beer with herb sabayon. These three aspects of the dishes were handled by Stefan, Jeffrey and Bart. Bart’s wheat beer was deemed flavorless, which is a huge mistake but probably not on a par with burning the protein.

Something I have always celebrated regarding Top Chef is that even the best chefs are only a single mistake away from elimination. Tonight’s episode is a perfect representation of this philosophy. Stefan and Bart are both world class chefs with significant celebrity yet here they stand at the bottom of a team challenge. Their only hope for survival is that Jeffrey, the relative unknown, has made a mistake so elementary that the judges have no choice but to send him home. Fortunately for them, this is exactly what transpires.

Jeffrey, who seemed so ambivalent about appearing on the show, is harshly critiqued for having 14 minutes to cook a fish that should require 2-3 minutes. He also failed to re-heat the fish afterward. These are basic cooking mistakes, and Jeffrey has to be the one eliminated because of them. To his credit, Jeffrey does not run away from the comments. His closing statement demonstrates tremendous self-awareness. “I usually cook fish perfectly and today, you know, I missed it.” If you can look in the mirror and acknowledge your mistakes, you’re ahead of the game.

Overall, this is shaping up to be a great season. I have generally enjoyed the returning players concept on reality programs. In the case of CJ and Stefan, there are two intriguing personalities added to an already combustible mix. Top Chef: Seattle has a lot of potential.

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