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I recognize almost all of the video clips. There is Carla’s celebration of receiving chicken pot pie as a dish. And Alex’s theft of Ed’s pea puree is also included. Dale Talde’s screaming match with Jennifer Biesty during season four is probably the best video although I have no idea what the dish was in that challenge. The most famous Top Chef moment, the one that put the show on the reality show map, is probably Dave Martin’s “I’m not your bitch, bitch” rant. Since Josie recreates this dish, it is all but certain to be the worst of the bunch yet not one that leads to elimination.

There are only 150 minutes of prep work for this challenge. The chefs are particularly stressed because they will be cooking for Top Chef superfans tonight. John Tesar enters the kitchen and immediately begins to complain about the pan options for his risotto, a dish from Season 3 that Tesar’s friend Anthony Bourdain despised. A contestant that season, Howie, then used words from Bourdain’s own book, Kitchen Confidential.

Tesar recounts how he hired Bourdain in the 1980s and eventually introduced our favorite guest judge to Eric Ripert, our second favorite guest judge. The odd aspect of this story is how Tesar fits into the equation. He is such a jerk while Bourdain and Ripert are so professional. As proof, Tesar deems no pots or pans in the kitchen worthy of his dish. He has been in the kitchen one minute yet Tesar is already blaming something random for his inevitable failure. Is this the episode where Tesar finally implodes?

The judges for this round are an intimidating bunch. To that point, multiple contestants appear to be shaking as they present their dishes. Wolfgang Puck can have that effect on people. So can Jonathan Waxman and Wylie Dufresne. The current champion of Top Chef Masters, Chris Cosentino, rounds out the impressive group. This is a day where reputations can be made.

The first three presenters are Josie, Stefan and John. Josie starts, presumably to get the worst out of the way first. Her dish is an herb-roasted chicken with parsnip purée & steamed root vegetables. It looks undercooked to me. I should note that I would eat an open flame if I could, though. So many proteins appear undercooked when I evaluate the plates. The judges quickly confirm that I am wrong on the point as they believe it is cooked well. In a shocking turn of events, Josie does not seem to be in danger of elimination this week. We’re going to need a bigger wooden stake if we’re going to kill her.

Stefan presents a wonderful looking plate of food. It is a roasted red pepper soup with bacon & grilled mimolette cheese sandwich. We know from watching the preparation of this dish that he has cheated, though. Worried about the flavor, Stefan has loaded it with butter, which means that while such a move may save him from elimination, the dish will not win. There is nothing that screams Healthy Choice in a buttery dish.

John suffers the worst fate of the first group. His umami risotto with chicken, salmon roe, burdock root & carrot emulsion is cooked every bit as unevenly as he had expected. The judges despise the rice and line up to count the mistakes made in preparing the dish. John is in some trouble.

The second heat includes the chef who is in the most trouble, though. Lizzie’s scallops purchase was a bust. She knew the moment she opened the bag that the fish was less than fresh. Since there was no time to replace it, she had no choice but to serve bad fish to the judges. I hope that they remembered to bring their barf bags. Lizzie’s dish is seared scallops with roasted fennel, garlic purée, orange & olive salad. Their noses warn the judges that this dish is trouble. Lizzie has not finished in the bottom group at any point this season and yet I see no scenario where she survives the round.

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