Top Chef Recap

By David Mumpower

November 5, 2013

When I said I wanted you to spank me, I didn't mean in Last Chance Kitchen.

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The evening ends with an appropriate thud. Justin and Sara present their dishes. Justin explains the ingredients of his dish, Blood Pasta, as beet pasta with green tomatoes. Politely but firmly, the Glee star reminds Justin that she said she doesn’t like beets. He claims that their flavor is very subtle but the bridge is already burned. That was a rookie mistake by a guy I believe has the talent to win this season. Sara offers Evil Eye, another arancini, this one with Moroccan tomato chutney. Lea Michele, perhaps still annoyed by the beets situation, states that she dislikes the arancini. Justin and Sara may wind up on the bottom as well, although there is a ton of competition for those 4-6 spots.

Before the judges begin their broadcast, a hilarious exchange occurs between Nina and Michael. She vents her frustration about having to work with him. She believes that he felt like he could ride Nina’s coattails in order to finish the challenge. He refutes this assertion by stating that she needed him in the beginning more than he needed her. Nina strikes me as a very calm person who is hard to anger. Michael’s reply almost causes her to spontaneously combust. If this were a romantic comedy, they would kiss at the episode, but it’s not and they most assuredly will not.

The divide between the good teams and the failed ones is sizable. Nicholas and Patty join Travis and Carlos at the top. There is no point in the judges pretending like they may be on the bottom. Everybody knows the deal here. The only memorable aspect of the segment is that Lea Michele awkwardly flirts with Carlos a bit more. His team is announced as the winner. “Can you please come back to Los Angeles with me now?” I think that’s a standing offer, Carlos!




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The bottom two teams are exactly the ones I had expected. Bene and Brian simply didn’t try hard enough with the concept, while Nina refused to work with Michael as a good partner would. The primary question to be resolved at Judges Table is whether a single player will be eliminated or an entire team will go home. If it’s only one person, that is clearly going to be Michael, who is in way over his head in this competition. If it’s a team, that is a harder choice since Nina’s dish was delicious but the judges hold her responsible for Michael’s failings as well. Bene and Brian had worse composite dishes than their opponents, so there are a few permutations in play for this elimination.

Michael goes to Last Chance Kitchen.

Realistically, that is the best decision by the judges. Nina has the talent to win Top Chef and would have been as high as #2 in my power rankings last week if I had started doing them, something I almost did. Instead, they will begin tomorrow and I will have to be honest about the fact that players need to work well in a team atmosphere to have a shot at the title of Top Chef. Nina gets a demerit for her behavior this week. Meanwhile, Brian and Bene need to show a lot more imagination with their cooking. The judges drill them for delivering an ordinary salad during a Halloween challenge. They are right to do so.

This entire Elimination meal was a bust, which is tragic. It did make me go back and re-watch the Charlize Theron episode, "Fit for an Evil Queen," though. I am of the opinion that the worst dish in that episode would have beaten the best dish this week, and that tells the entire story.


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