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The fifth course is just a formality because the Spanish team has already won three rounds. And Nick made a corn silk nest. Brian and Nick are the people who cook the respective desserts. Neither of them is especially good. Nick has not “take(n) it to the next level”. Brian’s flavors are too sweet. I would judge this round a draw based on the comments provided.

The editing is more thoughtful than normal this week. Tom and his team kindly announce their favorite and least favorite dishes. Nina’s gazpacho , the second course, is the best dish from Team Spain. Stephanie and Shirley have presented the best overall dish of the night, the third course. Tom notes that they also have delivered the worst dish of the night, Nick’s fourth course disaster. So Team Spain is the winner.

The problem is readily apparent. Shirley and Stephanie have performed exceptionally well on this challenge. Nick’s mistakes have cost them the victory. They are headed to Judges Table because of the player who was the worst of the three. And he has immunity. The judges appreciate their problem. They go out of their way to enumerate to Nick the ways in which he has failed. The intent is obvious. They hope that he will do the noble thing and resign from Top Chef. In reality, the person who should turn in their notice is whoever designed this episode’s challenges.

There should not be immunity during the final handful of episodes anyway. There absolutely should not be team challenges this late in the game. The combination of the two is absolutely venomous. One of Stephanie or Shirley will be going home because they cooked great. Their “mistake” was in being on the wrong team. One could argue that they also should have talked Nick out of taking a huge risk. Stephanie attempted to do just that, though. Nick shut her down.

At Judges Table, Nick passes on the opportunity to fall on his sword like a good little samurai warrior. Instead, he notes that he earned immunity and that is how the game operates. He is 100% correct with his assertion. I still believe that he makes the wrong choice. After tonight’s Last Chance Kitchen, there will still be six chefs remaining the competition. He only has a 16.7% chance of winning.

Had he behaved appropriately relative to the situation, Nick would have become the Hero of Season 11, maybe in the history of Top Chef. Such an act of generosity would have resonated in the insular world of haute cuisine. His reputation and thereby his career would have been secured. Instead, he was so obsessed with the possibility of winning Top Chef that he selfishly decided to prioritize himself rather than do the right thing. I understand the how and why of his decision. I simply believe it was short-sighted.

Because Nick is immune from elimination, the choices are reduced to Shirley and Stephanie. Tom plays the detective in determining which of the women had more responsibility for the dish of the night, the third course. Stephanie, never one to take credit that is not deserved, acts to her detriment in the way that Nick did not. She is honest about her contribution and thereby seals her fate in the game. Stephanie, one of the two best performers during the Elimination challenge, is voted out of Top Chef.

This ruling is the worst miscarriage of justice since Stephanie’s friend Kristen Kish’s loss at Restaurant Wars, and possibly even worse because Kristen did cook poorly during that challenge. Stephanie was exceptional tonight. As such, she joins Beverly from Season 9’s Fit for an Evil Queen as the two players who cooked the finest cuisine in a losing effort.

On a personal note, this decision absolutely destroys my enjoyment of the rest of the season. Stephanie’s quick wit and self-deprecating sense of humor won me over to the point that she has become my favorite player in the history of the series. I would gently suggest that anybody seeking a host for a cooking show should give her serious consideration. She’s a natural for such hosting duties.

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