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3) Nick

Nick has narrowly staved off elimination so many times by now that I doubt I could consider him a worthy champion even if he does win Top Chef. He is like Kevin Sbraga in this regard. Still, he has maintained a spot in the winner’s bracket by doing just enough to survive each week. The one time he would have lost was conveniently the only time this season that Padma and a guest judge enjoyed his food enough to provide immunity. Nick is living a charmed life that could very well take him to the end. Then again, there is a 25% chance he loses tonight and if he does, I do NOT like his chances at Last Chance Kitchen.

4) Carlos
Carlos outperformed everyone but Shirley last week so I was tempted to slot him higher. I like to focus on recent results later in the competition. The problem is that while Nick narrowly avoided elimination last night, Carlos managed the same the previous two episodes. In fact, the feuding fellas are eerily similar in this regard. Nick would have gone home without immunity during that challenge. Carlos would have been sent home if his team had lost. In evaluating the most recent three episodes, I have determined that Carlos has been slightly better than Nick on the whole. I did not slot him higher for the same reason that I did not like his candidacy earlier in the season. I simply believe that Carlos’ cuisine is too limited to challenge seriously as the Top Chef winner. That is the stage of the game we have reached. It is not about who can advance to the finale. It is about who can win. At the end of the day, I believe that Nick is better qualified than Carlos. Prove me wrong, Mr. Gaytan!

5) Louis

There is only one remaining Last Chance Kitchen battle for Louis. I suspect he is better than both remaining men so I would favor him in either of those clashes. He is not as good as either of the women, though. So I see Louis’ odds of making the final four as right at 50/50. If not for the coin flip odds of survival, I would have slotted him in third in the power rankings. With seven straight wins in Last Chance Kitchen, he has set a record that I doubt will ever be broken. A great player would have to be voted out of the Winner’s Bracket and then survive an unholy amount of time to do so.

At this point, the logical conclusion to Top Chef is obvious. Louis would beat all five other remaining chefs in consecutive heads up competitions. After that, he would challenge Tom Colicchio in battle with the title of Top Chef head judge up for grabs. And Louis would win that as well. After seven straight wins in Last Chance Kitchen, Louis is more machine than chef. He is a human 3-D printer whose only task is to provide Michelin star-quality food upon request.

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