Top Chef - S6E11 Power Rankings

PLEASE READ BEFORE COMMENTING!!!
There's a lot of sneaky intel out there, but I'm endeavoring to keep this blog a spoiler-free zone. This isn't just for the readers, but for me, too -- I don't want to know what happens! As such, anything that's already been broadcast or has been posted on the official Bravo site is fair game for discussion. I will, for example, discuss the preview of next week's show at the end of the post. But if you've heard rumors that one chef has been hosting a lot of dinner parties, or that another chef was spotted boarding a plane to an exotic locale, please keep them to yourself... thanks!

Well, that's a load off.

No ill will, but I'm glad Robin's gone. No more distractions, no more drama, the least capable (IMHO) contestant gets the boot... no complaints.

Of course, it couldn't happen without minor controversy.

Like a lot of other people, I thought Eli was toast. But sometimes even I forget that that confusion is exactly what the editors are shooting for. If it isn't a close call, there's no suspense. If there's no suspense, the editors get fired. Robin returned to the stew room looking a lot more weepy than she did during the clips we were shown. She seemed to know it was coming. Anybody else wonder if she got a harsher grilling that didn't make the cut because they wanted us wondering who would get the axe? I've said it before, and I suppose I don't have any real reason to believe it other than the fact that I do, but I pretty much trust the Top Chef judges. The editors, however? Anytime something looks a little funny, I'm more inclined to believe it was the editors working the kind of misdirection that we know they do all the time rather than judging shenanigans. Can't prove it, won't try. That's just my gut after spending waaaaaaaaay too much time analyzing this show.

It's also worth noting that while Tom had some harsh words for Eli at JT, he actually seemed to find some positives in the dish. One thing I've noticed is that Tom tends to get harsher and a little hyperbolic if he feels like a contestant isn't taking the criticism. If he dislikes Chef A's dish more than Chef B's dish, but Chef A is deferential and accepting of his criticism while Chef B fights him on it a bit, he's going to say nastier things about Chef B's dish. And I suspect that might be what happened here.

Which reminds me, anytime you guys want to release the unedited JT footage on the website, Bravo, that'd be fine by me. (Hey, gotta have a dream, right?)

I'm a little disappointed by how timid the chefs were with the quickfire challenge. As Blais put it in his blog this week, it's almost the finals and those who have it are holding the ball a little closer, trying not to fumble. But still, it's a little annoying to see so many of them fall into basic breakfast standbys, especially since it was a staggered start and at least four -- if not all -- of them had plenty of time to think about what they were going to do.

I have a little less to say this week than usual. Partly, I think, because we know where everybody stands at this point and we're pretty much just running out the clock on the finals and waiting to see if somebody happens to stumble. Partly because Bravo didn't post the elimination recipes this week (annoying). And partly because I don't know thing one about Nigella Lawson.

The power rankings are not purely a prediction of who is most likely to win, or an assessment of last episode's dishes, or a reflection of the contestants' historical performance, but rather a nebulous amalgam of all three, combined with a little bit of gut feeling, to provide a relative measure of current awesomeness.

Wins

Top

Bottom

1 Kevin Quickfires 4 7 0 Last Week: 1 Eliminations 4 8 1 What's to say? Kevin keeps rocking. Actually, what's notable is that two top finishes is looking like an off week for him at this point. His quickfire wasn't exactly inspired, but it certainly looked good and he did seem to pay particular care to his ingredients. A coffee dusting on a seared meat is something I've seen a number of times at dinner, but of course, breakfast is where it would seem to make the most sense, so that was nice to see. His elimination? Eh, sounds good. Hard to say. I'm a little surprised by how lost I feel without a recipe to look at. In any case, no reason to shuffle anything around.

2 Michael V. Quickfires 1 3 1 Last Week: 2 Eliminations 3 9 1 A quick note from the fun stats department: for those who feel that Kevin is so obviously the cream of the crop, let's note that if you're also in the camp that gives more weight to eliminations than to quickfires, Mike only has one fewer elimination win than Kevin, and he actually has one more appearance on the top. But as usual, numbers aside, these two are the only ones who it would devastate me to lose before the finale. If they're both at peak, I have no idea how the judges choose between them. They're just so incredibly different. It's clear to me that the quickfire isn't so much Mike's thing, and he shows it again this week. His "Huevos Cubana" struck me as kind of a dumbed-down Latin lite, which may have been due to pantry restraints, but I'm not impressed, nonetheless. His elimination looked awesome, though, even if his thematic explanation was a bit of a stretch. Heck, even he seemed to think so. "My inspiration was New York, New York. Chicken wings, New York, firefighters, it's probably something they like to eat." I'd say that "probably" pretty much closes the book on whether it was genuine inspiration or a stretch. No matter, though. Even if you have to shoehorn the theme a bit, cook good food. And he did. It's funny because right about this time last year, I had another upscale repackaging of buffalo wings with blue cheese that didn't impress me much. It was delicious and made with incredible care, but once you got it to your mouth, it played exactly like buffalo wings. My complaint at the time was that it didn't bring anything to the table other than an unusual level of refinement (though I must confess that the Budweiser foam was a nice touch). Mike's dish, however, between the braised-then-crisped chicken and the antigriddled blue cheese dressing, wasn't just elevating the familiar, but also taking it in a bit of a new direction. I'd love to taste this one. I'd also love everybody else to taste it just to prove that frozen blue cheese can be delicious. For an Iron Chef many years ago, I tried making a blue cheese sorbet that was absolutely fantastic coming out of the ice cream machine, but after sitting in the freezer for about 30 minutes -- for reasons I can't explain -- something happened and it turned foul. I've spent the last six and a half years insisting to dubious friends that it WAS delicious, if only for a little while.

3 Bryan Quickfires 0 3 3 Last Week: 3 Eliminations 3 7 0 Bryan's one of those guys who's been playing it a little close to the vest as we get down to the wire here, and I really hope he's planning on busting it all out in the next episode or two. I was a little surprised that Nigella was all over him for the vanilla. It isn't as though breakfast doesn't routinely have a dessert-like flair. Heck, go to most popular brunch places and at least three of the breakfast entrees ARE desserts. And I'm a savory breakfast guy. But even I think of vanilla as a good pairing for crab. Ah, well, didn't taste it. I'd love to know some of the details of his elimination dish, but... well... you know.

4 Eli Quickfires 2 3 2 Last Week: 4 Eliminations 0 4 2 I have to say, Eli's making me happy that I kicked him up to number four. First off, I love the quickfire. He pan-fried some rye bread in butter to substitute for the muffin, tossed some corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss under his egg, and hit his hollandaise with a little ketchup and sweet relish. It isn't rocket science, but it was smart and fun and looks like my kind of breakfast. The elimination looked... um... a little too fun. But I'm loving the effort at this point, and I can see how the judges reached their decision. I'd rather see somebody fall on their face trying to shoot the moon with a little wit and creativity and let them live to see another day than give a pass to somebody who botches something uninspired. I still don't think Eli has a prayer of winning this thing, but I like the fact that he's still around.

5 Jennifer C. Quickfires 3 5 3 Last Week: 5 Eliminations 1 5 3 What seemed completely unthinkable four or five weeks ago has finally come to pass. No, Jennifer hasn't been eliminated (yet), but perhaps more remarkably, I found myself not caring whether or not she survived. Of course, her survival was never in question. Her kinda-tough chunk of beef was going up against two train wrecks. For those wondering how she made the creamed chipped beef interesting? She didn't. Dried chipped beef in a bare bones bechamel of flour, butter and milk. The most interesting thing she did was put a tomato that had been roasted with Herbes de Provence on the side. Between that and the chunk of beef with red wine beurre monté... is she even trying, anymore? If she survives next week -- and she really doesn't deserve to at this point -- I sincerely hope she takes the break before the finals to get her head back in the game, so to speak, because she looks like she just doesn't care at this point and it's almost starting to get a little insulting. Have you ever played a casual pick-up game of some kind, where people have varying levels of ability, but everybody has a friendly competitive spirit and tries their best, except for the one killjoy who just kind of stands around, acts like he has better things to do and doesn't even bother trying? That's Jen right now. And I know that sounds a little harsh. I realize this show is some seriously grueling business. But still, watching Eli excitedly fail at his enthusiastic circus freak show while Jen sticks a toothpick in a chunk of beef only hammers home that it's no fun watching competitors who aren't especially interested in competing.

6 Robin Quickfires 1 1 5 Last Week: 6 Eliminations 0 1 4 At this point, I think we've said pretty much all we can say about Robin, probably ten times over. I don't want to come down too hard on Robin because she was very gracious in defeat, but contrary to what she seems to think, I don't think sabotaging herself and trying to do things that weren't in her comfort zone was her only problem. Take this week. For the elimination, sure, if panna cotta and sugar work isn't your thing, don't do panna cotta and sugar work (though I'm a little puzzled by her explanation that the reason her sugar glass failed was the humidity... in Vegas). The quickfire, however? She claimed it as one of her specialties and it still failed to impress. My sense is that Robin's probably a pretty good cook with a pretty narrow range, which works great when you're running a little restaurant of your own and not as great when you're routinely thrown into different situations in a cooking competition. In any case, if she had hung around one more episode it might've gotten even more ugly, and for that reason this week was a little sigh of relief.

That was a pain. Is this what it's always like for people who don't read the recipes?

WARNING : MINOR EPISODE TWELVE SPOILERS AHEAD

The quickfire, okay, protein inside a protein inside a protein. It's Thanksgiving. Turducken. It's a little fun. It looks like some of our chefs are going the ballotine route, which -- as noted -- is kind of a challenge in 90 minutes. So we'll see which strategies play out. Anybody betting against pork for Kevin?

If the editors are trying to scare the crap out of me with the preview, they're succeeding. The precise nature of the elimination challenge isn't exactly clear. But it's "based" on the Bocuse d'Or, and the guest judges are Jerome Bocuse and Thomas Keller, who... you know... isn't a stickler for perfection or anything. So I think it's safe to assume that this is going to be all about absolutely perfect, precise execution in the most classical sense. Which is scary for some people. I'm not too worried for Mike and Jen, not least of which because they rocked the French challenge together a while back. Bryan wouldn't worry me except that he's apparently attempting a ten hour braise in four hours, and Keller doesn't strike me as the type who's going to be too sympathetic for trying something he shouldn't have if it doesn't work out. It's scary for Eli since he hasn't been the most technically proficient of those remaining, and he couldn't even do a Sauce Américaine. But I'm scared out of my mind for Kevin. His flavors are sophisticated and carefully developed, sure, but classical technique, razor-sharp precision and a high level of refinement aren't exactly his hallmarks. Add to this that he picks NOW to break out the immersion circulator(!), and while I tell myself again and again not to let the magical elves edit me into a panic... well... I'm panicking.

Wednesday's my birthday. For my birthday this year, I'd like Kevin to survive.

Discuss!!!

Comments

[Melissa]

Kevin could shit in a bag, throw THAT in the immersion circulator, serve it up with a side of Robin's sugar failure, and the judges would still let him stay. Because he's that good.

[timothy]

Man, the image in the above comment is really unappetizing. But I get the point. While no one is ever safe, I do think the editors know they need to create suspense because the top three seem somewhat pre-ordained for the finals. I suspect it is some false sense of suspense that has you worried. We will see. As for Jen, it is really hard for me to reconcile the two halfs of the season. Your pickup game analogy works, but only if you add that for the first half of the contest she was the queen of the playground. Then she just stopped playing the game. I don't get it. It's as if Eve has taken over her soul (Top Chef Eve, not Genesis Eve). Happy Birthday.

[gilmore]

- Didn't Kevin use the immersion circulator on his salmon last week?

- If they ever sell DVDs of the seasons with the unseen footage of judges table, cooking and living in their various homes, who would NOT buy it?

- Maybe with the top 4 finish line in place, Jen will suck it up and have one last monster performance prior to the break.

- There is no way to rank them other than the way they are.

- I agree Melissa. And I also think that renaissance man Kevin will surprise with refinements we have not yet seen. I think he is capable of producing whatever is needed when the time is right.

- I agree Dom, Robin has a pretty narrow range and the pithivier from a few weeks ago was out of it. (Couldn't resist).

- Stefan's restaurant was in several scenes of Curb Your Enthusiasm last night.

[Skillet Doux]

"While no one is ever safe, I do think the editors know they need to create suspense because the top three seem somewhat pre-ordained for the finals. I suspect it is some false sense of suspense that has you worried."

Almost assuredly. But I got a little queasy as soon as I got a sense of the elimination challenge without any help from the editors. They just put me over the top :-)

Even if you completely ignore the trailer edit, the EC strikes me as one tailor-made (not intentionally, of course) to put Kevin at a disadvantage against the other remaining contestants.

"Didn't Kevin use the immersion circulator on his salmon last week?"

Good question, Gilmore... I'll just go check the recip-- ohhhhh, that's right, there are no freaking elimination recipes this week.

[Skillet Doux]

Checked the footage... it's a lightly cured salmon with compressed vegetables. No indication that anything was cooked sous vide, though he looks to have vacuum-sealed both (salmon for the cure, cucumbers to compress them) which may be why you thought he did so. I can't say for certain he didn't, but it doesn't seem so from the footage.

[paula]

If, like some say, Jen's sickness is entirely to blame for her bottoming-out performance, well...OK. Then the editors are doing a really good job of hiding that fact. I completely sympathize with her for having to compete with the flu. I just can't quite make myself believe that that's the only issue here, though. People, she served straight-up sh*t-on-a-shingle to Nigella Lawson and Padma in a breakfast-in-bed room service challenge at a nice hotel. If that isn't a passive-agressive "f*** you," a double-dog-dare to keep her around, I don't know what is.

[gilmore]

Thanks Dom. When I saw the vacuum sealing, I thought it meant he was using the immersion circulator to sous vide the salmon.

[Karen]

There is a great article in this month's Esquire about 2 brothers cooking dinner for Thomas Keller using his cookbook. He sounded so approachable, but then again, they aren't professional chefs competing on Top Chef, so I imaging TK was much easier on them!

[SorchaRei]

I am willing to forgo all birthday presents of my own this year if Dom gets what he wants for his birthday.

[katie]

There are recipes! At least there's one of them. Michael's chicken wing looked so good that I looked it up yesterday (not that I could ever recreate it at home, but . . .). Here's the buffalo chicken wing. I got it by clicking on the general recipe index and sorting by chef. A cursory glance shows that Jen's is there too, so I'm guessing they all are.

Though really, there is no excuse for Bravo's terrible website design.

[dc]

I still believe Jennifer can shine in the next one, being Bocuse d'Or challenge is aimed right at her classical french sweet-spot. A good showing could even propel her enough momentum to bump a top 3 if they stumble. She has had an EC win after all.

For me that breakfast QF carry little or no weight. It's just a filler, not being a high-stakes quickfire. And jennifer could be having fun, showing her less fussy side, making a personal favorite of SOS. It didn't end up in bottom or top 2, so we didn't get any critique on it.

Perhaps Jennifer has a problem with high-volume catering challenges. Her streak of 3 JT bottoms: Last week they where tasked to make 175 portions -- she made a bunch of beef, and not enough sauce. She's did poorly in RW pressure stemming from bad planning out the outset. She didn't do well in veggie challenge, and was criticized on portions not flavor, but her portions looked the same as Eli's top 3 dish.

Her defeatist soundbites are the strongest strikes against her, not her cooking. I still think she can bounceback hard if she gets in a good groove, and isn't tasked to make 200 portions. I'm not yet sold that she is over-done, spent, burned out.

[Skillet Doux]

"There are recipes! At least there's one of them. Michael's chicken wing looked so good that I looked it up yesterday (not that I could ever recreate it at home, but . . .). Here's the buffalo chicken wing. I got it by clicking on the general recipe index and sorting by chef. A cursory glance shows that Jen's is there too, so I'm guessing they all are."

Ugh. So there are. And they've all been mislabeled as episode 10 recipes, which is why I didn't find them because I search "season 6, episode X" to pull up that episode's recipes. And when I searched each chef individually, I was just skimming the text looking for "episode 11" so I didn't see them.

Sadly, this is par for the course for this website.

[Independent George]

With regard to Jenn's sickness, I think causality actually runs the other way; it seems more like her illness was a symptom of her fatigue rather than the other way around. Neither of her last two EC dishes were terrible, but, as Dom said, they looked extremely conservative, and she didn't wow the judges with either. She definitely looks like she's been playing it safe. In any other season, this would be a good strategy, but that's likely to get her eliminated before the finals this year.

[babyarm]

If you are scared by the previews then for god sakes don't look at the end of episode clips from last week. Kevin is for damn sure ending up on the bottom in this one.

If this season is any indication though past performance plays a much bigger role than seasons past. He should get a pass.

Didn't Bryan do a "12 hour" braise on his pork belly for the hangar challenge in 3 or 4 also? It worked out well and he won for it.

I'm predicting a Jen EC victory this week and Eli going out. I don't think there's much from the Elves on him to get a read one way or the other and that's been as big a tell as anything lately.

[Danny]

Happy Birthday Dom! I agree with your rankings and yet I see Eli going home. I think that there are times that Eli suffers from Mike I. Syndrome. Thinking that he can do more than he can. The best example being that horrible looking dessert. In the stew room Kevin seemed to be saying that that was the kind of dish that would take a lot of refinement and so not appropriate for TC. I don't see any of the top 3 attempting that dish - they would know instinctively that it was too prone to failure. But if you think that you are all that, then you try it and fall to the ground.

[Cheryl]

Well, I just looked at the breakfast menu for 10 Arts and SOS is on it: http://10arts.com/
I guess Jennifer figured that anything that was good enough for people paying to stay at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia would be good enough for Padma and Nigella. It could be one of their most popular dishes for all we know..Not something I'd order but anyway..
I'm hoping that she pulls herself together this week and makes it to the finals. The challenge should be right in her comfort zone. If she can channel her mentor and make food he would be pleased with, she should be ok with these judges. I will say that I think Kevin will do ok as well. Yes, he tends to go more rustic etc., but this is a guy who could have gone to MIT. He's smart and I think he was probably sponge in culinary school and will have the skills to bring it. Eli is the one on thin ice here IMO. He has been doing ok in recent weeks but his execution seems a bit immature. Having said that, he did work for Blais who worked for Keller so he could have some tricks up his sleave. I'm just tired of Michael's brooding, sulking edit. Of course, he could be like that all the time but who know. I think he thought he'd come in with his Michelin creds and wipe the floor with everyone every week and that's not happening. Too bad he wasn't on last season..it would have been interesting to watch Stefan try to push his buttons.

[Bart]

Too bad he wasn't on last season..it would have been interesting to watch Stefan try to push his buttons.

That had occurred to me, too.

Keeping Jen on the bottom is a good move, I think. Despite Eli's horrific EC dish, he still put out a winner for the Quickfire, and Jen just keeps tumbling.

After this week, I'm *hoping* the rankings will go:

1. Kevin
2. Bryan
3. Mike
4. Jen
---
5. Eli getting PPYKAG'd

But what will actually happen? Who knows.

[Dawn]

Ah, Jennifer. To root, or not to root? That is the question. I'm thoroughly disappointed by her defeatist comments & cooking last week that I (tried to) no longer care about her future on TC anymore. You're absolutely right Dom, it's no fun at all watching a person who seems no longer competing, especially when there are FIERCE competitors, giving their all, trying to win the damn thing.

However, you brought up an interesting point about the editing. And dc brought up an interesting point about her comments being the biggest strikes against her. Upon re-watching the show again, the two times Jen uttered the words "I'm ready to go home", she was never really shown saying it. In fact, the first time, I'm pretty sure it was not even her voice, but Robin's. And the second time, it was "I'm ready to go", which hell, could be a soundbite taken when she was saying that she's ready to go to the M resort. Is it possible that the editors are trying to make her downfall look more worse than it actually was?

Cause I'm telling you, if she even has an ounce of a fighting spirit left, I'm rooting for her. It wouldn't make much of a difference to her, but it does for me as a viewer. I'll forgive a mental block, fatigue, hangover etc over just plain giving up. All these hang ups over the last few episodes doesn't take away from the awesome, badass chef she was in the beginning that I've grown to love, respected & rooting for. Sure it makes her less kickass than she obviously is, but assuming there is tricky editing going on here, idk, could she be given a 'rise from the ashes' edit?

I really, really hope so. Cause having Jen Norris, not this meek doppelganger, along with Kevin & the Voltaggios as final four would make the most freaking fantastic Top Chef finale ever.

P/s: Happy becoming Birthday Dom. I'm hoping you'll get your wish too :)

[karenology]

I don't know. I'm a big Jen fan but I have to agree with Dom...she might as well just paint a big "kick me" sign at judge's table. The last two episodes have been really disappointing because I think Jen has been the strongest female chef to date on Top Chef, even better than Stephanie in my opinion! Hope she gets out of this funk before next episode, but if not, she's toast.

[Esther]

Yeah, Kevin's recipe is up but mislabeled, and it involves vacuum sealing (twice) but not an immersion circulator. I have trouble believing that he's so comfortable doing nifty vacuum tricks (as with the compressed slaw) and has literally never done a sous vide, though. Kevin's been so smart about this competition, playing to his own strengths, that that just seems out of character.

And I've gotta say that Melissa's right. Kevin would have to do something utterly inedible/toxic, AND have all the other contestants make something fabulously good, for the judges to send him home. I hope. I mean, it would be shocking (and not in a good ratings-boosting way) for someone who's dominated so consistently to go home for one subpar dish.

I hope that Jen recovers her fighting spirit. I really do. But I agree with Dom; at this point, I won't be that sad if it's Eli instead of her in the finals.

[Steve]

Oh Dom. In this case, I think you're worried more than you should be.

Kevin is virtually always "on." Maybe he can't win a classical competition against the Voltaggios, but he still sure should be able to impress the judges' palates. He's a consummate professional who always comes through (except when he cooks someone else's dish, i.e., Laurine's lamb). We have to ignore the previews when assessing each contestant's chances next episode.

It's Jennifer, who we all pretty much don't care about anymore, and Eli who are in trouble.

I agree with you that Jennifer's not in the game anymore. Can she stay focused enough to do well in a classical challenge, and possibly make it to the finals? (Looks like there are only two more episodes after this one. Semi and then the final? Or just a final after one more elimination?)

Eli's in trouble because I would imagine knowing that he can't beat the others head-on that he will be creative in order to make the best impression. (He's technically the weakest chef left.) That was his downfall this past episode.

We'll see how it goes. I can't see how Kevin and Bryan (who btw is the only chef who hasn't been in the bottom in the eliminations), as proficient as they are, will not be able to salvage dishes that are at risk.

Jennifer's tired, but I'll go with Eli going. With no twists, she should be able to cook classical in her sleep. But then I made a similar argument last week.

[paula]

Cheryl: Very interesting that SOS is on 10 Arts' regular menu. That makes me feel a little better. Just a little. ;)

[hayamyma]

Happy Birthday fellow Scorpio (my birthday was last Wednesday)! Yes, I hope you get your birthday wish too. I have been thinking about Jen and I wonder if this is the first time she has been around peers who are superior chefs. My sense is that she beats herself up pretty well and when she stumbles in the Quickfires it sets up trouble for her elimination challenge. I watched Padma on Andy Cohen's hot mess on Thursday and she thought either Jen or Kevin would win fan favorite.

[garik16]

Am i the only one who is still rooting for Jennifer? I happen to think that Jen Norris is still deep in there. And if she survives till the Final Four...well i think she could win. I really do. A good break after a good challenge and i think she'd be able to potentially win that last challenge and survive the 2nd to last challenge.

I mean, listen....no one here thinks Eli is in the same league as the top 3, or that he has a shot at winning. But when Jen was at the top of her game, SHE WAS.

Give her a few months off, and an open challenge to do her thing, and i could imagine a perfect final meal with classical themes that blows the judges away.

Whereas Eli is like an inferior version of Blais (especially personality wise) except that he's overshadowed by two guys who can do MG much better.

[babyarm]

Bravo finally put to bed the "2 person finale" thing today. Not sure where they meme started, but it's safely over now. TV preview of Napa episode 1 has no substance to it at all, but will air predictably the week after thanksgiving.

[Naomi]

Hey Dom, my due date is Wednesday :-) (and I've been meaning to thank you for that gorgeous cauliflower/pasta recipe. Like your lady love, I've had sugar "issues" this pregnancy and have made the cauliflower (sans the pasta) quite a bit!)

Oh geez, what if the hospital doesn't get Bravo??!!

[Sara]

Dawn, thanks so much for pointing that out. I watched the episode twice and thought it was Robin who said she was ready to go home. I also thought the same thing about the other comment. Wishful thinking, I guess...but if Jen has any fight left in her then I am definitely rooting for her.

[Lon]

Maybe it's caused by the editing, but I always remember (and this is certainly my memory only) the finale containing some surprises for performances by chefs. Tiffini trying too much in the first season and faltering in the finale. Dave forgetting to cook enough dishes. Sam in season 2 not "cooking" his dish and failing to get into the final two. Casey getting affected by the altitude and dropping from a serious challenger to a poor third place. Dale's steady improvement throughout the season and getting close in the finals in season 3. Blais "choking" (his words) in season 4. Carla faltering in season 5 and letting Hosea squeak in.

So surprises do lie ahead, I'm sure. But I agree with posters that Kevin's comments about poor performance in this week's show probably won't get him kicked off. I've been pulling for him from the beginning.

If he and the two bothers survive to the finals in some manner, it will set up the epic cooking battle. Classic techniques with great taste vs modern techniques with great taste. The winner may depend on who judges the finals.

I have been disappointed in the judges in recent shows; after the French cooking show, especially, and I have always wondered if they could get Thomas Keller on the show. That would mean to me the show is REALLY mature and legitimate now. And he's in this week's show.

If you are a Keller fan, and perhaps missed the recent article about his relationship with his father, here is the link to this impressive article.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/28/dining/28keller.html?_r=2&scp=2&sq=thomas%20keller&st=cse

[zsparks]

Kevin could shit in a bag, throw THAT in the immersion circulator, serve it up with a side of Robin's sugar failure, and the judges would still let him stay. Because he's that good. Kevin Norris?

Eli almost went home! He can't move up. He's not flippin OU, who get to stay in the top 25 no matter how many losses they have. He's Boise State - he has to win to move up, and even then somebody may step on him, thinking it's a typo.

I'm still rooting for Jennifer, in spite of the SOS, which is just r-o-n-g wrong.

Meanwhile, we've talked before about the curious distance between Kevin and the Vs. What Kevin said this week about people thinking him a redneck made me wonder whether the Vs do in fact view him as an un-housetrained bumpkin. Coming from a distinctive Cracker background, I can say that whatever one's particular genius and special merits, it is hard for people with different views on, say, the appropriateness of the wife-beater T or the licking of fingers to mesh easily. In short: Is Kevin a big old hillbilly? And does this bother the Volts?

[ally]

Dang, what is all the "Jennifer has given up" declarative statements? I made this comment before and I'll just repeat myself (forgive?): After champagne and grueling hours of waiting, a defeatist such as Jen is going to say stupid stuff like "I'm ready to go". She is definitely getting a hang-dog edit (and always was sort of that way even at the beginning). Without Robin drama I guess we have to focus on something, but come on, give her a break. Let's focus on Eli making a dish with terrible texture and flavor because he gets full of himself when he wins a quickfire? Or, lets vilify Mike V. (still love him). Or lets shake our fingers at Kevin and Bryan for playing it safe in the EC. Spread the love!

In short, no garik, you are not the only one still rooting for Jennifer. :)

[gilmore]

Babyarm - I thought it was Kevin in the Air Force Base challenge that did a pulled pork in a short amount of time. Maybe Bryan did a 12 hour braise in 4 hours on that show as well. I smoke pork butt for 21-26 hours depending for my pulled pork and was impressed at Kevin's skill (and his admission that his parents cook on the bbq circuit),

garlik - if not Kevin, Jen.

[hayamyma]

No, no, Jen retains my loyalty! I'm the reverse of gilmore, if not Jen, Kevin (if only so we can have Jen Norris back!) I have actually been thinking of her cooking style as well layered (is built the right verb?) sauces served as a part of clean, crisp, flavorful French-prepared dishes. The only person in the finals that would make me unhappy would be Eli, and I think it would be awesome to see Jen, Kevin, and Mike do battle.

[bill]

Eli at the liquid nitrogen tank

Here's a photo and article some of you might like. Further Top Chef tie-in -- this is the restaurant Blais was working at that closed while he was filming Top Chef. Notice the November 2007 issue date? Restaurant was closed by then.

[Duffy]

Of course Jen will make the final four. Was there ever a time when all the women packed their knives before the final go?

[Dawn]

garik, I'm still rooting for Jen as long as she's still in the game. No point cheering for someone who's on the bench.

[Azdahf]

Off topic, but who else is excited for this cookbook?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/science/17prof.html?8dpc

Registration might be required to read the article, so if you don't want to do that, I'll sum it up for you: liquid essence of rose petals, pistachio gelato made from 100% pistachio, beef jerky made with a 100 ton hydraulic press, debunking confit and a five minute video on cryosearing duck (that is, cooking it with dry ice).

[gilmore]

From the Bravo site on the Bocuse d'Or competition:

http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/blogs/burning-questions/top-chef-and-bocuse-dor

[paula]

I would honestly be happy to see Jen bring it in the finals...based on her cooking skills alone, she deserves to be there. But based on her white-flag performance as a competitor for the past 4 weeks, I'd be pissed if she won the title. As we've learned from past experience, anyone who makes it to the final four (hi, Hosea!) has a legitimate shot at taking the whole thing. And with some time away to rejuvenate, Jen's chances probably go to about even with Kevin and the Vs. That's why I'm not going to be disappointed if she goes home sooner...because I don't want her to win the whole thing. I want it to be someone who's been giving it their all and kicking ass more consistently.

That said, if Eli gets to the finals and wins, I might have to shoot myself.

[surrounded by vegans]

Mike V may have one more top appearance than Kevin, but Kevin had to sit out one EC, so Mike shouldn't let it go to his head.
Happy Birthday Dom!

[anon man]

Michael is immensely talented, but I would rather see Kevin and Bryan in the finals. I'm going to disagree with many, including Dom, and suggest that a repackaged chicken wing, while certainly delicious, is hardly the kind of wild thinking I would expect. Yes the frozen blue cheese was nice, but that's it.

Plus, his arrogance about his cooking drives me nuts. Yes, he's talented, but to dismiss Kevin's cooking as "food I do on my day off" is completely insane, and I think shows a realy lack of flexibility on his part.

[suzanne]

I'm still pulling for Jennifer. I really want her to make it to the finals; mostly because I'm really interested in what she'll come up with. I think it will be very different than what the boys do.

I'll be happy with an overall win by anyone but Eli. Like most of you, I just don't think he's on the same level as the others this season.

And I agree with a couple of above posters: when Jen said "I'm ready to go," I had the distinct impression (could have been wishful thinking) that she was talking about leaving for the night. JT can last soooooo long. I'm sure by the time they're ready to announce who's leaving, the chefs are more than ready to get back to the house and get some sleep. No way to know for sure, but it certainly didn't have to mean that she wanted to get kicked off that episode.

[jh]

I wonder how the stew room is this year. In previous seasons they've played volleyball, gotten drunk, made a bed, performed magic tricks, yelled at eat other, commiserated together, played made up games, etc. There seems to be lack of "good" stew room footage this season.

[rab01]

Most of the good stew room footage is shown afterwards because it detracts from the emphasis on building tension to see the contestants goofing off while trying to avoid boredom (rather than biting their fingernails anxiously).

As for Kevin's relative safety, I'm with Dom in being seriously worried. What happens if Eli and Jen have the two best dishes of the night? No matter how much I/we all love Kevin, has he earned a complete pass over one of the Volts? Yes, I think he has earned consideration if he's in the bottom with Eli but who is to say this week isn't going to be Eli's best showing to-date?

[gilmore]

Nasty scenario rab01.

Slow on comments - are we hitting the wall after a long season of commenting? I am trying to suck it up for a few more weeks.

[Duffy]

Now that Robin is gone, Jen suddenly appears to be the new target!

The thing is, we do not know how sick she was, why or what she had, how fast and far she recovered, and how she feels now. We do know it is only a few days between episodes, and not weeks -- given the actual shooting schedule. I think we can also agree that if she was as sick as she looked four episodes back, she very well could still be feeling crappy on the episodes were are watching now.

Now,if she feels as bad as I feel when slogging through the back end of the flu, the mere fact she is even hanging on demonstrates a huge tenaciousness. In such case, all this talk about her throwing in the towel and giving up could be just plain unfair.

The only way we will know for sure is to give her a good break to rest up then see if she comes roaring back to kick butt. If such, that she is appearing just to bump along now would clearly be chalked up to the flu -- not to any loss of competitive spirit on her part.

If she makes it past this next round, let's see what happens.

[paula]

Happy birthday, Dom!

[jkelley]

Happy Birthday Dom, may all your birthday wishes come true!

[jse91]

Happy Happy Birthday Dom! I hope you get Kevin all wrapped up in pretty paper. Oh, wait, that is what I want for Christmas!

[gilmore]

Happy Birthday Dom! What a great way to spend one's birthday - watching the latest episode of Top Chef. Maybe next year, Top Chef can have the chef's prepare a birthday meal for the top blogger, Dom, and his legion of posters!!!!!!!!!

[paula]

"The only way we will know for sure is to give her a good break to rest up then see if she comes roaring back to kick butt. If such, that she is appearing just to bump along now would clearly be chalked up to the flu -- not to any loss of competitive spirit on her part."

I don't think you can jump to that conclusion at all. After a good rest, anyone could come roaring back for the finale, whether they were physically sick or just sick of the competition.

But, whatever, whatever. It is what it is.

For a four-person finale, I still want Mike, Bryan, Kevin and Jen. Eli's simply not on the same level. But I'd like them to finish like this:

Kevin for the win
Bryan
Mike
Jen