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The new episode of Top Chef Las Vegas was pretty good. I love Jennifer Carroll and it was hard watching her fail. I do have to say Laurine and Robin both deserve to go. Laurine sent out raw food and was bad at the front of the house, she had been at the bottom numerous times. Restaurant Wars are always tough, I think eventually we will see Vultaggios v. Kevin or Jennifer. I really hope Jennifer wins!

Last night, the Top Chef Reunion show aired on Bravo. Fabio was named fan favorite even though I wish that Carla had. I only watched this season because of Carla’s positive energy. Ariane got a cougar t-shirt, Stefan got an I love Fabio t-shirt. Stefan said that he is not bitter about losing the title of Top Chef to Hosea. Leah and Hosea were asked about their kiss and how it affected their significant others. Both reported that after they got home that their relationships with their significant others ended. They did report that they are currently not seeing each other because Hosea lives in Colorado and Leah does not. Andy Cohen who is a Bravo executive hosted the reunion show, even Lauren Pope who was eliminated before they got to the kitchen appeared. The contestants discussed that many of them were eliminated on or around their birthdays. There  was a lot of discussion about Fabio and Stefan and Leah and Hosea. The reunion show was all right. I hope that the next season of Top Chef is much better.

As we all know Top Chef season five has ended. I am sad to see the end. The three finalists were Carla, Hosea, and Stefan.My favorite chef this season was Carla Hall. She is such a nice person and did not have to be dramatic to get screentime. The finale was held in New Orleans. The three chefs were told to make a three course meal and that would decide who the winner was. They each got help. Carla had Casey. Stefan had Marcel and Hosea had Richard. Carla should not have taken Casey’s advice. The chefs were thrown a curve ball when they were given an additional course to prepare. In the end, Hosea won. Stefan and Carla are better chefs in my opinion. I was not happy with the end result. How did you all feel about it?“

Last night was the first part of the season finale of Top Chef. The four finalists- Stefan, Carla, Fabio, and Hosea traveled to New Orleans for the finale. There they were met by three tables and celebrity chef Emeril Lagasse. The chefs found out that three of the eliminated chefs- Jeff, Leah, and Jamie would be doing a quickfire to see which of them would re-enter the competition. The catch was that the chef who won had to win the elimination challenge to continue on. The winner of the quickfire was Jeff so he could re-enter the competition and compete in the elimination challenge. The elimination challenge was to create two dishes and a cocktail for a Mardi Gras masquerade ball.  Stefan was very arrogant while he was prepping and cooking his food. He seems to think that he is entitled to win Top Chef. In the end, Jeff was eliminated as was Fabio. The winner was Carla who won a brand new car. The final three are Carla, Stefan, and Hosea. I thought that the episode was very good, what did you think?

Last night was the last elimination challenge before the finale in New Orleans. Chef Wylie Dufresne, Jacques Pepin,and other culinary leaders appeared in the episode. The quickfire challenge was judged by Wylie Dufresne who is known for his molecular gastronomy. The challenge was to create a dish with eggs in it. Carla won the quickfire challenge with her green eggs and ham. Wylie said that she did one dish and that it was executed well. The elimination challenge was to cook a last supper for five culinary leaders. The leaders told the chefs what their last meals would be and they had to cook them. Carla got Jacques Pepin and decided to keep him instead of swap dishes with a fellow chef which was her advantage for winning the quickfire challenge. Leah got Wylie who wanted eggs Benedict. Carla got Pepin who wanted squaw and peas. Fabio’s dish was chicken, salad, and potatoes. Stefan’s was spinach and salmon, and Hosea’s was shrimp scampi. In the end the top two were Carla and Fabio. Fabio had even broken his pinkie finger when he was making the food, but he trudged on and was named the winner. Leah, Stefa, and Hosea were the bottom three. Stefan had overcooked his salmon and Leah’s eggs were a little undercooked.Hosea’s dish was not a traditional scampi. In the end, Leah went home and the chefs celebrated that they were heading to New Orleans for the finale!

Last night’s Top Chef featured famous chef Eric Ripert. This means obviously that seafood would be involved because Eric Ripert owns Le Bernadin which is a well-known seafood restaurant. The quick fire challenge involved filleting fish in three rounds. In each round, two chefs would be eliminated. In the end, as usual Stefan won the challenge. Then, the six chefs were taken to Eric Ripert’s restaurant for a six course lunch. Then, the chefs were told to draw knives to determine which of Eric Ripert’s dishes they would have to recreate. Stefan won the quickfire challenge so he was allowed to pick wish dish he wanted to create. He decided to recreate the easiest dish which was a lobster dish. I love Eric Ripert, he is such a nice man. I mean he really seems to care about helping the chefs to do better. He and Carla should have their own cooking show. In the bottom there was Jamie, Leah, and Hosea. In the top were the other chefs- Carla, Stefan, Fabio. In the end, Jamie was sent home. I do not understand why Leah is always safe.I mean she is constantly at the bottom. What did you think of the episode?

This week’s Top Chef focused on the Super Bowl. The quickfire involved using oats and other products to make a dish. Stefan won the quickfire challenge. Hosea said he regretted cheating on his girl friend. The elimination challenge involved each chef selecting a foot ball team and then using those team’s regional products from a cooler to make a meal. The catch is that they would be cooking a meal in twenty minutes head to head against an All Star team of chefs. The chefs included: Andrea, Camille, Josie, Andrew, Spike, Miguel, and I cannot remember the seventh person. Andrea beat the pants off of Stefan and Stefan even though his pride was hurt was flirting with Andrea. Carla made a great jambalaya and ended up winning the entire elimination challenge. I am proud of Carla, I think that she did a great job and she is such a nice person. She at least got a good chance to redeem herself. In the end, it was between Fabio and Jeff for elimination. Fabio should have gone home because he overcooked his venison but in the end, Jeff was asked to pack his knives and go. I felt so bad for Jeff. What did you think of  the episode?

Last night I watched the new episode of Top Chef. This episode was restaurant wars. The contestants had a quickfire. It was to prepare a signature dish for Mr. Starr who is a high end restaurateur. Radhika and Leah won the quickfire challenge so they were chosen as the owners of the restaurants. Leah chose an Asian restaurant called Sunset Lounge. Radhika chose to call her restaurant Sahana. Radhika was the front of the house. Fabio was the front of the house for his team. Leah did not cook her fish thoroughly. The only highlight of her team’s dinner service was Stefan’s desserts. Radhika was terrible at the front of the house. Fabio was brilliant at front of the house for his team. Carla botched the desserts for her team. In the end, Radhika was sent home.Stefan won the elimination challenge because of his great desserts. Next week, some of the previous seasons chefs will face off with this season’s contestants. It looks like it will be an interesting episode.

Top Chef had a new episode last night. Hung came back for this week’s quickfire challenge. This week’s quickfire challenge involved using items  that were canned from the pantry to make a great dish in fifteen minutes. Stefan won this week’s quickfire challenge so he had immunity. Then, the chefs had to draw knives. They drew knives and had to get into groups of three. They were assigned a group name. The names were lamb, chicken, and pork. The chefs then traveled to a farm where they would pick their own ingredients and make a meal for the farmers and their families.Leah, Hosea, and Ariane were the lamb group.Stefan, Carla, and Jamie were the chicken group and Fabio, Radhika, and Jeff were the pork group. Ariane cooked the lamb. Hosea and leah sold her out by saying she could not butcher or tie the lamb. In the end, it was Ariane who went home which I thought was very unfair.

Now, this season of Top Chef has been decent. The chefs just are not wowing Tom Colicchio. Now, Gail Simmons is done for the season and English food critic Toby Young has taken her place. I’d rather have Jeff Lewis or Gordon Ramsay be a judge on Top Chef. I know Gordon Ramsay has two shows on Fox, but I’d love to see him take these chefs down a few notches- especially Jamie who thinks that she is God’s gift to the culinary arts. Lauren Pope was the first person who was eliminated. Then Patrick, Jill, Richard, Danny, Alex, Eugene,  and Melissa. The challenges have been interesting like the Today Show challenge. Ariane won that one. I think her dish was not very inventive but I guess for live television it needs to be simple and easy for viewers to make at home. Ariane has won a few times. She started out very badly but has worked hard. Do I think that she will be a finalist? No, I do not think that she will make it to the finals. Fabio is overrated as a chef. I think that he is mediocre at best, as is Radhika. Their food is not consistent, and is mostly boring. What do you all think of this season’s Top Chef?