Restaurant Wars.  Undoubtedly, one of the most anticipated episodes in any season of Top Chef.  This year’s episode was especially intriguing for me because my favorite chefs were evenly divided on opposing teams.  Team 1: Jennifer, Kevin, Michael I. and Laurine.  Team 2:  Bryan V., Michael V, Robin and Eli.  Quite frankly, the teams were evenly matched.

Several weeks ago I was locked on my favorite chefs:  Jennifer, Kevin, Bryan V. and Michael V.  I think they are the most talented chefs and believe one of them will win Season 6.  My two personal favorites are Jennifer and Kevin.  For several episodes, many of the chefs underestimated Jennifer who is extremely talented and has mad skills.

Going into this episode, I just assumed that Robin, Michael I. or Laurine would be eliminated.  Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Jennifer or Kevin to be on the chopping block.  Then again, who would have guessed that both of them would make such bad decisions and screw up both of their dishes.  I was stunned.

Front of the House

Eli did a great job as front of the house.  He was engaging and efficient.  Eli readily described dishes that were served to each customer.  Service seemed to run very smoothly.  Eli was in control.

On the other hand, Laurine lost focus and became flustered.  Her front of the house efforts left much to be desired.  Customers and judges had to ask Laurine to describe their dishes and service was slow.

The Food

There was no contest in the execution of food.  Hands down, Team 2 served superior dishes, including two outstanding desserts.  Team 1 had numerous problems:  food was over cooked, under cooked, falling apart and no dessert.  Team 1 didn’t have a chance, but it was their own fault.  They were overly ambitious and never appointed a leader in the kitchen.

Pack Your Knives and Go

Jennifer, Kevin and Laurine were the prime candidates for elimination on Team 1; however, it fell on Laurine.  Ultimately I believe she shot herself in the foot because of her early statement to the judges:  no food would come out of their kitchen that wasn’t right.  A lot of poorly executed food came out of that kitchen.

Food for Thought

I think there was an additional reason Laurine was eliminated.  Even though Top Chef says that only dishes from the current episode are considered for elimination, I don’t think the show wanted to eliminate one of their strongest chefs this early in the game.  Michael was pretty safe so other than Laurine, that would leave Jennifer or Kevin, both of whom prepared very poorly executed dishes.  And, both of whom are two of the most talented chefs this season.

Sorry Laurine.

I love to watch all of the chefs at the beginning of the season as they come together to compete for the coveted title of Top Chef.  As a result of the show’s popularity it’s two hosts, Tom Colicchio and Padma Lakshmi have reached a new level of celebrity.  For the past year I’ve seen Padma in hair care commercials but the reality of their celebrity didn’t really hit me until I saw Tom in a Diet Coke commercial.  What can I say, I like the commercial.

Top Chef Masters

An added bonus this year was Top Chef Masters that featured Rick Bayless (winner), Hubert Keller, Michael Chiarello, Anita Lo, Suzanne Tracht, Art Smith, Tim Love, Christopher Lee, Cindy Pawlcyn, Rick Moonan, Michael Cimarusti, Elizabeth Falkner, Wylie Dufresne, Mark Peel, Roy Yamaguchi, Graham Elliot, Wilo Benet, Michael Schlow, Lachlan Mackinnon Patterson, Nils Noren, John Besh, Ludo Lefebvre, Jonathan Waxman and Douglas Rodriguez.

While it was fascinating to watch the masters compete, the best thing about the show was watching them struggle as much as the non-celebrity top chef contestants.  My favorite moment from the show was when Art Smith won the elimination round with his fried chicken meal.  Out of all the complicated dishes prepared, Art won with fried chicken.  Who knew!

Top Chef: Las Vegas

This season Top Chef has moved to Las Vegas and added a few twists.  The winner of the first Quick Fire won $15,000.  That’s a first.  There are also two brothers competing against each other in the competition.  The brothers seem a little distant and I’m beginning to wonder if they really like each other.

There’s a lot of talent that’s going to make for an exciting season with a lot of the typical drama.  At this point three cheftestants have been eliminated.  My favorite at this point – Jennifer Carroll.  She’s got skills and she’s no nonsense when running the kitchen.

My “are you kidding me” moment:  When Preeti, a lesbian chef, copped an attitude when they had to cater a bachelor/bachelorette party because gays can’t get married.  Are you kidding me?  It’s not about you stupid, it’s a competition for $125,000 and several other top level perks. Concentrate on the task and leave your political views at home.  Anyway her days were numbered, she bit the dust last week.

I’m ready for this week’s episode.

First, Kudos to Anna for winning.

• I don’t think they should have combined the “big reveal” of the winner with a reunion show.  I thought it took away from the reveal.  Most of the focus was on all of the shenanigans that went on during the season.  The three finalists had to sit through everyone’s else’s issues before finding out if they won.
• The finale was anticlimactic.  There was no big build up to the reveal.  It just kind of happened.
• I was a big Reco fan all season, but after the final show, Reco is no longer on my list.  I watched him sit, bitter and sullen for the entire hour.  OK Reco, so you didn’t win, neither did 15 other contestants.  Learn to lose with grace.  I think Reco is a very good designer, but I agree with Fern Mallis – Reco needs to learn more about designers and the history of design.

The Finalists

Of the three designers who were included in the vote, all of them had nice pieces.  James-Paul’s designs are hard to understand but people in the business can appreciate what he does (I’m not in the business and I don’t understand).  I thought Daniella’s line was the most cohesive.  Nice pieces but designed for 20 something’s.  Anna’s line was marketable to a larger audience.  I like most, but not all of her pieces.

The Hosts

One of the things I couldn’t figure out all season long was the pairing of Isaac Mizrahi with Kelly Rowland.  Isaac Mizrahi I understand – great name recognition in the fashion industry.  But Kelly Rowland?  She’s a singer.  Yes, she’s cute and looks great in her clothes, but what qualifies her to be a judge of fashion design?  I searched her bio to find some clue to her “fashion resume” but found none.  I don’t think she added anything to the show.

Knock Offs

There was much ado about Johnny’s knock-off and rightly so.  However, it is crystal clear that The Fashion Show is a knock-off of Project Runway. Project Runway was Bravo’s most highly rated show but they left and went to another network.  I guest Brave was trying to duplicate that success in The Fashion Show.  It’s a pretty good show, but something is missing.  Until they can figure it out, I can’t wait for Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn to return to Project Runway in August on Lifetime.

The Final Challenge

The final challenge took place at Commander’s Palace in New Orleans.  Tom Colicchio told the finalists to “Cook the best 3 course meal of your life.”  They had to cook for twelve guests:  Ti Martin, Susan, Spicer, John Besch, Rocco Dispirto, Hugh Keller, Fabio, Branford Marsailis, Padma, Tom Coliccio, Tory McPhail, Gail Simmons and Toby Young.

To help the chefs in this season’s final challenge, Top Chef bought back three runner ups from previous seasons to work as their sous chefs:   Richard from Season 4, Casey from Season 3, and Marcel from Season 2.  Hosea had first choice and it was Richard.  Casey worked with Carla and Marcel worked with Stefan.

The Twist

The finale wouldn’t be the same without a twist.  At the last minute, Tom told the contestants they would have to make an appetizer.  For the appetizers the chefs had three choices:  crab, red fish and alligator.  Hosea had first choice and chose the red fish, he gave Carla the crab and Stefan the the alligator.

Judges Table

In the end, Carla was out.  She allowed Casey too much  influence over her dishes and it showed.  The judges immediately knew that the food they were eating was not what they had come to expect from Carla.  Not only was Sous-vide strip steak not Carla, it was tough and her dessert was a disaster.  So the decision was between Hosea and Stefan.  Hosea was Hosea – his food was good and it was consistent with his style.  One of Stefan’s dishes had some problems and his dessert was labeled ordinary.

In the end, whose cuisine reigned supreme? – Hosea’s!

The producers are doing a good job of keeping the show fresh with the twist of bringing back what they called three strong chefs to compete for a spot in the final four – Jamie, Jeff and Leah.  I still don’t think Leah is that strong but my opinion doesn’t count.  Jeff stepped up his game and got back in the running.  Unfortunately his final dish wasn’t strong enough for him to go continue in the competition, so we were back to the original final four.

Last week I was convinced that the final three would be Carla, Fabio and Stefan.  Of course, nothing is a sure bet during elimination rounds.  Carla was in her element and her dishes were spot on!  Once again, she criticized her own dish before the judges could give feedback, but they cut her off and she won the elimination challenge and the car.  Alas, Fabio had to pack his knives and go.

I hope Carla wins Top Chef this season.  At the beginning she didn’t seem like a strong or serious competitor, but she has really come on strong.  I believe Carla is the one to beat.  When the season started, I predicted that Stefan would win, but I’m not so sure now.  He’s starting to make mistakes while Carla has been slow and steady.  Of course everyone may be fooled and Hosea may take it all.  He has been consistent.