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Gail fell in love with Bryan's ravioli but Tom says that it needed a little salt and pepper. Tom liked his short rib but said that the fig got lost. Michael points out that Bryan attempted two dishes with a high level of difficulty and did so successfully for the most part.

Tom loves the simplicity and confidence of Kevin's vegetarian dish. Gail was amazed at how much flavor he got out of those carrot tops. Tom really didn't like the tin flavor of Kevin's beef, saying it needed more time.

It's so hard to tell who's going home at this point . . . I think that Bryan and Kevin are safe, leaving Michael and Jennifer up for elimination. It all comes down to whether or not Michael's error with the egg was enough of an elementary cooking error to allow the judges to overlook Jen's overseasoning.

The chefs come back and Tom says that the judges' expectations were high this challenge and that the chefs delivered. He wishes that all four could go onto the finale but of course, only three can move forward. Michael announces the winner and it's - BRYAN!!! Wow, this is his first Elimination Challenge win in eight episodes. Good for him.

As for the remaining three chefs, only two spots for the finale remain. Tom says that all of them performed well but that something was missing. Kevin had a great veggie dish but the beef was stringy. Michael went out on a limb with a great foie gras dish, but he didn't take the extra step to make sure his egg was ready to serve. Jennifer seemed scattered, letting her coals die out, but her duck dish was nice, though her goat cheese dish was too salty. He'd be happy to eat at any of their restaurants in the future, but only two can compete for the title of Top Chef.

At this point, I'm even more nervous - Jenn was the only one without a "WOW" dish. I'm thinking that might do her in.

Padma: "Jennifer, please pack your knives and go."

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Poor Jen, she looks absolutely devastated. She drops her head into her hands the minute that Padma speaks her name. Then, she pulls herself up and bravely shakes the hands of each of the judges, thanking them for the opportunity to compete. Then she gives Michael and Kevin a big hug.

In her final interview, she says that the competition pushed her to become a better chef and made her want to learn more and be more creative. She's sorry that she's not in the finale. She really wanted to win – to be there at the end. She's happy that she made some great friends, and that's hard when you know you can do better but you don't have time to fix or change things.

"I'm proud of myself. I made a lot of great food here," she says, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's just hard. I just wish I did better."

As a six-year fan and loyal viewer of this show, this is the first elimination when I've actually gotten a little choked up. Jen is a fantastic chef and a tough woman – until the very end, she worked her hardest to put out the best possible food she could. Unfortunately, Jennifer had the misfortune of competing against three of the very best chefs that Top Chef has ever featured, EVER. There's no shame in losing to Kevin, Bryan and Michael, but you gotta think that in any other season, she could have very easily contended for the title.

As for next week's episode, this promises to be the best final episode of Top Chef in the history of the show. I am convinced that these are the three best chefs to ever make it to the Top Chef finale. The title is up for grabs and I'm not even going to hazard a guess as to who'll walk away with the title. All I know is that I can't wait for next week.

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