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The top performers for this round are Grayson, Paul, Sarah and Dakota, two appetizers and two desserts. The entrée round went as poorly as it seemed. In terms of overall Top Chef status, Dakota and Paul in particular are establishing a strong resume and it appears as if one of them will be the winner tonight as well. Sure enough, Paul is chosen and in the process becomes the first multiple individual challenge winner of the season.

The other shoe drops when the chefs are asked to send Chuy, Chris C., Moto Chris and Ty. I am surprised by the fact that Heather is not chosen while Chuy is. The opinions shown on air indicated otherwise. When the judges interrogate the contestants, Tom is hard on Chris C. for his lack of decisiveness on his cupcake. Ty acknowledges that he knew his dish was sloppy, something he had said prior to serving the meal. Ty had stated he had an advantage, a history of cooking for wealthy people. Not so much. Chris is not buried as much for the cigar as I had anticipated. There is criticism about his gimmicks and lack of focus on making good food, which is some of the best advice he could possibly receive.

Unexpectedly, the harshest comments are directed at Chuy, who turtles a bit under the pressure. Chuy confesses that this is a dish he cooks regularly, a huge no-no on the show. He has also overcooked the salmon in order to protect the heat of the goat cheese. In the process, the cheese became mealy. Tom asks the obvious question. If overcooking the salmon is required to keep the cheese tolerable, why is that a good dish? Chuy cannot provide an answer to this and Tom is mystified by his silence. Chuy has gone from seeming safe, at least from the editing, to being in a lot of trouble.

Sure enough, Chuy is eliminated from Top Chef while Moto Chris is given a mulligan for his cigar disaster. The worst dish I have ever seen on the show does not cause an elimination while one that the guests enjoyed does. Having not sampled the dishes, I am only evaluating based on the footage shown, but this decision mystifies me. At no point during the episode was Chuy shown in the weeds while everything about the cigar was a disaster. How strange.

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