New at BOP: Review: Matrix Resurrections Movie Review: Moonfall Movie Reviews: Scream The #1 Movie in America November Forecast The Many Saints of Newark October Forecast New Trivia Question All site updates Share & Save   Tweet Print this column

Josh goes last and his issues give me confidence that he will finish last. As expected, the torchon has not cooked correctly in four hours. He hopes that “the flavors will pull me through.” I suspect Sheldon’s dish would have to be very, very salty for that to be the case. Josh does provide the best news of the evening when he reveals to the judges that he has a new baby girl. They applaud loudly. Then, they proceed to criticize his dish.

The meal is foie gras three ways: torchon, pan-seared & profiterole. It is an oddly bare plate. Roy Choi is the kind one who eats every bit on his plate. Gail states the obvious; the torchon is not set. Everyone agrees that the flavors are great. The cornmeal in his dish is delicious. Everyone likes the companion pieces. This is a duck dish, though, and Josh has failed in that regard.

The judges finish their meals and call the three players to Judges Table. Tom grills Josh about his choice of torchon. “There is absolutely no way to poach it and form it and chill it in an hour. This has nothing to do with how good a chef you are. You just can’t do it.” Tom was ready to send Josh home after their kitchen conversation. The head judge knew how this meal would play out, and he was right.

There are further conversations about each item, detailed ones since there are only three plates to debate. The results are readily apparent, though. Brooke has won for the third consecutive time. Sheldon finishes in a shaky second place while Josh is eliminated from the competition. The Oklahoman does receive the ultimate consolation prize, though. He is a new father who can return home to spend time with his infant daughter.

Last Chance Kitchen ostensibly provides Josh with another chance to reach the final, though. When Josh reaches his new destination, he is greeted by three other players. In addition to Kristen, C.J. and Lizzie are in attendance as well. That Save a Chef hashtag challenge that has baffled me all season is finally finished. The results are announced on the air. Lizzie, whose popularity I mentioned at the start of the column, defeats C.J. and becomes the third participant in what is revealed to be the final Last Chance Kitchen challenge.

In Season 9 of Top Chef, Ed was screwed because he thought he had reached the final four. Then, Beverly returned and upset him to earn his rightful spot in the finals. This season, that issue has been addressed effectively. Everyone who has been eliminated has been given the opportunity to return via two avenues, Last Chance Kitchen and Save a Chef. Anyone who qualifies in the latter category has already been eliminated twice. This rule is not optimal, but it is acceptable. The glaring flaw had been that nobody in the winner’s bracket had been made aware of Last Chance Kitchen previously. Since everyone was informed by Tom Colicchio early in the season, it is a non-issue.

Continued:       1       2       3       4       5       6