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Following the usual rules of Top Chef, we should infer that either Travis’ biscuit is delicious enough to earn him a spot in the top group or a disaster that puts his name in the Elimination hat. Since I maintain that Travis is the “worst” remaining chef, I expect the latter. Then again, I made a similarly snide comment last week right before Travis delivered an epic Restaurant Wars performance.

Continuing the good will nature of tonight’s episode, Emeril Lagasse cooks dinner for the contestants at their residence. Emeril is one of the kindest people on television, and he also has a poker tell. Whenever he is particularly proud of a recipe, he warmly rubs his hands together in anticipation of the presentation. There is much hand rubbing about caldo verde, a green soup his mother made for him.

Emeril innocently asks what each person is preparing the next day. This query stirs up a lot of emotions in Brian. The New York strip steak he has planned for his menu is his father’s favorite cut of beef. Brian confides that his father had a series of strokes the previous year that have impeded the man’s ability to communicate with others. Brian cries as he relays the story, and he is so human in this moment that if he wins the vote for most popular chef this season, the award will be justified by this specific conversation. I hope your father continues to improve, Brian.

The chefs are provided the honor of cooking at Dooky Chase’s Restaurant, the legendary New Orleans joint that made Leah Chase a celebrity chef. Nina states that she is humbled to be there. Brian has a different issue. There is not a place to charbroil his meat so he has to resort to pan grilling, and he is clearly agitated about it. Meanwhile, Travis only gets one shot to cook his biscuits (his words, not mine). Unfortunately, he blows it as the biscuits are on the raw side. He put too much butter in them, and that messes up the timing of their cooking.

Once the judges are seated (including Leah Chase and her daughter), the first three chefs to present their meals are Travis, Brian and Carlos. The Mexican chef wins the round as his pork is roundly praised for its flavor. Brian’s steak is sweet, and Tom is unhappy with the char on the beef. Travis’ dish strikes me as too simplistic (it looks like a Cracker Barrel meal). He is also dinged for the rawness of the biscuit. Still, Hubert Keller remarks that everyone has cleaned their plates so the mistakes in the dishes must be minor.

The next trio includes Shirley, Nicholas and Stephanie. Nick is an emotional mess as he plates. He is worried about finishing on time, and the personal nature of the dish has left him in tears. Yes, he is crying when he presents his food to the judges, relaying how he wished he could be serving his kids instead. Padma, the mother of a young child herself, is visibly moved by his love. This episode embodies how much better the Top Chef competition is when the producers focus on the likability of the players rather than their combativeness.

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