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Keriann, in a considerable display of personal restraint, waits until getting back to the kitchen before unloading on Aaron. His marmalade was supposed to be cold, she points out, and he took it from cold to hot, turning it into “I don’t know what” and then put it on top of her corn salad. “And that’s what really happened,” she declares.

“She’s such a bitch, dude,” Aaron says to Stacy.

The cheftestants head to the Stew Room where the Bitter Green team’s bickering continues. “Was I ever dishonest about my food?” Aaron wants to know. Keriann tells him to shut up. Aaron retorts with the chef version of “you’re not the boss of me.” Keriann says that she’d fire him in a minute. Aaron boasts that he could cook her under the table, laughing at the fact that she made a corn salad in two hours. Keriann points out that all he did was make marmalade with agar agar. Aaron says sarcastically, “let’s talk about shucking corn and showing technique.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Keriann tells him. I agree. I wish he would.

Aaron apologizes to Stacy, saying that her chicken was “perfect,” but that the garnishes “were plain and simple shit.” Sigh. Cue Idina Menzel singing “Let It Go.”

The chefs are called before Judges Table - and again, I love the fact that all the chefs get to listen to all of the feedback - and the Red and Blue team are named as the judges’ favorites.

For the Red team, Tom notes that Katie and Katsuji must be happy, as they were on the bottom last week. Tom loved the pairing of the peas and avocado, while Gail thought the fish was cooked great and that Katie showed some real technique with the pickled rhubarb.

As for the Blue team, Tom loved the way they chose not to brown the leeks. He notes that “details make the dish,” and that the judges “notice it all.” And in the end, the details get the Blue team the win. Tom says that their precision set them apart and showed that every bit of their dish was important.

Mei Lin pouts.

The Yellow and Green teams are named as the judges’ least favorites. No surprise there. Tom says that the problems with the Yellow team’s dish were of “conception and cookery.” Gail hated the use of vanilla, which overwhelmed the dish. She also points out that the veal was underdone. Joy admits that she didn’t pay enough attention when cooking the chops. Tom notes that their failing was in not having someone say “no” - presumably, “no” to Ron’s use of vanilla, and “no” to cooking the veal chops on the bone.

As for the Green team, Tom declares them “doomed to fail from the get go,” saying that chefs can’t talk past each other and expect to work together. Gail dubs Aaron’s marmalade, “not a jam at all.” Tom asks Aaron how long he had to prep. Aaron responds that he had two hours. “Two hours? That’s what you did in two hours?” Tom asks, incredulous. Tom then turns his fury to Keriann’s corn salad, asking why she used raw corn. “It isn’t the kind of cooking I’d expect from someone on Top Chef.” Ouch.

The judges preface their elimination decision by noting that although the cheftestants were tasked with cooking for some of Boston’s finest, it wasn’t their “finest hour of cooking.”

“Aaron and Keriann,” says Padma. OMG. Are the judges really going to send two chefs home this episode? I’m stunned. “You should really, really thank Stacy,” Padma continues. “Her chicken saved you from having the worst dish today.” Wow. So they’re safe because their dish wasn’t on the bottom.

“Joy,” Padma says, turning to the Yellow team, “please pack your knives and go.” Tom reminds her that if she’s going to cook 30 veal chops, she really has to pay attention. I’m sad to see Joy go; she seemed like a delightful person.

In her closing address to the camera, Joy admits that her elimination is “incredibly frustrating.” She says that she has a “really fat mouth” and erred in “tucking it away in this competition.” She was too committed to being a team player and didn’t speak up. She came here to prove that she has a cooking style that’s unique and worth sharing, and she’s sad that she won’t get to do that.

She won’t… unless she can string together some victories on Last Chance Kitchen. Good luck to her.

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