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Good luck with that.

Marjorie, ever her own worst enemy, immediately starts overthinking things, questioning whether she's making good enough use of her bounty, whether her dish is too complicated, etc. etc. She settles on a salmon dish that she would personally like to make and eat. I think that's a smart move.

Amar has gotten over his initial jealousy regarding his parsimonious cart of ingredients but is doing a take on liver and onions that harkens back to his days in the Dominican Republic.

Isaac owns a meatery but decides to cook a fish dish to order for his patrons. He's gonna lean on his comfort level with black cod.

Meanwhile, Jeremy is putting together a bizarre-sounding dish with chicken, pickled grapes, and zucchini. He thinks it's gonna stand out. I agree with him.

Before we know it, the diners and judges are here and rarin' to go. The judges (joined by Rick Moonen as guest judge) amble over to Amar's station and try his sautéed chicken livers with onions, root vegetable purée, crispy leeks, and honey gastrique. Tom notes that the peasants are eating pretty well, complimenting the flavor of the vegetables and liver. Rick finds the dish well balanced.

Over at Jeremy's station, they try out butter-poached chicken, zucchini purée, chicken cracklings, and pickled sweet and sour grapes. Rick adores the crunch brought on by the cracklings, and Gail calls the use of the grapes Jeremy's “eureka moment,” and declares that she'll think about that component for a long time.

At this point, I conclude that Jeremy's won this round.

But formalities must be maintained. Isaac is next with a seared black cod with caramelized fennel, olives, eggplant, and red wine vinegar. Rick finds that his use of olives helps to cut through the fattiness of the fish. Tom loves the flavors, but Gail isn't crazy about his use of toasted bread, which breaks apart quite easily.

Finally, we have Marjorie's seared salmon with vadouvan beurre monté, shaved vegetable salad, and meyer lemon purée. Rick compliments the cooking of the fish, Padma appreciates the brightness in the vegetables, and Gail loved the purée but wanted more of it.

Those comments do not change for one second my belief that Jeremy is going to take the first spot in the finale. Sometimes, a single ingredient can win you a whole challenge. For example, I'm firmly convinced that Stephanie won Top Chef Season 4 simply based on her innovative use of braised pistachios.

And I'm right. Although Amar proved that you can make a great dish out of humble ingredients, Marjorie made a purée fit for a king or queen, and Isaac had a beautiful sauce, Jeremy's innovative use of grapes wins him the day.

Sigh. This means Taco Dude will head to the finale on a three-challenge win streak. He's got momentum and he knows it.

The remaining three chefs will have to duke it out for the last spot in the finale. In tomorrow's challenge, the chefs will have to take a page out of David Copperfield's playbook, with the magician himself serving as guest judge. Each chef will have to create a “magical” dish that surprises the judges in some way. To give them a little inspiration, Padma gives them each a ticket to David's show.

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