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Meanwhile, by Michael’s suggestion, the judges do a tequila shot before meandering around with the crowd to the various food stations. Michael and Padma sample Casey’s take on a crab macaron (yeah, it sounds ridiculous to me, but it’s basically crab on something looking like puff pastry). Both judges adjudge the dish to need a “smudge” more seasoning, or something that would add a bit of heat or acid.

Brooke has herself a hit with a savory crêpe filled with fresh ricotta, trout roe, and some crispy prosciutto. Tom deems it as decadent as breakfast can be, and Graham praises how creative and delicious the dish is.

Getting less good news is Shirley, who does a dish inspired by memories of sneaking out behind her mother’s back with a friend to get street food. Though her roasted leg of lamb with Beijing spice tastes good, both Padma and Michael criticize the fact that it’s incredibly hard to eat at a cocktail party. After they leave, Padma offers the (probably correct) conclusion that Shirley would have been better off serving her dish on a stick or skewer.

Emily’s twist on her grandfather’s icebox cake has a similar flaw in conception. While it tastes good, Tom faults the dish for not elevating far enough beyond the original version, and Graham notes that it lacks the heart and soul that others had.

For example, like Sheldon’s toasted barley tea with steamed snapper and mushrooms (which, frankly, seems like it’d be awful to eat on a hot, sweaty day). Michael adores it, and Padma gives the combination praise and advice that “this is the type of food that I associate with you.”

Sylva is running behind on his service, with lines forming due to people coming back for seconds. And with good reason. His beef “lollipop” with ground rib eye scores with Tom. Graham says it’s like “a punch in the tongue,” insofar as it delivers flavor upon flavor.

And Sylva’s tongue punch lands him in the top three for the challenge. Tom appreciates that Sylva took something really simple and blew it out of the water, making something truly delicious. Brooke is also in the top three with an egg yolk crêpe that Padma adored - it was rich without being greasy. Tom declares it the best breakfast/brunch dish he’s had. Finally, the third person in the top three is Sheldon, who put so much umami in his dish that Graham describes it as “liquid zen.” Though it was a day of great food, Sylva takes home his second Elimination win of the season.

Fun fact: only Brooke and Sylva have won two Elimination Challenges this season. Of the remaining chefs, only Sheldon has not won an Elimination Challenge.

Of the four other chefs, John is spared due to his shrimp scampi, which was a huge hit. We have a female-dominated bottom three of Emily, Shirley, and Casey. Tom notes that all of the dishes in the challenge were good, but minor things separated those at the top from those at the bottom. For Casey, it was the fact that her dish was just barely under seasoned. For Shirley, her dish was difficult to eat and inappropriate for the setting. For Emily, her flavors were muddled and she didn’t do enough to take her grandfather’s icebox cake to the next level.

With only seven chefs left in the competition, Tom notes, the only safe route is to be in the top, because any small error can send you home. And today, that’s Emily. Her dish came from a “do no harm” mentality, and while that might work in a team challenge where a chef can get away with being innocuous, the lack of ambition in this challenge was her downfall. Also, her muddy flavors.

And Emily is fine with that. She consoles herself with the knowledge that she’s not going home for cooking a bad dish. She came here to win (though nothing about her cooking showed that) and even though she didn’t, she tried her hardest and won’t have any regrets. She hopes that everyone remembers her for all the great things she put on the plate in this competition.

Good luck trying to remember what those were.

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