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Three chefs get better news. Moustache Joe (or should I call him Luigi?) did a great job with his pasta with pork sugo. Joe from Chicago (who previously worked at Spiaggia) made a roasted red snapper with wild mushrooms that delighted Tom. Finally, Tu’s Vietnamese salad was the epitome of freshness. And taking home immunity this week is Tu, who looks stunned given the talent level in this competition.

From salads to meat and potatoes, the Elimination Challenge asks the cheftestants to put their own spin on the classic American pairing. They’ll be throwing a block party in Larimer Square in the heart of downtown Denver, and the site of its recent culinary renaissance (though, to be fair, what city hasn’t undergone a culinary renaissance in the past decade or so?). They’ll be feeding a group of 200 Denver locals, including many of the city’s acclaimed chefs.

After a quick van ride to the local Whole Foods, all of the chefs (who clearly know the drill already) book it over to the meat counter to try and secure their protein of choice. The frantic shopping is followed by even more frantic cooking back in the Top Chef kitchen, where Bruce (who somehow has connections to almost every judge on the show and multiple members of the cheftestants) finds himself squarely in the weeds, almost unable to finish his prep and saved by the grace of Tu, who sacrifices his own time to help out a fellow chef. Tu’s lucky he’s got immunity, cause that could have been an ill-advised extension of charity.

The chefs’ exhausting day of cooking, shopping, and prepping is finally over, and they head back to a simply amazing group house. Beds are claimed, roommates are made, bottles of wine are opened, and ruminations on the last twelve hours begin. Carrie, our Alaska chef, vows not to end up on the bottom again. So does Melissa, who thinks she’s planned a dish that no one could hate. Meanwhile, Bruce stews about his dish and worries that he won’t be able to finish making all the gnocchi he has planned.

We’re treated to a gorgeous Denver day as the chefs take over Larimer Square, while the diners look on from the sides, eagerly awaiting the feast to come. Joe (Luigi) isn’t sure that the cookware provided will provide the heat needed to prepare his dish, and so good-hearted Tu (again) sacrifices his own dish by lending his special induction pot to Joe. Tu will make it work by warming up his stew in a single hotel pan placed atop two induction plates. “I gotta keep stirring it so that the bottom doesn’t get scalded,” he muses to himself.

Ah, famous last words.

Service begins and, in a pleasant surprise, the food all sounds good. Fatima, a Pakistani chef who grew up idolizing Padma, is thrilled to death after Padma and Graham try her take on samosas with braised chicken and tamarind beef and heap her with praise. Bruce manages to finish his gnocchi, pairing it with braised pork shoulder that Tom practically inhales. Rogelio, an ever-smiling Mexican chef, pulls off a high degree of difficulty by making a potato and beef croquette. Great dishes also come from Tyler (a chef from Connecticut) who made a great sweet potato puree with smoked pork gravy, Chris with an ingenious potato waffle with BBQ beef, and Brother Luck (yes, that’s his real name) with a beautifully artistic purple potato puree with lamb and goat cheese.

Falling a bit short (again) is Melissa and Carrie—the former made a Yukon potato puree with braised pork shoulder that was underseasoned, while the latter’s play on chips and dip featured potato chips that were burnt. With her were Adrienne (an endearing Mexican chef), whose sweet potato tostone with pork belly was just too sweet, and Tu, who did indeed scorch his stew, leading to a bitter aftertaste.

After a massive Denver storm cuts the afternoon short, the chefs head to Judges Table to face the music. Although Tom tells them that, overall, it was a great start for everyone, the three dishes that stood out came from Fatima, Chris, and Tyler. Fatima expertly executed her dish and made every flavor stand out, the BBQ element in Chris’s dish really stood out from the pack, and Tyler provided the best preparation of potato of the bunch and made a very flavorful stew to accompany it.

Tyler ends up as our first Elimination Challenge winner of season 15, which brings a huge smile to his face. He’s well aware of the extremely strong track record for first-episode winners on Top Chef, and being superstitious himself, he’s hoping that trend continues.

As for those chefs up for elimination, it’s an all female-group (sigh). Melissa returns on the basis of flavors that tasted like “warmed over leftovers,” per Tom (ouch). Adrienne’s dish was simply too sweet and didn’t have much texture to it. And beyond Carrie’s burnt potato chips, she overdid it with her lemon goat cheese, which overwhelmed the dish.

Clearly, though strong dishes in and of themselves, the bottom three each had their own set of problems. And this week, it’s going to be Melissa’s dish that sends her home. She looks utterly in shock, barely able to take in Tom’s feedback that her dish was simply not unique or well-execute enough to stay in the competition. Unable to hold back tears during her departure monologue, she expresses deep frustration at leaving so soon and hopes that Last Chance Kitchen will give her an opportunity to show that she is indeed able to make great food.

It’s a pity she wasn’t able to do so in either the Quickfire or the Elimination Challenge in which she participated.

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