Hootie Hoo is back! (but not really)

Top Chef.  We're now down to 3 competitors: Mike, Richard and Antonia.  Coming into this week, I expected this to be the finale, as they usually have 3 cheftestants competing against each other for the title; but, apparently, they will eliminate one more chef before the episode is over and leave only 2 for the final show.  Going into the episode, I am really hoping that Mike's over-confidence comes back to bite him now that he's one two elimination challenges in a row - but at this point it's really anyone's game and Mike is cooking as well as anyone else.

The Quickfire challenge (QF) was an interesting concept: each chef got to choose from some of the more difficult past QFs and give one to a competitor.

Richard was stuck with using hot dogs, Mike with only one pot to cook in, and Antonia with only canned goods. Obviously Antonia and Richard had the short end of the stick here, having to use processed foods while Mike has free reign over any ingredients - not sure what Blais was thinking there. Then the second twist came. Each chef got to choose one extra thing to hinder a contestant. Because of this, Antonia ends up with Carla (hootie hoo) tied to her side, Blais with one hand, and Mike can use no utensils. I have to say, Blais's currywurst did not look appetizing - I would not have wanted to eat that.  Especially living in a country that serves currywurst everywhere, I'd say most street vendors' food looks better than that did.  Mike ends up with the win (again?) and I think at this point, both Blais and Antonia were just shaking their heads in shock. As far as I can tell, Mike gets lucky again (he seemed to be saying his dish was undercooked) -  would I ever go and eat at a restaurant of his? No. Not at all. Shouldn't that be a component in who wins Top Chef?

So we move on to the Elimination Challenge (EC), Mike still holding a bit of an advantage over the other two chefs. The EC is all about making someone's last meal...but not just anyone...three amazing chefs. The first is Michelle Bernstein who Mike chooses for himself. She gives him probably the easiest of the 3 meals: fried chicken, bisquits, etc. All things she couldn't have as a child. Blais gets Wolfgang Puck and he gives him a traditional Austrian meal: Goulash, Spaezel, Apfel Strudel, etc. Finally, Antonia gets Iron Chef Morimoto who requests a traditional Japanese meal of sashimi, sticky rice, and miso soup.

Just looking at the 3 meals and the chefs' backgrounds, I think it's pretty clear that Antonia is at a huge disadvantage. As an American-Italian chef, really how familiar can she be with Japanese cooking? Especially when it comes to something as subtle as sashimi.   I can say, as a huge sashimi fan, that less is certainly more, and so much of the dish comes down to the freshness of the fish and the consistency of the technique used by the chef.

As the diners are eating the meal, it seems pretty clear to me that they like Richard's the best and Antonia's the worst, while having some mixed feelings about Mike. So, I am sitting here assuming that Richard and Mike will move on to the finale, and Antonia will pack her knives and go. They announce that Richard will make the finale (hooray, and duh - cause he's awesome. his hair alone is better than the other two chefs combined) and I prepare for Antonia to leave.

BUT, then I look down at the bottom of my screen and notice I still have 10 minutes of show left. What? 10 minutes of Antonia crying and packing up? That doesn't make sense. And then out it comes...a Top Chef surprise envelope. Both Mike and Antonia have 45 minutes to go BACK into the kitchen and make 1 bite to give to each of the judges. Their fate will be sealed by this and nothing else.

Well cool - this is obviously great for Antonia. She was a dead man walkin' and this gives her a very real second life. But it kind of takes all meaning out of the actual ELIMINATION challenge. Sure, Blais moved on, but why even have the other two compete if you're not going to factor that in?  And why call it the elimination challenge if no one is eliminated from it?

Anyway, Mike starts to make beef and Antonia grabs some grouper.  At first glace, I think beef is a better choice over all. If you get just one bite and can make a piece of beef melt in someone's mouth, that's gotta be a winner. Of course, as that is what Mike is preparing, I somewhat hate myself for thinking that (haha),  The final bites are as follows: "Seared grouper in coconut lobster broth with a yam, apples and dill pollen relish" (Antonia) and "Tempura lobster over beef tartare with carmelized olives and chimicrri sauce" (Mike). That all sounds delicious, but what do the judges think? They seem to like Antonia's dish and do not seem so warm to Mike's at first, could this be a huge upset? I loved Motimoro's way of describing how the dishes were different by calling them "Bang and very subtle." But at the end, the judges vote and see who prefers which dish ending up 3-3 with only Wolfgang Puck left to vote (it's amazing that that seems to always happen on reality shows, isn't it? I'm sure that the producers couldn't have anything to do with it...).

In the end the winner is: MIKE. Antonia hears the final "please pack your knives and go." Well, while I don't like Mike - that is the right choice. He cooked better than her consistently for the episode, and had been on a roll.  He also would have been safe had they used the actual EC as an EC, so overall I am glad that they stuck with that.  I am looking forward to Blais kicking his butt next week in the finale though. I think Blais's biggest issue will be getting out of his own head. The man has some inner demons for sure, and if he can keep them under control I expect his meals to be fantastic next week. I can't wait to see it.  From the previews, it looks like they'll each be more or less running their own restaurants with former cheftestants on the line.  Should be a lot of fun.

Until the next episode...
Chris