Rick Moonen is with Padma (whom I recently ran into – literally – it was amazing/embarrassing) in the Top Chef kitchen. He’ll be this week’s guest judge.

The Quickfire Challenge is to create a dish based on a food idiom, like “bigger fish to fry” or “don’t spill the beans.” Funny stuff here, friends. The winning dish will become a frozen meal and added to the Schwan’s delivery truck. I do have such fond, childhood memories of Schwan’s push-up pops, but I digress.

The other chefs appear to still hate Amanda. Ed calls her a ‘slob.’ Ouch. Everyone’s looking like a hot mess during this challenge, though – not just Amanda. They are all running around like a bunch of crazies.

Kelly and Amanda have Rick’s least favorite dishes. Kelly’s grapes don’t go with her Brussels sprouts and Amanda’s mac and cheese/pork chop meal gets called a sledgehammer. She responds (via interview) with some hard core (and rather unpleasant) whining.

Meanwhile, Kevin’s bacon and foam collabo, as well as Ed’s yummy gnocchi made Moonen a happy man. Ed is named the winner, and Angelo cracks a joke about Ed looking like a potato. Jealous much? I’ve already made the playground analogy once this season, but it looks like the chefs aren’t maturing very quickly.

The Elimination Challenge is to cook for a baseball crowd and create a high-end concession stand item at Nationals’ Stadium. The chefs have to present their individual dishes as a group, so they begin planning the menu together. Kelly is long-winded and Amanda is annoyed. Tiffany is also over it. Moving on…

Amanda is making tuna tar tar, prompting Kevin to remind us, the viewers, that serving tuna tar tar outside, at a baseball game, is probably not the smartest idea ever. Also, Angelo is helping her, which is never a good thing, since he proved to be the kiss of culinary death for Tamesha.

The chefs head to the ballpark, where Angelo will lead up front by taking orders. Too bad he didn’t realize it would be tough to cook and take orders at the same time. He tries to hand each chef his or her own order, but Kevin freaks out and reminds Angelo that he volunteered for the position of fast food expediter. The chefs are working in a tight space, even for six people, which probably contributed to Kevin’s increasingly short fuse.

Amanda’s Tuna is oxidizing. Yes, oxidizing. Angelo says he could’ve helped her, but chose not to. Kinda icky, dontcha think?

The fans filter in and everyone is ordering the meatball sub (Tiffany) and open-faced crab cake BLT (Kelly). On the other hand, Kevin’s chicken kabob is not feeling the love. The Nationals’ players are dining and speaking about the chefs’ food in the DEEPEST. VOICES. EVER. It’s sort of funny hearing a big ol’ jock discuss shrimp fritters.

Padma calls all six chefs to Judges’ Table, a first this season. Kevin and Tiffany immediately lash out at Angelo, leaving him in a bit of a tailspin. He tries to defend his antics up front but appears to fail at doing so.

Ed’s shrimp & corn fritters and Tiffany’s meatball sub are the favorites of the day, with Ed coming out on top. He wins Rick Moonen’s book and a trip to Australia.

Padma sends Ed(die) and Tiffany on their way before letting the remaining four cheftestants know that they’re all on the chopping block.

Amanda is called out for obvious tar tar terrible reasons. Kevin’s chicken kabob had overly crowded flavors and a long stick skewer that nearly stabbed people in the throat. Oh, and soggy fries to complete the hot mess.

Rick Moonen calls Kelly’s crab cake BLT ‘soft,’ but that’s about as rough as her critique gets. I think being one of the fan favorites will save her. Angelo’s got soggy bread and a super sweet overall bite. I can’t imagine he’s headed home either, though.

In the end, Amanda gets the boot. It’s definitely time, but it’s definitely sad. She has said some wack-a-doodle things this season – I wonder what kind of goofiness she’ll muster up when I speak with her tomorrow? Can’t wait!

The new season will premiere on Sept 21st at 8pm (EST) on FOX.

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Ok, let’s get right to it. Here’s your chance to, once and for all, set the record straight about The Great Pea Puree Debacle of 2010.

A. Alex: It’s been a lot of fun with this whole pea-gate. It’s brought a lot of controversy and drama to the show. I can say this: I take a lot of pride with food and that’s why I came on the show. I don’t steal, I don’t lie [and] I don’t cheat. I clearly purchased those peas, I clearly blanched those peas [and] I clearly made a puree and plated that puree. Just so the viewers know, I apologize [for] how I was portrayed, but I’m really a nice guy. Sometimes people take advantage of that. Amanda saw me make the pea puree. The day before, everybody saw that I had peas.

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: Which was your favorite challenge of the season?

A. Alex: Ya know, that [pea puree day] was my favorite challenge. It was something that represents a real restaurant. I run a real restaurant. That was obviously my favorite one because I won that one. The ones that stick in my mind are the bbq challenge and Mt. Vernon – and the first Quickfire, looking over the capitol building.

Q. We learned that you’ve only been cooking for six years. What prompted you to give up filming bar mitzvahs for life in a hot kitchen?

A. Alex: For many years, I just wasn’t [happy]. Like everyone else that watches the show, I’m a foodie. I realized that I could make a career out of this and make people happy. I run a great restaurant here in California called Café Was. Everyday, I’m learning something. It’s a great life. I’m blessed.

Q. When you were leaving last night, you said you had nothing against the other chefs. Did you feel hostility toward you in the house and kitchen or is that something we just saw on TV?
A. Alex: I can’t speak for the other chefs. I’m a positive person. Was there gamesmanship? Yeah, I’d say there was. I love all the cheftestants and I wish for them nothing but the best.

Q. Talk about your dish last night. What went wrong? And did you agree with the judges’ critiques?
A. Alex: The judges’ critiques are always fair. It’s their job to critique and decide what the worst dish is. They base it 100% on the food. There are four judges. It’s not like one judge decided what they liked and didn’t like. Last night’s challenge, I made a mistake. There was no question. I executed it not to my abilities.  I stumbled. I deserved to go home. I said it on camera.

Q. Who is the strongest chef left?
A. Alex: I think they all have their personal, culinary styles. As far as chefs and cooks go, they’re all incredible. Tiffany cooks from her heart and her soul. Kevin has so much skill. Amanda, that girl can cook, I don’t care what anybody says. I can’t even tell you who’s the best. I wish them all the best.

Q. Did you have a favorite politician?

A. Alex: How could you not be excited to cook for Nancy Pelosi? It’s Nancy Pelosi for God’s sake.

Q. Which judge was the most harsh to deal with?
A. Alex: Tom Colicchio’s got an incredible palate. There’s no fooling Tom Colicchio. He knows every single thing that goes into it. One time, he tasted truffle oil and even we [the chefs] couldn’t taste it. I can say this; I was never scared of the judges. I was always open to their critiques. I knew when my dishes were successful and when they failed. I was intimidated by all the judges, honestly. It’s their job to tell you when you’re successful and when you fail.

Q. Can you tell us a little bit about what it was like cooking at the CIA?

A. It’s surreal. Entering the CIA building was incredible, the amount of security. I mean, we got pulled over just pulling up to the building. There was a ton of security. The building was majestic. Just walking down that corridor and seeing all the heads of the CIA was incredible. Just standing on the seal was incredible. It’s like hollowed ground. This place has so many secrets.

Photo courtesy of Bravo.

Wylie Dufresne, lover of cooking with molecular gastronomy, is tonight’s guest judge. If you’re not familiar, think steak and potatoes in the form of foam.

This week’s Quickfire Challenge is to cook with a mystery box of ingredients. The chefs are instructed that more boxes will arrive as the challenge continues, which means they can’t do much pre-planning at all. They get some crazy ingredients thrown at them, including black garlic, ramps and Jicama. Am I the only one that was totally out of the loop on the whole ramps thing? I expected some wheelchair access to be added in the Top Chef kitchen, but no, a ramp is just a scallion-like vegetable.

Wylie’s least favorites are Alex and Amanda, making this the most anticlimactic Quickfire Challenge to date. Alex’s ingredients didn’t make sense and Amanda’s dish was mucho oily.

Tiffany and Kevin, however, fared much better with Wylie. He loved the way Tiffany balanced all the differing flavors noted that Kevin’s dish was one of the more balanced of the bunch.

In the end, Tiffany is crowned the victor, taking home her second $10,000 in the competition.

For tonight’s “Covert Cuisine” Elimination Challenge, the chefs are ‘recruited’ by the CIA and asked to take a classic dish and turn it into something new and fresh, but with the original flavors in tact.

These ‘classic’ recipes range from French Onion Soup to Kung Pow Shrimp to Cobb Salad.

The chefs find out that Leon Panetta (aka – the head of the CIA) will be tasting their food. Oh, and the winner of the challenge will win a trip to Paris. There’s that, too.

Angelo is buying pre-made puff pastry (much to Ed’s chagrin) and Tiffany is reminiscing about her love for La Femme Nakita. Whoa. Across the kitchen, Amanda expresses her respect and admiration for Alex, thereby confirming their positions as Mr. and Mrs. Top Chef Black Sheep.

The chefs make their way to the CIA building and Ed is looking for hidden cameras. Within minutes, Angelo is unusually and visually nervous, like hella nervous, and Kelly is in the midst of a rice cooker crisis. Tiffany comes to Kelly’s rescue, which leads me to this question: Is Tiffany the new frontrunner? I hope so. She’s rad and not full of poo, like so many of her competitors.

After Tiffany’s dish is presented, Leon Panetta gets an urgent message – at least that’s what we are led to believe. Judging by the awkward looks on the other diner’s faces, it could’ve been real. Still not sure it was, though.

Back at the house, Angelo calls Alex an alien and the other chefs laugh at Alex’s expense. It’s like watching wee ones fight over the merry-go-round on the playground.

The judges’ favorites this week are Kelly’s Kung Pow Shrimp turned soup, Tiffany’s deconstructed Gyro and Ed’s inverted Chicken Cordon Bleu. Tiffany wins the challenge and the trip to Paris. She says it will be her honeymoon with her new hubs. Sweet.

Alex, Amanda and Angelo (gasp!) make up tonight’s bottom three. Amanda’s French Onion Soup remained a soup. Where’s the disguise? Angelo’s Beef Wellington, featuring the store-bought puff pastry, was ‘sad,’ per Eric Ripert and Alex’s Veal Parmesan was well disguised, but horrifically executed. Alex tells the judges he was trying out new techniques. That sounds like a smart move. (Not really.)

Alex heads home and no one seems the least bit sad to see him go. Now, that’s sad.

He leaves with a good attitude. Slightly delusional, yes, but good.



Q. Michael, RealityWanted: So, I’ll be honest. I’m shocked to be talking with you this week. Did you think there was a real chance the judges would send Alex home, even though he was on the winning team?

A. Kenny: That would’ve been the correct decision, based on him not completing a dish. They just didn’t want to follow through with the rules – that’s what it boils down to. It wasn’t about restaurant wars; it was about the food they put out. They thought their food was better than ours. But, we signed up for Restaurant Wars. It was very clear before they even went shopping that he [Alex] didn’t conceptualize a dish. He didn’t even know what he wanted to do. It was interesting. We didn’t know a lot of what was going on. The right thing would’ve been to do that [send Alex home]. I think everyone watching the show would’ve had a level of respect for the show.

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: I think a lot of people expected Amanda to get the boot. She was responsible for one dish and she overcooked the meat. Do you think you were sacrificed as Executive Chef?

A. Kenny: Oh 100%, yeah. I defended Amanda at Judges’ Table, and I let them know that, hey, as Executive Chef, I’m a leader. I let them know that my shoulders are big enough to take on everything [they] didn’t like. I know that we put together a great team and great concepts, and we executed some really nice foods. It was just different than what the other team did. Ultimately, I was fine with the decision, because I was supportive of my team.

Q. At judges’ table, from what we saw, instead of defending your dishes and your teammates, you threw Alex under the bus. Is that what went on?

A. Kenny: Well, it’s interesting. They asked if there was anything we wanted to go over. And Kevin said, ‘Yeah.’ That’s when the whole explosion went down. We were all being supportive of each other and what the rules had implied. I think it was a quick shot of Kevin bringing it up and then me. When it was all said and done, we knew that we put on the better restaurant experience as a whole. This is Restaurant Wars. It’s the whole package. Ultimately, the [other team should’ve been disqualified. He [Alex] should’ve been the one to go home.

Q. What were your first thoughts while watching the show? Accurate?
A. Kenny: You know what, it is. I have no complaints. I think the editing was spot on, as to how it took place. And I was actually happy to hear and see the conversation that took place in the other vehicle. The way, you saw exactly what happened. I think there are gonna be lot of mixed feelings out there. I didn’t see the competition when Trey was eliminated in Season 3 of Restaurant Wars, but I think it’ll be the biggest upset since then.

Q. Was the rivalry between you and Angelo that aggressive? Or just played up for TV?
A. Kenny: I don’t think it was really played up. In the house, when we were hanging out, we were cool. [When we entered the kitchen], we were ready for battle. I think he was most intimidated by me. He told me that later. He was nervous. Likewise, I had a lot of respect for him, as well. I love his flavor profiles. I wish they had shown more of [our] side conversations. He was one of the first people to taste my eggplant [at the farm challenge]. He said it was slammin’.

Q. If you were able to cook for the First Family, what would you have made?
A. Kenny: First course, I would do a beautiful heirloom tomato salad – extra virgin olive oil. Second course, I would probably do a sweet potato cappuccino. Third course, I would do bbq Mississippi quail with aged white cheddar grits. Main course, I would probably do a duo of braised short ribs and garlic shrimp. And then for dessert, I would probably break out and just do an Oreo cookie soufflé – cream cheese glaze, with some white chocolate ice cream on the side.

Q. Can you talk about cooking for Pelosi, or if you met any other exciting politicians?
A. Kenny: Cooking for Pelosi was pretty cool. When she was doing her introduction, I was like, “Man, I couldn’t have picked a better dish.” It was totally her comfort zone. When I saw her take her first bite, her eyes lit up and I said, “Ok, that’s money.”

Q. Frank Bruni made a comment, comparing your dish to hamburger helper. Was that the harshest criticism you’ve received?

A. Kenny: I felt like he was getting his Simon Cowell time of fame on Top Chef. To me, it was a very ignorant response. Not one of the judges could articulate what was wrong with the dish. I thought the critique was terrible. To have Chef Ripert or Jose Andres, some of these other judges we had, I thought they would have made a fair critique, not just a blanket statement [that is] good for TV.

Q. What’s next for you? Staying in Telluride?
A. Kenny: I’m actually in Florida now. I’m in Palm Beach Gardens with the PGA National Resort and Spa. I’ve been there for about a month now. I’m looking at getting my book published. It’s a chef’s journal – From Fire to Redemption, Volume 1: Bad Fruit. It’s a true, real story. Right now, we’re just trying to find the best publisher to get it out there. I have G’s sauce and spice line that’s gonna be coming out, featuring a lot of my marinades and spice blends. A lot of the spices I used on the show will be marketed here soon.

Photo courtesy of Bravo.

This week’s Quickfire Challenge is the tag team cook-off. Ed and Kevin get to select teams and – surprise, surprise – Alex gets picked last. Ed is not thrilled to have him. I have this image of him up in his bedroom at the Top Chef house, while all the other sasstestants are boozing and talking about him in the kitchen. In my mind, they only hang out in the kitchen.

The first leg of the cook-off is Tiffany vs. Kenny. They’ll start the dishes, while the other teammates are blindfolded. One by one, the other teammates will take off their blindfolds and pick up where the previous chef left off.

Judging the dishes along with Padma is Speaker of the House, herself, Nancy Pelosi. She gets a lot of ish from people a lot of the time, but I like the old girl.

Team One consists of Kevin, Kenny, Amanda and Kelly. They made sautéed shrimp over angel hair pasta. Nancy seems pleased. It reminds her of her native San Fran.

Team Two is Ed, Tiffany, Angelo and Alex. They are serving Madame Speaker red snapper. Nancy notices the extra salt. Tiffany says its Alex’s fault. No real surprises there. The winners are Kevin’s team – they’ll split $10,000 amongst the four of then.

Nancy walks off, well it’s more of a march, and it’s time for the Elimination Challenge. This, however, is no normal challenge. It’s the big one. Restaurant Wars, mofos!  The chefs will cook at Redwood Restaurant in Bethesda, Maryland and famed New York Times Restaurant Critic Frank Bruni will serve as Guest Judge.

The teams will remain the same from the Quickfire Challenge. Almost immediately, Ed and Angelo begin strategizing on how to ensure that Alex handles front of house, in an effort to keep his ass out of the kitchen. They (the ‘red’ team) are serving tomato confit soup, striped bass & clams and sautéed rib eye.

Across the kitchen, Kenny assumes the role of Executive Chef (to rival Angelo, no doubt), and his ‘blue’ team is serving chilled corn soup, strip steak and halibut. Kelly will manage the front of house.

Angelo’s restaurant is “EVOO,” which I’m sure sufficiently annoys Rachael Ray. The cooking begins, and Tiffany almost immediately has to correct Alex’s fish fiasco. Apparently, she found lots ‘o’ bones and scales. Not yummy. Angelo is starting to unravel. I think he might rip Alex’s face off. Meanwhile, Kenny’s team couldn’t be calmer. I feel like this is a set up, what do you think? Kenny’s blue team is called “2121,” named for their Top Chef: D.C. mailing address.

Alex and Kelly are managing the wait staff as the other chefs work in the kitchen. Kelly’s playing the nice girl, while Alex channels Mussolini. Before long, the guests begin to arrive.

The judges are seated before Alex notices them. For those of you unfamiliar with Restaurant Wars, that is, um, not a good thing. The consensus from the judges seems to be that EVOO serves up good, sometimes great food, but lacks any semblance of service. The judges walked out of EVOO and over to 2121 without receiving a “Thanks for coming” or even “Peace Out, Suckas.” Oh, Alex. You’re so attentive.

Over at 2121, Amanda is struggling with some overcooked meat, but Kelly is picking up the slack out front. She’s not as pissy as she used to be, which I appreciate. The service is better over here, but the food seems inconsistent, at best. Frank Bruni nearly spit out Kenny’s goat cheese dish, calling it a “monstrosity.” That’s just not what you want to hear.

Angelo’s EVOO comes out on top. I’m slightly irritated that Alex’s heinous service is being rewarded, but I suppose, in the end, good food trumps good service. Ed wins the top prize of the night, along with a trip to the Terlato Vineyards in Napa.

So who from Restaurant 2121 is headed home? Kenny is playing his usual “I can’t believe this” game and Amanda is shocked her meat was overcooked, which is weird, because I’m pretty sure Kelly told her it was overcooked during dinner service.

Now, things are getting really interesting. Realizing the gravity of the situation, Kenny and Kevin decide to take a very special approach. They are trying to convince the judges to send Alex home, for not having enough of a role in the creation of the opposing team’s meal. This leads to a lot of yelling in the room where they get drunk and wait to get kicked off. A lot of yelling and standing up and pointing fingers. And more yelling.

The judges don’t entertain the thought of sending someone from the winning team home. Instead, they send Kenny home. Seriously. Take a minute to digest that. (Again, the puns are intended.) He leaves the Top Chef kitchen – and the show, still thinking that Alex should’ve been sent home. I can’t wait to talk to this dude tomorrow.

There’s some Laguna Beach-like seaside partying and lots of riding in cars with boys, all culminating in a naughty hotel room romp, which feels sort of like a PG-13 version of Sookie and Bill’s many bumpfests.

Check it out below and draw your own conclusion…

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: You seemed to become this season’s Top Chef comedian. Is this something you went in trying to achieve? Were you worried it would cause people to take you less seriously as a chef?

A. Stephen: My personality is not conceived. I am who I am. I think I even said it a couple of times on the show. The more nervous I get, or when I get excited, my personality, my humor comes out even more. It wasn’t a planned thing. That’s just the person I happen to be. That being said, do I think people would like that and think that’s cool? Yeah, I think I’m a cool guy. I live life. I have fun with it. No matter what situation I’m in, I have a lot of fun.

Q. Michael, RealityWanted: What was your favorite challenge?

A. Stephen: If you’re talking Quickfire, my favorite was the toothpick challenge, where I got robbed and should’ve won. It was a great idea; taking a dish you would serve as an entrée and shrinking it down. My least favorite was being tied together. I loved being tied with Jacqueline, don’t get me wrong. [In terms of] cooking skills, I didn’t think that shined on anybody’s skills so much.

Q. Kenny expressed concern about how you would keep your meat on with only sternos. Were you worried about that?

A. Stephen: You know what? Kenny, the awesome chef and sportsmen that he is, actually confronted me on that. He was like “Bro, how do you plan on heating that up tomorrow?” I could tell by his quizzing that he was like “bad idea.” I appreciated that very much. My ego was like “aw, f#@k” we can heat this up. It’s one of those times when your ego sends you down the wrong road.

Q. If you could cook for the First Family, what would you have made?

A. Stephen: Hold on, let me filter. I think I would do food that I love to cook. It would be simple food. It’s hard to say, it’s such an open question. I would do some of my favorite dishes, which would be grilled fish with rice and lentils. Maybe some grilled asparagus. I’d also like to do some family-style shellfish. I love oysters. I [also] do a bacon-wrapped prawn that’s served with a tomato salad and basil aioli.

Q. Anyone you meet that excited you?
A. Stephen: All those guys excited me. I was incredibly impressed by Aaron Shock and what he’s been able to accomplish on this earth at such a young age.

Q. What was your strategy when you came onto the show?
A. Stephen: My strategy was to be myself. I wanted to treat the people that I came in contact with with respect and to cook from the heart. To this day, when I create dishes, there’s a lot of trial and error. I have to do a lot of editing on my dish. I think that was kind of my downfall. I think I did stay true to my scheme on the show.

Q. When you pulled the Brazil card, do you think you had a disadvantage?
A. Stephen: I don’t think the country of Brazil puts anyone at an advantage or disadvantage. My absence of knowledge of the cuisine of Brazil put me at a huge disadvantage.

Q. If you had drawn knife #1, what would you have picked and what would you have made?
A. Stephen: I would’ve gone for Spain and I probably would’ve done some type of raw fish, maybe with some of the flavors of Spain.

Q. Had you prepared for an international challenge?

A. Stephen: I should have. It seems so obvious. I still wouldn’t have prepared for Brazil. (Laughs) If you think off the top of your head, you think of Brazil, what is the ingredient that chimes in your head that makes it a food place? I don’t think I would’ve studied it.

Q. Any plans to travel to Brazil now?

A. Stephen: I bought a ticket to Carnival and I’m on my way. (Laughs). My wife makes all the travel plans.

Q. Were there lots of pranks like the one with Angelo?
A. Stephen: First of all, I did not actually pee onto the plastic wrap. I was really hammered and it was dark, so I sat down. [Then I ran out and yelled], “There’s plastic on my nuts.” Angelo is hilarious. We went back and forth on a bunch of things.

Q. While the judges are deliberating, you’re often seen drinking wine out of paper cups, Why not real glasses?

A. Stephen: I think they’ve done some previews. It’s best for us not to have glass. I guess that’s coz we’re all used to drinking on the streets. We learned to hide our beverages.

Q: You’re still in the running for some prize money, courtesy of the Fan Favorite Award.

A: Can I get a “Let’s go Stephen”?

(Photo courtesy of Bravo.)

I really like this song, and I’m into the video, too.

In addition to a lot of standing and rapping/singing from Eminem and Princess Rhi Rhi, this video marks the first time I’ve not been repulsed by Megan Fox’s acting. I think it has something to do with the fact that she doesn’t speak in the video.

It’s good to see Charlie from Lost moving on, as well.

Enjoy…

Marcus Samuelsson is tonight’s Quickfire guest judge and he’s as nice as we remember him from his glory days on sister (or mother?) show, Top Chef Masters. In honor of Chef Samuelsson, tonight’s Quickfire Challenge is to create an Ethiopian-inspired dish. The news that the winner will get immunity immediately sends Tiffany into a goofy trip of excitement.

During the Quickfire craziness, Alex and Kelly run for the same pan, Alex gets its, Kelly gets pissed and the other chefs talk trash on Alex. In other words, same ish, different week. On a side note, I really think I saw some sweat from Ed’s moist brow drip into his saucepans. None for me, thanks.

During judging, Marcus asks Angelo if he’s sure he’s not Ethiopian. The other contestants are visibly pissy. I can’t stop laughing.

The bottom group consists of Kevin (shy flavors), Stephen (less-than-juicy lamb meatballs) and Alex, courtesy of his dry stew.

The top group is Amanda (good combination of flavors, apparently, though I’m still not a fan), Angelo (do you need a reason?) and Tiffany for her hearty, balanced flavors.

Tiffany is named the winner, to the surprise (and delight) of all the chefs, sans Angelo.

The “Foreign Affairs” Elimination Challenge is to create a dish inspired by a particular country’s cuisine. Each chef draws a knife to determine the selection order.

The cheftestants will be serving diplomats and other dignitaries at DC’s Meridian Center. The catch? No actual ‘cooking’ can be done at The Meridian Center. The chefs will only have access to sternos and chafing dishes.

Tiffany draws knife numero uno, freaks out once again and picks Mexico…and we’re off.

Stephen goes last (aww) and gets Brazil. He seems fairly uncertain of how to approach Brazilian cuisine.

The amazing Jose Andres is guest judge for the Elimination Challenge, continuing with tonight’s theme of bringin’ out the big culinary guns.

The Swedish ambassador says that Stephen’s dish would be a good value at $5…on the street. Ouchies. Similarly, Jose Andres seems horribly disappointed after being served food from Alex that is supposed to be from his home country of Spain when it sorely misses the mark.

Back at the house, Angelo puts saran wrap over the toilet seat. Stephen goes into the bathroom. Hilarity ensues. Hilarity, yes, but also ew. Why was Angelo feelin’ all over the toilet? Gross.

The top group from “Foreign Affairs” consists of Kelly, Kenny and Tiffany, whose immensely popular tamales were the hit of the day and land her back in the winner’s circle. She’s giggling like a school girl, again.

In addition to being named the winner, Padma has a surprise for Tiffany: $10,000! She’s thrilled, as anyone would be, and says the money will pay off her wedding. How sweet.

Stephen, Alex and Ed are called in as tonight’s bottom three. Stephen is here because of his overcooked rice. He also made Chimichurri, which is from Argentina. (Remember, Stephen’s country was Brazil.)

Alex’s dish just didn’t remind anyone of Spain. Like at all. Ed had issues with his duck, but it’s clear he’s the least likely to go home.

The judges deliberate and decide that Stephen is going home, thereby ensuring that there will be zero laughs for the rest of the season. Though his culinary skills appeared inconsistent, his jokey jokes were pretty spot on!

Next week…Restaurant Wars!!!