It’s hard to believe we’re down to the final six cheftestants, and it’s even harder to believe that Kenny is dunzo, while Amanda keeps on keepin’ on. Tonight’s episode begins with Ed wearing Tiffany’s dress. Go ahead, Ed. Go ahead. We also learn that Angelo used to pray to a shrine of world renowned chefs. Whoa.

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!

Top Chef: DC’s resident scapegoat lasted longer than most predicted, but at the end of this week’s “Covert Cuisine” challenge, his luck finally ran up and he was the latest cheftestant to head home. Alex chatted with RealiyWanted and other reporters about his relationship with the other competitors, cooking at the CIA building and what really went down with the now infamous pea puree.

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.

Tonight begins with Kevin harboring some mega-resentment for Alex. He’s bummed because his bromance with Kenny was cut short, and – in his eyes – it was at Alex’s hand.

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.



Restaurant Wars takes no prisoners, indeed. After being eliminated in this season’s most shocking dismissal yet, Kenny spoke to RealityWanted and other reporters about his rivalry (and friendship?) with Angelo, his annoyance with Alex and what he really thinks of Frank Bruni.

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. Read More

The show begins with Amanda convincing herself she’s among the “best of the best” and Kenny complaining about winding up in the middle all the time.

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. Read More