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Top Chef Final Four Make It Through the d'Or
Sure, Tom Colicchio's got much respect for the five who made it this far on Top Chef and it was a pleasure watching them all cook.
But only four made it out of tonight's episode alive after an especially meaty quickfire round and an elimination challenge inspired by the Olympics of culinary arts, the Bocuse d'Or.
While the fantasy foursome of Bryan and Michael Voltaggio, Kevin Gillespie and Jennifer Carroll was planted in people's minds weeks ago, you could bet that surprise contender Eli Kirshtein wasn't going to let them just whisk past him into the semifinals.
Not to mention the fact that Jen's been sliding in recent weeks, Kevin's not one for classic French technique and Brian and Michael could just as easily self-destruct by getting too fancy for their own good.
And we heard that there was an upset brewing...
But guess what?
There wasn't one. Jen, Kevin and the Voltaggio brothers sailed on through to the other side, despite missteps of varying severity all around during the final challenge.
Trae Patton/BRAVO
First off, however, Jen releveled the playing field by winning the protein-within-a-protein-within-a-protein quickfire. As Robin learned the hard way last week, it's far better to go with what you know, and Jen stuck with seafood.
Then the final five were tasked with cooking either lamb or salmon, plus two garnishes, for 12 judges, including the famed Thomas Keller, the only chef with two three-Michelin-star restaurants in the U.S.
Bryan ran out of time and undercooked his lamb—but the judges were impressed with his culinary knowledge and ambition.
They were confused by Michael's plate, however, not understanding how his food exemplified the Mediterranean flavors that inspired the tattooed Voltaggio. And one of the judges found a bone in his salmon—an instant disqualifier if this had been the real Bocuse d'Or.
The panel did appreciate Eli's concept, but he effed up his lamb big-time, and Jerome Bocuse (son of contest founder Paul Bocuse) found the still-present chunks of fat "hard to swallow."
Jen, meanwhile, sent out a pretty but scattershot plate of food, due to salmon that was cut, and therefore cooked, unevenly.
Finally, Kevin presented a tasty but simplistic plate, one that, according to Tom Colicchio, would have been cut from competition immediately for lack of technique.
But the fact that Kevin's dishes tasted better than everyone else's was what won him the challenge. And in addition to a trip to the Top Chef finale, he won $30,000 and the chance to compete in the Bocuse d'Or in Lyon, France, in 2011.
Jen, Brian and Michael will be there with him next week when Top Chef's final four head to Napa Valley.
"I think my family and friends are just going to be proud of me I made it up to this point," the 25-year-old Eli said after getting the boot. "They're fantastic chefs, so I don't harbor any negative feelings about it…It's a mixed game of emotions. I'm not happy, I'm coming to terms with the fact that that's it."
And so what if we could see this final four coming from a mile away? That just means the best of the best got what they deserved.
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Get all your TV scoop, including a healthy dose of spoilers, in our Watch With Kristin section.
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