Brian is eliminated from Top Chef

Tonight the contestants had some interesting challenges, all of which had to deal with some nasty seafood. In the Quickfire Challenge the contestants were given 60 minutes to prepare a dish featuring octopus. Tiffani won this challenge and got immunity from elimination this week. It’s a good thing that she did get immunity. More on that in a minute.

In the Elimination Challenge the contestants were split into two teams, with the task of creating a tasty, appealing meal for children out of a nasty fish – Monk Fish. The teams would serve their meals at the local Boys and Girls Club and the kids would be the judge of who wins. At first you would think the Blue team has the upper hand. They’re loaded with the contestants who have been performing well – Tiffani, Harold, Lee Anne, and Brian. The Red team seemed to be the weaker team – at least that’s what Stephen kept telling the camera. Oh how impressed with himself is Stephen. I think he’s really becoming an annoying jackass but that’s just my opinion.

Cynthia, a member of the Red team, got a call from her relative that her dying father was failing fast, so she left the competition. Andrea (eliminated last week) was invited back into the competition and she took Cynthia’s place on the Red team.

The Red team was really not working well at all together in the kitchen. Stephen was not getting along well with the rest of the team (with the exception of Miguel) and was making his opinions and displeasure known to all. It’s a good thing the women were able to put aside their differences with Stephen in order to work towards winning the challenge. The Blue team on the other hand was working together well. Everyone seemed to do whatever they needed to do to get the meal prepared.

At the Boys and Girls Club the Red team had a great time interacting with the kids and getting them excited about their food. With the exception of Brian, the Blue team was just too impressed with themselves and the fact that they were “chefs” to go out and interact with the children. This self importance was just part of the reason they failed. Overall the kids liked the Red team better, and the Blue team was called to the Judges Table.

At the Judges Table a very unlikable, arrogant, and condescending Tiffani emerged. Was she like this all along and I only noticed tonight? I’m not sure. Tiffani wasn’t going to compromise her standards for children who wouldn’t know good food if it was put in front of them. The judges criticized her attitude, reminding her that one of the main goals of being a chef is having your customers leave happy – including children. In the end the judges said that Tiffani was lucky to have immunity, because her attitude would be a very good reason to let her go.

No one on the Blue team was willing to take responsibility for the failure. Harold took responsibility, but it was too little too late. He knowingly let poorly prepared food be served to the children. In the end it was Brian who was let go, because his poorly prepared carrots were a flop.

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