Top Chef - Season 5-
"Season Finale --- Part 1"

So here we are in the first of a two part season finale. Stefan, Fabio, Hosea and the surprising Carla are down to New Orleans.

Emeril Lagasse is the guest chef for this challenge. The chefs are not competing. Jamie, Leah and Jeff will be competing for a chance to compete in the finals. So the three of them will be cooking with crawfish. Logic would dictate that Jeff should win this. However I have a feeling Jamie will make a soup and win. Yup, I have already written off Leah.

Jamie actually did corncakes so no soup. Leah did do a soup for interesting contrast.

The winner and chef back in the running is Jeff. What did I tell you? It is good that Top Chef corrected their mistake. However there is one more hitch. In order to continue onto the finale Jeff must win the elimination challenge, not just make it through.

Create 2 dishes and 1 cocktail for 100 people. One of the dishes must be in the creole style of cooking. 5 hours of prep and cooking. They will have 1 hour in the museum to set up. If Jeff wins, then two of the other chefs will be eliminated. As an added incentive the winner will get a new Toyota Venza.

Hosea is cooking a gumbo and pecan crusted catfish. He will be serving a pomegranate and blood orange hurricane for his cocktail.

Carla is preparing an oyster stew and a shrimp and andouille beignet. She is the lone chef making a non alcoholic drink with her cranberry spritzer.

Stefan has chosen to do a duck & rabbit gumbo and also an apple beignet. His beverage will be a black cherry and rum cocktail.

Jeff is doing a fried oyster with sausage, crawfrish pot de creme and wrapping it up with a cucumber mojito.

Fabio is cooking a sausage & rabbit maque choux with grits, crawfish & crab stew with caserecci pasta and also muffuletta bread. His cocktail will be a bell pepper martini.

Tom questions Stefan cooking a dessert (apple beignet). Stefan is very nonchalant about his desert and the challenge as a whole.

As a pleasant surprise, Gail Simmons is back! Always nice to see her.

Jeff gets nice compliments from Emeril. The judges also liked his cucumber mojito.

Stefan gets a little guff on his roue being too light in his gumbo.

Fabio's dishes were pleasant but seemed to be missing the heat as Emeril said.

Carla gets high praise from Emeril. Tom and Gail raved about it as well. She should be in good shape.

Hosea's gumbo was well received by Emeril and the crowd.

Carla wins the challenge. Sadly this means that Jeff is heading home even though he performed well enough to be in the top three. That should be good news for Fabio and Stefan who were clearly the bottom two. Hosea is the next chef to be named safe thus leaving Fabio and Stefan.

Fabio is asked to pack his knives and leave. Big break for Stefan and that will keep the pressure on Carla and Hosea. Someone is going to have to cook their ass off to win this thing.

So, my final rankings of the season. I put Stefan ahead of Hosea solely because I think this week will be a kick in the ass that will drive him in the next challenge. Carla has to be #1 because she has turned it on these past few challenges and she deserves it.

1. Carla
2. Stefan
3. Hosea

Labels: Television, Top Chef

- posted by Doug @ 11:51:00 PM