I appreciated Eli's playfulness and it seemed like he was on the way to making a fun dish, but there was no way those elements were going to work together. If you're going to fool around that much with flavors and textures, you better nail it. Pulverized popcorn on a peanut soup? I don't think so, Eli. I think he's probably at the bottom of the totem pole heading into next week, unless Jennifer messes up again (which is a distinct possibility considering she has for a few weeks straight).
It looked like Kevin was going to win yet another elimination challenge, but my boy Mike V. prevailed! I always enjoy "inspiration" challenges because it shows who can really create things with food, not just cook what they know. For him to win with what was, in essence, a buffalo wing with some bleu cheese showcases all of his talents as a chef. He put his contemporary spin on things with the bleu cheese disc and the cooking style but still made a good ol' fashioned piece of chicken that I'm sure was just as tender as it was crispy.
Jennifer really better get her head in the game if she doesn't want the finals to be all-male. Right now it looks like the Voltaggio brothers and Kevin are going to be duking it out for the Top Chef title. I really thought Jennifer was going to be a force to be reckoned with earlier on, but she just seems to be falling apart bit by bit. Half the time it doesn't even seem like she wants to be there anymore.
The previews for next week already have me anxious.
-Bill
