by Gina Scarpa

 

It’s really getting down to the wire on Top Chef: Las Vegas.  The chefs are just one challenge away from making it to the coveted final four and it’s not going to be easy getting there - if you’re Eli and Jennifer, that is.  After all, the Voltaggios and Kevin have been sittin’ pretty since day one and I’m pretty sure everyone has been expecting to see them in the finals.  Next week, I expect a semi-shocker when Kevin gets eliminated, leaving brother vs. brother for the title of Top Chef.  I’m getting ahead of myself, though…

 

It’s the last quickfire in Vegas and Padma meets up with the final five chefs in the kitchen along with guest, Gavin Kaysen.  Gavin participated in the 2007 Bocuse d'Or, where he created a ballantine and the chefs will have to make a version of that dish.  Hold on, wait a minute.  Anyone else feeling the need to Google?  Here we go.

 

The Bocuse d'Or is a biennial world chef competition… the Olympics of cooking, if you will.  A ballantine is a protein within a protein within a protein.  Ow, my head hurts.  It took Gavin months to figure out and master the ballantine but these chefs get an hour and a half.  Yeah, that’s totally fair.

 

Michael did not fare well, because he made a terrine instead of a ballantine.  Whatever, the point is: he didn’t finish in the top and it pissed him off.  Jennifer, who has been struggling for weeks and seemed to have permanent puffy eyes finally turned it around, got the win, and received 30 extra minutes to cook in the elimination challenge.  Hopefully, this is the fire that she needed lit under her butt to get back to her old self.

 

In tonight’s elimination challenge, the chefs will have to create a dish featuring one protein (either lamb or salmon) and two garnishes for an all star panel.  Among those on the panel were Thomas Keller, owner of The French Kitchen, and Daniel Boulud, owner of 10 (count ‘em, 10) award winning restaurants.

 

The challenge seems fairly simple for these chefs, yet no one really delivers.  It could be the pressure of the competition, or the pressure of the esteemed panel, or… I don’t know what… but a lot of the food was undercooked tonight.  Each week, I think to myself how I would love to sample some of the dishes that are presented to the judges – I just don’t want to die of food poisoning after doing so!

 

Here are the dishes served tonight:
Bryan: Crusted Lamb Loin, Lamb Shank Crepinette & Orzo Au Gratin
Eli: Sausage Wrapped Lamb Loin, Carrot Puree & Tomato-Piquillo Canape
Jennifer: Salmon & Caviar, Shrimp Flan & Truffle, Celery Root & Shiitake
Kevin: Poached Lamb Loin, Sherry-Glazed Beet & Asparagus in Sunchoke Cream
Michael: Salmon with Cauliflower Chickpea Tart & Zucchini Tzatziki

 

In panel, it is Kevin’s dish who reigns supreme.  Though everyone struggled here and there, when it came down to it, Kevin’s dish tasted the best and that’s what counts.  It paid off big time, too.  Besides heading to the Top Chef finale, he banked $30,000 and the opportunity to compete in the Bocuse d'Or in 2011.  I can feel the jealousy radiating from the brothers as we speak.

 

Though the judges appreciated Eli’s concept, he screwed his lamb up and Jerome Bocuse said it was “hard to swallow”.  That dish was Eli’s last, as he was eliminated from the competition just short of the finale.  Them’s the breaks…

 

Top Chef: Las Vegas airs Wednesdays at 10pm ET on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

For more Top Chef: Las Vegas links, visit SirLinksALot.net.