by Michael J. Lamp

 

Heather's gone on Top Chef: Just Desserts and Yigit is rather devastated by this news. Personally, I found her to be a little rude, so I'm not worried with her departure.

 

Celebrated cake decorator Shinmin LI is this week's guest judge. She helps Gail introduce the Quickfire Challenge, which is to create an edible bouquet.

 

The sauciest thing that occurs during the challenge is when Morgan knocks over one of Yigit's super-fragile sugar vases. Morgan seems only mildly remorseful and Yigit seems pretty messed up by the whole ordeal.

 

Zac's chocolaty mess, Eric's less-than-stellar piping work and Danielle's bouquet, full of unfinished flowers, lands them all in the bottom three. Morgan and Yigit fared more successfully, presenting bouquets that Shinmin felt were the most professional -looking of the bunch.

 

Morgan is named the winner. Apparently, his prize money already totals $36K, which is fairly staggering considering the fact that there are five folks left.

 

The Elimination Challenge is a doosy. The cheftestants must cater a tea party for Dana Cowin, editor-in-chief of Food & Wine magazine. The theme? CelebriTEA. The final five must create 100 portions of two, small tea party desserts inspired by a celebrity couple of the chef's choosing.

 

When the cheffies get back from shopping, they notice that the pantry has a huge "temporarily out of stock" sign where the chocolate usually resides. Zac proceeds to laugh for what feels like an eternity, since he has planned a dessert, sans chocolate, for the first time. Eric (the baker!) and Yigit appear to be the most affected by the twist. Both dudes are visibly nervous.

 

After serving their ‘pairings' to Dana's guests, the judges name Morgan, Danielle & Zac as the top three. Zac's celebrity pair is Julie Andrews & Blake Edwards, while Danielle opts for Conan O'Brien & Andy Richter and Morgan goes with Reggie Bush & Kim Kardashian.

Pretty much every chef picked a pair of celebrities that fits their personalities to a - wait for it - T (see also: tea). Shinmin declares Zac the winner. She says he ‘celebrated the challenge' the best.

 

Yigit's version of Madonna & Guy Ritchie and Eric's take on Oprah and Stedman land them in the bottom. Eric had some major shortbread issues and Yigit's mushy Madonna left a lot to be desired.

 

Yigit and Eric are probably my two favorites, so I'm sad to see one of them leave. Judging by the look on Gail's face when she announces that Eric is headed home, it seems like she's not too thrilled about the situation either.

 

Eric has been by far the nicest cheftestant this season, and he seems to be loved by everyone. Fan favorite, anyone? I think so!

 

 

Top Chef: Just Desserts airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)

 

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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