Latin Lunch

Top Chef - Season 3, Episode 5

Previously on Top Chef: The chefs split into teams of three -- the better to highlight people who have issues working with others. I won't name any names, except to say that it rhymes with Wowie. Team Sweet-Tooth took Ptom at his word, and when they risked doing something outside their areas of expertise, they were roundly chastised. If the chefs do nothing but boring signature dishes which they could do blindfolded for the rest of the competition, I hope Ptom will be satisfied. Lia's shrimp won the day, while Camille's disappointing cake got her sent back into the welcoming arms of People Too Nice And Normal To Excel In Reality Television. Eleven chefs remain. Who will be eliminated tonight?

Yet another beautiful day dawns in Miami. You'd think it never rains at all down there. Over at Chef's Manor, Lia interviews that Camille was just starting to come out of her shell when she got eliminated, and everyone was really sorry to see her go. Meanwhile, Oklahoma City Joey worries that he's not been doing so well in the competition lately, and wonders how he can pull himself out of the low challenge placements. He chooses "I'm just keeping a low profile" from the limited selection of bullshit excuses, calling himself a "gray horse". Guess he's keeping a low profile in learning idioms, as well. Hung interviews that he's always going to try his hardest, approaching each challenge as if it were his last. He blahs some more, but his self-congratulatory bluster is becoming such a constant background that I tune a lot of it out now. The chefs trudge out for the day.

Quickfire Challenge. The chefs are met in the Kitchen by Padma and Maria Frumkin, this week's guest judge. Frumkin sounds like a Lord of the Rings character, and now I'm imagining Maria dancing around, singing about a hillside for twenty pages. Thanks a lot, brain. Tre says that she's a very experienced pastry chef, so I'll take his word for it. Padma says that this week's challenges are all about timing. Shot of Howie. Hehehe. Today's Quickfire Challenge will incorporate one of the most "widely-used, time-saving innovations of the twentieth century". Caller ID? I'm kidding, but really. How did we ever live without it? What Padma is really referring to is frozen pie crust, which understandably raises Dale's hackles. Still licking his wounds from being told off for attempting dessert, he tells us that his immediate response to a pie crust challenge is "Fuck. You." Hah! The challenge is to use the pie crust any way that the chefs would like to create a creative, ambitious dish. Only don't actually get creative or ambitious, or you'll be shot down for doing something you're not a complete expert at. I may have added that last part. The chefs have ninety minutes instead of the usual thirty. Padma tells them that they'd better come up with something impressive, "especially after last week's dessert debacle". Yeah, I'm with Dale. Fuck you.

Ready? Go! Hung expresses an affinity for banana pie, so he's making a chocolate mousse with bananas and peanuts. He knows all those flavors work well together, so how could anything go wrong? Fate laughs merrily and strings her bow. Dale is making another free-form tart. Because that worked out so well last week. This one has strawberries and saffron. He's also working with salmon, which I hope against hope is not being combined with the strawberries. He hopes to redeem himself after the last challenge. Saram is equally nervous, and starts slicing up rabbit meat. Hung runs around as usual, completely oblivious to space that is occupied by, oh say, other people. Saran reminds us that the contestants aren't pastry chefs, and thus aren't accustomed to making dessert. Really? Why haven't they ever mentioned this before? Champaign-Urbana Joey lets us in on the secret that he actually does have some pastry experience, but didn't want to put himself on the line last week. And after seeing the judges' reaction to dessert, who can blame him? He's working on a tart trio, which he feels pretty good about. Lia opts for a savory dish instead of a sweet one, also mindful of what will happen if she attempts to do something dessert-like without having a Master's degree in pastry.

Hung? Still running around like a cheetah on meth. Howie's sweating into his food again, which I know he has no control over, but still. Ew. He explains that tarts are generally a good option when you have no pastry experience and have pre-made dough. Hung is having some problems. His mousse is prepared, but it's not setting correctly. There's still half an hour to go. Tre's making an apple tart, and spruces up the presentation by decorating it with little star shapes and such. It's pretty. With five minutes left, Hung's mousse is still runny. He attempts to salvage it by cutting a slice and creating balustrades of strawberry for the sides. He thinks it still works as a mousse, but it looks like drippy pudding. Dale thinks he has the challenge in the bag. Fate shakes her head soberly and pulls another arrow out of her quiver. Everyone plates their food. Time runs out.

Padma and Maria go down the line, starting with Hung. He's made a banana, rum, chocolate "pie" with spicy peanuts. So, is it a pie or a mousse? Eh, why am I even attempting to rely on the titles? They're always wrong. Padma asks why it didn't have time to set, pointing out that Hung had plenty of time. He says that he neglected to use dark chocolate, so it didn't solidify as hard. Interesting. I'm curious about the differing setting properties of different kinds of chocolate. Something to research when I feel like escaping work for a while. Hung interviews that it wasn't as firm as it should have been, but that all the flavors were there. I don't doubt it, but making a critical error that results in poor texture should pretty much automatically disqualify someone from the win. Howie has made a peach tart tatin ([sic] -- it's spelled tarte tatin, which took me about four seconds to find, incompetent subtitle boobs) with black pepper and a balsamic sabayon. Maria finds the flavor too strong, which Howie had issues with last week, as well. Joplin Joey lies about his experience with dessert before presenting his trio of tarts. No problems here; the judges deserve all the duplicity they get at this point. His first tart is a berry cream with reduced balsamic vinegar. I don't know how those flavors work together, but it's very pretty. The second tart is roasted mango puree with rum, and the third is apple compote with brandy whipped cream. Everything looks tasty, though I don't know if I'd align myself with his description of "like an orgasm in your mouth".

CJ has made the most interesting dish so far. He's made a duo, one part of which is a sort of lollipop made of duck meat that has been crusted with pistachio nuts and bits of the pie crust. It rests in a sauce made from sherry and peppers. The second part of the duo is a duck tart with cabbage, tomato, and arugula puree. Sounds good. Maria says that it's "difficult to put together", which could mean several different things. She didn't sound happy with it, though. Tre presents his caramelized fennel and apple tarte tatin on a mint sabayon and compote of cherries. Padma notes the elegant presentation, which Tre is quite proud of. Brian has made four different tarts that make up a mini-meal: vegetable with arugula pesto, seafood with celeriac puree, chorizo with pepper jack cheese, and berry tart with Grand Marnier. That all sounds great, but Padma actually appears to take issue with the fact that Brian has done so much. He duhs that with people getting eliminated on a regular basis, he has to really go for the gold in each challenge. If judges start getting riled when contestants overtly try to impress them, I'm going to go batshit.

Saram has prepared a braised Swiss chard and rabbit stew, prosciutto-wrapped rabbit tenderloin, and a goat cheese/fig tart with feta. Maria likes the combination of rabbit and spices. Lia has done pork tenderloin and an artichoke/chorizo tart with fennel, pear, and Gruyere cheese. Maria is severely unimpressed. Dale has fortunately not offended God and Nature by combining his strawberries and salmon. He's made two dishes, the first being a spinach and salmon en croute (that is, partially cooked, then wrapped in pastry and baked). Maria tastes it, and gets a look on her face like she just ingested battery acid. Why are pastry chefs so pissy? Anyway, Dale's second component is a strawberry, pear, and saffron tart with vanilla-whipped goat cheese. Eeeeeew. Maria calls it "overwhelming". Saran and Casey's entries are never discussed. Padma asks Maria for her three least favorite dishes first. Lia's artichoke and pear didn't taste good together. Dale's saffron was overwhelming. He should probably just avoid dessert altogether from here on out. Naturally, Hung rounds out the bottom, because chefs should know how to achieve a proper texture. I defy you to look at the "What?! What sort of moron could possibly think I'm anything but a culinary genius?" reaction Hung has to this and not want to smack him with a croquet mallet.

Now, for the good news. First in the top three is Tre, whose dish was simple and elegant. Saram's cheese tart was exceptional. Tallahassee Joey's was "very, very nice". Maria tells him he has a future in tarts. I have no doubt. Oh, she means the dessert kind. *rimshot* I'm just poking fun. He and I have had our issues since this season started, but I'm surprised to find myself completely content with his subsequent win and attendant immunity. He's happy to have it, and thinks he surprised a lot of people. Everyone applauds as he grins widely.

Elimination Challenge. Padma tells the chefs that they'll be preparing lunch for the stars of a telenovela called Dame Chocolate (or Give Me Chocolate -- thanks, Spanish minor!). What a completely wacky-ass title. Telenovelas are so awesome. The lunch dishes are to be Latin-themed, and Padma makes a prophetic remark when she says that the actors work a tight schedule that is constantly being adjusted. The chefs will have half an hour to shop for supplies, then three hours to prepare their food the next day. Hung thinks he'll do well, because he lived in Puerto Rico for three years. Because living everywhere in the world did Micah such favors. Lia has plenty of experience eating Latin food, but none cooking it. Padma sends the chefs on their way.

Commercials. On Bravo's new show, a hotel guest is angry when a staff member takes too long to answer the telephone. Boy, that sounds like riveting television. I can't wait to wa...zzzzzzzz.

Shopping time. Saram recaps the challenge for us. I'll assume you've been able to keep it in your head over the commercial break. The chefs have their usual half an hour to shop, and a budget of $125. Someone always has to bemoan the time and money restrictions, and this time around it's Dale. I feel like I've written "Hung runs around" so much by now, that you should just assume that's what he's always doing. Huntsville Joey actually uses the phrase "kick it up a notch" unironically, as he talks about how he's going to add spicy peppers to a black bean stew. Oh, and something about hitting on Latina women, but I'm trying to block that bit out. Lia remembers eating a lot of grilled fish as part of Spanish cuisine, so she's going to smoke some rainbow trout. She's an experienced chef, so I presume she knows that Spanish food and Latin food can be really, really different. Howie asks the butcher to wrap up some meat for him, as Denver Joey wrings his hands over the fact that Howie relies on pork too much. Oh, I wouldn't say that. In ten challenges, Howie has used pork three times. He's not exactly blowing down straw houses for the tasty creatures within. Casey lives near the Mexican border in Texas, so she's fairly confident for this challenge. She wants to make something similar to mole, using coffee as the base flavor. Saran's buying a lot of seafood for an avocado ceviche. One episode without a ceviche! I beg you! She's also going to make her own tortillas, but buys some ready-made ones just in case. Well played, Saran. Everyone checks out.

Back at Chef's Manor, Brian wonders why nobody's doing dessert. I guess he was too busy floating on Team Shrimpsalot's cloud of awesomeness to notice what the hell was going on around him in the previous Elimination Challenge. Casey and Lia discuss Dame Chocolate, and how popular it is. I'll have to hunt it down someday. Univision can be incredibly entertaining. This leads into a couple of interviews in which Lia and Casey describe the friendship they've struck up, and what good support they are for each other. Casey knows that they'll be lifelong friends. Well done, ladies. Here's a shovel. Why don't you get to work on the grave that one of you is all but certain to need in about forty minutes? The moon is actually a crescent, so you can be sure this isn't America's Next Top Model.

The next morning, chefs try to will themselves out of bed. As Saran freshens up, I see an intriguing tattoo on the back of her left shoulder. She laughs that three hours is a lot of time to prepare twenty portions of food, and thinks her experience in catering will help her out. Hung also thinks he has a secret weapon, in that he speaks "somewhat Spanish". Sounds like he speaks somewhat English, too.

LabRat: "What is he, Peggy Hill?"

Brian has no such weapon, not having much cause to explore Latin food in his Pacific Northwest seafood roots. The chefs head out for the day. Once in the Kitchen, they get right to work on their three hours of prep time. Saram says that the atmosphere in the Kitchen is a lot more civilized than usual, because they have so much time to get things ready. Howie says that three hours is just enough time to pull off his dish. Shortly into the prep, Ptom drops by. He says that they "just got a phone call from Dame Chocolate", and that they've "pushed up their luncheon", so the chefs now have an hour and a half instead of three hours to get everything ready. Those passages above are not just in quotes because Ptom says them. They're in quotes because they're the most contrived, phony words ever spoken on this show, and I am not exaggerating. I have zero problems with throwing this wrench into the chefs' plans. It's a good idea for a challenge, and Padma even obliquely warned them. Actually expecting the audience to buy into the phone call story is almost insulting. I guess it's not a big deal; I'm trying to think of another way they could have surprised us and the chefs at the same time with this challenge aspect, and I'm not coming up with anything.

Now that the time limit has been slashed, the chefs panic. There's actually a thunderous sound in the soundtrack. Nice touch, editors. Dale mutters "knew that was coming" as he hurries back to work. Hardest hit is Howie, whose strongest attribute is certainly not working well within a strict time limit. Casey interviews that the added stress of the new time limit means that people are running around with knives and hot pans, which is just not a good idea. She goes on to drama queen that people are losing "all sense of right and wrong", which is just a wee bit of an exaggeration. They're hurrying with skillets, not defacing synagogues with goat blood. Tre shrugs that he's not going to judge anyone's method of dealing with pressure, as long as it gets the job done. Wild jungle music plays, and I half expect a panther to leap out and attack everyone. The swearing is plentiful.

Ptom comes back in to Ptimewaste when 45 minutes remain. Howie has not changed his plan to braise his pork shoulder, which will hopefully finish up in the oven. Lia thinks she could be in worse shape, having only to abandon her plan to grill some polenta. Casey was going to grill her chicken, but is now going to stick it in the oven, instead. She half-kiddingly tries to implore Ptom to jump in and help her cook. Heh. Saran is sure glad she bought those pre-made tortillas now, and Ptom is clearly impressed by her safety net. Hung spazzes all over the place as he tells Ptom about his arroz con pollo. With Ptom still standing there, Hung whirls around and nearly chops Casey right in her side with a gigantic meat cleaver. She takes it a lot better than I would, emitting only an exasperated "Jesus Christ". So some good actually comes out of the Ptimewasting for once, as Ptom interviews that he's concerned about Hung running around the Kitchen like a cracked-out chimpanzee while clutching a meat cleaver. He also wonders why Howie is still bothering to braise the pork, as roasting it would be much faster, and might even turn out tasting better. With thirteen minutes left, everyone starts dumping their food into containers for transport. Hung is overconfident as always, saying that if he can't cook rice, he should just go home right now.

Fate: "Did you learn nothing from the Quickfire? Stupid bug. You go squish now."

Howie feels good about what he accomplished, especially with the rug pulled out from under him. Casey has saved her rice to cook last, because it requires the least amount of time. She becomes busy with other things, and by the time she thinks to check on it, the rice has been on the burner for too long, and it boils over. Howie helps her get it into a pan, but its consistency is now "mushy". Yeah, pasty rice is gross. The Kitchen sink is crammed with dishes. Time runs out.

Commercials. Oh, another new Bravo show! This one has a tiresome man attempting to flip houses. That's even more interesting than the hotel, and I'll be tuning in at the first opportun....zzzzzzzz.

The chefs show up to a Dame Chocolate set, which is a canary yellow house. Dale describes the challenge for us yet again, just in case you just tuned in and are, like, "who are all these people and why are they cooking?". Hey, Gail is back! Yay! What appears to be a tour boat floats by, and the people on it woo and wave. The chefs begin to set up, buffet-style. Lia thinks the hotboxes will overcook a lot of the food, so she's going to serve hers cold. I have to assume she knew what her serving temperature was going to be before she arrived here, but that made it sound like she's just deciding this on the spur of the moment. Howie politely asks Casey to write out his menu for him, admitting that his handwriting stinks. She cheerfully agrees. Aw. I'll bet Howie's handwriting is no worse than my sister's. It's like trying to decipher hieroglyphics! The chefs wrap up their preparations, and the Latin horn section on the soundtrack gives it a rest. A crew member announces lunch.

The cast, crew, and judges start making their way down the line of chefs. Saran presents her shrimp and scallop ceviche with charred corn and pickled radish to Gail. Casey has stuffed chicken breast that's been wrapped in bacon and covered with the molasses coffee glaze. It all rests on a bed of saffron rice. Man, I love saffron rice. I have no idea what the chicken is stuffed with, as they never deem it important enough to let us in on the secret. She's also made what she says is a very spicy sauce, which intrigues one of the telenovela cast members. At least, I assume she's a cast member. I can't envision a crew member needing huge hair and four pounds of lipstick. CJ serves his skirt steak with black beans and jicama slaw. Sounds tasty. Hung launches into Spanish to butter up the guests. "Hola, hola. Buenas tardes. Como estas?" Hey, show some respect! Como esta, if you please. Hung naturally praises himself in interview for his language skills, because this week is all about Hung's comical inability to see his own flaws. Um, spoiler! He's made a pretty basic-looking arroz con pollo. Casey makes fun of his spazzy service.

Tre's dish looks pretty messy. It's seared jumbo prawns with jalapeno cilantro dumplings, and a lobster ceviche. Gail likes the idea of the dumpling. Howie serves up his braised pork shoulder with yucca and sour orange mojo. What a great idea to use yucca. The mojo makes the presentation vibrantly colorful, and it looks delicious. Maria comes through the line, and confirms that Howie stuck to his original plan, despite the time crunch. Bismarck Joey gives Padma his bean stew, which includes lobster, shrimp, chicken and chorizo. That's a lot of meat, which both Howie and I appreciate. Howie is standing next to Cheyenne Joey, and interviews that he couldn't stop eating that stew, and that it blew him away. Lia describes her smoked rainbow trout, which is served with a polenta cake made of Poblano peppers and charred corn. Gail gives Lia some grief for polenta not being Latin, but seems amenable to Lia's explanation that it was made with Latinesque ingredients, and is a nice twist, rather than serving everything on tortillas.

People start to eat, and appear to be pretty happy with whatever they're trying. Ptom stops by Dale's station to pick up some grilled Poblano and braised chicken with fire-roasted corn. That's kind of boring, though I certainly don't begrudge Dale attempting a safe route, especially this week. Saram has made gorgeous chiles rellenos in a black bean sauce. She's also put her special skills to work for her, and has made the cheese that accompanies her dish. A slightly heavyset cast member sings Saram's praises.

Tiffany: "She looks like she ate Patti LuPone."

Daaaaaamn! Everyone also seems to like Howie's pork. Some guy with an extremely Mexican name (but no trace of an accent) appreciates how the chefs made the food taste so "real". I know what he means. Sometimes you get tired of every place that fries a potato chip and sets out a bottle of vinegar calling themselves an Irish pub. Two women agree over their dislike of Hung's arroz con pollo, and are bolstered by No Accent Guy. Omaha Joey's stew goes over very well, but Saran's ceviche is not a hit. Apparently, it just tastes like overpowering guacamole. The judges find Lia's dish really bland, but can't decide if it's because it's not good or they've just been eating so much spice in everyone else's dishes. A woman makes a "yeeccch" noise in describing Casey's chicken. Ptom asks the telenovela stars who plays the bitch on their show, and the woman next to him raises her hand without even pausing her chew. Heh. The director or whoever summons everyone back to work, and they all give the chefs a round of applause. New Haven Joey is extremely confident. Casey is extremely not.

Commercials. That Papa John sure has some blindingly white teeth.

Judges' Table. The judges all really seem to have enjoyed the luncheon, and the knowledge about ingredients the telenovela folks had. Ptom also recaps the time limit twist the chefs had to contend with. Now, to the food. Madison Joey's stew was fantastic. Nobody sitting around Gail finished Lia's food. Padma thinks the polenta cake was mushy, and Maria doesn't see any Latin influence in her dish. Casey's chicken was dry, her rice was overcooked, and the coffee sauce had a sort of bitter aftertaste. Gail happily praises Howie's dish. I really love how she genuinely gets into good food, as opposed to the other judges, who often act overly clinical and technical. Maria agrees with Gail, saying Howie's "rrrrrrrrrred onion salsa" was very nice. The judges reach a decision about their favorites. Ooh, check this out. Back in the Kitchen, there's a chalkboard with all of the challenges, challenge winners, and eliminated contestants marked on it. Heh, they called tonight's Quickfire "Easy as Pie". That would have been a much better episode title. Padma comes in, and summons Howie and Williamsburg Joey to the table. The other chefs applaud, knowing that these two are in the top, because for whatever reason, the producers refuse to build any sort of suspense by ever calling the loser chefs out first.

Upon being told that they're the top two, they smile and thank the judges. Charleston Joey describes how he hit upon the idea for his stew, which was based on a similar dish the Spanish guys he works with make, and he actually dedicates his dish to them. Where did this guy come from? What happened to the snippy, rude, geographically arrogant Butte Joey of three episodes ago? Not that I'm complaining, mind you. Gail asks if he would have done anything different if he had had the full three hours to work on the food. Beyond a slightly different method of cutting vegetables, he wouldn't. Howie smirks, which Ptom catches. Howie smilingly admits that the time crunch really threw him for a loop. The judges ask if timing is always going to be an issue for him, which he shrugs off. Padma tells him the flavors were spot-on, and Maria asks if he would have done anything different. He would have liked to have allowed the pork to rest a little more before slicing it. Ptom asks if they tasted everyone's food, and the two both lavishly praise each other's dishes. Everyone's being so nice tonight! It's refreshing. Padma gives it over to Maria to announce the challenge winner, which is Howie. He wins a bottle of wine that Maria has brought from Argentina, and interviews that it feels great to be the first person to win two Elimination Challenges. He shakes the judges' hands, and gives Salem Joey a hug, before Padma tells them the names of the loser chefs to summon.

When they return to the Kitchen, Hung is already sulking that he knows his dish was great. The chefs applaud the winners' return, and Howie announces that he's handing over the bottle of wine to Kansas City Joey, because his was Howie's favorite food. Aw. Brian claps heartily. Everyone else's applause is pretty tepid. OK, let's get to the loser chefs. The judges would like to see Lia, Saran, Casey, and Hung. Hahahaha! Well, not "hahahaha" to Lia, Saran, or Casey. Had enough crow this evening, Hung? Let's see if you can wedge some foot in there along with it. Odd Asian music. Gong. The loser chefs approach the table, and Padma states the always comically obvious fact that theirs were the judges' least favorite of the challenge. The judges start with Hung, and Padma asks why he thinks he's there. I bet everyone at the viewing party ten bucks that he'll say he has no idea, but nobody's moronic enough to take me up on it. Crap. "I'm not sure. Was it too classic?" No, that's not the problem. Ptom describes his underseasoned rice and Hung disagrees (pfft -- of course), thinking the rice was plenty seasoned. In fact, he thought if he was going to be one of the loser chefs, that it would be for overseasoned rice. Ptom makes one of those "Wow, you're an idiot" faces that I generally hate, but it's all good when it comes to Hung. Hung goes on the offensive, suggesting that the judges had no reason for spitting out his rice, and Padma pretty gently lets him in on the fact that all of the chefs are of a certain level, so the judging has to be a lot more nuanced than just discovering that someone has inedible food. Before moving on, Ptom warns him to keep a closer eye on his knife, since he almost cut Casey earlier.

Speaking of Casey, Ptom asks her why she made rice. Yeah, why make rice in a Latin-themed challenge? Next thing you know, you'll be making pasta for an Italian-themed one. It's madness, I tell you! Casey says she would have done things differently with the rice, and fesses up about it boiling over. Ptom takes the opportunity to twist the knife in Hung's side a little bit more, as he asks Casey if she's surprised to end up in the bottom, because Hung clearly was. Hehe. Casey is not surprised, knowing that her rice didn't turn out well. Could she just not have served it? I guess then they could have blasted her for serving something "lacking" or "incomplete" or whatever. Though she takes full blame for the rice, she absolutely stands behind the coffee glaze, saying it turned out exactly as she envisioned, and that she liked the punch it had. Maria gives her an extremely bitchy look, and Ptom says that the glaze didn't really strike him as Latin.

Lia wanted to present Latin flavors in a non-Latin way. Maria asks if she was happy with her "Latin expression". Lia, having learned nothing from Team Sweet-Tooth, explains that she was trying to do something creative. Ptom asks if she's surprised that she's in the bottom. "Not entirely," she responds. Ptom pounces on that as evidence of her thinking her dish was bad enough to send her home, which she denies. Saran is asked if her ceviche was authentic enough. She admits that it wasn't, but says that an old roommate of hers used to make a guacamole ceviche that Saran put a new spin on by adding scallops and charred corn. The biggest problem the judges seem to have with it is that the flavors were a bit muddled, and that the scallops were overwhelmed. All in all, Saran gets off pretty easy. The chefs are dismissed. Casey tells the safe chefs that they have no idea who's going home.

Deliberations. The judges completely nail Hung's arrogance. Gail admits to wanting to knock him down a few pegs. Saran's dish wasn't complicated enough, and really wasn't an entree. Lia's dish was bland, had texture problems, and wasn't Latin. Casey's rice and chicken weren't good, and Padma has a real problem with her coffee glaze. The judges seem to have a rougher time than usual coming up with the chef to eliminate, but they do arrive at a decision.

Commercials. How many more movies must Claire Danes ruin before you people GET IT?

Elimination. Ptom says that this challenge was all about timing, which is pretty funny, because the surprise time crunch really didn't affect any of these four chefs. Saran's dish wasn't "advertised" properly. Hung's dish was classic, but missed the mark. Casey's rice and chicken wasn't up to par. Lia has no excuse for serving bland food. Padma delivers the bad news. Lia. Please pack your knives and go. Casey looks more upset than Lia does. She begins to cry as she comes back to the Kitchen, and in trying to do the nice thing by saying that "the very talented and inspiring chef Lia will be going home," she unfortunately makes it look like she's hogging the moment. The two of them share a long hug. Lia is embarrassed and frustrated with herself to be leaving this early, because she knows she could have done better. What, she's not going to lambast the judges for eliminating someone with her burning talent, just because she didn't do well in either of the challenges this week? It's almost as if they've cast people with a modicum of grace and self-awareness this season! She hugs everyone good-bye, and Casey continues to sob. Lia closes by saying that playing off the other chefs' ideas was a really great experience, and she's going to continue cooking, because she finds such fun in it. Awwww.

Overall Grade: B+