I still can’t believe that Jamie was kicked off! What is Leah still doing here?!?!? Well, lets see if we can get rid of her this week.

Quickfire Challenge:

Wylie Dufresne!!! This guy totally rocks! Science and food, my favorites. Eggs are the basis for this challenge. They have to just create a dish with eggs. The bottom was Fabio because he danced around the idea of eggs, Hosea because his 3 dishes didn’t flow, Leah because she had a heavy potato ravioli. The top was Carla because of her playfulness and Stefan because of his technique. The winner was Carla with her green eggs and ham!

Elimination Challenge:

They had to draw knives with chef’s names. They are making a “last meal” for these superstars of the culinary world. They even are providing our cheftestants with a basic menu. Carla was allowed to trade since she won but she didn’t want to. So to make things interesting, Fabio bent his finger back and broke it while he was cooking. Now it was just his little one but ouch! 10 minutes before service starts Tom comes back and says not to embarass him. Leah thinks that her Hollandais isn’t quite right but she was going to thin it out.

Carla: Jacques Pepin- Roast Squab with Fresh Peas
Hosea: Susan Ungaro- Shrimp Scampi with Tomatoes Provencal
Leah: Wylie Dufresne- Eggs Benedict
Stefan: Marcus Samuelsson- Roasted Salmon and Spinach
Fabio: Lidia Bastianich- Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes and a Leafy Green Salad

Service and Judging:

Leah went first. Wylie thought that the egg white was to runny. Samuelsson thought her textures were off. Then Stefan was up. Samuelsson and Wylie thought that the salmon was overcooked. Susan said she wouldn’t have noticed that he did 2 kinds of spinach if he hadn’t said. Then Hosea is up. They seemed a bit dissapointed with it over all. Then Fabio served. I have to say that I am impressed that he kept his injured hand behind his back all the tim. He did a good job and seemed to be the first one to impress anyone. That was with the chicken. Unfortunately the salad wasn’t as big a hit. Then Carla was up. Susan really liked Carla’s dish. Marcus though it was over cooked but Lidia thought it was perfect. So it looks like Fabio, Leah or Carla will win.

So they call everyone at once to the judges table. Jacques Pepin is representing all the chefs as guest judge. Leah’s eggs needed to be cooked and her Hollandaise was to thin. They thought Stefan’s salmon was overcooked and with cream on both the fish and the salmon it was to much. Hosea’s shrimp just wasn’t what she had been looking for and his tomato should have been seared. Hosea said he didn’t want to put out ugly food and Pepin said he should have gone for taste. Fabio’s chicken was a hit. But the salad looked like an airplane salad. Carla said her breats were overcooked but Pepin said by taste you wouldn’t have known. They also liked the peas and were shocked that fresh peas were that good at that point in the season.

Do they know at this point that Fabio broke his finger? It is never mentioned. They say that the top 2 were the squab and the chicken. As they deliberate it is mentioned that Fabio’s finger is broken. The winner was Fabio! He won a bottle of wine and a trip to Napa. Then we came to the bottom 3 of Leah, Hosea and Stefan. Leah is out!!!

So our final 4 going to New Orleans are Hosea, Stefan, Fabio and Carla. I am a little dissapointed the Emeril is going to be the guest judge. I personally think John Besch would have been a better choice.