Family Drama on Another Brother Filled Top Chef

This episode of Top Chef promised drama in the previews. Drama it did have but there's still something missing this season: a well balanced cast. Ashley left last round and our crying, sobbing buy great TV personality was gone. No I feel we are stuck with several boring people and the brothers. But the show must go on, even if it isn't as great as last season's drama. The first few minutes always focus on a few of the chefs and Michael, Eli and Robin go the focus this time around. Michael for going from the best to possibly going home, Eli for living with his parents and Robin for her cancer, yet again, and how pilates helps her stay focused.

The Quick Fire challenge was a bit unfair as Charlie Palmer was their guest judge. Both brothers, Bryan and Michael, have worked for Palmer before and know him rather well. How fair is that? Of course he said he'll be impartial but we all know him knowing them will play a role in this round. The challenge was to pair up a dish with a new type of snack food. Nobody was excited in pairing a fancy dish with chips but they ended up doing rather well. Most of the package featured both Bryan and Michael talking about their experience with Palmer... we get the idea. It also didn't help their case that having him there was FAIR to anyone but the brothers. In the end Robin, Ash and Jenn (which she knew) were in the bottom three while Eli, Bryan and Kevin were in the top 3. Shocking he didn't pick Bryan but Eli was the Quick Fire winner. He didn't get anything so not sure what the point of the Quick Fire was... no immunity or money. Pointless.

It was then time to move into the Elimination Challenge which also focused on Palmer. One of the brothers already knew what it would be: a pig challenge. Each chef drew knives and received a certain part of the pig's body. That would be the type of pork they would work with. Wine was also involved so they each got to choose a win to go with their dish, once again focusing on the pairing. After a quick stop at Whole Foods, the gang got ready to cook dinner and that's where the drama started. Eli was cooking upstairs while Robin commented, she just wouldn't shut up. The guys then got ready to eat but Robin said one last comment about Eli not cleaning up after himself. That set him off and he walked away, food in tow, and screamed at Robin that she isn't his mother! Robin didn't seem to care and was proud to take on her new "rotten Robin" nickname as everyone was on the edge with Robin and her never closing mouth.

The drama wasn't over there yet as the chefs got into the kitchen for their four hours of prep. You could tell all the chefs wanted to do well as Ash switched things up last minute, Kevin wanted to prove he's a great pork cook and Jenn just wanted to redeem herself. Of course the brothers were showcased about their time with Palmer but that wasn't all. They fought towards the end as they argued over space. Michael was in Bryan's way so Michael decided to be an idiot and just stayed there until time ran out. Others realized that Michael knows how to push Bryan's buttons, and does all the time, so hopefully Kevin is right and an explosion will occur! That's just what we need, a brother battle for real.

As the 150 guests filed in everyone realized how big of a deal their challenge was. The judges then arrived and it was time for tasting. Gail was MIA yet again.... someone seriously needs to ensure she doesn't run away again! Michael was up first and everyone loved his dish, both the judges and the tasters. Ash's pork was ok from the judges, getting a "clammy" and "salty" reaction from Toby. Although he felt his win paired well with his dish, the judges were against Eli's pairing and the flavor of his meat. Kevin's dish was simply called "great" while Mike's dish was ok but had too much orange flavor. Bryan's dish was compared to his brothers and some had a tough decision picking between the two. Jenn's dish was one of the better as per the judges but Laurine and Robin both faltered. Laurine's dish was called cat food while Robin's dish didn't taste anything like pork.

When it was all said and done, Kevin, Jennifer, Bryan and Michael were in the top. I'm not surprised the brothers were there, considering Palmer has some stake in them, but he gave much better comments to Jenn then the brothers so it was a bit of a surprise. Kevin however was selected as the pork winner, which he kind of called, since he IS a pork chef and has a pig tattooed on his arm. It was meant to be! It was the time for the bad news as Ash, Laurine and Robin went to find their fate. One of them would be going home and all who didn't go out wanted "Grandma" aka Robin to leave. The three in the bottom were judges poorly for their flavor and poor pairings. It seems like none of the three expected to be in the bottom and after deliberation it came down to the pairings. In the end several failed dishes led to Ash being eliminated. It was about time he left, since he has been doing rather poorly lately. Although Laurine going wouldn't have been bad either, is she still even on the show?