Top Chef Sends Nobody Home Thanks to Fake Christmas

Last weeks Top Chef lacked a prominent guest chef. Luckily they made up for it this week by pulling out the big guns in Martha Stewart. Of course she isn't really thought of as a "chef" but hey she's probably the biggest star they'll have on all season. Starting the morning after Dan was eliminated, Ariane was excited from winning two challenges in a row. Gene was in her old spot, being in the bottom and almost going home. He realized he had to pull through the next few rounds and then.... we were greeted with the "Euro Duo". I don't remember half the stuff they were actually saying, thanks to the language barrier. Hosea's problem at home was then showcased. His dad was diagnosed with cancer a few weeks before leaving so they gave him a chance to call his sister. It seems his dad is doing well but it is surely on his mind.

Into the kitchen all the chefs went and it was time for the Christmas episode. The theme was "home cooking" and that is where Martha Stewart came in. They had to create a holiday meal using only one pot for their Quick Fire. Martha then came in and everyone was star struck. Adriane liked that she was from Jersey while Leah was also amazed. Martha wanted her food simple, right up Ariane's ally but would she be the favorite? The chefs were then off for their forty minute cooking and everyone dashed to the fridge. Everyone was making something a little different and focusing on the one thing. A new alliance was then forming with Jamie and Ariane. They always cook next to each other to taste each others food. Considering all of Jamie's friends have left so far, Ariane should probably be worried. Fabio and Gene were going from their home and using recipes from their grandmothers, both coming from their native lands. In the end everyone finished just in time, as usual and it was time for Martha to dig in.

Gene's stew was up first and Martha didn't seem to like the thickened taste, or so it seemed, while Stefan's veal and mushroom dish seemed to surprise her. Hosea's paella was found good by Martha, but then again good may not be the best. Risotto was made by Jeff with Martha finding it a bit "unusual", she didn't like the look and taste and it wasn't looking too good for Jeff. Jamie was up next with potato and kale stew. She was nervous since it was Martha Stewart after all but Martha seemed to like it. Being from New Jersey Martha found Ariane's dish with no butter rather good. In the end Martha found most all of the dishes really good, at least she wasn't being too mean about anything. Her least favorites was of course, Jeff's dish , Fabio's and Gene's dish. They were the only three she really had anything to say about their dish so it was pretty obvious. The three best were a bit shocking though, considering she liked everyone elses. Hosea, Jamie and Ariane were marked as the best three with, you guessed it, Ariane. Is there anything this lady can't do? She's won three in a row and safe this round. From dead last to first, Ariane has surely shown that she deserves to be in the show for the long haul.

Quickly following Martha's leave it was time for the Elimination Challenge to begin. They had to cater a holiday party for 250 people and were all a bit nervous for the job. Padma then called in the Harlem Gospel choir, out of nowhere, to sing some songs for the chefs. They all knew something was up with the randomness of the singers and they quickly found out the point after drawing their knives. As the first knife was pulled out it had a number. One of the singers then sang the part of "Partridge in a Pear Tree" for that number, meaning that was the theme for their dishes. How can someone cook a dish representing drummers and golden rings? It surely will be interesting and I have a feeling a few of them won't be able to pull this one out. Good thing Ariane is safe this round, she tends to do bad on the crazy themed challenges.

At the grocery store the chefs had some issues with relating food to random items. Lords a leaping went to Jeff and he wanted to use frog legs and "cheese leaping", whatever that is. Leah got lucky with French Hens, I mean its just chicken. Fabio ended up with Ladies Dancing so he went with crab legs.... to represent dancers legs? Hosea also had a tough one with pipers piping. He went with smokey foods though, which makes sense but still. How could they expect them to make some of these things? With only three hours to prep the chefs got to work. Many that they showed seemed to be the more "easier" ones, like Radhika with the partridge and the pear tree. She's making duck with pear sauce. Hosea ended up smokey his pork for sure as the smoke filled the entire kitchen. Nobody seemed to care though as everyone continued to work. In the end everyone was up until 2am to finish their prep work and with 300 people ready to eat that night they surely had their work cut out for them the next day.

Back in the kitchen after a few hours of sleep, everyone was ready for their hour to prep and pack. Immediately someone noticed that the fridge door was open and everything was ruined. Nothing was cold and the food become too unhealthy to eat. Hosea and Radhika's meat took the biggest hit and neither knew how to fix the problem. Everyone wanted to help them though since it could have been anyone. The team really pulled together as they played the cliche Christmas music in the background. Do they not remember that the show didn't tape during Christmas? Even Stefan was being nice about helping out though, so I guess I'll let it slide this time considering his evil edit last time. Luckily everyone helped out the two who suffered and things seemed to be pretty smooth as they left for the party. Of course not everyone was fully ready though as a few had horrible taste tests.

The event was for amFAR, an AIDs awareness program, and everyone was pumped to finally get their dishes ready. Luckily Radhika's duck was fully cooked and she just knew it was going to be great, lucky for her. Natasha Bernstein was their new guest judge for the elimination challenge, apparently Martha couldn't stick around. The way the best dish would be chosen was based upon the number of aids ribbons pinned to the dishes from guests. Stefan's pot-pie seemed to be a really big hit, especially with Padma. Radhika's dish had some great smells to it while others loves her Indian spices. Carla had two turtle doves, something that was an odd one, and the judges didn't feel she pulled it off too well. Gene went back to food from his home and worked hard with his story. Too bad his food wasn't worked on enough, considering one of the judges hated it. Fabio also worked hard on his story, a little too much. Tom and Padma didn't find it too tasty, showing that more food, less story is probably better.

Jamie's hope of winning was also going down the tube as several found her dish way too slimy. Melissa's also had a hard time going over well, showing that many weren't too good apparently. Leah was having issues as well with her food being too dry. Next up was Ariane who was safe and its pretty good that she was, considering the judges felt she went more on the easy side with deviled eggs. Hosea's pork was one of the only that got a good rap in the end, once again showing people probably worked harder Radhika's and Hosea's food then they did their own. Jeff also had a ton of ribbons on his table with his very risky choices. The judges felt he had a well rounded dish and considering how many people were at his table it sure seemed like things were between Jeff and Hosea for the win. Following the event the chefs took some time to indulge in some champagne. They knew that someone would be leaving fairly soon so it was time to relax before elimination time.

Back in the kitchen Jeff, Hosea, Stefan and Radhika were called to the table first. They were named the top four of the challenge and the judges learned how everyone helped Radhika and Hosea. They didn't really comment on the problems, which I assume should have been a bigger deal. In the end the winner was selected based upon the most ribbons given by the guests. Hosea was the one to claim the most ribbons and named the winner for the round. Although he did win a book from the one judge, since everyone helped him they decided to give everyone her book. After going back into the group Hosea had to send Melissa, Gene and Jamie out to the judges. They were the judges, and the guests, least favorites. Jamie started off as Dan did, by claiming her food was good. That's what sent Dan home last time, and since I like her I really hope she can pull through. The complaint for Melissa was the cheese. Everyone only tasted the cheese and that's the reason she was in the bottom. Gene's dish was found too be too sweet and lacked a taste of fish. He didn't understand why he was there and continued the Dan problem by continually saying that his dish was good. One of the judges got a bit peeved, making it seem like Gene just offered himself a death sentence. Overall the judges didn't find any of the foods amazing and Tom wanted to let everyone know that was the case. Do I smell a round where nobody goes home thanks to the "Christmas" theme? Tom went back to the chef's room and let them all know that they were all pretty sucky that night. He wanted them to make food that is winning food, not food that is safe. In the end he told them that nobody was going home as a "holiday gift". Did I call that one or what? Editing has gotten way too predictable for these shows lately.