The range of the elimination challenge is one of the strengths of Top Chef. Sometimes the cheftestants are preparing elevated dishes for Eric Ripert in the most rarified of settings. And sometimes they’re slopping together concessions for the masses in an open field in 100-degree conditions. It’s that disparity that makes the show so much fun.
This week’s Cheese Elimination Challenge didn’t produce any instant classics. One nice “nice fried ball” — as Gail Simmons artfully called the procession of croquettes — after another. Though the episode didn’t produce any or memorable dishes, it did what an early episode is supposed to do: Begin the separation of the contenders from the long-shots. Michelle, Rasika, and Dan are beginning to get some separation.
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