By Jennifer Larson

It is down to the wire on TOP CHEF, as four of the best cooks around battle it out for the grand prize. Tonight was part 1 of a two-part finale, and I’m chomping at the bit to find out who will win. There’s a lot at stake for these ambitious professionals, and I can feel the stress right through my TV screen. I can’t even imagine what it was like for them. But that’s one of the reasons this show is so compelling. Watching truly talented people sweat it out for their craft is so much more fulfilling than watching somebody win a Reality TV show because they were meaner than everybody else. Of course, I watch all those shows as well; it’s just that this type of competition requires some actual talent. Not only do we get the pleasure of watching the whole thing play out, on TOP CHEF you can even learn a thing or two, as the website provides the recipes of the food the chef-testants have cooked. Food and entertainment, come on it doesn’t get any better than that … right?

We are down to the fantastic four, Casey, Hung, Dale and Brian. And for the first part of the finale, they were sent off to Aspen, Colorado. But this trip wasn’t all fun and games; we still have a winner to crown. To kick things off, the chef-testants were given a Quickfire Challenge judged by famous seafood chef, Eric Ripert. The goal of this challenge was to take freshly caught fish, and I do mean fresh, as they competed by the side of a babbling brook, and prepare it with the most basic of ingredients on a makeshift stove. Surprisingly, Brian – who is known for his creative seafood dishes – seemed to falter on this one. All things considered, the dishes looked pretty good. Of course I don’t know how they tasted, and that’s really the key to any of these challenges. But in the end, it was my girl Casey who came out on top. That gives me hope that this will be the women’s year to take the title home. That’s if she can pull through the elimination round.


Because Casey won the Quickfire Challenge, she got to use her own special ingredients for the elimination challenge, while the other three had to chose from what was in the kitchen’s pantry. Tonight’s elimination round had the chefs cooking for a bunch of cowboys and cowgirls at an Aspen lodge. Apparently they like their Elk out in Colorado, but none of the contestants seemed to. I gather the problem for them is the fact that this type of meat is particularly gamey and tough. The problem for me is the fact that it just sounds gross. Call me traditional, but I like to stick to cows and chickens for my meals. That being said, the chefs certainly did a good job making the food look good. In fact, the judges have been so impressed with these four that they decided to send three of them to the finale, instead of the traditional two.

While that may be good news for the group, it also adds a lot of pressure. Since only one of the chefs will leave tonight, the pressure got kicked up a notch, except for Hung. He was so disappointed with the food he was forced to cook that he didn’t seem to give it his all. Hung, there is a difference between confidence and arrogance. Remember, talent can only take you so far; just something you may want to keep in mind for the future. If only we could take the cooking talent of Hung and blend it with the personality of Brian. With Brian’s upbeat and cheery personality, you can’t help but leave his station with a smile, but his food isn’t always as good as his attitude. Actually all four chefs have had their ups and downs, so it really is anybody’s game. But that makes the finale so exciting.

Dale confirmed his spot in the final three, by winning this week’s elimination challenge. Sadly, somebody had to go, and tonight that person was Brian. Oh my sunny, funny Brian, I would eat at your restaurant anytime. Good luck to the final three, and let’s hope a woman takes it home, next week.