Top Chef: Who Knew Stripping Could Be Boring?

I was looking forward to this week’s episode of Top Chef because this episode’s guest judge is my favorite Food Network personality, Nigella Lawson. Unfortunately, even Lawson could not save the humdrum that’s really characterized this season so far.

Lawson, we are told, has just flown in from London. She is most known for her shows Nigella Bites and Nigella Feasts, which were both aired on the Food Network.

Sadly, my favorite part isn’t even the cooking; it was Padma’s gorgeous Grecian draped red dress that she wore during the elimination round judging.

Before we get to the elimination round, let’s talk about the quickfire challenge, which had the chefs working out of The Venetian Hotel and serving breakfast to Padma and Lawson up in a room. The two women are lounging in their robes in bed while the chefs are frantically cooking inside a tiny kitchen two at a time and then rushing up to serve the food, just like real room service.

The favorites are Kevin’s take on steak and eggs and Eli’s interpretation of a classic Reuben sandwich. The younger chef won the challenge, though the winning streak is short lived as he lands in the bottom half for the elimination round. Meanwhile Robin’s blintzes and Bryan’s egg and corn polenta with vanilla sauce are rejected. The winner gets his quickfire recipe featured on the new Top Chef Quickfire Recipe Book.

Moving onto the elimination round, all the chefs pick knives and are assigned a hotel on the famed strip to draw inspiration from. They are to cook for 175 guests and the judges at the World Market Center. Eli gets Circus, Circus; Bryan gets Mandalay Bay, Michael gets New York, New York; Jen gets Excalibur; Robin gets the Bellagio, and Kevin gets The Mirage.

The victor ends up being Michael with his version of Buffalo wings and blue cheese dressing. It’s annoying that he ends up winning for this dish after complaining that Kevin’s simple flavors are what he cooks on his days off. His flavors didn’t seem particularly complex as the judges were discussing it, but then again it’s hard to say because I’m just watching (not eating). Robin, inspired by a glass sculpture by Dale Chiluly at the Bellagio, is finally kicked off for her panna cotta.

It seems that her ambition is what got her kicked off because of her multiple attempts to cook something she had never done before. I think, though, that she lacked the skills to keep her competitive with the other chefs. In the episode where she made the drunken shrimps, it wasn’t a matter of trying new things; it was just bad cooking, period. While I believe she should have gotten kicked off sooner, the show needed her around for more drama. The scenes between Michael and Robin, or even Eli and Robin always made it to the commercials showcasing the next episode.

So who’s out of here next? I’m betting on Jen or Eli.

For another take on this episode, check out The Quiver of a 17th Century Courtesan’s Inner Thigh by Jaimie Campos.

Season 6, Episode 11: Strip Around the World (originally aired November 11, 2009)

For more on Top Chef, click here.

Wednesdays at 10/9C, Bravo

Photographs courtesy of  NBC Universal and Trae Patton