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Having had the pleasure of working side by side with Jennifer, as cooks opening an exciting new restaurant, many years ago in San Francisco, I can say that she is an extremely talented cook. Even then, working as a cook, she was already an accomplished chef having run the kitchen at Bizou for years.

She doesn't come off as a softie but when I saw tears welling up in her eyes last night I could feel her frustration. I think when you offer yourself up to the whims of a television production like this things could in any direction. Things didn't go her way this time and the rest is history...Hopefully, I'll have the opportunity to eat at her restaurant in the future.

What's lame? While Jen and Stephanie's dish did not wow the judges, the other team failed miserably to articulate the theme of the competition. They showed lack of creativity and interpretation and shunned the idea of using polish sausage as the main ingredient. The theme was "drunken magenta polish sausage". I'm thinking braised red cabbage with polish sausage braised in ale. Someone should have been kicked off of that team for bad attitude.

Richard and Dale were definitely impressive with their tofu dish. That was a team effort but Richard's beefy tofu idea was worthy of top prize. However, even though Richard's dessert dish was interestingly composed, Dale should have won that challenge. A good dessert should not only look interesting but it should have a refreshing quality to it as well. I couldn't imagine sitting down to big chunks of bananas, a big blob of chocolate and a pool of guacamole after enjoying a multi-course meal. But Dale's dish looked interesting and refreshing. On top of that, it was a family recipe.

I'm thinking Stephanie, Dale and Richard for the finals. One of the Spike brothers may hold on. But there are some real weak links and it's unfortunate that they can squeek through while talented others get the boot.

I'd never seen an episode of this season untl last night, but I watched the "mini marathon" leading up to the new episode, and I agree with art! In school, if you're assigned an essay to write, but you turn in a great painting instead because you hate to write, then you fail. I know it's an extreme comparison, but that's how I felt. In prior seasons, the judges were much harsher on chefs who didn't even try to make the challenge work for them--at least the asparagus dish was an honest attempt at playing along! It was also creative, and creatively plated (har har).

As for Dale's halo-halo ... as a Filipino who grew up on the decadent summer dessert, I'm biased, so I'll abstain. ;) I do find it interesting who averse chefs can be to making desserts, though! One contestant said she swore she'd never make a dessert in that competition! One thing I liked about Richard was that he grabbed the bull by the horns and presented something that was both true to his style of cooking, and appeared well executed!

@OneWallKitchen she didn't say she would never make a dessert, she said she would never make a pastry (are they considered the same thing in chef circles?).... Anyway, yea, I am really upset about Jennifer

Ah, sorry, ktohth--my bad! I was working on my own kitchen assignment and only had half an ear on certain parts of the show.

Come to think of it, my fellow pastry chefs in training and I do call our desserts "pastries," though I know the dictionary definition is baked stuff. In Advanced Pastry Arts class, we've only dome some baking, but in Classical Desserts class, most of what we did was baking. Maybe my brain drew an equivalent.

Pastry and dessert are the same thing in the restaurant world, traditionally.

Either you work in the "savory" kitchen or in the "pastry" kitchen.

The trend now is to blend the two sides together to create a symphony of dishes that wax and wane from sweet to savory with nothing really jumping out and shouting "this is a dessert!"

But when someone says they are hoping not to have to do a pastry dish that means they are scared. But I was surprised, I think everyone turned out what looked to be acceptable desserts. I don't think Richard's looked like the winner this time but I digress.

I have to say that I cannot wait for the day when Lisa gets kicked off the show. She is so negative and her behavior last night on the show really showed what kind of person she is. So what if you don't like "drunken magenta polish sausage!" Figure out a way to make it anyway and don't sit around and complain about it the entire time!

"she was so good she scared me when she cooked..." Dale is my new fave. for serious.

I was disgusted by the way Lisa and Antonia handled the challenge; I think some of the other chefs would have done something really interesting with Polish sausage, instead of just sneering at it in derision. I'd be happy to see either one of them go at this point.

Also: I wanted to eat every one of those desserts.

Lisa, Antonia, and Nikki are really weak. I was sad to see Stephanie go, as I thought she'd make it to the final three (with Dale and Richard as the other two).

Spike got redeemed by making a perfect squash soup like the one Antonia vetoed 2 eps back. He was in the top, she was on the bottom. While Lisa and she had a deplorable aversion to the challenge, I do think it's more fair to be sent home for a bad dish than a poor interpretation of the challenge. Antonia did the same thing she did when she vetoed Spike's squash soup--oh, I'd never make that. And again, she wound up at the bottom.

I'm thinking Richard, Dale and Stephanie for the final 3. Andrew might surprise, though, and Dale's lack of restaurant cooking ability (see how he caved when he had to cook an entree for a group) could be his Achilles heel.

Stephanie didn't go.

And I don't get it with the chefs and dessert. After 3 seasons, they should know better than to show up without at least 1 or 2 desserts down solid. And even if it's split in a restaurant kitchen, there's no excuse for anyone with a palate and knowledge of food not to be able to compose something sweet to end a meal. If Rachael Ray can make desserts without any baking, these contestants should be able to do so. I was actually surprised that Lisa's quickfire dish was in the top 3, because at least on tv, it looked like the absolute bare minimum of thought and effort (berries and cream with something crunchy).

Dales dish looked good, and Richard's doesn't photograph very well, but I disgree, art, that dessert should be refreshing. I can think of many excellent desserts that are not refreshing at all (dark chocolate cake/torte, apple pie, creme brulee, just about any kind of cookie, etc.). Not that refreshing is a bad thing in desserts, and not that there aren't good refreshing desserts, but I don't think it's an essential characteristic across the board.

@renata,

I meant to say that all desserts should have a refreshing quality. A scoop of ice cream for the pies and cakes or a fresh fruit compote to balance a creme brulee, cookies and sorbet. In all fairness though, I obviously did not have the opportunity to actually taste Richard's dessert.

Art, I agree with your alternate menu for the polish sausage team. It was obviously fall when they filmed the show (see Mark whining about needing a jacket) so that would have been a perfect seasonal dish!

I'm for Steph and Dale in the finals.

I agree with renata, I heard the challenge and figured that by now they would come prepared with some sort of desert recipe or plan. I was surprised by how many of them weren't prepared. I've watched enough top chef to know that deserts are going to come up, why haven't they?