TVSquad

(S06E11) This episode isn't about drama, stunts, or (gasp!) vegetarians. It is simply a case of "we have six chefs and we need to get down to five," so it kind of felt like a filler episode. The guest judge was Nigella Lawson, and while Nigella Lawson would be a welcome edition to any TV show, there just isn't a whole lot going on here.

Although, I will say that the quickfire challenge probably provided foodie fantasy fodder worldwide, as it opened up with Padma in bed, wearing a robe with tousled hair -- and if that wasn't enough, we find that Nigella is also in a robe and in bed as well. Granted, they're different beds, but still: same room. The ostensible reason for this was to to a breakfast in bed Quickfire challenge, but come on-- they didn't have Tom Colicchio in that bed.

The Quickfire challenge is pretty straightforward: make a meal for Padma and Nigella using anything in the Venetian hotel kitchen. Jen should have the opportunity to shine here, since she works in a hotel and does breakfast in bed for a living. However, she prepares the classic diner dish, chipped beef gravy (otherwise known as S.O.S.). Nigella does look truly horrified as she sees it, but ultimately Jen ends up in the middle of the pack, instead of the bottom.

This challenge, and really, the whole episode, serves as a sad example of how far Jen has fallen. A room service challenge wouldn't have necessarily guaranteed a win, but the old Jen would have made it into the top two. Instead, she's become a slow-motion train wreck.

The top two ends up with Kevin's straightforward steak and eggs dish, and Eli's "I guess it tastes better than it sounds" play on a Reuben. Eli's win here is probably one of the main factors that keeps him in the competition, other than the fact that he isn't Robin. And really, that's what everyone had going for them going into the Elimination challenge -- well, except for Robin, that is.

The writing was on the wall from the very beginning of the episode: unless Robin produced something amazing for her Elimination challenge, which was to gather inspiration from an assigned hotel on the Strip, then she was as good as gone.

Of course, since she's Robin, she decided to make two things she had never before attempted, and neither one really turned out particularly well. While she didn't have the worst dish of the night -- that dubious honor went to Eli and his horrifying peanut soup, popcorn, candy apple, raspberry foam concoction that nearly killed Nigella -- she didn't have the quickfire win behind her, so she was mercifully eliminated.

Michael Voltaggio ended up winning, which seemed to surprise him, as Bryan usually beats him in such things. However, it was nice to see him get a win. I always thought we would see Jen in the final three, but the top three that we had tonight: The V brothers and Kevin, seems like it could definitely be the final three. As Tom pointed out, Jen has really come off the rails during the last three challenges, and it doesn't look like she's going to get back into the swing of things any time soon.

[Watch clips of Top Chef at SlashControl.]