‘Top Chef Seattle: Last Chance Kitchen’ review: Is CJ still alive?

We remain polarized about “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen” in many ways. On one side of the coin, we love having a show like this that allows us the opportunity to see more “Top Chef” every week; at the same time, there is still a part of us that believes that one chance is really all a chef needs … and on this season, you’re getting as many as three thanks to the voting public opting to save you.

The other issue at the moment? With some of the current eliminations, coupled with the fact that CJ suffered a shocking elimination alongside Tyler earlier this season, it’s pretty obvious that he is just going to bow down chef after chef until a worthy opponent ends up clashing with him. What was rather nice about this week’s episode, though, was the simplicity of the task: trying to make the best sandwich possible using lunch meat. We love theses challenges that actually allow the chefs opportunity to flex their creative energy, and prove that they can make something fantastic with anything that is thrown at them, and without any gimmicks at being limited in their cookware or being stuck on a team with someone with other ideas.

What was really impressive about what CJ did here was that he managed to inject some Vietnamese flair into what could have otherwise been a common ham sandwich, and his overall product looked and tasted (at least according to Tom Colicchio) stronger than Danyele’s turkey sandwich. We like the latter contestant and will miss her this season, but with her over-thinking many of the challenges, it was also clear that she was not going to be altogether long for this game.

In other news, Kuniko has been saved by America’s vote, and she will be back to compete at some point in the future.

Are you enjoying this season so far? If you want to read some more of the latest “Top Chef” news, including our most-recent review, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: Bravo