‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’ episode 11: Amar Santana, Carl Dooley battle Jason Stratton

Through most of “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen” we’ve had ourselves a true underdog story, as Jason Stratton figured out a way to continuously beat out rivals who finished above him in the flagship competition. He was hoping to be a Louis, one of those rare chefs who completely obliterated everyone in the web series to eventually work his way back into the competition.

After five straight victories, the finale was his last chance, but the competition was steep. Not only did he have to defeat Amar Santana for a dish featuring sourdough, but he also had to take on Carl Dooley. These are two extremely-talented dudes, and this time around it just didn’t fly for him.

What happened? We certainly don’t think that he was over-confident, but maybe he did get a little more caught up in the narrative of being the underdog that everyone was rooting for. You could tell the other contestants were on his side, and Chad even said publicly he was rooting for him. If nothing else, seeing him eliminated over something like the cook on his eggs serves as proof that this is not rigged just to produce the most interesting story. We would’ve loved to have seen Jason in that Las Vegas finale to see what he could have brought to the table.

With that being said, we think that he earned himself a ton of fans through the web show, and there will be no shortage of people interested in tasting his food after this. He may even go down as one of our personal favorite “Last Chance Kitchen” competitors in history.

Anyhow, you can watch the full episode below (provided you’re in the United States), and we’ll be back soon at this link to bring you our take on the second part of the “Last Chance Kitchen” finale.

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