‘Top Chef: Seattle’ review: Stefan and his fish are TV magic

When we first saw that there were three returning contestants on “Top Chef: Seattle,” we were pretty disgusted. Why? It seemed that these people were going to have a ridiculous and unfair advantage in the competition, mostly because they had been through the stress before and knew exactly what to expect.

However, this has by and large turned out not be the case, as CJ is already gone, Josie is struggling, and Stefan is as stressed out as ever on the show … and we love every second of it. Stefan’s antics this season, which included a massive fight this week over him using frozen tuna during a challenge (which was actually a really high-quality fish nonetheless), have been nothing short of amazing to watch, especially since some of the newbies this year are lacking a little bit of spark from an entertainment standpoint (unless you count John being awful to people). Luckily, Stefan was in the top this week, and we’ll be seeing plenty more of him this year so long as he doesn’t spontaneously tank.

As far as cooking talent goes, we are seeing plenty of strong new players this year, especially when it comes to a trio of ladies in Kristen (the winner of the elimination challenge all about implementing berries) and two past winners in Lizzie and Brooke. It only seems appropriate considering that the guys have won the past three seasons of the show, and there has actually yet to be a man who has won a single elimination challenge all season long.

At the same time, though, it is relatively interesting that most of the guys are still sticking around (with the exception of Tyler and CJ, who left at once), while the ladies are continuing to pack their knives and go. The latest example of this was Danyele, who in addition to having a really weird spelling of her name, seemed to lack the confidence for this sort of kitchen. This was the second week in a row she has struggled to get her concept out on the plate, and her poor showing here really came to the benefit of Josie, who has to be thanking her lucky stars for a dish that was almost overshadowed by her trying to put on a show in presenting it.

What did you think about this episode? If you want to check out some more “Top Chef: Seattle” news, all you have to do is head on over to the link here.

Photo: Bravo