‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’ review: Did Janine Booth defeat Louis Maldonado, keep streak?

So far on “Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen,” the majority of the face-offs have been pretty predictable. Typically, a good rule of thumb on this show is that if you have a poor edit, you’re not going to be winning the duel on the web series. But, the good news about this particular edition was that Louis Maldonado was not a bad cook by any means. The only real mistake that he made was putting popcorn in a dish where it really didn’t belong.

This set up a great battle between Louis and reigning champ Janine Booth, who showed time and time again that she could take down the competition. Everything was great … and then we had a minute-long Toyota ad right in the middle of the show where these chefs were obviously baited into praising a car. We’ll say it again: We don’t mind product placement, but don’t force contestants to say things that they wouldn’t normally say! Also, why do this to us when you are being forced to watch a minute of commercials as it is to see the full episode?

The cook-off itself was pretty fantastic, as the two chefs had to make a dish using food found at a local farmer’s market, and with some of the ingredients taken away from you. But, it suffered in a way from the same thing that the past two have: If you see someone in the confessional talking like they have this in the bag, it’s an automatic indicator they are going home. The moment Janine suddenly looked like the cocky one, she is gone and Louis remains. We have a new champion, and he feels like someone who could really go on a streak here when you look at his credentials, and how he had a hard time getting settled in all of the twists and turns of the main show.

We want to give this a higher grade, but we just can’t thanks to the product placement and the editing. Grade: B-.

Do you think that the right person won this battle? Share below, and click here if you want to see our full review of tonight’s episode.

Photo: Bravo