‘Top Chef: Seattle’ review: Sourdough, salmon, and surprises

“Top Chef: Seattle” has undoubtedly been one heck of a season, but as we near the finale, there is probably not going to be one decision that qualifies as “easy” for the judges to make. Just to make it this far, you have to be pretty amazing when it comes to the sort of food you’re capable of putting on a plate.

With that in mind, we turn to what was in some ways a predictable elimination, but also strangely a surprising one based on how she continually tried to push herself to be better and more creative than her competition. With an elimination challenge that was all about two staples of Alaska in Salmon and sourdough, she was thinking smart: everyone else incorporated the two into a soup, but she opted to go with a sandwich instead. In addition to that, she created what was overall the best bread out of everyone.

So what went wrong? Sadly, Lizzie broke what was a cardinal sin for any chef in this or any cooking competition: failing to taste your competed dish. As good as some of her individual parts were, the seasoning was off and the components together didn’t quite work. Even though Padma Lakshmi referenced the chum in Sheldon Simeon’s dish at one point as “dog food,” it was still pretty obvious that she was going to be going home.

With that, we’re left with a pretty interesting final three of Brooke Williamson along with Josh Valentine (who actually made a dish without a pork product this week) and Sheldon. Brooke at the moment has to be the undisputed favorite; she not only has the best body of work on the season thus far, but she also seems to be capable of cooking the widest array of food. Josh was on a roll before sputtering at times this week, and Sheldon has been extremely likable but also inconsistent.

Do you want to see where we ranked some of these chefs going into this episode? If so, be sure to check out the story over at the link here. Meanwhile, we also want to hear who your favorite chef is in the comment box below.

Photo: Bravo