Thoughts on Top Chef S06E13: Celebrate the Grape!

If you have not seen Top Chef Season 6 Episode 13, read no further. This post contains spoilers!

How’d you guys like the recent episode of Top Chef Las Vegas? Here are my random thoughts as I watched the show. Would love to hear yours!

• Goodbye Las Vegas, Hello NAPA VALLEY!
• The chefs gather at the Napa Valley Train Depot. Jen has curls. Mike’s got a James Dean vibe going for him. Kevin has a bald spot? His hair is longer. Why does Bryan have two umbrellas? Bryan has a nice haircut. He looks super cute.
• Padma has bangs and a bump. The bump looks great on her, the bangs make her look like Cleopatra!
• Last Quickfire Challenge: CELEBRATE THE GRAPE! Cook with Napa’s signature crop, the grape. Yum. AND they’ll cook on the Napa Valley Train. Choo choo!
• Kevin gets motion sickness quickly he says so the challenge worries him.
• Quickfire Challenge prize: A CAR! High stakes. 3rd gen Prius. LOVE IT!
  And so the chefs get started. Bryan shows us his pissed off face. Pissed because his bro beat him to the prep area.
• Mike V’s strategy: Use as much grape product as he can — leaves, fruit, stem… er… what else? Sounds sound though.
• Woohoo! Jen looks like she’s going to kick ass. Oh, her curly hair softens her features. She’s still as steely though.
• Bryan’s never won a Quickfire? Who would’ve guessed?
• WHO WINS? MIKE VOLT! Michael is said his dish told the best grape story… and now he has a new car! 2010 Prius! Woohoo!
• “2nd place is still a loser. So I really want to win.” — Jen. Tough lady!
• Elimination Challenge: Cater a Crush Party for 150 People.  Create 2 dishes for 150 people, one dish has to be vegetarian, the other has to feature a local protein.
• “I want to beat him to show him that simple cooking can win.” — Kevin, about Michael. I agree with that.
• Elimination Challenge Preps: Gosh, all the food looks gooooood.
• “It’s up to the egg at this point.” — Mike V. Uh oh. Eggs can be very tricky! Then again, he’s the master of tricks so let’s see.
• CATERING TIME! All the dishes look fabulous. What draws me in the most though are Kevin’s dishes — so colorful and vibrant!
• “It’s very ducky.” — Tom, on Jen’s dish
• Gail’s boobies are distracting. I think that’s intentional.
• “That’s what food is. It’s interpretation.” — Mike V, on judges disagreeing across the board.
• MOMENT OF TRUTH: Winner of the elimination challenge: Who let the ingredients sing? BRYAN!!!!!!!
• Who’s packaging their knives and going home? Kevin, with the stringy beef?
• Michael, with the unready egg? Jen, scattered and unsure, salty? (I’m guessing Jen because she had the most negative comments.)
• Is it Jen??
• JENNIFER PLEASE PACK YOUR KNIVES AND GO. Iron Lady goes. Sigh.  And she’s weeping. But no time for tears, it’s finale time!!
• THIS FINALE IS GOING TO KICK ASS.

The dish I would love to have tasted: Kevin’s stringy beef and polenta dish. It looks so hearty. Bravo doesn’t have the image up yet so I’ll post it later.

Hi! I'm Toni Tiu, and I've been blogging at at Wifely Steps since 2003. This started as a blog to help newly weds adjust to married life. It has evolved into a home and parenting blog. I write about things close to my heart -- good eats, good reads, family, marriage, and the little things that make everyday happy.