VegasChatter

Top Chef Tag Team Cook-Off
They have 40 minutes to collectively cook one dish. The first chef starts the dish and gets 10 minutes to cook while not talking to their teammates, who must wear a blindfold until itís their turn to pick up the mise en place pieces.

Team Michael (Red Team) prepares a rib-eye with miso mousse and an avocado sauce or sorts. Team Jen (Blue Team) made a pan seared trout with sauteed mushrooms and shitake broth. Moonen awarded Team Jen (Blue Team) the winning dish and they get $10,000 from the M Resort to split between the four of them. But in that Vegas betting spirit, they have the option to "let it ride" and win $10,000 each if they win the Elimination Challenge. Bless those gambling souls, they let it ride.

Restaurant Wars Begin
Moonen explained the ground rules of Restaurant Wars, which took place in his two kitchens at rm seafood at Mandalay Bay. It's all about the restaurant and menu concept, as well as the total front of the house experience. Moonen hands out Seafood Watch cards from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and requests that chefs carry through on his 100 percent sustainable seafood philosophy in their menus.

Team Jen decides she doesn't want to do a dessert, convinced dessert is the Top Chef death knell. Laurine doesn't want to work front of the house, but does it anyway and Kevin thinks it ludicrous to attempt to open a restaurant in less than three hours. In the end, they name their restaurant "Mission" and pick dibs on Moonen's upstairs, more refined restaurant to set up shop.

Team Michael goes for modern American concept restaurant, naming their restaurant "Revolt." We're not crazy about the name, as it immediately makes us think of barfing or political unrest. Anyway, they decide to do dessert and leave it up to the teammate picked, Robin. Chefs divide between Whole Foods and Restaurant Depot, and Robin makes a stink over Team Jen supposedly swiping their idea to use sparkling water. Oh yeah, we're so sure that serving still or sparkling water will make or break winning a challenge. As a team, they decide to take a playful approach to their menu, thinking the upstairs chefs will play it safe.

Who's Was Working It
Eli and Laurine suck it up and take the front of the house shift. The typically meek Laurine gets a little sassy when Tom corners her about how she's gonna handle food coming out of the kitchen. Doors open and the lounge fills with customers. Jennifer is panicking, because she's still skinning fish. But, she still has her eye on the $10,000 prize.

The judges show up and right off the bat, Tom hates the name Revolot and Padma think it reminds her of revolting. The dishes are hit and miss amongst the judges and some diners complained of cold food.

Next, the judges sashay upstairs to Mission, where they immediately notice the lack of dessert on the menu. Padma requested salt on Mike I's first asparagus course. Jen is still running behind on her fish dish. Laurine realizes that maybe it wasn't so smart for Jen to handle two complicated fish dishes. After a long wait, Jen's char dish goes out with a broken butter sauce that's not emulsified, and Tom states her mentor (Chef Eric Ripert) would not be happy with her.

At the end of service, comment cards are handed to the guests. At Mission, everyone on Team Jen has an issue with some dish or point of service and there isn't a lot of smiling going on in the kitchen. Kevin thinks it must be the worst cooking they've collectively done in their lives.

Who Won Big
Padma calls in the members of Revolt first. They win Restaurant Wars and Tom claims says it's the best Restaurant Wars experience ever. Young claims he would've given it three-stars if he were reviewing it. Moonen awarded Michael as the winner, and gives him an autographed copy of his book Fish Without a Doubt and the $10k chip from the M Resort -- he decides to share it with the team. Bryan causes a stink. Oooh goody, the Voltaggio Brother tension we've been not-so-subtly promised is finally building up.

Who Crapped Out
Mission is called in next, where the execution issues are immediately addressed. Jen hangs her head and fesses up that she steamed clams and mussels to order. Can you say, crazy kitchen talk? Also, she had no idea her sauce was broken by the time it made it to the table. Laurine dropped the ball with her dish and didn't take control of the customer's dining experience.

The Judges kvetch over Jennifer's dishes and deliberate over Laurine and Kevin's undercooked lamb, but after a never-ending string of commercials whoring out Bravo's other reality series, send Laurine packing. She claims most people call her "rock solid." We beg to differ, never seeing much personality, confidence or talent exude from chef all season.

Next Week
Natalie Portman is the special guest judge and the chefs must cook based on her likes and dislikes. We know she's a vegetarian, and quite possibly still a vegan. At the very least, she doesn't wear any animal products, so note to Jen, no cooking in any fur trimmed bikinis.