Top Chef: Las Vegas Episode Seven Recap

Tyler Florence, no stranger to "Top Chef," returned as guest judge for episode seven's quickfire challenge. The contestants were asked to create a dish inspired by three key words that describe mood, taste and texture, and type of cuisine. One by one they pulled the lever on a slot machine rigged to give them different combinations of key words like asian, spicy, tired, cheesy, middle-eastern.

Florence seemed to like most of the dishes but he did take issue with some of the chefs. Robin was chewed out for her root vegetable hash and her use of curry when she had received middle-eastern as a key word. Host Padma Lakshmi, who is of southern Indian descent, added her two cents, stating point-blank that curry is not a middle-eastern flavor. Eli and Jennifer were also in the bottom bunch for their mushroom ceviche and scallop with caviar, respectively.

On the upside, Kevin won the quickfire for his chargrilled pork with marinated dikon and carrots and herb salad, all prepared in a Vietnamese style. He was offered immunity for the elimination challenge or a $15,000 cash prize. Like any good competitor would do, he took the money and put himself at risk for elimination.

The elimination challenge was inspired by the idea that, because of the recession, more people are hosting dinner parties instead of dining out. The "Top Chef" dinner party, however, was in a whole different ballpark than your typical Friday night soiree. The guests were all expert chefs and restaurateurs: Tyler Florence, Nancy Silverton, Govind Armstrong, Takashi Yagihashi, and Tom Douglas. The contestants were paired up and assigned a shopping bag that was filled by each chef guest with his or her choice ingredients. The pairs had to create a dish from these ingredients that would be served as part of a family-style meal.

As soon as the chefs were paired up, the Robin bashing picked up right where it had left off in the last episode. Mike I. acted like it was a tragedy to be partnered with someone who he thought of as a culinary buffoon. He soon decided that the only way to deal with her was to push her aside and give her menial tasks to do in the kitchen.

In the end though, the Mike I. and Robin pair combination was neither disastrous nor surprisingly spectacular. They fell right in the middle in the judges table's rankings. Laurine and Brian, with their Halibut and sherry-chorizo vinaigrette, and Jennifer and Kevin, with their BBQ Kobe beef in a cardamom broth, came out on top. Jennifer won the challenge and a $10,000 gift card from Macy's.

Michael and Ash and Eli and Ashley were the bottom four contestants. The judges' panel took an unforeseen bro-love twist when Ash sacrificed himself for Michael V. in front of the judges, comparing Michael to Picasso and saying he was only too happy to be carrying his paintbrushes. After that level of emotion, Ashley's elimination was somewhat of an afterthought. She was given the boot for her undercooked prawns and over-salted gnocchi.

From the scenes for the upcoming episode, we can expect the chefs to cook for a big event and intimidating guest judges.