Top Chef Season 17 All Stars LA Episode 5 Recap and Thoughts

What a great episode of Top Chef tonight. We got the families involved and had a very fun elimination challenge.

The Quick Fire was pretty silly today. You have a loved one on the phone describing a dish they are eating that you have to make without ever seeing. Overall the dishes were way more accurate than I expected. I'd say over half the chef's had the look nearly spot on but everyone missed a few details here and there. Kevin wins immunity and we are off to the elimination challenge.

The elimination challenge was also pretty fun. Our chefs had to market a sauce to sell to the public. I really felt like we got to see a bit more of what each chef is inspired by and got a glimpse into what kind of food they'd most likely serve at their restaurants. On top of that it was a chance for them to bridge the gap between high cuisine and the average joe shopping at the grocery store. Most of the chefs did fantastic and I think there were at least 6 chefs to pick from as the top.

The bottom really only had three options today, Jen, Stephanie and Brian Mularkey. All three really missed the mark and I felt like it was a coin flip between Mularkey and Jen. Stephanie may not have made a sellable product but at least the judges enjoyed her dish. In the end we see Jen headed to Last Chance Kitchen.

Alright back to the top. We ended up with Gregory, Nini and Eric as our top three. I thought Eric was going to take it home but really you could have picked anyone from Gregory, Nini, Eric, Kevin, Lee Anne or Melissa for the victory today. Gregory ends up with the victory in the end and I think he's just been a solid chef all season long.