Matt moans his way out of Hell's Kitchen,The Next Food Network Star and Top Chef's Final Three

We met up with the Final Four contestants on Top Chef after a six month rest,arriving in Puerto Rico for the first half of the Finale.

Lisa,Stephanie,Antonia and Richard got their Quickfire assignment from Padma and guest judge Wilow Benet,which was to make a traditional plaintain based fried snack known as "tontones". Stephanie won the challenge and was given an advantage for the Elimination round that was rather daunting,to say the least.



Each chef was given a whole pig to butcher and use as the basis for atleast two dishes to be served at a garden party for the governor of Puerto Rico. Sous chefs were provided to add some extra help(past contestants Nikki,Spike,Dale and Andrew)and Stephanie was allowed to assign the sous chefs to her fellow competitors. She took Dale for herself and matched up Nikki with Antonia,Spike with Richard and Andrew with Lisa.



Stephanie and Dale worked well together(he's a jerk but does know how to play well with others when necessary)but Dale made a huge error by leaving out the herb encrusted pork belly that Stephanie planned on making out on the counter overnight. Fortunately,the two of them brainstormed and came up with a viable alternative,a tropical fruit salad with prosciutto and crispy pig skin garnish that wowed the judges big time.



Richard really shined here and worked well with Spike(again,another bozo who can get the job done when needed). His BBQ pork shoulder went over like gangbusters and he even thought to add some local beer(called "Malta",which I've seen in a few of the local food stores in my neighborhood)to one of the dishes,giving it that extra touch that means so much. Not only is he in the Final Three with Stephanie,Richard won a shiny new car to boot. Nice!



Not so nice for Antonia,who was sent home due to her pigeon peas being undercooked and for piling too many food items on her serving plate. That sadly leaves us with the dreaded Lisa competing in the second half of the Finale with Richard and Stephanie.



I don't know why Lisa wasn't sent home as well;she has consistently screwed up dish after dish,her attitude is terrible and worst of all,never accepts responsibility for her mistakes. Even worse,she got nasty with Richard and Stephanie after the goodbyes were given to Antonia by saying "I know you guys are upset that Antonia's leaving but you could've congratulated me!" Honey,if you have to ask for props,that's a clear cut sign of why you didn't get them in the first place. Stephanie tried to make peace but Lisa wasn't having that. Richard made the best off camera comment ever-"Congratulations,you won the ****ing bronze medal!" I hope either he or Stephanie wins it all.



It took them long enough but Matt was finally kicked off of Hell's Kitchen. His never ending wringing and whining was making me want to smack him a good one,seriously. He really got extra snippy with Christina during the "punishment" duty,which added extra drama when the two of them were teamed up to work the meat station at dinner service.

Matt couldn't pay attention to the orders coming in or communicate with the others in the kitchen. Christina goofed up by cooking beef and chicken in the same pan(that's a no-no)and Bobby was doing the same thing with salmon and scallops(more dangerous,since some folks have shellfish allergies). Corey topped things off by burning her hand and refusing to go get medical help:



But it was Matt's "migraine" that nearly drove Ramsey over the edge. At one point,Ramsey literally dragged him out of the kitchen and sent him to his room(I would say without supper but Matt was chowing down during service,claiming it was "tasting"):



I hate to say this but Petrozza could have a real shot at winning the whole shooting match. The guy is sloppy but he does put out good food(despite the hen in a pumpkin)and his judgments have been rather sound for selecting folks for the chopping block. Even the other chefs look to him for backup there. The best part of this episode was Matt's farewell montage reel-very American Idolish:





Turns out I was right about Corey from Last Comic Standing being a contestant on The Next Food Network Star. Too bad she was the first one to be sent home. She was rather tense and her cooking challenge showed a lack of timing,a fatal flaw in both the kitchen and the comedy club stage.

I hope the next person to go is Lisa;she's a snooty dip who prattles on about her "three Cs" of cooking but makes no sense to anyone else within hearing distance. Plus,she prides herself on her snazzy outfits while doing anything-it's like having Cordelia Chase trying to become the next Rachel Ray!:



RANDOM NOTES:

SWINGTOWN: The retro 1970's series debuts tonight on CBS and while the reviews have been so-so so far,it might be worth a look see. I did read about this show in EW's Summer TV preview and the show's creators did try to sell this to cable first. The topics on hand here(wife swapping,drugs,etc)do appear to be the kind that either pay tv or a network like F/X or USA could expand upon with more depth. We shall see,I guess: