At the judges' table — well, I knew it, Team Potatoes won. And Gand announced that Richard was the individual winner, which I thought was surprising after she had praised Stephanie's cake, noting that it would usually take her three days to make a wedding cake. But then Blaise offered the prize to Stephanie, which was really a sweet gesture.
It was nothing like the bitter showing from Team Tomatoes at the judges' table. While Lisa and Nikki smartly tried to hold back, Dale and Spike drew swords. It was one of the better arguments yet in the Top Chef series, so I'm transcribing it here. It was set off when Gand asked a question about the crostinis:
Dale: ''That's another thing that I did.''
Spike: ''Get it all out, man. Come on.''
Dale: ''Dude, I hustled. I straight up hustled. I came into this kitchen...''
Nikki: ''Dale, nobody disagrees with that, Dale.''
Dale: ''Look at the prep lists. Just look at it.''
Tom: ''You're saying this as if somebody else dragged their feet.''
Spike: ''Dale, come on, please. Get it all out. I mean, come on. Point some fingers if that's what you're doing.''
Dale: ''Were they going to get done if I didn't get them done — like the time you asked me to do your zucchini for you?''
Spike: ''It's a team effort, you know what I mean. Like, I'm not going to let you stand up here and tell that you were God in this elimination round and you did everything for everybody....That's bulls--- dude.''
Dale: ''I banged it out today.''
Spike: ''Well, I feel I pushed harder than you.
Dale: ''Bulls---. Bulls---.''
Spike: ''I feel like my prep load was a little more difficult than yours was.''
Dale: ''Bulls---.''
Spike: ''Dale, you're such a little b----, bro. Seriously.''
Nikki: ''Come on, guys.''
Spike: ''No, I'm just angry, and I'm the only one standing up for all three of us.''
Finally, Gail Simmons intervened, adding that everyone really liked the sea bass, Spike's dish. To which Dale replied, ''You should have liked it; it took him three hours to make it.'' When they were called back, Spike got lambasted for not doing enough, which was a complete reach for criticism. How could they tell? Dale got in trouble for saying he ''did the bulk of the work,'' but they ''didn't care for the bulk of that work.'' As much of a jerk as Dale was this episode, he still seemed like the better chef. And Nikki ended up being the aforementioned bystander caught in the crossfire. That was merely because she was passive. Where was the ''fighter'' in her? She had the opportunity to lead with her expertise, and her refusal to do it ultimately led to her packing her knives. Which was fair. Gail summed up the crux of this ep with one line: ''There was a major ego war going on.''
What do you think? Whose ego annoyed you the most? Whose will be next to blow? And should the ability to be a dominant personality in the kitchen be a factor in who gets to stay?
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