Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen 5

The rules are the same. If you get booted from Top Chef Texas, you have one last chance to redeem yourself. The ball has ended and even if J.R. wasn’t shot, a chef was still knifed and sent packing. The only thing left is the food and Tom Colicchio to judge if you really have what it takes to be Top Chef.

Beware, there are spoilers below!

The last battle ended with Chuy defeating the gentle giant Keith in a Thanksgiving leftovers challenge. This episode picks up where Top Chef Texas episode 6, Higher Steaks left off.

Whitney doesn’t have much to say except that it hurts to be eliminated by her culinary mentor Hugh Achenson. She gets a letter from Tom to meet her in the kitchen.

The booted chefs arrive to watch the battle. Keith brings the challengers the butcher block and Tom tells them to pick a knife. Chuy picks ostrich and Whitney picks elk.

The challenge is a grill master’s dream: create the American Classic Burger with the selected protein.

The real challenge seems to be both proteins are low in fat and can easily become dry. Both tackle that problem by using pork.

Chuy creates an ostrich and ground pork burger with Fresno chili aoli and onion straws. Tom thinks it’s a huge burger and has trouble eating it. He and Chuy go back and forth about the temperature of the burger, but in the end Tom thinks it’s good.

Whitney made an elk and pork sausage burger with shallot and garlic, topped with an egg sunny-side up. Her burger is medium rare and messy, but Tom doesn’t seem to mind.

After Tom chows down, he lets the fallen cheftestants take a bite and they are eager to taste.

Then Tom weighs in on both burgers. Eliminating Whitney the first time was easy, but this decision was harder for him. He liked both burgers, which were delicious and juicy.

Tom then asked for the fallen chefstestants opinion. Both Richie and Andrew liked both burgers a lot. Keith (whose opinion was focused on a lot during the short 7 min. challenge) said he like both burgers, but that one burger’s protein had more flavor overall: Whitney.

Tom agreed that Whitney’s was better and with that she’s the new Reigning Champion of The Last Chance Kitchen. She’ll have to face the next bootee of Top Chef Texas Episode 7.