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oh, wait, well... I guess I meant to say I was happy to see some tofu in the quickfire (or any challenge for that matter.)

OK, so I thought that Carla would be going home tonight.

She slid by but will be going next week.

Then it will be:

Leah
Hosea
Fabio
Jamie
And as much as I hate to admit it, the winner will be
Stefan

Stefan is a typical chef. Sorry guys but most top chefs are assertive.
I don't like Stefan for the reasons most of the contestants don't like him. He wants it all his way and he doesn't seem to be able to accept that a woman would not be interested in him.
I am a Fabio fan. Hosea needs to stop sucking face and start cooking.

I loved Andrew's impression of Stefan. "And I am the greatest German chef in the WORLLDDD...and I'm not even GERMAN!" hahahaha.

Stefan most probably has it in the bag and knows it, but I'd love an upset - with Carla! I never thought I'd be her biggest fan, I liked her least of all based on the first ep, but I think she is awesome and a great cook. Go Carla! I was sad to see Jeff go. I thought Leah would be gone long before him. You're right about Fabio's comments keeping him there. He is a hoot. Did you see him kiss his wedding ring for luck? That was endearing. He is funny, charming, cunning and can cook. He could be a contender. But still, go Carla!

i love carla--she is such a breath of fresh air, and the producers must be thrilled with the great soundbites she delivers every week. although i think it unlikely she will win, this should do great things for her career, even if she isn't always consistent.

I was disappointed in the Quaker Oat challenge.The chefs were asked to use the oats in a new, creative way. What is new and creative about using the oats as breading? And several of them used that cop out. That's what I would have done. I expected more.

I think Fabio dodged a bullet, but I was happy that they kept him around. Eye candy aside, who else can pull off saying, "I'm 30 years old and sleeping in the bunky bed!" I heart you, "Fabrice"...you and your sick mama.

That being said, he's a goner next week, followed by Carla and the lovebirds, leading to a Jamie/Stefan showdown. Jamie's got real chops and I agree with Scott Conant's assesment. But it's going to be Stefan for the win!

I really thought Carla was a goner when she decided to do Gumbo in 20 minutes!... Didn't seem like enough time to let all the flavors come together, but she proved me wrong and it was great to see her so super excited to win. Season 5 did good against the "all-stars," but it would have been a different story if they would have brought back the really good chefs from past seasons...these "all-stars" were the dregs of the series...

I haven't been impressed with this season's cheftestants at all. Other than Stephan and Jaime, none of them seem like they are nearly on the level of season 2-4 cheftestants. I think that any of the top 8 from the last three seasons could blow these guys away without trying.

Fabio is fun to watch but way too inconsistent. Carla is bat-shit crazy. Hosea is a competent cook, but not a chef. Leah doesn't give a crap. Jeff didn't have the cooking chops to keep up with his brain.

I still love the show, but overall, I have been disappointed. No one has wowed me with even one of their dishes yet.

rvyborney : I too am so losing at the fantasy game.

I still really like Fabio...he has been inconsistent this season, but there are flashes of really good cooking. Carla and Jamie have grown on me...Carla I always liked her "out there" personality, but wondered about her food choices, hopefully she rises to the remaining challenges. As for Jamie, her attitude and personality has softened during the show...she has good skills and I am delighted to see that she can do more than scallops. I don't see Fabio going all the way, sorry to say. Leah needs to go,,,,she really is pointless. Hosea at least has shown some skill. Not so sad to see Jeff go, but Fabio was right about a second chance, I believe that Jeff has been on the block more than Fabio and that is what saved him last night.

As for the final three----Definitely Stephan and Jamie and hopefully Carla.

and who are these ALL STARS!?!?!!? they may have been in previous seasons of Top Chef, but they were not the favorites of each of their seasons. Maybe with the exception of Spike and Andrew who were better "tv viewing" than the rest.

On a separate note - I am a FABIO FAN!!! I just heart him... I loved it when he said that they could serve anything at that restaurant and that they would win just because he was in the "front of the house" - and he was right!!!! I need a confident man like that in my life...

I was so happy when Carla won!!! I'm not even a "fan" of hers, but she seems like a genuine person, which is rare both in life and on "reality" television. It was sad to see Jeff go but please, the man's a mess as a chef. His quickfire dish looked like a Denny's appetizer basket. Barf. Fabio, who I love, totally should have gone home though. Forget the overcooked venison, that cheddar cheese salad looked BEYOND un-appetizing, It looked like trash thrown together by someone who thinks a salad isn't a salad unless it has cheese and lunch meat in it. I'm so glad they kept him tho. But dayummmmm. Scott sure as hell let him have it, no? That was some intense judgment for someone who hasn't been around all season to dish out. Let that be a lesson to you Toby Young, THAT'S how you rip someone a new one.

I, too, think Jamie is a threat to win. She could go next, but I think she has the best shot of beating Stephan in a finale showdown.

All-Stars? More like Also-Rans. I liked a lot of them, but most weren't the major contenders.

Fabio is a funny euro. I think there was a feeling he would get canned because the camera focused on him a lot more than the other characters this time around. The producers have a formula in how they reveal who the loser will be. They usually keep it up between two characters so the audience has a feeling who it will be but is not apparent. With the exception of Restaurant Wars with Leah and Hosea where there was a thought that Leah would be canned. I think they needed to focus on them because it was more of a head turner. Regardless I hope Leah or Hosea get the boot. Maybe the producers think they are good material and keep them in. This may also be why Fabio keeps in also because he says such silly things and the audience loves that. He hasn't pulled off too many good dishes these last few rounds.

I think the term "restaurant critic" is used rather loosely in his case. If you look at any of his reviews for the Evening Standard they consist of 90% comments or complaints about the decor and 10% food related musings. An example of the entire food review of the Fat Badger by Toby Young (out of an 8 paragraph column):

"In fairness to William Leigh, the food at The Fat Badger isn't bad. I sampled two starters - smoked eel in oat crumbs and spiced rabbit with coriander chutney - which were both good, and my main course - onglet accompanied by girolles and green beans - was perfectly all right. But, really, I'm sure it would have been twice as good if priority was given to how the food tastes rather than how environmentally friendly it is."

and of the 11 paragraphs on The Winter Garden, this is the only thing he has to say about the food:

"I was flying solo on this occasion and thought I'd give the £30 set lunch a try. I started off with a very respectable quail and aubergine salad and followed up with a slightly less successful chicken Caesar. The chef, Gary White, deserves top marks for leaving the skin on the chicken breast - it turned out to be the best part of the meal - but he went slightly overboard on the creamy dressing. Next time I'll know to order the dressing on the side."

okay so lets do some math here. stephan says he's 35. 35 - 23 = 12. are we to honestly believe that he's been cooking professionally since he was 12?