Bye Bye Grayson. Good decision. Her food was ill-conceived and plebian at best. I was surprised to see her last as long as she did. Also her personality is better suited to a high school home rom than a professional setting. She needs to stick with her beer, brats and cheese.

Judges had to make sure Lindsey won at least once so it wouldn't seem too odd when they give her the title, being Michelle's protege n all.

Gail - I have to say that the three reasons you list for eliminating Grayson are weak, weaker and weakest.
1. Squash and tomato combo - weak because you don't seem to know that tomatos are grown into late summer/early fall in Wisconsin and overlap with squash in that part of the world. Your cliched sense of tomatos as "mediteranean" comes across as narrow minded and unimaginative.
2. Massive portion - weaker because the contestants were instructed to cook a family style dish! Doesn't that mean a portion large enough to share among several people? If anything the other dishes were too small for family style.
3. Chicken skin - weakest because removing the chicken skin DID make the dish healthier than it otherwise would have been. Pee Wee didn't ask for totally fat free, taste free food. Grayson simply made the dish healthier without sacraficing the integrity of the dish.
Sadly, you and the other judges lost your way on this one.

Ok. So I just watched Tom on WWHL and
I feel bad for saying Grayson went home
cuz she called him out the week before.
However, still don't know why AND can't
believe she went home. Also- I mentioned
Ed's uncooked chicken. I didn't want him
to go home either, although that was a big
mistake, I think he's a great chef and he's
definitely one of my Fav's. Sarah should've
gone home for her unseasoned food. Ed
commented while he was cooking as to why
he left the chicken slightly undone. That
was done consciously on his part for reasons
that made sense to him. Sarah simply didn't
season her food. What "Top Chef" doesn't
season their food? Not sure why she's still
there. We also know she has repeatedly
used Ed's cake recipe and won a challenge
doing so. She's gotta go. Lyndsy could go home
as well. I wish Paul, Ed and Grayson were
the last three standing! They're the best!

Tom sent Grayson home because she
called him out last week asking if the
meatball is what would be so much more
"potentially exciting". Otherwise, we are to
believe that she went home because she
shouldn't have used a "spring and a summer
veggie" together. Her tomato and squash
combo got her sent home over uncooked
chicken and unseasoned food??? Are you
kidding me? I hope she kills it on LCK and,
comes back and gets a fair chance. I'm
definitely not a foodie but anyone can
clearly see that sending Grayson home
was a rediculous decision.

Let me preface my thoughts with this...
I think Ed is great, BUT...
In the Pee-wee episode criticisms
were 1. Grayson shouldn't have used
tomatoes with squash. 2. Ed's chicken
wasn't thoroughly cooked and had a
weird texture. 3. Sarah didn't season her
eggs. AND GRAYSON WAS SENT PACKING?
Are you serious? Uncooked chicken, no
seasoning and tomatoes don't go well
with squash. That is the most
ridiculous decision EVER!
On a different note, I will be so pissed
if Bev wind LCK! FYI- many of the
chefs were annoyed with Bev. There
comes a point when one should look
at the common denominator as the
problem and not the victim.

I agree with Subhadeep. I would love to eat at Bev's restaurant. I hope the next one to get eliminated is Sarah! Did you see when Bev got eliminated and they were walking back to the Stew Room, who had their arm around Bev trying to console her-Sarah?! The one that was constantly saying bad things and giving bad looks to. What a phony!! I agree, why doesn't she try cooking something other than Italian? If you're a chef I think you should be able to cook everything, that is your job. I WANT PAUL TO WIN IT ALL!! HE IS VERY HUMBLE AND HAS NO AIRS ABOUT HIM AT ALL, HE IS NOT FAKE LIKE SO MANY OTHERS! GOOD LUCK PAUL-I WANT TO HEAR FROM PADMA,'PAUL,YOU ARE TOP CHEF!"

Love Pee Wee. That guy hasn't changed at all in the last 30 years. I don't know how he keeps his figure with all that ice cream soup.

I do think, though, that the premise that they were showing up in restaurants uninvited and unannounced was annoying. It was obvious the restaurants were told in advance about all this, and it was nice to see Sarah eschew the artifice and just say "Can I cook here?"

I hope Beverly wins last chance kitchen and gets to go back to compete. Beverly has been bullyed by other female constants on the show and she have acted with grace.

It's disappointing to see how some of the other female constants think they can bully her just bcz she is soft spoken. That is not how I expect adult woman to act.

Hated the scavenging for food and kitchens. This is Top Chef, not Survivor and that detracted from the creative process of cooking.

Loved that Tom "Agreed w/ Pee Wee"...that was hilarious!!

This season has, for the most part, made me cringe from start to finish. PeeWee Herman was the most annoying, pointless judge ever and Beverly is the most annoying competitor ever. I will be shocked if she is not the winner of LCK so we can be subjected to more of her nails-on-the-chalkboard passive/aggressive personality. It will be such a relief when this season is mercifully, finally over. It has been such a disappointment for so many reasons. Bravo had better back up and re-evaluate things. Someone is ruining the best show on the network.

G AndyBoy ... are you Nyesha's boyfriend or brother. It is just a competition and we all have our favorites and those who we dislike! Nyesha got beaten not once but twice against Bev. Does that mean she is a better cook than Nyesha or vice versa if Nyesha won? NO. It came down to the food they put up and whose the judges liked the best!

This is by far the worst season of top chef. I have been a fan since episode #1. I have never missed a show, including top chef masters and top chef all stars. I love this show, but this season is really lackluster. The challenges are so gimmicky. Can't you just let them cook? I'm OK with a curveball here and there, but the format has been really poor. Seeing them ride bikes around was awful. Having team battles almost every episode so it encourages conflict is weak. I'm OK with having challenges influenced by the setting / location, but the "Texas" themed challenges are so over the top. This show became everyone's favorite because you searched out the best talent and let them cook. What was wrong with that plan? At this rate I can see myself not watching Top Chef next season, which is a real shame. I hope you can get back to your roots for the next season, and judging from a lot of the posts, I'm not the only one.

This is by far the worst season of top chef. I have been a fan since episode #1. I have never missed a show, including top chef masters and top chef all stars. I love this show, but this season is really lackluster. The challenges are so gimmicky. Can't you just let them cook? I'm OK with a curveball here and there, but the format has been really poor. Seeing them ride bikes around was awful. Having team battles almost every episode so it encourages conflict is weak. I'm OK with having challenges influenced by the setting / location, but the "Texas" themed challenges are so over the top. This show became everyone's favorite because you searched out the best talent and let them cook. What was wrong with that plan? At this rate I can see myself not watching Top Chef next season, which is a real shame. I hope you can get back to your roots for the next season, and judging from a lot of the posts, I'm not the only one.

Loved having PeeWee on the show. As someone who grew up watching his show, seeing him in character just made me smile. Too bad some viewers can't let past lapses in judgement on his part stay in the past. He's fun and funny and his interaction was a breath of fresh air which I, and the judges apparently, definitely enjoyed!

The elimination challenge was gimmicky and totally wrong for this stage of the competition. My wife and I have watched Top Chef from its inception, and the quality of the show has definitely declined. This episode plumbed a new low.

Having Peewee Herman as guest host gave the entire show a carnival air, more suitable for a kids show. If you're trying to break in to a much younger demographic, good luck. Your core base is going to say au

One more note. Tom's decision to send Grayson packing seemed to many fans - read your blog - as totally wrong. My gut tells me it was payback for her embarrassing him last week over the "meatball" comment." Regardless, he and Gail have both loved butternut and tomato dishes before, including the finale of season 6 when both Kevin and Michael ( the winner) used them. Keeping the contestant who Tom just fawned over for cooking an egg perfectly (wow - what an impressive feat for a Top Chef!) without seasoning over one who served too big a dish just left us both with a ver bad taste.

I really don't understand why everyone is being so hard on Sarah and Lindsey for being "mean girls". Nearly every contestant on Top Chef has expressed their frustrations with Beverly at some time or another and wanted to avoid her on team challenges so why pick on Sarah & Lindsey? These people give up a lot to be on Top Chef so why wouldn't they get impatient with Beverly when her performance negatively affects their performance -have you already forgotten Nyesha getting axed because of her teammate rather than her own performance? It's interesting to note that no one started targeting Ed or calling him a "mean boy" after his really mean spirited behavior towards Heather over her need for medical care during one of the challenges.

@Foodie i totally agree! Hopefully Grayson will be back thanks to last chance kitchen and than she can sed Sarah home!

I thought I heard Tom say that butternut squash and tomatoes should never be served together....could that be right? I hope not because I'm a Southerner and butternut squash with tomatoes and onions is a highly popular dish in the south. So, did I hear it wrong? Tom can't be that unenlightened (I'm his fan).

Although I understand the point of Chef Hugh's tweet, we all have to remember one thing: it wasn't just a sweaty chef running into a kitchen - it was a sweaty chef with a Top Chef camera crew following them. That probably made a huge difference in the home chef's perception. These were relative unknowns and now, they've been featured on one of the most popular food shows on television!

Sad to see Grayson go. Perhaps she'll get a second chance.

I'm curious as to why an underseasoned dish would lose to an undercooked one (chicken breasts). In past episodes, cheftestants have been sent home because their dishes were TOO salty. As a home cook, I'd rather underseason dishes and let those wanting a bit more salt to add it at the table. You can always add salt; it's impossible to to remove it.

Any thoughts?

I just couldn't believe none of them could find Pat OBrian's right across the street from the Alamo.

TCT goes from Charlize Theron to Pee Wee Herman? Really? You couldn't scavenge up maybe, Scoobi-doo? Bravo never seems so desperate for guest stars, who in the world would put PWH back on the map? Even the Muppet thing was better than that. Quit slumming.

While I understand a little editing by the Elves to increase the drama, I don't like it when I'm confused about why someone went home. Usually this season after Padma says PPYKAG Tom will give the reason why someone was the one selected. This time, it seemed like Grayson's mistake (mixing squash and tomatoes) was not as bad as Ed's rubbery chicken. It wasn't until I read Gail's blog that I discovered that there were more problems wrong with Grayson's dish, and the collective problems were what sent her home. Please, don't leave me confused about the choice while I'm watching. I promise I'll still read the blogs for the full story.

I am disappointed Grayson went home. Bad decision. By the way, Gail does not blog. Gail "phones it in". Thank YOU for taking the time to actually write something!

Glad Lindsay won. But can you imagine, if Bev were still in the main game, what would have happened if Lindsay returned to the Mad Hatter to find that Bev had installed herself in the kitchen? OMG, we would never had heard the end of Bev's underhanded ways! Glad she rolled up her sleeves and moved on, but you know it would have been different if it weren't Sarah that had thrown her for the loop.

This was a great post. Grayson is a rock star for her one-armed bike-ride. I think most people who work in kitchens a lot (even an enthusiastic mere home cook like myself) develop what I call asbestos hands, but the balancing act was impressive. Taking the criticisms at face value, I find the reason for her departure dubious (as I explain at length in a comment under Gail's blog). Let not the world believe that butternut squash and tomatoes are a culinary "don't" just because Tom Colicchio says so. But the buildup on LCK suggests that she will emerge victorious, and her dish sounded better balanced than Bev's.

Ewww, Pee Wee Herman?? I thought this show was better than that. Given the success of Top Chef, can't you find a better guest judge than Pee Wee Herman??

Top Chef meets Amazing Race. Most annoying episode ever. Drop the gimmicks and get back to cooking, please.

I want to comment on Bev's question to Grayson about why she got eliminated. It even ticked off her favorite ally, Grayson.

Has anyone worked in an enviroment full of international, ethnic background people? We need to understand that even if you are brought up in America and know english great there is a certain nuance and way some questions come out that seems different to somone from another background. I think that is/was Bev's case throughout the season. We call ourselves MELTING POT here and then continiously bash people for being different! Even a decently neutral competitor like Dakota had to comment on Bev making Asian again! So what has Sarah made so far that is NON italian? What would have Chuey made NON mexican/latin if he was still around?

I cant wait to find some chance to eat at Bev's restaurant. Sarah? Lindsey? Heather? I will pass!

Grayson is my favorite...I can't believe Lindsey is still competing...Paul is awesome but Grayson my very favorite....hope she beats Bev....

Cannot believe Lindsay won that one with a basically a stuffed zucchini, but Sarah should have gone home this time. If you can't even season your dish right at this level then you shouldn't be here, especially when you prep a easy dish like a salad with eggs. Seasoning is the most important part to a dish like that and the technique is on the lower end.

Really hard challenge and Grayson goes home. Now we have to wait to see if Grayson, or Beverly win Last Chance Kitchen. Then we will know which one will join the other four cheftestants in the finals. I admit I hope it's Grayson, as she is my favorite on Top Chef. Her personality and looks have won me over. She is so funny, and cooks quite well. I happen to think Paul is the best cheftestant hands down, so he has a great chance to win. I would be happy with that. Beverly on the other hand I do not like. She rubs me the wrong way, and apparently others don't like her either. She is not as nice as she seems.
I hope I am wrong, when I predicted weeks ago that the producers want Beverly back in it. They want the "all of them against her" theme for the final. They been setting it up in obvious and not so obvious ways. In her LCK competition against Nyesha, nobody raise their hand when Tom asks if Beverly would win. Then poor Nyesha after 4 wins in a row in LCK and on a roll had all her hand picked ingredients switched with Beverly, setting Beverly up for the win. What a hoorible twist. Why though, when there was no twist in all the othe LCK contest. Doesn't seem right. The producers have been setting this up since the early episodes when 1st Heather was picking on Beverly week after week, until Heather herself was eliminated. Beverly admitted being happy with Heather's elimination, suggesting Karma took care of Heather. After that Sarah started having problems with Beverly. Again Beverly said she was being bullied and insisting she would have vindacation with all of the bullies. Now we will see if the producers put Beverly back in the competion to seek vengence on the others. I hope not. Beverly has talent, but not nearly as much as the other four. Nor as much as Nyesha, or Grayson. We will see if I am right. I was sick of Beverly's crying, passive aggressive, nervy, little games. We all are better off without her drama. Go Grayson. Down with the producers.

I think they all did a great job. I think it was time for Grayson to go. I hope paul will stay in there.

Fun and fantastic episode which highlighted the serious commitment to competition. I've enjoyed Last Chance Kitchen, and what a cliff-hanger! In a way, I would like to side either chef win, but, I think it would be awesome if the under-dog, Beverly, won LCK, and then, the final prize.