Great stuff, you heelpd me out so much!

I heard Anthony Bourdain speak in Chicago and he spoke about his respect for the show and its strict adherence to the rule that the chef who made the least successful dish that particular week goes home. Period.

I won't argue about which team should have won restaurant wars but for the losing team, I understand why Kenny was kicked off.

Do I think he is the least deserving chef out of the bunch? No. But if you're going week by week, I can see why the judges were forced to make a difficult decision here with that goat cheese dish, etc.

Having said that - the talent pool did seem to drop this season. Last season was just packed with so many very good chefs. This season? Meh.

-R.

I love your show, and wish I could try some of the recipes. It all looks so good. Do you ever review the tapes of the contestants?? sometimes they cheat and it seems like no one see it. I was curious. Love your show and will continue to watch it. ALso like playing the game. Padma Rocks.

Ok, so this is my first season watching Top Chef, so I have nothing to compare it to. But I can clearly see that Alex SHOULD HAVE LEFT A LONG TIME AGO! Case in point, this past episode. All he had to do was fillet fish and he couldn't even do THAT right! He was horribly awkward as a host and didn't even say goodbye to the judges!

Another one that needs to go, the chick that thought it was appropriate to serve alcohol-soaked chicken to elementary school kids.... How y'all let that one slide is beyond me!

Anyway, this show competed with a couple other shows that come on at the same time. I'm glad I can watch my other shows and know I'm not missing anything special, because this Top Chef D.C. really sucks!

i hope i am correct but it seems to me a lil prejudice is involved here kenny was a great cook and everyone knew think back to when angelo said he did not like kenny for no reason jealousy all over his face also it seems like to me all afro americans on the show get kicked off quickly why is that top chef umm i wonder this show is wack for sure i wont be watching and believe me tiffany will be next i got that feeling

We DVR shows that we watch regularly. Top Chef is one of our favorites; however, we have removed it from our recording list for the rest of the season. We understand what was said about the cameras, however what we did see seemed to point at Alex stealing the pea puree, also the contestants all believe that as well. The breaking point was today when Kenny was eliminated, when Alex was so obviously the worst tonight. This was the final breaking point for us in several disappointments. This is a competition, so if you're making and following rules... follow all of them! Alex should have gone home a long time ago. BRAVO - TOP CHEF... you've really got it wrong this season and thus lost us as fans. SO disapointed! Kenny should not have been eliminated!

i will no longer watch the show, up until the Pea incident, i thought it was a straight shooter, an honest competition. Now it seems to me that they reward thieving and cheating, all in the name of ratings I guess. They might not have caught everthing on camera, but they should have caught enough to NOT SEE Alex making any peas, plus everyone heard him say he hadnt used any peas...now last week he doesnt make any dishes of his own, another violoation of the rules...Bravo's and Top Chef's integrity is shot. I wont watch it anymore.

The one-chef-as-front-of-house part of this challenge amuses me. Granted, this show isn't Top Sommelier, but the Top Sommelier moments are entertaining. I can see that it makes judging less comfortable, and it could make for some inequity for the contestants, but I'll cheerfully condemn you to discomfort and inequity for my entertainment.

Thank you for taking time from your vacation to explain the joys of not eliminating a chef from the winning team, and the rationale for eliminating the leader of the losing team and creator of two losing dishes.

The red team did not follow the rules for restaurant wars. Each chef is to prepare a dish - Alex did not. This was brought to the attention of the judges, at judges table, and they chose to ignore it. Bottom line, the red team did not fulfill the obligation of the challenge, and could not justifiably win!

The judges are fast becoming a great disappointment! They are being sucked out of true craftsmanship into television hoopla! Not every dish or plate that has three ingredients is a success. try coming to the Caribbean or to the south with that. We still stone people down here! Get back into the game next season or retire. The New York and LA styles are not the only cuisines that exist! Bacon foam, OMG and where the garbage so that i can eat the real thing is what you would here! To eliminate Chef Kenny is "Gastronomical Prejudice!"

This season has been kind of irritating. Not the best season. Not too interested after Alex doesn't make food and he is not removed. No justice. Amanda made one dish..they hated it ...she stays..she feeds kids a sherry sauce..wacky and goofy and more irritatng then good tv.

Kenny deserved to stay. The judges and the producers made a ratings decision. Keep conflict going on regardless of who is the best chef. Next time just do a reality show that you can live with like Big Brother.

I don't think checking the receipts from Whole Foods would answer the question of whether Alex cheated or not. He may have bought the peas, but that wouldn't tell us if he made the puree. A cook-off between Alex and Ed seems like the best solution. It is so sad to see this show reduce itself to the depths of many of the reality shows. This show does not need the "drama" to make it successful. The editing of the pea-puree is really disgusting. To show that Alex did take it and for the editing people to air it was just plain stupid. TC has been my favorite show since it's inception and losing the integrity it always held is very sad indeed.

TOP CHEF IA FLUKE!!!!! THE TOP CHEF IS GONE...LOVED YA KENNEY!!!!!!!KEEP UP THE EXCELLENT WORK..THEY HAVE NO CLUE!!!

In regards to PeaGate I have one word, lie-detector. Or is that 2 words. Maybe Alex didn't steal the pea puree but threw it away so he would not look like a copy cat. Who knew pea puree could be so controversial. Bring a lie detector to the reunion show and we can settle this once and for all. It does hurt everyone to have this suspicion hanging in the air and I do hate to think that cheaters are winners. But these things happen in life. I hope the judges pay more attention in the future.

wow, to kick kenny off! alex didn,t cook one thing and was a lousey host tom you make the rules and so far alex has cheated twice and is still there I GUESS THIS SEASON YOU DON,T NEED TO BE ATOP CHEF JUST CHEAT AND GET AWAY WITH IT!

Tom:

I've been a diehard fan of the show since the very beginning. The main reason I enjoyed Top Chef was the general lack of "reality" in the reality show. The show used to revolve around the food and remained focused on trying to teach the audience items about cooking great food.

Tom maybe you're to busy or the production team took on to much with the spin-off (I haven't and won't see) but this season is awful. EVERYTHING sucks: basic production, the cast, the focus on stories and "gameplay",and the ridiculousness of Kenny's downfall. Chef, I've heard you often provide well-intnetioned critique about "editing;" and stern condemnation about poor fundamentals and execution. Sadly, you need to look at the mirror about this season.

I'm done...and you better hook me in the first two episodes of the next season. Chef I also think you probably should stop by the table and offer your apologies...because Top Chef used to be a mind-cavity joy...it is now unwatchable drivel.

Josh

I 'm sorry to say but this season was not as profesional as the others. The people chosen were not profesional and acted like it . I won't name names but you know what I mean ,men playing certain woman,men hating each other .Such arigance wow give me a break, Jelousy is being insacure.
Please pick people out like Jenifer ,Michael, Michaels brother,all the rest ,when they lost they did with dignatity

I 'm sorry to say but this season was not as profesional as the others. The people chosen were not profesional and acted like it . I won't name names but you know what I mean ,men playing certain woman,men hating each other .Such arigance wow give me a break, Jelousy is being insacure.
Please pick people out like Jenifer ,Michael, Michaels brother,all the rest ,when they lost they did with dignatity

I have started questioning Top Chef's integrity in deciding who goes home each week. It doesn't seem to be about the food anymore but who is able to garner higher ratings. I'm reminded that the judges along with Bravo TV make the decision. Look at the credits at the end and it makes a statement to that efeffect. If that's the case then this show is now all about showmanship and less about the food. That saddens me as I used to look forward to the show but feel that the right people are getting kicked off while the wrong ones are staying on. Looks like Bravo's head has gotten big and now it wants to just glamorize the show. It lost Project Runaway, so this is the only true bread and butter left. Be fair in the decision making and the show will retain what it used be..An exciting show to watch.

I can't believe people continue to post regarding this "Peagate" scandal. That was two weeks ago! Water under the bridge.
Kenny needed to go home. he was rightfully chosen by his fellow competitors as having prepared the worst dish and if it hadn't been for those hideous undercooked scallops he would have gone home weeks ago. If you wish to give kudos to Kenny for his leadership skills as executive chef in Restaurant Wars then you must ask how he could allow Amanda's horrible beef dish to be served. It's a sword that cuts both ways!

For those who wish to complain about Angelo's demeanor in the kitchen, I ask you: Do you not remember your beloved Mike V.'s attitude towards that poor cancer survivor that the whole house ganged up on last season (sans Kevin, who was always a class act). Kenny's story may be compelling but as has been said here so often "bad food is bad food".

All you posters who will never record the show again on their DVR's -- I'm sure Top Chef's sponsers are crying the blues especially since you all buzz right through the commercials which pay for the production of the show! BOO-HOO!!!

Learn How to Judge! I cannot believe that you guys chose Alex to stay over Kenny!? Alex should have gone home during the second week of the show.. he has no talent, he is all over the place it doesnt make sense. Top Chef is a joke because you guys keep someone who does not have talent over someone who does? Maybe you guys should re think before you just cut people next time.

That was a lousy restaurant wars episode! This entire season isn't anywhere near as good as expected, or as enjoyed as in past seasons. I'm almost ready to give it up too.

As someone so eloquently stated on Facebook, "Top Chef has cooked the shark" ... I'm done, finished, kaput with Top Chef. Although I've been a viewer of every episode of day one, I find the judges elitist and inconsistent both in their rules and in the application of same, and the contestants who remain "safe" seem to be those who are the least threatening to both Tom Colicchio and to the guest judge(s). I wish Kevin and Tiffany well in this season but I will not watch ever again.

Well that's it for me - if something like the pea puree isn't going to be looked into & resolved appropriately and Alex' apparent failure to actually create a single dish when that was a requirement for the challenge isn't going to dealt with, then why set any rules at all.

I supposed it is possible that Alex is innocent in both situations, but the producers make no effort to determine this that is demonstrated to the viewers - instead the situations seem to be manipulated in a manner that exploits the drama of having a (real or imagined) villain on the show.

After a great season last year, this has devolved into a typical reality show instead of something better than that. Disappointing.

After watching every episode for the past 4 seasons, I'm done with this season's version. Maybe I'll watch again next season, maybe not.

I was really upset last week about the pea puree incident but have managed to let that go and believe Chef Colicchio that they truly do not know what happened to the puree. However, this week's incident is truly upsetting. The red team completely cheated and should have had their title stripped from them. Alex did NOT prepare a dish! Meanwhile everyone on the blue team was adhering by the rules and working hard to put in their part. It's completely unfair and I am really disappointed by the judges here to not investigate this further. It should at least be obvious when Alex has completely stumbled in the last few weeks when having to cook on his own (hello, quickfires? Terrible tapas plate and then what did he do in the 10 minutes he had this week but salt the fish?) but then somehow shines when he has help from others?

Arghhhh I have been a HUGE Top Chef fan since the beginning but this episode really let me down. Kenny's food probably did disappoint, but the fact is that he is a great chef, good leader for his team in restaurant wars, and Angelo is a controlling chef who cheated his team to a win.

I started out cheering for Kenny, but each week he started getting on my nerves. His constantly referring to himself as a "beast in the kitchen" was weird. Who wants to eat food prepared by a beast???

I don't think kenny as the best chef in the house but he surely was and is better than a most of the chefs that stayed I would hae liked to have seen him lst longer. I'll miss Kenny he was a great competitor.

I loved Top Chef...until now. How could you guys cut Kenny????????????? If it weren't for the fact that there is nothing else to watch this summer, i would be done with this show. He was one of the best you had, he was nice, Alex THE THIEF should have been gone 2 episodes ago. WHAT A DISAPPOINTMENT. Just my measly 2 cents form a very disappointed fan.

Thanks, Tom. I am glad that you touched on the "pea puree-gate" again. The least that you could do was some research into what happened during that episode and you did. As a viewer, I can't ask for anything else. Good job!

I am sad to see Kenny go, I think he is one of the strongest chefs in the season. True, his dishes may have been poorly executed, but he is a true leader in the kitchen. Plus, I would think that in restaurant wars you are evaluating domains other than food: quality of service (the blue team was significantly superior), organization in the kitchen (idem), management of the waiters (same), etc. I still don't get how decisions are made at judge's table. At the end, restaurant wars was only about food... then why is this challenge different than others?

Getting more difficult each week to keep watching... could go on and on but like this season, I am uninspired.

I have been a die hard Top Chef fan since the 1st season. I am so turned off I'm not sure if I will even bother with the rest of the season. Sending Kenny home was bogus and I am pretty sure I am not alone in this opinion.

booooooh on Top Chef.

I have been a die hard fan of Top Chef throughout the show's duration. This is the only show for which I always set time aside to watch. I realize that not every season can have as strong and professional contestants as Season 6, but this year's season has left me disappointed. I no longer look forward to watching episodes, because I'm neither wowed by the for nor impressed by the editing. Certainly the chefs aren't as petty and juvenile as those from Season 2, but they don't impress. Please choose better next season or risk losing this viewer.

Pea-gate is an issue that YOU ALL did not resolve! So, you're gonna let him be your face on the wall of the Palm Restaurant in DC without being sure if he can give the correct recipe to them for the "pea puree" that you all went crazy over?
Shouldn't you just ask him to whip up a batch just in case???
Further Chef, don't give me this nonsense that there is no way to know . . . admit it . . . Alex makes good television. You don't take off a master chef and leave Alex without thought. Kenny will do fine without you, but this has truly damaged TC in the eyes of many of your viewers. Shame on you and your pathetic excuses. I believe that you know better!

Pea-gate is an issue that YOU ALL did not resolve! So, you're gonna let him be your face on the wall of the Palm Restaurant in DC without being sure if he can give the correct recipe to them for the "pea puree" that you all went crazy over?
Shouldn't you just ask him to whip up a batch just in case???
Further Chef, don't give me this nonsense that there is no way to know . . . admit it . . . Alex makes good television. You don't take off a master chef and leave Alex without thought. Kenny will do fine without you, but this has truly damaged TC in the eyes of many of your viewers. Shame on you and your pathetic excuses. I believe that you know better!

I know the blogs are not up yet for restuarant wars, but I am voicing my opinion. I am so sorry that Kenny was chosen to go home, he is an excellent chef and I believe that is why the blue team's restuarant moved so smoothly. I am sorry but in my opinion Amanda should have gone home, she made one dish and it was not cooked properly, Kenny made two dishes, although, not well received, he also was responsible for the executiv chef position and that should have garnered him some notice. Steven went home last week for not cooking his food properly and now Amanda stays for the same reason. Her meat was overdone her greens undone, two big components on the plate. This is just my opinion but in a competition of this caliber I think the chef who can not cook his/her dish properly should go home.

Tom explains the pea incident using ignorance of the situation as an excuse for not calling out Alex. Then on last night's show, the contestants flat out told the panel that Alex and his team cheated and nothing happened. The cheating team again was rewarded for being dishonest. Top Chef is a joke! There are so many cooking challenge shows on that require the cheftestants to be honest. I'm going to start watching them. I don't appreciate that TC holds cheaters to be winners. What a disappointment!

Top Chef got it right; Kenny needed to go home. If Kenny's team wanted Alex to go home ... they should have WON! Had they, there is no doubt that Alex would have packed his bags. Enough with the alpha male all talk, chunka goat cheese making Kenny. I knew he was going when they included alllll of his "look at that other team makin' all those mistakes" banter. Hubris. Alex, I hope you're next.

Alex's team should have lost for not letting him cook his own dish anyway, then he would have been sent home if his dish was not good. That team was lucky that they won. They have nothing to gloat about. Alex was a jerk to the staff in the front of the house, and a real disappointment as a server to the judges. For some reason, they wanted Kenny out.

I will no longer watch Top Chef as long as Alex is allowed to remain on the show. I just am not going to invest my time in a show that has lost its intergrity and with judges that don't care a spit how keep the show clean. Yes, I've read your extremely week defense of peagate and it would have to improve to be terrible. Now you kick off a good chef and keep on the a chef that didn't cook his own food, which shock just happens to be the same chef that it was the same chef in peagate. The standard the show *must* live by if it wants to set the standard for intergrity is the "appearance of inpropriety" and more than once it appeared that Alex cheated yet he is still on the show. Yes you will give some weak explanation and say the judges do care but actions speak louder than words and the actions of the judges by keeping Alex on the show speaks volumes, it shouts "we don't care about the intergrity of the shows and we don't care if our cooks cheat, and we don't care if we lose viewers over it."

One more viewer bites the dust because the judges refusal to take action.

PLEASE POST THIS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE!!!!!!!!

Wow! Sending Kenny home over Alex.... still reeling. The Top Chef people need to think about the integrity of the show. Angelo is this years biggest detriment. He's proved on more than one occaision he has it in for some of the other contestant's and it's really sad watching. If there are going to be rules to challenge's they should be adheared to. Had team "red" followed the rules Alex would be gone and not Kenny, who you should bring back on priciple alone. Do what's right Top Chef in the future.

Um, why can't the producers check the reciepts? and see if Alex bought peas or not?

While very, very, dissapointed with the judges' decision from last night, I am too big of a fan for too many years to quit watching. Poor Kenny was easily one of the top 3 most talented chefs this season. Alex is a walking disaster area and poor Amanda sneaks by week after week, staying under the radar by playing it safe. I thought it was so funny when she said "this is the first time I've won" after the quick fire...SHE didn't. Any of the red team members (Alex excluded) could have been in Amanda's place and blue team still would have won. ANYWAY...I know Kenny did not prepare his best dishes for this challenge but is a better chef 1000x over then Alex or Amanda. Why don't the judges consider a chef's history when making the "pack your knives" decision? If this is truly a competion to choose a TOP CHEF then I really question why mediocre chefs, frequently in the bottom, are still standing while true top chefs, frequently in the top, are gone.

I probably shouldn't remind you that Lisa cooked rice poorly at least 3x on a prior season and still went to the finale.

Usually, I give the judges the benefit of the doubt--after all, I'm not there. There have been a couple of times over the years that I have nevertheless been in great disagreement. This is one of those times. If it is all about the food, then it isn't Top "Chef"--it is Top "Cook". A good chef should know how to run a kitchen, plan a menu, work with others in the kitchen and make certain front of house operates properly. I just can't wrap my head around last night's decision. More to the point, I now have to listen to a husband that absolutely refuses to watch the show anymore because he predicted that would happen at episode 1. Last season was the best ever. This one has been pretty much the worst. By far.

Kenny seemed like a top contender. That really lets the air out of the finale.