Top Chef has returned for its fifth season and they started it off with apples in the big apple: New York. With seventeen new contestants they were ready to start their culinary journey but wait! Only sixteen chef outfits are hanging in the kitchen so one must leave before the game even starts. That’s where the apples come in. For their first quickfire challenge the chefs must compete in three apple related challenges. In the first part the first nine to peal several apples would be safe, Stefan finished first and it gave him immunity for the first elimination challenge. For part two it was all about the dicing. Four more became safe leaving Leah, Radikha, Lauren and Patrick to compete to stay. After making a dish with their apples in two minutes it came down to pre-game friends Patrick and Lauren. With head chef Tom liking Patrick’s salad better that sent Lauren back to culinary school and the rest of the contestants into the kitchen!

But wait! The chopping block made an appearance before the chefs could move into their house. They each chose a knife and were paired up based upon a location in New York. The pairs would make a dish and compete against each other. The better of the two dishes would keep the chef safe while the cook of the lesser of the two would be up for elimination. With that said and done it was time to move in. Inside two distinct groups formed. The gays of the house formed the “rainbow” alliance while the two guys from Europe distanced themselves from the group. Stefan and Fabio, both from Europe, started complaining about American ways and even seemed to become rivals in a sense. Danny spoke up in confessional and didn’t seem to like either of them much, seems we may have a budding fight on our hands!

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Is it kind of sad that the two judges have fought more on The Greatest American Dog then the actual contestants on the show? Before we get to that though let’s talk about the rest of the show. Following the arguement between Beth Joy and Laura, Travis was the man of the hour. He stood up for Beth Joy when his gal pal Laura put her down and Beth Joy loved him for it. Her dog Bella Starlet did not share the love though as the next morning she nipped at Travis, upsetting Beth Joy. She cried and cried about how her dog isn’t mean and how she never does this. Travis once again was there to comfort Beth Joy and let her know its only because she’s stressed. I don’t think he understands this is a game, Beth Joy freaking out like that is GOOD for him.

Before the Dog Bone challenge the gang was having a discussion about techniques used to train their dogs. Laurie and JD seemed to disagree a bit as Laurie felt more kinder and rewarding techniques were better then “medieval” and harsher techniques that JD uses. JD stood up for how he trains his dogs though and it does show as Galaxy is one of the best in the competition but Laurie also stood her ground, stating that she’d always take her dog Andrew over Galaxy any day.

At the Dog Bone competition it was all about teamwork. The six were split into three teams of two being Bill/Travis, Beth Joy/Teresa and feuding rivals Laurie/JD. What the pairs had to do was have one person controlling the dogs and the other laying in a box under a giant digging zone. The first dog would have to ring a bell, followed by the other dog digging for a rope and pulling it. Laurie and JD were up first with JD in the box since Laurie didn’t want JD using his aggressive techniques on poor little Andrew. They worked well together as Laurie controlled her own dog plus Galaxy in a very quick time of 1.45 minutes.

The next team to go was Bill and Travis. With Travis in the box, Bill had Star easily hit the bell and had Presley rushing up the path to dig for Travis. After a small error of Presley running away, the digging was well on its way and Travis was quickly released in a winning time of 1.35 seconds. Although we know Travis and Bill won we still have to look at Beth Joy and Teresa who did horribly. The reason they lost was because Bella Starlet barked rather then digging since Beth Joy was in the box. Teresa had no control over Bella and since she snapped earlier she was too scared to try.

When it came time to reveal the winner Bill and Travis were surprised that they would also win a call from home. Travis talked to his mother and was almost in tears the entire time while Bill held it together until the very end. He has been missing his family for awhile now and it was nice to see the two outside the element of the game. They also got a great leg up for the Best in Show challenge as they got to acclimate their dogs to golden retriever puppies. Presley took to them easily, being a puppy himself but Star had some trouble since she was scared to death of the dogs! Although the two knew the twist to the challenge they didn’t tell any of the others, making them a bit upset and wary of how truthful they really are.

At the Best in Show it was all about moving the dogs, and the puppies in tow, through a maze. Teresa with Leroy did the best out of everyone, getting the puppies through the maze on the first try. Leroy did so well, waiting for the puppies and all, that the judges granted him and Teresa Best in Show. The other two who were safe were Laurie with Andrew and JD and Galaxy. Although Andrew only led one puppy through the maze, the judges loved Laurie’s coaxing and realized she did a great job overall. JD did most of the work for Galaxy, forcing her to stop every so often, which led all three puppies through but caused a rift in the two female judges. The younger female judge was happy for JD since he did so well but the older female judge hated his techniques. This left the two basically in the middle of a cat fight right in front of the cameras! It was crazy to see the two go at it but they quickly resolved their differences after the commercial break. If only every fight could end that way!

Back in the Best in Show arena it was time to name the bottom three. The judges put Travis and Presley there for not moving any of the three puppies through and Presley being too hyper and fast to even try. Bill and Star were in the bottom for their first time and there is a good reason. During the third run through, Star sat down as if to say “I’m done” but Bill kept pushing her and pushing her. The judges felt it was too much for Star and Bill just wouldn’t give in. Last but not least is Beth Joy and Bella Starlet who didn’t make it to the end of the maze once and moved no puppies through. The judges felt Bella didn’t care about the puppies but rather just about getting out. The pair has had a hard journey throughout the show and it was only a matter of time before they left. I’m glad Beth Joy left on a high note, for once, and she will be missed as she added a bit of crazy to the show!

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