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This is an instance where there is no misleading editing, either. Grayson, Paul and Lindsay are called to Judges Table where they are informed that they each won their individual match-up. Grayson is then insulted by Tom for choosing such a lousy food for a block party and frankly treated as if she doesn’t deserve to be in the top group. Lavish praise is heaped upon Lindsay and Paul for finding the perfect methodology to make healthier versions of food staples.

Then, the judges perform what has become a ritual task this season when they hand Paul more money. Another $15,000 this week gives him a grand total of $50,000 (!) earned thus far. As a reminder, the grand prize for the entire season is only $75,000 more than this. Even if he doesn’t win, something that seems hugely unlikely at this point, Paul has carved out winnings we could accurately describe as second prize money. And there may BE second prize money, too. We’ve never been clear on that.

The bottom half of Judges Table is grim. Unlike last week, everyone deserves to be there although Sarah refuses to believe this about herself. Sarah is a lot more confident in her dishes than the judges ever are. Even in this episode, she made it clear that she believes Cat Cora, a freakin’ Iron Chef, lacked the palate to appreciate her and Lindsay's Quickfire challenge dish. All of this losing has driven Sarah into an extreme state of denial.

The real beating is saved for Ed and Chris. What becomes clear is that while Chris is likely to be eliminated for body of work, the dish Ed served is not only disappointing but also a failure in terms of the stated challenge. His bread dish is no healthier than ordinary Korean barbecue. He’s simply pulled a sleight of hand of replacing some fatty elements with other marginally less fatty ones. As Scott Pilgrim has learned, “Bread makes you fat” and an open faced sandwich has, you know, bread.

Eventually, the judges make exactly the determination we have been expecting since Beverly’s elimination last week. Chris finally won five thousand dollars this week but he is definitely the worst remaining player. Ed simply had a bad round, which is ordinarily enough to get you eliminated at this stage of the challenge. Ed was lucky in that Chris had a bad round and a lot of standing frustration from judges who wanted him to live up to his promise, something he only did a handful of times in the competition. Chris Jones is eliminated from Top Chef, reducing the number of remaining players to five.

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