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A sort of homecoming occurs at the serving table. The Cocktail Chicks, best-selling authors and proprietors of Commander’s Palace, are ready to hold court. The cousins are a local legend as owners of multiple iconic restaurants at or near the French Quarter/Garden District of New Orleans. Their family also hired two of the people returning home tonight, the aforementioned Lagasse and Prudhomme. The more outgoing of them, Ti Martin, entertains Tom, Hugh and Padma with several salacious stories about the history of the area. The Cocktail Chicks are *fun*.

The mood in the kitchen is much less joyous. The pressure of this challenge combined with the claustrophobic cooking environment puts several players on tilt. When the dishes are delivered, the surprise is that they are generally very well received. Particularly noteworthy is the dessert course. In fact, when the top group is announced for Judges Table, two of the three people selected are from the strawberry meal. They are Justin and Stephanie, who both drilled their recreations. In particular, Justin crafted a beignet so delicious that I am confident the New Orleans resident can have a job at Commander’s Palace if the rest of his Top Chef season doesn’t go well.

The other nominee comes from the first course. Nina’s Shrimp & Lassoed Hen Or Whatever is an upset choice of sorts. Judging from Emeril’s wording and an eyeball test of her dish compared to the Commander’s Palace presentation, she is nowhere close to duplicating the aesthetics of the plate. Her flavor is so impeccable that she still manages to finish in the top group. Still, Justin takes the win due to his magnificent beignet. He apparently doesn’t get a reward other than sense of accomplishment, though. Boo!

The disaster course is the trout. The consensus is that every dish presented is desperately in need of seasoning. Still, there is a belief that Janine has done well while Nicholas isn’t terrible. Louis and Carlos bomb horribly. Louis’ lack of seasoning must be critical because it is harped upon repeatedly. Carlos had known he was in trouble so this meal for him has become about survival. He burned the trout, which is ordinarily the type of mistake that sends a chef home.

Louis and Carlos are joined at judges table by Bret, who had several outside issues impact him throughout the challenge. In addition to the work space problems mentioned previously, he also finds himself in the wrong spot when people from the second course attempt to plate. He gets knocked out of the way then bitched at for his trouble. Right before his meal is to be presented, Shirley loses her beets and she sounds like a fire alarm as she tries to find them. NOBODY is doing anything in that kitchen until Shirley has her beets back. Bret stops what he is doing to help her, and he winds up with time management issues. His meat didn’t “get the good mark on the grill that’s needed. It’s a disaster.”

The judges give all three players a hard time once again. This has been the recurring theme for Judges Table after three episodes. Thus far in season 11, there is a dramatic difference in quality with regards to the bottom group. Usually, one or two players are up for elimination whose dishes are not bad so only a couple of people are in danger. All of the players on the bottom thus far could have been removed from the competition due to their errors. The same is true again tonight.

Tom is openly offended that Carlos, a Mexican chef, would under-season his dishes. Spices should be a key aspect of his meals. Oddly, Louis (accidentally or intentionally) falls on the grenade here when he acknowledges that he prepared the “blackening” for everyone during the second course. In other words, the lack of seasoning that has irritated the judges is specifically his fault. For that reason alone, Carlos should get a pass while Louis is in real danger. I blame his wife and children.

The player who shows the most panic is Bret. He is clearly still stressed due to the frustrations he experienced during food preparations. To his credit, he does not shy away from the mistakes in his dish. To the contrary, he explicitly states the things he should have done better, acknowledging that he failed across the board. The judges seem horrified by his lack of combativeness than anything else. They aren’t crazy about how he overcooked the veal, but his refusal to step on toes in order to assert his authority troubles them.

Top Chef is a wonderful series that embraces all key aspects of meritocracy. Still, the meek never inherit anything on this show. Bret has been off his game since the beginning, never demonstrating the self-confidence requisite to become a potential winner. The judges have picked up on his hesitance and they finally punish him for it tonight by sending him to Last Chance Kitchen. Bret seems like a really nice guy, and he has finished last in this episode.

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