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4) Shirley Chung
Shirley is the incarnation of kinetic energy. She is always moving and she is always talking. I find her absolutely exhausting at times. I imagine several of the chefs are in agreement on this point. What cannot be denied is that she is a lot of fun to be around. Shirley embraces life, and she is as quick to smile as any player in the history of the show. That’s refreshing. She is also establishing herself as a premiere competitor this season. Thus far, she has a victory and two other appearances at the top, the same as Justin and only slightly behind Carrie. Shirley is a vibrant contestant who I hope sticks around for the body of the season.

5) Nicholas Elmi
Fifth place is the spot where I start to play hunches. Nicholas has received the “doing it for my family” edit that worked well for Joshua last season. Thus far, Nick has primarily won a personal feud with Jason, yelled at Bret for being honest about Jason and finished in the top group during the most recent pair of elimination challenges. He is also getting a lot of face time, which can be good or bad.

6) Stephanie Cmar
Stephanie has already demonstrated that she was worthy of a chef’s jacket last season. What cost her then may yet prove to be her undoing this season. Stephanie gets so dialed up in trying to impress people she likes and respects that her natural talent is neutralized. We saw it with Emeril Lagasse last season and John Besh last week. There was even a smaller version of the same scenario with Lea Michele, someone she mentioned she adored during the Halloween episode. In each of these instances, Stephanie presented a dish unworthy of her skill. During challenges when she had no desire to impress others, she has done quite well. I have no idea how she overcomes this conundrum, though. There are always culinary heavyweights during the final few episodes each season.

7) Carlos Gaytan
Carlos is another chef I really enjoy. He is a self-made man who worked for free in the vocation he loved in order to master his craft. We should all be so self-motivated and disciplined. He is also a worthy contender, having already won a challenge. He also made the face of Glee feel tingly inside, which means he has already become the new Fabio on Top Chef. There is a lot of money in being Fabio-esque. My concern with Carlos is that he struggled with the Vietnamese challenge because it was so far outside his natural skill set. He may be someone who lacks the depth of cooking ability to defeat his peers. I will elevate him in the power rankings if he does begin to show that he is more than just a master of Mexican flavors. Even if he isn’t, Carlos seems to be winning at life.

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