Masters: The Final Three Are Chosen

This week on Top Chef Masters, the chefs participated in one of the world’s greatest underground dining events — a Diner en Blanc. The chefs were given the task of  creating a picnic style meal for 75 guests with for the first Diner en Blanc picnic in Las Vegas.

Before the final four — Chris Cosentino Patricia Yeo, Kerry Heffernan and Lorena Garcia  — get to that elimination challenge, they’ve got the Quickfire Challenge to tend to. They have to divide into teams (oh joy, teams!). Kerry and Lorena are paired together and Patricia and Chris are paired together. Kerry and Lorena win the challenge and split the $5,000 with their charity. Of course it was really Kerry’s Shrimp Farfalle with Herbs and Yellow Tomato Beurre Fondue, shown  below, that won it for the team because Lorena didn’t quite complete her dish.

Back to the Elimination Challenge. For the big foodie white party (that’s essentially what this party is, minus any sex or drugs), the chefs do the usual frantic Whole Foods shopping and aggressive and grumpy kitchen work, and then they feed their food to the guests and the judges. This week the critics’ favorite dishes were Kerry’s and Chris.’ In the end it was Chris’ Marinated Wild Mushrooms with Toasted Pine Nuts, shown below, that won out. So the bottom two were season rivals Lorena and Patricia.

It was really starting to look like Lorena was done-for. And after Chris pitched a fit for potentially losing his mentor Patricia, I wasn’t sure what would happen. The judges decided Patricia’s dish was just a little more off than Lorena’s dish. Patricia packed her knives and Chris was very bummed. He even said “The student is never supposed to beat the teacher.”

So the final three chefs are Lorena, Chris and Kerry. There’s only one more episode before the final two and the finale. Who do you hope wins Top Chef Masters Season 4?

Next on: In the penultimate episode, the chefs will have to cook and create their dish while simultaneously instructing a mystery guest across the divider to make the exact same dish. Then for the Elimination Challenge, the chefs will mentor aspiring culinary students and guide them through making a dish. The twist? The chefs will not be able to do any of the cooking.