The cheftestants are dismissed so the judges can talk. Padma thinks it's a really interesting challenge, but some of the cheftestants missed the mark. Everyone agrees that Dale L. cooked his food properly but it was way too sweet so it was a problem of concept. Stephen had similar problems in that parts of his dish were good but as a whole it was, as Bourdain says, "unpleasant to eat." Bourdain thinks that Fabio lacked confidence, and Colicchio thinks there was too much going on. And Bourdain thinks that Tiffani's dish was more parody than homage, and Colicchio calls it "one technique too many."

The cheftestants return to find out which two of them are going home. I started to get really worried about Tiffani at this point. Colicchio tells Stephen, "You may have great knowledge of Italian food. I have great knowledge of Led Zeppelin; it doesn't make me Jimmy Page." Oh, SNAP! Tom. Anyway, we've already heard what was wrong with each dish, so let's get on with it. Padma tells Stephen and Dale L. to pack their knives and go. Whew! I liked Dale L., but frankly, I'm just happy to not have to type the initials after each name. Now there is one and only one Dale. No one is sad to see Stephen go, but everyone is sad to see Dale go. Aw. Stephen admits that his cooking skills have atrophied as he has not used them, and the competition was really tough this year. I still kind of wonder why he was even chosen. I mean, he was memorable, but it seems like everyone else was memorable as a good chef, and he wasn't. Dale L. jokes that he'll return for Top Chef Seniors. I can't wait.