Hail to the Chef: Top Technician

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Express' Karmah Elmusa details a small-scale, world-class battle.

AH, THE BOCUSE D'OR. It's that famous cooking competition ( that no person not immersed in the culinary world has ever heard of it), which is held annually for a slew of international competitors.

And this week on "Top Chef: Las Vegas," the chefs get to participate in a mini-Bocuse, thrown by Padma, Tom and a really big name in the culinary industry. Find out who has the skills to make it to the top four and the finale in Napa Valley.

QUICKFIRE CHALLENGE
Fun fact of the week: Before the chefs start cooking, Eli lets us know that he was the best man at Richard Blais' (of last season's "Top Chef") wedding. It's a small "Chef" world, after all! Next thing you know, we're going to find out Hung is the third Voltaggio brother.

But I digress — onto the matter of this week's quickfire. The cheftestants enter the kitchen and are greeted by Padma and Gavin Kaysen, a young American chef who competed in the 2009 Bocuse d'Or. The winning dishes he made there, he explains, was a ballantine, which is in its essence a protein inside a protein inside a protein. The chefs must produce something similar in 90 minutes.

Jennifer sticks to her seafood strength and wins it with calamari wrapped around salmon and scallops. Kevin makes an overcooked catfish dish, while Eli does an adorable scotch egg crusted in bacon (adorable = heart attack).

Bryan does a merguez sausage wrapped around a loin of lamb that Kaysen is a fan of, while his brother Michael makes a terrine.

Kaysen reprimands him for not sticking to the "protein inside a protein inside a protein" rule.

Michael responds like the giant baby he has proven himself to be: "Wah wah wah," he says. "He didn't say 'make a ballantine.' If he had, I would've made something that would be as good as what he served at Bocuse d'Or."

Touchy much?

But like I said, Jennifer is back in the game with a win that will give her an advantage in the elimination challenge: Thirty extra minutes to cook. Watch out, boys! This girl isn't going down without a fight.

ELIMINATION CHALLENGE
Padma explains to the chefs that they will be competing in their own Bocuse d'Or and serving some of the greatest chefs in the country in the process, and "one special guest in particular." This competition is all about perfect technique, so mean knife work and beautiful execution are going to be key here — a nice sauce won't cut it. Each chef has to serve a protein and two vegetable garnishes of some substance.

And who, pray tell, is this mystery chef? Here's a hint: He's the only American chef to ever have two restaurants that simultaneously have three Michelin stars. Oh, wait, that's only a good clue if you're Tom Colicchio — I'll just tell you ... it's Thomas Keller of French Laundry fame.

This is, needless to say, intimidating to the chefs, since the panel also includes Daniel Boulud. This is no joke ... present a technically perfect meal to some of the country's greatest chefs. The final five are shaking in their boots.

Here is what they come up with:

» Eli: Sausage wrapped lamb loin served with a ras al hanout and a carrot puree and tomato-piquillo canape.
» Michael:Salmon served with a cauliflower chickpea tart and a zucchini tzatziki.
» Jennifer:Salmon and caviar served with a shrimp flan and truffles and celery root and shitake mushrooms.
» Bryan: Crusted lamb loin served with a lamb shank crepinette finished with a capanata and garlic chips, and orzo gratin.
» Kevin: Sous vide lamb loin (poached in lamb fat and olive oil) served with a sherry-glazed beet and asparagus in sunchoke cream.

Overall, things are well-received. Or at least, no one was a total disaster. Eli's dish was well conceptualized but poorly executed, for example, whereas Michael's was just the opposite. For the first time, when the judges leave the dining room it's totally unclear who stands where.

JUDGES TABLE
Padma requests the presence of all five judges. They are all praised and criticized, although it is clear that some people prevailed technically. Eli's lamb was severly undercooked, Jennifer's salmon is inconsistent and Kevin's dish is "too simple." But apparently ... not simple enough not to be the winning dish. He takes it, yet again, which is delightful considering some of Michael's disparaging comments about Kevin's food.

Oh, and this week's prizes. $30,000, furnished by the M Resort, and a chance to compete in next year's real Bocuse d'Or. Good time to bring it, Bearded One.

And now, as for the bad news. Eli is sent packing for his undercooked protein, and I have to say, it's the right thing. As emotional as his farewell is, Kevin, Jennifer and the Voltaggio brothers are the final four I've been looking forward to for weeks. Next week, they'll head to Napa to compete for the coveted title — and I'm hoping sibling rivalry will make this the tensest finale yet.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK
» Eli: I'm trying to make it small and sexy and tight.
» Michael: The food that Kevin cooks is the food that I cook on my day off.
» Kevin (after the M Resort Rewards him $30,000): The M Resort is my favorite place in the world!

Photos by Trae Patton/BRAVO