Editor's note: Spoilers ahead.
Episode in one paragraph: This season is a road trip, so the cheftestants are off to Santa Barbara. Do they get to kick back and sip wine by the ocean? No. Padma and Food & Wine Editor Dana Cowin (who just stepped down) open up a cooler full of sea urchin for a sudden death quickfire with uni. The loser, Giselle, had to cook against another chef of her choosing to stay in. She turned an ostrich egg into scrambled eggs and salsa, and avoided going home. In the Elimination challenge, teams were put into pairs to compete against other teams and then—insert ominous music here—head judge Tom Colicchio switched things up and made the pairs compete against their partners. The Shaw Bijou Chef Kwame Onwuachi crushed it, impressing Colicchio with a rock crab salad with asparagus and radishes. He won! New York’s Frances Tariga-Weshnak was forced to pack her knives after her black cod was soggy and the judges hated all of the extra squash on her plate.
D.C. performances: In addition to Onwuachi’s impressive win, Ripple's Marjorie Meek-Bradley was safely in the middle for both challenges. Over on Last Chance Kitchen, the Garret Fleming Redemption Tour continued as he beat the newly vanquished Tariga-Weshnak in a vegetable challenge.
What Mike Isabella said: Nothing, but he has been pimping out his partnership with Top Chef alum Jen Carroll in the Requin pop-up that opens tonight.
D.C. Wins: Quickfires, zero. Elimination challenges, one (Onwuachi). Last Chance Kitchen wins, one (Fleming, two total).
Confidence Rating (out of 10): 10. Two wins in a row by D.C. chefs.
Photo courtesy Bravo/NBC Universal