Who went home on Top Chef season 22 after Restaurant Wars? Details explored
Episode 22 of Top Chef season 8 was released on May 1. The episode documented the popular Restaurent Wars of the franchise, where the remaining eight contestants were divided into two teams of four and were given 24 hours to open a restaurant.
After the grueling task of operating a restaurant, Paula Endara was the one to be sent home. Shuai and she were in the bottom spot, but Paula's soggy dessert and her weak time management skills caused her elimination. She, however, still stood a chance to return to the show because she was sent to the Last Chance Kitchen.
Team one consisted of Cesar Murillo, Bailey Sullivan, Paula Endara, and Shuai Wang. While the other team had Massimo Piedimonte, Tristen Epps, Vinny Loseto, and Lana Lagomarsini. The first team had Nonna Pipon as the restaurant and Paula was the Executive Chef. The second team headed the restaurant Phlora and Phauna, and Tristen was the Executive Chef.
How was Paula eliminated from Top Chef Restaurant Wars?
Nonna Pipon was the losing team, and the Top Chef host, Kristen, reminded that one player from their team would be sent home because their team lost. Starting with Shuai, Janet Zuccarini, the guest judge, said that the base of the flavors in his frutti di marre was correct, but she wanted them to be amped up.
Nina Compton, another Top Chef guest judge, agreed and stated that a dish that lacks enough seasoning falls flat. This prompted Kristen to ask who executed the dish on the pickup, and Shuai said that it was Paula who picked it up and that he needed the pass. Then came Top Chef judge Tom Colicchio's turn to comment.
"Paula, we all had a problem with that cake," he said.
Commenting on the texture of the cake Paula made, Tom said that it was "very strange." Judge Nina said that it just looked like a soggy piece of cake. She added that Paula's cake, the final course of their meal, brought their taste buds to a screeching halt.
Paula took accountability for her dish, saying that she was the Executive Chef of her group and that everything the judges mentioned could have been fixed by her. Towards the end before the judges went to make their decisions, Kristen asked if the team had anything to say.
"I'm super proud of everyone on the team, but I do think that Paula just absolutely crushed it," said Bailey.
She praised Paula's organizational skills and added that she made sacrifices to her own dishes so that her team's dishes could come forth. Considering what Bailey had said, the judges went forth with their discussion.
They ranked Bailey's dish at the top, so she was safe from elimination. Tom questioned if Caesar, with his churro, should be going home before Paula or Shuai. Kristen noted that even when his churro wasn't really a churro, it still tasted good. Gail, the Top Chef judge, pointed out that the decision always came down to the chef and their manager.
While the judges criticized Shuai's dish, Kristen reminded them that it wasn't he who was managing his dishes, it was Paula. While Gail pointed out the weak seasoning of the aguachile in his frutti di mare, Tom noted that the aguachile was made by Paula.
Then, the judges came to Paula's dish.
"If she were a cook, and had no other responsibility other than cooking that dish, she goes home," noted Tom.
Kristen added that she didn't blend the sauce and did poorly with the seasoning of the aguachile. Nina added that her poor time management showed in her team's dishes. Considering all these factors, the judges decided to eliminate Paula.
New episodes of Top Chef season 22 come out on Thursdays at 9 pm ET on Bravo.
