OK, so my initial predictions weren’t exactly 100% on, but then again, they could have been quite a bit worse. Here’s a round-up of some notables in last week’s Top Chef, as well as a few predictions for the upcoming episode…

Out Like Flynn

So Patrick wasn’t a douche after all, though I maintain he did have his eyebrows waxed. The guy actually seemed perfectly likable, but my god, I hope he has a few more years to go at the CIA. His salmon based dish was about as far away from Chinatown one could expect a Top Chef contestant to get. And going with black rice noodles when you’ve never cooked with them before? Tut tut…

The New Douche

Enter Jeff, the new douche on the block. Now granted, I don’t think Jeff necessarily is a bad chef or anything. But, in the first episode at least, he comes off way too cocky, and shows a complete lack of time management. In the future, he might very well show us something interesting if he stops fussing over his hair and executes his ideas better. As it stands, he is the forerunner to be this season’s Marcel.

The Stefaning!

Oh, we all knew the power of The Stefaning would shine through, but who could have predicted it would shine this brightly? Winning both the Quickfire and the Elimination challenge was impressive in itself, but it was Stefan’s dishes that showed us he could be the real deal. His lamb chops and beef skewers were simple and, apparently, well executed, which is what you need to win this contest. Get too fancy and you can easily mess up; balancing creativity and simpleness is the name of the game.

Moving on…

It looks like the Quickfire will be centered around hot-dogs this time around, something which will give the contestants a good opportunity to show some creativity around a staple dish. I have a feeling some will get too fancy with this one, and that would be a mistake. It’s fine kicking it all up a notch and all, but a hot-dog is a hot-dog… It is, literally, a pedestrian’s dish, and should be treated as such.

Less is known about the Elimination round, though apparently it will involve serving a larger group of people. Can you hear the caterers shout for joy?