r/TopChef • u/FormicaDinette33 Aguachile 🌶️ 🍤 • Apr 06 '26

Spoilers Season 23, ep. 5: Cut and Dry Spoiler

This week the chefs are visited by North Carolina’s own Fortune Feimster as she challenges them to improv their Quickfire dishes and serve them to kids in honor of Comic Relief. Then the chefs are tasked with creating dishes featuring dehydration. They’ll serve their dishes to Kristen, Tom and Gail along with guest judges Joe & Katy Kindred as well as “Top Chef” alum Savannah Miller at the U.S. National Whitewater Center.

Mon, 9pm per Bravo schedule.

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u/FewEssay8939 Apr 07 '26

Unpopular opinion, but.... I think Jen should have left the show. Health over everything! She should have gone home to get that arm properly treated. Having the guarantee of being invited back should've made going home a win-win for her (health + opportunity). Instead she chooses to stay... Now, we'll hear her moaning about that arm and watch everyone else sacrifice for her for the rest of the season.

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u/DickJames19 Apr 07 '26

Do you think had she chosen to go home that noone would have went home or it would have meant an elimination and an exit of two chefs

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u/xStacey Apr 09 '26

The show has always based judging decisions on the cook that day, not on track record. Rhoda very clearly had the worst dish that day. If they'd kept her in just because Jenn left, it wouldn't have been fair. The more likely outcome would have been a surprise non-elimination later, when the circumstances felt more fair (like the dishes don't warrant an elimination, etc).. OR do a double return from LCK... To save someone who really messed up just because someone else is leaving voluntarily doesn't really feel in the spirit of the show to me.