‘Top Chef’: End of the line for Antonia

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First, I want some opinions. The “Top Chef” judges had always made it clear that they judge the contestants on a, as Ted Allen put it, “What have you cooked for me lately?” basis. That means past work is in the past. You start with a clean slate with every challenge.

My question: Is it fair? I’m still irked that consistently winning chefs like Dale and Tre get sent home over one fatal mistake while people like Lisa, who fly in the middle for most of the show, can get this far.

I ask because the upcoming finale is the most lopsided yet. Harold versus Tiffani? Exciting match. Ilan versus Marcel? Close. (I really thought Marcel had it!) Hung versus Dale versus Casey? It was a total tossup between at least Hung and Dale. The winner this year must -- I repeat, must -- be either Stephanie or Richard. How can it be possible for Lisa, her personality issues aside, to be crowned Top Chef? Will the judges, and we the audience, just forget about all that undercooked rice? The raw shrimp? Her oversmoked (and why the heck was it smoked in the first place?) laksa? Last night’s “sticky sweet” puree and poorly cooked tostones?

I’ve already gone on record in saying that her ideas don’t disgust me. Not at all. Most of the time when the show flashes the contestant’s menus, I’m at least intrigued by hers. I suspect in the hands of a seasoned chef, most might even be tasty. But she’s proved week after week that she’s not that chef. It’s like me deciding I want to bake the most delicious cake ever but not knowing how to measure flour. You get the idea.

But back to the episode. It was pretty clear from the get-go Lisa was safe. In typical reality TV fashion, she’s vilified early on, arriving last to the car and even being put down by Richard, who has been nothing but the show’s resident nice guy. That meant, for me, figuring out if I was right and Antonia would be gone or if there’d be some shocker with Stephanie and Richard.

In the end, it was Antonia, who did not deserve to be undone by Lisa. True, I’ve not been a fan, but she’s nothing if not a thoughtful chef. Her cuisine might not have excited me, but she was meticulous throughout … except last night. Undercooked pigeon peas? That must have hurt. And I don’t know that I would have lumped my dishes into one “rustic” plate for a dinner party filled with Puerto Rico’s VIPs. A poor decision, but again, I have to ask, does it make her more ax-worthy than Lisa, who turned in two flawed dishes that night and has only blown a judge away once?

And did anyone notice how sad Padma looked when she gave Antonia the bad news -- and how weirdly she congratulated Lisa? Methinks the judges know that something funny happened on the way to the finals.

-- Denise Martin