Tonight’s Top Chef proved to be another interesting episode with the producers of the show taking a couple of twisted turns to get to one of the most highly anticipated episodes of the year, Restaurant Wars. However, before I get into it, I wasn’t excited.

This weeks’ guest judge is Rick Moonen, owner of RM Seafood in the Mandalay Bay Resort. RM Seafood prides themselves in sustainability and more importantly as a seafood restaurant. Rick was also a contestant in this year’s Top Chef Masters. To read and purchase Rick Moonen’s newest book, Fish Without a Doubt, scroll below.

So to start off we had a High Stakes Quickfire Challenge. Now to give them credit, this was one of the most well thought of Quickfires in a long time. Each time drew knives and Jennifer and Michael V were team captains. Jennifer got to choose first. Her team: Kevin, Laurine and Michel B. The other team would be Robin, Eli and the Voltaggio brothers.

Both teams had to create a dish in 40 minutes where each chef would cook for 10 minutes at a time in a tag-team challenge. The twist? No talking and the chefs all had blindfolds on except for the first. The chefs took a minute to decide what order they would cook in. The challenge was to pickup by seeing what was on mis en place and continue to the next step in their interpretation. I thought this was ingenious.

When it came down to it, Jennifer’s team won. They also won $10,000 to be split amoungst the four of them. When they find out the elimination challenge is restaurant wars, they are given the option of giving up the $10,000 and if their team wins, each member will get $10,000. Of course, they opt for that option.

Here are the differences from the previous Top Chef seasons:

• They will not have to decorate their restaurants
• The person running Front of House, must create a dish that must be executed by the kitchen

Both teams will be responsible for concept, front of house experience, the service and more importantly the quality of the food. Both teams are given $3,000 to be spent 50% at Whole Foods and Restaurant Depot. They have 4 hours to prep. They are cooking in the two kitchens at RM Seafood which has two levels. Oh there is another catch, Rick asks that the choices made in food follow the philosophy of the founding of RM Seafood and that is sustainability. Rick makes mention of the Seafood Sustainability Guide, which this blog author has advocated for on this blog.

Jennifer’s team opts to be called MISSION Restaurant, while the other team comes up with REVOLT. R for Robin, E for Eli and Volt for the Voltaggio brothers. I’m not a big fan of the name REVOLT.

When it came down to it, Laurine was running front of house for Mission and Eli for Revolt. While Eli isn’t one of my favorites on the show, he did work front of house very well, surprisingly. He looked like a mess and looked more like a diner than a host. Even more surprisingly, Laurine did an awful job on at Mission. She didn’t control of her floor and couldn’t wait to tear herself away from tables instead of being gracious and explaining the dishes as they were being served. I mean, that’s almost being rude don’t you think?

Revolts kitchen team worked as well together as you would hope. The brother’s fought on the line and more than once, Robin’s feelings were trampled on and instead of bucking one for the team, she insists she is there to compete. Robin, its a group challenge, let it go!

Misson’s Menu:

Asparagus & Six MInute Egg (Michael B)
Arctic Char Tartare (Jen)
Bouillabaisse Consommé (Jen)
Seared Trout (Jen)
Pork Three Ways (Kevin)
Lamb with Carrot Jam (Laurine)
Note: No Dessert

REVOLT’s Menu:

Chicken & Calamari “Pasta” (Michael V)
Smoked Arctic Char (Eli)
Duo of Beef (Bryan V)
Cod & Billi-Bi Sauce (Michael V)
Pear Pithivier (Robin)
Chocolate Ganache (Bryan)

In the end, Mission’s Restaurant has many  execution problems. From the beginning, they were struggling. Meanwhile on Revolt’s side, things were in control. In the end, Revolt wins the challenge and since the other team gave up their $10,000 in the Quickfire, their team wins the $10,000 and Michael is declared the overall winner. Michael decides to share the $10k with his teammates, but in brotherly style, Bryan is pissed he didn’t win and told Michael to keep his share. Ugh…brothers.

Rick Moonen also gave away a copy of this book, Fish Without a Doubt, to each member of the winning team. The book has over 250 recipes written for the home cook. The book also has up to date information for the eco-conscious cook and sustainability. The book was published earlier this year and is published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. You can purchase a copy from the Foodie In Disguise Online Store by clicking below.

Ultimately, what hurt Mission wasn’t just the food, it was the service in front of house. That is the experience the customers see and experience first.

Laurine is sent home.

One of the reasons I wasn’t very excited about tonight’s episdoe is that while I cringe each year at the decor choices the teams make each season, it was missed. There is something to be said about the design aesthetics of our chefs. Yes, I know they are chefs and not designers, but if each one of them was opening a restaurant, you better believe they are going to voice their opinions about decor and how the feel of the restaurant is.

Rick Moonen also gav