This season of Bravo's Top Chef is close to an end. This episode was the last one of the regular competition and, as we could tell from the promos that ran during the week, it would determine which chefs would make it to the finale in Hawaii. The real question going in to the show was how many chefs would be competing for the title in that last competition, since there were still five chefs left on the show when this episode began.

After a few minutes of footage that illustrated everyone's determination to win, the chefs headed into the kitchen for the quickfire challenge. Everyone was surprised to see that the guest chef was Eric Ripert, who is the chef at Le Bernardin in New York and one of the most well known and well respected chefs in the country. Needless to say, his presence added to the pressure. The challenge was to use chocolate to create something sensual. The dish could be sweet or savory and the chefs had 90 minutes to work.

Marcel seemed to be the most nervous of the bunch, but made a dessert of potato cannelloni with chocolate and coffee fillings that was both unusual and well done, according to Chef Ripert. Cliff made a chicken dish with a sauce of peppers and chocolate that, while well executed, lacked imagination. Elia made two dishes and chef Ripert commented that she should have stuck with only her second one, a mousse with ginger and chocolate, since it was more outstanding and technical than her chicken mole dish. Chef Ripert was not impressed at all (and neither were any of the other chefs) with Ilan's dish, which was a chocolate truffle with a chicken liver in the center. The winner overall was Sam, whose dish used shrimp, banana and a chocolate chipotle sauce.

With the quickfire out of the way, the elimination challenge was immediately announced. The chefs were told that they would be going to Santa Barbara to serve a romantic 5-course dinner to a number of celebrating couples. Each chef would be responsible for one course and, while they could all be main dishes, the same protein could not be used twice during the meal. Each course was also to be paired with a wine.

Since Sam was the winner of the first challenge, he had the honor of choosing what course he wanted to serve and what protein he would use. The dishes were:

1. Sam - Seared Scallops with Lobster Plum Sauce and Beets
2. Ilan - Fideos with Clams and Saffron
3. Marcel - King Salmon with Celeriac & Beets
4. Cliff - Sirloin with Lentil Puree
5. Elia - "The Kiss" Chocolate Mousse with a Chocolate Heart served on a Pastry Heart

The judges declared the food served at this dinner to be the best of then entire show, even though the meal wasn't quite perfect. Sam's dish was declared to be colorful and fresh, although the sauce was slightly too strong. Ilan's dish was served in very large portions, but was so delicious that everyone cleared their plates. Marcel had some problems in the kitchen because Cliff knocked over some of his pieces of salmon, but the remaining salmon was perfectly cooked and had adorably tiny crispy potato hearts on top to make sure the dish tied in to the romantic theme. Cliff's steak was undercooked and described as "hotel food" by the less-than-pleased judges. Elia, who took a risk by making a dessert, had a dish that was good without being great, but tasted chocolaty, light and complemented the whole meal.

After dinner, the chefs returned to their suite. The judge's table was not to be held until the next day, so they did what any reality-show contestants would do: got drunk. Both Ilan and Elia shaved their heads and, along with Cliff, decided that it would be funny to try to shave Marcel's head, as well. Marcel was sleeping at the time, but Cliff dragged him out of bed and held him down on the carpet. At this time, the other contestants decided that the plan was a bad one and, after struggling with Marcel for what appeared to be several minutes, Cliff released him. Very angry, Marcel actually left the suite to sleep.

The next morning, Tom Colicchio came into the suite for a talk with Cliff. After explaining that "touching another contestant in an aggressive manner" is expressly forbidden in the rules of the show, he told Cliff that he would have to leave. Cliff apologized to Marcel and appeared to be genuinely remorseful when he spoke to the camera about getting caught up in his lapse of judgment. Both Marcel and Cliff seemed to make peace with each other before Cliff left.

A judge's table was held at the end of the show despite the fact that they were one contestant down. The judges agreed that Cliff would have been eliminated on the basis of his performance during the challenge and, though they made a show of trying to narrow down the remaining competitors, it was not that much of a surprise when all four were told they would be going to Hawaii for the finale.

Miss anything? Check out the previous recaps here:

• Season Premier
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4
• Episode 5
• Episode 6
• Episode 7
• Episode 8
• Episode 9
• Episode 10