Spoilers! Tivo-users beware!

So there's been some speculation lately, some whispers around the blogosphere regarding a certain Bravo television show. I've heard the rumor that Top Chef's going downhill, that it's dated. I've read comments accusing the show of being bland, even boring. Well, I'll put it out there loud and clear: Top Chef is still hot hot hot.
Last night, the show went all out, resurrecting old favorite challenges and even pulling out the oldest trick in the reality television book: sleep deprivation (come on, we've seen it done on ANTM, Project Runway, even Survivor). Because what better way to test a chef's ability than to keep him/her up for 24 hours performing tasks that he/she will never actually have to do? More on that later.

To begin, the show resurrected one of my favorite Quickfire challenges: The relay race. Anyone who witnessed Hung's mad fast chicken chopping during Season 3 knows why this challenge rocks the kitchen (including you, Stephanie and Tom Colicchio) This season, contestants had to peel and supreme five oranges, peel and turn two artichokes, fillet a monkfish, and make a quart of mayonnaise. Lisa, Spike, Dale and Nikki were on one team, Antonia, Andrew, Richard and Stephanie were on the other. Lisa creamed Antonia with the oranges, but Andrew caught up against Spike on the artichokes. The teams were neck and neck until the mayo, when Stephanie whipped Nikki's tush in the final push. Since it's down to the final eight, no immunity was granted. Dale, who was on the losing team, punched a dent in a locker. Kid needs an attitude adjustment.

Instead of resurrecting another favorite Elimination Challenge, Restaurant Wars, the show instead launched ... (drumroll) wedding catering wars. Pause. Pause. Huh? That's right – teams of four competed to create wedding food for 125 people. Richard, Stephanie, Andrew and Antonia created a "meat and potatoes" southern-style menu for the bride, and Dale, Lisa, Nikki and Spike created an Italian menu for the groom. The teams were given $5000, an hour to shop at Whole Foods, an hour to shop at Restaurant Depot, and an entire night in the kitchen.

If you've ever stayed up late to cook something, you know how this goes. It's 9 p.m. and you're like, "Okay, this is going to be fun -- just going to stay up and plow through it." Then it hits 11 p.m. and you're pulling your head out of the mixing bowl you've conked into. Imagine that, and multiply it by 7 hours plus enough food for 125 people. The bride's team managed to keep it together pretty well, with only Andrew becoming slightly annoyed at Richard's poking his head into Andrew's dishes. Antonia and Stephanie looked beat -- with Stephanie taking on a multi-layer wedding cake by herself. Over on the groom's side, tensions built up over Dale, who Nikki and Lisa thought was not being careful with his dishes. Dale didn't look like the happiest cookie either.

I'll concede that a chef's performance in this challenge probably has little to do with his/her potential in the kitchen of a restaurant, but the results were definitely fun to watch. Overall, the brides' food looked far more appealing, with dishes like pulled pork sandwich, pizza with prosciutto and herbs, creamed spinach, potato gratin and filet mignon with horseradish sauce. Stephanie pulled off a gorgeous layer cake with fresh flowers. Over on the groom's side, they served dishes like mixed vegetables with cheeses, butternut squash tortellini, Chilean sea bass with artichokes, capers and olives, orecchiette with ragu and a hazelnut wedding cake.

No surprise that the bride's team was the favorite. Richard won for his leadership on the meat dishes, but shared the love with Stephanie for her cake. Even guest judge and pastry chef Gail Gand was impressed. Love, love, happy happy. On the chopping block, Nikki got slammed for not providing leadership when Italian cooking is her expertise, Dale got it for the bad food he cooked, and Spike for not taking enough on his plate. Lisa's cake, though not very pretty, apparently tasted delicious. It was a close call between Spike Dale and Nikki for Elimination, but Nikki got sent home in the end, maybe having to do with weaker performances throughout the season. They didn't love the tortellini either, though.

Though I was slightly sad to see Nikki leave, it was clear that she wasn't making it to the end anyway. I think that next week will be most interesting as there is no clear weakest link. Perhaps we'll see Lisa or Spike or Andrew go in the coming episodes, but with Stephanie and Antonia stepping it up the way they have been, there's a lot of competition left to go.