'Top Chef: Las Vegas' Results November 18: Eli Kirshtein Eliminated

After a grueling competition that involved recreating a miniature version of a Bocuse d'Or, chef Eli Kirshtein was eliminated for serving what judge Tom Colicchio described as "raw lamb."

This week's challenge was not only a showcase of cooking nouvelle French cuisine; it also served to highlight each chef's technique. And that it did, causing everyone except Kevin to struggle. In the end, it boiled down to Eli's raw lamb verses Michael Voltaggio's directionless Mediterranean dish, which featured a cauliflower couscous and salmon.

The winner was Kevin (again), who took home a $30,000 prize and the chance to represent the U.S. in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or competition. While he's only earned a chance to try out for the team, Colicchio said on his blog, "I think that though it's not his normal inclination to cook as they do for the Bocuse d'Or, if given the time to prepare for the competition, Kevin would apply that same intelligence about food to that particular challenge and would rise to it not only ably but admirably."After a grueling competition that involved recreating a miniature version of a Bocuse d'Or, chef Eli Kirshtein was eliminated for serving what judge Tom Colicchio described as "raw lamb."

This week's challenge was not only a showcase of cooking nouvelle French cuisine; it also served to highlight each chef's technique. And that it did, causing everyone except Kevin to struggle. In the end, it boiled down to Eli's raw lamb verses Michael Voltaggio's directionless Mediterranean dish, which featured a cauliflower couscous and salmon.

The winner was Kevin (again), who took home a $30,000 prize and the chance to represent the U.S. in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or competition. While he's only earned a chance to try out for the team, Colicchio said on his blog, "I think that though it's not his normal inclination to cook as they do for the Bocuse d'Or, if given the time to prepare for the competition, Kevin would apply that same intelligence about food to that particular challenge and would rise to it not only ably but admirably."

The final four now remain: front-runner Kevin Gillespie, Jennifer Carroll and the Voltaggio brothers, Michael and Bryan. The chefs have concluded their stay in Las Vegas and now move to Napa Valley for the remainder of the competition.

Eli spoke to reporters this afternoon, answering hard questions about what could be considered the show's toughest challenge to date.

On whether he was intimidated by the competition:
Not really. It's one of those things where you always have to remember context. Someone is great in their own kitchen and their own environment, but when you're thrown a curve ball like so many were thrown at us, it changes who's got the ability.

On his final challenge:
I thought it would've been a good two-day challenge. It would've been a huge advantage to have had more time and I think the final product could've come out exponentially better.

On getting emotional at the end:
It was a long day. It was towards the end of production in Vegas. It was hours, hours and hours. I was just emotionally drained on all fronts. It wasn't about going home as much as it was about being done with it all.

On who was the toughest judge this season:
I don't really know. They were tough for different reasons. Often times, when you're there, you don't get much feedback at all. So you don't know who's the most critical. And if there are more chefs there, you might have done your worst dish earlier and they just thought other people's were worse.

On his feelings toward Robin:
It's just a strong difference of personality. I don't care for her as the person she is and I don't care who she is outside of professionalism. I just don't really care for her as a person.

On the best thing he ate that another contestant cooked:
I didn't eat a lot of composed dishes; I ate a lot of elements. But I will say that eating Michael Voltaggio's polenta with banana is a pretty existential experience.