Top Chef season 7 episode 4 sends two chef-testants home

Arnold, we'll miss you. CIA lady, not so much.

Wednesday night's episode of Top Chef season 7 employed an uncommon tiered format in which contestants who won battles could stop competing while the losers had to compete in more battles until a final loser emerged.

Top Chef contestants Arnold and Lynn get the bad news.

The quick-fire was baby food. The elimination challenge centered on making meals for hotel dining. The contestants paired up into teams, choosing their own partner -- another unusual twist. And this week, both members of the losing team were sent home. The winning team was Kelly and Andrea who made short ribs. Losing team was Arnold and Lynn, who made pasta with mussels.

Dallas contestant Tiffany Derry, chef at Go Fish Ocean Club in North Dallas, removed herself from the fray early by winning the first round with crab cakes Benedict, asparagus, and bacon-potato hash.

PegNews staffers Shannon & Teresa recover from the madness:

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TG: OMG how upsetting. That CIA person. She screwed up the pasta, then threw Arnold under the bus.

SS: That made me very angry. First, she says "I know what I'm doing." Then blames him.

TG: And then saying how she shouldn't have let a younger chef take the lead.

SS: Uh, hello. Everything wrong with the dish was your fault, Miss CIA. Here's a lesson for you: Follow Arnold's lead and be a gracious loser.

TG: I would say this was one of the most nail-biting suspenseful episodes ever.

SS: I agree. And I was surprised because baby food didn't seem like a promising start.

TG: Both challenges seemed to be completely innocuous. The hotel dining initially sounded like a stupid-easy uncolorful challenge, but turned out to be a total ball buster. Plus, it's too hard to watch two chefs go home. I was dead certain it was going to be the two girls.

SS: Me too!

TG: Did they set that up to make you think the two girls were going home? And then they won? Manipulative!

SS: I thought the format was weird. Tiffany and her partner Tim did the best at breakfast, so they didn't continue in the challenge. But then the overall winner was pulled from the people left at the end?

TG: Like a backwards win.

SS: I thought they might pull the best dish overall at the end, not just pick the best dinner dish.

TG: Tiffany kindof gets on my nerves. Very yee-hah The Price Is Right. "It's about TAHM!" Like a sloganeer.

SS: I like it and not just because she's from Dallas. She at least seems genuine without touting herself or putting someone else down.

TG: I laughed when Tamesha said "smackeroos." 10,000 smackeroos. She doesn't seem like the youngest contestant.

SS: She also cussed, which I enjoyed. I'm glad she showed some personality.

TG: I'm glad to see the CIA lady go. It was only a matter of time. But bummed about Arnold!!!