Ep 7. Focus Group

Top Chef season 5 episode 7, titled "Focus Group," pits the remaining nine contestants against one another in a challenge that tests both their cooking skills and their ability to cater to a specific audience. The episode opens with the contestants arriving at an airport hanger where they're greeted by Padma Lakshmi and guest judge Tony Bourdain. Padma reveals that their Quickfire challenge will require them to cook dishes using food from a vending machine. Each contestant gets a chance to select one ingredient from the machine and must use it in their dish. The time limit is 30 minutes and the winner will receive immunity in the main challenge.

After the Quickfire challenge, the contestants head to the Top Chef kitchen where Padma explains the main challenge. The contestants are tasked with creating a dish that's tailored to a specific focus group. They're divided into three groups - soccer moms, construction workers, and sorority girls - and each group will act as the focus group for one team's dish. The teams have 90 minutes to prep and cook their dishes, and at the end of the challenge, the focus groups will taste each team's dish and provide feedback.

The soccer mom team consists of Jeff, Carla, and Hosea. They decide to make a shrimp and grits dish with a side of asparagus. The construction workers team is made up of Fabio, Radhika, and Stefan, who decide to make a steak and potatoes dish with a side of green beans. Lastly, the sorority girl team consists of Jamie, Leah, and Richard. They choose to make a sushi roll with a side of seaweed salad.

As the contestants cook, tensions rise in the kitchen. Stefan is struggling to cook his steak and has to ask Fabio for help, which irritates Fabio. Carla is also having trouble with her grits and is worried that they won’t turn out well. Meanwhile, Richard is confident in his sushi roll dish, but Jamie is struggling with the seaweed salad.

Once the 90 minutes are up, the focus groups arrive and begin to taste each team's dish and provide their feedback. The soccer moms love the shrimp and grits dish, and the construction workers enjoy the steak and potatoes. However, the sorority girls are not impressed with the sushi roll dish, describing it as "meh". Jamie and Leah are disappointed with their feedback and feel that Richard's sushi roll wasn't the problem.

After the focus groups leave, the contestants head to the judges' table where Padma and Tony are joined by judges Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons. The judges taste each dish and provide their feedback. They love the shrimp and grits dish from Jeff, Carla, and Hosea, describing it as "flawless". The steak and potatoes dish from Fabio, Radhika, and Stefan also impresses the judges, with Tom remarking that the steak was perfectly cooked.

The judges then turn their attention to the sorority girl team's sushi roll dish. They agree with the focus group's critiques, describing the dish as "bland". Jamie tries to defend the dish, but the judges are not convinced. Richard's sushi roll is the only thing that saves the team from elimination.

In the end, it's Leah who is sent home for her poorly made seaweed salad. The judges feel that she didn't contribute enough to the team and that her dish wasn't up to par. Leah is disappointed but accepts her fate, knowing that she didn't perform well enough.

Overall, Top Chef season 5 episode 7 is a challenging but entertaining episode that tests the contestants' ability to cater to a specific audience. The focus groups add an interesting twist to the competition and provide valuable feedback to the contestants. The episode is also filled with drama and tension, with each team facing their own set of challenges. Fans of the show will definitely enjoy watching this episode and seeing how the contestants perform.