Top Chef Powerankings: Episode Seven

This is a snapshot of how the contestants rank against each other after seven episodes.

1. Dale - Notching his second win in a row, Dale has more momentum than any other contestant right now.
2. Stephanie - This was a close call between Stephanie and Richard. Although Stephanie had been the best chef all season up until this week, she displayed some seriously flawed judgment on her last dish. Although Jennifer gets credit for the bread, the dish was pretty weak all around.
3. Richard - With two quickfires to his name to go along with one elimination challenge, Richard seems poised to jump into first place.
4. Spike - He came through like a champ with his butternut squash soup, much to Antonia's chagrin. Now if he could only ditch the hat . . .
5. Andrew - He probably rode Spike's coattails out of the middle of the pack where he's remained since his episode two win. Although, he doesn't seem to make very many mistakes, so he could stick around for a while, much to Shyla's chagrin.
6. Mark - After a strong start, Mark has fallen off dramatically. He needs to pull things together ASAP if he wants to stick around, or else his free fall could send him home soon.
7. Lisa - Take this down, chorizo is not the same thing as polish sausage. Lisa's attitude is going to get her axed at the judges table pretty soon if she doesn't pull it together.
8. Antonia - Almost lost it when Spike pulled off the butternut squash soup. Although she did win a quickfire in episode five, her performance has been pretty lackluster to date. Again, chorizo is not the same thing as polish sausage.
9. Nikki - Its like watching a car wreck in slow motion. She hasn't made that one mistake that warrants getting sent home, but she's been close on a few occasions. She hid out in the middle in episode seven, but she should keep her knives packed and ready to go.