Season 6 of "Top Chef" features the most talented cast in the show's history, and now that we've trimmed the fat it's time to start the weekly power rankings to see where the true contenders stand after each episode.

In my opinion, only four chefs are capable of winning, and it will be interesting to see if they can live up to the hype while avoiding monumental meltdowns that have derailed frontrunners in the past (Stefan, season 5; Richard, season 4; Sam and Marcel, season 2).

Each week, I'll include the chef who was eliminated in the rankings because it will indicate whether or not the judges made the right decision and who should be thankful they're still around. The race for the top spot is as close as it's ever been, so any miscue could cause a chef to plummet on a week-to-week basis.

1) Bryan Voltaggio

The quiet assassin had one of the judges' favorite dishes, once again, and narrowly missed winning his fourth Elimination Challenge. While there's nothing flashy about Bryan, he makes great decisions in the kitchen and let's his food do the talking. For him to have three wins in such a stacked season really speaks to his skill level. Then again, Bryan is the chef at a three-star restaurant in Maryland so it shouldn't be much of a surprise.

2) Kevin Gillespie

Kevin narrowly winds up in the second spot because he won the Quickfire Challenge and was on the same team as the winning chef (Jennifer) in the Elimination Challenge. After winning the Quickfire, Kevin was given the option of taking $15,000 or having immunity in the Elimination Challenge, and to his credit he chose the money -- a gutsy move that shows he's extremely confident in his cooking abilities.

3) Jennifer Carroll

Jennifer finally picked up her first Elimination Challenge win, but everyone knew it was just a matter of time before that happened. She's a consistent performer and a great leader.

4) Michael Voltaggio

Despite being the most talented chef on the show -- his partner in last night's episode, Ash, said he was like Picasso in the kitchen -- he didn't rise to the occasion in the Elimination Challenge and found himself in the bottom four. Michael will rebound in a big way after this wake-up call.

5) Mike Isabella

This is where the top tier ends. Though Mike is a very good chef, he's not on the same level as the top four and it will be hard for him to move any higher than this in the rankings. He did a nice job in the Elimination Challenge after being dealt a losing hand and being paired with Robin.

6) Eli Kirshtein


There's nothing particularly great about Eli -- he does shows flashes of talent, though -- and last night's disastrous gnocchi/prawn combo earned him a trip to the bottom four. Unlike some of the other bottom-half contestants, Eli is capable of winning a challenge. But it also wouldn't surprise me to see him go home next week.

7) Laurine Wickett

She was lucky to be paired with Bryan in the Elimination Challenge and piggybacked him to an appearance in the top four. But that's two high finishes in three weeks for Laurine, so maybe I'm missing something.

8) Ashley Merriman

Yes, Ashley and Eli's dish looked horrible, but at least Ashley has proved that she can cook well. Before last night's episode, she had been in the top two weeks in a row. I highly disagreed with the judges' decision to send her home instead of…

9) Ash Fulk


He's boring. He doesn't do anything to stand out. And he was more than happy to play second fiddle to Michael in the Elimination Challenge. At the judges' table, he pretty much admitted that he wasn't talented enough to win. That's not what I want to hear from someone in a competition. The judges made a mistake by not telling Ash to pack up his knives.

10) Robin Leventhal

The classic case of skating by unnoticed because she either lucks out and winds up with a good partner or her food is so mediocre that it doesn't catch the judges' attention. Robin's luck won't last. She's clearly out of her element and not even close to being on the same level as the other chefs. Let's hope Robin gets sent home next week.


Story by Phil McRae

Starpulse contributing writer

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