‘Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen’ recap: Season 21 premiere introduces ‘The 16th Chef’ [WATCH]

After two “Top Chef” challenges there have been two eliminations: David Murphy in “Chef’s Test” and Valentine Howell Jr. in “Living the High Life.” So they went head-to-head in “Last Chance Kitchen” for a chance to return to the competition … Except they didn’t. David was nowhere to be found. Perhaps his bottom-three cookoff in “Chef’s Test” served as its own kind of “Last Chance Kitchen,” because there’s no mention of him at all in this week’s first “LCK.” As far as I can tell he’s out for good. Watch this week’s “LCK” above.

Instead, Valentine had to battle Soo Ahn, a secret 16th cheftestant who the show added to the competition specifically for “LCK.” He’ll have to win five times for a chance to enter the main competition at all. Tom Colicchio gave him and Valentine a challenge that flipped Valentine’s last challenge on its head. In “Living the High Life,” the chefs had to take common bar snacks and elevate them. But in “LCK” they had to take luxury ingredients (including caviar, lobster and champagne) and make accessible comfort food that pairs well with beer. After 30 minutes elapsed they ended up with the following:

Valentine: New England Lobster Bake — Poached Lobster, Andouille Sausage, Corn and Turmeric Puree

Soo: Fish and Chips — Fried Lobster, Rice Chips and Caviar Tartar Sauce

I was honestly torn between the two in terms of who I was rooting for. On one hand, Valentine had a vibrant personality I wanted to see more of, but Soo was brand new, and really, introducing a new chef only to eliminate him in the first “LCK” would be weird and anticlimactic. Also, it seemed kind of unfair to start one of the chefs this season at such a disadvantage in the first place, so he’d better be good. Indeed he was: Soo won the head-to-head challenge with his creative take on upscale ingredients. Alas, Valentine’s return to corn, which felled him in the “Living the High Life” Elimination Challenge, was his downfall. Once again it was too thick.

“I’m disappointed. I’m let down,” said Valentine in his final exit interview. “After all is said and done, I came out here to put myself out there, which I did. Winning the title of Top Chef would be fantastic, but I feel like I’m taking away from this whole experience a lot more than I could have ever bargained for.”

“I did it!” said a triumphant Soo. “One for one, baby, batting a thousand — for now. Such a relief. Chefs, I’m here to run around like a madman all day every day. No matter what it takes, I’m here to take that crown.”

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