After the first real episode, it’s hard to know who the front runners are since we only saw six of the dishes. However, I am going to try my best to rank the top 22 based on their auditions and their first impressions.
22. Mark Ingraham- Mark didn’t crash and burn in the first challenge. Good for him. But the fact that his audition was a dud still has me a bit concerned.
21. Samantha Daily- Invisible, as many following her will be.
20. Ralph Xavier Degala- We saw a glimpse of Ralph this week, but he’s really pretty much invisible, which makes it hard to rank him.
19. Julia Danno- Also invisible.
18. Lindsay Haigh- Invisible.
17. Chelsea Sargent- Invisible.
16. Ryan Cortez- Invisible.
15. Gerron Hunt- Invisible.
14. Matt Houck- Invisible. But I did recognize him in the challenge, so maybe he’s going to be the most familiar of the invisibles.
13. Alecia Winters- Alecia bombed on her first dish, but I really think she redeemed herself in the second half of the episode. She was able to be cutthroat and get the job done when she needed to, and I really admire her for that. Will she win? Right now, I don’t see it. But I do think she will go farther than I originally expected.
12. Shanika Patterson- Shanika was my winner pick, but the promo shows that she may crack under the pressure of the next challenge. OR, this is just a red herring, and she’ll be the winner of the next challenge. I really have no idea, but I really hope she does well.
11. Darrick Krause- Ah, the Ramsay wannabe. Something about him turns me off, but part of him makes me wanna root for him. Only time will tell.
10. Cesar Cano- Ah I love Cesar. He seems like the sweetest man. NOW SHOW US SOME OF HIS COOKING PLEASE!
9. Olusola Ogbomo- One of my pre-season picks was invisible. Darn. Still rooting for her.
8. Juni Cuevas- Juni has lots of great personality and could be the Dino of this season. Underestimated at first, but comes back to win it in the end.
7. S.J.- S.J. was definitely a stand out at auditions. While he wasn’t shown much in this first episode, I’m still a fan. Also, no last name on any of the websites? Interesting.
6. Stephanie Willis- She had some confessionals to the camera, which means she might be a big character going forward? I like her already and think she’ll do well.
5. Bowen Li- Bowen is my favorite, I think. I just love watching him cook and think he’s destined for the longterm game.
4. Taylor Waltmon- Taylor is already getting a huge edit. I’ll predict now that she goes to the top 10. She is great and seems to have a drive and passion like no other. Aside from tonight’s top three, she’s right there at number four.
3. Emily Hallock- Emily was great tonight. I knew from her audition that she would be one of Joe’s strongest chefs, and I think she definitely proved that with her food tonight.
2. Ashley Mincey- I was low on Ashley in the pre-season, and I have never been more wrong. Her dish was excellent, and she is currently the only person with a win to their name.
1. Farhan Momin- Farhan is probably the one to beat right now. He didn’t win the mystery box, but he had a strong audition, was in the top three, and is easily the best one on Team Aaron. I think he’s going far, and right now, he has the top spot.
It’s so hard to rank these people this early on. So I’m putting those who were at the top at the top, those with bad auditions or bad edits at the bottom, and those who are mixed bag in the middle. I think Mark will consistently be at the bottom until he proves otherwise. Rewatch his audition and you’ll see why.
After the first real episode, it’s hard to know who the front runners are since we only saw six of the dishes. However, I am going to try my best to rank the top 22 based on their auditions and their first impressions.