Restaurant Wars unfortunately took out my pre-season winner pick Kevin. Now, it seems clearer and clearer that it’ll either be Gregory or Melissa winning this season. But eh, you never truly know. Let’s rank.
7. Lee Anne Wong- Greg’s team dominated restaurant wars, but Lee Anne did not. Between the three people who have seemingly been on the bottom the most (Lee Anne, Stephanie, and Karen), Lee Anne just seems like the most likely to be eliminated. She skates by in a thin margin most of the time, and had Greg, Stephanie, and Malarkey not been so strong, Lee Anne could have definitely been in danger and sunk their team. Lee Anne seems to be improving one minute, and then tanking next. She’s the most unpredictable and is on the bottom for me.
6. Karen Akunowicz- In retrospect, had Kevin not fallen on the sword for his team, Karen would’ve been going. She’s already been eliminated once, and has been on the bottom more often than not. There are more reasons for Karen going than staying at this point, and had Lee Anne not placed in the bottom four whole times, I’d probably predict Karen to go home.
5. Stephanie Cmar- Stephanie actually rose a bit in my predictions this week. Yes, like Lee Anne, she has been on the bottom four times, BUT she actually did a fairly great job in Restaurant Wars, catering to Greg’s needs, but stepping up when she needed to. She proved this week that she really is here for a reason. The question is now how she’ll do again individually. Will she be able to perform? They’re going camping this week, and it could seem that Stephanie is a bit more out of her element, so it could hurt her, but I do think she’s earned to stay off of the bottom this week for a successful restaurant wars presentation.
4. Bryan Voltaggio- Bryan hasn’t been on the top of an elimination challenge since week 3. He’s Bryan Voltaggio, so of course he’s strong, but MAN is he really not rising above his expectations. I’m pretty disappointed and wish he’d be a higher contender right now.
3. Brian Malarkey- Malarkey is shown in the preview to be stirring up drama again, but it might not be this week. I think Malarkey is fine. He’s coming off of a huge Restaurant Wars victory, front of the house STAR, and he was on top two weeks consecutively before that. I thought he was sure-fire elimination a few weeks ago, but I really think he’s finally coming into his own, and I don’t see anyone stopping Malarkey for the next few weeks.
2. Melissa King- Even if Melissa butchered Karen’s dish, I think Melissa got through Restaurant Wars pretty care-free and with little blood on her hands. She’s still a top contender, and I’m just imagining how much more of a landslide it would’ve been had Gregory picked Melissa for his team.
1. Gregory Gordet- Gregory had pressure on his side, remained cool calm and collected, and managed to take home the win with his team. Gregory continually impresses me, and he is now the only contestant to not be on the bottom at some point this season. He’s probably going to win.
I think Stephanie is rising on my radar, as is Brian Malarkey. While Bryan V continues to disappoint, but still remains in the middle. Karen and Lee Anne are the two I’m just least impressed with, though Lee Anne DID just come off a win with Greg’s team. I just feel like between Lee Anne, Karen, and Stephanie (the three who have been on the bottom the most), Stephanie and Karen’s good days are better than Lee Anne’s good days.
Restaurant Wars unfortunately took out my pre-season winner pick Kevin. Now, it seems clearer and clearer that it’ll either be Gregory or Melissa winning this season. But eh, you never truly know. Let’s rank.
1. Gregory (+3)
2. Melissa (-1)
3. Brian (-1)
4. Bryan (-1)
5. Stephanie (+3)
6. Karen —
7. Lee Anne —
Biggest Rise: Gregory and Stephanie (+3)
Biggest Drop: Melissa, Brian, Bryan (-1)