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After a grueling competition that involved recreating a miniature version of a Bocuse d'Or, chef Eli Kirshtein was eliminated for serving what judge Tom Colicchio described as "raw lamb."

This week's challenge was not only a showcase of cooking nouvelle French cuisine; it also served to highlight each chef's technique. And that it did, causing everyone except Kevin to struggle. In the end, it boiled down to Eli's raw lamb verses Michael Voltaggio's directionless Mediterranean dish, which featured a cauliflower couscous and salmon.

The winner was Kevin (again), who took home a $30,000 prize and the chance to represent the U.S. in the 2011 Bocuse d'Or competition. While he's only earned a chance to try out for the team, Colicchio said on his blog, "I think that though it's not his normal inclination to cook as they do for the Bocuse d'Or, if given the time to prepare for the competition, Kevin would apply that same intelligence about food to that particular challenge and would rise to it not only ably but admirably."

Natalie Portman guested on this week's 'Top Chef: Las Vegas' and threw the remaining contestants a curveball with her vegetarian dietary requirements. The final seven chefs were prepared to create a reimagined TV dinner using a variety of meat at Tom Colicchio's Craftsteak restaurant, but were instead asked to prepare a dish using nothing but veggies.

In this clip, diners react during the elimination challenge to Chef Michael Voltaggio's asparagus salad, Japanese tomato sashimi and banana polenta. Although Voltaggio wasn't the winner of the challenge, diners responded favorably to his unusual pairing of polenta with banana.

Watch the video from TV's Top 5! after the jump.

"You can have a chef who wins every single challenge, but if the dish they put in front of us is the worst ... they are going home."

Contestants on 'Top Chef' can take heart: Judge Tom Colicchio remembers the great dishes as well as the terrible ones.

Just make sure to cook one of the former.

The New York chef, whose signature Craft franchise will open new branches in Atlanta and Foxwood's MGM casino, chatted with AOL TV about what makes a great chef, playing favorites and the profanity controversy.