"Shocked" — Top Chef fans react to Corwin and Kat's brutal elimination

Top Chef season 22 aired a new episode, titled Line Cook for a Day, on April 10, 2025. The contestants spent a day serving at local restaurants and learning about the various cuisines before catering to 150 diners in a team challenge. The chefs were split into pairs, as each attempted to give their best effort to avoid elimination. However, Corwin and Kat's dish failed to impress, resulting in their eviction.

Corwin and Kat were asked to pack their knives and exit the competition because their Portuguese dish, consisting of cod and shrimp bombas with saffron aioli, smoked roe, piri piri, and pickles, left an underwhelming impression on the judges. It was mainly the mushy and watery texture of the cod fritters or croquettes that the judges could not overlook.

Vinny and Lana were also in the bottom two, but they managed to remain in the competition, while Corwin and Kat had to take their leave. Top Chef fans on X commented on the pair's double elimination. While many were surprised by the judges' verdicts, others were sad to see Kat and Corwin leave the show.

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"Shocked by which pair of chefs from the bottom two that the judges chose to eliminate on this week's #TopChef..." a fan wrote.

"How dumb to eliminate 2 Chefs on a street food competition! Corwin won 2 back to back competitions, Kat has won a quick fire challenge & has been in the top & meanwhile, Massimo has remained on the bottom. Riddle me that?" another fan commented.

"oh no! Corwin??! I liked him" a netizen tweeted.

Many Top Chef fans expressed disappointment with Kat and Corwin's elimination, questioning the show for not providing them with the ingredients they needed.

"Damn, I did not see that coming. I need Corwin back," a user reacted.

"I missed all but the last ten minutes of the episode so to say I was shocked is an understatement. I mean, Kat, okay, but Corwin?!?!?" a person commented.

"There should NEVER be an instance in which the chosen grocer is out of anything the contestants request. No salted cod. Really? It's a cooking competition, not #CircusMaximus!" another fan wrote.

"I'm surprised they didnt make them go to specialty grocery stores for the challenge," one user posted.

Other Top Chef fans expressed a similar sentiment.

"Vinny should have gone home for seeing curry and thinking Hollandaise. And Lana for deferring to that. Ooh, they’re both yellow! Like, what?! It’s so arrogant. He’s leaning heavily on that Nomad on his CV," a person reacted.

"Corwinnnnnnnn," another netizen commented.

Top Chef stars Kat and Corwin fail to find salt cod at the supermarket

Kat and Corwin visited Mercado, a Portuguese restaurant, where they tasted a popular Portuguese dish that had seared salt cod, onions, grated fried potatoes, and olives. Consequently, the Top Chef contestants drew inspiration from it and decided to serve their own rendition to the diners .

However, they faced a hurdle early on in the challenge when the local grocery store did not have any salt cod, their dish's key ingredient. Although they decided to make do with normal cod, they knew they would have to increase the breading of the fritters to balance the moisture of the cod.

While speaking to the Top Chef cameras, Kat explained that they had to bake and rice the potatoes instead of boiling them to prevent them from becoming moist. Corwin, while preparing the fritters, added more flour to ensure the bombas did not fall apart. However, their efforts to counterbalance the wetness made the fritters mushy and unpleasant to taste.

The judges criticized the "mushy" texture of the fritters, while guest panelist Sara Bradley noted that Corwin and Kat would not have faced the issue if they had cooked with salt cod. Tom expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the texture "got in the way," preventing him from enjoying it.

Although the Top Chef judges appreciated the dish's concept, they could not overlook the taste. As a result, they decided to send Kat and Corwin packing. While Corwin said that he was determined to make a comeback, Kat was proud of her journey on the show.

Top Chef season 22 releases new episodes every Thursday at 8 pm ET only on Bravo.

About the author

Raina Saha is a pop culture writer who covers reality TV at Sportskeeda. While pursuing her master's degree in Comparative Literature, Raina explored various genres of media and later joined the field professionally, after being drawn to all things pop-culture.

Raina has previously worked on several research projects for Zee Entertainment Enterprises, analyzing TRP trends for daily soaps and has presented her research at international conferences. Although an avid follower of the entertainment world, it is the unscripted nature of reality TV that excites Raina the most, owing to its relatability, unexpected twists, and the suspense and drama the shows offer.

For Raina, diligent research and providing accurate information from authentic sources are key to her reporting process. She relies on thorough fact-checking for her stories and continuously updates data post-publication to ensure the content is relevant and accurate at all times.

Raina's favorite artist is Miley Cyrus, whose personality and career-driven attitude she admires. Growing up watching Hannah Montana and listening to Miley’s songs, Raina is thrilled by the artist’s achievements, including her first Grammy win in 2024.

Outside of work, Raina enjoys traveling, especially to the hills, and exploring different restaurants to try new dishes.

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Edited by Raina Saha