Note: Contains spoiler info. Missed the show? More "Top Chef" air times. Last time on "Top Chef": The 10 remaining cheftestants played the slots to direct the mood, taste/texture and type of cuisine they'd serve up in the quickfire. Kevin continued to impress, making a char-grilled pork with Vietnamese herb salad in response to his "stressed spicy Asian" pull at the slot machine. For the elimination challenge, the contestants were called to work in pairs via knife-pull to use a group of guest chefs' (guest judge Tyler Florence, plus Govind Armstrong, Tom Douglas, Nancy Silverton and Takashi Yagihashi) ingredients as the basis for family-style dishes to be served at a dinner party. Quickfire winner Kevin, working with Jennifer and using chef Douglas' groceries, prepared a barbecued Kobe beef with cardamom-tomato-ginger broth, and Jennifer's flavorful sauce yielded her first elimination challenge win. Conversely, Ashley and Eli used chef Armstrong's elements for a dish of grilled prawns with gnocchi and kale and red beet crème fraîche. Ashley, taking responsibility for the undercooked protein and over-salted pasta, was eliminated, a sad verdict given her recent rise in the competition.

Eli, safely in the middle of the pack all season, stepped up at this week's quickfire.

New American cuisine pioneer and entrepreneur Charlie Palmer introduced a quickfire challenge that appealed to the cheftestants' snacking side, asking them to create dishes incorporating Alexia brand snacks as a complement to their desired main ingredients. The best-liked offerings all employed the crunchy onion snack: Bryan V's well-executed seared ribeye with pickled onion and sautéed mushroom with chive purée; Kevin's nicely-paired warm bean confit tomato salad with fresh herbs and creamed corn; and Eli, getting his first challenge win of the season for a well-thought out potato-clam salad with fennel, celery and white truffle sauce. Having heard all the critique this season about seafood cooked the wrong way, one would think that the proper preparation of the shellfish was win-worthy itself.

Less successful were Ash's weirdly-paired barbecue snack with chilled cucumber-avocado soup with crème fraîche, crab and red pepper; Jennifer's well-conceived but overcooked sauteed pork chop with tomato sauce and feta; and Robin's imbalanced jalapeno snacks with sweet corn panna cotta and avocado mousseline. Jennifer, a standout contestant from the first episode, seems to be getting flustered in recent quickfires; here's hoping her elimination challenge performances continue to set the bar high, as little mistakes carry more weight as the number of contestants falls.

The elimination challenge, inspired by chef Palmer's annual Pigs & Pinot event and fundraiser, called upon the cheftestants to prepare 150 tasting-sized dishes that paired pork with the beloved red wine. To determine their other-white-meat real estate, the chefs drew knives. After getting their assignments they headed off to the Mandalay Bay branch of chef Palmer's restaurant Aureole. Taking advantage of the restaurant's almost-10,000 bottle capacity wine tower, the contestants sampled a variety of Pinots and claimed their drink of choice. The rundown of pork parts and Pinot picks:

• Ash: tenderloin with 2007 Sanford
• Bryan V: ribs with 2007 Rochioli
• Eli: belly with 2007 Terlato Family
• Jennifer: wild (chose belly), with 2005 Chanson Clos De Bèze
• Kevin: legs with 2006 Sokol Blosser Dundee Hills
• Laurine: butt with 2005 Chanson Clos De Fèves
• Michael V: cheeks with 2006 Cuvaison
• Mike: shoulder with 2005 Wairau River
• Robin: center cut chops with 2005 Mischief and Mayhem

Victory hog? Kevin shines again, this time for his Pigs & Pinot-inspired pâté.

Impressing the judges this week were the usual suspects, with good reason (and, perhaps appropriately, most using the braising technique): Bryan V's ribs were praised for their pork essence and compatibility with the wine, while brother Michael's root beer-braised cheeks were daring, and Jennifer's vegetable and truffle-infused belly produced a surprisingly light treat, considering its succulent base. The winner, however, was Kevin, whose pork leg pâté hit all the right marks from pig to Pinot. For Kevin, the icing on this porcine cake was winning the opportunity to be a guest chef at Pigs & Pinot 2010.

Similarly, familiar faces prevailed in the bottom three: Laurine's pork butt rillettes were poorly executed and clashed with her wine choice, while Robin's brined chops were served in meager portions with a gummy sauce. But Ash, who showed promise early on but has faltered in recent episodes, was eliminated for serving up a bland chilled tenderloin with cherry-corn salad. He'd lamented that, until this week, none of the challenges reflected his cooking style. Unfortunately, his dish just didn't measure up.

Next week, at long last, is restaurant wars! The previews hint at the Voltaggio brothers being on the same team. If so, two possible scenarios come to my mind: Bryan and Michael will easily best the other team, or sibling bickering will threaten one brother's future in the competition. Juicy!

Chrysta Cherrie is the entertainment producer/copy editor for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at chrystacherrie@annarbor.com or 734-623-2526, and follow her on Twitter @chrystacherrie.