Top Chef Recap: Big Foot, Karma and the Queen of Mean

Spoiler Alert: If you do not want to know what happened on last night's episode of Top Chef, stop reading now.

It all started with 10 chefs standing in the kitchen and ended with one graciously accepting the call to back their knives and go. Top Chef is whittling them down one by one and Chicago is definitely feeling the heat. But also the praise.

In the eighth episode, the chefs, which still includes four from Chicago—Heather Terhune (Sable Kitchen & Bar), Sarah Grueneberg (Spiaggia), Beverly Kim (Aria) and Chris Jones (Moto)—hit the road once again, this time heading to Austin.

The Quickfire involved chefs getting mid-challenge suggestions from fans via Twitter. At one point, the cheftestants had to give a random ingredient to one other chef to try to trip them up, and in the end Austin chef Paul Qui took the challenge, edging out Grueneberg for a $10,000 bonus prize, but winning it for his hometown.

Early in the show, cameras show Kim talking again about how she didn't appreciate Terhune's bullying and that karma was a bitch that bites back hard. Possible foreshadowing? Moving into the elimination round, the chefs were tasked with creating a dish paying homage to the person or people who first inspired them to start cooking. They had two hours to prepare a meal for the judges, which included guest Patti LaBelle.

Each chef had a touching story, leading Grueneberg to cry as she recounted how much her grandparents mean to her. She made a pork sausage-stuffed cabbage and made the sausage from scratch, like her papa. Terhune, who host Padma Lakshmi dubbed the "Queen of Mean," made beef stroganoff that turned out stringy and spongy. Ultimately, LaBelle said she thought she was eating "Big Foot" and it got Terhune sent packing. Kim, with a sly smile, talked about the personal satisfaction that brought her in seeing Terhune get cut.

While Terhune's elimination was a loss for Chicago, both Kim and Grueneberg headed to judges table in the top three. Grueneberg took home the win, which she said she really needed to help boost her spirits.

Terhune eventually ended up getting one more shot, going head-to-head with Nyesha Arrington in the Last Chance Kitchen for a challenge where they had to incorporate the techniques of frying, injecting and foaming. Arrington's eyes lit up when Terhune walked through the door saying she wanted to shut her down for the way she treated the other chefs, especially Kim. And in the end, she did just that, beating out Terhune who made an overcooked head-on prawn. As they say, karma is a bitch.