New Zealand native Mark Simmons (pictured below) seemed affable in his interactions with other cheftestants—and even during his confessional segments—on “Top Chef,” but sloppy presentation skills and, ultimately, bad flavor combinations did him in on last week’s episode.

His food, it turns out, wasn’t the only thing about Mark that lacked presentation. He didn’t just defend his dish as judges grilled him; he seemed defensive, telling Tom Colicchio that he didn’t think the head judge liked him. Also, every time he was at the judges’ table to defend an Elimination Challenge dish that was determined to be among the worst (four times out of eight; ouch), he looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks.

But I’m willing to put all that aside for Mark, who was one of my favorite contestants this season for his wit, his charm, and his willingness to take chances with his food. (Marmite? In a deep-dish pizza? You scoundrel, you!) Plus, anyone who compares a massive kitchen to the size of Yankee Stadium—especially a person whose sport of choice is rugby—is OK in my book.

So while kiwi is still an option for the remaining chefs, the Kiwi himself is out of the running. Spike’s semi-clothed baths will never be the same.

After the break, I’ll summarize the rest of last week’s episode, which continued to deliver creative and fun Elimination Challenges when it forced chefs to work with kids to create their dishes.

Maybe I’m a little slow, but I’m paying more and more attention to who’s being featured in each episode’s opening sound bytes, which often profile the contestant who gets the boot in a given week. This week, it was Stephanie Izard, Antonia Lofaso and good ol’ Mark. There was no way Stephanie was going home; despite a bad week, she’s the odds-on favorite woman to appear in the finale. Things could have gone either way for Antonia, who’s had a roller-coaster of a season before winning the most recent Elimination Challenge; she had appeared before the judges as many times for bad dishes as she did for ones in the top bracket (three). That left Mark, who was shown playing a didgeridoo and talking about professional goals; the latter, of course, has been the kiss of death for many contestants as far as sound bytes go early in any episode.

This week’s guest judge was Art Smith, personal chef to Oprah Winfrey. He was both upbeat and constructive, even pointing out positive elements to chefs who were in the Quickfire Challenge Bottom 3 (Mark, Stephanie and Lisa). And he raved about the top bracket (Dale, Richard and Antonia) before bestowing immunity on Antonia.

Smith seemed to like most of the dishes for a glorified ad for a rice company disguised as a Quickfire Challenge to make an entrée in 15 minutes. If I have one criticism of this season, it’s that the product placement has gone beyond noticeable and leapt into the realm of the absurd. Want proof? Dan Hopper, of the fantastic Best Week Ever blog, gives us convincing evidence from each of the last two episodes.

After a bunch of weeks in a row of watching Antonia appear defensive and, at times, downright unlikeable, viewers were shown another side of her—the loving, weepy, single-mother side. Hmm. Combined with her wins in both challenges this week, this PR spin makes me think that if Stephanie is eliminated sooner than expected, Antonia would be the last woman standing.

This week’s Elimination Challenge was another fun one: Create a meal for diners at an event for Common Threads, which promotes nutrition and cultural diversity to children. And, I must say, all nine chefs—even the crankier ones—were so good with their helpers, children who participate in Common Threads. You could tell all the chefs loved the experience and not in an “are-the-cameras-on?” kind of way. Some of the highlights for me included the all-kid team featuring chef Richard D’Ambrosi (pictured); the international summit of Mark Summit and his shy but sweet helper of Mexican heritage; and Dale Talde joking with his helper to “Count slower!” while the clock’s final seconds ticked down before serving time.

So I’m not sure if it’s ever been uttered previously on the show, but there is a name for the room where cheftestants wait while judges deliberate: The Stew Room. Clever.

This week’s Elimination Challenge Top 3 were Nikki, Antonia and Andrew (yay, Andrew!). Nikki was commended for creating a healthy dish that was easy to prepare in one pot. Andrew was celebrated for his well-executed dish that incorporated fennel and salad. But Antonia was the big winner for her “perfectly cooked” and “flavorful” dish of stir-fry and whole wheat noodles. Even though Antonia grates on me, I’m not gonna lie, it looked delicious.

The EC Bottom 3 were Lisa, Stephanie and Mark. For a bit, I thought Lisa might head home because of her bland, undercooked dish. Stephanie’s recent struggles weren’t helped by her couscous that was described as “mush on a plate” and offended Colicchio with its peanut butter-tomato flavor combination. But Mark was too defensive about plating a dish the judges considered too sweet, lacking healthy vegetables and sloppy. G’bye, mate.

Eight contestants down, eight remain, and there’s really only one weak link remaining: Nikki Cascone. Yes, she was in the top bracket of chefs for the first and most recent Elimination Challenges, but she’s also been in the bottom bracket twice and—like Mark, who was just eliminated—has been coasting in the middle for the bulk of the show. I still think her brick of macaroni and cheese and her store-bought sausage were reasons enough to send her home, yet she remains. Not sure what to make of that.

My remaining favorites: Richard Blais, Andrew D’Ambrosi and Stephanie Izard.

(Photos by Chuck Hodes for NBC/Universal.)