I really wish I could muster up some enthusiasm for this season of Top Chef. While it’s not necessarily bad, it’s also not extraordinarily compelling TV.

To make things worse, they’ve taken my beloved Kiwi — curly-mopped, hot-tattooed and Tom-hating Mark. I haven’t necessarily grown an insane, dead-eyed devotion to him the way I’ve loved others (here’s looking at you, Rami), but he made the time go by a bit easier.

Even though we’re only halfway through the season, it’s looking pretty clear who the top four are going to be. I’m sure they’ll pull a Tre at some point and eliminate a front-runner, but there are seemingly only a few real contenders.

So, let’s round up the leaders so far — neatly divided into two boys and two girls.

Antonia - Coming off the heels of a double win in this most recent episode, I think she’s the odds-on favorite to win the whole shebang. Just think — 2008 is year of the first female Biggest Loser and potentially Top Chef. It’s like Susan B. Anthony’s dreams are coming alive right before our eyes.

Richard - I have no real reason to dislike Richard except for his hairdo and his creepy comment about “making babies” in last week’s episode. I mean, I get what he means, but the phrase “making babies” makes me think of assembly lines and doll parts and Vincent Price putting a cookie heart in front of a machine. In any case, he’s constantly winning and does all of the Marcel-ian molecular gastronomy without being a mad scientist about it.

Stephanie - I knew that Stephanie was in trouble at the beginning of last episode when they started paying attention to her at the beginning of the episode. It’s like the Chekhov-ian pistol-firing concept applied to reality TV — if a person is featured at the beginning of the episode, they’re generally going to win/get cut at the end. She may be a bit less consistent, but she’s got a good track record of wins.

Dale - I don’t care for this one at all — mostly due to his crotch-grabbing rant during the weirdo fight post-Zoi’s elimination. Seems like a pretty good cook, but I’m silly and petty and only base my opinions on personality rather than talent.