One of our favorite guest judges returned to Top Chef last night as chef Eric Ripert invited all the contestants to enjoy a meal at his famed New York City restaurant, Le Bernadin. Of course, there was a nifty twist: after consuming their wonderful six course meal, the chefs then had to each recreate one of the dishes they’d just enjoyed. This wasn’t the first time Top Chef had pulled such a trick, but it may have been the most entertaining. Eric Ripert is one of the best chefs in the world; so forcing these chefs into his kitchen added the sort of pressure that a rowdy “Top Chef Bowl” simply can’t provide. Unsurprisingly, Stefan rose to the challenge with an admittedly easy lobster dish. I was also quite happy to see Carla and Fabio in the winner’s circle as well, even if they didn’t ultimately take home the victory.
Rounding out the bottom were Jamie, Leah, and Hosea  all three of which have become so tiresome I kind of wished they’d just been all eliminated right then and there. Hosea is the least irritating of the bunch; although, his goatee continues to make him difficult to look at. He has a habit of over-explaining his flaws, which is a bit annoying, but I imagine he’ll be heading to the final three as the producers have been setting up an excitement-free rivalry between him and Stefan for a few weeks now. Leah, meanwhile, was a favorite of mine earlier in the season, and I have no doubt that she can cook, but she’s been checked out of the game for some time now, and yet she still manages to float through, sending perhaps more talented chefs home in her stead.
Then there’s Jamie, who wound up being this week’s ejected scallop. I wasn’t sad to see her go. Her bitter attitude had been getting worse and worse every episode, and the mild undercurrents of entitlement and haughtiness had done nothing to help her case. In the end, overly salty celery (from a dish she DID NOT like  a fact she felt compelled to state to Eric Ripert for no reason) sent her home. And so comes the end of Team Rainbow, which really wasn’t much of a team considering that two of its founding members were gone by week two. But I guess Jamie can blame that on Eric Ripert too.
“Look at that eel! Isn’t it hilarious? I once gave one to Gail and told her it was a cruller. She nearly fell over in shock when she bit into it, poor thing.”
“Jjjjamie, the challenge was to fillet a sardine, not a scallop.”
Jamie: “Well, I don’t really like sardines anyway, especially YOUR sardines. They just don’t inspire me.”
“Damn this eel skin. Maybe I should just scrub it off with my Brillo pad goatee.”
“YOUR SKIN WILL COME OFF NOW, JA?”
“Stefan, not even my dear friend Gail Simmons would eat that, and you know that she’ll eat anything. One time I found her in a dumpster searching for discarded flounder meat, bless her heart.”
“Eric, it’s so fascinating watching all these chefs trying to filet their fish. I remember Gail once claimed that she could fillet a sea bass in thirty seconds, but then it turned out she thought filleting meant eating.”
“So she ate a sea bass in thirty seconds?”
“No. The sea bass wound up being three jelly donuts, bless her heart.”
“Hey, Tom, you’re kind of cute. I have a thing for bald guys. Ever think about growing a horrendous goatee that looks like a caterpillar? Because that would be hot.”
“Little do zey know zat I have poisoned all zeir wine. Ron ron ron!!!”
“I can’t wait to screw this up and NOT go home yet again.”
Tom: “I don’t think Hosea realized that monkfish has to sit before it’s cut.”
Padma: “I agree with Tom.”
Toby: “This reminds me of the escolar dish  you know, the one I so wittily labeled ‘Pablo Escolar.'”
Padma: “That was funny. It made no sense, but it was funny.”
Tom: “Look, people, we’re getting away from the main point: monkfish has to sit first!”
Toby: “I wouldn’t call this monkfish. I’d call it monkey fish because it’s rather like a monkey in fish form.”
Padma: “Yes, I agree.”
Tom: “You know what I think? I think that MONKFISH HAS TO SIT FIRST!!!”
Padma: “I can’t eat this anymore. Where’s Gail when you need her? Is there a bacon festival we don’t know about?”
What did you think about the episode? Did the right person go home?