I may be wrong about this, but in Bourdain's No Reservations he talks about a particularly ferocious chef instructor at the CIA that used to tell his whimpering students that he made two of them every morning in the toilet. Ripert was probably thinking a similiar thing when talking to Toby, but Yummsh is right, he's…

Cudos to Ripert for not skull-fucking Toby Young since he is twice Ripert's enemy: a Brit and a critic.

Best episode yet
Here's why:
1. The guest judge: Eric fucking Ripert (little know fact, that's actually his middle name). While they've had some pretty solid chefs on in the past, this guy is truly one of the elites. Not only that, but as others have mentioned, he seems like a truely nice guy. I'd be hard for me to…

Scranton
I always held out hope that Scranton would be the last vestige of democracy in America.

It was ok as long as you accept that the higher order parts of your brain will remain dormant throughout the film. Just Liam Neeson kicking ass, which takes a while to get used too.

…a tasty local recipe
As a Minnesotan, this better be tater tot hotdish, or by God, studio heads will roll!

I too was shocked when Stefan didn't choose Green Bay-he's rocked German food pretty successfully in the past.

Toby reading some insuffarable put-down from his cheat sheet he wrote the night before=chugg a bottle of old crow and then break the bottle, either over your head or on the TV

I'm still trying to remember the last decent dish that Fabio produced; he's still getting by on that little disolving olive trick.

I grew up in Minnesota and have plenty of respect for the diary state (you see that Spike, the word dairy is right in the name). Fabio, this doesn't let you off the hook; salads are outlawed in Wisconsin.

It wasn't clear at all how much prep work the contestants were able to do ahead of time. Bronsonman is totally right, gumbo is many things, but you'll never see it on Rachel Ray's half hour meals (oh god, maybe she has done it, which would be a sin a thousand Thomas Kellers couldn't overcome).

I thought the one unforgivable since was fucking up your protein, yet two weeks in row (Leah and her undercooked fish) and now fabio have escaped this.

Lemur
You're lucky there's a new administration in town, or I would have been all over you, you dirty French loving hippy!

Hey Fabio, I don't care if your using Waygu beef and a 5 year old Stilton, if you put them together on a roll, excuse me, baquette, and serve it to an American, we all will say the same thing, "oh, a Philly cheesesteak"

Hey Fabio, I don't care if your using Waygu beef and a 5 year old Stilton, if you put them together on a roll, excuse me, baquette, and serve it to an American, we all will say the same thing, "oh, a Philly cheesesteak"

Hey Fabio, I don't care if your using Waygu beef and a 5 year old Stilton, if you put them together on a roll, excuse me, baquette, and serve it to an American, we all will say the same thing, "oh, a Philly cheesesteak"

You mean the "top chef all-stars?" Doesn't "all-star" imply successful-I didn't see Blais in the preview. I think "Cast-offs" or "also-rans" would be much more compellling.

some clarity
It is becoming fairly obvious how the chefs are stacking up. Here is my guess:

Ariane's suggestion
Maybe my memory is shot, but didn't Ariane suggest doing a grilled leg of lamb, which was shot down by both Leah and Hosea as "not seasonal" What isn't seasonal about grilling lamb in July? A boneless grilled leg of lamb is tasty, easy (including the butchering part), and very seasonal. I…

In retrospect
I'm surprised that at least one of the three didn't see the "no sous chef tomorrow" coming. I didn't, but come on, its probably a safe bet that three big heavy hitter chefs (Eric Fucking Ripert for godsake-I was waiting for Thomas Keller to bus the table) would be eating dinner with the judges, and…