That’s certainly part of it but I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that he keeps making pasta, and that when he doesn’t make pasta he struggles. Eventually it was going to come back and bite him. And you could tell from Padma that the judges were hoping to see more from him as well. Not to the point that they’re…

Great to hear Fatima is recovering.

Repetitive low-impact head trauma wasn’t really Jackass’ style.

I’ve pretty much only played outdoors, and I just told you that the ball getting dirty is an issue. It might not be an issue for you, but it’s an issue for me. Which is why I did other sports where my hands didn’t need to wash off a layer of grime after playing.

He looked really strong early in the show and he’s clearly capable of producing great food. I’m wondering what happened to make him drop off so drastically.

It’s not a hygiene issue. Getting dirt on my hands is the worst feeling. This is also why I think gardening is a hobby for masochists.

Fatima’s comments will be sorely missed. Moustache Joe really should have gone home for that mac and cheese.

“It was Chris’ team, I was just gonna execute service” had me pause and wonder if I had heard that correctly. It takes a certain level of shamelessness to blame others like that and it was naked and ugly in Claudette. Thankfully she’s not returning so this season can return to the drama-free state it was in back when…

Sure. Hunting is fine. Driving species to extinction, like commercial whaling came close to doing, is not.

This was tough. I liked the quickfire (sponsored as it was) and Carrie making something weird makes me happy. Bruce’s baby was good news all around. And I though the challenge was a lot of fun too. But Tanya really went down hard, and she knew it, and that coloured the entire contest.

I think it was a lot closer this week than last week though, so it doesn’t stand out nearly as much. And this wasn’t about not adhering to the purpose, this was about failing the parameters of the challenge. Even if we overlook the meat temperature thing she didn’t make her cuts correctly.

Skeleton is absolutely nuts.

I love her on the show and I want her to succeed so much, and it feels a little heart-breaking to see her like this know her life is going to take such a horrible turn right after the show finished filming.

Tom commented on it and I think it’s a lot less of a problem than you think it would be. She cooks by touch like a lot of chefs do, and she knows what medium-rare feels like. Anyone who asks her to cook medium-rare steak will know what they’re getting from her and anyone she asks to cook medium-rare steak will…

These contestants are all so, so good. Usually there’s always someone to root against but not this season

So much drama this episode.

Damn it. Thanks for the update, I don’t follow any of the chefs outside the show and I’ve really come to love Fatima this season. Hope she gets well and goes back to making amazing food.

Good point about giving them enough time. No one seemed rushed, for once, so time wasn’t a part of the challenge.

Chris singing was great, dude has a ton of presence and he knows how to use it.

This was, no exaggeration, one of the best episode of Top Chef I’ve seen. I get all the criticism of forcing them to use inferior equipment on a campsite somewhere but damn it all, it worked. They produced amazing food. We got to see Carrie build a damn oven in the snow and almost win with a dessert. A dessert! When…