Random thoughts on this week's Top Chef:

- Glad to see the mise en place challenge show up early in the season. I like this format better than the relay. This way the top finishers have to go thru all the steps (peel potatoes, brunoise onions, break down chickens and then cook a dish using the ingredients). Down side was with so many people competing it was hard to get a look at who was doing what.
- It may be too early to call this after one episode but it seems like the editors are playing a couple of people as this season's version of some of last season's contestants.
- Things not to say to Tom Colicchio #1: I've made this dish hundreds of times but I got it wrong tonight because I didn't have a recipe (which was a totally bizarre combo of patting-self-on-back and making excuses anyway)
- Sorry to see Crazy Dreadlocks Chef get sent home. Not because he didn't deserve to go. But because his loss will further the TC truism that desserts lose. That's too simple, I think. Bad desserts lose but bad anything loses. What I don't get is why would you (as a contestant on the show) choose to make a dessert if you're not very good at making desserts. I mean, Carla (from season 5) would often make desserts but that's cos she was good at it. If the best thing you can come up with under pressure is a napoleon (which seems to be the default choice for non-pastry chefs trying to make a dessert) AND you buy your puff pastry instead of making it well then you better not screw up anything else in the dish or you're going home.
- When Eric Ripert is telling you why your fish wasn't cooked correctly, you'd best just stand there and listen.