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Axe Tom. Hire Eric. I'd start a write-in campaign if I thought it would help.

The Top Whiners: Leah, who gives up in front of Eric Ripert, and Hosea, who's reduced to immature badmouthing to make up for the fact that he can't cook fish properly. Sheesh.

Go Carla! She showed her stuff tonight, and Ripert seemed impressed.

And Eric Ripert is just a dreamboat. I'd love to see him on the show more, but I think he's too nice to make for "good TV."

It helps that Eric Ripert is pretty and nice to look at, but its refreshing to have a celebrity chef who isnt into themselves and actually gives meaningful feedback

I am still in shock. I really expected Jamie to finish second to Stefan. This episode made me despise Leah even more. She should have gone home long before now, in my opinion. This week I thought she definitely deserved it. And I haven't been impressed with anything Hosea has cooked yet.

I think they should have sent Leah packing - you don't just throw up the white flag in this type of a situation. Instead you power through and do your best. Another reason to dump her: She's whiny.

I thought Ripert was great. And you gotta love a man with an accent...

You forgot to mention how the eels were moving. Ew.

When the judges finally tried the completed dishes, they showed "before" and "after" shots

Those were actually shots of the Le Bernardin version of the dish next to the cheftestant's version.

@ simon: sounds like you should not be watching top chef. they sell batteries for your remote if they are dead.

i can't believe they did not ax leah.

Toby should be the next to go. You could see how much he annoyed all the other judges, including the uber dreamy Eric Ripert. Anyone else get the feeling that his opinion will no longer even be considered when judging?

Jamie packing her knives before Leah and Hosea must mean that there is more infidelity/romance to come. Spare me.

Product Placement: There was another blatant cell phone/whatever else it does thingie advertisement - this time with Fabio talking to his wife. I still think it's tacky for the winner to get the chef's cookbook. At least this time, there was another prize in addition. I wouldn't have minded as much if the top 3 all got a signed cookbook and the "prize" went to the winner.

The real cooking this time made it the best episode ever, for me. No production tricks, like refrigerators going warm, equipment not working. Just real cooking. I did get annoyed that they acted like they were surprised they had to copy a dish. We all knew before they got there, and so did they. Do they really believe the audience is that stupid? Obviously, yes.

Pretty sure Stefan has it wrapped up, but an upset with Fabio or Carla would make me very happy, especially Carla. Not that Stefan doesn't deserve to win, he's just so damn full of himself. Talented people often are. That's why Eric Ripert and Jacques Pepin (next ep - hooray!) are such a breath of fresh air. Somebody tell Fabio to be careful with his knife or he might cut himself next episode!

I am surprised the recap makes no mention of Jamie's dismissive 
attitude toward Eric Ripert and his cuisine.  She could barely
contain her contempt for his cooking and, guess what, it showed
in her food and got her kicked to the curb.  I agree Leah has
stayed way too long at this party, but, seriously, Jamie is not
going to get very far if she can't show someone like Eric Ripert
a modicum of respect or at least be diplomatic about it.

I was so sad to see Jamie go!

I don't care what ya'll think. I want Stefan to win...and I want him to cook dinner for me.

I loved this episode! Almost no product placements, a great judge, and an interesting challenge. Good recap too.

My only complaint is that I could have used a lot less Toby. Seeing the other judges react to him made me extremely curious to hear what Tom is going to have to say about it after the season is over and he's free to talk.

@annabanannas
I, too, was not a fan of Jamie throughout the better part of the show. I can't tell you how glad I was that scallops weren't one of the six dishes presented during the dinner.

Concerning Toby,
Most people didn't like him from the beginning, I didn't really mind him because I didn't think Gale added all that much to the show either. In the last episode I thought he was clearly getting on everyone's nerves. I think what it comes down to is that he comes up with these mean spirited comments, yet has no cooking chops himself. Padma may make a comment but it's typically benign and she defers to those with more knowledge than her. Toby is no more valuable than a heckler at a comedy club.

I received "On the Line" for Christmas and it is truly a great book that is half behind the scenes interworkings kind of stuff, the other half recipes.

Barring any kind of catastrophic event I have to believe Leah will be gone in the next couple of episodes.

I thought last night's episode was one of the best this season or any other season. By requiring the chef's to recreate a dish after one tasting really tests their palate and their skill. It's evident that some of the chef's were not thinking--really...lunch with Eric Ripert and not think it is leading to a challenge....perhaps it is time to go home. I loved Carla tonight..makes me even more annoyed that I didn't switch Jamie for her before the start of the episode last night...she is really coming into her own. I really hoped that Leah's FAIL on the fish filleting would be the impetus to send her home, but clearly Jamie's dish was inedible. Hopefully next week. I am thinking it could be Carla and Stephan at the end. Glad Fabio had a good evening....wonder about next week tho.

I think Jaime's insulting attitude to Ripert is why she went home. She was trash talking the guest judge!
As for Leah, I hope to see her go next week.

Ugh, so tired of Leah's moping. I think that she should have been booted over Jamie. Jamie knew exactly what she did wrong and how she could have fixed it given more time. Leah just had no idea how to make that sauce (though it WAS a complicated dish).

Eric Ripert is always great, he just seems to have fun. (Check out the toaster-oven cooking on his website if you haven't.) Tonight's challenge was a REAL challenge, testing both palette and technique. Not some contrived time-based rush.

Oh, and I liked the one shot that was edited so that, to me at least, it looked like Toby Young was saying something and Tom was looking down at his plate like, "Oh God, here we go...."

i was ecstatic to see very early in the episode that a guest chef would actually show some interest in advancing the skills of the contestants. as the show continued on, it quickly became my favorite for this very reason. the more the guest teaches the group, the more we, as viewers, learn from their collective experience. and it was the only episode i've ever immediately watched again with the 11pm re-air.

and "on the line" is an absolute must have. the editors and authors should be commended for their creativity in how it was put together.

@cooksultant...it was the only episode i've ever immediately watched again with the 11pm re-air....Me too!

I've seen some recaps mentioning that Carla should have won. She may have had a harder dish and did a decent job of replicating (like figuring out the sauce, etc.). But the near exact replication that Stefan did is exactly what the challenge was about. I'm glad Erin reflected that in her recap.

Carla has been really bad in more than a few challenges. If she wasn't so crazy (and thus give good soundbites), I think she'd have been out.

I'm not sure why they made such a big deal out of Hosea being from a seafood restaurant. If it seemed as if anyone came from a seafood restaurant it really should have been Jamie since she repeatedly made dishes incorporating seafood. I suppose it was to manufacture some sort of drama.