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I think that something other than ears should have been chosen as an ingredient. Whoever got stuck with that was going to be at a grievous disadvantage. Testicles would have been better.

Stop and think about it. What would you have done with pig's ears? They are basically gristle encased in leather.

Having said all of this, Lefebvre isn't half the cook or the man his countryman Hubert Kelelr is and he blew himself out of the water. Did I enjoy watching that? Not especially, but such things are a part of life and it was a good lesson.

@dineomite: I agree completely- as soon as it was "Street food" and "Tongue", I knew he'd have to be making lengua tacos. This was his challenge to lose, in my opinion.

That being said, I still love Rick Bayless' personality and how you really can't seem to bring that man down!

Unfortunately, episode 3 has been my least favorite so far, and it was mostly because of Lefebvre's attitude. Its really a shame because I'm sure he is a very highly skilled chef and I love the concept behind Ludo Bites, but that ego! On the one hand, I think he really does push himself and has very high personal expectations, but rather than channeling his nerve (or nerves...) into his work he takes it out on his competitors (and sous chefs, I'm sure) and the food suffers. I admire his... ballsyness, but he lacks focus and professionalism.

Anyone else remember Lefebvre on Iron Chef against Batali?

*Sigh* Oh well. The good news is: John Besh is in next week's episode!!! 8D

I do love that Rick Bayless won, even though I think that his background kind of set him up nicely for this competition. I thought that ego aside it was a stupid move for Ludo to do a type of food that was not his style. There has to be a french soup that he could have made that he would have shown through, but I thought that it was nice to see him get taken down hard.

Mexican food boring? What??!?!
I find that hard to believe anyone would say such a thing considering the many regions in Mexico where all the foods are different. You must be thinking Taco Bell is Mexican.

Nope. I've been to Puerto Vallarta and had a personal chef go to the market for me every morning and prepare me three meals a day plus snacks, for a week, with gorgeous, fresh produce and seafood. She was a fantastic cook. I also ate out at the best restaurants in town. I've eaten in Tijuana and San Diego and LA, in Phoenix AZ, as well as in Mexican joints all over the country, further removed from Mexico. From high end white table cloth to taco stands. It's good. It's just, well, boring. It all ends up tasting the same. And Rick Bayless is the Ned Flanders of cooking. I can't stand his impassioned earnestness and I hate his halting way of delivering his corny lines.

"I also ate out at the best restaurants in town. I've eaten in Tijuana and San Diego and LA, in Phoenix AZ, as well as in Mexican joints all over the country, further removed from Mexico. From high end white table cloth to taco stands. It's good. It's just, well, boring. It all ends up tasting the same."

Hmmm, simon--have you thought that maybe it's just you?

@simon - NED FLANDERS! THAT'S IT! I couldn't sleep last night trying to think of who he reminded me of. Why are his top teeth so frickin' straight? Why does he chuckle? How does his hair stand up so cheerily, and where is his green sweater?

Thank you, I can rest well tonight.

Perhaps it was your delivery, my friend. You see, there is a difference between exclaiming that a thing (in this case, Mexican food) is boring, Full Stop and explaining that your particular palate cannot discern the difference between the dishes in a particular region's food.

From your delivery, I understood you to be describing the food itself as boring (as in, "that barn is grey") versus your perception of the food ("because I am color blind, that barn looks grey). The difference is subtle, but it's there.

I thought the Frenchman's attitude was despicable and his snide remark about Bayless paying off the judges a greater insult than Bobby Flay's cutting board trick.
I will no longer eat french fries--I'm sticking to European chips.

Aside from getting stressed and cranky at prep time, I think Ludo's bragging and ribbing was mostly tongue-in-cheek. He was grinning the whole time, and when he was actually put on the spot, he seemed nervous and genuine. The challenge put him way outside his comfort zone, and I got the impression from the start that he didn't actually think he was going to win.

I was so proud of WILO BENET... He is an awesome chef and his food is amazing. If you ever come to PR and money is no object (because it's quite expensive for PR standards), you should book a reservation at his restaurant PIKAYO at the PR Museum of Art. It's lovely...

And tripletas are a very, very popular street food here... it's like the construction worker lunch of choice. He went for what he knows... and stayed true to his style of cooking.

I was hoping he would reach the champions round to see him compete again, but I was very proud to see him take second place. I was also proud to see the exposure given to teh San Jorge Children's Hospital...

I'm telling you... it's PRican week here in SE.

Seikel, Rick Bayless is a straight up dick? That's a remarkably hostile remark that seems to have no basis in fact.

I wrote about him for a magazine a few years ago, and he was nothing except kind and generous with his time.

hahaha ned flanders! spot on...

tongue was definitely the easiest of the four! but i think tripe is much more difficult than pig ear... not really a fair challenge - everyone should have had the same body part or ones that were of equivalent difficulty.