Hello, everyone. First off I would like to apologize for my failure to blog last week. I was in Hawaii with Elia cooking various events at the Hilton Waikoloa Village for their 13th Annual Dolphin Days.

Fortunately for me, I was able to bring my own sous chefs with me, and we were sure to pack the Kona Kampachi this time. Ha! Everything went very well, and I have been invited back to do it all again next year.

That having been said, I should let you know that, due to travel, I will be unavailable to blog for a short period again in the near future. I am going fishing in Alaska for three straight weeks and will be unable to write about the show during that time. Finally, before I get to the episode, I would like to make a disclaimer that I was not an English major -- I am a cook. So, for all of those people who want to tear me apart when I conjugate a verb incorrectly, just remember that if we were in a kitchen, I might be able to correct you on thing or two.

Considering I didn't get the chance to write about last week's episode, I would like to briefly recap what I thought about it. In regards to the Quickfire: I understand that the Season Three contestants had just arrived and were getting their introductions out of the way, but come on -- how surprised could they have been when they were confronted with the amuse bouche challenge? I mean after all, this is "Top Chef" and not "Top Social Butterfly."