LOVED seeing Patrick O'Connell on your panel. I had the pleasure of working with chef O'Connell at the SF Chefs Festival in San Francisco last year, and he's a wonderful man who really knows his stuff. It also seemed so much more fitting to have a local DC-region legend as a judge than it does to have non-sequitirs like Michelle Bernstein. Enough of her sourpuss already!

Two comments:

First, Eric Ripert was wrong, and should have been told so, about a minestrone needing pasta. Every Italian cooking authority I know of starting with Marcella Hazan says that minestrone is a vegetable soup, which *may* contain pasta but often does not.

Second, Tom (and everybody else) glossed over Patrick O'Connell's remark that "everything" was characterized by "shocking rusticity," making it sound like the problem applied only to the carrots in the soup being cut too large. In the first place, a good rustic cook would know not to put big pieces of carrot in the soup, but more important, O'Connell put his finger on the main problem of the meal (and of the entire show this year IMO) only to have the comment glossed over harmlessly. These chefs are too often cooking like various levels of home cook starting, unfortunately, with the level of inept. Their food is lacking in sophistication and refinement, the ways they do manipulate food are arbitrary and pigeon-holed, and they have not made very much so far that I would care to eat.

It looks like the judges have been reduced to damning with faint praise because the show wouldn't sell if they were giving frank opinions. And it also looks like there was a conscious decision to pull back from last year's sterling line-up and bring in a cast of doofuses because, well because market research showed the network that bad cooking sells better than good cooking? You tell me.

I feel all food should be reviwed blind

I have been a Top Chef fan from the beginning. This season's chef's are the worse. I find myself picking up a book and reading while Top Chef is on. I have never done that and always looked forward to the show. Boring bunch of chef's and they dont appear to be that good.

For all the people griping about the inhumane treatment of the crabs. Sorry, but crabs are biologically just big bugs.

Do you say a prayer every time you swat a fly? Scream at someone using bug spray and starving all the poor mosquitoes flying around?

'nuff said.

HungryMan
What happened to Blogs from Gail and Team Top Chef? Miss reading what you have to say.

This season has the worst "chefs" to date. All they do is talk trash, act like little children and make beginner mistakes. It's obvious from the judges reactions week after week that nobody is impressed with any of the food. This is what happens when producers cast "chefs" for personality first and talent second.
If it weren't for Padma, Tom, Gail and Eric, I would not be watching this show at all.

I've watched Top Chef since Season 1. It peaked a few seasons ago and has been on a steady decline. The 'chefs' seem to be less and less talented/inspired and more amd more arrogant and unlikable. With that said, the only way to cook a Blue Crab is fresh and alive from the water. It shouldn't be frozen or numbed (are you for real?)I agree with Tony Bourdain, vegetarians are evil and generally an unhappy bunch. Minestrone should have pasta in it. Amanda really has to go next or there is no justice in the world. I kept waiting for Timothy Dean to wow me. He's a hometown boy and it just never happened. However, how hard is it to make a decent salad? Amateurish (thank you Padma) applies to most of this season's cast. At this point, I don't see an actual 'Top Chef' in the bunch.

I have been a faithful viewer since S-1. I used to watch TC eps over and over because of the excitement of the contest. However, it has been proven beyond a doubt that whoever Tom likes by the Finale wins. His rubric appears to be whoever has the Top STORY and/or Top MEAL. The current crop of cooks are less inspiring in their dishes. Their personalities have all been seen in prior seasons. The challenges are retreads as well. By now, the viewers have seen it all before (& done better). I no longer watch the reruns or sit through the entire first run eps. The Top Finalist will just have to please Top Tom. TC could stand for, "Top Crock"!

I too would like to see a season of Top Chef Play Offs with past favorite chefs. I know you did it for one show - I would like to see it for a season. Would the chefs want to come back for a do over? Pitting Sam (S-2) vs Kevin (S-6), Fabio (S-5) vs Elia (S-2) now that would be a contest. I would also like to have a Top Chef on Location wedged before the final four compete. It would be telling to see Kelly at her resturant and visit with Kenny's Juicy.
All of this complaining each week, don't these people have a fast forward or a remote that changes the channel. Do they just love to complain? I watched by chance the Food Networks take on Top Chef. The "Chefs" were going after having their own TV Cooking Show on the Food Network. Top Chef contestants cook rings around these people; I had to laugh when one "Chef" used canned crab meat to make her dish. The naysayers on this blog need to watch this show and they will appreciate what Bravo has with Top Chef. How long are we going to hear about the crabs? Didn't someone famous say "if you cannot stand the heat get out of the kitchen". Thank you for another entertaining challenge.

FloridaGal
I made Kelly's Srawberry Rhubarb Crisp. Using the food processor it quickly turned to what looked like cake frosting. I only used the pulse button a few times. Second time, I used two knives and cut the butter into the flour and used half of the vinegar. The vinegar takes over if you use the full amount. I like Betty Crocker's Crisp much better using brown sugar and oatmeal. The Roasted Beets were quite good. I brushed the beets with olive oil and when heating the beets I coated the pan. You really don't need all that oil. I would serve this for company.

I was rather shocked, like so many, at the utterly cruel or thoughtless way many of the chefs killed the crabs. Especially Ed, who baked them alive -- the clod couldn't take a few seconds to quickly kill them first? They likely feel some amount of pain, so any slightly decent person would give them the benefit of the doubt before roasting them alive. And he won for his dish -- disgusting.

That said, I'm glad the editors showed it. I'd rather know what really goes on in these situations than have it hidden from me. But what's with the animal-torture defenders here? Have you no arguments other than "that's how everyone does it", and ridiculing opponents as being soft? Wow, convincing...

And then to follow this challenge, where the judges laughingly chowed down on the tortured meals with nary a comment, directly with a challenge at a farm worshipfully praised for its "humane animal treatment". Mind-blowing. It would be hilarious if it weren't also sick.

This is the first season that I started watching Top Chef and am so completely disappointed. I don't like any of the chefs and don't care who wins. Sick of the "alpha male" pi$$ing contest going on. This was my last episode. I'll wait for the Top Chef Masters again and go back to Food Network.

I saw where someone stated that minestrone doesn't need pasta in it to be called that . There are parts of Italy that use rice rather than pasta but here in America , minestrone has pasta in it . The point is , regardless of the definition , Amanda doesn't know what she's talking about or doing in most cases . I think she gets made fun of a lot but it's because she makes herself an easy target . I don't have a problem with Tim going but Amanda and Stephen need to be next .

I'm allergic to crabs. I have a restaurant and have great regular costumers that come out to my restaurant, because I tailor their dining experience to accomadate their allerergies. What a challenge that would be to cook meals with specific allergy restrictions.

Please Tom don't tell me you are in Australia?? If so, catch the last Masterchef Australia Invention test that just aired... It was about the humane way to kill crustaceans.... Thus I found it very interesting to watch these "Top Chefs" killing their crabs then going to what Padma called a " totally certified organic and humane farm". This episode definitely showed a total lack of respect for the product.

I think a trip to the slaughter house is in order. If these people can't handle crabs maybe lamb and chickens next? Patrick O'Connell comments were concise. A welcome change.

I completely agree with Viewer71.

"... watching them chop up live and completely sensation-capable crabs? For heaven's sake, I've had to cut up live crustaceans for experiments, but at least we always anesthetized them before doing so! I don't see why these crabs couldn't have been in the freezer for a while (before the QF, if necessary). Just because it isn't a mammal doesn't mean we can't be humane."

Top Chef, why were these crabs not prepared in a more humane manner before the challenge? Giving live animals to chefs under severe time pressure guarantees this sort of treatment. Just because crabs are not as intelligent as humans (or don't communicate in the same way) doesn't mean they can't feel pain.

(And no, I'm not a vegetarian. I just think we should treat others the way we'd like to be treated.)

Top Chef is one of my favorite shows but this was appalling. Top Chef, what's up??

I'm sad that one of my favorite Bravo shows is falling so flat this season. None of the chefs are likable...the food all looks sub par to previous seasons. I don't even care who wins. Doubt I'll finish watching the season.

Find some better chefs to compete...dull, dull dull!

I didn't comment last week, but I want to say how very sad I am to see Arnold leave. I had him pegged as final 6, if not final 3. I didn't like that challenge at all and didn't like that both members of the same team got the boot. Lynn has domineering in a non-creative way and it is her fault the pasta wasn't cooked. Plus, she even had the gall to mock Arnold when he asked her to start cooking it. Bring Arnold back!

Wow-The whining about the crabs here is INCREDIBLE!! Such a disconnect from how food is prepared in the REAL WORLD is astounding!! If you love/are in the culinary world and prepare meat, "MAN UP" should be the mantra of the day.

Enough with the "inhumane treatment of crabs" mess. Crabs are boiled and hacked daily-always have been and will continue to be so. If you can't handle that, don't eat them....

This season is disappointing. Even Tom's blog seems less lively and he less interested in writing it.

Too much of the show is consumed by spectacle (the crab armageddon) and low-rent soap opera (Angelo's seduction techniques, especially).

Eric Ripert is mannered, elegant, and quite dull. He brings no spark to the table.

The producers (who influence the judges' decisions) made a horrendous gaffe sending Arnold home. His personality enlivened a dull stable of contestants.

Of the two presumed front-runners, Angelo and Kenny, neither have shown the top chef 'chops' and both tend to whine and sulk when they lose. Their rivalry is overblown and silly.

I don't care who wins yet I still watch from habit and because the show's underlying concept still works. Every show needs a bad year to provide its creators the impetus to try harder. In that sense, I hope things get worse...

In no other country are people so absurdly squeamish about watching of all things, a crab, die. If you went and read some actual scientific research, as opposed to the eminently authoritative and reputable "Amazing Beautiful Wondrous Things... Animals" blog, you would learn that despite what PETA would have you believe, crustaceans such as crabs and lobsters are able to reflexively react to stimuli, but are not able to feel pain due to their small brains, very simple nervous systems (which are comparable to that of insects), and their negligible amount of neurons that would be required to feel pain.

I can only guess that reason that so many viewers are having such a visceral reaction is because the food industry in this country keeps us so disconnected with where our food comes from. All most Americans eat nowadays is so processed as to bear no possible resemblance to its base ingredients. For a primer on this issue, I suggest Michael Pollan's "The Omnivore's Dilemma." Perhaps if we actually witnessed how our food is created, we would all think a little more about what we eat and have more respect for the sacrifices that were necessary to put that meal on the table, rather than just mindlessly gorge ourselves into even higher rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

On a (relatively) lighter note, I am appalled at how many fans seem to adore Kenny yet seethe at Angelo. I find it laughable that when Angelo goes out of his way to help other chefs, a trait that has been in general sorely lacking this season, he is chided as having some sort of sinister agenda. Kenny on the other hand, cannot even spare two seconds to apologize to his teammate for knocking over his cauliflower (The wind excuse? Take a closer look at that scene – my, those tablecloths are fluttering, and the branches on the tree behind them are swaying so dangerously the cameraman should be screaming “Heads Up!”). If I have to see Kenny puff out his chest, unfurl his plumage, and say, “I should be the alpha male” one more time, I am going to lose my lunch.

Tom, have you ever thought of using military chefs to compete against each other, i.e. Army vs Navy vs Air Force etc. If the military chef is good to be selected to cook for the US President they are good enough to be considered Top Chef.

Award: the branch of service to be recognize as top chef. same awards offered on the show minus the appliace and money goes toward military emergency relief fund. Each branch of service has this program to help military families to assist in financing air line tickets when soldiers are called from the American Red Cross when a family member out of state or country becomes terminally ill or dies and they don't have the funds to pay for the travel. To help pay for back rent or utilities.

Also, have your producers considered doing a international top chef competition?

My family love your show.

Brenda

HungryMan
Enjoyed this episode. I am from the Eastern Shore in MD and grew up eatting crabs. Give it a rest about how they killed the crabs. Have you ever gone fishing, pulling the hook out a fish, do you hear it scream?
Farm was a hard challenge because there was no team plan, they were fighting over food and space. Let's hear it for Kelly - she broke the dreaded dessert curse. If I was a judge it would have put her over the edge and she would have won.
Kenny did a bang up job cooking only a vegtable. Kenny proved what you have been saying from the get go - you can win if you cook one dish very well.
I wish you had a site where you could make suggestions to the Bravo producers. I would like to see a season of Chefs who almost made it. They would have to be Top Chef worthy as well as fan favorites. It could
include from S-1 Tiffani and Dave, S-2 Ellia and Sam, S-3 Casey and Brian, S-4 Richard and Antonia, S-5 Carla and Fabio,
S-6 Kevin and Jennifer as well as S-7 chefs.
My wife made Beef Short Ribs taking ingrediants from both dishes. She did it in the crock pot - they were a winner.
Thanks again for fine entertainment. Hey people please understand that this is Bravo not the Food Channel. Would you watch Bethenny Gets Married to plan your wedding? Top Chef is an entertainment show that has the bonus of cooking tips and recipes. Chill!

Tom, what is going on?. Did Bravo decided that all its shows have to be just about drama?. The contestants are boring and their dishes don't look attractive, nor to the level of a Chef. The judges seem uninterested and the editing is aweful.

...and this episode was particularly hard to watch. Did we really have to watch live crabs being seasoned and into the oven?, and then the elimination challenge is in a 'humane' farm?.

I've watched Top Chef since season 1 and something doesn't make sense at all. We already had 5 episodes and I haven't seen anybody who truly shines or inspires. Ego and drama. Something is wrong.

Good grief. Here are some simple rules I live by:

1. I'll eat anything that doesn't eat me first.

2. I don't eat anything I wouldn't be willing to kill myself. (And yes, I have. Grew up on a farm. Killed things. Ate them. Have also caught fish and eaten them. Sometimes alive. Best thing I ever ate EVER. Put that in your Peta Pipe and smoke it.)

3. I wouldn't eat chopped up cauliflower & rice that fell in a cow pasture. Nor would I rinse it with a garden hose and eat it. Unless it was going to eat me first.

Bravo Top Chef didnt do Ayrshire Farm justice at all! Such a shame cause its a beautiful place. Wasn't impress with the beginning at all and was in shock that they would show this. Ayrshire Farm is a certified humane farm & they show the most awful way of killing crabs with a frickin meat cleaver or literally pulling them apart with such a sense of anger and rage. I had to stop watching till they got done with mutilating the crabs.

They only showed the judges & didn't speak to any of the other invited guests like they do in previous episodes.
Nice shots of the cattle, horses, meat/vegetables that are grown there.

I think they needed to redo the editing. You guys missed the mark on this one. No effort at all put into this show. Come on your losing your touch!

I've had gardens and belong to CSAs, and have yet to see an eggplant in sweater weather or in season with asparagus. When was this taped? I've also caught/boiled/steamed my fair share of seafood, but what I saw on this show was just wrong. Unprofessional. Ditto the cooking. Ditto all the "extra" fluff you think we want to watch.

Just wanted to respond to the person who thought not using the cauliflower was a waste of good food. First that cauliflower was not sitting in that bowl in flowerettes it was pretty much shaved was probably beyond saving unless there was a colander there with very little holes but then worms (parasites) you can get from animal droppings, would probably not wash out either. (Try watching the tv show monsters inside me. . . shudder.

Second I doubt the hogs, cows, chicks are wandering in the field where the veggies are currently growing.

Third, it probably was fed to the said hogs, cows and chickens so probably did not go to waste.

Need just a tad less tunnel vision peeps.

Now I just need to try to get past the horror of seeing those crabs chopped, baked, pulled apart while alive and moving. Other than that loved the episode.

Wasn't there a similiar episode a few seasons ago (where the chefs went to an "organic" farm and cooked for the farmers?).

I am glad that this season has more team challenges - in the business world (especially if you work in Corporate America), you have to deal with people and their various personalities every single day whether you like them or not. I always cringe when I hear the chefs say "I am used to being the BOSS". Well, even bosses have to work in an environment that is sometimes hostile.

It is hard to say who is the standout cook this season (last season it was pretty apparent from the beginning that the Valigio Bros would be semi finalists). I think Angelo has an obnoxious personality and I wish I could tell Tamesha to watch her back. I have a feeling that he is being friendly with her because she is young and vunerable.

I've read several blogs and comments about the cauliflower incident. Everyone seems to feel that not going forward with this vegetable was right because--'it had been in the dirt with bugs and cow poo' as one person wrote. Where do you suppose this cauliflower was less than 24 hours ago? It was in the ground (dirt) with manure around it and all sorts of bugs crawling around and in it. Are we really this disconnected to how our food is produced? Granted, if there wasn't any way to wash off the fallen cauliflower with fresh water (even if it was water from a hose) then I suppose I can understand not using it But I think there was water for boiling; so there must have been some supply of water. The cauliflower could have been rinsed off and used. This was an unnecessary waste of good food and a sad lack of understanding of how our most basic of foods is produced.

I understand that boiling crabs alive is a common way of preparing them (and don't particularly care for that either--I don't understand where the assertion that crustaceans can't feel pain comes from. They have a brain and a nervous system, folks).

However, watching them chop up live and completely sensation-capable crabs? For heaven's sake, I've had to cut up live crustaceans for experiments, but at least we always anesthetized them before doing so! I don't see why these crabs couldn't have been in the freezer for a while (before the QF, if necessary). Just because it isn't a mammal doesn't mean we can't be humane.

Are these viewers for real? Crabs are basically large water insects. I suppose you just let spiders run all over your houses. What? You smack them with a newspaper or step on them? The only difference is, crabs are bigger and you need a mallet. For pete's sake. Get real people. I suppose you cringe when the chefs use a lemon zester or a vegetable peeler. Yeesh.

I agree about the animal torture. I had to turn away from watching these poor creatures being hacked, steamed, skewered and crushed to death.

Yes, that's the real world in cooking, but the director seems to get a little too much delight in showing us all the gory details. Is that really what people want? If so, how sad and disturbing.

To poster BarbiQ and others: There is no "humane" way to eat an animal. Would YOU like to be pierced with a screwdriver? Sure, it might be a less agonizing death than baking you alive, but it's still a barbaric way to die. Have some empathy, people! There's nothing humane about eating animals when other choices are available.

I understand that killing animals for food tends to be inhumane no matter how you go about it, but the oven bit was just ridiculous. Crabs may not be as cute and cuddly as kittens, but if we can be outraged when a kid kills a kitten with an oven, I'd expect the same for any other living creature.

That said, I don't know if the people in charge of selecting and cutting clips have changed since last season, but this season has been SUB PAR:

- I've noticed lately several judges are left out of the final edition of the Quickfire. TBH, I'd rather see every single judge's creation (good or bad) than what has been an overemphasis on the "human element".

- Editing seems very uneven. I don't remember ever having to PAUSE the episode repeatedly last season during each dish's captioned close-up. Even one additional second or god forbid half a second more per dish would have allowed the audience to comfortably compare the dish's title to the presentation. Right now, it constantly feels abrupt and rushed, but it's clear from all the unneeded bits that there's more than enough time to go around.

- Same during the Judge's Table. It seems TC is more concerned with exposing each chef's character flaws than entertaining the audience. When the judges talk about each dish, it would be a good time to offer a quick clip to refresh our memories rather than staying focused on the faces made stony by receiving criticism. Combined with the shortened clips earlier and the lack of standout dishes, this is an obvious flaw to anyone who isn't already familiar with each dish via filming.

- I second everyone's complaint about this being a very unpleasant group of chefs to watch. Angelo and Kenny are both over-the-top egotistical (though it confuses me why Kenny is so well-liked, what with his "I am the alpha male" routine and the way he turtled during the school lunch challenge). Ed seems nice at first but he got a lot of egg on his face when it was him, not Alex, who screwed up. Tiffany is constantly two-faced with her "team effort" vs "me me me" routine. And Tim... I'm glad Tim went home. He seems to think too highly of himself, and his comment about soy sauce (which he pronounced in a jeering "su-ee" way) seemed to knock Asian-styled cuisine. Actually, the only truly likable chef seems to be Andrea, if only because she rarely gets any face-time. Kelly and Kevin would be the next best, if only because Kelly is always focused on the task at hand, and Kevin is always focused on his poor contributions. Bryan and Jen would be utter saints this season, while Michael V would actually be likable as well.

I can't stand reading idiotic comments from ignorant people who have no idea what goes on in a kitchen. If you don't like watching live seafood getting cleaned and cooked, then DON'T WATCH A COMPETITIVE COOKING SHOW, MORONS!!

People who whine and moan about how eating meat is bad or how the animals aren't dealt with humanely: This show is NOT FOR YOU. You do not get to be a Foodie if you aren't interested in how food gets to your plate, period. This is how it works, it's reality. If you find it hard to watch, then DON'T. Vegetarianism is fine, it's a perfectly acceptable dietary choice. But if seeing blood makes your skin crawl, or watching live seafood die in the kitchen makes you cry, then you obviously should not be watching the show! If you can't stand the sight of blood, would you watch a live surgery being performed?

Go watch Animal Planet or some cartoons or something, and leave us Foodies alone!

Minestrone does not need pasta in it to be called minestrone.

FloridaGal

Tom this has bothered me since Season Two. When Sam was sent home for not cooking, You said this is a cooking contest. And yet we continue to see chefs win at both the quickfire and the elimination challenge who have not "cooked with heat" their dish. If I were Sam I would asked for a do-over. When Jennifer, S-6. won the first quickfire without cooking her seafood, I bet Sam was yelling at the TV. Since she won some big bucks, it made it harder to swallow. I think it should be clearing stated, you can win without "cooking with heat" or you must use heat. Fair is fair.
I feel so much better just venting.

FloridaGal
Another great challenge. I think Ed should have stepped up and organized the team. He had nothing to lose. I am a huge Team Kenny fan, pleased that he won. Anytime he beats Angelo is fine for me. Yet, I think Kelly deserved more than just kudos. She broke the curse with both desserts and having an add on dish. I am glad that Kevin is not a hitchhicker, riding on Kennys' talent. Andrea has not really wowed me. OK she can cook meat. In her bio, short ribs were her signature dish. What is happening with Angelo and Tameshia? Is this attention just to get his ego stroked, since Tameshia is both young and inexperienced. I would like to see Kenny and Kelly team up as well as Ed and Tiffany - if Ed can think with him upstairs head. Maybe Ed and Tameshia. I made gnudi for dinner with brown butter. Major YUM. They melt in your mouth, little puffs of softness. As for filming in VA for the DC Top Chef, I lived in Norther Va for 30 years and I considered myself in the DC area. Same goes for the southeastern part of MD. As far as Tim leaving it was going to happen, just like it will with Stephen, I call him Sad Stephen who made a Sad Salad.

Yes, that whole crab thing was very uunpleasant. I don't care it that IS the way they are handled by cooks/chefs...I don't want to have to see it. At the very least don't go on showing these preparations for a prolonged period of time. It's like the director wasn't satisfied until he showed just how many forms of death could be inflicted on those creatures. Next you'll be showing us chickens being slaughtered. Arghhhh!!!
I also agree with the earlier post that the mix of contestants this season is particularly unpleasant. There IS too much emphasis on the conflict and this whole "alpha male" stuff is a bunch of crap. I love the ladies sitting around yawning, staring off into space and rolling their eyes during the constant male arguing. You go GIRLS!!!

Tom, I just read your blog about the school lunch episode and the need to reform Federal farm subsidies. You made a reference to the 2012 farm bill, which is the next that will be passed by the Congress, but you should know that the 2012 bill is being worked on right now. In fact, the House Agricultural Committee is soliciting views from the public in advance of preparing their draft. So for those of you who feel strongly about reconfiguring the subsidies to reward the production and consumption of unprocessed, nutritious food (as well as those of you who feel strongly about rewarding the production and consumption of livestock who are raised and slaughtered humanely and aren't pumped full of non-therapeutic antibiotics) should go to the Committee's website and make your views known. The policies will never change as long as the major corporate agricultural companies have such a stranglehold on USDA and the agricultural oversight entities in the Congress--alternate viewpoints need to be heard!

Delighted to see Patrick O'Connell as a guest judge - a prince of a guy and king of farm to table culinary magic. The Elimination Challenge was brilliantly inspired and a fitting tribute to his influence.

How disappointing then that zero airtime was alloted to highlight the incredible bounty and beauty of Virginia and O'Connell's art of delivering an unforgettable culinary experience.

The quick glimpse of the ingredients provided by Ayrshire Farm left no question that the chefs had no worries in that area at all. That's where the real contrast and drama should have unfolded. Only wish there was more focus on the food and MUCH less of the uneventful "personal" filler which took too much time away what should have been the most fascinating "Top Chef" episode ever.

My comments are for the show in general.

This is pne of my favorint BRAVO shows and I never miss a week , however I am upset over the lack of basic hygiene in all of the BRAVO kitchens. It is yucky to see all of you eating food sprinkled with flop sweat and hair on every episode. I have seen drops of sweat drip from the noses of many of the men and I know that the flowing hair of some of the women ends up on your plates whether you see it or not.

I have managed a few kitchens during the early part of my working life and the health department ALWAYS required kitchen staff to wear headgear of some sort to stop fallout from the scalp. Either chef’s hats (very appropriate for this show since your contestants are supposedly of the chef caliber) or at least caps to catch some of the sweat and prevent the hair from falling into the food you eat.

Please accept these comments in the spirit of helpfulness. I know you are a superb chef and run a tight ship in your own establishments and would like to see this in the BRAVO kitchens as well

Sincerely

Dody Hayes

If you put a Crab straight into boiling water it will shed its legs and claws and it does suffer.
Not killing the Crab makes the meat tough and retains too much water in the shell.
While it is true that fish in general probably suffer more pain in their natural environment, being eaten alive for example, we don't need to add to it.
Killing a Crab is very easy, first turn it onto it's back with it's legs upward. Underneath towards the back of the shell you will see a small pointed flap, lift this flap and you will find a small hole in the shell. Using a small screwdriver pierce down through this hole, with a sharp tap on the top of the screwdriver, until you feel it hit the other side of the shell. Move the handle of the screwdriver sharply towards the back of the shell then withdraw it. Finally turn the Crab right side up and allow it to drain.

The methods that the chefs used to butcher those crabs did not "Honor" the food. Shameful Top Chef!

When was this episode filmed? I was surprised to see peppers and eggplants available in what appears to be March or April.

Add me to the list of viewers who disagree strongly with this week's Quickfire. I love Top Chef, but had a hard time watching even the Elimination Challenge after such a sight. As a vegetarian, I often find it frustrating that the chefs treat any component other than meat as second-class, but this Quickfire was on another level entirely. To watch people season live crabs--as if they can't even see the animals as anything but food--was just as disturbing as watching the animals being ruthlessly butchered for a few small, heavily criticized bites.

Terrible season......sorry you and Padma had to go through this, Tom.

Did you guys really have to show close ups of the crabs being seasoned while still alive and being put into an oven while alive. Not to mention the random hacking of the live crabs. It was definetly not cool. Their are actually humane ways to go about it. Why were they not forced to do it the humane way, especially considering you are showing it to me and the next part of the episode takes place on a humane farm. It's almost ironic.