Now I'm not naive -- it seemed clear that Elia was alluding to other behavior that may have transpired. Marcel, as has been pointed out ad nauseum -- rubs people the wrong way. He's quick to needle, pontificate or toss out unwelcome comments that may have been better left unsaid. He's fairly uncompromising in his vision, and views mundane ideas with contempt. All of this makes the guy more of a social maladroit than a villain. Jokes, insults, and tough banter are part of every kitchen I've ever been in, and most people just let it go. My sense is that by this point, Marcel had already tipped the scales of his competitor's tolerance so far away that anything he said or did, regardless of how harmless, was going to be interpreted badly by the other three.