I found it funny that all the contestants knew who Joe Jonas was except for Dale T. — who thought the teen heartthrob was a pastry chef. One of the more enjoyable moments of the episode was when a straight-faced Joe announced the chefs would have only 45 seconds for the quickfire challenge. He quickly copped to the prank, but for a second, the chefs were very, very worried.
The elimination challenge involved the chefs cooking a breakfast for kids staying over at the Museum of Natural History. One team’s inspiration was the museum’s T-Rex skeleton, so they had to cook with just meat products. The other team’s inspiration was the Brontosaurus skeleton, so they could only work with fruits and vegetables. I’m not sure if anyone else noticed it, but I almost immediately caught it: the Brontosaurus never actually existed. Sure, the name is still used as a synonym for the Apatosaurus, but the episode is set in a history museum, where kids are supposed to be learning and this feels like a stupid mistake on the producers’ part. SCIENCEfail.
Despite the irking error, I knew the smart choice would be the Brontosaurus; vegetarians avoid using meat all the time, but it’s much harder to use only meat in a dish and nothing else. The T-Rex team couldn’t use herbs or even flour and their choice (thanks to the quickfire win) was ultimately their downfall.
Things got super interesting (and awkward) when the losers went to judge’s table. I couldn’t believe how aggressive and even offensive Jennifer acted towards the judges. I understand wanting to defend your food, but outwardly calling the judges stupid seems really out of line. She was sent home, but it was clear that her bland bacon and egg white dish was her undoing, not her mouth. And then she literally cursed herself off the show. I’ve never seen a Top Chef episode end with so much bleeping. While baking Christmas cookies with my mom this past weekend, we chatted about this new season and she complained about the egos of these All-Stars. After Fabio’s temper tantrum last week, I’m inclined to agree with her.
Clacked by Katie Schenkel 
on Dec 09, 2010 @ 10:00 EST5EDT
Actually Joe said they had 30 seconds for the quick fire. The best part of that was that he actually made Padma laugh!
I don’t know what was up with Jen. She was my favorite on her season until she started to fall apart. Maybe she felt coming into this season extra aggressive would balance her out as she got further into the competition if she started falling apart again. There’s defending your dish and there’s being an ass. Unfortunately, she was just being an ass.
Actually I think the egos are fine – they are fantastic chefs and if you don’t have an ego, then you might as well be a sou-chef.
As for the judges’ decision – it shows from the footage that they weren’t sure themselves – with Tom looking down, obviously they knew they made a wrong choice and were second guessing themselves. We need better people to judge the All Stars, not some unmemorable first season host.
I think the chefs should let their food do the talking. Their egos just get in the way. That’s why I like Richard and Carla – they go about their business and cook amazing food.