Master Chef - Ben (his silly hats aside) seems to be finding his pace. I like watching him do well, he seems so enthusiastic. And I was kind of relieved when they announced who was leaving (am I allowed to say who?) - it was someone who seemed to be floundering.

I'm not surprised, although I did think it was going to be the first person they talked about.

That's what I thought - and, obviously, she did as well. But I think she's too entertaining (seriously - she's out-cussing Ramsey!) to let go before they have to.

I think since I just watched it on Hulu names are fair game. I like her because she's spunky and she may be a bit on the weepy side, but at least she never seems to give up.

I hope that Suzy gets an attitude adjustment fast, I know she's skilled but her ego is almost as bad as Max's. and speaking of Max, I noticed the show didn't waste any time in portraying someone as the new "villain".

Esther has a blog with some behind the scenes info [link]

I was feeling sorry for Esther - she was looking like the one person in the room who wasn't "getting it".

If it's aired, it's fair game. Although I might be reticent about naming the ultimate winner of something just as it's aired on the East Coast, just as a favor.

Esther put me in mind of TAR-style killer fatigue - she just seemed done, like she had used up her reserves and wasn't likely to get that groove back.

That's it exactly. It's like she got out of her groove and couldn't get back in. I'm relieved for her - I think she knew something was off and couldn't figure out how to fix it.

On the other side, it's fun watching Ben get into his groove. I missed the first few episodes, so I don't quite get his hat thing.

I think it's just his thing.

On her blog Esther said she'd made the puff pastry before and when started having problems it became an issue of proving to Ramsey that she could actually make it. So she kept after it instead of switching gears.

But then the filling went wrong as well.