I love ATK, I just wish they had more new episodes.

Oh, no! I adore Mario Batali. I cook his stuff all the time and it's flawless without fail.

I loved the Two Fat Ladies, too. That was some good cooking.

Hung's little presentation is infinitely amusing to me. I don't know when that'll stop being funny. The SO just called from the other room to see if I was okay, if I was laughing or crying.

CJ cracking up over it was the funniest bit. I heart the Giant. (I'm also glad he was able to stand upright in the boat challenge. I was a little worried about him.)

I've heard from too many people in the restaurant industry that Batali is an asshat when he's not on TV to be upset about his departure. By all accounts, he treats his staff like crap.

I'm guessing the other chef to leave (if that rumor is true) will be Morimoto -- he's been pretty bored with this gig for a while.

I'm also guessing/hoping that the new chef(s) will come from outside FN.

(And I haven't watched the most recent TC yet.)

Of the contestants on the Next Iron Chef show (can't remember who they all are, but I'm sure it was a sumi link here), I think I had only heard of one, so odds are good.

Edit: OK, I've seen two of them on FN (Sanchez and Symon) [link]

Frankly? I'm tired of the same chefs being on ICA. I'd be more likely to start watching again with some new blood.

Re: Tim Gunn -- OMG, I loathe the life stylist. So full of crap! But, I suppose if it helped her, it was worth it.

I agree, Vortex -- on both counts. But I hope that they don't do that again. Also, I didn't like the gift of the ring. It just felt wrong to me.

Yeah, I agree with Vortex and Sumi. Overall the show bugged. I liked Veronica and Tim, and I even thought the two of them were appealing together. I loved the lingerie lady.

But first off, she did not look that bad at first! The stuff she wore was long, maybe a little bit tight, but she looked fine. That dress did not fit her bust, was too long, and maybe a bad print, but wasn't horrifying.

What was really, really illustrative was that when she went to Catherine Malandrino, every single dress looked absolutely fabulous. Because they're incredibly expensive dresses! (And they were probably pinned. They weren't exactly getting the same consideration from Scoop.)

So, the moral of the show is: you are finally most yourself when two people tell you you look horrible in what you like wearing, and you put on a designer dress. Bravo!

ETA: well, not that expensive anymore. I guess Malandrino is cheaper than I ever knew. [link]

I guess tonight's episode is different from the one they showed last night?

Umm, it was a woman named Rebecca Pannino (?) - was that who it was on Wednesday?

I didn't have the same negative reaction to the show that bonbon did. I mean, I disliked what I disliked but I thought that moral of the session at Catherine Malandrino was that even the most amazing dresses can be wrong for your particular body -- i.e., that you always have to try lots of stuff on until you know what works for you.