Spike's last-ditch "It was an honor" to the guest judge after he snarked about the frozen scallops was just so AssHat Spike, it wasn't even funny.

ugh, yes. Although it was funny when he got back to the waiting room and was like, "I can't believe I said the thing about the walk-in!" dumbass.

The time off should be after the next elimination (if it's not that sourfaced bitch I'm going to ...throw some sort of fit), right? Between that and the finale? But Lisa's hair was totally different in the previews.

No, the "quickfire" elimination is always the first part of the finale.

Of Richard, Antonia and Stephanie, I actually think it's Richard who works least well under pressure,

I got the impression that Richard's problems in the last few episodes were more because he was just incredibly tired, and didn't do as well with that as some of the others. I do worry about Stephanie in a quickfire elimination though, because that seems to be a weak spot for her.

Wait the TC finale is in Puerto Rico? When? Did it already happen?

Yes, it happened earlier this spring.

what a bummer- something cool happens where I live and I missed it. Interesting choice of location. I find the food to be very heavy and starchy.

Tom adds an interesting insight on his blog:

Rick Tramonto took Spike to task over this, which brought on Spike’s feisty reply, “With all due respect, the scallops were in your walk-in.” My heart sunk when I heard this because I’ve known Rick for years and can say with certainty he doesn’t use frozen seafood in his restaurant. Along with the high-end steaks they had provided for the show, Allen Bros. had included a variety of other products to round out the restaurant’s existing stock, including frozen scallops, which is how they came to be in Tramonto’s walk-in. I learned later that Rick knew this when we taped the show, but chose not to make a federal case out of it. But as a colleague and fan of Rick’s, I feel it’s important to set the record straight.

And it makes a lot of sense that the food that night was provided by a sponsor, and not by Tramonto. But still, the look on Tom's face when Spike said that was priceless. I don't think he's ever wanted to punch a cheftestant more.

Oh, and he also says (pretty much) that he would have eliminated Lisa not Dale last week.

Which means they come back fresh: No frazzle, no exhaustion. And for some, there's a possibility that it might dull their edge some, although I have no reason to believe that anyone in particular is in danger of that. (Although I do think Antonia and Stephanie benefited from endurance -- Stephanie hit a wall and then caught her second wind, Antonia just kept getting better as it went on. I suspect she's someone who buckles down more depending on the pressure.)

Also, sometimes it seems like the time off causes some cheftestants to forget how to work under the TC kitchen pressures. And it could possibly happen to any of them.

Or they'll learn too much in the time off, and want to use all of it, without being able to make a coherent plan (I'm looking at you, Casey).

God, I hated seeing Ilan again. And I cannot believe he brought up the head-shaving. Asshat.