I don't know that I've ever enjoyed an episode of the show any more than the last one...budding stars (mostly in their own eyes) called upon to cook for a sample of the sort of folks who actually pay for dinner themselves.

I'm not sure what the challenge proved, although the viewer emerges with the impression that men cook better for women, than do women for men - commercially, at least. The men's team did seem to adapt to regimentation and coordination a little better, although perhaps the viewer impression that sexual orientation was less an issue among the men had to do with editing.

The comments by the announced lesbian were offensive and as blatantly sexist as those of a chauvinist wife-beating male. Not only would she be likely to go broke running a restaurant, she would grow broke gracelessly.

Tattoos are fine, as long as not overly visible in a chef's jacket, but lip piercings or black nail polish - or almost any nail polish - tend to diminish one's visible credibility as a chef.

Did any of the judges comment on the brisket? A great dish of low repute among those for whom food is cuisine, not lunch or dinner, the one fleeting image was pretty unattractive, revealing a lack of careful trimming prior to cooking or before serving. I regularly eat in roadside joints which serve barbecued brisket on butcher paper with naught but onions, pickles, light bread and a bowl drippings sauce - no utensils - yet trim brisket artfully as a matter of course.

I expect we'll have some anger, bitterness and a loud confrontation or two in the weeks ahead. I'd wish that the two brothers would stick around for a while. Competing with each other, they've formulated a set of "rules" for the game. For them, playing harder replaces spite and anger (at least at this point). I suspect that a number of the other contestants have far less ability to comprehend that they are competing for the camera and the judges, not for their own self-gratification.