Ah! Thanks, Jess!

Don't you think the producers would have kept Fabio? If anything, I bet Tom was arguing based on the season of cooking, not just the one meal, which they aren't supposed to do still, right?

Don't they need a villain at this point? Stefan brings the villainy.

Exactly. And, much as I love Fabio, I think that Stefan is the better chef, especially if he brings his A game. His cockiness will be his undoing. But, he's been called on it, so maybe he'll step up in the finale.

Aww, Fabio!

But I'm not shocked at the results. I have real hope for Carla; she's really peaking at the right time. I would have loved to see Stefan head home right before the finale just to see the expression on his face, but his season-wide food probably was better than Fabio's. Yeah, I think they say they're not supposed to judge on the whole season, but you know they do.

Jeff had a real shot, which would have knocked out both Fabio & Stefan. I was throwing out configurations for D. Would it be worth it to get rid of both Stefan & Hosea if you had to have Jeff back? A: No.

Hee. Fabio will definitely win fan favorite. He's adorable. And we were saying, boy needs to get his own show, with his personality.

So. It's all about Carla for me now!

I like that Carla is showing terrific range. Last week's green egg and ham had humor and apparently great flavor, we've seen her pull out her classic French technique, and now she nails Cajun cooking.

Whereas Fabio can do wonderful Italian, but when he was asked to do Cajun, he does an Italianized version of Cajun--not what they asked for. And that lameass defense of his drink was stupid. "Well, I like sweet, so that's what I served." No, you don't do overly sweet drinks at a spicy-food dinner, no matter what you personally like!

Speaking of the drinks, I liked Carla's option of a light and refreshing non-alcoholic beverage instead. Yes, that's what she prefers herself, but she made it suit the cuisine being served instead of fighting against it.

Oh, totally. I loved that Emeril was not sold on the idea, but loved the drink itself. I thought it was a huge risk on her part, but she had a position and stood by it, and really made it work.

Since she doesn't drink alcohol herself, I think it was really smart of her not to attempt a mixed drink she couldn't taste herself. By making a soft drink, she maintained control over the flavors.

Actually, they were asked to do Creole (New Orleans), not Cajun (Lafayette), cooking. They both use roux, but, put simply, Cajun is more country cooking (fried catfish, gumbo) and Creole is fancier. The oyster stew that Carla did fit the description of Creole much more than some of the others.

ETA: Bummed about Fabio going home and not Stefan, but I really think the "bring back eliminated people" trick is unfair, so I'm happy Jeff didn't stay, even if his food deserved a place. I'm glad he got to go out on a more positive note.

Actually, they were asked to do Creole (New Orleans), not Cajun (Lafayette), cooking. They both use roux, but, put simply, Cajun is more country cooking (fried catfish, gumbo) and Creole is fancier.

The fact that Emeril explained this to the chefs before they started cooking and Hosea immediately started blathering on about how he wants to do something simple and home-style and full of soul made me want to tear my hair out. HE MUST GO HOME.

The fact that Emeril explained this to the chefs before they started cooking

Did he? I might have missed it, I was fast-forwarding a lot to get through it before having to leave for work. Good to hear it. Since LSU is our biggest client, I have had to learn to be careful about that distinction.

Yeah, he said something to the effect of "Creole is the city version of Cajun - it's more refined and not as heavy." And then served them a 5-star Creole dinner at his restaurant to demonstrate. And Hosea STILL DID NOT GET IT.