Haha, so true- always the scene of anguish, pain and recrimination!

You didn't tell us the ending, but telling us about the challenges in such detail, and the results from the arrogant guy, is just as bad. Please don't do this again.

I don't know if you're kidding or not, but an emulsion is a creamy dressing based on egg yolks, oil and vinegar. Think mayonnaise, Caesar, blue cheese, ranch, etc. A vinaigrette is without the egg blending--think Italian or Greek dressing. Technically, the Italian guy is right.

And this Rainbow Coalition thing is getting old and is definitely artificial on the part of Bravo to keep up its Queer Quotient. Not only does it tend to become a distraction but you actually have to go out of your way to find three gay male chefs. In ten years in kitchens I've never met any man who admitted he was gay (although lesbians are becoming more common). The many gay men I do know tend to be waiters, bar staff or managers.

An emulsion is any mixture of two or more immiscible liquids. It has nothing to do with whether eggs are involved. For example, milk is an emulsion of water and fat.

After the non-stop election coverage, I'm thrilled that Top Chef is on again. I think that one of the big reasons that the show is a success is Tom - love his personality and comments - and trying to guess who he likes and doesn't like. But what does Padma add to the show? I assume she's there for supposed eye candy - but her clothes keep getting tighter each season; maybe she should layoff testing some of the dishes.

If one uses mustard (more than just a little for flavor), the end result is a vinaigrette that is also an emulsion.

Last season when she walked into the wedding reception in that skin tight red dress I thought, "She's every bride's nightmare."

Heather - If you have to ask what Padma adds to the show, then you aren't watching the same show as I do. She is very knowledgeable about food, always gives desriptive and detailed comments in judging, even being a non-professional, and it seems to me she has a pretty good palette. Also the look on her face when she tastes something delicious...well...she is H.O.T., hot!

Nothing is hotter than a gorgeous ex-model getting off on some good bacon icecream with emulsified lemon curd. (I don't know, just made that up.) And I'm a straight girl.

Not heather, sunspar. Thats what I get for not reading the comments (or the article close enough.)

I love Padma, though. As much as I love Tom Colichio (even with his colicky-looking facial gestures).

I loved him, but I respect his reason for bowing out (i.e. they've completely sold out to corporate sponsors.) The best line I heard him say was to tell someone that their lobster had the consistency of "boiled doll's head", and to write in a blog post about watching Ted taste a piece of salmon that was so bad "he jerked back in his seat like he'd been harpooned".

I remember the prize for one of the Quickfire comps was a night out on the booze with Tony -- probably better than winning in the elimination round!

Bummer, he was one of my favorite guest judges.

I like Padma, she's a much better host than the person they had the first season and I think she brings the untrained eater's perspective to the show. Tom is a chef, Gail is editor of Food & Wine and the guest judge is usually a chef.

Prester, yes, technically an emulsion is a chemical mixture of fat, acid and a binder, generally protein. I don't know that milk is an emulsion, but if it is, it's because of the protein bonds; as you know, fat and water won't mix without an agent.

As far as eggs go, the topic was vinagrettes and therefore salad dressings, which require egg yolks (the natural blend of fat and proteins) as the bonding agent.

Rational reasons for watching a cooking show are base curiosity about cooking, or trying to learn how to cook better in your own life. From what I've seen of this, and Iron Chef and Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares, you don't get either from cooking shows.

In the distant past of a few decades, when weekday noon newscasts were aimed more towards "home economics" than car crashes and rapes, there were often cooking experts. Where I live on Thursdays, the big day for the food sections of the newspaper, the paper's columnist would make one of the featured items. Cross-promotion (or "log rolling") it may have been, but you learned something useful. And even the ladies who didn't cook at least appreciated the processes and the care shown in food preparation.

On modern cooking shows, all you see are egotistical bastards and wincing, crying victims. In other words, the soap opera crap that you see on every "reality" show. Oh, not to mention that very little prepared on these shows is food that normal people would eat, unless they were rich, snooty and more interested in prestige than digestion.

If you learn anything from these shows, it's that cooking is a vicious process worse than human sacrifice and slaughtering the family cat. You'd be better going to a painless place like McDonald's than go to one of these fascist restaurants, or worse, trying to become a "great chef" and joining the Schultzstaffel yourself by trying to cook.

How are they on Top Chef going to have a challenge inspired by NYC neighborhoods and not include one of the most famous neighborhoods in NYC...Harlem?!! Very disappointing, Top Chef!

Actually, I've learned quite a bit from watching Top Chef. I've learned how to be more creative in my own cooking, as well as learned how to make a sauce from any three ingredients I have lying around my kitchen as long as I have an acid, base and aromatic. I've also learned quite a bit about presentation as the last party I presented appetizers for all of the guests raved at how excellent it looked and tasted and joked that I should cater my cousins wedding.

I'm must less reliant on recipes as I was in the past and from watching them cook proteins I've been able to make perfect steaks, juicy chickens and not overdone or dried out seafood which was something I was prone to in the past. I've also seen how to cut my food better.

As for what normal people eat, well normal people eat a lot more food stuffs when they are exposed to them and know what to cook them with. With the introduction of Food Network and other shows people are becoming more familiar with other cultures food and in turn supermarkets are stocking a much greater variety of products. McDonalds as a suggestion, oh gross, I can make a much tastier and healful meal for 6 dollars than any mccrap meal.

As for Ramsey's show, I don't like it as I do agree that it's nothing but crying and screaming and you can't learn anything about how to cook from watching.