Following a holiday hiatus from new eps of “Top Chef” (and an episode where no one was eliminated) the show was back in full force last night.

The Quickfire Challenge (with guest judge Jean-Christophe Novelli) was to prepare a “sweet treat” using only non-sugar ingredients. The challenge, sponsored by Diet Dr. Pepper, featured lots of recipes sweetened with the beverage. Ew. After a series of harsh critiques from the guest judge, Radhika won immunity.

For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were told that Toby Young, writer of the book “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” (which I’m currently muddling through) would be replacing Gail as the permanent judge this season. The judging for this challenge would be blind – there would be no limits – oh, and two people would be packing their knives for elimination.

The chefs cooked in two groups, with the non-cooking group joining the judges in tasting and critiquing the dishes prepared. The top three for the challenge were Stefan, Jamie and Ariane. The winner was Jamie (FINALLY!). The bottom three was Melissa, Eugene and Carla. This was a pretty predictable finish, I think, and resulted with boring Melissa and non-formally trained Eugene going home.

I think the judges got it right this week. I also think Toby Young is a pretty harsh judge! What do you think?

Sarah can be found at The Mom Chronicles.