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The challenge itself requires the teams to create a dish that highlights local shellfish. Given the Seattle locale, I presume that seafood skill will be a priority all season. The constraint for the Quickfire is a 20 minute time limit. This reduces the number of options for the dishes. Some of the best ingredients cannot be properly cooked in 20 minutes.

A humorous moment occurs as Padma attempts to recite the rules for the Quickfire. John and Kuniko are discussing their tactics for the challenge, by which I mean that John is ordering Kuniko as if she were his underling. His whispers are a bit loud, aggravating Padma. She chastises him with the following exchange. “Excuse me! I’m not finished. Can you listen up?” I’m guessing this is not the first time Tesar has been called to the principal’s office. I fully expect him to be a problem child who acts above the rules from this moment until his eventual elimination.

Geoduck is the dish of choice for a 20 minute shellfish challenge. I learn during the explanations that the dish is pronounced “gooey duck”, which is something I’m glad I heard before I ever tried to order it in a restaurant. My guess would have been humiliating. Anyway, several teams decide to use it but there is not enough of the protein to go around.

“Geoduck is great…except it looks like a penis. A really big one.” --Kristen, who clearly misses her not at all lesbian lover Stephanie

There are some surprises among the teams. John and Kuniko along with Sheldon form a tremendous trifecta. Josh, Eliza and Danyele are an aimless group who lack strong leadership. Bart, Jeffrey and Brooke had struck me as a great trio but they too seem a bit addled during the cooking process. Micah, Kristen and Tyler also seem a bit overwhelmed by their surroundings. Say what you will about John Tesar, his Padma-inciting behavior has created a smooth operation.

Lizzie, Carla and Chrissy suffer the most. The reason for their struggle is simple: Carla. The woman WILL. NOT. SHUT. UP. She is like an autodialer program except that she is real and caller ID does not stop her. I think highly of Lizzie and Chrissy for not killing her and making her the dish of the day. I guess Carla has the shellfish challenge to thank for her survival.

CJ, Stefan and the other one (Josiah? Joanie?) discuss the dishes. CJ breaks the bad news that Eliza, Danyele and Josh delivered the worst dish of the bunch. Josh takes their criticism personally and decides on the spot that Stefan will be his sworn enemy from now until the end of time. Josh clearly has a chip on his shoulder about talented chefs looking down on him. You’re on Top Chef, dude. You’ve made the big time. Be less insecure.

Team Tesar is then informed that they have won the initial Quickfire challenge. This is no surprise given the editing. Of course, my first thought is that there will be no living with John Tesar after this, which is problematic for a show where the contestants all live together. Then, I realize he was going to be a jerk whether or not he won so at least he’ll be a happy jerk for a day. This is doubly true when Padma informs the winning trio that they will draw knives to determine who wins immunity for the day. I think this is ridiculous as all three should win. I get that much more aggravated when Tesar pulls the correct knife to win immunity. Today is his lucky day.

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