Someone answer this: How is Lisa still around? Not that Spike shouldn't have been axed awhile ago (and I liked him) but Lisa should have been kicked out long, long ago.

How can Spike tell Tramonto it's his fault for having them? If Spike knew they shouldn't have been in the freezer, then he also knew not to use them. If there was a rotting piece of meat there and he used it instead of the variety of fresh ingredients, he'd be just as poorly off.

And saying he didn't know they were frozen is absurd. Scallops are soft and gelatinous, frozen scallops are freezing cold and firm... like anything else that's frozen.

And frozen scallops are an especially stupid thing to use because scallops are even NAMED after how fresh they are. Diver scallops = grabbed by a diver by hand, very fresh, highly desirable, most expensive. Sea scallops = dredged from the sea, less fresh, less desirable, less expensive. And so frozen scallops, as they aren't fresh at all, are even less desirable.

Spike has shown before that he never thinks before making decisions so maybe now learned you must accept responsibility for your own actions. It was his choice, he has to own it!

While not rooting for Spike or Lisa in this particular dispute, I do recall Spike saying that when he took the scallops, he didn't realize that they were frozen—perhaps because he wasn't expecting frozen scallops at a place like Tramonto's.

Tramonto, agree that frozen seafood shouldn't have been in his freezer. From the instant they said frozen seafood was going to used, I wonder why there was frozen seafood in HIS restaurant.

Padma, made it clear that they could only use what was in the restaurant, to me, that meant Tramonto inventory. It should have been clear during the show (to us) what shenanigans the producers were doing.

Tramonto rep is/was taking a hit for this.

If you were Rick Tramonto, and you knew that he frozen scallops were being "planted", wouldn't you want to be guaranteed by the producers of the show that it would explained "on air" that the scallops were planted, and not just part of the groceries in Tramonto's normal inventory? Maybe a secret was revealed that Tramonto didn't count on, and now damage control is in high gear. As far as Spike goes, he was immature in his attitudes towards his fellow challengers, was manipulative, and a sore loser---he just didn't cut it. Not sad to see him go.

I got the impression from Tom that if Spike had made a stink about the quality of the scallops, he might have been able to substitute another ingredient. ("A good chef shouldn't accept sub-standard food" or something like that.) But Spike could have redeemed his appetizer had he served them a different way -- minced into a scallop salad or "deviled" and baked.

I was bummed that Spike got the boot instead of Lisa - I can't stand her; her angry face makes me want to throw something like frozen scallops at the tv.

But I digress. Regardless of whether or not Spike was the right contestant to get the boot, I don't think this needs to be turned into Scallopgate. He had the option to pick the ingredient and chose the planted frozen scallops. Apparently frozen scallops don't make for a Top Chef. It's just like when the producers decided to make the chefs improvise and took away their high-end cooking appliances during the Second City challenge; they wanted to see what decisions the chefs would make. It's no different here; Spike just made a poor decision.

Check out Lee Anne Wong's blog:
http://www.bravotv.com/Top_Chef/season/4/blogs/index.php?blog=lee_anne_wong&article=2008/06/and_for_my_next_trick

She is the culinary producer on the show and explains how and why she got the scallops.

I know some people who worked at Tramantos during the filming of the show who all said that the scallops were intentionally planted as well. And said the producers were laughing about how someone ("Spike") fell for it while they were packing up the production after filming. Its not a controversy though... ITS REALITY TELEVISION.