Welcome to the commenting party that's as enjoyable as bacon—but without the calories, fat, or cholesterol. Yes, it's time again for our Top Chef Masters live blog. Indulge in it with us! Your heart will thank you!

The live blog happens in the comments section below, where all commenters are welcome to join in when the show gets started at 10 pm Eastern, on Bravo. I'm looking forward to tonight's episode, because it's the one where a group of the more likeable and entertaining chefs who lost last season get to come back for another shot. So we'll finally get to see why Rick Moonen screams "I am talkin' here!"—something Bravo has shown us about a million times in promo clips this season.

But before I say any more about tonight's episode, let's quickly run through a few highlights from last week's live blog:

  • We noticed that Ziploc is now a sponsor now instead of Glad, which means we've probably seen the last of our favorite commercial star, Erica. It's sad when live blog traditions die.
  • Marcus Samuelsson disappointed us by never saying "bork bork bork!" Maybe Swedish chefs don't really do that?
  • Gail was a judge instead of Gael. Apparently, Gail and Gael can't judge at the same time. We prefer Gail, bit Gael's ok too.
  • When judge James Oseland described one dish as "a little too baconlicious," commenter Jessica correctly noted that "nothing is ever too baconlicious."

And, as always, you all had plenty of witty comments to share — I've collected a few of my favorites in the post linked here. Speaking of favorites, many of my own favorite chefs from last season's show are among the group that will return to compete tonight. Briefly noted, they are:

  • Rick Moonen, owner of RM Seafood in Las Vegas. He probably should have won his round last year, but blew his chances in the quickfire when he didn't get his food on the plate in time.
  • Wylie Dufresne of New York's WD-50, who practices "molecular gastronomy." Judging from the look of his hair, he isn't very familiar with the shampoo molecule.
  • Graham Elliot Bowles, owner of Graham Elliot in Chicago. Last season he wore goofy red glasses but, judging the preview clips, he chose not to repeat that tacky, attention-grabbing ploy this season. This year, he's wearing goofy white glasses instead.
  • Mark Peel, owner of L.A.'s Tar Pit. All I remember about him is that his father was borne with only one arm – something he told us that last season, when they forced him to perform a quickfire challenge with one arm tied behind his back. It was one of those very odd reality show moments.
  • Jonathan Waxman of Barbuto in New York. In tonight's preview clip he says: "I'm the one that I have to beat." So with that goal in mind, let's see if he can actually successfully kick his own ass.
  • Ludo Lefebvre, the talented and French-accented founder of Ludo Bites. A preview clip of tonight's episode shows Ludo complaining that, last season, "they called me ‘Pepe LePew!'" It was actually me who first called him that, in this post from last year. Sorry about that, Ludo!

Ok, folks, it's almost 10 pm — time to bring home the bacon! See you down in the comments!

[Image via Patrick Haney's Flickr]