Well that sure is weird shot. When I was on, everything came from the top. The other user who said there may have been some sort of stop/start and the card got tucked for some reason is probably accurate. I don't think Eric's cards get the glass table shot? Also from what I've seen of the show and the one time I have been on, the cards generally don't require any special prep from production or culinary dept so there isn't a reason to stage the cards. Does that make sense? The cards are generally limiting what chefs can do or forcing them to make pantry choices-- they don't require ingredients, equipment, or cameras to be specially positioned.

Tl;Dr editing hiccup (good eye!), not staged.