So here we go! This week looks to be an interesting episode.

Apparently Stefan has a crush on Jamie…..

QuickFire Challenge:
They are doing Identify the Ingredient. I always love this challenge. But that does mean that there isn’t a guest judge. They cheftestants get matched up to go head to head. They are tasting sauce and then identifying the ingredients. Last chef standing wins! They say how many ingredients they can guess and then it seems the person with the highest names them.

The reality is that no one wants to lose to Stefan due to his ego. The final 3 were Carla, Stefan and Hosea. Hosea ended up winning and therefore gets immunity.

Elimination Challenge:
First off everyone pulls knives for teams (old, borrowed, blue, etc). Padma is throwing a bridal shower for Gail (the next morning). It is 35-40 women. Gail prefers no veal or black beans but other than that she is open.

Off the bat the Borrowed team is going Indian and Radhika is worried that it will keep her in the box but it doesn’t appear she actually contested the idea. Daniel is trying to tie “new” and pickles together. I actually think that would be a better fit with old. Luckily Eugene came up with a surf and turf sushi roll. But Carla doesn’t like it but won’t say anything. Old is tying in heirloom tomato.
They have 2 1/2 hours to prep that first night. Stefan is bossy! They split there dish into 3 parts but Stefan is trying to push Hosea into a specific tomato. The Blue Team is using the blue ocean as the theme and doing sea bass but I agree with Tom that is seems a bit boring, especially since they are last. The New Team was having problems with their rice but they seem to compensate. Then Eugene comes up with the idea of letting them build their own sushi.
The day of the even Radhika seemed to get a little nervous by the great ambiance. Of course Tom is in the kitchen because he wasn’t invited to the party;). Danny added mushrooms to Carla’s salad without telling her and when she found out, she didn’t seem happy. Ariane seemed to be having problems getting the lamb done on time because the lamb was initially done rare. Everyone ended up helping them plate.

Something Old (Jeff, Hosea, Stefan)- Tomato Terrine wrapping Eggplant, Carpaccio with Tomato Sorbet, Gazpacho
Something New (Daniel, Carla, Eugene)- Surf & Turf Sushi Roll, Frisee Salad with Won Ton, Peach-Miso BBQ Sauce, Yuzu Sorbet
Something Borrowed (Jamie, Radhika, Ariane)- Eastern Spiced Lamb marinated in Yogurt, VadduvanCarrot Puree, Wilted Kale, Cucumber Raita
Something Blue (Melissa, Fabio, Leah)- Chilean Sea Bass, Roasted Corn Puree, Swiss Chard

Judging (I have decided to put the serving in this area):

Dana Cowin (editor of Food and Wine) is the guest judge this week. The gazpacho and sorbet seemed popular but the terrine seemed bland. The New Team never told the guest how to eat the dish. Gail thought the shrimp was cold and tasted as if it was fried in old oil. I have to say that Borrowed sounded so yummy. Everyone was pleased with how the lamb was cooked and how everything tasted. Fabio did a good job saying how the green (chard) and yellow(corn) made blue on the color wheel. Apparently the food itself was ok but a little boring.

First up were the teams for Old and Borrowed. They said that Jeff’s sorbet was the hit of that course (in your face Stefan). They also really liked the carrot puree and how well the lamb was cooked. Ariane won and got a brand new set of Calphalon cookware and electrics collection. Jamie wasn’t real happy because she always gets so close.

So then the other 2 teams go in. Team New was asked right off how the dish was meant to be. Padma asked about the rice. And Dana said adding things didn’t camaflouge how the rice itself was. When all 3 were asked if they liked how it went, Carla was the only one who wasn’t happy. The judges didn’t like the mushrooms in the salad but Daniel thought they were good.

Team Blue got a bit slammed for lack of texture but the basic flavor was there. Tom said the plate gave him the blues. Fabio said they should get credit for all the fish being done well and Tom said it is easy to do Chilean Sea Bass for a group.

The judges said how sad it was for New the Carla’s salad was the best part. Danny only contributed little things and it spoke poorly that he liked it. Eugene was getting slammed that he tried to salvage the rice.

In the end it was Daniel’s last meal. He said in the little exit that he didn’t deserve to go and if he would have thrown people under the bus he would have lasted longer.

Next week Martha Stewart is back and it looks like the frigs die.