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Hell’s Kitchen 6/17/8

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So here we are for a gripping episode of Hell’s Kitchen. We have an amazing amount of women this close to the end. So will a woman win it all? Could we have an all female finale? I think the idea of having messy Petroza in one of Ramsay’s kitchen would kill him. So I don’t think he has a chance of winning but will he hold out a little longer? Let’s see!

Today’s challenge is to come up with a dish and cook is for 80 customers. They had 1 hour to make a lunch special. Prep was interesting. Christina was light hearted and confident. Petrozza was actually pretty organized. Corey looked like she wasn’t going to get anything out and is worried about running out. I don’t think Jen made enough food because she is talking about getting 20 servings out of one piece of fish.

Their customers were 80 very pregnant women. Jen was pretty confident because women “will eat anything”. Corey wasn’t done makeing food and she said she would be doing better if it was men and not “b****” pregnant women. Christina stopped by Corey’s table while carring her food to her table and went ahead and served there.

Christina- Island Turkey Sandwich with Curry and Avacodo (Winner by 2 votes)
Corey- Grilled Salmon BLT with Vegetable Chips (4th Place)
Petrozza- Monte Cristo with Ham and Turkey with a spicy sauce (2nd Place)
Jen- Grilled Grouper with Rum Butter Sauce and a Mango Salsa (3rd Place)

Christina’s reward was shopping in a boutique in Beverly Hills. Losers got to clean up after lunch, shine silver, over all cleaning the dining room and then prep. Corey and Jen are bitter because Corey isn’t big into clothes. Ramsay took Christina to Lisa Kline. So when Christina gets back Corey asks to see the clothes and when she went to change the girls were bitter. Then when she came in to prep no one would talk to her at first. Ramsay cautions them all to unite as a team before service begins.

Service starts out well. 25 minutes in the appetizers were flying out and then Jen messes up the risotto. Ramsay slammed Jen for inconsistancy because she pulled it out. Then we start with entrees. Then Christina put down the garnish pot and the handle burned him. He warned her to say something if the handle is over the fire and not to burn him again. Then she did. As entrees start to go out, Jen wouldn’t drop eggs for Corey’s scallop dish (and it was her job). She said she didn’t have time so Christina did and Ramsay said something about team work and Jen started to help in. To get Ramsay to not yell as her she put up John Dory that wasn’t done. Ramsay didn’t catch it but it got sent back. Petrozza is doing great except his station was a huge mess. Ramsay said he was doing the best of anyone in that station. I think Petrozza has to have gotten himself a ticket to go on.

Ramsay said the team needed to come to a consensus to who should go up for elimination. I think it should be Corey and Jen because they screwed up food. They all decide that they are going to each write down 2 different names to see. Jen cheats. So they end up putting Jen and Corey. Petrozza volunteered to go against Jen to try to assure Jen getting bounced. But they did go with Corey because it was more justifiable. Corey says she should stay because she did bounce back and she is team oriented. Jen said she should stay because of her passion and this would change her life and is a dream. In the end Jen got tossed. So the final 3, let’s see what will happen.

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Food

The Next Food Network Star: 6/15

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I found this great well rounded recap. This is a Spoiler Alert, if you wanted to watch the whole episode before hearing the ending just keep moving;). I will add my 2 cents (well, maybe a whole nickels worth) after the recap.

So I am just going to flow through the episode with a few inputs from my 5 year old NerdPie! First, how did Jeffrey make bland home fries (fried potatoes is what we call it here)? You just add spice, it ain’t rocket science.

I agree that Kelsey seems really rehearsed. She might be able to work around that if she just relaxed her eyebrows when she is “presenting”.

Aaron’s Bacon Wrapped Potatoes is something we will definitely be trying over here in the Nerd House. I am just afraid that the Honey Scallion Sauce would be really sweet.

Jennifer has many grating habits on camera. She makes this sound repeatedly in the beginning and I am not sure how to type it. It is kind of drawing air while rubbing your tongue on the roof of your mouth and sounds kind of like ts-uh. Stop it! She also sounded a bit valley girl.

Lisa just annoys me. NerdPie was inquiring about her eyebrows. I told her to hush and be nice but I agree.

Kelsey asked who doesn’t like Sloppy Joes. Well, I use a knife and fork. It is kind of scary to have something in common with Martha Stewart. I still think that Martha showed bad form and was a bit rude to Kelsey.

Shane has to change the name of his sauce. Just drop the “g”.

Jeffrey what is up with the idea that you want a lingering taste that will last through tasting 5 other things? I find that a bit unappetizing.

I was embarrassed for Adam and his singing to Martha. But NerdPie liked it and thought he was silly. I think my kids would totally watch his show with me.

I do not find it shocking that Martha like pretentious Lisa and her “depth of knowledge”. The reality is that I think Lisa has a lot of information that I want but I want it in a different wrapper.

I think sending Jeffrey home was the right call. He just never seemed to really stand out in presentation or food. At least Jennifer’s food was good.

So those are my thoughts on this week’s episode. I will see you back next week.

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Food

Top Chef Finale-Live Blogging!

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So I can’t believe that this season is coming to an end. Going in I really like Richard and Stephanie. But the idea of the first female Top Chef sounds exciting! I don’t know how Lisa stuck it out this long but…

As the finalists walk up to Padma and Tom we see 3 expert chefs. The final challenge is a 4 course meal with a traditional progression (Fish, poultry, red meat and dessert). Each expert chef has a selection of protein. Since Stephanie and Richard have a tie on elimination challenge win they draw to see who will pick an expert chef (and their protein) first. The chef will be the finalist’s sous chef. Dinner will be a black tie affair, head to head, for 9 diners. They have 3 hours on the first day and 4 hours day of in prep time.

Lisa: Sous Chef: April Bloomfield of The Spotted Pig
Proteins:Oysters, Prawns, Crab, Mahi-Mahi, Chicken, Squab, Pancetta, Sweetbreads, Beef Tongue, Wagyu Strip Steak, Ostrich Steak

Stephanie: Sous Chef: Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin
Proteins: Snapper, Hamachi, Caviar, Clams, Lobster, Veal Tenderloin, Chorizo, Rack of Lamb, Quail, Quail Eggs, Bacon

Richard: Sous Chef: Dan Barber of Blue Hill
Proteins: Scallops, Halibut, Calamari, Abalone, Duck, Foie Gras, Guinea Hen, Prosciutto, Pork Belly, Venison, Rabbit

Lisa is of course going with an Asian theme and her sous chef is not familiar with that. Richard’s theme is his journey so there will be classical and cutting edge techniques. Stephanie is trying to show off her style with balanced flavor combinations. Each finalist was allowed one special ingredient. Richard’s was liquid nitrogen. He was making a Tabasco ice cream and it was cool. As a science dork, I love anything done with liquid Nitrogen. The expert chefs were all thinking it was cool and new to them. As day one prep comes to an end Richard still isn’t sure what he is doing. He is just trying to prep what he thinks he needs.

So here we are on the final day and Tom comes in to say that the sous chefs will not be in to work today. Tom says that they wanted to make sure the chefs live or die by their own hand. The girls don’t seem real happy about dessert and aren’t happy about being judged about it. I think that it is only reasonable, it is a major component of food and cooking. Stephanie is not happy with how her cake came out. Lisa is shockingly chilled. And then we serve….

Menus:

Lisa: Grilled Prawns, Tom Kha Gai Soup and Dumplings, Wagyu Beed, Thai Rice Pudding
Stephanie: Red Snapper, Quail with Lobster Ravioli & Quail Eggs, Lamb Medallions, Ricotta Pouncake
Richard:Scallops, Guinea Hen and Foie Gras and Eggs, Pork Belly, Banana Scallop & Bacon Ice Cream

Service:

Out comes the first course. One of the chefs said that Richard should simplify to be perfect. Another chef said Lisa was to spicy. Stephanie’s was a big hit and someone said the best of the 3. Eric Pipert said that Richard’s flavors got muddled. Many liked Lisa’s soup and Ted thought Stephanie needed more lobster. Gail and Tom hated Stephanie’s leeks and thought they were irrelevant and under-cooked. Then we got to 3rd course. Richard’s was a bit of a disappointment to all. They thought the sauce on Lisa’s was to sweet and April thought her beef was tough. Eric said that Stephanie’s flavor combo was completely new with the olive and pistachio. Everyone loved Stephanie’s. Tom said that Richard’s needed work and Lisa’s was pedestrian. Then comes the dreaded dessert. Lisa’s dessert seemed to go over all well but it had to grow on some. Stephanie’s was fine but nothing special. Richard’s was whimsical.

Judging:

Tom thought that Richard’s 1st course was bland. Everyone loved Lisa’s soup. Richard said he was afraid of losing the integrity of the pork belly if he had got it crispy. Ted and Tom liked the new way to do pistachios. Tom thought Stephanie’s cake was ok but that the banana creme was a miss. Each chef gave a bid for them winning except Richard. He said he choked by over thinking and it wasn’t his top performance. Then the judges deliberate and you get to hear what they really think. It seemed really tortured for them to actually come up with an overall preference.

Stephanie won!!! She seemed completely shocked and blown away!! Now have I missed the reunion show? It usually happens before the finale but I haven’t seen a commercial and my Tivo hasn’t picked it up. Does anyone know?

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Food

Hell’s Kitchen 6/10/8

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So here we meet again for another gripping episode of Hell’s Kitchen. Now that we are rid of Matt I think it is going to be much more competitive. But will Jen’s attitude be her own undoing? Let’s go!

Ramsay demos the new dish for the menu which is Lobster Spaghetti. Then Ramsay announces that Hell’s Kitchen is opening a cooking school. They will each get a student and have to teach them how to make the Lobster Spaghetti. They are descibed to be society wives and they are all dressed up in heels. Petrozza is a little distracted by his partners beauty. I was a little surprised to see Corey having her student toss instead of using something to turn. Jen kept trying to cook for her student. Ramsay liked Christina’s student and Corey’s. The others all had things that went wrong. The winner was Christina. The losers got to scrub out Hell’s Kitchen including the fryers. Christina got to go to lunch with Ramsay and some of LA’s best restaurantuers. The students all got Ramsay’s new cookware. It looks as if Christina is having the lunch in the blue kitchen. Everyone was already annoyed that they lost and then they got more annoyed when Christina was talking during prep. She has definitely pushed all their buttons and needs to watch herself.

Ramsay warns the chefs before service that there will be a party of 12. Over all the restuarant is booked to its full 120. Christina started off service by only delivering 1 of 2 spaghettis. Christina and Corey has apps flying out. Bobby started off the meat entrees really bad. Jen started messing up the fish. Then JP heard and was having all the wait staff push the meat instead of fish. But Bobby’s meat wasn’t looking up so then JP was trying to have everyone push the chicken. Jen and Ramsay got into it a little. An hour and a half nothing is moving between Bobby’s meat and Jen’s fish. Things started moving and then the party of 12 came in. Corey and Christina go all the apps out together. Then the moved onto working on dessert. Jen couldn’t get the fish done and so Ramsay kicked her off her table and cooked the fish himself. Petrozza’s timing was off and Bobby had a flaming skillet.

Ramsay said dinner service was too painful but Christina stood out as doing well. She got to nominate 2. Of course, Jen doesn’t think she needs to go up. Christina puts up Jen and Bobby. Jen says she should stay because she will give it her all and Ramsay said he didn’t know if he could work with attitude. Bobby thanked Ramsay for stopping the bad food from going out. Ramsay asked Bobby if he is a better cook than Jen and he said yes because he handles pressure better. Jen said she is more organized and comes up with ideas Ramsay likes. Then Ramsay asked who she thought should go and she said Jen. But in the end Ramsay sent home Bobby.

I can’t imagine Ramsay actually hiring any of these people. I think it might be better to cash them out on the first year salary and look else where.

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Food

Next Food Network Star 6/8/08

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So, let me start off by saying that I love the fact I can watch this with all my kids (versus the other food reality shows I watch).

I am not going to be doing a deep review but just sharing my observations. Like who would have ever thought that Lisa would be ready to leave before Nipa. Lisa did earn some props from me for that.

In our 3 teams going out for ingredients, if just shows that degrees doesn’t always mean the most wisdom. The Grey team made up of Adam, Jennifer, and Aaron seemed to kick the other teams butts. Now when the Grey team went to the cooking, I think they fell apart. No one seemed to agree to what they were making or how. Individually, I think that Adam made almost raw eggs. I think the idea of a gooey egg was good but not done well.

I think that Nipa was careless on planning for her lamb to be so spicy that the diners had to be warned. I think that Lisa did a good job with redirecting her culinary perspective. Unfortunately Shane flopped a bit with his presentation.

Duck salad? Kelsey could really be getting herself into trouble. Kevin screwed up his team members by not only not bringing the oil but taking out the oil Kelsey put in the box. I think this could spell the end for him. I also don’t see how the crostini is romantic. That team came up with really uneven plates and I think that will bite them in the tush.

The judges really are going to hold Kevin’s feet to the fire on the romance aspect and how it doesn’t fit. Lisa made it clear that the lack of cohesion was due to Nipa’s refusal to do any kind of fusion. When Nipa was asked if she was enthusiastic about this competition by Bobby Flay and she said she wasn’t sure. She started to tear up and walked off. She said she left so she wouldn’t be crying and because she had to think and make a decision. She came back and said that she wanted to be there to bring her heritage.

In the end Lisa and Aaron won the spread in USA Weekend and Kevin was out. On one hand I think that Nipa should have been bounced but she seems to have a little potential but they have seen Kevin’s potential and it just isn’t that impressive. Now I don’t think that Nipa is going to make it to the end but we will see.

Food

Top Chef 6/4/8 Live Blog

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So here we all meet again. Let’s strap in as Top Chef goes to Puerto Rico! Now why I am not a feminist let me just point out that for the first time 3 of the final 4 are women. You go girls!

Going into this Lisa is definitely the under dog so let us see how long she lasts.

Quickfire Challenge:

This will determine who makes it to the final challenge. Our guest judge is Wilo Benet. The challenge was to make 2 different fritouras containing plantains. They had 40 minutes. Stephanie said that she had done some practicing with plantains (smart!) but they still weren’t her favorite ingredients. Wilo didn’t like that Antonia didn’t have enough integration. Wilo wasn’t really happy with Richard’s components. Wilo loved Stephanie’s and thought that Lisa did a good job but hers could have been better. Stephanie won!

They were then invited to a party in Old San Juan with traditional music and local food. Now hopefully they will all pay attention because in other seasons they need this information again.

There will be a garden party with 100 VIP’s and chefs. They each will get a whole pig and they need to make at least 2 dishes using different parts of the animal. Then they bring out some of the eliminated chefs:Dale, Andrew, Spike and Nikki. Stephanie’s prize is that she gets to assign the sous chefs. At this point she could totally rook Lisa but she decides to pair people who work together well. But since Lisa doesn’t get along with 3 of them she could only do so well, she got Andrew. Apparently Stephanie has known Dale for about 10 years. They will have 30 minutes to look at the kitchen and plan the menu. Then the sous chefs will be going to the local produce market while the finalists will be butchering their pigs. Then they have 2 hours to prep with another 5 the day of the party.

Stephanie & Dale: Chicharrones (crispy pig skin) Fruit & Prosciutto Salad, Coconut Pork with Plantain Pancake, Pork Satay on Sugar Cane
Richard & Spike: BBQ Pork Shoulder, Pork Belly with Pickled Watermelon, Ham & Beans, Ribs with Malta Glaze
Antonia & Nikki: Pork Belly with Sweet Peppers, Pork Sausage with Pigeon Peas & Rice, Curried Pork
Lisa & Andrew: Yucca & Pork Rellena, Citrus Braised Pork Belly, Adobo Roasted Pork Tostone

Just into planning and Andrew thinks Lisa is going wrong by doing Puerto Rican food. So then they go to market. Andrew seems lost since he doesn’t speak Spanish. Dale gets Stephanie black plantains, he has experience with them. Lisa gets medieval on the pig and seems to be having trouble whereas Antonia just needs a knife. When the sous chefs return a bit of chaos breaks out just do to space. Lisa is her usual bleak self. As time on the first ends it looks as if Stephanie’s pork belly may have been left out.

The next day Dale is sniffing it and Stephanie says they aren’t using it. She has no idea how hot it was and she isn’t going to risk getting any one sick. Antonia’s rice isn’t turning out and she tosses out what may be the first batch. 30 minutes until service they come outside to start cooking.

Service starts and the judges hit Stephanie first and seem pleased. Richard wants to redeem himself from the Quick Fire. Richard has great stories to go with each dish. When they visited Lisa it didn’t seem that Padma finished her food. Antonia did pigeon peas but no rice to go with it. The only negative thing said by any of the guests was that the pigeon peas were a bit dry.

Judging Table:

Tom really liked Richard’s pork belly and Stephanie’s salad but he didn’t think that Antonia and Lisa were as good. So Richard and Stephanie were up first. Tom said that Richard did some good self editing to simplify his food. Wilo loved Stephanie’s satay. Richard won by unanimous vote and as a reward he got a 2009 Corolla. Then Lisa and Antonia go back. Lisa said she thought her dishes were strong. Tom wanted to know why she went Latin instead of sticking with Asian. Gail felt Lisa’s puree was way to sweet and that she focused on the garnishes instead of the pork. Wilo didn’t think her tostones had balance. Antonia felt her pigeon peas could have used more cooking. Antonia said she didn’t want to have it so refined so she served them all on the same plate. Gail said that puddled them all together. Gail said there were elements of every one of Lisa’s dish that she didn’t like. Gail thought Antonia’s mistake was being rustic and home cooked. Tom said that 1 table just didn’t have the crowds around it. Antonia was sent home. Lisa says to Richard and Stephanie that she knows that they are disappointed that Antonia was going home but a congrats would be nice.

I have to say that I am shocked. I never thought Lisa would make it to the final 3. So let us see who will win it all!

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Food

Hell’s Kitchen 6/4/8

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So here we meet again for a drama pack episode of Hell’s Kitchen. If the previews are any indication it should be very interesting.

So at the end of the last episode Ramsay switch Matt and Jen back to their teams of origin (Blue and Red respectively). As we begin this week, no one is happy.

We get an early morning call where all the chefs are loaded into cars and blindfold. They were taken to the roof of the soon to be Ramsay’s new restaurant, London West Hollywood. We now have all the chefs combined into 1 Black team. Then they went into the empty building and Ramsay was showing a little of how things are going to be. Then back to Hell’s Kitchen.

We are having our first individual challenge. They each got a protein ingredient and 45 minutes to make something with it. The only dish that had a problem was Bobby’s with tough duck. Christina and Jen were in the top two with Jen winning it. She got to go to Vegas to visit last year’s winner, Rock. She got to take 1 person with her and chose Corey. The punishment was taking delivery.

Christina is playing it smart by taking charge. She got to delegate but was also checking things off. That is good because that has bit people in the past. Matt was very angry and also angry at Christina for taking control. Matt seems as if he is going completely around the bend and Christina seems to be the target.

Jen and Petrozza on appetizers, Bobby on fish, Corey on veg and Christina and Matt on meat. This is going to be a show. I think Christina has any easy job just showing up Matt.

In 30 minutes Jen and Petrozza have out half the appetizers. Over all, the communication is down the toilet. It was frustrating Corey and she looked as if she was going to cry. Both Bobby and Christina try to cook 2 different proteins in the same pans. Then meat was coming back for being raw. Corey burned her hand and Ramsay told her to go to the medic and she was refusing because she was trying to work her station. She ends up going and then got to come back. Matt and Christina seemed to be having problems tracking their orders. Entrees didn’t go out for a long time. And then they started moving and Matt was messing up on the meat. Matt was complaining about having a headache and about getting yelled at. Matt was spiraling and wouldn’t respond to people and kept saying he had a migraine. Then he said he had no feeling in his handshttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.video.gif
Add Video and Ramsay tossed him out of the kitchen so he could go lie down. Then Jen left rice on at Christina’s station and it burned. So Ramsay sent everyone out of the kitchen.

Ramsay sent them to the dorms for them to come to a consensus of which 2 should be up for elimination. Everyone (except Matt) agreed that Matt should go up. He was very sure in himself that he won’t go. For the other nomination it appeared to all be up to Petrozza, again. In the end Christina was the other nominee. Corey said that she should also be up but the team didn’t agree but Ramsay did agree. Corey said while she was bad at least she didn’t give up like Matt. Matt said he wasn’t the worst, Christina was. Ramsay asked Christina if she should leave due to her having the least experience and she said that she only had 3 years of professional experience but had been cooking much longer than that. In the end Matt got tossed out. Finally!

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Food

The Next Food Network Star 6/1

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So it is time for the new season of The Next Food Network Star and I am all ready to go. I am looking forward to a great season after all the hype. Here is my live blog snark and all;).

So all our contestants arrive and all seems pretty normal but there were a couple of notable things. Kelsey is really perky and is Lisa really that “fabulous” or is it a put on? I also have to say that for the most part I dislike that there are so many actors. That said, I really like Shane Lyons. He graduated CIA at just 18 and has already acted pretty big and isn’t trying to break in.

They all seemed so shocked that Alton Brown (my favorite!!!) comes out and has a little challenge. Why are they shocked? They are meeting in a lit studio and Alton Brown had this role last season. BTW, he was merciless in this position last season;). I think everyone forgets that AB has a theater background and does his own show from the ground up so he knows about the production value not just the cooking. So the challenge was to give 1 sentence to the camera that summarized their culinary point of view. There is also a table of food props they can hold if they need to have something.

Jennifer needed to take her own advice and just said, “Keep if simple”. The majority of them were fine, most had something cute but nothing that bad. I really like the part that Shane said about French food without the attitude. It was hilarious that Adam thought he would grab the “milk” off the table and then end his bit by taking a swig . He was lucky it was just whipping cream and not fake food, it was sitting on the table after all.

Corey was bad, just bad. She seemed to have stage fright but she is a comedian. Unless she can really pull it out, she won’t be long for this show. The other one that was bad was Lisa. “Designer Dining with the 3 C’s, cooking, community outreach and culinary crafts.” What the Heck?!?!? She used a ton of props and was just snooty. AB tried to explain that it was very foreign sounding but I really think that is what she was going for. The whole I am so complicated I must be good thing.

Cooking Challenge:

So everyone was paired up and they had to cook a dish each and a team dish that affirmed their culinary point of view all in 30 minutes. They were going to present their food to 9 people that included the judges and some Food Network stars. They also had to make a beauty plate for the camera.

Corey & Jeffrey: Honey Glazed Poached Salmon, Deviled Eggs Provencal, Parsnip Potato Cakes
Kelsey & Aaron: Orzo Salad with a Lemon Vinigrette, Cajun Salmon Sandwich, Tomato Soup(T)
Shane & Nipa: Pork Tenderloin, Suki Bhaji(Curried Potatoes), Curried Squash Soup
Lisa & Kevin: Arugala Salad, Olive Oil Poached Salmon, French Kiss Onion Soup
Adam & Jennifer: Potato Gratin, Honey Dill Carrots, Meatloaf

So in the menu creation Lisa tries to prove she is as pretentious as I think she is by telling Kevin they need to do a Degustation. That is French for small tasting portion. Now, I like big words I really do. But that was just obnoxious and NerdDad does too! I have watched a lot of cooking shows and I have never heard that term and then she seems shocked he doesn’t know it.

So in the shopping phase Nipa can’s find the spices she needs for her curry. Nipa is planning on using curry as a substitute for turmeric. Then Shane and Nipa go first. When Shane went to do the beauty plate the pork wasn’t done. The pork for the judges was done and in the tasting they found it good. But pork wrapped in prosciutto has to be good. They found Nipa’s curry lacking well, curry flavor or heat.

Next up comes Lisa and Kevin. Lisa says how she did it all in a beautiful dress and heels (to the kitchen camera). Dress in what you want but don’t expect a hand for it. The table thought the salad was over dressed and pine nuts were over toasted. They also thought Lisa talked in circles.

Then up was Adam and Jennifer. They had issues getting the meatloaf done though they did seem to get it done. To top that problem, the judges thought there were to many meats (Lamb, beef, pork, etc). The potatoes in Adam’s grating were not done. Bobby Flay liked Adam.

Kelsey and Aaron were just overwhelmed and frazzled. Kelsey had planned on lemon cups and didn’t have enough time to do them. Aaron didn’t have bread for all his sandwiches. The table was split about Kelsey’s energy. Giada was overwhelmed by it whereas Sandra Lee seemed to like it. They were real honest about time getting away from them and how that happens to real people. The table liked the salmon.

Corey and Jeffrey were last. I think Corey was going down a bad road when she mentioned repeatedly how trendy her salmon was. These are not people who are going to be swayed by trends in food. Corey choked again but Jeffrey seemed to step in to some of her holes. The table found the deviled eggs salty and the salmon too sweet.

Judging:

The judges didn’t seem to feel that Adam wasn’t taking it seriously enough in his attitude. The judges told Lisa that they just didn’t get her point of view and they told Kevin he was just to generic. Of course they told Corey they had expected more out of her presentation and that her salmon was to sweet. The judges seem a bit shocked that Nipa doesn’t get nervous at all. They also held Nipa accountable for doing a dish that she knew she didn’t have the ingredients for. I think I am falling for Shane as a contestant. The judges had hoped to see his youthful exuberance. But he wasn’t happy about what he had put on the plate because it was a little piece of him and not his best. He was feeling self conscious in the presentation because it didn’t meet his standards. He was tearing up and looked to Bobby to understand what he meant about the integrity issue of the food. Bobby Flay couldn’t even look at him (I think Bobby totally understood). Mirror that to Jeffrey’s shoulder shrugging that he knew his eggs were salty with no regret.

Nipa, Shane, Corey and Lisa were in the bottom 4. Corey needs to have fun, Nipa was over confident. Shane needs to show his personality and tighten up the cooking. Lisa is rigid and overpowering and needs to show who she is beyond style. Not shockingly, Corey is the first finalist eliminated.

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Food

Next Food Network Star Finalist: Jeffrey Vaden

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43 year old Jeffrey is 6’5’’ and brings a tall order to the kitchen. A graduate of The Culinary Institute of America, he has owned his own restaurant, catering business and was even a TV intern at one time. Although Jeffrey has a BA in Political Science and English from Howard University, he says he couldn’t pass up the way cooking channels the creative side of the brain.

If you haven’t entered yet, stop by my drawing for a Next Food Network Star prize pack!