Quick Fire Challenge:
The guest judge is Art Smith(Oprah’s Chef). The quick fire is a 15minute entree but they could use the Uncle Ben’s products, including the microwavable rices. I am already predicting that Mark isn’t long for this competition. Dale, Richard and Antonia were the top 3 with Antonia winning.
Elimination Challenge:
Inspired by the group call Common Threads, they are to devise a meal for family of 4 that is simple to prepare at home for $10. The key term is so simple a child can do it. They are shopping at Whole Foods and that would be hard. The only way I keep my per meal cost down is by using an ingredient in many dishes. Therefore you use it all.
So after all the whining and moaning at the grocery store all the chefs finally bought all their stuff. So each chef got a kid to assist them. I saw Antonia’s assistant reach out to shake her hand and she gave him 5. Then she tells him that he will “get” to cut all the veggies with the big knife.
Mark says he is concerned because he is doing a curry and his assistant has never had one. Duh! We are in America and most people here don’t eat curries all the time. In the “British Empire” it is considered a comfort food but not here. He needs to either trust the food or change it.
Menus:
Lisa- Roast Chicken with Edamame and Black Beans, Peanut Butter and Apple French Toast
Spike- Pasta Puttenesca, Carrot Soup and Roasted Apples
Richard- Roast Chicken, Apple, Avocado, Beet Salad and Black Beans
Dale- Turkey Bratwurst with Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage and Apples
Andrew- Chicken Pailliard with a Shaved Fennel Salad
Antonia- Chicken Vegetable Stir-Fry with Wheat Noodles
Mark- Vegetable Curry, Cinnamon Rice and Cucumber Salad
Stephanie- Couscous with Veggies, Chicken in a Peanut Sauce, with a Apple Yogurt Granola Dessert
Nikki- Roasted Chicken with Mixed Vegetables with Tomato and Cucumber Salad
Judging:
Mark got dinged for not enough protein. Dale got dinged for to strong of flavors. They were saying that Antonia’s food was real life for her and they loved it. Stephanie’s couscous wasn’t well cooked and the judges thought that tomato and peanut wasn’t a good combo.
Andrew, Nikki and Antonia were up in front of the judges first. Nikki’s one pot was a big hit. The judges loved the combo of orange and fennel salad in Andrews. They just loved Antonia’s and she won!
The judges then saw Lisa, Stephanie and Mark. Mark claimed the reason he was in the bottom was that Tom didn’t like him. Mark was slammed for just using sweet potato and cucumber, especially with out enough protein. Lisa’s edamame was bland and under cooked. Lisa’s beans were also under seasoned. I totally seconded Art Smith’s comment that couscous just isn’t that hard to cook. Stephanie’s dish was also just to complicated. In the end Mark was out.