Next Food Network Star – Season 4, Episode 7

The final four are in Las Vegas.

Bobby Flay invites them down to his resturant for dinner, and the share it with Paula Dean.

Next day is a Throwdown.  2 on 1 Throwdowns, 75 minutes with quick interviews with Extra during the cooking.

Lisa vs Adam is the first throwdown. They will both make their versions, or kicked up Las Vegas versions of Lisa’s Casoulet and then Adam’s Mac and Cheese.  The judges throw out questions throughout the competeition.  Adam makes lobster mac and cheese, which Paula says she has tried a number of times and never liked, but she loves his!!!

Mac and Cheese – winner is Adam                            Casoulet – winner is Lisa                       Throwdown one is a tie.

Kelsey vs. Aaron is the second throwdown. Each will make Kelesy’s chicken parm and Aaron’s stuffed pork loin.  Twenty mintues left and Lisa finally catches Aaron’s eye and gives him this look, and he relaizes what she is trying to tell him with her eyes, he has forgotten to make the second dish! He has less than twenty minutes to do chicken parm.

Chicken Parm – winner is Aaron     Stuffed Pork – winner is Aaron  Thowdown two goes to Aaron!!

Okay, so my thought is that Aaron rocked this challenge, had a little trouble with the interview part, but he was great. Lisa was on fire too, a little too competitive in the ktichen part, but good. So I figure they are safe, and then probably Adam, my feeling is Kelsey is going home.

JUDGING:

Adam – you didn’t engage the interviewer.  Lisa – disappointed that you didn’t go all the way, she held back on workign on the mac and cheese so that her casoulet did not suffer.  Aaron – still strugglign a little with connecting, have to figure out to talk and cook at the same time.  Kelsey – you were almost playful, but we wonder about your life experiences.

The first finalist moving on is ……AARON.  The next finalist is…….LISA.

This was a difficult decision, we like you both.  ADAM you are moving one!

Vote for your favorite at www.foodnetwork.com

Food Network Star – Season 4, Episode 6

We start the show with Bobby Flay addressing the chefs, today is what you have been waiting for, full on cokking demos in the kitchen, in four minutes. Oh wait, we have a twist, a video message from Rachel ray, your demos will be live, on her show to a studio audience.  The meals must be inventative, nutritious and satistify the most desearning pallet, a bunch of girl scouts! You ahve 10 minutes to met with your girl scout and come up with a menu.

Shane has trouble relating to his girl scout, I wonder if he has ever been around a kid in his life!  Lisa wants us to know that food doesn’t have to be dumbed down for a kid.  Kelset asks Lisa a question about her sausage, and Lisa doesn’t answer, to which kelsey replies that everyone’s true colors will come out. Adam says this should be easy as he is still a kid himself.  Then we find out that he and his brother opend a resturant that only lasted two years before it closed, he says that this show is a chance at redemption….hummmm.  Aaron is nrevous about relating to the audience, has no problem with his girl scout, he’s a dad, he understands kids.

We arrive at teh Rachel ray show and she tells them that the most important thing is to tell a story and to work with thier child. So how do they do….

1. Aaron – okay, he starts by washing their hands, which puts his back to the camera and audience, but he quickly redeems himself, he is fun, having a great time with the girl scout and Rachel, they make a brocolli, hamburger pizza, which looked good and the judges said tasted good. He was the most unselfconcinous that they have ever seen him.  Judges note that this was a joy to watch, that he played masterfully between Rachel, the girl scout and the audience! Bravo!
2. Kelsey – well the judges felt the whole thing felt uncomfortable to watch, she does nothing, she gives Rachel and the girl scout all the jobs and she talks. Personally, I could watch her, I had to leave the room, which is probably what I would do if Kelsy had her own show, sorry.  The judges felt she was cute with the girl scout, but showed no authority.
3. Shane – never engages his girl scout, forgets her name, and she looks really sad, Rachel comes along and saves Shane big time by involving the girl scout. This was not comfortable at all to watch. Judges felt he was technical, he has klearned alot (book learning and school) but not lived, life experiences.
4. Lisa – she starts out strong but them gets completely overwhelmed by Rachel and being near her and loses it, and you can see it happening, and rachel has to save the rest of the demo.  First off the judges felt she steamrolled her girl scout on the menu, then it was hard to watch, Rachel had to take over, she was overwhelmed. Their big question, are you strong enough to be here?
5. Adam – slightly funny, made fruit kabobs. He actually seemed like a real guest on the show. The food looked good and tasted good.  The judges felt that he is a skilled entertainer, but how much does he really know about food and cooking, the focus has got to be on the food.

Now as a bonus, Rachel Ray gets to tell them that the final four will be heading to Las vegas!!

Judging:

Aaron – you are safe

Adam – are you better at black jack or cooking, asks Bobby Flay, to which Adam replies cookling, Booby then tells him he better brush up on the blackjack, he’s going to Vegas.

Lisa – you will be moving on – Shock!! I really thought that Lisa would go home tonight. I mean she has been awestruck by Martha Stewart and rachel Ray, can she hang with the food network stars and not fall apart?

Kelsey and Shane – Kelsey you are moving on.

This means, goodbye to Shane! Sorry to see him go, but I think he needs a little more experience and life lessons and then he would be fabulous.

Next FoodNetwork Star – Season 4, Episode 5

Episode 5 begins with Cat Cora introducing the mini-challenge, they will have 30 minutes to creat a dish with the six ingredients before them, which they will then have 1 minute to describe on camera. Once the dishes are made the twist is introduced, and they are told to switch dishes and describe the others dish

Overall, the winner of the mini-challenge is…… SHANE

Main challenge, the winner will be featured with their receipe in the August edition of Bon Appetite magazine. The challenge, to take a complex dish and reinvent it for the home cook, with only 45 minutes to prepare and cook it.  The teams and the dishes:

1. Beef Wellington – Shane and Kelsey
2. Turduken – Lisa and Jennifer
3. Coc Au Vin – Adam and Aaron

Judging and Thoughts:

1. Lisa and Jennifer – the turkey was bland so Lisa makes a gravy and Jennifer thinks it is too herby, so she tries to doctor it and it never makes the plate, neither does Jennifer’s side dish, the grilled squash that she broke a bottle of juice over. The judges felt that Jennifer had no connection with the camera and came across as having no knowledge of the food.  The were all surprised about the number of mishapps in the kitchen.
2. Kelsey and Shane – the colors of the dish wouldn’t photograph well, but the filet was done great. They loved the presonalities, but realyl want Kelsey to stop mentioning that she just got out of cuilinary school all the time.
3. Adam and Aaron – Aaron came across as very nervous, but you can tell he is really tying to open up more. The polenta was a bad choice though, it was just bad. So far the competition, the food from Adam has not been good, so he is on thin ice with the judges.

Winners, and in August’s Bon Appetite magazine:  Kelsey and Shane

Going home:  Jennifer

Next Food Network Star – Season 4, Episode 3

Episode Three begins with the chefs arriving at the Food Network Kitchens and meeting up with Bobby Flay, who gives them a Mini-Challenge, to express their individual styles, in 30 minutes and then to present it on camera to the judges, all are given the same ingredient to work with…..potato!

1. Adam – bacon cheese fries, judges likee, and his presentation is good.
2. Kelsey – a bacon potato gratin – which is raw, judges no likee, and still ehr performance is too rehearshed and forced, too bubbly.
3. Jeffery – home fries, they were pretty good but nothing special and there was no connection to the audience or camera, just a well rehersed script
4. Nipa – som Indian potato something, no I could know understand what she was saying and I didn’t have time to try to write it down when if flashed briefly on the screen, she’s doing a little better.
5. Aaron – a big hunk of potato wrapped in bacon, which the judges likee, in fact Bobby says it is a great steakhouse potato, he might have to steal and put on his menu. Still not connection with the audience, but getting better.
6. Shane – potato soup, was okay but had a funny texture. He is doing better with his presentations and they liked.
7. Jennifer – mashed potato grilled pizza, okay I am not sure what she was thinking, but this is just gross, and the judges no likee. Then in the presentation she was all over the place, better alternative, but it is high carb, I mean it was a mess.
8. Lisa – potato with smoked trout, it was okay, but she rushed through her presentation and was don in 15 seconds, when she had 1 minute. Big mess up on that.

The Main Challenge is next, and no the chefs are not told how they did in this Mini-challenge, we will get that information in the end. The Main Challenge is to make a food product that can be branded and marketed. The have time today and then tomorrow they will present it to 50 food buyers and a spcial guest.

1. Adam – Smoke It Rub – it was ok, nothing new
2. Aaron – Apple Cider Viginette – really liked
3. Nipa – Peanut Seasoning – too simple
4. Kelsey – All in One Sauce –
5. Shane – CHerry Cogac Sauce – liked the product
6. Lisa – Basil Balsamic Orange Marmalade – good, really
7. Jeffery – Soul Seasoned Salt – lack luster product
8. Jennifer – Three Cheese Sauce – taste was good, but she is a little negative

Special Guest – Martha Stewart, okay I know the woman is the queen of product branding, but really, I can’t stand the woman, and no it goes back to before she tried to get away with the insider trading thing, she just came across wrong to me, I know alot of people love her, but I am NOT in that number. Not that you care, but I don’t own a single thing with the Martha Stewart name on it.

JUDGING: Tonight we get three winners:

1. Mini – Challenge:   ADAM
2. Product – LISA
3. Martha’s Favorite – AARON

Well, what do you know. Okay, I can actually handle those winners, although Lisa is not my favorite on the show, in fact I could do without her, all I can think of when I see her is Posh Spice.  Nipa and Kelsey are annoying me more, actually Nipa the most, she just doesn’t seem to care, I mean really, I just do’t know that she really wants this, it is more to prove that she can do it than the cooking, at least to me.

Going home tonight…….JEFFERY

 

 

 

Next Food Network Star – Season 4, Episode 2

The second episode of Season 4 begins with Robert Irvine, chef of Dinner Impossible waking the contestants at 3am, of course this means that this must have been filmed before Food Network found out about his forged resume and fired his butt, but that is another blog.  They pull colors and are teamed into teams of three, who will go on a food hunt, once at the location they will answer a food question, if they get it right they get an ingredient, if they get it wrong, they have to perform a food task. Humm, this might actually be good.  Once they make it through the food hunt, at the last stop, they find out that they will be making brunch for 30 people, plus the panel, on a train and will have to introduce their menu to the diners, oh and one last thing, all three indgredients that they picked up before must be featured in the menu.

Gray Team, this is Aaron, Adam and Jenn; they tended to run in the middle of the pack on this challenge, they got to the first location second, but got the question right, and they got their second question right, and on the third they had to perform a task, but still got to the trains first.  Their menu would be French Toast, Sunny Side up eggs and Steak.  Adam made the eggs, which were still raw, although Aaron told him more times than I want to count that they didn’t have time to fry eggs, Jenn made the bland french toast and Aaron made stask, which was called AWESOME.  For their presentation, Adam said they should do this “train robber” thing, where Aaron held back and came in at the last minute, Aaron didn’t want to being black and from NJ, but in the end they ended up doing a version of it, where Adam and Jenn cam out and said their thing and then Aaron burst out and introduced his awesome steak. At judging, the panel said they liked the presentation, and kudos to Aaron because he gave Adam credit for the idea, no backstabbing here.

Blue Team: This was Nipa, Shane and Lisa; you know I knew this team would bethe last ones out of the house, but I figured it would be Lisa getting all dolled up that put them behind, but it turned out to be Nipa. They got the first question right, the second right and the third wrong, but even after performing their task they still made it to the trains second. Their menu was more french toast, lamb kabob and a blue cheese and fig salad.  Shane did the salad and it was ok, a little over dressed and not original, but good. Nipa did the lamb kabob that was way too spicy for a brunch, and Lisa did a french toast that was wonderful. At judging, the panel mentioned that the plate looked disjointed and that Shane was way too fast (nervous) during his presentation and that Nipa didn’t seem engaged in the whole process, at which point she WALKED OUT of the judging!!

Green Team:  This was Kelsey, Kevin and Jeffery and they made it out of the house first, only to miss the first question and have to do a task and watch the other two teams race in front of them while they were doing it. They ended up making the train last, so they served last. Their menu was duck salad, bread pudding ( thank heavens it wasn’t another french toast) and a crustine with mozzeralla, fig and honey.  The judges felt the crustine was way too sweet, the bread pudding was tough and the duck was overcooked. They also felt there was a plating issue, which they didn’t hear about but Kevin put out 20 plates and told everyone it was 30 and they started plating only to realize that it wasn’t 30 and they they had to tear apart plates to make the 30. Also, the judges really questioned the “romantic cooking” theme that Kevin is trying to sell, they just don’t see it.

Okay in the end we find out that the winners will be featured in USA Today Weekend Magazine in the papers, and you know I am thinking that no team did well enough to win, when the judges announce that the winners are Aaaron and Lisa! What, here I was thinking it was a team win thing, and it was individuals! WOW! Anyway, I was surprised at Lisa but really glad about Aaron.

As to Nipa walking, she did come back in a apologize to the panel and the others, saying it was her anger, but I didn’t really see anger in her, in the end it came down to Nipa and Kevin and they let Kevin go, but they told Nipa she was on warning from the judges, because if a star had done what she did that would have been their last show.

Can’t wait for next week!! 

 

The Next Food Network Star – Season Four, Episode One

So last night was the beginning of a new season of The Next Food Network Star.  This is the fourth season, and I was so excited to see it begin. I have watched all three of the previous seasons, and although I do watch alot of reality stuff, I tend to like Bravo, Food Network and HGTV so much better than the big guy channels (abc, nbc, and cbs).

So it begins with each contestant arriving at a studio and we learn a little bit about them and once they are all there, the selection committee arrives and welcomes then and tells them the first challenge is right around the corner. Who comes around the corner but Alton Brown and he tells them they need to define their signature style in one sentence. So he lines them up, puts them in front of a camera and they each get one line, some do well and some, well, are forgettable. Alton sends them home to sleep before the first cooking challenge in the morning.

Next morning, and they are paired into teams to cook three dishes in 30 minutes. Okay right there I am thinking you need to do really simple, really fast dishes, because that is like 10 minutes per dish. The three dishes, one needs to be cook a’s signature style, one is cook b, and third is a combination of the two. I can tell you that time mangement was probably the biggest problem that they all had last night. 30 minutes goes by alot faster than you realize when you are cooking.

So down to who was in the bottom, and who went home. Who went home was:  Kory, she was a stand up comic and wanted to marry that with cooking, She just came across as too nervous and unsure of herself.

Okay, my pans and picks…..

Lisa! UGH! Oh man, this women looked like she was trying to channel Victoria Beckham, the haircut, the sunglasses, the dress and heels, and yes she cooked in 4 inches heels, but she was just too much. She said her style was to deconstruct something and something about three c’s and I was lost, along with all the other chefs. Hopefully she will be going home soon!

Nipa…..okay, she was not bad, but she thinks she is alot better than she is, and that is something that the judges called her out on, and what does she immediately say in the PI after that? I knew I wasn’t going home because no matter what they say I am still the queen of spice. Okay, you need to be taken down a peg or two, girly.

Shane….he’s 19 years, used to be over 200 lbs and so he learned cooking to focus on making the food instead of eating it. I like him. I think he might be a good cook, but I think at 19 he is completely in awe of some of the chefs he was cooking for last night and just got nervous. I hope that now that he has made it through one challenge he will calm down and do better.

You know, that this point, I really haven’t had enough chance to see them all cook to tell you who I like the best, but those are my thoughts so far! What did you think?