'Next Food Network Star' recap - 'Lights, Camera, Cook'

[Next Food Network Star - Season 7 Episode 1]

The contestants began their competition in Hollywood and each met at Grumman’s Chinese Theater. Each contestants' repertoire ranges from culinary classes, restaurateurs, and caterings. Their backgrounds combine blogging, radio, comedy and modeling. Whitney Chen emerged in the oddest of ponchos that made her look unnecessarily wider and almost the same size as Orchid. All fifteen contestants then met Bobby Flay and Giada de Laurentiis. Bobby explained that the first challenge would be a breakfast challenge. They had 45 minutes to create their dish.

After being driven to their studio, the contestants ran to their stations and while Alicia was panicking about crepes, Vic wanted to set the bar high with lobster. With time running out, the contestants started to panic trying to plate their meals. With two minutes left, Alicia was panicking and Vic lost his lobster. Time was up and Vic couldn't finish plating. The contestants had their first camera challenge where Susie Fogelson and Bob Tuschman, Very Important Food Network higher-ups, joined Bobby and Giada in judging.

Vic was first and he presented his meal without lobster. There was some initial positive response from the judges. Alicia was next and her accent sounded a bit California to the judges. She had to figure out how to improve on that. All the contestants were quickly edited in and while contestants like Orchid and Whitney got positive feedback, Mary Beth came off cold and nervous. Howie liked using the word "basic" and admitted to being a novice. Chris was upset because his chicken was raw and never got to serve it. He felt embarrassed for all of his mistakes. Susie was a bit sporadic and shaking, but she tried to explain that she loved the diversity in cooking, which confused the judges. Katie tried to emphasize French cooking, but talked the judges' ears off. Juba was really nervous and didn't get much out before time ran out. Susie announced that Orchid was the winner. Bobby reprimanded Juba for being too nervous and Mary Beth was called mediocre.

The contestants went to their house and were happy at the mansions, but a bit surprised about the bunk beds. The contestants tried to explain their backgrounds and loosened up, but as quickly as they wound down they were at the farmers market in the morning. Alton Brown greeted the contestants and explained that they had to do team promos. Each three-person team had to do four takes. There were also some props that they had access to, though many of the items seemed quite useless for the challenge. Alton announced the predetermined teams.

Team One: Whitney, Mary Beth, Justin B.
Team Two: Vic, Howie, Jyll
Team Three: Susie, Katie, Chris
Team Four: Orchid, Jeff, Juba
Team Five: Penny, Justin D., Alicia

Team One started and Justin was worried about camera work and his vocal inflections. After finishing up a minor script, Mary Beth wanted to make sure she wasn't mediocre. In the first take Mary was decent but Justin messed up first with the script. In the second take Justin couldn't hold up the fish correctly. Whitney tried to direct in the background which upset Justin and Alton a bit. The third take was decent until he just failed. In the final take, Justin froze up but managed to get to Whitney. Whitney was magically natural and warm on the only opportunity she got.

Team Three was next for taping and Katie went crazy with props. While brainstorming, Susie wanted the team to be over the top. Chris couldn't get a word out when Alton stopped them. Susie made horrible chords on the guitar and was nervous. In the second take she dropped the guitar and replaced it with corn. Katie had too many props, which she hysterically kicked and broke before the first take. Chris was a bit too aggressive and a bit repetitive proclaiming "What's up, what's up, what's up?" in all of his takes.

Team Two started to prepare without too many props. Howie was too much of a character for Jyll and she was upset that she had to go last, but she decided to be a team player and not complain. In the first take Howie immediately messed up; he followed making the same mistake. In the third take, Vic couldn't remember Jyll's name. In the final take Jyll had to use the prompter and didn't look at the camera the majority of the time.

Team Four followed and Orchid tried to work the teams into a group but still maintain a positive outlook. She wanted to make sure that Juba ended with a strong smile. Jeff was worried about Juba's concept. Jeff went first and called Orchid "Or-Chidde," he recovered for the second take and Orchid was good, but Juba's "Simple/Complex" was confusing to Alton. The third take was fine for Jeff and Orchid, but Juba was mumbling lost. They managed to get a decent take for the fourth, though Juba still stammered through his lines.

Finally Team Five was up and Alicia and Penny started to argue in a passive manner. Alicia was worried about her accent and instead sounded like she was whispering. Alton talked to Alicia and she was in tears, worried that her accent was too much; Alton tried to calm her down. In the second take, Alicia was decent, but Justin was unnecessarily holding up a tomato in the meat section. Penny tried to do a sexy turn and looked like a fool. In the final take Penny wasn't horrible.

Alton talked to the teams and explained that the challenge was part one. The promo teams had to impress a celebrity press panel of judges where they had to create a four course menu (one from each contestant and one group meal). The contestants went to shop (200 / 45 minutes) and Penny and Alicia started to argue; Justin was scared for his life. Team Four wanted to make key lime pies, but there were no key limes. Jeff was worried about his bread choices. At the register, Chris tried to put extra "victory" beer into his menu, but the girls rejected the beer.

Two hours to cook, Justin B. was running around like a chicken with his head cut off; luckily, he wasn't really bringing any drama in the kitchen. Alicia and Penny wanted to kill each other while they were cooking. I'd be afraid to walk around in a room filled with knives with these two around. Vic wanted to do a calamari, but Jyll was nervous about how flustered Howie was so she tried her best to help Howie out as much as possible so they won’t fail. Alicia wanted to do a poached pear for the team meal and while Penny was upset, she didn't say anything. With 45-minutes, Jeff/Orchid/Juba decided to turn their key lime pie into "Que Lime Pie" with Mexican influences. With only a minute to go, Alicia and Penny continued to bicker as their pears boiled over.

The chefs arrived at STK and had 30 minutes to put food together. Team Five started first and Alicia was nervous about the pear dish, but she was happy to taste her food. The team arrived and Penny tried to explain how she was bringing "sexy" into the kitchen; she tried to call fennel sexy. Penny cut off Alicia and explained the pear dish. Alton explained how Alicia broke down about her accent, but appreciated her food.

Team One served second with Mary Beth still stuck worried about being called mediocre. The team explained their food and then watched the promo taped earlier that day. Justin's silence was very awkward for everyone watching. Mary Beth's biggest flaw with her promo was the fact that she never explained that she knew how to cook, but her soup was appreciated by the judges. Whitney had a lot of self-confidence which helped her promo.

Team Two were next and Jyll had confidence. As Jyll thought she was doing fine, Howie continuously kept asking for help and basically Jyll was doing all the work for her and Howie. With time running out, Jyll turned the corner in the kitchen, slammed into Vic, and all the calamari flew to the ground. With time up, there were only two dishes on the plate. As they served, Jyll tried to ask for forgiveness since both Jyll and Vic had no dishes. In the promo Jyll never looked into the camera. Howie totally busted with the food.

Team Three was last and Orchid was really happy about the outcome. The only issue that happened was Jeff was supposed to explain the que lime pie and Juba cut him off. Juba's food was good, but his presentation was poor. Jeff's sandwich had positive and negative messages. Orchid had the positive nature.

Team Four was last and Chris and Susie were bickering about the group dish because he thought her food was too spicy. The promo was weird for both Katie's posture and Chris' embarrassing script. The judges thought that Chris was pushing too hard. Susie was natural and her puree in the group dish was good. Katie's s’mores were met with positive messages.

The contestants got some time to talk and Jyll talked to Howie about how Jyll had to do most of Howie's work. She became upset because Howie didn't take any of the blame.

After the commercial break, the contestants went to their first evaluation. Jeff, Orchid, and Juba were first for their evaluation. They didn't get the "que" portion until Jeff explained it easily. Jeff's bread was a bit questionable and his idea title (Between two buns) needed help. Juba's takes weren't good, but his food was amazing. Orchid had positive feedback for both her food and her personality. They were the winning team.

The judges called two more teams. Chris/Susie/Katie had issues when they were shopping: the girls tried to throw Chris under the bus because of his antics buying beer for him and the boys. He was reprimanded by the judges for his attitude, but his soup was good. At the moment, his energy came off as a clown. Katie's s'mores were great and she had energy in person, but her promos needed focus. Susie's dish was strong and reminded to keep with her Latin flavor. Mary Beth/Whitney/Justin were next for judging. The group had a nice team meal. Mary Beth was mixed on her food, but she still wasn't dynamic enough. Justin has a good personality, but it doesn't show in the promo. The judges wanted to merge him with Chris to balance both of them out. Whitney had a great salad and she organized her thoughts well. All six contestants were safe.

The other two teams were the lowest scoring teams. Penny/Justin/Alicia were up first. Justin explained that there was no dynamic together. There was disharmony in the promo. The group dish was really good. Penny's use of "sexy" became really "trashy" so there wasn't warmth. They suggested looking for her softer side. Jeff's point of view didn't have enough risks and was in the middle ground. Alicia's rib was great, but her breakdown became questionable. Vic/Howie/Jyll were last to go and they were called out for not enough plates. Jyll explained that she had to do all the work and didn't finish her food. Jyll's dressing was good, but Howie tried his best to get his way. Vic was trying to explain that he was a bit too tough in his promo and he had no food.

Alicia, Justin, and Penny were safe leaving Vic, Howie, and Jyll up for elimination. After the commercial break and judges' deliberation, Howie was eliminated. He was grateful for his time on the show and had fun doing what he could.