'Next Food Network Star' recap - "In the Line of Fire"
['Next Food Network Star' - Season 7 Episode 2]
After reeling from the first elimination, Vic was under the stress that he never got to plate dishes while Mary Beth felt like she still had to break the "mediocre" criticisms. For the next challenge, the contestants saw a table full of pizza. Giada announced the Camera Challenge: make a pizza that fits their culinary style. They have to personalize the pizza by telling a story explaining how the pizza was created. The winner would be in Food Network Magazine and in a shocking twist, the loser would be eliminated.
Time started and the contestants ran to the refrigerators to grab ingredients. Chris dropped sausage on Mary Beth's head. Justin B. wanted to do a yellow tomato sauce, while Vic thought of going classic. Juba wanted to make tomato sauce from real tomatoes; he then proceeded to blast people that were using canned sauce. Mary Beth wanted to make a three cheese pizza with bitter greens. Penny wanted to go with a Middle Eastern flavor to match her cooking style. With 17 minutes left, Juba struggled with plating as he dropped his dough on the floor and had to start over. As time started running out, people started screaming and panicking.
Juba started the camera segment and he continued to stutter like he did in the first camera challenge. He didn't even manage to tell a story. Juba explained to the judges that he was frustrated. The judges thought the pizza was good, but the dough was a bit off. Katie had two different pizzas and told an obscure story about a Chinese worker visiting. The judges thought she was insincere and the story sounded horribly unbelievable. Alicia's truffle pizza was created from a funny date; she was natural and comfortable. Justin B. started to stammer and lost his place, similarly to last episode's Camera Segments. Interestingly, he held up the pizza as unexcitingly as the fish from the first episode. He took a deep breath and managed to get his pizza explanation before time ran out. They criticized his perfection issues, but his pizza tasted good.
After a montage of middle tier contestants, Mary Beth tried to give some character. Bobby then liked her food. Chris tried to get rid of his frat boy style, but the judges think that he needed to add elements of fun back. Penny tried something instead of "Stilettos in the Kitchen" and went for her Middle Eastern heritage and got positive reviews. Susie tripped on a cord before she started and never recovered. Vic tried to talk and then he blanked halfway thinking about his mother.
The contestants walked out for the results. Bobby and Giada announced that the winner was Penny. The bottom three was Juba, Vic, and Justin B. The judges thought that Juba lacked authority, Justin continued to overthink and choke, and Vic needed to deliver. Juba was eliminated.
The judges welcomed back the contestants and Bobby explained that the Star Challenge was to make accessible restaurant food. The contestants had to reinvent three dishes that fell under three categories: "Time Consuming," "Expensive Ingredients," and "Technically Difficult." There would be groups facing head-to-head against each other. Penny got to select the contestants and dishes.
Expensive Ingredients (Abalone) - Orchid, Justin B., Vic, Chris
Technically Difficult (Pork Belly) - Whitney, Jeff, Jyll, Justin D., Alicia
Time Consuming (Short Ribs) - Penny, Mary Beth, Susie, Katie
Though he didn't say who would be judging the challenge, Bobby warned the contestants that the judges would be very intimidating. Soon the teams were running around Whole Foods trying to figure out alternates to their original dish inspiration. Orchid was intimidated by her competitors and grabbed canned oysters when the shop didn't have fresh oysters. Katie had three baskets of food. Alicia was at a blank, so she decided to do something without the actual pork belly and considered scallops.
Back at the house, Penny was hoping that she could win in her group. She wanted to make sure that Orchid was eliminated and placed her in the abalone section intentionally. The contestants got changed and headed to their challenge, which was in front of several Food Network stars, including the Neelys. The judges understood both restaurant quality and home cooking challenges. In between cooking, the judges asked questions to make sure that the contestants knew how to interact while cooking.
The "Time Consuming" group began the challenge and Mary Beth decided to go to the front station in hopes that she would capture the judges’ attention. Mary Beth came out natural and broke the "mediocre" label. Katie thought that she didn't have too many components. Everyone else thought that she was delusional. Susie thought a Mexican Beef Stew would be easy enough for the home chef. Penny decided to do a skirt steak sandwich. With only ten minutes, Katie didn't check her pan. She decided to pour wine over the pan; instantly the pan caught on fire and she used another pan to snuff it.
The four contestants began judging. Penny explained that she tried putting time and money into consideration, Susie liked the flavors and Middle Eastern concept, but it was just okay. Mary Beth's Ribeye Steak was great for the flavors and Anne Burrell loved her personality. Susie's beef stew had point of view and good taste. Katie was last and after explaining her short ribs, the judges called her out for having too many ingredients and steps. Anne felt really uncomfortable watching Katie cook.
The second "Technically Difficult" group was up and Justin D. started off joking around about his glasses. He decided to blanch meatballs to the judges’ dismay. Jyll decided to make Beer Bratwurst. After seeing the judges' reaction to the word "boil," Justin D. freaked out and put his meatballs in the oven. Whitney decided to make biscuits and gravy and was called out for not having any facial expressions when she tasted her food. Jeff's play on the BLT had some laughs, but he was sweating profusely. Sweat started dropping into the food; he nervously struggled with his spring rolls. Alicia was intimidated by being watched. With thirteen minutes, Alicia started to struggle, which made Anne really uncomfortable.
Jeff started the round of judging and Anne thought he was fun to watch, but the dish was disappointing. Gina Neely thought that the textures and flavors were good, but his sweating was bad. Jyll's beer brats have a strong local pride in her cooking. Whitney's biscuit and gravy was tasty, but her confidence was a bit cold. Justin D.'s deep fried meatball was good for Giada and Gina, but he lacked confidence. Alicia's bacon wrapped scallop was overcooked. The judges thought she was stressed out and didn't look like she had fun. In the back Alicia was in tears over the stress.
The final group, "Expensive Ingredients," began to cook and Orchid was on a cooking station far away from the other boys. There was a frenzy around but Chris decided to make a seafood stew. Chris tried to have fun and put his pan on fire for no culinary reason. Bobby called him out for having flash without any technical reasons. Justin B. decided to do something that matched the flavor profile of the original abalone. Orchid didn't understand the food profile of the original dish and then got questioned by the canned oysters. Chris didn't have vermouth, so he grabbed pernot. Bobby asked him to describe what Pernot was and he had no clue what to say.
Vic's seared scallop with baby octopus crostini had nice plating, but the scallop was overcooked. Justin B. had a calamari steak with clams but he muttered and had random words out. He was critiqued for overthinking, but his steak had compliments. Orchid's seafood platter was questionable because of the oysters; her personality was her saving grace. Chris' seafood stew didn't have enough care and didn't respect his food. Penny laughed in victory in the background because her plan worked.
The contestants walked into elimination and Penny explained her group selections for the challenge. She knew that Orchid would be intimidating so she placed her with men. Penny was confident in her own group. The Technically Difficult teams were judged first, but in the background Penny was grilled for her choices. Alicia's scallops were badly created and she was panicked. She was considered fragile and was told to get used to the pressure. Jeff's humor was good but his sweat threw him off. His dish was questionable because of the spring roll. Jyll's brats and locality was a positive sell. Justin D's was good and whimsical; his personal style has been adjusted. Whitney was cool and precise for her dish, but lacked passion. The group's winner was Whitney. Justin D., Jyll, and Jeff were safe. Alicia was up for elimination and stepped to the side.
The Short Rib group was next. Penny's dish achieved the goal, but she needed a friendly attitude. Susie's youthfulness and dish were complimented. Mary Beth blossomed both with the dish and the food. Katie's dish had too many things on the plate; she was too sunny and lacked fit. The winner was Mary Beth. Susie and Penny were safe. Katie waited with Alicia.
The final group was up for elimination. Chris' dish was passable, but he was slammed for his ignorance of his ingredients or his knowledge. Justin B. had great calamari, but he had no personality. Vic's dishes were nice and he needed a better personality. Orchid tried to be positive, but was spooked by the food and the guys. Bobby thought she would be a frontrunner, but went back a step. Bobby thought that no one excelled, but the winner was Justin B. because of his good food. He was followed by Vic and Orchid. Chris was the final person up for elimination.
The judges deliberated the pros and cons of each of the contestants. Alicia was good with the pizza challenge but was over the top. Chris wants to please but didn't have aptitude. Katie's attitude felt fake and she needed to focus on one job. Katie was really composed under pressure. The bottom three (Chris, Alicia, and Katie) got in front of the judges and Alicia and Chris were safe. Katie was eliminated, disappointed that she was eliminated so early.