by Chandra Clewley

 

This week’s episode of The Next Food Network Star begins with Giada asking the contestants to test the fundamentals of being a Celeb-Chef by practicing the fine art of speaking while you are cooking. The team will be preparing one of Giada’s own recipes that has eleven steps. It is Spinach Lasagna. Each cook has 1 minute to explain and talk while they are mastering one step, while being taped.  After all of the contestants go, Giada’s feedback is as follows:

 

Paul has a lot of energy; Aarti just froze up and had dead air; Tom was disengaged; Selena spoke too fast; Dzintra was trying too hard; Brianna needs to work on her nerves; Das has great energy but almost killed the spinach when he squeezed the water out of it; Doreen had angry facial expressions; Brad used the word nice like 32 times; Herb was funny and engaging and lastly; Aria talked like she was addressing little kids.

 

The next part of the show is the Star Challenge. Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes introduces the challenge which is to cater a party for 100 people. He wants them to create a savory appetizer dish that reflects one of the several desserts that are on the table he is presenting. The desserts are all carnival related and there is a Zoltar machine that is doling out the desserts to each contestant. 

The cooks scramble to come up with ideas and put their dishes together, and the next day they prep at the Santa Monica pier which is closed down for the event. Aria realizes she has left half of her meatballs in the oven and has to scramble to put together 50 more meatballs. Doreen is upset because her pulled pork is tough, and she definitely didn’t have enough time to create the tenderness associated with pulled pork.  The selection committee comes through and tries everyone’s dishes.

 

Serena was given the Ice Cream Cone and has decided to make Cheese Croquettes with Marinara Sauce. She is nervous and speaks too fast but the committee thinks that the dish was a clever idea.

 

Brianna was assigned a Candy Apple and creates Sweet Chili Asian Meatballs. Everyone seems to love her food, but she has her walls up and getting information from her is like pulling teeth. Bob says she nailed the food but he isn’t getting the star energy from her.

 

Aarti had funnel cake, something she has never tried, but comes out with a Scallion Ricotta Pancake with Tandoori Barbeque Chicken. She is a crowd favorite and everyone feels the love in her delicious dish. Aarti herself is second guessing her food and gets nervous when the committee shows up. Of course, the committee likes her immediately and feels her food is warm, just like her personality, but she needs to stop the self-doubt.

 

Aria had Banana Split and created Meatballs in a marinara sauce with garlic toast. Unfortunately because she was short half of her dish, the meatballs lack the seasoning that they should have, and the committee likes the idea but they fall short.

 

Brad has Circus Peanuts and has smoked his meat with peanuts, something he is very proud of. He presents Peanut Smoked Barbeque Pork. Bobby Flay thinks something tastes burnt and the rest of the committee find the food unappealing as well. They also don’ t think he is showing enough of his personality and is too focused on the ingredient s of the food.

 

Paul has Caramel Corn and presents an Asian Chicken Wrap garnished with Caramel Corn. He comes off a bit forward and creepy to the guests, and the judges don’t understand the relationship with the food. 

 

Dzintra has Cotton Candy and makes Duck Mousse with Duck Breast and Sweet Meringue. She is extremely nervous and is talking to herself. The guests find it very unappealing and the committee does as well. They find her going overboard and think that she cannot talk and cook at the same time. 

 

Doreen has Root Beer Float and makes the Pulled Pork with Jalapeno Crème Fraiche. To the committee she used oxymoron’s such as “simply complex” and they are simply baffled again by her point of view, or lack thereof.

 

Tom has Churros, and makes Mahi with Jalapeno Slaw. He completely throws off the committee by calling it a fish taco, since there is nothing to wrap the fish with. They also find that the fish is overcooked and gritty, and also find that Tom just didn’t connect with the guest.

 

Das has Lemonade and makes a Lemon Pepper Chicken Wing which really shows his cooking style and everyone seems to love his personality.  The committee thinks it was a really smart approach and that he did a great job.

 

Lastly, Herb has lollipops and made Smoked Salmon Mousse which the committee likes the creativity on and the food tastes good.

 

The top four for the challenge are Serena, who was chatty but her food was delicious; Aarti who overcame herself doubt, Aria who seems to be trending as a crowd pleaser, and Das who really shined on this challenge. In the end, Aarti takes the win with her heartfelt recipe and sweet demeanor.

 

The bottom three of this challenge are Dzintra with her tangled nerves that are getting in her way and completely freezing her up; Doreen who is completely struggling with any point of view besides “making good food” and Paul who seemed to add Caramel Corn as an afterthought that didn’t complement his dish and creeped out the ladies. All three of them have good qualities as well, but in the end, because she just couldn’t find her voice, Doreen is eliminated.

 

Catch an all new episode of The Next Food Network Star Season 6 on the Food Network, next Sunday at 9/8 c.

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

 

 

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