by Gina Scarpa

 

It's the halfway point on The Next Food Network Star and the judges are starting to look at who is growing and on their way to becoming a star... and who's not. Last night, the contestants had to create their own food product, aka "You In A Jar". They'll also have to create a dish that utilizes that dish and present it in front of a live audience of one hundred people. Pressure!!

 

In the kitchen, the ideas are brewing while the food is cooking. Aarti is planning a Tandoori paste, Serena works with a pasta sauce (no surprise), and Brianna stirs a chocolate berry sauce. Tom has a glaze working that apparently makes chicken livers and Brussels sprouts taste good - I'd like to see or taste that!

 

Giada heads over to the house later that night to have some one on one time with the contestants and give each one individual advice that will hopefully help them in the challenge. Her advice comes from both an extremely sincere and knowledgeable place. Hopefully, they listen and are able to apply it when the step in front of that audience the following day.

 

The next day, Serena presents first and makes absolutely no sense when telling her story, then runs out of time. Paul spends so much time making jokes (that nobody laughs at) that he hardly had time to explain his dish. Herb's blend is just two oils in a jar... can't I just buy those two oils separately? Aarti loses track of time, like the others before her, and doesn't finish her presentation.

 

Brianna gets so nervous that she doesn't even get the name of her product right. Aria lost the personality and energy that she's been known for, while Tom continues to step up his game, delivering a killer presentation... unfortunately the judges don't like his glaze very much. Brad still can't find his smile but the judges do like what he made.

 

The audience voted and put Brianna and Serena in the bottom two and Aarti and Tom in the top two. They are the winners of the challenge, but the celebration ends quickly when they realize they all have to head out to meet Bobby and find out their Star Challenge. Not only is Bobby there to meet them, but Food Network superstar Paula Deen is there, too!

 

For their Star Challenge, in teams of two (based on the earlier challenge), they'll work together on food trucks to serve simple foods. Brianna and Serena are paired together, as well as Tom and Aarti, who also get to decide the remaining two teams. They put Brad and Aria and Paul and Herb together. After just a few minutes to plan out their dishes, they head out shopping and the next day, it's time to take on the lunch trucks.

 

At first glance, the dishes that Brianna and Serena are working on sound really appealing - empanadas, gyros, and paninis!

Customers head over to the trucks before the chefs are even ready! Aria and Brad, especially, are not even close to having food to hand out to people. She tried to tell him that they needed burgers ready but he didn't want to listen... bet he regretted that! Serena and Brianna find common ground, get into a groove, and start throwing out plate after plate to hungry customers. Tom and Aarti were friendly, fun, and made sure to really interact with the crowd. Then, there's Paul and Herb, who dial it up to 11 and really let those personalities shine.

 

At panel, the judges seem very happy with almost everything that the judges served but give everyone the little bit of tough love they need to hear in order to really be competitive to win this thing.  Coming back from the bottom, Brianna and Serena take the win.  Aarti, Tom, and Herb are also safe, which means that Paul, Brad, and Aria in this week's bottom three.  Paul has made one too many snarky comments and can't seem to figure out who he is.  He's headed home and is out of the competition.

 

The Next Food Network Star airs Sundays at 9/8c on Food Network.

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

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