by Allison L. Nowacki and Bryan J. Polk

On this episode of Food Network Star, things got off to a quick start when the contestants were greeted by Melissa D'Arabian in the Food Star Kitchen and were immediately thrust into this week's Camera Challenge. The contestants were instructed to create a bite sized and sophisticated dish in forty-five minutes with a Kellogg's product that was randomly assigned to them. As usual, they then had to present their dish to camera for a one-minute segment that would be judged by surprise guest Michael Symon, Bob Tushman, and Melissa.

The twist to this camera challenge was that during their minute segment they must also take a bite of their food. For the second time in a row, Jyll was the winner with her Rice Krispies cereal crab fritters and her friendly and fun presentation. For the first time this season we see several contestants not pay attention to the time and end up with some extra seconds to fill with awkward stutters. We felt bad for Justin D and Jeff (two of our personal favorites) who just couldn't hit one out of the park today.

In the Star Challenge for this episode, the contestants were greeted by Bill Lawrence and Busy Phillips from the sitcom Cougar Town. They will be cooking for the cast and crew of the show as well as special guest Paula Dean. Contestants were randomly divided into four groups of two and one group of three to prepare a meal focused on the five different departments that work on a Hollywood show - art, script, vanities, crew, and cast. We are pretty sure there are more than five departments working on a show but who are we to argue. Each team was given fifteen minutes to plan their menu before they went to shop at two different locations with an allotment of two thousand dollars. Once they returned to the Food Star Kitchen they got four hours to cook before having to serve their food on the set.

It seems like the hardest part of this Star Challenge isn't the food itself but gathering it from Restaurant Depot and the supermarket. Contestants were miscommunicating with each other and paranoia ran high as no one team member fully trusts the other. Justin D, who was on the three-person team with Susie and Whitney, misheard the shopping list and only grabbed two bags of quinoa instead of the ten bags that Susie required. Mary Beth and Penny were teamed together in a move we hope was pre-planned by the producers for giggles. They were attempting to be fake nice and pull through to get the job done while not so secretly wishing they were teamed up with anyone else. Orchid was paired with Chris and takes on the task of reining him in with the use of the term "code blue" whenever he is starting to get a bit too riled up in the kitchen. We were surprised how many contestants made vegetarian meals as only one group was specifically instructed to produce vegetarian only food. Going vegetarian is usually the mark of death on a cooking show but six out of the eleven remaining contestants went meatless.

By the time we get to judging, it is pretty clear who has risen to the top and who has sunk to the bottom this week. Since they can't pick one team to win, the judges will be picking one winner from each team to be safe. Automatically safe are Jeff, Orchid, Mary Beth, Susie and Vic. Their food was delicious and they made a lasting impression on the diners. This leaves Justin D, Whitney, Penny, and Justin B up for possible elimination. Justin D had food that was uninspired and his look was the only thing most diners could remember about him. Whitney had four hours and made a Mediterranean salad that left everyone hungry and feeling ripped off. Penny made the detrimental mistake of burning the cheese sauce for her mac and cheese, showing just how important it is to taste the food you are putting out. Justin B was once again lacking in personality and his food this week was bland and didn't seem to be up to his usual standards.

After much discussion, it is shockingly Justin B who is sent home. Our jaws were on the floor when his name was announced. We expected Penny or Whitney to go. Everyone in the lineup was shocked including Justin B who was at a loss for words. At the end of the day, he just wasn't coming out of his shell fast enough to prove that he could lead a hit show. It takes more than amazing cooking ability to make it as a food network star. 

Food Network Star airs Sundays at 10/9c on Food Network

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

You can catch more of Allison and Bryan with their weekly reality show podcast at notmakefriends.com.