by Kylene Hamulak

 

"Impossible Beginnings"

 

The eighth season of Food Network Star begins by announcing some format changes for the show, breaking the 15 chefs into three teams, each with a celebrity coach. - Team Bobby, Team Alton, and Team Giada. Each of the coaches auditioned their own choices to form their teams. Like any reality show auditions, there are some hits and there are some....chefs who almost set Alton on fire. Somehow, all three end up with five chefs who promise to bring their own special ingredient to the Food Network. (See what I did there?)

 

Emily (Team Alton) describes the teams as the Nerds (Team Alton), the Jocks (Team Bobby), and the Cheerleaders (Team Giada). I have my own judgments, but I'll reserve them until we know a little bit more about the competitors.

 

The Star Challenge begins in a big empty lot with special guest Robert Irvine of Restaurant Impossible. The challenge? Build a restaurant from the ground up, with each chef responsible for one dish and the team working together on all other design elements.

 

As Team Alton gets into making their choices, Emily becomes the team leader and a name - Do South - is chosen without much debate. Team Giada is running smoothing as well too, with Ippy chosen as team leader and the group deciding on the name "Blu" for their restaurant, in honor of the blue skies of California. Nikki volunteers to be leader of Team Bobby, and the chefs chose The Tasting Space as their restaurant name.

 

After a quick stop at a couple of grocery stores, the teams jump right into cooking for 150 people in six hours. Michele (Team Bobby) is making steamed mussels, which isn't all that interesting, but I note it because she is telling us how NEW ENGLAND she is for the third time. I've lived here all my life too, and I've never, not once, described myself as "New England". She's done it three times (at least) in fifteen minutes. But I digress...

 

Eric (Team Bobby) is making fresh pasta dough from scratch. Oh, and also? He quit his job to do the show. And he reminds us of THAT every chance he gets.

 

Justin (Team Alton) is preparing kale salad with Maryland-style croutons. And by that, he means "Crab cakes...disguised...as CROUTONS." Emily is making bourbon peanut butter pie and...pork crust? Did she say pork?

 

Over on Team Giada, Josh's dish is dumpling soup, and he's gonna need a lot of eggs. Which he specifically asked his team to buy for him. We all know it, because we all heard it. So when we realize no eggs were bought, I'm sure this is gonna get ugly, and Yvan feels guilty. I mean, he should, considering Josh's ENTIRE DISH is dependent on eggs. As the teammates try to pretend like it's no big deal and there are all these other options he could make with what he has, Josh ends up going with fried nori dumpling soup.

 

I can't tell you how disappointed I would be if I thought I was getting dumplings and got that instead, but I admire his ability to get creative.

 

So anyway, back on Team Alton, Cristie is still whining about how no one listens to her brilliant ideas and how she would've rather have done the entrée or the dessert than the soup. I can only assume it's a protest that she decides to make a black-eyed pea and cabbage soup that looks like cement.

 

Nikki seems pretty confident in Team Bobby, as she's apparently preparing roasted corn salad, which I would totally get in line for. She's just a little nervous about Eric, and for good reason. He's decided he needs to create a lasagna dish solely for the purpose of making fresh ricotta. By hand. Except he can't get the milk hot enough to do that, and he thinks his focus on "hand crafted" foods might be his downfall. YA THINK?

 

After checking in on the "restaurants" and their assigned staff, the kitchens are just about winding down. The chefs, while not calm, are beginning to relax a little until the moment when Alton, Giada, and Bobby arrive to tell them that there's one more twist to the challenge: each team must do a pitch to "The Network" and their diners.

 

So just who is The Network? Basically, the guy who makes Food Network stars and the woman who creates brand empires. No pressure, guys. Especially when the chefs hear about how much their personalities will count towards making them stars.

 

While Giada works on rehearsing with Josh, Bobby is warning his team not to use the word "delicious". Michele is confused by this because - well - it's FOOD. And how do you describe it if not DELICIOUS? (My best guess with her: NEW ENGLAND.) Alton's advice is for each chef to talk about each region as it relates to the food, which is running smoothly until Cristie opens her mouth. Bless her heart.

Team Alton makes their pitch for Do South first. It goes well for most of the chefs, although Cristie's poem (which included the phrase "water your mouth") seemed to fall flat.

 

Team Bobby steps up next, and The Network notes how well they represented their coach. They were professional and all about the food - except for Michele, who chose to describe her delicious mussels as "sexy" instead.

 

Last up: Team Giada, and the second Josh starts pulling out his aging rock star moves, I started cringing. They pulled it out, though, and did a good job describing their food without losing any personality. The Network thinks Team Giada won with their pitch, though some of the diners thought it might have been a little too spastic.

 

As dining begins, Josh's nori dumplings are at risk for getting soggy, so he decides to plate them apart from his broth. Great idea, except that means double the work to serve, and it starts slowing everything down. Martita is getting a little nervous that if diners are waiting too long, they'll go to another restaurant instead. Meanwhile, over at Team Bobby's Tasting Space, diners are loving everything they eat, while Cristie's soup isn't getting rave reviews for Team Alton.

 

Serving Notes:

Josh (TG): first to serve, and when Robert Irvine questions the "fattiness" of the oil from the soup, his heart sinks

Ippy (TG): warm mushroom salad goes over well, but judges are concerned that his attitude may be just a little too quiet and laid back

Yvan (TG): judges think his "small bites" meatballs may have too much going on and weren't impressed with his presentation on the plate, but did enjoy him.

Martita (TG): when asked about what is in rice upon which her salmon sits, Martita gets tongue-tied; judges think she was a little safe today

Linkie (TG): Key Lime Pie doesn't wow the judges; Alton calls it "cafeteria"

Nikki (TB): again, judges describe her as timid, and though her roasted corn salad is good, they don't seem impressed

Malcom (TB): shrimp and grits gets rave reviews, but the judges aren't sure he's a star

Michele (TB): judges loved not only her "sexy bowl of steamed mussels" but also her

Eric (TB): mushroom lasagna is a hit...but the chef is less so

Kara (TB): judges liked her carmeletto cookie, but think she may be too reserved

Martie (TA): deviled eggs were somewhat blah, and her personality, while engaging, would require some "editing" to help her know when to stop

Justin (TA): serving his kale salad and "Maryland croutons" gets a little awkward when Alton asks him about lip balm; while the judges aren't totally impressed by the plate, they definitely notice him as a personality

Cristie (TA): let's not talk about her black-eyed pea cabbage soup...or the fact that the judges thought she was more angry than anything else

Judson (TA): shrimp and sausage e tu fe goes over very well, and so does his personality; Judson presented Mardi Gras beads AND a story to the judges...he's one to watch

Emily (TA): bourbon peanut butter pie and Emily both get points from the judges for the same reason - "quirky smartness"

 

The celebrity chefs each meet with their teams to discuss feedback and how to improve. Everyone takes the criticism well - this time. We'll see what happens as the competition continues.

 

Meeting with The Network, the first chef to be singled out is Judson, and it's for all the right reasons. They were impressed with his thoughtful presentation and the best dish on the team. Ippy's mushroom salad was the highlight of all the menus for both the judges and the diners, but they want to see him bring his energy up. Michele managed to bring it all together in both her food and personality. Team Bobby, overall, created the restaurant they'd most want to eat at again, making them safe from elimination.

 

One person each from Teams Alton and Giada will be up for elimination, starting with Josh from Team Giada, due not only to his soup, but also his tricks. For Team Alton, it's not really a surprise that Cristie in danger. Each chef is tasked with the Producer's Challenge of creating their best dish for Mother's Day brunch.

 

Josh decides he's going to make a frittata, while Cristie is going to make a Scottish egg. The interesting thing is to watch these chefs race around the kitchen area with an audience of the other chefs looking on as their mentors pepper them with questions about their "story". Which both chefs are clearly struggling on. And then a light bulb goes off for Cristie: "My brother came home on Mother's Day! From Iraq! And he loves eggs!" It's a little bit of a stretch, but hey - she needs a story.

 

Both chefs are given one minute in front of the camera to tell their stories and present their dishes. Josh decides to wing it with jokes about eggs and women that...well, don't work. And Giada tells him so, recommending that he talk to his mom instead. Cristie's coaching from Alton is to make sure she smiles. Seems easy enough, and yet....

 

In the Pitch Room, Josh's story is up first, presenting his "Frittata with Love." He seems a little prouder of himself than he should be, but what can you do. The judges did like his dish, but still think maybe his eyes were a little "dead."

 

Cristie's Scottish egg is well-received by the judges, but her video was a little awkward for me. The story was there, but I'm still side-eyeing the "Happy Mother's Day to my brother Bill!"

 

After some deliberation, Cristie and Josh are called back to the Pitch Room, where The Network announces that Cristie will be going home.

Josh heads back to Team Giada, while Cristie heads home, and it was probably the right choice at this point in the competition. Let's just hope that next week, Josh makes sure someone remembers to buy the eggs he needs for his dish!

 

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)