by Kylene Hamulak

 

"Thai Breaker"

 

As the chefs make their way to a new part of the world, there are some new dynamics in the competition after the heated exchanges in the last challenge. As Jenna notes, going to Thailand (where no one knows the language or has extensive experience with the food), the eliminations will become more personal.

 

The Course begins as soon as the chefs land in Thailand. The first task is to split into three teams of two, go to Ton Phayom Market and purchase two baskets of coconuts. They all break off running towards the taxis, with Nookie and John paired off and Nicole and Liz together, leaving Avery with Jenna. This could get very interesting.

 

Nookie and John - the Black Team - are the first to arrive at the market. Red Team - Nicole and Liz - aren't far behind, with White Team Jenna and Avery getting there last. The teams stay in the same order as they find their coconuts and the next task on The Course...which is written entirely in Thai.

 

As each team tries to find a local to help them translate the task, I learn a very important lesson: never try to carry two baskets of coconuts by resting the middle stick on your neck. For one thing, the baskets will fall off the stick and your coconuts will be everywhere. For another thing? Everyone in the market will laugh at you.

 

Black is the first team to find help, and they are led directly to the next task in The Course, which is to grate five pounds of coconut before heading to Mae Taeng Rice Paddy. John is super thrilled because he actually knows how to grate coconut, and their team has a slight lead before Red arrives.

 

By the time White finally gets to the site, Black is about a pound from completing the task, as John actually DOES know how to grate coconut at a pretty rapid pace. Clearly Avery has learned from strategizing with Nookie, however - she realizes that if there's some coconut water in the bowl, it will weigh more.

 

Black retains their lead as the first team to reach five pounds of coconut, with Red about four minutes behind them as they head towards the rice paddy. Two minutes behind them is White.

 

At the paddy, the teams are looking for a flag quite a distance away, which means more running for Nookie. John suggests that, instead of heading along the marked path, they go straight through the field to save time. Did I laugh when Nookie tripped over something and disappeared from the frame? Yes. Yes, I did.

 

Their final destination is a set of three rice paddy plots where the challenge is to plant 20 rows of rice, one at a time, before heading to Wat Baan Den Temple. Nookie discovers quickly how much work it is to plant rice and vows never to waste it or throw it at a wedding again.

 

Black is the first to complete this task as well, but Red isn't too far behind. They're catching up when Nookie starts to jog, and it's the final push Black needs to reach Curtis and Cat at the temple, winning the Exceptional Ingredient and $10,000. As White finally reaches the others, it's hard to tell if John is more delighted by the win or the looks on Avery's and Jenna's faces. Avery, especially, is unhappy with both the loss and her partner.

 

The Takeover for this challenge will be a Thai street cart. The locals and tourists will be using their own money to purchase the food, so the winning team will be the one with whom they spend the most money. The Exceptional Ingredient for this Takeover will allow Black to serve two dishes instead of one at their cart, as well as twice as much for their budget to shop with. The judging panel will also include legendary Thai chef Chef McDang.

 

As an added twist, the team that came in last will be required to work without heat - no flame, no burner, no gas, nothing but the red hot anger spewing from Avery.

 

The teams use their evening to explore the market and come up with their dishes, and then all of a sudden, there are some new "friends" for Nookie and John, a wandering baby for Liz and Nicole, and apparently it's The Hangover sequel.

 

Avery and Jenna get even luckier, however - asking about a papaya salad, they're invited to the kitchen to learn how to make it. They're enjoying a (surprisingly) pleasant dinner, while Black and Red dine together.

 

The day of The Takeover, everyone seems to be getting along well. Avery and Jenna are excited about their dish, and Liz is just happy not to be on Jenna's team. On the Black team, Nookie and John are sampling their food and think their ability to use their voices (aka, be loud and obnoxious) will be an important trait in getting people to come to their cart.

 

First stop for the judges is Black, serving Pineapple, Coconut, Mandarin & Watermelon Juice and Larb Moo with Chilies, Peanuts and Cilantro. The judges think it's good, but the locals and judges agree it could use additional taste - the spicy and sour are missing.

 

White is next, with the judges sampling Avery and Jenna's Green Papaya Salad. Their dish gets thumbs up (literally) from the locals as well as good reviews from Chef McDang, who calls it "very Thai."

 

Red is getting nervous about the amount of food they have left, as they've started running low. Which is interesting considering Liz had questioned Nicole about the amount they were buying back at the market. Their dish, Crispy Pork Belly with Fresh Chilies & Kanah, is selling well, but they can't make any money if they don't have anything to sell. Chef McDang notes that the dish seems more Chinese than Thai, and some of the locals made similar comments, though they did enjoy the pork.

 

Red does, indeed, run out of food. Oops. Meanwhile, Black is running low on juice, so Nookie decides to water it down to stretch it a little further.

 

When it comes to choosing his favorite dish, Chef McDang picks White's green papaya salad, noting that it came closest to the profile and that they made an effort to capture local flavor.

 

Meanwhile, as the chefs sample each other's dishes, Liz (in her confessional) blames Nicole for running out of food, but admits she'd be voting for Jenna if she had the chance. Jenna, meanwhile, is expressing her disappointment with Nookie for watering down the juice and serving something he wasn't proud of. Jenna's pulled a few sneaky moves in the name of competition too, however, so I don't know who made her the moral police.

 

At this point in competition, Cat announces that the Most Valuable Chef will be winning $5,000 in place of immunity. As they begin talking to each team, John admits that they watered down the juice, and Nookie stands by his choice.

 

Curtis asks Red who was responsible for not having enough food, and Nicole accepts the blame. He also says, however, that diners overall enjoyed the dish, even though they didn't feel it was particularly "Thai".

 

Cat tells the White Team that both the diners and Chef McDang enjoyed their papaya salad, and of course, White is as smug as they could possibly be.

 

But this challenge, as Nookie stated earlier, isn't about making the best dish - it's about making the most money. Red brought in a total of 2,160 baht, White made 2,450 baht, plus 150 baht for being Chef McDang's favorite dish, bringing their total to 2,600 baht. The teams are no match for Black, however, who made 4,120 baht, giving them safe passage to the next city. In addition to that, John is once again Most Valuable Chef.

 

When the two losing teams get together to gossip about Black, Jenna is upset that Black won, even though they would have gotten fired in "normal life." Her statement is ironic to me, considering how many other chefs have gone home too early in this competition because it is a game and not "normal life."

 

Oh, and then there's Nicole, who should've been sent home if not for her own immunity, being all noble and letting the locals decide, declaring that she thought because White's was the favorite dish, a Red chef should be the one sent home. As in...either herself or Liz. Unsurprisingly, Liz does not agree.

 

When it comes down to the vote, Jenna votes for Liz, Liz chose Jenna, Nicole chooses Liz, and Avery votes for Jenna. John acts as the tie breaker, choosing Jenna.

 

Don't worry though, her ego seems pretty in tact. As for the rest of our chefs? They're headed to Hong Kong!

 

 

Around The World In 80 Plates airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Bravo.

 

(Image courtesy of Bravo)