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Food Network Star Season 8: Episode 3 Recap

Posted on 05/26/2012 by Gina in The Next Food Network Star

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Food Network Star Season 8

 

by Kylene Hamulak 

 

"Dessert Chopping Block"

 

Episode 3's Star Challenge is all about expertise. In addition to The Network, the chefs will, for this round, also face "one of the most feared panel of judges in food." Who might they be? Scott Conant, Alex Guarnaschelli, and Marc Murphy, all of Food Network's "Chopped" fame.

 

There's also another twist: for this round, the chefs will be competing against their own teammates, as a reminder that this is still an individual competition. Each team will have one losing finalist, with those three finalists facing off for elimination in the Producers Challenge.

 

For the challenge, each contestant is given a mystery basket containing four ingredients, which must be used to create a dessert in only 30 minutes. The chefs are also required to offer a "culinary tip" to the judges as they present their dishes to the judges.

 

Team Alton opens their mysterious basket first, which Justin describes as the inverse of Christmas: "Instead of a basket of joy, it's a basket of terror." The team's basket consists of: Hershey's kisses, pancetta, graham crackers, and kumquats. Well...that's not exactly the traditional s'mores around a campfire picnic, so good luck with that, Team!

 

While the chefs prepare their dishes, the judges are asking questions, starting with Martie who heard my s'mores idea and seems to be going that route. As she tries to explain it, however, she STOPS. Not talking - COOKING. Which gets a stern response from Alton, who tells her "If you can't cook and talk at the same time, shut up and cook!" And then all the judges giggle nervously the same way you do when your parents start yelling at your sister with you in the room.

 

Justin is creating a no-bake cookie that actually sounds pretty good (considering the ingredients he has to work with), but he's choosing an unconventional route to get his chocolate - he's going to melt the kisses while they're still in their wrappers to save himself time. Speaking as someone who's had kisses melt in pockets more times than I care to admit - that seems like a really bad idea. As he runs around the kitchen in the final minutes trying to make it work, he assures us that he likes freaking the judges out and knows exactly what he's doing.

 

Team Alton Presentations:

Emily: Chocolate Cake with Salted Pancetta (her tip is to use a salty pancetta to enhance the flavor of chocolate) - Scott tells her that his bite of cake had the perfect blend of tastes; judges liked her energy.

Martie: Indoor S'more (not really sure what her tip was - she got cut off for time) - Marc was disappointed that the dish was so simple and did nothing to transform some of the ingredients; judges agree that she should talk about her dish rather than coming out apologizing (long story), and Alton scolds her for bringing her age into the presentation.

Justin: No-Bake Cookies (gives a tip about using a towel to blow excess powdered sugar from the plate) - Judges loved everything about Justin. Amazingly, his cookies got rave reviews, though his methods were both fascinating and worrisome...which makes them entertaining, I guess.

Judson: Cornbread Cake (add punch to the kumquat with some bourbon) - Mixed reviews; cake was not cooked well, but the judges appreciated that he worked on changing his style based on the notes from the previous challenge.

 

Next up to the baskets: Team Giada. What's inside: Reese's Pieces, popcorn, shredded coconut, and grape soda. So, like, pretty much the same stuff that's in my bag when I go to the movies.

 

As the chefs give us our first glimpse at their desserts, most of them seem to have a pretty good idea of what they'll make, even if we can all be a little unsure of how good those ideas might actually be. Except Josh. Who tells us he's just going to "wing it." Does that ever end well in this competition?

 

Fun Fact: Yvan has, apparently, been on "Chopped."

 

The last ten seconds for Team Giada come down to a watch on whether Ippy will finish his plating - he does, but just barely.

 

Team Giada Presentations:

Ippy: Tempura (use soda water to aerate the tempura for crispier batter) - Though he was rushed, the judges approve - the dessert is delicious, and he was able to teach them something.

Martita: Bunuelos with Fruit (forgot to give her tip) - Martita's dessert got a positive review, but her presentation was, "a step back"; they thought she seemed nervous and could have painted a better picture

Linkie: Chocolate Mousse (pour hot chocolate down the side of the bowl to cool a bit when making mousse) - Linkie does great with the challenge - both her mousse and her presentation get positive feedback, and the judges praise her for her tip delivery.

Yvan: Reese's Pieces Pudding (tip to use vanilla bean pod for other recipes) - His dessert gets a good review, but the judges think his personality was a little low for this challenge.

Josh: Aebleskiver (another one forgot his tip) - Not surprisingly, Josh hears criticism once again. The judges note that his dessert contains unpopped kernels, and that he tried to throw too much information into a minute.

 

So it comes down to Team Bobby. Team Bobby's basket contains: Hershey's milk chocolate bars, pineapple, pasta sheets, and black lava salt.

 

Now, I'm not going to pretend I could make anything with that, but honestly? It doesn't seem AS bad as the other groups.

 

The judges note how cool and calm Team Bobby seems to be working together in the kitchen. What does Team Bobby note? Well, Michele tells us that Giada has been staring at her this whole time, and it's freaking her out. I really hope Giada brings it up so we can find out why. As time starts to wind down, Nikki's bread pudding is in question, as it doesn't seem totally set when it comes out of the oven.

 

Team Bobby Presentations:

Michele: Cheese Napoleon (tip on making chocolate sauce) - Michele told us she wasn't going to let Giada get in her head...but she does. Judges approve of her dessert, but wanted more from her personality. It's kind of odd when Michele tells them all that Giada makes her nervous.

Malcolm: Salt & Sugar Fried Pasta (elevate flavors with flambé) - His dish goes over well, but his presentation does not; judges criticize him for being "low" and not giving enough energy.

Eric: Hawaiian Napoleon (caramel sauce with coconut milk instead of heavy cream) - Judges love Eric's dessert, but, once again, they don't say much about his presentation.

Nikki: Bread Pudding (use stale bread for bread pudding) - Nikki is criticized for her presentation - both her dish and her story. Judges thought it was sloppy and that her tip sounded scripted.

 

Meeting with the judges for results, we learn that, though there was no team winner for this challenge, all agreed that Team Alton would've won. Justin is singled out for his success, but Martie is the first identified chef in danger. Josh will represent Team Giada (surprise!), and Nikki from Team Bobby join them in the Producers Challenge.

 

This round's Producers Challenge is to answer a question submitted to Food Network's website, which happens to be: If you don't have an outdoor grill, what can you make?

 

Martie is presenting tequila lime tuna using two grill pans. Alton warns her not to spend too much time introducing things, as that's always her challenge. Josh is making a loose meatball, which apparently will be a fusion of Scandinavian and Asian cuisine, because that technique has NOT worked for him yet. Both he and Giada think his experience of being up for elimination can be used to his advantage. Nikki's dish is a flank steak, and her dish is accompanied by the tastes, look, and smell of grill cooking. Her "theme" is "Girl on Grill", so we'll see if her personality shows up.

 

Over in the Pitch Room, Martie is first up. As she goes through her demonstration, it's not too bad...until her bracelet gets stuck. What could've been disaster, however, might actually have helped her relax. Josh stumbled in his presentation as well, but judges were more critical of what was missing. Nikki seems pretty proud of herself watching her presentation, and I have to say...she's getting on my nerves a little bit. The judges seem a little unsure of how to take Nikki - she has potential, but they can't quite figure out what.

 

Nikki is the first to be declared safe, and, based on her presentations so far, it's the appropriate choice. The judges deliberate over saving Martie (who may be a better storyteller than chef) or Josh (who has interesting ideas but less impressive presentation skills). Ultimately, they decide to save Martie.

 

Josh is eliminated from the competition, as one of our readers predicted last week!

 

There are some chefs certainly separating themselves from the pack and others who still have a lot of potential. It'll be interesting to see how the challenges change going forward and whatever surprises the show has in store.

 

Next challenge: Fashion Week! This oughta be interesting....

 

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

 

 

 


  


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