by Kylene Hamulak

 

"Guy Live"

 

What's the best way to identify the next Food Network Star? I can't be sure, but I'm betting that throwing them in the kitchen with one of their biggest personalities is a good start. For this episode, former Food Network Star chef Guy Fieri is joining our chefs - that should make things interesting!

 

This episode's Star Challenge is presented to them by Guy Fieri. He announces that the teams will each host a live special in front of a studio audience with Guy as a host. Live, guys. With an audience. Get it right, or you'll crash and burn.

 

Each team is assigned a theme for their special - Team Alton is assigned Halloween, Team Giada gets Game Day, and Team Bobby is given the task of Cooking for Kids.

 

As usual, some teams think the other teams have the easier time - particularly Team Bobby, who doesn't want to cook for kids. They're taking the approach of "mindful" cooking - that is, cooking healthy. It's not a bad concept, but when Nikki starts throwing kale into a smoothie...well, I mean, I'm just not picturing the 8 year-olds in the neighborhood lining up.

 

Team Giada is brainstorming Game Day ideas and seem to be on a good path. And by "good" I mean everything that's mentioned sounds like something I'd eat. Team Alton, on the other hand, has a potentially scary Halloween menu that includes both applesauce and fish bones.

 

Oh yes.

 

Fish bones, courtesy of Justin. "The potato chip of the sea," he tells us. I'm skeptical.

 

Team Alton is the first up, presenting their Halloween theme.

 

Justin - Eating Fish Bones: Team Alton's presentation begins with uncomfortable silence as Justin is unsure of when to begin his presentation. His nerves get the better of him as he presents his dish, but the dish itself goes over very well.

Judson - Vegetarian Chile: Judson reveals his weight loss and a new point of view - "sweet and the heat," providing healthier options for people. After struggling for a couple of weeks, he seems to have improved with this challenge, but the Network is still not convinced.

Martie - Diablo Chicken Wings: Martie - as usual - rambles with her chicken wings. Though she was warned to be mindful of the clock so as not to throw off Emily, she still goes long, and the judges are critical about it.

Emily - Applesauce: Rushed due to Martie's presentation, Emily just barely manages to talk about her dish, but the judges give her credit for keeping calm and for, as Guy put it, her "bomb" applesauce.

 

Overall, the judges note that Team Alton presented more as individuals than as a team and didn't really "rise to the occasion personality wise." Next up: Team Giada presents their Game Day menu.

 

Yvan - Beer Battered Wings: Team Giada's presentation starts off very naturally and smoothly, and Yvan goes right into talking about his dish. Judges seem pleased with his humor and engagement with Guy.

Ippy - Teriyaki Sliders: Ippy also goes for the "bro" angle with Guy and does a good job at presenting his recipe. Judges don't love his dish, however, noting that it seemed to fall apart.

Martita - Grilled Quesadilla: Another smooth presentation, and Martita notes that she feels like Guy is part of their team. Guy thinks she did a great job on the dish, and the judges did like her presentation, noting the "warmth" she emanates.

Linkie - Chocolate Chip Pecan Football Cookies: Linkie almost gets thrown off by Guy but recovers quickly to give a good presentation of her "artwork" in making her cookies look like footballs. Great reviews from the judges for the cookie, including the designation of favorite dish she's made so far.

 

Team Giada ends their presentation in a huddle, and it definitely seems like they had a more cohesive, comfortable show. The final show is Team Bobby with their Cooking for Kids challenge.

 

Nikki - Breakfast Pizza and Green Smoothie: Nikki always seems polished (as she'd call it) in her presentations, and this challenge is no different. When the clock starts ticking as she's blending her smoothie, however, everyone starts getting a little anxious about it. The judges liked her dishes and the concept of "mindful meals", but weren't overly impressed with her presentation.

Michele - Spaghetti Squash and Meatballs: Beginning by asking Guy if he's her brother, Michele gets a big laugh from the audience. She does well with her pitch, and the judges "felt there was a star on stage."

Malcolm - Chicken Tenders: Malcolm's idea of, basically, using the chicken tenders like paintbrushes is a good approach, but he regrets not mentioning his own fathering experience in his presentation. The judges agree with that - the dish went over great, but he didn't come off the way he should've.

 

When the kids are brought in at the end of the presentation, the only thing we know for sure is that Nikki's smoothie was NOT a favorite. Told ya so.

 

When it's time for judgment, there's a twist - since two teams did very well, the judges have decided that both of those teams will be safe from elimination. All chefs from the remaining team, however, will compete against one another. Team Giada and Team Bobby are declared safe, leaving Team Alton at risk.

 

The Producer Challenge for this episode challenges the chefs' ability to be versatile by throwing a dart to a map of the USA, then preparing a dish based on where the dart lands.

 

Judson goes first and lands in Arkansas, Justin gets Nebraska, Emily is in Arizona, and Martie ends up with Pennsylvania. (Also, I want to note that Alton has been calling Emily "Miss Ellyn" the entire episode and it wasn't until just now that I realized that was her last name. I thought I was calling her the wrong thing for the last month!)

 

After watching each of the chefs film his or her pitch with Alton's coaching, we head to the Pitch Room. Martie seemed to have the most difficulty shooting, but the Pitch Room may tell a different story:

 

Justin - Spaghetti Midwestern: Justin gets good reviews from the judges for his pitch, though it is suggested that he warm to the audience a little more.

Emily - Chicken Posole: Watching Emily's pitch is more uncomfortable for me than I would've expected. She has some good ideas that the judges also appreciate, but they're questioning her authenticity.

Martie - Stuffed Mushrooms: After all the rehearsal issues she had, Martie presented a decent pitch, but the judges criticized the overload of information she packed into the minute.

Judson - Pecan Encrusted Catfish: Once again, Judson is throwing out a new tagline - this one is "roadmap to flavor" - and while he's pretty proud of himself for being clever, the judges call him out for having "a little bit of a BS artist" in him. It becomes about his weight loss (again) and he starts pretty much crying about it (again).

 

Before they announce the eliminated chef, the judges declare both Justin and Emily safe, and rightfully so. Between the remaining two, we learn that Judson will be leaving the competition. And then he's crying. Again.

 

I'm not surprised to see Judson go, though I wouldn't have been shocked to see Martie eliminated either. As the season moves forward, chefs will need to show some growth and focus - Judson and Martie have both had issues with that. As many times as she's been warned not to ramble, Martie still does, and as for Judson, he has spent five weeks searching for a POV.

 

Up to this point, the chefs up for elimination have been fairly predictable, but that will be changing before long. It's too bad Judson couldn't hone in on his specialty sooner - he could've made a significant move towards the top with interesting recipes if he had started there to begin with.

 

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)