The Next Food Network Star - Top 4
The Final Four went to Vegas Baby and got to meet Paula Deen Y'all!!!
The euphoria didn't last long because Bobby Flay put the fab four straight to work on a Next Food Network Star Throwdown! Each contestant was pitted against another to create not only their signature dish but a throwdown version of the other contestants signature dish. They were also asked to vamp up their recipes and make them Vegas style! They had 75 minutes to cook both dishes, in front of the selection committee (including Paula) and also they were to be interviewed during the process. Wow!
Up first were Lisa vs Adam.
Of course, Lisa's signature dish is something I've never heard of: casoulet (sp). Which sounds like a white bean stew with sausage. Adam has heard of it, but never eaten it and never made it. Lisa goes on and on about how complicated it is. Sheesh she is so stuck up her own butt it's really annoying!
Adam's signature dish is lo and behold, Macaroni and Cheese. Wow! A man after my own heart! Of course, Lisa thought creating a Vegased up version of Mac and Cheese would be a cinch for her. Since she's such a fabulous cook!
Adam Vegased up his own Mac and Cheese with Lobster. Lisa told the behind the scenes camera that Adam was getting in over his head. The judges RAVED over Adam's Mac and flat out told Lisa hers was awful. Yeah! Of course, the casoulet Adam attempted was called amateurish and Lisa's was RAVED over!
Both Adam and Lisa did OK with the interview part. The first throwdown seemed to be a draw.
Next up were Kelsey vs Aaron.
Aaron's signature dish was a stuffed pork dish and Kelsey's was Chicken Parmesan. Aaron got so involved in cooking his dish and talking to the interviewer that he almost forgot to cook the Chicken Parmesan.
Kelsey seemed out of sorts and cooked dishes petite style as the Vegas twist (???huh???). Aaron's plates were loaded up with lots of food and the judges were beyond impressed. Even though he threw the Chicken Parm together at the last minute the judges seemed to like it much better than Kelsey's. Round two of the throwdowns definitely went to Aaron.
Elimination time and the judges once again told Lisa she's too intense and needs to show more personality, they praised Aaron all the way around and put him through to the next round first. Lisa was put through next. Adam and Kelsey were the bottom 2. I was really afraid they were going to send Adam home, but in the end, Kelsey's inexperience, her disappointing dishes in the throwdown and her constant references to culinary school finally did her in. She was sent home and Adam was safe once again.
Next week is apparently going to have some shock factor!
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Comments
We watched it on DVR last night (I had to avoid reading your post yesterday!). I thought this was a really good episode. I liked the one-challenge aspect of it, and I thought the "Throwdown" was a great idea.
I also thought that Adam's and Lisa's match was a draw. You could tell Adam was really working on his cooking harder. And Lisa. I'm sure she makes really good food, but I think I'd want to NOT like it. I think I actually like her when she's being the intense, business like (b/c that's who I think she really is) rather than the fake-combination-person she keeps trying for. Of course, that probably doesn't make for good tv.
I really felt bad for Kelsey. She over-cooked both her dishes (and the presentations were weird -- though I did think the "S" chicken on a sweker was a neat idea...). In the end, I think she just wasn't ready to put it all together consistently. Seems like a really sweet kid though.