Episode 4 opened with the remaining twelve contestants ruminating on the growing pressure as the competition rolls on. Following Emily's elimination in last week's TGIFriday's challenge, everyone is recognizing that any one of them could go home at any time. There still seems to be a high level of cameraderie--Betty began this day by planting a kiss on the cheek of each of her male challengers, including her nemesis, Marcel. Four of the contestants--Ilan, Sam, Josie, and Cliff--seem to be coasting along, with Sam and Cliff winning previous Quickfires. From what I can recall, none of them have yet been called to the judges' table on an individual basis--and the times they had been called as part of a team, they were never singled out.
Padma, in another signature sexy outfit, announced this week's Quickfire Challenge: to create an amuse bouche. Loosely translated as "to amuse the mouth," an amuse bouche is smaller than an hors d'oeuvre, meant as a teaser for the meal to come--a chef's "calling card." Eyes began lighting up, as each devised their idea to impress the judges, including guest, Suzanne Goin of Lucques and AOC restaurants. Marcel, for one, knew exactly his direction: an oyster amuse with apples. Padma directed the contestants to begin shopping for their ingredients...but of course, there was a catch: they had to shop from the vending machines in the hallway outside the Kenmore Pro Kitchen! Armed with $10 in quarters, each contestant approached the machines, baffled as to what on earth they possibly could do with the sodas, chips, cookies, and sandwiches inside. Of anyone, Mike was expected to be the winner of this Quickfire, given his good ol' boy personality.
Overall, Goin seemed pretty impressed by what the contestants offered up. Betty prepared a Fromage Frittata and Elia, a Dorito Tostada (Goin joked that the word, "Dorito" sounded so much better coming from Elia). They cleverly transformed otherwise questionable ingredients into some very sophisticated dishes: Sam incorporated potato salad and pickles; Marisa used chicken Caesar Salad, apples, and potato chips; Cliff made use of banana pudding; and Marcel combined cracklings and lemon pudding (from a Hostess fruit pie!). Josie took on a current trend in restaurant technique by offering up a deconstructed amuse bouche--unfortunately, I missed what exactly it consisted of.
Goin identified the bottom two dishes: Mia's Twinkie with Caramelized Banana, which was good, but more dessert than amuse bouche; and Mike's Snicker-Cheeto-Cornut concoction, which looked more like an erect penis than a restaurant amuse. For the second challenge in a row, Mike's whatever attitude was called to question. At the top of Goin's list: Ilan's Deviled Egg with Crispy Salami and Fig Jam, Frank's Ham & Swiss Quiche with Mint Tea Shooter, and the winner of tonight's Quickfire: Carlos' Vegetarian Mini Loaf, featuring Squirt soda, sunflower seeds, and hard-cooked eggs.
Moving on to the elimination round, this week featured another team challenge. After drawing knives and dividing into four teams--Black, Red, White, and Orange--the contestants were advised of their next challenge: to create a three course meal for $100...that could not exceed 500 calories in total! They were to prepare an entree, a side dish, and a dessert to be voted upon by the kids at Camp Glucose--for lack of a better description, fat camp.
On the Black team: Frank, Betty, Marcel (visible discomfort, there); Red: Mia, Mike, Marisa; White: Ilan, Elia, Josie; and Orange: Carlos, Cliff, and Sam. Sam, being diabetic, felt confident his experience with watching his diet could give his team an advantage.
You could see everyone's wheels turning as they set off shopping. Marcel obviously forgot his audience when he suggested Prosciutto-Wrapped Asparagus. Frank quickly knocked some sense into his Black team when he suggested that nothing beats pizza as a kid favorite. On the Red team, Marisa the pastry chef suggested they attempt a chocolate fudge cake to draw the kids' votes.
When they returned to the kitchen, each team was greeted by a nutritionist who would observe and tally up the calories in each of their menus. The Red team prepared Barbecued Chicken Skewers, Cole Slaw, and Fudge Cake (480 calories); the Black team made a Sausage Pizza, Melon Skewers, and Meringues with Peanut Butter and Banana (440 calories); the White team made Chicken Parmesan, Vegetable Lasagna, and Berry-Yogurt Cheesecake (398 calories); and the Orange team made Spiced Turkey Meatballs, Corn, and Fruit Smoothies (454 calories).
The next day, the teams had to recreate their menus to be served to the kids at Camp Glucose. However, there seemed to be a little bit of departure from the recipes from the day before. Sam immediately observed that some of the teams appeared to be squeezing pretty freely on the squeeze bottles of olive oil. Betty, whose meringues had failed to set up the previous day due to her use of Splenda, tweaked her recipe a bit and reduced her eggs and replaced the Splenda with sugar.
At Camp Glucose, each team was to present their menu to the children, who would then vote on which dishes they wanted to try. The Orange and Red teams each received 5 votes, the White team got 7 votes, and the Black team won a whopping 15 votes! As the children and judges taste-tested the dishes, their reviews came flying: the cole slaw was unimpressive and underseasoned; the vegetarian lasagna was good, but "strange;" the smoothie was too sour; the pizza was an obvious favorite. The best review was not about the food, but rather came from one little girl who said she wanted to "marry the hot diabetic!"
At the judges' table, Padma, Tom, Gail, and Suzanne discussed how easy it is to make food taste good when you are free to use all the fat and sugar you want. So, this Elimination was definitely a challenge for the contestants. Their discussed turn first to the failures: the meatballs were like rocks, the chicken skewers were bland, and the smoothie was hardly considered by the kids to qualify as dessert. On the upside, the pizza was a standout success, and the cheesecake was by far the best dish of the day.
The Black team was called to the table first--they were the winning team, receiving the most votes and the best reviews. Frank, for suggesting the pizza, was named the winner of the challenge. He received Suzanne Goin's book, Sunday Suppers at Lucques, and was invited to collaborate with her on a future menu.
Next, the Orange and Red teams were called to the judges' table. Mike's commitment and professionalism were called out yet again, but at least this time, Mia came to his defense. As for the food, the texture of the Orange team's meatballs was criticized for being too hard, and the Red team's cole slaw for its lack of acidity and flavor.
Sam muttered an aside about his observations of the free-flowing olive oil, which set off a contentious discussion about rule bending While Sam refused to call out any one person in particiular, Mia chimed in with a comment about Betty's revised meringues. These revelations completely stumped the judges, who had no idea what to do.
Tom paid a visit to the kitchen, where the contestants awaited their fate. He raised a point about the accusations and the seriousness of some contestants' failure to follow the rules. Marcel, who was not directly addressed, immediately became defensive when the subject of the olive oil came up. Betty, who was singled out for her meringues, burst into tears while she explained that she misunderstood the rules. She thought, as long as they remained within the 500 calorie requirement, that they would be fine.
In good conscience, the judges could not come to a final decision. As a result, all of the contestants received a free pass on this challenge--while none of them would be told to pack their knives and go, they were to consider themselves "on probation." Later that evening, the contestants took up the matter again. Josie was visibly upset, arguing that it was not fair that certain contestants could fail to follow the rules and remain in the competition. Betty, again in tears, walked out of the room. Then there was Cliff, who sipped on a bottle of Pepto Bismol. Looks like the cameraderie of the group has been a bit shaken. Can't wait to see what happens next.
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