You… In a Jar
Bobby Flay talks to the chefs about their culinary point of view through a … potato. Thirty minutes to “express yourself through the potato”. The chefs make everything from fries to pizza to bacon wrapped potatoes. That was the first part of the challenge; the second part was to make an on-camera presentation for one minute, in front of the judges.
Adam’s cheese fries went over well.
Kesley’s potato gratin was bad, and the judges thought she was phony.
Jeffrey took home fries and added “sophisticated soul”, but didn’t connect well on camera. Nobody was really sure what was so “sophisticated soul” about the meal either.
Nipa made something I couldn’t even pronounce, but had a great story to go with her food.
Adam made bacon wrapped potatoes, and they looked great. Bobby loved the potato, and wanted to add it to his menu in Atlantic city.
Shane made leek and potato soup, and did a good presentation. The soup didn’t do well (“like library paste”).
Jennifer made a mashed potato grilled pizza; her presentation was scattered, and the dish was declared “weird”.
Lisa’s presentation was only 15 seconds, and she was very upset that she left so much dead air time (they didn’t critique her food on camera).
They jump right into the second challenge, was is to create a their on food product in a jar, and present it to 50 food buyers – plus one special guest. They have thirty minutes to shop for their ingredients. Nipa ended up grabbing ALL the cayenne pepper, much to Adam’s chagrin, since that was the secret ingredient in his dressing.
They have one hour to prepare their products. Here’s what they made:
Lisa: Basil balsamic orange marmalade (served on brie)
Kelsey: All in 1 sauce (served in Sloppy Joes)
Jennifer: 3 Cheese Cream Sauce (served on noodles)
Jeffrey: Seasoned Salt (served with Fried Catfish)
Shane: Cherri-gac steak sauce (served on Flank steak)
Adam: Barbecue Rub (served on smoked chicken)
Nipa: Sweet & Spicy peanut seasoning (served on peanuts)
Adam: Apple cider vinaigrette (served on mesclun salad)
Lisa worked like crazy, and Adam wasn’t happy with not having cayenne pepper.
The next day, they have 30 minutes to prepare for the buyers and the special guest.
Adam’s dressing went over well. Nipa didn’t impress the buyers. Shane was tripped up when one of the buyers asked “What’s your materials cost” (I don’t think that was all that fair of a question). Lisa was able to handle the buyers better, because she’s done this sort of thing before. Jeffrey was confident, but the buyers weren’t impressed. Nipa had the same problem: They buyers thought they could easily make each of their products at home – and maybe even better. Jennifer was very nervous, and admitted that.
The special guest was Martha Stewart. Kelsey and Lisa just about jumped out of their skins. Lisa’s marmalade seemed to go over well. Kelsey said she wanted to crawl under a rock.
Adam, for some reason, wanted to sing for Martha. No idea why. It was a little goofy, but people clapped.
In the judging room, the top in Martha’s presentation were Lisa, Adam, and Aaron.
At the meeting with the contestants and judges, they went over both of challenges. Here’s what the judges said about each challenge:
Shane’s soup didn’t go over well. Bob liked Shane’s sauce, but he said he didn’t see “passion”.
Adam’s cheese fries were enjoyed. Bobby told Adam that they’d have to see whether singing to Martha was the right decision.
Jennifer was told that mashed potatoes on grilled pizza didn’t go over well. The cheese sauce was tasty. The judges told her that she has to be positive and to not to be negative.
Bobby told Lisa that “presentation-wise you were out of the blocks: Smokin’” – but ended her presentation too early. The buyers liked her marmalade. Lisa cried went she talked about meeting Martha.
Nipa was reminded that she left the room during the last judges table. The potato challenge was good, but her energy level was low. The buyers didn’t like her product because it was too simple.
Aaron’s bacon wrapped potatoes went over very well, but he didn’t share anything personal. The second challenge went over well with Martha and the buyers.
Jeffrey’s home fries weren’t memorable, and the presentation didn’t go well. “I didn’t get Jeffrey, and I wanted to get Jeffrey” was the comment from Bob. The jar product didn’t go over well.
Kelsey’s gratin didn’t go over well. The jarred product was a hit with the judges, but not with Martha. They remind her that her presentations aren’t going over very well. They think it’s coming off as insincere.
The finalist that did the best job on the potato challenge was Adam, and he was safe.
The buyers thought that Lisa had the best jar product. Martha thought that Aaron had the best. Lisa and Aaron were both safe.
They narrow down the finalists to: Jeffrey and Jennifer. They eliminate Jeffrey.