So we’re back after a long holiday break. In fact, they start with a pretty lengthy recap of the last challenge.
Quick Fire is a visit to a date farm. Isaac cracks me up with the date machete. . Then back to the Culinary Arts school to prep a date dish based on their best date night. They’re met by Chrissy Thiegen, who is apparently married to John Legend. Him I’ve heard of, her not so much. Both Kwame and Chrissy are very taken with Chrissy’s sexiness.
Carl says his dish, a milkshake is based on a time when he bought ballet tickets, but then had his tonsils out, so his date bought him a milkshake and they just hung out. But when presenting the dish, he says his wisdom teeth were extracted causing them to miss the ballet. Mom always said liars have to have good memories. Doesn’t matter anyway, the ladies don’t think his milkshake lived up to the level of the other dishes.
Isaac’s date was his 10th anniversary with his wife in France. He made a chicken and date dish, but did the celeb du jour really ask him if he and his wife had sex that night? Blech. But he’s in the top.
Giselle is driving one of the other chefs nuts trying to find cooktops that work. Noone else seems to be having problems, They don’t like her dish. They don’t like the guy whose best date is with his daughters. Dooshnozzle (Phillip) reveals he used to work for Stefan Richter. His dish looks disgusting and the judges don’t like it either. A few of the chefs aren’t interested in dating.
They like Jason’s, Isaac’s and Giselle’s. Jason gets immunity for the elimination challenge. Art Smith and his partner are going to renew their vows along with a wedding for 25 same-sex marriages: A big fat gay wedding according to Art. Art is going to furnish the cake (though the chefs also have to make dessert). And Padma got ordained so she could preside at the wedding. Hmmm.
The chefs have to work as a team. So there’s the usual jabbering trying to come up with a cohesive menu and the mad scramble through WF.
Isaac works alone to create a dirty rice dish.
Doosh is making steak and mashed potatoes while Kwame is making a sauce for that dish. He proclaims it’s his dish, but Kwame is making the garnish for it. He essentially turns the potatoes into a whipped cream consistency. Kwame: “Even if that’s what you’re trying to make, that isn’t good.”
Jason is going to work on a cabbage roll with Angelina. That seems like a weird working pair. Actually, Jason really got on my nerves this episode. He reminds me of that kid in school who always had to point out to the teacher when someone else is wrong and he’s right.
Marjorie and wisdom tooth boy are doing dessert. Is Marjorie the most low-key chef ever?
Wes and Kwame are making a shrimp and cucumber salad. I loved the way Wesley sliced the cukes. These two guys are really growing on me.
Karen and Giselle are making an asparagus salad. They don’t work very well together. Giselle acts more like a line cook on her first day at work.
Two dudes are making pork belly.
Jeremy is making carrots.
We get lots of snippets of the chefs and their spouses. And there’s a weird yoga interlude (Wesley does the yoga in his mind . . . hysterical).
And the wedding is underway. Padma gets choked up. Art Smith couldn’t manage to find a suit that fits him for his big day. I’m pretty sure the guy should be able to afford a tailor, but maybe none would agree to work on the horrendous green jacket he chose.
Then they eat. Jason has a writing background and creates descriptions for each course. Hmmm.
Judges really like the shrimp. They really like the carrots. They really like the pork belly. They really like the dirty rice. They really like the cabbage roll. They don’t like the asparagus salad. They don’t like what Doosh has done to the potatoes, but Kwame’s relish saves the dish. They love the dessert. So it’s not clear who’s going to win, but we can guess Phillip, Karen and Giselle will be competing for elimination.
So Wes and Kwame win with the shrimp. Wes is very kind in his praise of Kwame’s contributions to the dish. And Kwame wins! On the bottom are Kwame (?!) and Phillip and Giselle and Karen. From the sidelines, Jason chimes in to throw Doosh under the bus. Then Marjorie chimes in to complete the bus wreck. Karen did all the cooking. Giselle throws Karen under the bus, Karen throws Giselle right back. Then Giselle throws Doosh under the bus. In the end, they determine Giselle didn’t really do anything, so she’s gone.
And it’s on to San Diego.
