And then there were 9

So, what did you think of last night's premiere of Next Food Network Star?

I was really disappointed to see Patrick voted off so early. I had no problem with Vivien being voted off. This is a competition that you cannot ease your way into. You have to be on point from the very first minute. I think Patrick tried to find his comfort zone by gradually warming up to the camera. There is no comfort zone in this competition! He also wasn't confident enough to bring something new to the show. Vivien had the personality, but I don't think she had enough skills to back it up. Her Chinese Chicken Salad looked great. Her salad for the wedding lacked a lot. She didn't show any cooking skills, but she can assemble a dish.

The wedding cake... You have got to be kidding!!!

Apparently, most of the contestants did not realize that it was supposed to be a wedding cake.

Clue #1 - There were three tiers.
Clue #2 - There were wedding toppers.

Amy definitely won that competition. I liked Paul's cake also. I didn't know that the cut fruit would suck the moisture out of the cake and ruin the fondant. Apparently, Paul didn't know that either. A lot of this competition is about thinking on your feet and having a general knowledge about everything. After all, you are supposed to be the best.

The Potluck Dinner...
A lot of nice entries. But somehow I got the feeling that most of the contestants thought this was a practice round.

Again, I agree with the judges. Columbe's dish was creative with a good presentation.

The Wedding Reception...
Both teams really missed the boat on this one. A very valid point that the judges brought up was the amount of money spent. This was not the time to be frugal. Running out of food and not manning their stations was unforgivable. Twenty years from now, the guests may not remember a lot of details, but they will remember that they ran out of food. This was very poor planning. Columbe has to take the blame for this one. She was the team leader and the shopper. Even if the other team members did not give her the exact quantities for their recipes, common sense would have told her that she needed enough to feed 100 guests. I think that if she had not won the potluck dinner competition, she would have been gone.

Tommy, the chicken stock...bad move.

Amy chose the caterers for her team. Smart move, Amy! But again, nothing spectacular.

Saving grace of the whole event...Paul making a dish for their dog. Awesome idea!


Here is a link to the Food Network Star Site http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/show_nf_vote/