Quickfire Challenge: Create a unique fondue, and the cheftestants will vote for one another instead of having a guest judge. The winner gets a vacation in Napa Valley, but not immunity. I think they should have judged blind, although I'm not sure how that would be possible, since they saw each other prepping. But it's kind of a popularity contest instead of judging on the actual dish. Fabio (caviar blini), Tiffany (apple fritter in chocolate) and Mike (lamb in melted feta) are on the bottom. The top three were Antonia (smoked salmon), Dale (pho) and Angelo (endive with roasted beets). Blais is surprised that he wasn't in the top and he thinks he might intimidate his competition. The ultimate winner is Dale.
Elimination Challenge: Cook one of Jimmy Fallon's favorite dishes for his birthday lunch. The cheftestants are assigned dishes, and Antonia gets stuck with beef tongue. Meanwhile, Fabio has burger and fries, and he has never made a hamburger before. NEVER MADE A HAMBURGER! How can he have lived in this country for even a year and never have made a burger? I do not know. Also, the winner gets a cooking segment on Jimmy's show. Anyway, here's what they made:
Antonia: beef tongue, pumpernickel rye, caramelized onions and dill slaw. It get uniform praise and Jimmy's head writer says, "She licked it." So he's getting a raise.
Fabio: hamburger, melted cheddar cheese sauce and fries. The judges think it tastes more like meatloaf than a burger, and they think the sauce is horrible.
Blais: ramen noodles with seared pork belly, duck legs and duck egg. Jimmy is disappointed because, while the dish is good, he doesn't think it's Blais enough.
Tiffany: chicken, dumplings with poblano chilies, red peppers, cilantro and lime. Jimmy finds it to be too spicy.
Carla: chicken pot pie with carrots, celery, pea salt and herbs. Carla could NOT have been more excited to make this dish, and more freaked out about it in the kitchen, coming down to the wire. None of the judges have much to say about it because they are too busy eating it.
Dale: Philly cheesesteak on a pretzel roll, hot sauces, onions and cheddar cheese sauce. Everyone thinks it was too salty.
Angelo: pulled pork with a coffee, dill, allspice and chipotle rub, and coleslaw. The judges find the sauce "amazing."
Mike: sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, fennel and paprika. Gail points out that the peppers and onions really soaked up the flavors.
The top three are Carla, Antonia, and Angelo. Jimmy and Carla have a serious bonding session over putting crust on the bottom of the pot pie, and then the top three sing a song about beef tongue (no, they really do). And the winner is Carla! She gets to go on Jimmy's show (which I am totally watching Thursday night) and she wins a trip to Tokyo. Jimmy and Carla are a match made in heaven. Somehow two positives make even more positive energy in this case.
The bottom three are Dale, Tiffany and Fabio. They thought Tiffany's wasn't really chicken and dumplings they wanted to see. Fabio's burger was off in texture and his cheese sauce curdled. Dale's dish was just salt plus salt plus salt. And then Fabio goes home. Aw, Fabi. Glad to have you back and I'm sorry you had to leave before Mike and Tiffany (who I think are about even with Fabio talent-wise but way more boring television-wise).
In the "Previously On" that's not really a previously on segment, the cheftestants sit around in a bar that's not really a bar and toast Antonia's win in the episode. Where are they? Why does it look like the set of "A Night at the Improv" circa 1989? And some people have cups of coffee and others have mixed drinks? So confused. Anyway, Dale says that he made one of his worst dishes ever for the challenge and he was lucky to skate by. Fabio is still really bitter that Antonia beat him in the Italian challenge with a dish that he considers to be French. Okay, even if he's right, who cares? The judges thought it was Italian enough to win, and according to Colicchio's blog, the challenge was to make a dish inspired by Rao's menu, not make a dish that would be on Rao's menu. So Antonia's was homey and delicious, and it fit the bill, and was apparently better than Fabio's dish. Fabio needs to put on his sunglasses and deal with it. Antonia ribs Mike for being Italian and on the bottom, and he ribs her back for making a French dish. For once, I don't fault Mike for being a dick, because that was kind of a dick move by Antonia. And also, they are friends now, so whatever.
Let's go to the kitchen and get right into the Quickfire. Blais notices that there are a bunch of fondue pots sitting there and he admits that his parents were big hippies who probably attended nude fondue parties in the '70s. That sounds dangerous, what with the molten cheese and chocolate everywhere. I feel like parts could be burned, and then the party's over. Also, his parents sound awesome.
Padma says that the challenge is to make fondue, but this isn't the '70s, so they don't want bananas in chocolate; they want something unique. Fabio explains what fondue is for our Gen Y viewers; you make a boiling (or simmering) pot of something, and then you spear something else with a stick and dip it into the pot, and eat it. I don't think I've ever actually had fondue, unless you count those chocolate fountains they always have at buffets. Anyway, Padma also says that if they want to see the guest judges, they should look around. Everyone hilariously starts peering around the kitchen, like the judges are hiding in the walk-in or something. Fabio gazes at the ceiling, like someone is going to hang glide on in. Finally, Padma tells them that they are the judges, and they feel dumb. I have a small problem with this; I think it should be blind judging, because otherwise it's kind of a popularity contest. Right? I don't know how they could do it, because they all see one another cooking, and that's probably why they didn't, but it just doesn't seem fair that they get to vote for one another to win. Antonia shares my reservations. At least there's no immunity, but the winner does get a trip to Napa Valley.
They have thirty minutes to cook, so everyone takes off running. Mike, who I was just starting to feel for a little bit, says that he's never been to "one of these gay fondue parties." Ugh. He is the worst. THE WORST. Blais explains that he's planning to do a twist on chocolate fondue with bananas, since Padma said not to do that. Seems like none of the chefs have really been to a fondue party. Fabio remembers having fondue in a ski chalet somewhere with oysters and caviar. Here's a shocker: Dale is making something Asian-inspired. He's doing a play on pho, which he calls pho-ooooondue. Even he knows how lame that was.
Angelo is trying to make a salad fondue. That sounds... kind of terrible. I don't think he understand what fondue means. Mike has already decided who he's going to vote for as the worst. Of course he has. Because he is, as mentioned previously, THE WORST. And he's making lamb. That's nearly as shocking as Dale making something Asian and Blais using dry ice. As time runs out, Angelo says that he took on too much, and he's just going to throw his dish out. Really? It took him more than thirty minutes to make an endive salad. What was he doing, growing the endive?
Blais's dish is first: bananas with amaretto, ras el hanout, and chili chocolate, in liquid nitrogen. That is the Blais-iest dish of all time. So instead of a molten dish of something, it's frozen, and Padma's tongue gets stuck like the kid in A Christmas Story. Blais thinks that eating should be dangerous. It sounds pretty good, although it might have been better hot instead of frozen.
Tiffany is up and she made apple ricotta fritter with hazelnut chocolate. It looks good, but when Padma takes a bite you can see that the fritter is too big; it's more than one bite, unless you are Steven Tyler or something. It should be the size of a donut hole, and it's twice that. Blais calls it "pedestrian" and he's kind of right. If it tasted amazing, that might be enough, but if it's just average, there's not a ton of creativity involved.
Angelo apparently didn't throw his dish away, and I'm not even sure what's unfinished about it. He made walnuts and endive with goat cheese fondue and a beet juice shooter. Goat cheese fondue sounds gross. And then you dip an endive leaf into it? And do a shot of beet juice? I will put that in my no thank you bowl. That's the bowl I give my babies and if they don't want something, instead of throwing it on the floor, they are supposed to put it in the bowl. Theoretically. It hasn't exactly worked yet. Except now they just throw the no thank you bowl on the floor. NO THANK YOU! Anyway, Dale thinks it's weird and overly complicated, which is also a pretty good description of Angelo, now that I think about it.
Carla has made beef tenderloin and shrimp with coconut lime curry sauce. That sounds pretty awesome, actually. I like all of those things and I think I would like them together. The only comment from the peanut gallery is when Blais says that the beef is really tender.
Dale introduces his pho with beef, bread, charred ginger, lime, sriracha, and broth. I would like that also. The only thing that hasn't sounded good so far was Angelo's stupid dish. I think I need to find a fondue restaurant. Anyway, someone says that it smells good (was that Lorraine Bracco, returning for more food? It totally sounded like her) and Blais gets a hunk that is clearly burning his mouth, although he's polite enough to avoid spitting it out.
Mike made spiced lamb kabobs with mint and chili, and a feta cheese fondue. I don't think I would like hot feta cheese. It would smell like feet. Antonia calls Mike out for only making lamb dishes with Moroccan spices. Yeah, unlike everyone else, who went way out of their comfort zones on this one. Except they didn't.
Antonia actually did go out of her comfort zone, and made smoked salmon on toast, fromage blanc and crème fraiche fondue. That sounds amazing. Carla thinks it was a clever take on deli food and Padma can't stuff it in her piehole fast enough.
Fabio made blini (I'm pretty sure although the chyron calls it billini) with caviar, crème fraiche, fromage blanc, and bourdain wine. Seems like the caviar would fall off into the fondue, no? It's sitting on top of the blini like a turd on a pancake. That one goes in the NO THANK YOU bowl. Fabio apologizes that he went last so his blini aren't as hot as they should be. Shouldn't the fondue warm them? I don't know.
Everyone gets a ballot and starts voting. Blais thinks that everyone is intimidated by him and won't vote for him as a result. This is known as the "just jealous" defense, and it sucks. Come on, Blais. Don't become a prick now. Let Mike do that. Dale promises to be honest, and Angelo is really nervous. Why? He admitted his dish was unfinished and almost didn't serve it, so what does he care?
Padma has the tabulated results, and she says that Fabio, Tiffany, and Mike were the bottom three. And then she totally calls Dale out for putting Mike on the bottom. What? She's going to say who voted for whom? That's just wrong! Dale laughs and says he didn't care for the spice or the feta cheese. Mike interviews that Dale is a "fucking monkey." To quote Drew Magary
, "THASS RAY-CESS." And that is yet another reason why Mike is THE WORST. Tiffany doesn't think her dish was the worst, but she doesn't offer any opinions on whose was, and why people didn't vote for her.The top three are Antonia, Dale, and Angelo. Really? Angelo? Even he's surprised. Blais has another excuse for why he didn't get put on top: because he has a different style from the others, and they are scared. Which also boils down to "They're just jealous." The winner is... Dale! He's appropriately humble, at least publicly. I didn't taste the food, but I'm a little surprised Antonia didn't win.
Padma tells them to go to Rockefeller Center, but doesn't give any further details about what they might be doing there, or how it ties into the challenge. On the way there, the cheftestants speculate on whether they might be ice skating (in summer?) [Editor's Note: It sounds mental, but TWoP headquarters is at 30 Rock, and our offices used to overlook the skating rink, and we have seen people ice skate in 80 degree weather before. Tourists are crazy animals, you guys. -- Mindy] or doing something in the Rainbow Room. But once they arrive, they are escorted into Studio 6B, where Jimmy Fallon is shooting his late night talk show. There's a studio audience and everything, and I wonder how they swore them all to silence, because you'd think at least one person would have tweeted or blogged about who they saw, letting us know who was eliminated in the first half of the season. Then again, I avoid spoilers, so they probably did and I just didn't see it. [Editor's Note: The audience was NBC Uni staffers who were sworn to secrecy. Last one, I promise. -- Mindy]
The cheftestants walk out and see Jimmy Fallon and The Roots. Poor Antonia is wearing that one-shouldered purple shit that she ALWAYS wears. It's like her favorite shirt. And the pattern on it kind of looks like a food stain, so I always think it's dirty. Jimmy introduces the challenge. The cheftestants will be making one of Jimmy's favorite dishes for his birthday dinner. And to figure out which dish they will make, the cheftestants play a game of Cellphone Shootout. It's all just a glorified knife draw, but takes longer and uses cell phone cameras. And they couldn't possibly have aired this on Fallon's show when it was shot, so I'm not sure what the point was. Anyway. The highlights are that Antonia gets beef tongue. That's one of Jimmy Fallon's favorite dishes? Antonia is perplexed by that dish. Fabio gets hamburger and fries, and he's never made a "hambooger, boooerger" before. He can't even say it! Angelo gets pulled pork, Blais gets ramen, Dale gets Philly cheesesteak, Tiffany gets chicken and dumplings, Mike gets sausage and peppers, and Carla gets chicken pot pie and she could NOT be more excited about that. After hearing some of Jimmy's food likes and dislikes, the cheftestants head off to go shopping.
Shopping! Carla reminds us that she already has two wins, and she thinks one more will turn her into a force to be reckoned with. Good luck with that, Carla. I don't think most of your fellow chefs will ever take you seriously, because you have boobs and a vagina. I'm just saying. They are sexist. That was the subtext to what I was saying. About the other dudes. They don't think women can be good chefs. I'm not sure if that was clear. Anyway, Dale is worried because he's not from the East Coast and feels like he's not an expert in the world of Philly cheesesteaks. If that's the case, he should do a twist on it or something, because I feel like that's one of those dishes that's either authentic, or it's not, and there's no middle ground. It's not like a burger, where everyone has their own variation. Anyway, Dale has decided to use pretzel rolls, which could be interesting.
Fabio has decided to treat his hamburger like a flattened meatball, which is a TERRIBLE idea. Other than being made of ground meat, they are very different and eaten in very different ways. So he's using ground brisket and ground short ribs. Just stick to beef, dude! This is a bad idea.
Then there's a commercial for frozen pasta, but as usual, they didn't pay me personally for the product placement, so I'm skipping it. When will they learn that they could be mentioned in my recaps! Both of you who read them would definitely buy those products!
The morning, we learn that Angelo wears tight pants. Dale points out that Angelo kind of dresses like a chick and is stunning. I think Angelo dresses like an asshole, but what do I know?
They arrive at the kitchen at Colicchio and Sons, where the party will be held. Fabio thinks he might be in trouble. Angelo has decided to return to his strengths: flavors. He's making a customized spice rub for his pulled pork, which actually sounds pretty awesome. Antonia is really worried about her beef tongue, because everyone has told her that it usually takes four or five hours to cook, and she only has two. And you guys, beef tongue looks really gross. I mean, it's just a giant black cow tongue, and that's what it looks like. The butcher certainly didn't dress it up at all. Anyway, Antonia is relying on Blais's advice to pressure cook her dish, since she's not super familiar with that technique. This could also go horribly wrong. I don't think Blais would fuck her over on purpose, but it's always dicey when someone is using a technique they don't know on ingredients they haven't used before.
Anyway, Mike has to hate as always, and he doesn't think it's cool that Blais is helping out Antonia, since she's the competition. Plus, she's a chick, and I just spent like ten sentences earlier telling you how Mike doesn't think chicks are worthy. Unlike his fat ass. Yeah, I said it. So Mike is totally against the cheftestants helping each other. And the shot is Mike asking Angelo for help with his flavors. I mean, he just had Angelo taste it and give his opinion, but it was a delicious bit of editing. Also, Mike has clearly confused fiction with reality, as he thinks that Jimmy Fallon is from Boston. You know, because he was in that movie with Drew Barrymore about the Red Sox. When in fact, Jimmy is from New York. So Mike is doing his sausage and peppers "Fenway style" for no real reason. That's kind of hilarious.
Dale admits that he's had Steak-umms, but not a real Philly cheesesteak. He's also worried about his food being bland, since that was his problem last week, and it landed him in the bottom three. Tiffany is tired of riding a rollercoaster of highs and lows, and she's trying to get back on track. And she's going to do that by making her chicken and dumplings in a Southwestern style. Which seems like an awful idea. I mean, it could work if she made like chicken with enchilada sauce and cornbread dumplings or something. I guess.
Carla is really worried that she made such a big deal out of chicken pot pie, and admits that she's never tried to make it in two hours before. She's making bowls or lids or something out of pastry crust, which seems time-consuming. Dale thinks Carla is going to run out of time.
The guests and judges arrive at Jimmy's party. We have Jimmy's parents, James and Gloria Fallon, along with his sister, Gloria. Wait a minute. His parents are named James and Gloria and the kids are Jimmy and Gloria? Does that seem weird to anyone else? Also in attendance are Jimmy's in-laws, Karen and Bill Juvonen. Jimmy's head writer A.D. Miles is there, along with his announcer, Steve Higgins. Jimmy and his wife, the producer Nancy Juvonen, are obviously there. She's partners with Drew Barrymore in their production company, if I recall correctly. And then the judges: Gail, Padma, and Tom. Jimmy will serve as the fourth judge, and he is obviously a big fan of the show. That's a nice quality for a guest judge to have: familiarity with the show. Also, Jimmy is pretty good friends with Mario Batali, so I'm sure he's been exposed to lots of different food. I don't know why I know so much about Jimmy Fallon.
Fabio has decided to make his mistake even bigger by serving the cheese for the bur
ger on the side. Oofah. Has he even had a hamburger before? In America? Antonia is pleased when she tries her beef tongue. She thinks it tastes great, and she's proud that she worked with it so well. She might think about mentioning Blais in that little congratulatory speech, but whatever.The first round of food is served. Antonia explains that her dish is a play on a deli sandwich with beef tongue, pumpernickel rye, caramelized onions, and dill slaw. Fabio delivers his hamburger, with melted cheddar cheese sauce, and fries. Some of Jimmy's family members like the burger, although they admit that the texture is more like meatloaf. Gail doesn't think it's juicy enough, and Tom is also not a fan, and even less so of the cheese sauce. He calls it "pretty gross."
Jimmy tells the story about why he hates mayonnaise: as a kid, he got his head stuck between two bars, and his grandmother poured mayonnaise all over his head so they could slide him out. Wasn't that a Brady Bunch episode? Also, what a waste of mayonnaise. Anyway, that's where Jimmy's aversion to mayonnaise comes from, and I can't say that I blame him. That segues into a discussion of Antonia's beef tongue. Jimmy liked it, and he thinks it's a tricky dish. Gail admires the whole concept of the dish, and Jimmy's head writer says, "She licked the challenge." Jimmy has to give it up for a great line.
Tiffany and Blais are the two to serve. Tiffany knows that she went untraditional on her chicken and dumplings, but she's hoping that the awesome flavors will make up for it. Blais is doing a very traditional take on ramen noodles, and he hopes that his flavors will make up for the fact that he didn't do any crazy Blais-ian techniques. He wants to prove that he doesn't need a helmet, dry ice, and a flamethrower to make good food. I don't think he does, but I also think that ramen is pretty bland, and he might have done SOMETHING to spice it up. But let's see if the judges agree.
Blais serves ramen noodles with seared pork belly, duck legs, and duck egg. He jokes that it's his first time making ramen without the flavor packet. Tiffany serves chicken, and dumplings with poblano chilies, red peppers, cilantro, and lime. I don't see any dumplings. All I see are what looks like tortilla strips. I mean, it seriously looks like the chicken tortilla soup that I sometimes get at Panera. It's almost exactly the same. How is this chicken and dumplings? I don't get it.
Everyone slurpily eats the ramen noodles. Jimmy admits that he's a big fan of Blais, and he was expecting to see smoke machines and laser beams, but instead, it's just a really safe dish. Some people enjoyed Tiffany's soup, but others point out that it's just chicken tortilla soup with dough noodles in it. Higgins and Jimmy go on a jag about his album titles. Girl, I've been using those jokes since 1999. Catch up. And I think I stole it from stee originally, so I should give him credit, not that he needs my help since he's a big television writer these days.
The two to serve are Dale and Carla. Dale explains that Carla is acting crazy because she might not finish on time, and he's trying to keep her away from his food. Carla is screeching and running around. I enjoy watching her on TV, but I can see how it would be tough to cook to her. Dale also thinks his sandwiches look great, and he actually wants to eat one. Maybe he should, based on what happens . Carla actually finishes on time, and she is really proud of her dish, even though it was down to the wire.
Carla made chicken pot pie with carrots, celery, pea salt, and herbs and Dale made Philly cheesesteak on a pretzel roll, hot sauces, onions, and cheddar cheese sauce. There's something off about the proportions of Dale's sandwich. There's not enough filling, and it doesn't look like he toasted the rolls at all. Maybe that's not authentic, but I think it would have been a much better sandwich if he had toasted the roll and then scooped some of the bread out. I mean, no one eats a sandwich like that for the amazing bread, right?
They all take a bite of Dale's sandwich. Jimmy's mom says that the meat is very tender. Jimmy explains that he was really excited to try the sandwich, but then he did, and he was "attacked by the salt monster." Gail agrees that the flavors were great, but it was way too salty. They all try Carla's dish, and can't stop eating it long enough to talk about it, but suffice to say, it's good stuff. Higgins pulls out one of those novelty telescoping forks and pretends to steal some from Jimmy's plate. Oh, those crazy guys.
The final two to serve are Angelo and Mike. Angelo is really confident about his dish; he claims he hasn't been this confident throughout the competition. Of course, Mike gives Angelo a hard time while they are plating, knocking over his food just to fuck with him and suchlike.
Angelo presents his pulled pork with coffee, dill, allspice, and chipotle rub, and coleslaw. That sounds really good. Mike had made sausage, peppers, onions, garlic, fennel, and paprika. He did make his own sausage. Jimmy loves Angelo's sandwich, and Tom talks about how it's an unexpected combination of flavors, but it works. Then Higgins and Jimmy make a joke about pulling your own pork. Moving on to Mike's dish, Gail loves how the other ingredients soaked up a lot of the sausage flavor. Gloria Jr. thinks it's even better than her mom's sausage and peppers. Padma has to get in on the hilarity and make a comment about how Higgins loved Mike's sausage.
When the dinner ends, the cheftestants bring out a cake for Jimmy. It's an ice cream cake. They didn't make it though. Jimmy thanks everyone, and announces that the winner of this competition will get a cooking segment on his show. Angelo explains that it makes him want to win even more. And then the judges depart to do their judging.
Weird interstitial. Jimmy tells about how he was interviewed by Food & Wine and they asked him for a recipe from his mom to publish. She gave them a cheesecake recipe, and they loved it, but needed to know where she got it from. So she looked it up, and it turns out that she got it from...Food & Wine. Wah wah.
Stew Room. Carla is still freaking out and everyone else looks tired. Yeah, she would be tough to work with, I think. Anyway, Padma comes in and asks to see Carla, Angela, and Antonia. No one is sure if they are top or bottom, as usual. When they stand in front of the judges, Padma dispels the tension by telling them that they are on top. They start by telling Angelo that his dish didn't make sense on paper, but it tasted great, and came together well. Carla talks about how she decided to put some of the crust on the bottom of the dish, and Jimmy is just thrilled that she did that, because it made the dish for him. Jimmy and Carla are totally bonding over chicken pot pie. Antonia admits that she's never cooked or eaten beef tongue before, and she felt even worse about it when she saw that it was on Tom's menu at his restaurant. Tom tells her she did a great job, especially since it normally needs to cook so much longer.
And then the three of them bust into a random song they made up about beef tongue which is hilarious and awesome, and makes me like all three of them better. It's like the kind of song we used to make up in the back of the bus on the way home from away softball games. And man, we had to go to Wayland, and that is a HAUL. Anyway, Jimmy announces that the winner is Carla, and she wins a trip to Tokyo along with her spot on Jimmy's show. Carla FREAKS out, but then dials it back to head back into the Stew Room, since Marcel yelled at her for being happy a while back. She learned her lesson from that.
Carla quietly tells the others that she won, and then sends back Dale, Fabio, and Tiffany. Blais interviews that everyone was worked up about Carla winning for the third time. I don't see anyone all that worked up. Maybe Angelo. Anyway, Blais isn't intimidated or anything. Just ask him.
But what about the losers? Let's start with Tiffany. Tom tel
ls her that her dumplings were just strips of dough, and Tiffany knows that she rolled them too thin. Jimmy wanted it to be more like comfort food, and it was too far away from the traditional version. Moving on to Fabio, Padma wonders if he treated it too much like a meatball. Fabio explains why he mixed all the different meats: to avoid drying it out. Sounds like it did exactly the opposite and Gail complains that it wasn't juicy, and Jimmy says it tasted like meatloaf. Tom brings up the terrible cheese sauce, which was grainy and bad. Jimmy tells Dale that it was too salty, and Dale explains that it was an overreaction to being told his food was bland. Gail reminds him that the pretzel roll was salted, and then the sauce had sodium, and it was layers of salt on salt on salt. Dale can't defend that. Jimmy already feels bad that he has to give them such bad news, because he's a fan of each of theirs. He complains that he's going to have to go out for a drink after this. Um, you're not the one being eliminated, Fallon. Maybe take it down a notch.The three losers walk back into the Stew Room. The others want to know what happened, and Tiffany says that it's nitpicking time. I guess that's true in that none of the dishes were flat-out horrible. Dale admits that he totally forgot that the rolls were salted. I wonder if he tried the filling but never tried it on the roll? Fabio says that his cheese sauce curdled on the table. Plus, it was a cheese sauce, which is weird.
First, the judges talk about chicken and dumplings. Gail points out that you couldn't taste the chicken, and Jimmy says that you wanted the doughiness and the gravy, and she didn't provide either of those. They move on to Fabio and talk about how what he made wasn't a burger, because it was really a meatloaf in patty form. Did he use egg, I wonder? And bread crumbs? I don't know. And finally, Dale's sandwich was inedible after a few bites, because the saltiness just took over. Gail can't believe Dale didn't think about how it would come together, and Jimmy thinks tasting your food is "day one!" Day one at Saturday Night Live? When did Jimmy become a cooking expert? That was hilarious. Anyway, I really thought Dale was going home at this point; he was the only one where they said they couldn't even finish his dish, which seems like a pretty big mistake.
The three losers are brought back out to find out which one will be heading home. Tom goes through why they are each there: Tiffany made a clear soup with flat noodles instead of rich sauce and fluffy dumplings, Fabio made a dry meatloaf instead of a juicy burger, and Dale's food was too salty. And then Padma tells Fabio to pack his knives and go. Well. I will miss him from an entertainment standpoint. Dale clearly thought he was going. He looks like he might throw up. Fabio is a class act all the way, though. He grins and hugs everyone and shakes everyone's hand. That's how you go out. JEN. MARCEL. I don't think Fabio was the best cook on the show, but he always made me laugh. Since I can't taste the food, that counts for a lot.
Read up on who's who among the All-Stars, discuss the episode in our forums, then see Jimmy's arrival, below!
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