By Kim
Quickfire Challenge: In the Bahamas, the cheftestants must cook head-to-head against the chef that won their season, and the winner gets $10,000. Colicchio chose the main ingredient for each group. So we have Tiffany vs. Kevin from Season 7, and Tiffany wins. From Season 5, it's Carla versus Hosea, and Hosea wins because Carla's rice is undercooked. From Season 4, it's Stephanie versus both Blais and Antonia. Stephanie beats Antonia, and Blais beats Stephanie. Both Stephanie and Antonia's food sucked, so Blais wins handily. For Season 6, it's Mike Isabella versus Michael Voltaggio, and somehow Mike Isabella wins. I think it was because Mike Volt's hair was HORRIBLE and it sapped his culinary skills.
Elimination Challenge: Cook a dish for Bahamian royalty. Except after their two hours of prep, the cheftestants find out that they're cooking for the King of Junkanoo, not the King of the Bahamas or whatever they were expecting. It's like if you thought you were cooking for Queen Elizabeth but it turned out you were cooking for Aretha Franklin, Queen of Soul. But then there's a fire in the kitchen when the food is almost done, and the chemical fire extinguisher goes off, and all the food is contaminated. So the cheftestants have to start from scratch, and re-prep their food, and cook, all in that same night. Here is what was served:
Carla: fried pork medallion with sweet potato puree, apple sauce and apple chip. People like it, but Gail's pork is pretty much raw.
Antonia: crispy shrimp and grits with cilantro and pickled vegetables. The judges think the shrimp is overdone, and they don't like the vegetables.
Mike: sous vide chicken, mushrooms, yams, lobster sauce and lobster hash. The judges like the sauce and some of the meat, but other bits of meat are too dry.
Blais: roasted lamb loin and malted braised leg with pickled turnip and mustard. The judges think it has a lot of flavor, but it's also delicate and clever.
Tiffany: roasted spice pork tenderloin, dirty rice, curried slaw and tomato jam. The judges think the meat is tender and spicy, but it's a little simple and nothing special.
The winner is Mike Isabella. WTF? Did he take lessons during the time off? How did he win one challenge and beat Michael Voltaggio in another? Anyway, it's one of the three women going home, and the unlucky lady is Carla, but she knew it. I mean, her pork was raw. That's tough to overcome.
Read up on who's who among the All-Stars, discuss the episode in our forums, then see how to make Antonia's braised veal from last week, below!
What are people saying about your favorite shows and stars right now? Find out with Join the conversation now!
It's time for the finals, when everyone will have new haircuts and it will be in a new location! First up is Antonia, who doesn't have a new haircut, but at least she finally got a new shirt and isn't wearing that purple off-the-shoulder number she's been wearing all season. Now she has a black one. It's the same shirt, but it's black. Antonia and I subscribe to the same shopping theory, which is that if you find a shirt you like, just buy it in every color. Anyway, Antonia arrives in the Bahamas and interviews that she doesn't even care about winning the money - she just wants the title. But I bet she'll take the money too. Blais is there too; his hair is a little flatter than usual. He remembers that his first final also took place in the Caribbean, but he choked. He hopes to avoid choking this time. A noble goal, to be sure.
Heeeey! It's Carla! She remembers that Blais's baby is coming soon, because a few months have passed since the last episode and his wife is set to pop at any time. He tells the ladies that they've chosen the name Embry Lotus Blais, which is not my cup of tea, but it's not my baby, so who cares? Blais hopes he doesn't lose and ALSO miss the birth of his child. Carla also comments on Blais's playoff beard, which is more like playoff stubble at this point. He is one of those dudes who just shouldn't try to grow a beard. It sticks straight out from his face and you can see each individual hair. Carla jokes that it's too bad he's going to go home with that terrible beard. Carla interviews that she needs to do her own food, because that's what has helped her win challenges this season, and when she didn't do it, she lost in her first season. So that should work out well for her, I'm sure.
Mike Isabella shows up and Antonia jokes that her cousin is there. Are we still doing that? Aren't we done with the cousin thing? Mike has lost some weight and gotten a better haircut since the last episode. He's still gross though, more because of his personality than his looks. He interviews that he did some training since we last saw him, and worked at various restaurants in DC. I feel like that shouldn't be allowed. Like you have to use the skills that brought you to the finals in the actual finals. Or he could work on things at home but not have other people teach him. I don't know why there's any difference there, but I feel like there is. Maybe it's the perception that Mike has rode the coattails of others his entire time on the show, both seasons.
And then there's Tiffany, who I kind of forgot was still on the show. She interviews that she feels like an underdog, which she should, because she hasn't won any challenges this season, has she? Okay, I just checked Wikipedia and she has never won a Quickfire, and for the 12 Elimination Challenges, she has never won, but has been on the top three times and on the bottom six times. Ouch. To contrast, Mike has won two Quickfires and, while he hasn't won an Elimination, he's been on the top twice and the bottom twice. The remaining contestants have all won at least two Elimination Challenges. At least I know that my perception that Tiffany doesn't really belong there isn't totally without base. I like her as a person, but she hasn't impressed me that much this season. But remember, these challenges are judged in and of themselves, and the cheftestant's history is not taken into consideration.
And then there's Tiffany, who I kind of forgot was still on the show. She interviews that she feels like an underdog, which she should, because she hasn't won any challenges this season, has she? Okay, I just checked Wikipedia and she has never won a Quickfire, and for the 12 Elimination Challenges, she has never won, but has been on the top three times and on the bottom six times. Ouch. To contrast, Mike has won two Quickfires and, while he hasn't won an Elimination, he's been on the top twice and the bottom twice. The remaining contestants have all won at least two Elimination Challenges. At least I know that my perception that Tiffany doesn't really belong there isn't totally without base. I like her as a person, but she hasn't impressed me that much this season. But remember, these challenges are judged in and of themselves, and the cheftestant's history is not taken into consideration.
The cheftestants head inside a nearby fort (you know, as you do) to find out what's . They walk into an arena, where they find tables with past winners behind them: Kevin from S7, Mike from S6, Hosea (blergh) from S5, and Stephanie from S4. Also present are Padma, Tom, and Eric Ripert (the Ripper!). It is apparently a million degrees in this arena already because everyone is super sweaty. Mike Isabella hopes that it's a team competition and he gets to cook with Mike Volt, because we all know that Isabella loves to ride some Volt-tails. See what I did there? Instead of coattails, I said Volt-tails. Genius. Anyway, Mike Volt is not looking so great. He looks grouchy and hot and his hair is a freaking disaster. He's growing it out or something? It is BAD TIMES.
Tom explains the Quickfire Challenge: cook head-to-head against the chef that won your season. Isabella is sad, but Blais is excited because he always thought he was better than Stephanie, because she's just a girl. He doesn't say that, but that's the subtext. Padma says that the winner of each head-to-head challenge gets $10K. Tom has chosen an ingredient for each station, and the dishes have to highlight that ingredient. Everyone hugs and dons chef's coats. And time begins!
The Season 4 crew (Blais and Antonia vs. Stephanie) have a rack of veal, and all three have to split it somehow. Blais points out that it's not a very Caribbean ingredient which is a good point. Also, it's been sitting out in the heat for God knows how long. I would not want to judge these dishes. The Mikes got a giant duck. Isabella has no problem letting Voltaggio butcher the duck, because why do the work himself? Carla and Hosea got lamb, and Hosea interviews that he wants to prove to "the haters" that he deserved to win. It's good that he knows his reputation, I guess, but you should never do anything to appease the haters. They cannot be appeased. Just live your life, Hosea. Tiffany and Kevin have a pig. Kevin seems to be struggling. Stephanie interviews that she has to beat two people, but she also has the chance to win $20K, so game on.
I don't know what is happening with Michael Voltaggio's hair. It's a problem. It's way too long in front, and he's got it swept to one side like a bad comb-over. Although I suppose there aren't any good comb-overs. Anyway, Volt is trying to use a kitchen blowtorch with limited success. Isabella laughs that Volt was trying to use every piece of equipment he had available. Blais is running around like a crazy person, sweating it up, and he's worried about everything, which pretty much describes his behavior in every challenge this season. Antonia is having a problem keeping her burner on, and Carla has the same problem. This means that Antonia's veal isn't braising properly, because the heat keeps going out. Carla can't get her rice cooked, so she puts it in with her stew, because that burner is working. She knows it's a bad idea, and she does it anyway. The problem is that now, if the rice doesn't get cooked, she can't really separate it out from her stew. She would have been better off waiting to add the rice until the last minute, and if it didn't get cooked, skip it. Better a dish missing an ingredient than a dish with uncooked rice in it, I think. Anyway, Carla hopes that Hosea totally screws up, because that's her only chance at winning. From what I remember about Hosea, there's always a chance he will totally screw up. The judges return, and time is up.
The first matchup to be judged is Tiffany vs. Kevin. Kevin made barbecue pork with cilantro, celery, shaved onion, and citrus salad. It doesn't look great - the pork seems fatty and pale, and the garnish is more yellow than green. Tiffany made pork stew with potatoes, peppers, citrus, and allspice. It looks very orange and greasy. Neither dish looks that impressive to me. Colicchio thinks they are both good dishes, but he votes for Tiffany, as do Ripert and Padma. We don't get to hear much about why her dish was better, but Tiffany does admit that it's her first win of the season, and it's giving her confidence.
up: Hosea vs. Carla. Hosea made braised lamb in red chili broth with olives and mint, goat cheese, and rosemary polenta. It looks pretty good. Carla made jollof rice with harissa lamb with peppers, onions, and lime. It looks great, although the lamb looks a little dry. The problem is if the rice is uncooked, since it makes up easily half of the dish. Carla admits that she can't even talk her way out of the undercooked rice, and all three judges vote for Hosea.
Stephanie's dish has to go up against both Blais and Antonia. She made veal scallopini with tapenade and poached egg. Too bad Bourdain isn't a judge; we know he loves a runny egg. I don't know about veal and eggs, though. That seems a little weird. Antonia made roasted veal, leek and almonds puree with sautéed mushrooms, arugula, and raisins. Colicchio says that Antonia's veal is tough, but Stephanie's dish has too much going on. He doesn't really want to vote for either dish, but he picks Antonia. Ripert doesn't like the egg on the veal, but Antonia's dish was dry, so he picks Stephanie. Padma also picks Stephanie, so she wins, and she laughs that she won with a crappy dish. So the bar is lowered for Blais. He made seared veal loin and braised veal cap with raisins, carrots, potatoes, and mushrooms. Ripert likes the balanced flavors and Colicchio says that he's the hands-down winner. Blais thinks he has an "intimidation factor" after winning. Calm down there, Hulkster. You beat a crappy dish. That's not very intimidating.
And finally, we have Mike vs. Michael. I kind of forgot how Padma talked to Michael Voltaggio like she wanted to rip his clothes off. She really has a crush on him, no? Voltaggio made duck breast with duck leg in bacon vinaigrette, and burnt leek and coffee pesto. That sounds...kind of terrible. Why would I want to eat something burnt? It looks like some meat in a pile of cat puke. Isabella made cashew dusted spiced duck breast with duck leg and mushroom jus. Seems simple but could be tasty. Padma chooses Voltaggio. Shocker! Ripert thought Voltaggio's dish was complex but he liked Isabella's dish better. Tie! Tie! Tom is the tie-breaker. He says that both dishes were good, but he thought Isabella handled the duck better. Holy crap! He won! Even Mike Isabella is shocked. Blais is impressed with the win and also looks more worried than usual. The All-Stars all say goodbye to the winners. I can't believe they flew those winners there for a Quickfire. I bet they'll be back at some point, no? We'll see.
Elimination Challenge: the cheftestants have to cook dinner for Bahamian royalty. Tiffany cannot say the word royalty - she pronounces it "roll-tee." Anyway, the cheftestants have the impression that they'll be cooking at some sort of fancy State dinner. They head off to their suite and we watch an infomercial for their hotel for a few minutes. Carla and Tiffany are roommates, and Tiffany mentions how badly it would suck to come to the Bahamas and only get to do one challenge. Blais talks about the research he has done about the Bahamas; he's cooked every fish he thought might live in the oceans around the island, and he's ready to hunt down a goat, kill it, and cook it, if need be. See, that kind of research doesn't bother me for some reason. Do I just hate Isabella that much? The finalists toast one another before heading to bed.
The day, they have 150 minutes to prep. Tiffany claims they are cooking for "Bohemian roll-tee." Wasn't that a song by Queen? Mike imagines that royalty have traveled the world and eaten all different kinds of cuisine, so you can't "put up a plate of bullshit." Well, there goes his usual M.O. Blais is making spiny lobster with his ever-present pulled pork. Antonia is making lamb with bacon and Brussels sprouts, which she feels is a dish fit for a king and queen. Look, I wouldn't have known anything about the Bahamian government either, but I would have at least read the Wikipedia article about the country before heading there, and found out that there is no King and Queen of the Bahamas. Um, spoiler alert. Carla worries that being on the bottom for the Quickfire is creating self-doubt. Carla is the most emotional cook of all time. I feel like every episode is a roller coaster of her self-esteem. She's either feeling confident or not, and really lets it affect her performance. She tries to explain this to Antonia, and starts crying when she says that she feels underestimated, but she believes that her cooking can win this thing. Stop crying and start cooking, girl.
Mike interviews that he thinks that Tiffany and Antonia played it safe to get there, and they're still playing it safe. I might buy that with Tiffany, but I think Antonia has been cooking her food and doing it well. Also, Mike made Greek something or lamb something for at least half the challenges, so he should shuttie. They all pack their food into coolers and racks and finish up for the day.
As they are leaving, they find a police escort to take them to see royalty. Carla thinks they'll probably get to cook in some amazing kitchen. They roll up on a street festival. It looks a lot like Mardi Gras, and probably shares the same roots, says the person who is totally ignorant about the roots of Mardi Gras other than what was shown on the first season of Real World: New Orleans and Treme. Blais recognizes it as Junkanoo. Some of the dancers pull the cheftestants out of the car and encourage them to dance along, but the cheftestants are freaking out about what this means for their dishes, which were fancy and not at all appropriate for a street festival.
Colicchio comes out and introduces them to the King of Junkanoo. He explains that Junkanoo is a celebration of life in the Bahamas, and it's similar to Carnivale or Mardi Gras (see!). So this is the King for whom they will be cooking. Tiffany is psyched, because she thinks her dish is perfect for this setting, but she knows some of the others are freaking out. Antonia is one of those people because she did not plan her dish for this setting. I have to say, I don't really get why it's such a big deal. It's not like they were planning on making Beef Wellington or something. It seems like you could tweak the food a bit in terms of presentation.
Their time to cook starts, and they all spring into the tiny, outdated kitchen. I feel like in the finals, these kinds of barriers should be removed. They should have good, working equipment so that if they go home at this point, it's totally a failure of conception or execution. This kitchen has a deep fryer, a small flat top, and a microwave. No burners, and definitely no fancy sous vide or anything like that. I assume there's an oven, but I don't know that for sure.
Antonia is deep frying some plantains and she notices that the fryer to hers is smoking. And not in a good way. In a "this oil is too hot and might burst into flames any second" kind of way. Carla tries to turn the temperature gauge down and Antonia wonders if they should say something (to production, presumably) before it bursts into flames. And then, because Antonia is magical, the oil bursts into flames. I don't know if you've ever had that happen, but it is scary. Years ago, my roommate was using my wok and he let the oil heat too high for too long and the whole thing burst into flames. Luckily, it was a wok, so he just removed it from the heat and, I don't know, dumped flour in it or something and it was fine. But you can't exactly remove a deep fryer from the heat source.
So then Blais comes over with a metal sheet pan and covers the fryer, which at least contains the fire but it's still got a ton of fuel so it's not going out on its own. After a few minutes of chaos, everyone gets the order to clear the kitchen. Blais notes that people were trying to cover their food with towels in hopes they could continue cooking once the fire was put out. The cheftestants go somewhere and sit down to discuss what just happened. Antonia confesses that she thinks she needs to change her dish, and Blais tells her to go with her gut. She says that she's in "a bad headspace." Blais interviews that he's trying to get into Antonia's head a little bit, because it's a competition. I get what he's saying, but I would also hope that he, of all people, could rely on his cooking to win it for him, not these head games. That's an Isabella move.
The fire trucks show up and the firefighters put out the fire in the fryer using extinguishers. Colicchio walks into the kitchen to check things out and says that the fire alarm was pulled so presumably a bunch of chemicals were sprayed and the food was all contaminated. He goes to break the bad news to the cheftestants. They have to start all over, when they were previously at the point where they could start plating. Apparently, they will have the same ingredients available, but they will be allowed to change their dish totally, if they want. Antonia and Blais are happy about this, but Tiffany's not, because she felt like her dish was most appropriate given the audience, and that it gave her an advantage.
So back to the original kitchen they go to start prep all over again. They must be exhausted. I mean, even if they went right from prep to cooking the first time around, that's still about three hours of cooking. And now they have to do three more hours, plus service, plus Judges' Table? No, thank you. Carla is frustrated because she thought she had executed well the first time. Blais is happy, because he's going to do a completely new dish, as is Antonia. She hopes to make her dish less formal and more traditional. They finish prepping and head back to the tiny restaurant kitchen AGAIN. They have some countertop fryers to use. Someone must have run out to Wal-Mart for those. Carla decides to cook her apple chips in the fryer, because they're a bit limp, and she's also cooking an entire pork tenderloin in the fryer. That seems like a terrible idea. How does she expect the middle to get done? She admits in an interview that this is a technique she'd never do outside of the competition, which is what got her eliminated on her first go-round. CARLA! Don't do it!
The judges arrive. Mike notes that he had an easier time doing the prep twice, because he knew what he was doing it, and he thinks he executed well. Tiffany also feels good about her food. Carla pulls her pork out of the fryer and, as she starts cutting it, she realizes that the center is raw. So she's searing pieces of pork on the flat top, which seems like a good way to cook the visible parts but the middle will still be raw, I think. Oh, Carla.
The cheftestants are plating. Antonia says that she usually knows if a dish feels right, and this one doesn't feel right to her. Carla thinks that she managed to salvage things, and knows that her dish is as good as it's going to get. That doesn't sound great. Also, they played super dramatic music while everyone was plating. This show usually doesn't need music cues like that to let us know that things are dramatic and important. This has been a pretty boring episode, especially considering there was a fire.
Carla's dish comes out first. She made fried pork medallion with sweet potato puree, applesauce, and apple chip. Gail thinks it looks beautiful, but Ripert thinks it's a little sweet. Gail's pork is underdone, and Tom says it's just plain raw. So that's not good.
Antonia made crispy shrimp and grits with cilantro and pickled vegetables. Ripert thinks the shrimp is overcooked, and Gail thinks the flavors are buried. The Junkanoo King wishes she had made conch and grits instead of shrimp, because it would have been more appropriate. Well, given that they were purposely misled about the challenge, you can't fault Antonia. Colicchio zings Antonia when he says that the carrot garnish is like "Howard Johnson's called and they want their garnish back." Ooh, snap! Colicchio-slam! Gail wonders if Antonia changed her dish after the fire, and Colicchio says that she did. I don't know what that has to do with anything, because they don't discuss it further.
Mike serves sous vide chicken, mushrooms, yams, lobster sauce, and lobster hash. There's some sort of gross foam all over the dish, which I hate. Ripert says that the iodine (?) makes it unpleasant to his palate (?). I think that's what he said. Padma likes the sauce, and Tom thinks that there are surprises in the flavors, which is a good thing. Gail thought the white meat was a little dry, but the dark meat made up for it.
Blais serves roasted lamb loin and malted braised leg with pickled turnip and mustard. Gail points out that he also changed his dish. The King is amazed what Richard did creatively. Ripert thinks the turnip is a little undercooked but Colicchio thinks the turnip was his favorite part. Back in the kitchen, Blais is mumbling that his food was disgusting, and Tiffany tries to cheer him up. He's bugging me. He used to be one of my favorites, but the self-flagellation gets old. He's obviously one of the best up and coming chefs in the country and he needs to relax a little bit.
Tiffany is last to serve, and she made roasted spice pork tenderloin, dirty rice, curried slaw, and tomato jam. Ripert thinks the meat is tender and well seasoned. Gail liked it but she thought Tiffany could have pushed a little bit more and Colicchio adds that the dish was very simple.
Having sampled all of the food, the judges discuss what went down overall. Colicchio says that some of the food was good and interesting, but he sounds pretty underwhelmed. Ripert points out that the challenge was kind of misleading, because they thought they would be serving in a more upscale environment. Padma wonders if the fire spooked them and Gail points out that it's difficult to get your energy back up after something like that. Back in the kitchen, Antonia is sampling Mike's food and she thinks it's good. He hopes he can beat Blais, who is still beating himself up in ridiculous ways. Antonia interviews that she wishes that she hadn't changed her dish now, and she can only hope that someone else screwed up worse than she did.
Weird interstital. Blais has a theory about how different kinds of nuts are akin to different genres of music. Peanuts are rock and roll. Walnuts are British rock. Almonds are classical. Pistachios are pop. I don't agree with his classifications. I think peanuts are pop, if anything. But it would be interesting to debate over beers.
The cheftestants wait to hear from the judges in the makeshift Stew Room, which is more like a Stew Lounge. Mike notes that they haven't had to face a Judges' Table for a while, and Blais says that he hates the whole process and he hates every dish he's made. So why does he subject himself to this? I worry about his mental health. He's going to choke in the finals again. Carla says that she had to give herself a pep talk and just cook her own food. Antonia confesses that the dish she served wasn't the type of food she normally makes, so she feels sick about it.
Padma comes in and asks to see all of them. Once they are facing the judges, Padma says that it was a great celebration but not a great meal, and someone will be going home. Colicchio acknowledges that it was a tough situation, but it's the finals, so they should suck it up. He says it more nicely, but that's the gist. Padma starts by asking Carla if she changed her dish at all after the fire. Carla says that she changed her apple chip. Padma thought the chip was too sweet, and Carla says that she knew, but she had to put it out? I don't get why, and Colicchio's face says that he's not buying her explanation either. Gail says that her pork was undercooked and Colicchio jumps in and says it was actually raw, and he wonders why Carla didn't rethink the dish when she had the chance. Carla says that most of the pork was fine, and Ripert concurs that his piece was cooked perfectly.
Antonia is called upon . She says that she was originally going to cook lamb with fennel butter, but when she saw the setting, she decided to be less stuffy about it. Overall, though, she was not proud of her dish. Ripert says that the shrimp was overcooked and dry. Gail was unsure about the role of the other meat in the dish, and Colicchio isn't even sure what it was. Antonia says that it was pork shoulder, and she wanted to make the grits more rich. Colicchio says she turned it from creamy grits to "stringy meat and grits." Well, that sounds not at all delicious.
Tiffany thought her dish was simple and rustic. Ripert wanted something more complex with a better sauce. Gail wanted more of the ginger-tomato jam, and they were hoping for more flavor since the dish had curry in the name. Tiffany thinks she might have made a mistake in the name, then.
up is Mike, who used a lot of lobster. Colicchio thought the sauce was the best part of the dish, and it was nicely made. Gail liked the richness, but she did think the white meat was dry. Ripert thought it was complex and all the elements worked together. So, points for Mike. I wonder where he stole that recipe. Like you weren't thinking the same thing.
Blais starts out by admitting that he hates everything he cooks. Man, he would drive me nuts as a friend or co-worker. Colicchio liked the lamb and the seasoning, but it could have used another element. Blais says he meant to use dehydrated apple but the humidity killed it. Gail liked how he used turnip as cannelloni, but Ripert wasn't a fan. Blais says that he knows he needs to work on his vegetable cookery.
So it's time for Ripert to announce who the winner is for this challenge, and that winner is...Mike. WHAT? Even he is shocked. Blais is like, "The fuck?" So all his bullshit about "everything I made is terrible," was crap because he was surprised when he didn't win. See? Isabella points out that he beats Blais at the mental game because Blais cares too much. I think there's something to that. Mike doesn't get all up in his own head because there's not much there. He's just a goofy meatball, bouncing along as far as he can go. I don't see a lot of self-doubt or self-criticism there. Which is what makes him so annoying, but also why he could win the competition. Anyway, Blais is safe too, so they are both excused.
They head back to the Stew Lounge and debate who's going home. Carla is worried because Colicchio seems to think she purposely fried and then grilled her pork, when really she just was desperately trying to make sure it got cooked. Blais thinks Antonia will go home, based on the comments, and Antonia adds that her shrimp was overcooked. Carla raises her by saying that her pork was raw, but Mike reminds her that Ripert said his piece was cooked perfectly.
The judges start their deliberations. Colicchio says that any one of these chefs could go home, because each dish had problems. With Carla's dish, the apple chip was greasy and too sweet, and Gail got raw pork. Antonia's shrimp was dry, and her grits were watery with weird lumps of meat. There was nothing wrong with Tiffany's dish but it was boring. Padma sums things up by saying that they know who made the worst dish, so I don't think we'll be having any non-elimination surprises like the episode.
Antonia, Carla, and Tiffany come back out to face the judges. Colicchio tells them that their food was good but too basic and lacked spirit. Tiffany's food was good but lacked a spark. Carla's problem was her food was too sweet and the pork was undercooked. Antonia's shrimp and grits was a good idea with poor execution. So who's going home? Hootie boo. It's Carla. She is, of course, very positive until the end. She thanks the judges and in her exit interview, says that the judges made the right decision, although she's disappointed that she beat herself instead of cooking a good dish and just getting beat. So Carla packs her knives and leaves the building. Goodbye, girl. Hootie?