by Chandra Clewley

We are in New York City with our Final Four in Season 6 of The Next Food Network Star!  After tough competitions and choices, Aria, Aarti, Tom and Herb are left standing. Episode Nine bolts out of the gate with Alton Brown and the Iron Chef set.  Each of the finalists will go head to head two on two, with an hour to prepare. Each finalist will prepare 3 dishes with a secret ingredient. The two that are not cooking will be commentating, which is just as important as it is half their score. The finalists will have sous chefs, at which point Brianna, Brad, Serena and Paul come out on stage, and each one gets to pick a sous. First, Tom picks because he won the last challenge, and he picks Brianna. Then, Herb draws Paul, Aria draws Serena and Aarti draws Brad.

Herb and Aarti go first.  Their secret ingredient is shrimp and they get going right away. Herb knows that the secret ingredient needs to be the star of the dishes, and his Dishes are: Enchilada De Camarones, Shrimp Soup, and a risky Mousse Stuffed Shrimp. Aria is announcing for Herb and she seems a little quiet, as Alton asks her what is going on with Herb’s food. She isn’t sure where the cilantro is, where paprika comes from and what sand veins are called (poop shoots…) but wants to keep it light. Herb has tons of energy, so he is quick in the kitchen and fun to watch.  

On the other side of the kitchen, Aarti is concentrating, making sure that she has all the right stuff and thinking about her food, which is killing Bobby Flay, who thinks she is sabotaging herself by freezing and can hardly stand to watch her. Her dishes are a Tomato Gazpacho with Pickled Shrimp, Turmeric Rubbed Stuffed Shrimp and Prawn Masala. Originally, she wanted Cucumber for the soup, but didn’t have any, so she has to make do with Tomato and decides to add a little coconut milk to it. Tom is doing a great job announcing for Aarti, and is informative, fun to listen to, and knowledgeable. 

The judges and the committee taste Herb’s food first, they love his energy, his first and second dishes are huge hits, his third not so much but he is passionate, his food is soulful and they like it overall. Aarti goes next and hits it out of the park. The judges call the food beautiful, delicious and the best they have had in 3 years of The Next Food Network Star. 

Next, Aria and Tom are up with Aarti and Herb announcing. The secret ingredient for their challenge will be bacon and they jump in right away! Aria decides to do three breakfast dishes, starting with French Toast “Tacos”, Cheddar Cheese Omelet with Potatoes and Bacon and a Bacon Waldorf Salad. Herb is announcing for her, and is having fun watching but she never adds the bacon to her dish which everyone is flummoxed about. Aria really wants to drive home her family style approach and point of view, so she decides to serve her French toast with accoutrements on the side so the judges can garnish it themselves.

Tom, on the other hand, is going big. He is taking huge risks and his dishes are a Bacon Cake with Citrus Salad, Bacon Steak, and Bacon Stuffed French Toast. It is interesting that both of the finalists are going for a French toast. Aarti is sort of choking on her announcer responsibilities and isn’t sure which bacon Tom is using where. Tom is still just going really huge, which is either going to help him or kill him, and when he grabs the clams and chorizo to incorporate into a sauce for the French toast, everyone is sort of freaking out that they have to eat that. Bobby Flay hopes he will serve it on the side.

When the judges and committee taste Aria’s food, they call it cute, but definitely up to Iron Chef standards, the bacon is added like an afterthought and everyone is disappointed by that. Tom’s turn is next, and the judges call his bacon cake dense but interesting, his bacon steak is inedible, and his third dish with the sauce is a mess that is oily, it doesn’t work and is way too far out of bounds.

Finally at the elimination, the four finalists prepare for the chopping block. Between Aarti and Herb, it was like the tortoise and the hair, Aarti just pulled it out and even though her commentating was horrible, she wins the challenge and is safe. Between Tom and Aria it is more like the lesser of two evils because both of them turned out pretty awful food, but because Tom’s announcing was so great, he wins and is safe.

This leaves Aria and Herb. Herbs energy and passion is so beloved but his inconsistency is hurting him, and he stumbled on the throw, because something seems to happen to him when he has to talk to camera. Aria was cooking for five year olds, the bacon was an afterthought, she hasn’t evolved through the show, but she has an ease and a radiance that cannot be learned.

In the end, that just isn’t enough and Aria is eliminated.

Catch an all new episode of The Next Food Network Star on Sunday, 9/8 c on Food Network. 

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

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