by Chandra Clewley

The Next Food Network Star Season 6 is upon us, and it all begins when we meet the 12 contestant chefs that are competing for the title. These contestants include Tom Pizzica who has been unemployed for months; Serena Palumbo, a darling Italian who has no formal training and has never cooked in a commercial kitchen, and Brianna Jenkins, a formally French trained chef who claims to be a diva, among others.  The entire cast is impressed when they are introduced to the Food Star kitchen in Los Angeles. When Bobby Flay enters the set, they are even more impressed. Flay introduces us to two more of the judges who are executives that work for Food Network. Typical of suits, they have those stiff titles that make you want to quit your day job and live on a compound for fear of never being good enough to climb THAT corporate ladder: Bob Tuschman is the Senior VP of Programming and Production and is there to look for star power. He also discovered Rachel Ray. The other suit is Susie Fogelson who is the Senior VP of Marketing and Brand Strategy. She is looking for someone that has branding power. Next, in walks Giada De Laurentiis, who will act as a mentor and judge on the show along with Bobby Flay.

For the first challenge, the judges want to know who the chefs really are so they give them two items: Potatoes and Chicken, and ask them to take these blank canvases and show them who they really are. The chefs have 45 minutes. Brad Sorenson, a professional chef from Austin, TC makes a Pan Fried Chicken Cutlet with Confit Potatoes and Pancetta Cream. Herb Mesa, who hails from the ATL, makes Mojo Grilled Chicken with Corn and Black Bean Salsa. Dzintra Dzenis, also from Austin, makes a Chicken Napoleon with Tomato Coulis. Unemployed San Franciscan Tom Pizzica makes Potato Gnocchi with Pan Roasted Chicken Breast but with hardly any time to spare, realizes that he doesn’t have time for the Gnocchi and changes horse’s mid-stream with the result of Pecan Potato Hash with Pan Roasted Chicken Breast instead. Darrell “Das” Smith from LA, wants something with a “wow factor” and makes a Stuffed Chicken Roulade over Crispy Potatoes. Das thinks it is him on a plate because it is “easy on the eyes”. Aarti Sequeira is from LA, and she makes her signature dish which is a Roasted Chicken Breast with Mango and Red Pepper Salsa. 

At the judges table, Aria Kagan from Hollywood, FL goes first and the judges are impressed with her 30 second presentation. Doreen Fong from LA goes second, and she has been confused from the get go on whether she wants her voice to be Asian or Californian. This confusion just confuses everyone and she sinks in her presentation. Herb’s presentation goes well while Das, Brad, Alexis, Tom, Dzintra and Serena all bumble through theirs. The rest do okay.

Das and Tom and the bottom two while Herb and Aria take the challenge and get an advantage during the Star Challenge the next day. 

The Star Challenge is at Paramount Studios and they find out the first part is filming at 15 second promo for their shows. This part is really awkward to watch, and instead of writing about everyone, I will just say that Aria and Tom kill it while the others seem horribly awkward on tape.

For the second part of the Star Challenge, the 12 contestants will be dividing into 2 teams of 6, with Aria and Herb heading the teams. After they pick their team mates they assign them a course from a 6 course California-centric meal that they will be cooking for a yet-to-be-named celeb-chef. The chefs find out the next day when they are taken to CUT to finish prepping and cooking their food that the guest judge is none other than his royal celeb-chefness: Wolfgang Puck.

Aria’s Grey Team consists of:

Aria: Olive Focaccia with Goat Cheese

Paul: Arugula Salad with Lemon Herb Vinaigrette

Aarti: Dal with Cumin Oil

Brianna: Spiced Scallop with Potato Hash

Tom:  Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Spaetzle

Dzintra: Lemon Sabayon with Macadamia Biscuit.

During the prepping, Dzintra scratches her cornea and the EMT on set make her go to the ER. She stays all night and is not released to cook. Tom and Aria scramble to finish her dish for the challenge and it ends up hurting their dishes, Aria’s focaccia doesn’t cook enough and Tom’s tenderloin is too dry. Paul overdresses his salad on accident and the judges are concerned with Brianna’s “party girl” act when they know she is more refined and elegant than she is being on camera. Aarti impresses the judges but has no confidence and needs to step up.

The Black Team is headed by Herb and the menu consists of:

Herb: Ceviche with Plantain Spiders

Doreen: Potato Puree with Beet Reduction

Das: Crab Salad with Guacamole

Brad: Salmon with Asparagus

Serena: Veal Scallopina with Zucchini Escobeche

Alexis: Beignets with Caramel and Honey

Herb is happy with his dish, but Doreen never gets a chance to finish her garnishing of the soup, so there is no Beet Reduction in site once the dish is served. Doreen is also so apologetic, that it actually turns out that the judges (and viewers) begin to dislike her. Get in the game Doreen! You can do it! Das has too many ingredients in his dish, and the judges are leery of his “tough guy” tape, Brad was flummoxed when he was given previously frozen Salmon that contained bones still, but Puck and Flay are incredibly impressed with his food and think that if he just lets loose a little in front of the camera he could be a contender. Serena’s entire dish was scrapped when the grocery store didn’t have veal, so she presents a chicken scallopina with squash instead of zucchini, and the judges think she has some potential if she can drop her act. Lastly, comes Alexis, who is stiff, intimidated, and nervous in front of the camera, and to top it off, Puck thinks his Beignets are awful.

In the end, the Grey team takes the win, Dzintra is saved with the win even though she couldn’t cook or create her own dish. Aria takes the entire challenge win.

The bottom three are Das, Alexis and Doreen. Das and Doreen are spared when Alexis is the first to be eliminated. Poor Alexis!

Catch an all new The Next Food Network Star, next Sunday night at its regular time, 9/8c on Food Network.

(Image courtesy of Food Network)

Follow Chandra at twitter.com/ChandraClewley