Last week, we said farewell to conchefstant Heather “The Horrible” … so who will be the show villain now? Who?
Nice to see Beverly was pleased to see Heather go. Edward wonders “should I give out recipes anymore?” — apparently gave them to Heather more than once. Sarah sees his “dark side” now — about time! The latest guest judge is author of The Modernist Cuisine encyclopedia of techniques and recipes. He brings his Quickfire Challenge about the Modernist theory of cooking, naturally, which leads to what Grayson will call “magic” cooking techniques.
We learn a few interesting things: Chris C. has an apartment filled with “modern art” paintings of nudes … wait did he say he painted them himself? And Chris J. would love to visit Nathan’s basement … of food wonders, I hope. As for the Challenge, Beverly spills foam all over the judges and it didn’t stand out either. The Amazing Paul’s endive salad didn’t have enough depth of flavor. Oh no! And Chris J. seems to try the hardest with his multistage work using a miracle berry tablet and a deconstructed cheesecake. The amazing miracle berry has a superprotein that changes sour tastes to sweet and vice versa. It’s astounding and actually works!
Who wins? Ty-Lör! Although people have been calling him “Ty” lately — maybe they’re trying to make it easier on my recaps? No More Umlauts! As for the Elimination Challenge, it’s time for a BBQ! Is it possible they haven’t had this yet? In Texas? It doesn’t seem possible. So the conchefstants split in three teams of three and head to some ridiculously huge grilling ears in The Salt Lick restaurant. Is that supposed to be a name that makes you hungry? Arriving, Ty says, “The owner was waiting for us when we arrived, and my mouth was watering.” That might be taken the wrong way….
And then, during the long overnight and next day challenge, poor Sarah suffers from some sort of heat exhaustion and is hurried to the hospital — which means her teammates Edward and Ty-Lör must now work alone. What struck me watching the stretch of cooking was the interesting focus on the Paul Team, who was the flavor visionary and team leader, helping with smoker tray collapses and the like. Even Ty’s skeptical “Asian style BBQ? In Texas?” can’t slow them down. And then in the morning, a very sleep deprived Grayson tells Tom that their food will “be like sex in the mouth.” Paul hurries to clarify that what she meant is that the food has got a lot of love. I’m having a good feeling about Team Paul.
And sure enough, their non-traditional BBQ flavors win the day and they split the winnings! But uh oh, the team of Double Chris & Beverly fares poorly, with overly salty ribs and undercooked beans. That sounds awful. But with his overwhelming oversalting problems, Chris C is sent off to face Nyesha in the online Last Chance Kitchen “Stuff Found in a Gas Station” challenge … Spoiler: Nyshea wins once again! She’s on a roll! Watch for yourself to see why.
Clacked by Jeremy Fogelman 
on Jan 05, 2012 @ 01:21 EST5EDT
