By Jennifer Larson

With only two eliminations left before the finally, the chef-testants are hitting the road. Culinary personality, Jimmy Canora, was tonight’s guests judge, and he had his hands full with this talented crew. It’s getting down to the wire, and the ultimate prize is so close everybody can taste it, so to speak. In the past few weeks, the only two women left have stepped up their game leaving former front-runner, Hung, to catch up. After Hung’s dismal performance, not to mention his cocky attitude, last week, he had a lot to prove to the judges this week. With Howie gone, you would think the stress level would have lessened, but this is a competition that all the contestants take seriously. That being said, you could cut the stress on that plane with a knife. But, that just makes better TV for us lucky viewers.

Anybody who’s ever been on a plane knows how god-awful the food usually is, which is what makes this competition so brilliant. I mean you really do have to use your ingenuity to make gourmet food that gets heated up in tiny ovens 3,000 feet in the air. For example, the oven temperature has to be in line with the air pressure, or you’ll end up with that yummy rubber chicken we all are so accustomed to. And if not rubbery chicken, you may end up with a steak that’s charred on the outside and raw on the inside. By the way, these are both examples of meals I’ve forced down my throat while flying the friendly skies. So anybody who can work around all these obstacles is a step ahead of the rest. Let’s take a look at food presentation, while we’re at it. Imagine how difficult it is to present an artistic looking plate of food on those ugly airline plates.


To the joy of some and horror of others, none other than hostess, Padma Lakshmi, awaked the contestants early. She announced their Quickfire Challenge for this week would be to cook breakfast for her! Padma was the one and only judge on this one, and she appeared to enjoy the whole aspect of it. The good news for the chefs was that they are already familiar with the type of food Padma likes, and apparently, alcohol is on the top of that list. That being said, Hung ended up winning this one for his steak and eggs, which was a surprise to everybody, including the hostess who before this was not a big fan of heavy meat for breakfast. And his big prize for this win, a cookbook written by Padma. That seems to be taking self- promotion a little far … don’t you think? Any disappointment at such a lackluster prize was quickly forgotten, when Hung was handed the airline tickets that would take everybody to their next elimination challenge.

The chefs are headed to New York baby. Well they actually flew into Newark Airport, and were told that they would only gain entrance to the city of lights – wait that’s Paris – but you get the drift, if they are one of the lucky few to make it through the next challenge. That challenge was a tough one; they had to create a delicious, new hot entrée for business class travelers on Continental Airline. Oh and Hung did get a second part to his Quickfire prize; he got to choose what protein he wanted to use before the other contestants. And look out because it appears that Hung’s one-man-show is back. It was all about him in that kitchen. Honestly, I wouldn’t want to be around a boiling pot with Hung around. Turn your back for a second, and he’ll burn you where you stand. But that may be better than having to eat his fish entrée. Have you ever smelled fish cooking on an airplane; it’s not pleasant, and that’s all I’m going to say.


Like I said, cooking airline food is a huge challenge. This was evident by the judge’s reactions to some of the dishes. Dale hit a high note with his dish, except for the fact that he wasn’t able to make enough for everybody on the plane. Hmm … that makes me miss Howie, who managed to end two challenges without finishing his dishes. In the end, Dale ended up being in the top three, along with Casey and Hung. I guess his fish didn’t stink as much as the fish I’ve gotten a whiff of on planes. Ultimately, it was Casey’s veal medallions that took the prize. Unfortunately for CJ, the judges didn’t like the taste of his broccolini as much as I like saying it. There has to be a sense of pride in being sent away with, as the judges put it, “the worst dish out of any of the three seasons.” At least that’s what I would tell the poor schlub, if I were one of his friends. One more down, and four more to go