NFNS Video Recap: Episode 4
Here’s the fourth episode of Next Food Network Star recap video followed by my commentary … so if you didn’t catch it Sunday night and are planning to watch it during one of the repeats this week, don’t click. Otherwise, enjoy.
With a proviso, ok, a slight reprimand, I’m upping my ratings of this show from three out of five stars to 4 stars.
First the reprimand. “Bobby Who?” First the big deal was that Bobby Flay was going to be the host of this show. And that would add a needed consistant element the show has always otherwise lacked. That’s how all the pre-show publicity went, anyhow. But it didn’t turn out that way. Later, about the time the first show aired, I heard or I read somewhere (and I mean in official places, not off some board or blog where people guess things) that Flay might not be the host, cough, per se, ahem, not exactly — funny, it sure looked that way to the photos they put out, such as this one here — but that he would most definitely unequivicably be at each and everyjudges table for each and every episode. Not a big deal considering unlike a competeing program like Top Chef which goes on for something like four and half months, NFNS is a scant eight or nine episodes.
And wham, take a guess who wasn’t there as host? And guess who wasn’t at the judges table? And who wasn’t on last night’s episode at all? That’s right — Flay. Now am I mad at Flay. Hell no. Not at all his fault for how he’s being promoted by the network. I’m not even mad at the Food Network; I am however once again disappointed that what the Food Network says, you cannot necessarily believe. It’s annoying; and I should be used to it by now. Eh, move on. So that all said, the show is getting better and more enjoyable all the time. In fact looking back at last week and this week …. well, what did I say on Day One? I said put the food first and let the drama fall where it may. And — gasp — they’ve been doing that!!
From the picking up ingredients and answering culinary questions challenge (before the train ride), to skinning and deboning fish, cutting a pineapple or coconut, shucking an oyster, using sweet ingredients in a savory dish… etc. Awesome! They’ve been doing all the correct things. All the things the premiere episode, with it’s “let’s make them crash and burn and take the food down with it” style, did compltely wrong. Now they’re doing it correct. And for that, four stars.
As to the details of this episode …. Let me jump to the end. First I figured Jennifer was going to go with her second episode in a row of apologizing. And yet when it came down to two left she was for some reason not one of them. It came down to Nipa and Adam instead. I shook my head. Knowing how much they sooooo want Indian cusine on FN I said oh, damn and thn “goodbye Adam” cause they always keep Nipa. Kiss of death time …. and then wham, they actually got rid of her! Yeaaa!!
Why the yea!? She was so annoying. No personality other than a sneer. If it’s not in her culture she can’t do it. But as Sunny Anderson says to the Amateur Gourmet over on the FN site “India is a penisula; its surrounded by water on three sides” as in ‘don’t tell me there’s no squid or fish over there’ sorta way. My “friends” over at ChowHound didn’t put it as graciously, recalling Nipa’s brilliant quote (which for a moment I’d forgotten): “I’ve never touched a dead fish before. It’s slimy and gross and I hate it.” And as the Hounders say, how can anyone after that ever be given a cooking show to host? No way!
Atop which who’da thought Lisa the Dallas Diva gets better every episode? Although the crazy cook still cooks in very high heels and $300 blouses. (sigh) And who thought Kelsey could both turn down the over-the-topness and also win both challenges? Wow!
Good to see Tyler Florence at the top of the show and Michael Symon as second-half host and replacement judge; he always does a fine job.
It’s anybody’s game. And I’m interested in watching. Oh and, officially, here’s your new stars. 
First up is Tyler Florence who travelled to Boise for a food charity event, 
As for television, on Sunday night there is a brand new Iron Chef America with star chef Marcus Samuelsson entering Kitchen Stadium for the first time, taking on Iron Chef Bobby Flay; that’s at 9pm Eastern, followed at 10pm Eastern with the second episode of The Next Food Network Star (which we both showed a clip of and talked about the other day.)
