I'm going to have to be completely honest and admit that I didn't catch the entire episode of The Next Food Network Star last night because I arrived home late from my grandfather's 90th birthday party (at a sushi restaurant, which I think speaks to his amazing condition). That means that you guys have to fill me in on any amazing details from the beginning of the show, if you have any to share.And while you think about that, I'll move on to the recap, because what I did see was pretty surprising.
Spoilers!
Let's start with the most surprising tidbit of the episode: Shane left.
I pegged him last week as a given for the top three, but this week the judges deemed him "too technical" and sent him packing. This saddens me, as I think I'd be far more likely to watch him than someone like Adam or Aaron, but it's definitely clear by now that the judges are trying to get as far away from "recent culinary school graduate" as possible.
For the challenge, contestants had to do execute an actual cooking demonstration in front of a live audience with Rachel Ray. In what seemed to me to be a direct imitation of Top Chef, the contestants were also each also paired with a girl scout, with whom they created their meal -- a healthy and delicious snack.
At the end of the day, Adam moved up in the ranks, and Aaron is still somewhere in limbo. I don't think it's really possible to predict at this point what will happen to these two. Kelsey and Lisa both choked a bit, and Kelsey was almost the one to leave. In the end, though, I think the judges probably realized how dry the show would be without her.
Admittedly, I'm pretty sad to see Shane go. When I think more about it, though, I start to believe that he didn't really have a chance at beating Kelsey or Lisa anyway, so it's not completely awful that he left at this stage in the game.
Next week, the contestants actually head to Las Vegas to compete. It should be, at the very least, entertaining.














