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Kenny immediately thinks that the opposing group will want to put him up for elimination, since he’s obviously the best chef in the cast (*coughcough* yeahright *coughcough*). Amanda doesn’t think that her fellow chefs have grasped how divisive this challenge could get (I think they do). Angelo starts helping Stephen and Tamesha plan their dishes, which angers Kevin. He goes down to the bunk where Kenny is stewing and starts complaining to him. Wow, this is total Survivor.

Personally, I don’t have a problem with Angelo trying to help/manipulate his fellow chefs. That’s not his problem. If the chefs were stronger, they’d stand up for themselves and stay true to their own cuisine. The fact that they’re so willing to let Angelo help them says more about their own skill than any malicious intent on Hot-But-Apparently-Straight Angelo’s part.

The chefs head to Whole Foods for shopping. While there, Alex tells Tiffany that even if Stephen’s dish sucks, he won’t vote for him for Elimination “because he likes his personality in the house.” While telling this story, Tiffany makes a sour face. She then says, “It’s fine,” but in a tone of voice that indicates that it’s not.

Back in the kitchen, it’s Tamesha that’s doing the bitching. Amanda is running around like usual, complaining that the equipment is malfunctioning for her and using those instances as opportunities to yell in the kitchen (“DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY CHEESECLOTH? ANYONE?!?”).

Throughout the cooking process, most of the chefs are most worried about how truthful/honest/accurate the feedback will be when one group samples the other group’s food. Will they deliver praise when praise is due? Will they sabotage one chef by putting them unjustifiably up for elimination?

That question is about to be answered. We have a group comprised of Tiffany, Hot Angelo, Tamesha, Andrea and Stephen tasting first. They try Kenny’s duo of grilled lamb; Tiffany calls it chewy and Hot Angelo calls the combination of okra and lamb carpacio overly slimy. Alex serves up a sous-vide lamb with red beet puree but Andrea knocks it for not having enough salt. Kevin has a veal and tuna surf and turf, but Stephen says it lacks acidity.

At this point, Tom loses his temper with all the artificial bitching and moaning. “Did no one else get the meyer lemon slices?” he asks pointedly. Everyone looks down at their plate to see if they got lemon. “And the tomatoes, don’t they add acidity?”

Wow, smackdown of Stephen.

As for the rest of the dishes, Amanda serves up a chicken galantine in which Andrea finds a big piece of cartilage (bad news). Lastly, we have Ed’s sockeye salmon on pumpernickel bread. Angelo compares the bread to a dry sponge.

It’s time for the group to nominate one dish for the win and they unanimously pick Kevin. As for elimination, they all pick Kenny, save for Andrea who chooses Amanda due to the chicken cartilage. Interesting, very interesting. I’ll be eager to hear what the judges think to see if this is gamesmanship or if Kenny’s dish was really that bad.

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