Prawn Stars

Hola! This week we're in Barcelona, Spain -- a place I've never gone, but have always wanted to. I'm actually writing this from our first host city, London, England right now, so if it's a bit shorter than usual, it's because I'm exhausted!

So, let's get into it. We start with the chefs in cars. Sharing. Keven explains some 'Crying Game' incident he had once that I'd rather forget ever hearing. Thankfully, there's a challenge at hand and the chefs face their first Course: to find the clock tower. This week the chefs are in two teams: the men vs. the women (and Nookie.) Nookie reveals that he used to live in Barelona, which seems like a pretty good advantage. "It's almost like i'm the exceptional ingredient, Nookie says. That may be true, but I worry it could turn out to be a detriment. (Spoiler alert: I'm wrong.) At the start, the men find themselves in the lead, John Vermiglio makes an interesting comment about wishing there were females on his team -- for their level heads. I just found this so refreshing. John is becoming one of my favorites to watch.When the teams arrive, they're greeted by Jordi Limon, Head Chef, Restaurante Somorrostro. The second course is to Fillet & Breakdown Fish. Each type of fish or seafood is worth a certain dollar value, just like it would be if the chefs were real fishermen trying to sell their goods. While Nookie is able to cut the shiz out of the monkfish, they are of lesser value than squid ink, which the men's team just destroys. I actually dissected a squid in fourth grade, so I might have actually been helpful in this challenge!

By winning the Course, the men win the Exceptioal Ingredient -- the guma roja or red prawns. The men will be able to cook with it, while the women will not. Both teams head to La Boqueria, and we then see a little more of the reason behind John's comment from earlier. Nookie and his "Angels" are cooperating, while the men are sort of at each other's throats. Keven and Chaz have different methods of going about things, and they both set each other off.

Time to get cooking! First course goes to Nookie's team for their trio of croquettes. Even with the red prawn advantage, the men's team couldn't pull out a winning starter. Chaz tenderized the paired fish a tad too much, and the diners, including the exceptionally sweet Jose Andres, didn't care for it. Next course seemingly goes to the men's team for their treatment of the monkfish. Nookie led his team astray by suggesting a cooked Iberico ham dish that just didn't work. And finally for dessert, although Liz's custard didn't quite set and she's nervous it will send her home, the diners seem to like it. And so, Nookie's team won, and Nookie won MVP.Now, who to send home. Well, it seems that it would likely be Chaz or Keven. Chaz for being responsible for seemingly the night's worst dish, or Keven for not having any front-of-house presence whatsoever. Say what you will about Jenna (and her fellow chefs certainly say a lot!), diners love her. Ultimtely, Keven went home. I'm honestly a little shocked he went home so early, but it was inevitable. He was just too difficult to work with. Adios, Keven!

Next week, we're in Morocco! Cheers for now!