Splish Splash

Hi my little Slip 'n Slides! First, I want to say thank you for admitting that you, too, cried during lat week’s episode, and I that I wasn’t alone. I didn’t cry during this week’s episode, though, so there’s always that. I can’t promise that I won’t cry again this season, as it looks like we still have a ton of fun episodes coming up. Secondly, I just want to make a point to say that the title of this week's recap is in honor of my hometown water park in Riverheard, Long Island -- a place I was forced to take many a day camper.

I now interrupt this recap for a random moment with our Top Chef producers:

Anyway, for this week’s Quickfire, the chefs had to create their own candy bar, complete with wrapper! Seriously, how much fun is that? I actually didn’t know that Orlando has his own candy company, which obviously means I didn’t read his Bravotv.com bio closely enough. I will say that I actually eat candy bars a little too much -- if I’m hungry when I’m shopping (which, everyone knows, is the worst time to grocery shop), I will buy a candy bar the counter. The Take 5 changed my life. Whomever thought putting the five best parts of every candy bar together was a good idea deserves my respect and gratitude. My other favorite is the Baby Ruth. What are your favorite candy bars?! Anyway, most of the chefs didn’t go a traditional route, and many decided to add fruit to their candy bar equation. I actually thought Orlando did his company proud. His raspberry-filled treat looks awesome, but I also love raspberry. I was shocked by how many chefs decided to use banana in their candy bars. I don’t know how many of the chefs actually thought about marketability, and I love bananas, but banana-flavored things are a different story, and I don’t know how well those candy bars would have done. Although, I will say that I liked how Carlos tries to make all of his desserts as personal as possible, this time naming his “Chocanana” for his daughter. Perhaps the most shocking part of the Quickfire was Orlando helping Rebecca. Rebecca dropped all of her “candy bars” on the floor, and Orlando not only helped her, but then drove it home but telling us that he does have a heart. Orlando, we knew it all along. He’s obviously misunderstood or displays a rough exterior for a reason.

Matthew’s attempt cracked me up because –- pardon my French -- it literally looked like s--t. It actually reminded me of Mike Midgley’s vending machine Quickfire dish. Here’s a pic of that concoction, in case you don’t recall.

Anyway, although Rebecca’s candy bar was well-received by Gail and guest judge Pichet Ong , Sally won the challenge and immunity. Look at that -- Craig goes home, and Sally immediately rises to the top. Coincidence? Probably. But I think there’s more there. I did say last week that I wondered how she would do without worrying about him. Looks like his absence suits her. Sally also said that she was familiar with the guest judge’s likes in terms of flavor profiles, so she definitely plyed into those, and it paid off!

Onto the Quickfire Challenge, where the chefs had to split up into teams and create cool treats for a day at Raging Waters. I hate theme parks (I’m afraid of heights, so I’m always the one holding the coats, while everyone else rides the rides), but I love, love, love water parks.

Matthew, Orlando, and Chris formed one team -- a team that some might have assumed would be the strongest, but ultimately they made a few fatal flaws. They really didn’t pay attention to their environment. Chris smoothie was too sweet and gummy, Orlando’s root beer float didn’t float, and Matt served sautéed strawberries. Huh? What was so amusing/interesting was the fact that even after all of the judges’ riticism, the three men wenrt back to the Stew Room convinced that they had done a good job. I guess ignorance is bliss.

Next up were Amanda, Sally, and Carlos. Although Sally had immunity, she didn’t want to let her team down, and actually ended up making a smoothie because Carlos suggested it. Well, her smoothie was fine, but the judges wish she had done more with it. Carlos used cereal again, this time in a popsicle, but the popsicle wasn’t refreshing at all. I think we’re all ready for Carlos to stop using cereal. And, unfortunately Amanda went home with her funnel cakes. Although she had a good idea, because her dessert should have been a la minute, and kinda wasn’t, the funnel cake got hard and crunchy. Amanda was a strong competitor, and I’m sad to see her go. I kinda knew the second Sally talked about having a girl crush on her, though, that her fate was sealed.

The team of Rebecca, Megan, and Katzie were simply the smartest. They truly though about where they were, and who they were creating for. I thought Rebecca’s dish sounded amazing. It sounded like something I would order and enjoy. I make a mean Snickerdoodle cupcake, and this treat actually reminded me a lot of the ice cream sandwiches you can get at Smorgasburg at the Brooklyn Flea. I think I’ve mentioned this before but the stand is called Coolhaus. I highly recommend the Mexican hot chocolate one. Unlike many of her competitors, Rebecca’s ice cream stood up to the heat. Megan's drink got a few negatibe comments about its sweetness, but overall, it was a success.

And then there’s Katzie, who had a tough one because she was attempting spumoni, inspired by L&B Gardens, and learned that Johnny has a personal connection to that place. Sooo, her spumoni had to be good, and it was! She made her version of a baked Alaska and it just worked. This team just got it right, and Katzie wins her second challenge in a row. Even though Sally and some other chefs don’t care for Katzie, she’s obviously proving to be a formidable opponent in this competition.It's funny, when I think about the things I’ve eaten at water parks, pizza and fudge always come to mind. Not very refreshing! Hopefully some concessions stand out there wil start stocking lemon snickerdoodle ice cream sandwiches and baked Alaska spumoni pronto!

Until next week, Have a Nosh!

Oh, and P.S. !!!