Your Set is on Fire

Sing it with me: "Whoaaa, your set is on fire!"

Hello, my little Bahamian kings and queens! Thanks for all of your great comments on my post last week. There was one comment that really affected me, and it was from "Big Steve," saying:

Wow! You really sound anti-Mike, anti-emotion, anti-Richard (or at least snippy about him)... I'm stunned. I never got this vibe from you before, I usually enjoy your joyous take on food and the show.

Anyway, maybe the chefs aren't the only exhausted ones. Hope you enjoy the show and blogging again next time. Food is rarely enjoyed by cynics.

I pride myself on providing a joyous blogging experience for my faithful readers, so I took this to heart, have shaken it off, and am back! Thanks for getting me out of my apparent funk, "Steve"! You weren't the only one to call me out on my anti-Mike sentiment. I actually did finally meet Mike at the reunion taping, and he was obviously nothing but pleasant. I even mentioned my blog before he had the chance to. I doubt he reads it, so it was fine.

So, let's start anew in the Bahamaaas! (Yes, I just said that like Oprah.) The chefs are greeted by Bravotv.com vlogger -- oh, and world-renowned chef -- Eric Ripert, presenting the first Quickfire Challenge with Padma. Each chef competes against the winner of his/her respective season. I'm honestly shocked all the Top Chefs came back. But, they did, and the results were fairly split. Hosea felt like he had something to prove and did, in fact, beat Carla. Richard, too, felt like he had something to prove and beat Stephanie, but probably most shocking was Mike Isabella's win over Michael Voltaggio, which almost upset me. I would go more into it, but since i'm not being negative this week, I won't -- you're all too well aware that the Voltaggios hold a special place in my heart. Swoon.For the Elimination Challenge, the chefs were told they would be cooking for Bahamian royalty. So, the chefs obviously figured that they would be cooking for royalty, which was, um, sort of accurate. After arriving at their destination, they discover that they'll actually be cooking for the King of Junkanoo. Sooo they start cooking, and while they're only a little way into the process, a fryer catches on fire, and everyone has to evacuate. We couldn't plan this s--- if we tried, so I can't believe this actually happened. This must've been a nightmare for the producers as well, not knowing if they'd need to scout out a new location, but who knows. Although the chefs hurried to cover up their mise en place so they could continue to cook after the fire was cleared, unfortunately everything was ruined, so the chefs had to start from scratch. Tom told the chefs they could change their dishes if they wanted. Honestly I'm not sure how I feel about that decision, so good thing it wasn't mine! Richard and Antonia are the only chefs who take Tom up on that offer. While Richard prepared a versatile dish from the start, in case some twist came up, Antonia just changed the whole concept for the new audience. While I do think you should cook for your audience, I think party-goers could have and would have enjoyed her first dish just as much as real royalty, so this came off like a bit of food snobbery to me. On the same token, I think not changing her dish wouldn't have been strategically wise, sooo good job, Antonia. Unfortunately, though, no one's dishes really wowed the judges -- who were hilariously forced to sit in a tiny booth altogether. (Seriously, did anyone else find this as incredibly amusing as I did?) In the end, Mike's sous-vide chicken stood out from the rest, while Carla's too-sweet, unevenly-cooked pork got her sent home. Sigh. Goodbye, Carla. Come on, guys -- one last "Hootie-hoo" for all times sake? Let's all say it together! "Hootie-hoo." Didn't that feel good?

So, looks like it's finally down to the final four! And let me tell you, next week's episode makes me physically nervous -- the challenge is really difficult. Like, Target challenge difficult, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see! Till then, Have a Nosh!