I think I liked it better with teams of 5! There is SO much to do that it helped to have the extra person.
The chefs drew knives to pick teams:
Purple Team- Nick, Carrie, Brian, Travis and Stephanie: They created "Fin" a seafood restaurant. Travis took front of the house and the Executive Chef was Nick.
Green Team: Sarah, Carlos, Justin, Shirley and Nina. They created "Found" a modern American restaurant. Sara took front of the house and the Executive Chef was Justin.
The guest judge was David Chang and he gave great advice- plan on everything going wrong! The Purple Team clicked right away and worked very well together. I am not a huge Nick fan, but he really shined this week. He took control and got the job done- plus the other chefs excepted him as EC and left their egos at the door. It really makes a big difference when a leader 1) knows what they're doing and 2) is trusted to lead.
Travis also crushed it this week! He made a good enough dish, but really shined as GM! He was friendly, informative and calm! I think that his attitude coupled with Nick's ticket system really allowed them to excel!
Even David Chang said that the Green Team's menu looked a lot better- which was shocking since they didn't even talk about menus until the end. No wonder Justin didn't have the right bowl, no one knew what was going in the dishes when they were picked out. I was with Carlos on this and it's too bad he didn't have the confidence to step up as EC after his win last week because Justin did not have the temperament for this job.
As soon as Sara volunteered for the front of the house I knew we had problems. She has not been putting out good dishes and needed to only focus on her dish and nothing else. She was so frazzled by everything that despite her telling everyone who served with her to smile, she was cold, snarky and didn't explain the dished to the judges! IMO anyone else should have been GM and Nina or Carlos should have been EC.
I can't tell if the ticket issue was Sara or Justin's fault. It also seemed like the servers had NO idea what each dish looked like. Perhaps Justin's system should have been explained by Justin because it did sound confusing OR Sara should have come up with the system. Giving a verbal fire for the judges should have been fine. I mean, once the judges are there, does much else even matter? Give them whatever is ready that moment and remake it for the other guests! It really was a total cluster- I think I blame Justin's system.
In the end it was super obvious that the Purple team won. Nick took home the win with his dish as well as his leadership! He made Roasted Black Drum, King Trumpet Mushrooms, Oxtail, Kale, and Hibiscus Reduction which was one of the best dishes of the night!
The Green Team lost and it came down to Sara and Justin. Neither one made a good dish- and both had issues, Justin's with execution and plating, Sara's with execution and a missing component. In the end, Sara went home with her Summer Nectarine Brown Butter Cake with Moscato Nectarine Salsa...
Pickely is down to 2 chefs now, but it may work in our favor! Time will tell!
Ep 10: Like Mama Made- In this week’s Quickfire challenge – can you smell the coffee? For the Elimination challenge, the chefs must make dishes that remind them of home. Actor Anthony Mackie joins the judges and Leah Chase for the heartfelt meal... and it looks like we finally have a crier- Nick!
Restaurant Wars GAME! Music is annoying but the game is kind of fun!
I was SHOCKED that the green team bought dishware before they even knew what dishes would be on the menu. A lack of cohesion among these talented chefs was their (deserved) downfall. Couple that with prima donna Justin forcefully taking control and Sara's lack of front of house skills and it was an unmitigated disaster for green.
ReplyDeleteIt could have easily been Sara or Justin going home but I think the judges had to cut Sara after such a poor front of house performance.
When Justin receives even the slightest bit of criticism he freaks out. He's been on a downward spiral ever since he was called out for dry pork at the Boucherie. I don't know if he can pull out of this tailspin.
After Nick's stellar performance this week I'm tempted to amend my final 4 predictions. I think he could be a contender.