NFNS Week 5

The mini-challenge at the beginning of Week 5 really set some of these guys and gals apart. The contestants had 30 minutes to prepare an original dish using a basketful of ingredients preselected for them. At the end of that time, Cat Cora paired them up and made each person switch dishes. Each contestant then had 90 seconds to taste and describe the other dish in front of the camera (with Cat Cora watching!). Aaron, who I put in second place last week really dropped the ball because of his unease in front of the camera. Shane did a great job describing Kelsey's dish and he came out on top in Cat Cora's eyes.

For the main challenge this week, the contestants were paired up and given 45 minutes to re-create complicated, time-consuming dishes. Shane chose Beef Wellington for himself and Kelsey, Lisa and Jennifer got Turducken and Adam and Aaron got Coq au Vin. In the end, Shane and Kelsey came out on top and their main and side dishes will be featured in Bon Appetit magazine next month!

On to the elimination. I hate being right sometimes. Jenn was at the bottom of my list last week and she was eliminated this week. She was a very nice person, but she just never looked comfortable in front of the camera, in front of her audiences or in front of the judges. And what the hell was she doing banging a glass bottle against the range anyway? It ended up shattering (duh!) ruining her side dish and the duck confit Lisa was warming up to use in their main dish.

I'm going to take a new approach to the countdown this week. I don't think last week's took into account each person's ability to perform in front of the camera. Granted, cooking ability is very very important, but personality and performance on camera is what really makes a Food Network star. With that in mind, here's my Top 5 after Week 5:

5. Adam
Adam was definitely put on notice this week. Jennifer had more culinary skill but the judges decided that they wanted somebody who could play up to the camera. Bob Tuschman made it perfectly clear. During the elimination time, he told Adam: I think you know that you are still here solely on the basis of your personality. I really think his total lack of cooking skills is going to send him home next week.

4. Aaron
Last week I had Aaron as my #2 man. His stock plummeted this week after a horrible performance in the first challenge. His cooking skill and confidence in his abilities are there, but his knowledge of ingredients is sorely lacking. In the first challenge, he used fully 2/3 of his time before he started describing Adam's dish. Another problem Aaron has is that he is sometimes hard to understand when he's talking. His voice just isn't very clear and that hurts his presentation skills.

T2. Shane
Shane really pulled it together this week. He did a great job in the first challenge showing off a mastery of the ingredients and the ability to clearly and vividly describe a dish he'd never even seen before to the camera. He and Kelsey showed great teamwork in the second challenge. As the youngest contestant, he's done surprisingly well. I think a lot of his confidence comes from the fact that he has the skills and is able to rely on the fundamentals in the heat of battle.


T2. Lisa
I dropped Lisa out of first this week, but she still has a chance to get back to the top spot. I think she has the best overall skill of all of the contestants but she still needs to work on her personality. I thought she would finally open up after last week's spill but she was still a bit clammed up this week. She was by no means the alpha female she was in the first couple of weeks, but she just didn't show the warmth that needs to come out.

1. Kelsey
Ok, I can admit I'm wrong sometimes. Kelsey still has a bit of the annoying perkiness she exhibited the first few weeks but she has really reined it in. She's won a couple of challenges the last two weeks and that has given her a lot of confidence, not that she was really lacking it to begin with. By reining in her emotions she comes across as a lot more genuine and warm than before.