NFNS Week 7

Here we are in Week 7 and we have Lisa, Kelsey, Aaron and Adam left. This week, they are flown out to Las Vegas to stay in the fabulous Caesars Palace and, yes, I did see Kelsey and Lisa jumping on the bed in their sweet suite.

Paula Deen is the guest judge for this episode and the contestants start the week with a sit-down dinner with Paula and Bobby Flay to talk about their strengths and weaknesses and what the judges really need to see out of them in the Week 7 challenge. The challenge itself is quite interesting - the contestants are pitted against each other Bobby Flay "Throwdown" style on their signature dishes: Lisa and her cassoulet, Adam's lobster mac 'n cheese, Kelsey's chicken parmesan and Aaron's pork loin with apple.

First is Lisa vs. Adam. Adam hit a home run with his lobster mac'n cheese, even with Ms. Paula who said she'd never liked the dish before. I can't say, though, that gourmet mac 'n cheese is something made for the Food Network. Lisa's attempt was a flop. How can you screw up something as simple as mac 'n cheese? Paula even said she "hated it." Winner of battle mac 'n cheese: Adam.

Likewise, Lisa hit a home run with her duck confit cassoulet - it may have even been a grand slam. Tusch called it a "truly masterful dish." Paula said it was "truly wonderful" and Bobby said it was probably the best cassoulet he'd ever had. Adam only managed a "beginner" stamp for his attempt at the dish. Winner of battle cassoulet: Lisa.

Next up is Kelsey's chicken parmesan vs. Aaron's pork loin with apple glaze. Kelsey had a tough go with the judges. They had a problem with the deconstruction of the dish because the chicken and sauce didn't come together. Paula hit Kelsey on the petite-ness of the dish and gave Aaron good marks for the heartiness of his dish and his adherence to the status of chicken parmesan as a familiar comfort food.

On to Aaron's pork dish, which isn't as much a signature dish as it is a cut of meat that can be done in any number of ways. Aaron came out fine and the judges liked the way his sweet and spicy glaze worked with the pork. Kelsey got hit again by Paula for the small portion size but not didn't get much feedback.

An important side note here: You have to know when you've got Paula Deen as your judge that she's not going to be impressed by pretty little dishes. The woman who stuck her tongue under a chocolate fountain wants a pile of food on her plate so you better give it to her! Paula in her own words: Mmmm, Southern Cooking is like a long walk in the meadow, you just can never seem to fill up enough on it.

After all this we get to the judging. The judges are still concerned with Lisa's intensity when she's trying to cook in front of the camera. The judges found Adam uncharacteristically cold during his presentation. They didn't have much bad to say with Aaron except to point out his obvious lack of knowledge about ingredients, but please please get that boy some speech therapy!

I predicted, not too long ago, that this season would come down to a battle of youth - Shane vs. Kelsey. I was way off base because Shane was eliminated in Week 6 and Kelsey in Week 7. In the end, the judges must have though Kelsey lacked the real life experience they wanted in their Next Food Network Star. I have to go back to a point I made earlier in the season - the judges obviously put personality over skill in the kitchen. Adam has some kind of hold on the judges because he has been at the bottom of the barrel as far as knowledge and skill for a while now.

So we say goodbye to Kelsey this week, but surely not forever. She's young and already has a great deal of skill. Once she gains some real life experience, we'll doubtless see her back on the Food Network in some capacity.