NFNS: Adiós, Nipa!

 

This week on The Next Food Network Star we saw Nipa’s final meltdown. Nipa is a beautiful woman with an untapped genre for Food Network, Indian food, and I think that is why she managed to hang on so long. However, her lack of versatility and inability to handle criticism were her undoing. You cannot truly consider yourself of TV chef if you are scared to touch a fish.

The other thing this week’s episode showed us was that there are only three people in this season’s cast who actually have a chance of winning Kelsey (who has to be the odds-on favorite and has been since day one), Lisa (who is great when she stops trying to be so damned perfect), and Adam (a bit of a wild card – he is not afraid to take risks – but sometimes they do not work). Shane is easy to root for but until this week he just wasn’t getting it done. A few more good weeks and Shane may become a contender. Jennifer is so sweet but I really think she goes home this week unless she can pull a 180 like Shane.

Aaron divulged that the reason he has not opened up about his family and background is that his son ran away just prior to taping. I think Aaron should be at home with his family and inside I believe Aaron feels similarly. You have to feel for the guy though – on one hand there is a serious situation within his family but on the other he has a chance to get a position that can financially take care of his family for generations. My prayers are with you, buddy.

Tyler Florence and Michael Symon joined in on the fun and were their usual liakable selves.

The most disturbing thing to come out of this week’s episode is that TFN has once again sold its soul to the bane of American existence – chain restaurants. First they teamed up with TGI Fridays on the show Ultimate Recipe Showdown and this week they sold out to Red Lobster, a concept owned by Darden Restaurants who also own the Olive Garden. The OG has long had the reputation within the food industry as “Chef Boyardee without the annoying can.” The hypocrisy of TFN imploring everyone to go green and use locally sourced foods and then partnering with corporations who use mostly imported product makes for an unholy alliance.