In this episode, the two teams had to prepare three dishes for a hundred people in ninety minutes. They were working outside in food trucks. Their diners would be their judges, and they would be judged on both food and customer service.
The signs all seemed to point to a Team Rachael victory. They had three team members to complete this task (Lou Diamond Philips, Summer Sanders, and Taylor Dayne); Team Guy only had two (Coolio and Joey Fatone). Coolio had his own vision. He had his soul rolls, his take on eggrolls, and although he was advised not to, he made two dipping sauces. He also had trouble with the fryer on the truck. Joey Fatone pretty much had to make two dishes. When it was time to serve, they were woefully behind.
However, they still won. People loved what Coolio cooked. When it looked like all of their customers were going to go to Team Rachael's truck, Joey Fatone picked up the megaphone and turned on the charm. Although people really liked Lou Diamond Phillip's food, they were not crazy about what Summer Sanders and Taylor Dayne created.
The final cook-off was between Dayne and Sanders, the two on Team Rachael who had received the lowest scores. Their task was to create an amuse bouche. Guy and Rachael ended up preferring the flavor of what Taylor Dayne had created, although they very much liked Sanders's presentation.
So it is now down to four. Fatone and Dayne are the underdogs. Fatone has impressed me with his persistence and his humility. He does not believe that his skills match up to what the others are doing, but he never gives up, and then he often surprises himself. Dayne seems to like flying under the radar. She will protest that she doesn't know what to do, and in the end, she is still left standing.
I will be disappointed if the final showdown isn't between Coolio and LDP. They have shown themselves throughout the competition to have outstanding skills. So far Coolio has bested Lou in the cook-offs, although both cooks have received high praise. As LDP said, Coolio has recipes that he has picked up from his family, from his neighbors. They're idiosyncratic, seemingly wrong, but then they taste so right. Lou Diamond Phillips is very experienced as a cook. While Coolio will often blaze his own trail, LDP seems to try to follow the rules.I would be happy to see either of them win.
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