Isn’t the first thing you do when planning on serving a family of 4 for <$10 is not go to Whole Foods?
Seriously.
Other than that, I wasn’t surprised to see Mark go.
That’s the same observation as a couple of the bloggers on the bravotv web site.
I observe a contradiction in the judges’ reactions to contestants’ reactions to their comments. If the chef says “Oh, OK, you’re right,” they get criticized for not standing behind their dish. If they say “No, I think it was good for X reason,” they get slammed for being unable to accept criticism.
The ones who really didn’t innovate got some kudos. Chicken in a pot? That’s new? Or one’s mother’s rice salad? The mother should have gotten the prize!
The most interesting part was Tom’s reaction to Mark saying he didn’t like him. Kind of a “The Lady doth protest to much” kind of thing. Usually Tom gives comments like that the blow-off they deserve, but spending that much time denying it make ya wonder if it might have hit home.
That was my first thought. You can barely buy the chicken there for under $10. A chicken breast to serve two people is like $7. I don’t know how they could afford all the vegetables as well.
I loved watching the one contestant peel leaves off the bok choy at the register to reduce the weight and price.
Have they had any real off-the-wall type challenges, like the one where they had to buy stuff from the vending machines, or the “this is your grocery aisle - make it work” challenges?
StG
I suspect the judge’s criticism of Lisa may have had more to do with her overall bitchy attitude. She was scaring me as she stood there with her arms crossed and looking like she wanted to kill someone.
I don’t want more Lisa, her food sucks and she makes me sad 
The editors are just playing with me, dangling her dismissal before me like a prize and then jerking it away.
I’m assuming that was God’s own pasta in the flavoring, because Antonia’s dish seemed pretty unimaginative to me - like something most mothers would conceive of and execute fine on their own already. But whatevs. Peanut butter + tomato = ew. Whole Foods is NOT the place to go to get affordable food on a budget. And it seems like they got extra food - wasn’t that more than four plates they came up with at tasting? 1 for tom, 1 for rest-of-judges, 4 (or more?) for some kids?
I was okay with the idea of the challenge, it’s one most people have to tackle daily, so of course prime chefs should be able to handle it. But it was kind of boring to watch.
I *liked *Mark :o , but in the end he became a whiny bitch. :mad:
The judges thought his dish lacked. Not unsurprising, he only spent $9.
On t’other hand, I was sorry to see Mark go – he’s one of the few males with some reasonable relation to sanity, without the over-inflated egos the others have.
Overall, seems a fairly weak bunch.
I was a bit bemused by the idea of a curry being too ‘way out’ for kids. Maybe you wouldn’t serve them a super-spicy vindaloo, but there’s lots of lovely mild curry flavours that can make easy, nutritious family meals. I would be more worried at serving up piles of ‘weird’ veg, like fennel and beets.
I was quite sure Lisa wouldn’t go tonight, despite the crappy food and attitude - that would be three lesbians eliminated in a row!
I was also quite pleased to see the back of Mark. As a transplanted Australian, may I say, get your own bloody culture. Didgeridoo playing? And did he really say, Aussie Aussie Aussie, oi oi oi?!
Personality and digeridoo playing notwithstanding, he was a sloppy cook and just gave me the heebie-jeebies.
The $10 challenge would have been much more valid if they’d given the chefs bus passes and sent them over to Aldi.
Dale said the “Aussie Aussie Aussie”, and Mark obliged with the “oi oi oi.”
I kind of got the feeling that some of the other contestants didn’t realize he wasn’t Australian. I seem to recall some point earlier in the show when he referred to himself as a “kiwi” and got a blank look from whoever he was talking to.
Nikki & Spike got some brief reprieves, but I think they (along with Lisa) are the 3 most likely to go next. Antonia had a good night, but hasn’t quite convinced me she’s got the chops to make the final four. But Stephanie (flying solo this time) showed some real vulnerability in that misguided dish. Still, I think she’s still a good shot at going to the final showdown, but Dale & Richard are proving quite formidable in their consistency and will both be tough to beat.
In the Bravo blogs, Mark said he was kidding around, but both Tom and Gail thought he was being serious (and I saw Tom’s answer as genuine surprise; I think he really didn’t see that comment coming, nor knew to take it as a joke as Mark says he intended).