My All-Star Academy Adventure...
Meeting the competitors
Sherri, a dear friend and fellow competitive cook, is going to be tough to beat. We are so fortunate to be sharing this adventure together. Now we are going to tackle these competitors one by one and as dreams go, we hope to stand side by side for the last challenge. May the best of us on that day win!
Mimi and I struck up a conversation almost immediately and I felt like she and I could work well together if teamed. I liked her style and later, when we are both selected by Curtis, I am elated! #MimiStrong as I like to call her, is an amazing woman.
Vanessa aka "Crazy Pants" stands out as funny, quirky and totally adorable! She can talk food. She could be very tough to beat.
Joseph has a smile that captures your heart and makes you want to sing with him at church. Loves his mama and I like that!
August (Augie) ... pretty boy, crack up, well-traveled. Seems like a rebel, but a rebel with a cause. He'll be really fun to watch.
Fireman Bill. A little quiet, a little serious. We quickly find out he's an utter force to be reckoned with! Brave man, brave cook.
Angela George. Blonde, sassy and all about Texas. This gal can cook her tail off and does it in heels, not spurs.
There were two more contestants who didn't make a team. Mike the soldier turned grill master and Thomas the NOLA based jewelry artist. Nice men who like all of us just wanted a shot. I can't even imagine how hard it was for them to be there and not get picked.
Sherri, a dear friend and fellow competitive cook, is going to be tough to beat. We are so fortunate to be sharing this adventure together. Now we are going to tackle these competitors one by one and as dreams go, we hope to stand side by side for the last challenge. May the best of us on that day win!
Mimi and I struck up a conversation almost immediately and I felt like she and I could work well together if teamed. I liked her style and later, when we are both selected by Curtis, I am elated! #MimiStrong as I like to call her, is an amazing woman.
Vanessa aka "Crazy Pants" stands out as funny, quirky and totally adorable! She can talk food. She could be very tough to beat.
Joseph has a smile that captures your heart and makes you want to sing with him at church. Loves his mama and I like that!
August (Augie) ... pretty boy, crack up, well-traveled. Seems like a rebel, but a rebel with a cause. He'll be really fun to watch.
Fireman Bill. A little quiet, a little serious. We quickly find out he's an utter force to be reckoned with! Brave man, brave cook.
Angela George. Blonde, sassy and all about Texas. This gal can cook her tail off and does it in heels, not spurs.
There were two more contestants who didn't make a team. Mike the soldier turned grill master and Thomas the NOLA based jewelry artist. Nice men who like all of us just wanted a shot. I can't even imagine how hard it was for them to be there and not get picked.
Episode One
There are 10 of us to start, only 8 will be picked by a mentor for their team. We walk into the main studio at Food Network, where Iron Chef America, Chopped and a host of other top rated shows are shot and, where so many incredible chefs have worked tirelessly challenge after challenge to put out their best. Ted Allen is there. He is funny and warmly welcoming. They've pulled out all the stops on this set, an enormous catwalk overlooking 5 cooking stations (one of those being temporary for when we are just 8.) At this moment we don't yet know who are mentors will be but then they're introduced and our mouths drop clear to the floor.
Bobby Flay! A brief sense of panic sets in. Breathe. Okay done. Not gonna lie, he's a bit intimidating... and I think he both knows and likes that. Alex Guarnaschelli. Rock on you steely eyed, Iron Chef, powerhouse of woman. Michael Symon. Yay! My Cleveland boy. (Hubby's from Cleveland, love his restaurants, named my cats after him... Symon and Lola... nuff said.) But wait, who's this now? Curtis Stone! Oh my, there go the knees. Tall, handsome, a voice you could listen to for hours even if he's yelling... and what a talent! I've followed his career for years and at this moment my heart is very much torn between my Cleveland boy and my Master Chef Idol. Please, please one of you pick me! Who am I kidding? I'd have been thrilled if any of the Chefs picked me, but those two I knew could bring out the best in me.
We're given 4 ingredients to showcase and 30 minutes of cook time. Chipotle peppers in Adobo, Thick Slab Bacon, Juicy Heirloom Tomatoes and perfectly ripe Avocados. My strategy is to go opposite of the pack. I think most will be cooking with southwestern influences, I decide to go Asian. I'm not really known for cooking Asian food by I adore Korean, Vietnamese and Thai food... I know the flavors will work and how I can showcase technique and the theme ingredients. I opt for a riff on a Bahn Mi sandwich.
I candy the bacon with brown sugar and the chipotle; pickle some green heirlooms for acidity; grill the avocado as a rich and creamy replacement for the pate typically found on a bahn mi. I pay attention to my knife cuts, adding perfectly thin batons of carrot and cucumber to the pickling liquid. I'm here to impress. I add a little thinly sliced rib eye steak for texture. I make a schmear of peanut butter and fish sauce (sounds crazy but tasted delicious and added an umami background.) I toast some peanuts. I rip out most of the doughy parts of a baguette and I assemble it all together, layering flavor upon flavor, adding fresh mint and cilantro leaves, the ever crucial "salt" and a good squeeze of lime juice. I'm pleased.
The chefs come around to taste a bit while we're cooking but that's not nearly as unnerving as when all four come up to you at one time. "This is it," I think to myself, "what I've dreamed about for so long. They're going to taste my food, right here, right now."
There are 10 of us to start, only 8 will be picked by a mentor for their team. We walk into the main studio at Food Network, where Iron Chef America, Chopped and a host of other top rated shows are shot and, where so many incredible chefs have worked tirelessly challenge after challenge to put out their best. Ted Allen is there. He is funny and warmly welcoming. They've pulled out all the stops on this set, an enormous catwalk overlooking 5 cooking stations (one of those being temporary for when we are just 8.) At this moment we don't yet know who are mentors will be but then they're introduced and our mouths drop clear to the floor.
Bobby Flay! A brief sense of panic sets in. Breathe. Okay done. Not gonna lie, he's a bit intimidating... and I think he both knows and likes that. Alex Guarnaschelli. Rock on you steely eyed, Iron Chef, powerhouse of woman. Michael Symon. Yay! My Cleveland boy. (Hubby's from Cleveland, love his restaurants, named my cats after him... Symon and Lola... nuff said.) But wait, who's this now? Curtis Stone! Oh my, there go the knees. Tall, handsome, a voice you could listen to for hours even if he's yelling... and what a talent! I've followed his career for years and at this moment my heart is very much torn between my Cleveland boy and my Master Chef Idol. Please, please one of you pick me! Who am I kidding? I'd have been thrilled if any of the Chefs picked me, but those two I knew could bring out the best in me.
We're given 4 ingredients to showcase and 30 minutes of cook time. Chipotle peppers in Adobo, Thick Slab Bacon, Juicy Heirloom Tomatoes and perfectly ripe Avocados. My strategy is to go opposite of the pack. I think most will be cooking with southwestern influences, I decide to go Asian. I'm not really known for cooking Asian food by I adore Korean, Vietnamese and Thai food... I know the flavors will work and how I can showcase technique and the theme ingredients. I opt for a riff on a Bahn Mi sandwich.
I candy the bacon with brown sugar and the chipotle; pickle some green heirlooms for acidity; grill the avocado as a rich and creamy replacement for the pate typically found on a bahn mi. I pay attention to my knife cuts, adding perfectly thin batons of carrot and cucumber to the pickling liquid. I'm here to impress. I add a little thinly sliced rib eye steak for texture. I make a schmear of peanut butter and fish sauce (sounds crazy but tasted delicious and added an umami background.) I toast some peanuts. I rip out most of the doughy parts of a baguette and I assemble it all together, layering flavor upon flavor, adding fresh mint and cilantro leaves, the ever crucial "salt" and a good squeeze of lime juice. I'm pleased.
The chefs come around to taste a bit while we're cooking but that's not nearly as unnerving as when all four come up to you at one time. "This is it," I think to myself, "what I've dreamed about for so long. They're going to taste my food, right here, right now."
Their critique is good! Michael Symon says my dish is the first they've tasted that's properly seasoned. But Alex says my meat is overcooked. Argh. She's right that it was medium and not medium rare as I intended...but in defense I wasn't yet used to the call outs of time that can sound mixed up when production is capturing pick-ups of Ted's voice... and so I put the meat on a full minute too early. Failsafe kicked in however and I doused the meat with a squeeze of orange to keep it moist. That must have worked, because later I hear that Curtis' comment about the meat being overcooked was just a ploy to throw the other mentors off. He said in his interview that my sandwich was "fabulous." When I heard that for the first time as episode one was airing, my heart burst for joy. Validation! YES!
A quick twist, the first of many, many twists. The chefs have to cook off to determine their picking order. Alex takes the win. She is fierce. I am too. She picks the order and her own first pick is Augie. Well played joker-man. Bobby is next and goes for Texas, not at all a surprise as she busted out some impressive meatballs. Then comes Michael's turn. I'm not sure how I feel at this second, I guess "conflicted" is the best word. I think to myself maybe it would be okay if he didn't pick me, even though I love his food and his style. I don't have long to worry, he picks Bill. Brave Bill. Yep, that firefighter is going to be a tough one to beat. Now it's Curtis' turn and I go into my very best Vulcan Mind Meld mode. Pick me Curtis, pick me. And like a sweet prayer answered he says he's surprised and happy that his first choice is still available... and his first choice is ME!! I am over the moon! I am so beyond happy that the word happy isn't a possibility. In Italian anything taken to the nth degree ends in "issimmo," like bellisimmo for the most handsome. So I am, for lack of any better expression, "happissimmo!" The most happy I could be... until he picks Mimi and then I think "this is just one of the best days of my entire life!"
A quick twist, the first of many, many twists. The chefs have to cook off to determine their picking order. Alex takes the win. She is fierce. I am too. She picks the order and her own first pick is Augie. Well played joker-man. Bobby is next and goes for Texas, not at all a surprise as she busted out some impressive meatballs. Then comes Michael's turn. I'm not sure how I feel at this second, I guess "conflicted" is the best word. I think to myself maybe it would be okay if he didn't pick me, even though I love his food and his style. I don't have long to worry, he picks Bill. Brave Bill. Yep, that firefighter is going to be a tough one to beat. Now it's Curtis' turn and I go into my very best Vulcan Mind Meld mode. Pick me Curtis, pick me. And like a sweet prayer answered he says he's surprised and happy that his first choice is still available... and his first choice is ME!! I am over the moon! I am so beyond happy that the word happy isn't a possibility. In Italian anything taken to the nth degree ends in "issimmo," like bellisimmo for the most handsome. So I am, for lack of any better expression, "happissimmo!" The most happy I could be... until he picks Mimi and then I think "this is just one of the best days of my entire life!"
Michael's turn back up, he picks Vanessa. Good for her! And for him. He's a little crazy too and so I think, "perfect." (They even have that same maniacal laugh thing going.) Next Bobby takes smiling Joseph. "Alright!" Joseph needs Bobby's strength to bring out his best. He could do well in this game with Bobby as his mentor. Sherri makes it too, thankfully, picked by Alex who is the chef she wanted most. They'll be good together. We'd have been a great team, she and I, but I didn't think that was in the cards. She will be very good for Alex as a counter-balance to Augie. They're right together.
Mike and Tom were not so lucky, they were sent home. But they both know that out of thousands of people vying, they were among the 10 picked!
I've got Mimi and we've got THE Curtis Stone, so from this point on it is #TeamCurtis all the way!
All-Star Academy airs Sunday nights at 9 pm EST & PST on the Food Network
Mike and Tom were not so lucky, they were sent home. But they both know that out of thousands of people vying, they were among the 10 picked!
I've got Mimi and we've got THE Curtis Stone, so from this point on it is #TeamCurtis all the way!
All-Star Academy airs Sunday nights at 9 pm EST & PST on the Food Network