Last night’s Around the World in 80 Plates found the chefs in Bologna, Italy. It’s a tad awkward because the teams remain on the same team. That means Liz Garrett and Jenna Johansen are going to have issues. After an immune Liz voted for Jenna in the last challenge, Jenna is confused. Wasn’t she Liz’s biggest cheerleader in the kitchen? Um, maybe Jenna is confusing “cheerleader” with “bitter Betty.” John Vermiglio reminds his remaining teammates that they are all great chefs…although some might be clumsier than others. #curseofthewhitebeans
The black team (Nookie Postal, Avery Purcell, Nick Lacasse, and the immune Nicole Lou) is riding the high of their win. Both teams arrive at the Parmigiano Reggiano Creamery where they get their first clue. They learn that the winner of this course will win $10,000. Each team must find three wheels of cheese which are marked with a triangle, signifying that the cheese hasn’t aged properly. No big deal, right? Both teams enter the creamery where they are greeted by walls and walls and walls (and WALLS!) of cheese. Right of the bat, the red team finds one marked wheel, then another. They are leaving with their third wheel as the black team finds their second. The members of the red team collect their next clue. They must deliver one wheel of cheese to Tamburini Salumeria in the historic district of Bologna. John is glad that Jenna and Liz have put aside their differences to work together.
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The black team isn’t too far behind the red team. Once in the city, John becomes increasingly frustrated with Jenna. Even though she can speak Italian, she is having a hard time finding a local who will give her directions. Couple that with the fact that John is the only one strong enough to carry the cheese wheel, and he is about over his teammate. The black team quickly finds someone who points them in the direction of the local grocery. Once they have delivered their cheese wheel, the black team is given a list of twelve items they must purchase and deliver to Ristorante Pappagallo. The red team makes it to the grocery and begins shopping. The black team learns that they must go to additional stores to find all the items. They are the first to deliver all of their items to the restaurant, but unfortunately they got something wrong and must head back to the grocery store. The red team delivers all the correct items, and they are given the location of Cat Cora and Curtis Stone. They barely beat the black team, but the red team is rewarded with $10,000.
Curtis reveals that the teams will be taking over two restaurants in Bologna. Each team will be preparing three different dishes, including a traditional tortellini. The red team learns that their exceptional ingredient will be an extra hour of time to prepare. They are also awarded dinner with the head chef of the restaurant which they will be taking over the following day. The red team is given the opportunity to invite the black team to join them. In a “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” mindset, they decide to extend an invitation to the black team. At the dinner, Jenna is getting on everyone’s nerves (shocking!), including her teammates. When the chef asks if anyone has any questions, she addresses him in Italian about the secret to his dishes, and she requests that he respond in kind. Nick especially thinks her behavior is incredibly rude. It’s something Liz would never do, but she’s happy to benefit from her teammate’s underhanded ways.
Nookie and Avery partner up to do the tortellini. They have worked together on several challenges and seem to be forming an alliance. How very Jeff Probst of them! Avery is very confident in her pasta as she teaches pasta dough classes, while Nick beyond angry about the manner in which immune Nicole is cutting the beef tenderloin. Avery shouldn’t be all that sure of her pasta making skills given the disaster that is occurring on my television screen.
When it’s time to serve the food, diners like Nick’s warm mushroom salad. Avery’s pasta is too doughy and undercooked, but Nookie’s broth is good. Nicole’s meat is gross. Stellar showing, black team! The judges and diners head next to the red team’s restaurant. Jenna’s dish is beautifully presented but doesn’t taste nearly as good as it looks. John’s tortellini is much better than Avery’s, but Nookie’s broth is more flavorful. Liz’s dish is a standout hit.
When the teams face the judges, Nick is told that his warm mushroom salad was wonderful. While Nookie’s broth was great, Avery’s tortellini was too doughy and not uniform. Nicole’s dish was just plain inedible. Ouch!
As for the red team, John’s tortellini is praised as fabulous. Jenna and John both wish Liz would have put forth a stronger dish. Jenna reveals that she didn’t feel like it was her responsibility to guide her teammates in the right direction. Curtis wonders if that’s bad teamwork or outright sabotage. Jenna claims Liz’s dish was far too salty, and Liz can barely squeak out “but I fixed it” before Curtis touts Liz’s dish one of the favorites. Jenna’s face is red! When asked about John’s tortellini broth and filling, Jenna once again throws Liz under the bus, claiming Liz did the filling while she was only responsible for adding cheese to the broth. Guess what, Jenna? The judges’ only complaint was that the broth was too cheesy!
The judges declare the red team victorious, with John gaining immunity. He’s over the moon given this is his first time on a winning team. The black team deliberates about who should go, with Nick reaming Nicole for putting forth so little effort when she had immunity. He hates being forced to choose between Nookie and Avery. When it’s time to vote, Nicole votes for Nick, who in turn votes for Avery. However, he gives an impassioned speech about how immunity is going to cause a good chef to go home. Avery, who is aligned with Nookie votes for Nick, and Nookie does the same. Aww, Nick certainly didn’t deserve to go home!
Next stop, Thailand! Avery finds herself having to team up with Jenna, while John sees Nookie as dead weight. Jenna wants to send Nookie packing.
WHAT DID YOU THINK OF LAST NIGHT’S EPISODE? SHOULD NICK HAVE BEEN SENT HOME?
[Photo Credit: Bravo]
