I think there is something about Nick though because we haven't seen him on the show very much at all while other dancers from that season have assisted choreographers, etc.

I've heard that he just turned into a divo bitch AND he talked a ton of shit about the show, and Benji in particular, during S2. Seems he and Travis were friends and he made it known that he thought Travis should've won. Unfortunate. Kinda like Tyra and Adrian from S1 ANTM.

Design Star: "I want my mom." That was some pitiful shit right there.

Wow, Food Network Star was kind of a trainwreck tonight. I feel bad Aaron wasn't on last season -- FN has black people now! (Not that he was eliminated -- yet.)

I haven't watched yet, but I think this is the worst crop of NFNS contestants they've ever had. It's the first season I can remember where I'm not rooting for anyone.

Well, I'm not sure if it is the contestant pool OR the whacked out challenges. I mean, WTF? Make a dish that normally takes 48 hours in 45 minutes?

None of the challenges have been designed to help the contestants shine. It is telling that nearly every "winner" is the person who sucked the least.

I loved Anne Burrell's show and I have to say that after it I decided that she is to salt what Paula Deen is to butter.

WTF with Food Network recasting the hosts on their shows and acting like their brand new? (Road Tasted with the Neeleys, the new show that is essentially Follow That Food with Sunny whatserface.) You can really tell who is in favor at FN.

Well, I think that the challenge was not that wacky - there are things you could do to reference the original dish in the dish you made. (People do that all the time.) The problem happens when you have NO IDEA what the original dish was - like Aaron and Adam. I don't get why Jennifer was hitting the glass jar on the side of the stove - that was just asking for trouble. Also, I think that they missed the essence of that dish: they should have somehow plated the three types of poultry together. My feeling was that you get the duck, the chicken and the turkey - cook them separatey but plate them so you can get a bit of all three together. Layer them maybe.

Is it so difficult to make a quick chicken dish with a wine sauce and some veg - all served in the sauce?

Yeah, the time limits are insane. Other than Iron Chef and 30 Minute Meals, all the shows use swap-outs anyway, so who cares if a dish takes longer than the length of a TV show to create? (And even on Iron Chef, they cheat - the chefs only have to complete one of each course during the 60 minute competition and then cook/plate the rest over the 45-minute judging period.)

sumi, you raise good points, but 45 minutes to plan and prep 12 dishes? I still say that's a bad challenge.

I barely can cook a meal for my honey and me in 45 minutes and I'm not under some insane turducken restriction.

Who was kicked off? I missed the very end.

The mother/chef - Jennifer?

They picked better camera presence over better cooking ability.