The first person to walk in is Cheech, from Cheech and Chong. He says he's a really good cook - guess we'll have to wait and see. He's playing for weed money. Just kidding. He's playing for the Hispanic Scholarship Fund.
Next, Miss USA, Alyssa, walks in. Doesn't she have Miss USA duties? I thought all they did was charity stuff. Now she's on a reality television show...to raise money for charity? Um. Okay. She says she's playing for Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Joey from NSYNC comes in next. He's been on a lot of reality television shows, so not surprised to see him. He's playing for the Fatone Family Foundation. I've never seen anyone on a reality show play for their own charity, but I like it! Why wouldn't you? Makes perfect sense to me.
Another reality television alum appears - Summer, the Olympic swimmer. I wasn't a big fan of hers on Celebrity Apprentice, so don't expect much support from me. She's playing for Right to Play, which I believe was her charity from Celebrity Apprentice. At least she's consistent.
Next, Aaron Carter arrives. That's right. Aaron Carter. He looks extremely thin. And young. And looks like his strength may not be cooking. But I digress. He dances up to Joey, and they embrace. He is playing for Kids Beating Cancer.
Taylor shows up after Aaron. Lots of singers on this show. I only know that because of the pictures, because, regrettably, I have not heard any on her songs. I'll have to go check one out on YouTube. She says she's not a good cook and expects to go home first. Sounds like good confidence. She's playing for the Cambodian Children's Fund. Random.
Lou Diamond Phillips! I think he's the biggest star so far. He seems as if he realizes that too. I also infer he enjoys commenting on things. Every now and then. Each second of the day. Should be fun. He's playing for Share Our Strength: No Kid Hungry.
Last, and certainly not least, is Coolio. I know. The only way to make this better is if Flava Flav walked in. He seems very strange and energetic. Apparently he has a cooking show and cook book. Not that that's really saying anything. Everyone has a cook book. That's like saying a celebrity is an expert chemist because he has a perfume. He's playing for Music Saves Lives.
Now the two hosts are going to choose. Long story short - Guy chooses: Coolio, Cheech, Alyssa, and Joey. In that order. His choices confuse me, but he seems like he knows what he's doing. Rachael chooses: Lou, Summer, Aaron, and Taylor. I think she got the bad team except Lou. The teams have to make 4 dishes, one for each person, for 150 people. They're holding a food festival.
Finally, we're cooking. They get a brief meeting with their mentor, and the mentors were actually helpful. I feel like on other competition shows, they offer encouragement but no actual help. Both Rachael and Guy offer recipes and ideas. Very nice. I'm sure they'll make them stop.
After the meeting, we see Joey is making his Fatone's Camerones for their Mexican theme. They seem extremely heavily spiced. That may hurt him. Cheech is making Machaca, which is basically a stewed flank steak slider. That sounds delicious, and he seems like he knows what he's doing. I think that one will do well. Lou is making his ribs, which he said is his best dish. Might should have waited on his absolute best meal, but whatever you think is best. He is forced to make his own picante sauce because they don't have bottled picante sauce. At least we know they're making them actually cook. Next is Aaron, who is desperately trying to make a Southern Jalapeno Popper Macaroni Salad. That sounds tasty. However. He has to make his own ranch dressing because they don't have bottled ranch. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I have no idea how to make ranch dressing either. He's having a hard time though. Summer tries to help him. Well. Sort of. She's busy making her Summer's Hot Cracklin Corn on the Cob with Chile Lime Chipotle Butter Sauce. If the name of your side dish can't fit of an index card, you can't make it. That should be a rule. Alyssa is making a Bananas Mexicana Foster with ice cream. Apparently she's adding Tequila, and that makes it Mexican. Coolio is working on his West Side Tilapia Fish Tacos with Beans. Which sounds disgusting. But he was certain about it, and Guy said have at it then. Last, Taylor is making Gazpacho Shots. She is discussing hints of flavors and texture. I say, it better taste good. She's worried it's too spicy, which means it's too spicy. No one questions that unless it's true.
When they're at the Food Festival, the visitors seem to really like everything except for Aaron's salad, Taylor's shots, and Summer's corn. Joey took Guy's advice and took some of the seasoning off the shrimp, so it worked out. Lou's ribs are a hit and Rachael seemed to be impressed with his cooking. So was I. If he would stop talking, I might even root for him. Alyssa's Banana Foster has ice cream with it. Guy explains a way to keep the ice cream cold, but she has a better idea. And, imagine that, it doesn't work. Why wouldn't you listen to the professional? She has to just work with melted ice cream. Coolio's fish tacos with beans are a big hit, surprisingly. Cheech's sliders are as well. Aaron's salad and Summer's corn are both bland, while Taylor's shots are spicy. Told you.
After the voting, one team has lost by 14 points. I'm going to assume it's Rachael's because of Aaron and Taylor, but Lou's ribs may have saved them. Rachael says the customers unanimously loved Lou's ribs, and Cheech's sliders were very popular as well. Guy's team wins.
Now, the bottom two cooks from Rachael's team go into a blind tested, head to head cook-off. Surprisingly (not), the bottom two are Taylor and Aaron. Their secret ingredient - shrimp! I wasn't aware this was Next Iron Chef. They have ten minutes. They basically make the same dish, a shrimp and pasta with garlic dish. Aaron cooks his shrimp in wine and uses penne pasta. Taylor uses angel hair and throws some breadcrumbs in with her shrimp. She also puts a huge leaf of lettuce on her plate and throws everything on the plate. Personally, Aaron's looks more appetizing. Guy and Rachael think his has a good presentation and flavor, while they didn't like the big garnish on Taylor's, but like the breadcrumbs and thought the pasta had a good bite. Rachael says they both needed more herbs. Maybe they should have asked Cheech to help. Oh, the marijuana jokes will never get old. However, they choose to kick out Aaron because they liked Taylor's breadcrumbs.
We're down to seven. Only five weeks to go. The gold star of the week goes to Joey Fatone. He took Guy's advice and created something visibly appealing that people enjoyed.
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