Vipper II

That's what the nasty ass posters on the Television Without Pity forums say, but I just don't see it. He's just a casual guy with curly hair and a beard. What's so slob-like about that?

silentbob007

Tom seems to have flashes of inspiration, but he gets in his way too much. He can always dissect what he does wrong, but seems to have trouble avoiding it beforehand. When it goes right, he looks like a quirky, talented chef. When it doesn't, he looks like the scruffy, scattered chef.

Even though Aarti has stumbled, I still think she'll win. Her trouble, while dealing with her food, has seemed to be caused by the artificial nature of the challenges. I mean, how could okra fit into an Indian dish that was already started?

Josh-da-man

Yeah, I don't these artificial challenges either.

They're auditioning to an instructional cooking show, and the audience for those isn't like "Chopped" ... make a dessert using peanut butter, sardines in mustard sauce, and candy canes!

And it's also kind of annoying when they do the on-camera things and appears that the judges are unaware of things like editing and the ability to do multiple takes.

mkdevo

Definitely stole the show last night.

JohnSlider

Did anyone notice the commercial for a show called "Family Style? debuting soon on Food Network? No Aria in the promo though.

Goldberg74

They had a sneak peek of this several months ago... back in 2009 I think.

It was a show about two siblings opening up competing restaurants in San Diego (or somewhere around there).

Wouldn't watch that "Family Style" either.

Mok

It looks like a Aria vs Aarti for the win. I don't see Tom or Herb winning. Tom is a good cook, but sometimes he just tries to do to much. Herb on the other hand is a emotional wreck at times. I was hoping Brad would survive another week, but he took to long to find his culinary point of view. Even though Aarti is a mess with her low self esteem the judges love her to much. Aria on the other hand just lights up a room with her big smile which would work great on tv. I don't like either of the women, but it looks like it's there's to lose.

silentbob007

I still don't get Tom's POV ... Big Chef ... it's just words to me. Aarti and Herb are the only ones who, going in, I'd know what kind of food they would be cooking.

SexualPudding

I'm going with Aarti vs. Herb for the final, w/ Aarti Party narrowly taking the win.

strife

Ok I swore I read that the winner had been shown already by an update on Food Network's website.

It was



or was that speculation.

I was shocked to see the guys win the challenge but not surprised to see Brad go.

My guess Herb is next followed by Aria with Tom and Aarti as the final two.

mraw

I saw that, too and it didn't surprise me much. I think it is true. I think things will go the way that SexualPudding speculated. Aria should've gone home this week. Tom is my favorite though.

Brad has to be at least 6'4" because he towers over the other contestants. I was surprised to find out that Aarti has a husband. I've never heard her mention him before.

wirefan

I know this isn't about actual cooking and they are just looking for a TV personality (and likely one that fills some sort of niche in their TV lineup), but is the quality of food and creativity really irrelevant? I can understand execution issues, as watching it on TV you'll never notice that, but at what point do you ask why do they even taste their food and comment on it?

It seems like they will acknowledge the good food to determine a winner, but it seems like if you create crap food and completely ignore the challenge it is more or less irrelevant for their decision on who they send home. And clearly the quality of the food in the finale will be largely irrelevant.

If Aarti was not sent packing last night for overcooking food that reminded her of her Mom (a natural tie-in to he word "Fear") and they seemed to universally dislike the food in the first challenge as well is there any scenario she goes home prior to the finals?

SexualPudding

I don't see any scenario in which Aarti goes home before the finale. The only way it can happen is for Herb, Aria, and Tom to all be absolutely perfect in both their food and their camera challenges while Aarti totally shits the bed on both. I just don't see it happening. She has already proven herself on camera, which is what matters to them. The food is pretty much an afterthought, and it often seems like they are only making dishes because, after all, this is the Food Network!

For me, the fact that they are debuting that new "Family Style" show is a dead giveaway that Aria is going home soon. Technically, I suppose they could just change her concept and pov, but how likely is that? She and they have been cultivating this whole family style concept for weeks and they are going to do a complete 180 when they put her on the air? I just don't see it.

Ultimately, I think Tom is just a bit too quirky and inconsistent for them. When he is on, he is great, but he is way too hit or miss. If he had blown them away in the camera challenges every week, they would possibly be willing to overlook his minuses, but I don't see them being sold on him.

Herb seems like the only real possibility aside from Aarti to me. He has been a bit inconsistent with the food, camera challenges, and even his POV, but almost completely opposite of Tom, I think the Food Net people are more willing to overlook his missteps simply because he has a very marketable look, great charisma, and cooks the kind of food that they probably consider interesting.

silentbob007

The producers have made it clear since season 2 that they wanted an Indian POV. They have finally found someone with that POV who is also good in front of the camera. Aarti would have to give all of the judges severe food poisoning before they would even consider letting her go before the final. Aria's POV is too generic, as is Tom's. Herb is the only other contender with a solid POV that means something.

Deftones

Tom crushed that star challenge. Brad should've stuck around. Aria sucks and only got a reprieve so they could have 2 women and 2 men left.

spoon81

I agree with everything you said. Toms plate looked amazing and his story was perfect. I liked Brad, but he did lose energy when the camera was on him. He should have stayed over Aria. It's all a bit pointless though- I'd be shocked if anyone but Aarti won this thing.

Wazootyman

I was surprised they went with Aria over Brad. He seemed to have an off week, but Aria had an absolutely awful week. Regardless, my girlfriend and I always choose who we think will win reality shows. My Herb and Aarti definitely seem to be trumping her Aria and the recently deceased Brad.

silentbob007

I think this week proved that choosing Aria over Brad was a horrendous decision. Aarti once again proved that she is the one who is going to win this competition. I had a feeling Tom would end up with the "worst ever" food, but he at least went for it. The judges keep talking about Aria being a natural in front of the camera and I really don't see that. I see someone trying to use pep and a simple POV to cover up a lack of food knowledge and skill, and Iron Chef finally exposed that.

Goldberg74

Episode 9 (08/08/10) -- "Battle Star" (4 Finalists) -- 60 Minutes -- 9/8c

The final four contestants head to New York tonight on The Next Food Network Star on Food Network to battle it out for a spot in the finale next week. But when they are greeted by Alton Brown and the ultimate challenge of battling it out Iron Chef style, who will reign supreme?

Star Challenge: "Iron Chef Battle"

Special Star Guest: Iron Chefs Symon, Kora, and Morimoto as well as Alton Brown

Goldberg74

Yup... and the funny thing is that if you watch the NFNS After Party, the whole crew were perplexed as to why they chose Aria over Tom. Susie said that the deciding factor was Herb. They were ready to send him home, but he had such a great week, so they kept him and sent Brad packing.

Yeah... but would I watch her show? Probably not. Again we are at the point that we have good people, but are they extremely marketable. I still have yet to see an episode of that $10 show that Melissa has.

But he WENT FOR IT, sure it was three strikes, but Aria really dropped the ball.

She really took one in the "poop-chute" this week. Glad she's gone.

I really think that Herb deserves to be in the finals over Aria (and that I am totally happy with), but Tom and Herb are going to have to pull a miracle out of their collective arses to over throw the Curry-Queen.

mraw

I'm glad that Aria was finally sent home. I think she was spared for this week's competition to even the playing field (two women, two men). That was her saving grace last week. Had Brad been competing this week, the final three could've been somewhat interchangeable with Aarti being the exception. Iron Chef was always something that I would've loved to see Brianna compete in. They made sure to edit out the eliminated contestants as much as possible. I don't remember hearing a single soundbyte from Serena or Brianna, and I only heard Brad ask Aarti a question.

I like the decision to have three finalists instead of two this year, but I think Aarti has this in the bag. At the start of this season Aarti was one of my favorites, but now that we're winding down, she's kind of getting on my nerves. I won't mind watching her show as long as she uses ingredients that I can find at my local store. I refuse to go driving around town searching for expensive spices and stuff that I'll use once and throw in the pantry.

Collectively I liked this season a lot better than last year, although I would like to see Jeffrey and Jamika again in some capacity on Food or Cooking Network. Afterparty is a good show, I hope they do it for the duration of next season.

Fist of Doom

No surprise to see Aria get cut - they've been telegraphing that for a few weeks.

Loved the challenge. The Iron Chefs were surprisingly complimentary. Cat Cora tends to be an especially tough judge, but they all were quick to praise the dishes they liked.

I rarely watch Food Network's daytime programming, but Herb is the one I'd most want to watch. Healthy, flavorful food is a good niche, and he's got an energetic personality.

silentbob007

Even NFNS losers still have a chance because of exposure (Kelsey and Adam), so perhaps Herb will still be given an opportunity after Aarti wins next week.

Mraw, I agree ... I was amazed at how they brought the old chefs back, but then completely ignored them. Perhaps this is just from me watching too much Hell's Kitchen.

kevin75

Glad to see Aria get the boot. She should've left last week instead of Brad. I was telling my wife how far Herb has come in the last few weeks. When the show started, he seemed very weak, but he's come on strong lately. I am still rooting for Tom, but I think Aarti wins it in the end.

spoon81

Brad would have been so much better than Aria in the Iron Chef comp this week. Seriously, waldorf salad with bacon bits?? Aria completely bombed this week.