The next day, the cheftestants file in with an additional 2.5 hours for prep and cooking. Traci immediately starts the day behind and decides to skip her red velvet cakes. Likewise, Mary Sue cuts off the top of her thumb, which slows her down considerably. After 20 minutes of prep time, Curtis enters the kitchen with some news. He tells them Chris and Victoria's moms will be watching the lovebirds' dinner from a monitor in the next room. Also judging will be Curtis, James Oseland, Gail Simmons, and Gael Greene, New York magazine critic and author of Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess. Gael's best advice to stay in a romantic mood? Try not to drink too much.

With that, everyone gets a taste of Floyd's Kama Sutra black pepper shrimp with watermelon, lime, and mint. Oseland and Greene appreciate how romantic it looks, but Curtis and Gail think it's aggressively spicy. Next, Floyd helps Celina prepare her soft pretzel with pale ale cheese sauce and frisee salad with mustard vinaigrette. Though the other cheftestants think the dish is disjointed, Victoria loves it. Oseland deems Celina's dish "junior high romance" while Floyd's "was, like, full-on college romance."

Mary Sue is rushed to prepare her next course, and it doesn't sit well with her. After some shouting and a significant wait time, she presents her seafood stew of mussels and clams Portuguese-style with sausages and wine broth. Curtis enjoys Mary Sue's implementation of the spork, but Gael Greene wonders if the crouton is too crunchy for a romantic dinner. Naomi follows with her porcini-braised chicken thigh with sweet potatoes two ways. Other than being a little oversized, the dish is a total hit.