The judges go back for the other three dishes. Angelo made sweet glazed pork on lobster roll with sweet sesame pickles. Kevin serves chicken kebab with Romesco sauce, shoestring fries, and smoked paprika aoli. And Ed made shrimp and corn risotto fritters with jalapeno aoli.
The judges return to the stadium seats to taste. Rick likes Ed's fritters because they are crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside, and they stayed hot throughout. Tom points out that the corn is sweet, and he also approves. Back at the stand, Kevin explains that he's not sure why his dish isn't getting more orders, and he plated it with the shoestring potatoes on top to give the dish some crunch. Ripert says that the chicken is moist but he doesn't like the plating. Some of the guests point out how long the skewers are and how it's impossible to eat it without impaling your mouth on the skewer. One of them also supports my theory about trying something new and interesting, so why would you order chicken? Finally, they talk about Angelo's sandwich. Ripert and Tom both don't like the bun, which they think is too much bread. Rick says that there's nice heat but no finish. I don't even know what that means, but he's the expert. I guess it tastes the same from the time you put it in your mouth until the end?
The judges conclude that everyone did a good job today, especially given how many people they had to serve. But it was a team effort, so they are going to talk to everyone.
Weird interstitial. Angelo has some sort of sketchy Russian mail order bride, and if he wins, he's going to use the money to bring her to the US and get her a visa. Because if you have more money, you can bribe people? I don't really get his rationale, but maybe he knows things I don't about the immigration process.
Back in the Stew Room, they all talk about how they are still nervous waiting there. Padma comes in and asks all of them to come out to Judges' Table. This should be interesting. They start out talking about how Angelo ended up running the orders. Angelo says that they talked about it and he stepped up. Tiffany interrupts to say that's not exactly how it went. She explains that Angelo stepped up first, but then took it back and asked everyone to do their own. Angelo says that he panicked and thought that he needed to change things up. Kevin points out that Angelo shouldn't have stepped up the night before if he didn't know what the setup would be like and might potentially change his mind. The judges are kind of over this non-controversy, since it all worked out and the food got served up just fine. Moving on.













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