The Next Food Network Star: Episode Two, June 8

by Teresa Gubbins

Lisa Garza, co-owner of Dallas restaurant Suze and contestant on The Next Food Network Star, turned around her fortunes by winning on episode two, which aired Sunday night.

Previously berated for offering too complicated a cooking philosophy, Garza pared down her "vision" into something about "high end food" distilled into "beautiful basics" -- a phrase that pleased the Food Network drones immensely.

"'Beautiful basics', I like that," cooed Susie Fogelson to fellow Food Network simpleton Bob Tuschman, who seemed equally thrilled.

The big drama came from contestant Nipa "I'm just an Indian girl" Bhatt, who got so irked by the judges' criticisms that she walked off the set during the critiquing portion of the show. After a brief reflection, she returned to the judging area and apologized for "losing her temper." The judges put her on notice and booted Kevin Roberts, whose shtick about food being "romantic" they loathed.

Casey Thompson, chef at Shinsei and a finalist on the most recent season of Bravo channel’s Top Chef, recalls the judging portion of the show to be nerve-wracking.

"Standing there being judged was absolutely nerve-wracking -- you feared it," she says. "I don’t want to be embarrassed. I don't want to be berated."

This week's guest judge was Robert Irvine, host of Dinner Impossible -- surprising given that he was discredited in February when he was found to have fabricated his credentials; the Food Network has already said it will replace him.

"It seems like they're sortof fishing from the Food Network pond," Casey says. "You're not hearing the words of any chefs outside of there. You're not hearing names like Daniel Boulud. You're not even hearing [Food Network star] Mario Batali."

The contestants were quizzed on food facts such as the seed that gives cheese and butter its color (answer: annatto). Then, in Dinner Impossible style, they cooked their dishes on a moving train. The judges favored Garza's crostini-style French toast as well as a steak prepared by contestant Aaron McCargo.

Garza may not have much to add in the way of food chops, but she's easily the most TV-genic of the contestants. She seems like a shoo-in with her only competition being Nipa, if only because the Food Network doesn't have anyone filling the niche for Indian food, a cuisine that's trending up.