Welcome back, and thanks for joining me as we dive into Gordon Ramsay’s book

Welcome back, and thanks for joining me as I dive in Food Stars by Gordon Ramsay Summary of the sixth episode of the second season. Last time, Lisa Vanderpump’s team won the wine challenge. In the end, Gordon Ramsay sent Chuan Liu home.

This week’s episode, titled “Mars Attacks,” features the team creating the chocolate product. Here’s everything you need to know about Gordon Ramsay Food Stars Season 2, Episode 6!

Did someone say chocolate?

The two teams met up with Gordon and Lisa, standing next to chocolate busts of their own. Hint, hint.

In this delicious challenge, teams will create a new chocolate product. They will also have to create a song and design the packaging. The groups will conduct market research before pitching their idea to Mars, one of the largest food companies in the world. No pressure, guys! And they’ll do it all in just 24 hours. If they’re a big hit, there’s a chance Mars will continue to test the product in the market.

After the group left, the bust of Gordon fell. He blamed Lisa, even though she never got close to him. Is this a harbinger of things to come?

What are Mars executives looking for?

The teams will present their pitches to Rankin Carroll, Chief Brand Officer at Mars Snacking, Sarah Belson, Chief Sensory Scientist for Consumer Experience, and Esther Gamble, Head of Product Development for global chocolate brands.

For packaging, Rankin said they were looking for “speed, gravitas and traction.” Sarah said teams needed to create a product that would “engage audiences” but still have a unique quality. Esther added that calorie count is also a consideration.

Team Vanderpump

Here are the members of Lisa’s team:

• Erica Levin
• Maria Laura Vacaflores
• Roman Desmond
• Nicholas Dokos
• Jess Drewe

Erica, who started Globowl Baby Food, wanted to be a team leader. Maria Laura then talked about how she wanted to be in the kitchen. Her company is SQUAREAT, which makes superfood meals. So, Erica decided to have Maria Laura, Roman and Nicolas make the chocolates. Erica and Jess will handle the branding.

Since Nicholas and Erika both have children, they thought kid-friendly bars would be a winner. They landed on the name Tattle Tale.

Team Ramsay

Here are the Ramsay team members:

• Ali Schlichter
• Kayson Clark
• Andrew Whiting
• Liz Aust
• Rose Hankins

Team Ramsay is ready for a win after enduring The Grilling last time out. This challenge is right up Liz’s alley. She owns The Candy Closet Freeze-Dried Candy, and has volunteered to be a team leader. Liz immediately hired Kyson and Andrew to the branding team. They decided that mini dresses would be the best option, with an artisanal touch.

When choosing the name, the group wanted to play on the solar system, in keeping with Mars. Unfortunately, Liz set up Uranus. Thank God Ali dropped that name. They agreed on Joopz, a scumbag on Jupiter.

All teams can make use of the kitchen, design studio and music studio. Most importantly, a professional chocolatier is available to provide advice.

Teams start working

For Team Lisa, Roman and Nicholas were teaming up for the fourth time. The team wanted to use marshmallow and milk chocolate, but the chocolatier reminded them that both were too sweet.

But the situation was not pretty at all for Maria Laura because her teammates were ignoring her and talking down to her. “I hate them sometimes,” she said in her confessional. Back in the kitchen, the chocolatier kept telling the group that the chocolate bar would be too sweet, but since it was for children, the team ignored him.

In the Ramsay team’s kitchen, Rose and Ali were experimenting with dark chocolate, passionfruit, caramel, feuilletines, and pretzels. The chocolatier had concerns about the number of flavours.

The second day begins

Chocolate products were produced, and the teams got to see their creations. Gordon visited Ramsay’s team while they were looking at chocolate. He noted that they took a literal approach, but he found the name “strange.”

Their masterpiece was an orange and dark chocolate shell with caramel, passion fruit, feuilletine and pretzel inside. Gordon thought the feuilletine or pretzel should be dropped. He also reminded his team to improve their presentation. Ultimately, Gordon felt that their creation was “too complicated.”

Lisa’s team came to see their product. Nicholas was immediately upset by the glossy covers. He felt the colors should be white, pink, and brown, like Neapolitan-themed candy. Lisa then came to check on the team’s progress. It’s a good sign that Lisa liked the flavours, and the team then studied the name and brand.

However, Lisa revealed that in some countries, including the UK, you can’t market chocolate to children under 13. Oops! They’ll have to make a huge pivot. Lisa suggested marketing it to parents, who would then give it to the child as a special treat. She then advised them to focus on market research “to be ahead of anything”. Lisa has real concerns about marketing.

Focus groups highlight some big issues

Gordon and Lisa set up focus groups to test the products. The teams didn’t know they were watching and listening.

First, a mother and her three daughters were auditioning for Ramsay’s team Joopz. The group seems a little obsessed with the space theme. The mother said she wouldn’t buy it because she didn’t know what was in it.

The group liked the candy flavors. Their jingle was successful. However, they felt that the packaging did not match the ambiance and that the product was more of a luxury product. But the group wanted to create an accessible brand.

Next, the Vanderpump team introduced their product to a group of five family members. Gordon thought the name was “Tuttle Tittle”. Oh boy. The mother thought it was marketed to preschool children. While they liked the appearance of the pub, they felt it was “sickeningly sweet”.

Afterwards, Erica was terrified about the reactions. Nicholas told the group that there was a “disconnect” between the package and what was inside. He claimed in his confessional that if they lost the challenge, it would be because of the colors of the package.

Jess shut it down, saying that while he wanted to use the Neopolitan colors on the cover, they decided against it. “We get negative feedback, and instead of saying, ‘I support my teammates on this,’ you do what you do best, which is throw your teammates under the bus,” Jess said in her confessional about Nicholas.

Stadiums

Ramsay’s team was the first to introduce their product at Mars headquarters. Everyone was nervous, especially Ali. The opportunity to play against Al-Merreikh was huge. Liz, as team leader, was feeling the pressure.

The contestants explained that their goal is to create an artisanal product that is accessible to any sweets lover. But Ali stumbled in her part of the show, and he forgot her lines. Finally, I explained the flavors in chocolate. While the catchy song played, the team relaxed and danced.

Rankin was not sure that the planetary aspect played a role in the story. But he liked the look of the chocolate with the orange swirls. He also stated that if it comes in other flavors of chocolate, it will be more attractive to the consumer. Sarah liked the product but didn’t get any “crunchiness” from the other ingredients. Esther wondered if all the ingredients were needed at the bar.

Then, the Vanderpump team played their theme song during their entrance, which was cute. Jess and Erica gave a personable presentation, explaining that their demographic is parents and grandparents.

But when Esther asked if they saw this as a product bought only by parents, Roman, Nicolas and Maria Laura fell silent. The trio was supposed to take over the Q&A, so Jess had to step in.

Overall, Sarah liked the flavor and crunch with the marshmallows. Esther talked about how sweet the candy was, and expressed concern about the sugar content. Maria Laura spoke and explained that it was a special treat and not an everyday snack.

Who won the challenge?

The teams met to hear the results and feedback from Mars executives. The executives liked the basic “concept” of Ramsay’s team. However, the texture and flavor needed to be improved.

As for Team Vanderpump? Mars executives felt that the branding and marketing were broken. And again, they thought the dessert was too sweet.

But Mars said it would “consider” testing Team Vanderpump’s Tattle Tale and ordered 5,000 test units. As for Joopz, it would “consider” testing the market and ordered 25,000 test units. And so, Team Vanderpump was back at The Grilling.

The grill

The Vanderpump Rules star told her team that Mars liked their presentation, but the product wasn’t as “commercially viable” as the other team’s chocolate.

When Lisa asked what happened, no one spoke. Finally, Maria Laura explained that they did not know that they could not market to children. Erica then explained how they modified their offer, and how the old packaging played a role.

When asked who came up with the recipe, Maria Laura said she came up with the marshmallow part. She added that besides calling her “very cute,” other reactions have been positive. But Gordon disagreed. He stated that the average bar contains 60 percent sugar, while the Tattle Tale contains 80 percent sugar. Both Gordon and Lisa were shocked because Maria Laura’s specialty is nutrition and healthy foods.

Lisa then invited Nicholas to help her prepare the recipe. He immediately tried to blame Maria Laura, but she accused him of ignoring her in the kitchen.

Finally, Lisa asked Erica if she used all her experience for this challenge. She defended herself, saying that her past achievements should prove why she should remain in the Food Stars competition.

Maria Laura then admitted that she should have checked the nutritional information on the bar. She also stated that branding was the issue that Lisa disagreed with.

In the end, Lisa focused on Maria Laura and Erica as being responsible for the team’s failure.

Who will leave the competition in Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Season 2, Episode 6?

Maria Laura Vacaflores leaves the competition.

“I think I still have a lot to learn,” Maria Laura said in her final confession. I think I did my best but they are sending me home. I want to say to all the women entrepreneurs around the world and my fellow Latinas, work hard, dream big, and let your success resonate for generations.

After the team left, Gordon put forward a theory that Nicolas allowed Maria Laura to make mistakes so he could blame her later. He asked, “Is Nicholas the poison on Team Vanderpump?” “Maybe, but I’m keeping an eye on him,” Lisa added. How wonderful!

Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars airs Wednesdays at 9pm ET on FOX.

TELL US – Did you enjoy Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars, Season 2, Episode 6? Did the right person come home? Which candy bar will you buy?