Welcome back! Thanks for joining me as we delve into Gordon Ramsay’s food stars.
Welcome back! Thanks for joining me as we delve into Food Stars at Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurant Season 2 Episode 7 Recap. Last time, Gordon Ramsay’s team enjoyed a great success in the Chocolate Challenge, and Lisa Vanderpump sent Maria Laura Vacaflores home.
This week’s episode, “Show and Sell,” challenges contestants to display and sell food items at a trade show. Here’s everything you need to know about Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Season 2, Episode 7!
Huge challenge
After winning the previous challenge, Ramsay’s team raced across the Thames in the Thames Rocket. Meanwhile, Vanderpump’s team shared the car. Wham, wham.
The next challenge location is a food and beverage trade show, the International Food and Beverage Event. This event will welcome 30,000 visitors. How cool! Lisa told the teams how important “sellability” is to any business. Each team will present some kitchen gadgets, plus a $2,000 blender, to brand representatives and buyers. Oh, and they will do it live in three hours. No pressure!
Each team’s sales and presentation skills will be evaluated by a panel of food and beverage industry experts. The judges will be asked to submit potential product orders. The team with the highest sales will win.
Both Gordon and Lisa are feeling a bit nervous about this challenge. Will the two teams be able to sell a product and wow the audience? Will they be able to “read the room” and know who they are selling to?
Ramsay’s Team
Here are the members of Gordon’s team.
- Ali Schleichter
- caison clark
- Andrew Whiting
- Liz Ost
- Rose Hankins
Rose decides to be the team leader for this challenge because she has experience at the trade show. The products are unusual. There is an automatic pot stirrer and a three-in-one butter knife. Anyway, Kayson chooses to present the butter knife, but his biggest concern is whether it will stutter. Finally, it is decided that Ali will present the grater, Liz will move the pot stirrer, and Andrew will demonstrate the blender.
Vanderpump Team
Here are the Vanderpump cast members.
- Erica Levin
- Roman Desmond
- Nicolas Ducos
- Jess Drew
Nicolas took over as team leader because he had experience explaining to classes. So Roman decided to introduce the avocado tool, while Nicolas would demo the blender.
Erica opted for the semi-automatic whisk, leaving the grating tool to Jess. Although Jess tried to convince Erica to switch, she couldn’t use the awkward tool and had no cooking knowledge. That’s a recipe for trouble.
Watch your fingers!
Jess was having a hard time getting her product to work. At that moment, Lisa showed up. When I asked her what the problem was, Jess admitted that she was the only person who had no cooking experience.
Then Lisa asked them to show off their presentation. When she heard that the team members would be sitting in the crowd, she had a look of, “That’s a bad idea.” Lisa was worried that it would sound like a school play.
Unfortunately, as soon as she started the demo, Jess cut her finger. “I gave her a cheese grater and she almost cut her finger off,” Lisa said. “I said, ‘What is this?’ I think Lisa’s empathy meter was low that day.”
Fortunately, Jess said she was fine, and Lisa gave her the whisk to try instead. In her own words, Jess was crying, feeling “exhausted,” and “doubting herself” after the incident. She felt like she had let the team down, and Erica insisted that wasn’t the case.
Meanwhile, Erica had no problem sharing her feelings with Lisa. She told Lisa that she didn’t have time to make sure Jess was comfortable with the grater and that “the energy was so fast and furious.” Finally, Lisa warned her team that they were presenting to “serious people.”
Preparing for their presentation
On Gordon’s team, the team decided to start their presentation with breakfast and then dinner. Most importantly, Rose wanted them to create an engaging presentation to attract buyers.
Gordon came in and talked about how comfortable the team was with the products. Gordon then admitted that Ramsay’s team hadn’t taken advantage of the prep time they were allotted.
Next, Gordon and Lisa talk to the panel that will be judging the challenge. Lucia Fox, a host at QVC, will be judging alongside Michael Baranowski, a buyer at Home Bargains, and Chris Jorgeson, vice president of sales at BlendTec.
Gordon asked Lucia what the most important thing about a live presentation was. She said that “authenticity” and knowing everything about the product were key. Reading the room was also important. As for the presentation, Michael explained that the person giving the presentation needed to “trust their product.”
It’s presentation time.
Rose from Team Ramsay came on stage and introduced her team members. It looked like a high school pep rally. Kayson was the first to step up with a butter knife, and he stammered. My heart broke for him, but he kept going. When Kayson asked different parts of the audience to say “ooh” and “ahh,” it seemed half-baked. He didn’t even butter the bread, so he didn’t fully showcase the product.
Lucia then asked about the three uses of the knife, adding that she did not understand what made them different. Gordon was upset, noting that Kayson had skipped the most important part of the demonstration. Lisa also commented, calling it a “mute act.”
Next, Rose introduced a multi-blade herb scissors, while Lisa demonstrated an automatic bowl stirrer. But when Ali introduced the grater, she struggled to use it to chop carrots, and Gordon thought it looked “dangerous.” Finally, Andrew knew all about the blender, and his demonstration was great. But I loved when, after the demonstration, Gordon demonstrated the butter knife, making curls of butter for Lisa.
Next, Team Vanderpump began their presentation. Nicholas jumped right into his presentation, which focused on breakfast. He showed us the blender while he was making a smoothie. Unfortunately, he forgot the lid. Oh my! I think that having to present in front of their peers must have been a little nerve-wracking for both teams.
When Lucia asked what else the blender could do, Nicholas said he liked to make soup with it. Roman then did a great job demonstrating the avocado tool and Erica demonstrated the grater. Meanwhile, Jess was energetic and really sold on the whisk, even after her grater incident earlier. Chris asked a question about using the whisk to froth milk, and Jess answered with ease and confidence.
Later, Nicholas admitted that he missed talking about some of the Blender features. Lisa felt her team was “smart” and “professional,” while Gordon thought the demo was too fast.
Who won the challenge?
The teams gathered to hear feedback. Ramsay’s team received applause for their “energy”, but the judges deemed the show “too informal” and “not aimed at the right audience”.
Meanwhile, the Vanderpump team has been praised for its “flow,” but not all of the features found in each product have been made clear.
Let’s remember that the experts were asked whether they would buy the products based solely on the demos they had seen. Vanderpump’s team got 50% of the potential sales, while Ramsay’s team got 33% of the potential sales. This prompted a series of insults from Gordon.
barbecue
Gordon began by announcing how sad he was once his team was seated. As team leader, Rose spoke, explaining why it was important to make the audience “comfortable” and “engaged” before starting the sale. Gordon then questioned their lack of professionalism.
Gordon was frustrated that it was more like a “show” and that the actual demos didn’t work. He reminded his team that he had asked them to “read the room.” “Well, what room were you in?” he added.
Gordon was so agitated that he kept pacing back and forth. He questioned the decision to open the presentation as if they were at a sports match. Rose took responsibility, and Gordon reminded her that they were presenting to “strong people.”
Gordon then put Ali on the spot for not knowing much about the product and practicing it. She admitted that the part of the demo she did was “awkward.” Finally, Gordon asked Kayson for his opinion. Kayson explained that he wanted to make the audience smile. “That’s me,” he added.
Gordon admitted this, but told Cason that he had not offered the product jobs. “I felt sorry for you,” Gordon told Cason, “because I know you’re better than that.”
The team admitted that they hadn’t been adequately trained on the products. “I’m more nervous now about giving away $250,000 to one of you,” Gordon said. Gordon was brutal during this interrogation. Finally, Gordon criticized Kayson and Ali for dropping the ball and Rose for setting “the wrong tone.”
Who is leaving the competition?
Kayson Clarke leaves the competition.
“When this competition is over, I’ll call you and see how you’re doing,” Gordon told Kayson. They hugged as Kayson prepared to leave. “This has been the best experience of my life,” he told the group. “And I never would have imagined… I never would have imagined that I would be able to win this competition.” [done] Something like that. So, thank you very much.”
In his final confession, Kayson said, “I was afraid to speak up. I was afraid to be myself, and it came as a surprise to me.” [given] “This man gave me the gift of using my voice. I may not go home with $250,000, but what I have gained I cannot put a price on.”
But wait! There’s more! Gordon told the rest of his team to sit down. “I’m not done yet,” he told the shocked contestants.
Who else will be out of the competition?
Rose Hankins leaves the competition.
What a surprise! She eliminated two people! In her final confession, Rose said through tears: “It’s unfortunate… really unfortunate. I’ve learned that never giving up gets you something good, and this has been a really good thing.” She added: “I’m going to bounce back and use what I’ve learned here in the future because it can take me far.”
After things settled down, Gordon told his remaining team that he didn’t see the spark during this challenge that he first saw in them. Oh my! If I was on Ramsay’s team, I would have curled up in the fetal position and sipped a cocktail.
Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars airs Wednesdays from 9:00-10:00 p.m. ET on FOX.
TELL US – DID YOU ENJOY GORDON RAMSAY’S FOOD STARS SEASON 2, EPISODE 7? DID THE RIGHT CONTESTANTS GO HOME? WERE YOU SHOCKED WHEN GORDON SENT 2 PERSONS HOME?
