As told to Archana Ram.
I think last night’s challenge came at the perfect time. The dim sum challenge knocked everyone down a notch, which is normal. The contestants all get a little exhausted at this point in the competition. They needed something to be excited about, and I think sending them fishing for the day did just that. It was a beautiful day in August, it re-energized them and got them really excited about cooking again.
August is the peak of the best season for fresh local ingredients, and the contestants stopped at a farm stand in the Hamptons, which overflowed with beautiful produce. I think when we have that luxury of fresh produce, that’s how chefs should cook. Look at what’s available, what looks the best, and get inspired. That’s the best way to eat. As far as the judging, I wanted to point out that Kerry Heffernan was one of the best guest judges we’ve had before. We’ve had so many people come to the tables — famous chefs, movie stars, TV personalities — I’ve known Kerry for a long time, and he’s a really talented chef. But I never worked with him on television before and didn’t know what kind of experience he had. But he just owned it. We were all so impressed. It was almost like he had been at the judges’ table with us for years. From a behind-the-scenes standpoint, he slipped right into that chair and talked in perfect sound bites. He was like a producer’s dream. We all said, “Wow! Kerry needs to get a television show!” He’s one hell of a good fisherman, too. That’s also why they brought him on. He and Tom fish together every summer. They both spend a lot of time out in Montauk. That was the inspiration because he’s a great fisherman and knows a lot about the sea, not to mention the fact that Tom is an avid, avid fisherman. READ FULL STORY »
Image Credit: Budweiser Clydesdales: Scott Cunningham/Getty Images Cereal, beer, dough, bananas… welcome to round 2 of EW’s Big Shill bracket game. Today, we kick off matchups between the 32 remaining Shilldabeasts (check out the entire bracket here) with eight fresh battles:
