Originally aired on Wednesday, 11/01/2006 Episode Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5) Episode Overview: This week's challenge throws some of the haute cuisine chefs for a loop as they need to create a dish for casual dining behemoth TGIF. The tension between fine dining and casual cooking also comes to a head as Betty loses it with arrogant Marcel.
Episode Highlights:

• The chefs' Quickfire Challenge brings them in front of some tough judges: children.
• The Elimination Challenge this week plays to the strengths of some chefs as they are charged with designing and cooking a TGIF-style menu item.
• Sam, one of the "Ten Sexiest Chefs in New York," has to share the sexy limelight as their judges this week are a firehouse full of firemen.

Recap: This week, Michael Midgley clarifies an odd statement I noticed last week. Last week, he'd mentioned a desire to stay "in the middle." Apparently, this is his strategy. He doesn't want his start to shine too brightly, doesn't want to get on anyone's radar as the person to beat. Ahhh...this might also explain his reasoning behind getting totally wasted and acting a fool a couple episodes ago. I get it! Brilliant! Back at the kitchen, Padma Lakshmi and her incongruous short shorts tells the chefs that their Quickfire Challenge is to create an original ice cream flavor. Marisa Churchill, the pastry chef, is thrilled that the challenge is in line with her expertise. They have two hours for this challenge (due to the need to freeze) and then will take their ice cream out to the public for tasting. Carlos Fernandez decides to use avocado to add quick creaminess to his ice cream. Emily Sprissel, who has a fine dining background, goes with chocolate and lavender, which she thinks is a hot combination right now. Sam Talbot is not too excited about the challenge; not only does he not generally make ice cream, he's a diabetic so he doesn't eat sweets either. Cliff Crooks seems to be on the right track in this recapper's mind, going for a mixture of crunchy, soft and cookies. Ilan Hall decides he's going to make a breakfast ice cream, using waffles and bacon. This seems pretty risky, especially when you are going to be taking your creation to the public, but sometimes unexpected salty-sweet combinations can be fantastic, so who knows? Marcel Vigneron also decides to take a risk, making a bacon and avocado ice cream, seemingly eliminating the sweet entirely. Were this move done by nearly anybody else on the show, I would probably just think: bad move. But Marcel is so arrogant, that one can't help feel like that this is some kind of snobbery on his part: let me make this challenging flavor and if you don't like it, it's just because you don't get it. The chefs head out to the beach and hand out sample spoons to the beachgoers, including lots of kids. Ilan's breakfast ice cream seems to split the tasters, and Carlos wisely avoids telling the kids about the avocado in his ice cream (no sense in unnecessarily arousing a grossed-out response; skillful parent chefs have known about this tactic for years). Sam, who helpfully reminds us that he was voted one of the Ten Sexiest Chefs in New York, says that he flirted with all the moms to help him along in the voting. Which answers a question I've had for years, which is, would it be as off-putting to see a guy try to use his sexiness in a completely-unrelated activity as it is to see a gal do it? Answer: yes. Marcel gets precisely the reaction from the general public that one would expect. And then has exactly the reaction that one would expect: "Oh, it's because it's the general public!" Back at the kitchen, Padma informs them of the public's opinion. Marisa - the pastry (dessert) chef - is in the bottom three, which must be disconcerting for her. Emily's chocolate-lavender ice cream is also panned, and of course, Marcel is in last place. On the positive side, the runner-up is a tie between Sam and Carlos. And Cliff, who was unsure of his abilities to make ice cream, is the winner. Next, Padma introduces the chefs to the Executive Chef from TGIF. He informs them that the Elimination Challenge will be create childhood food with a grown-up twist as appropriate for a TGIF menu. The winning entree will be featured on the TGIF menu. Their efforts will be judged by him, the usual judges, and by firemen at the Pasadena fire house. Josie Smith-Malave, who has a lot of fireman friends, is excited to cook for them. She then calls firemen the unsung heroes. Um, don't get me wrong, they deserve any praise they get and then some, but I think as far as heroes go, they are pretty sung. I mean, after cartoon characters, I think "firemen" is the first thing people think of when they think "heroes." But whatever. Betty Fraser is excited about the challenge as her restaurant specialize in casual dining. Marcel and Emily are concerned because they are more into haute cuisine. Michael, who used to work for TGIF, is confident about his selection of cheese-steaks as his dish. They head out to shop, and Michael continues what must be his rascally plan of playing a total idiot to throw off competitors as he opts out of buying ingredients for his dish so that he can buy beer for himself. Brilliant! No one is going to think of you as stiff competition when you do something like that! Back at the kitchen, the chefs get started. Cliff opts to make a mac and cheese dish with grown-up fish sticks. Frank Terzoli makes some kind of "Alice in Wonderland" themed dish with mushrooms. It looks sketchy. Sam makes a salad, which Tom Colicchio thinks actually might be a good idea as it is so hot out. Marisa sticks to what she knows and is making a fruit crisp dessert. Marcel is focused on winning as he thinks that losing at casual dining cooking would be beneath him. His elitist attitude annoys Betty. Michael is first up. He feels confident about his sandwiches, but after he leaves the diners to taste, they seem to all find it sloppy and bland. Marcel attempts to fry his onion rings, but finds the fryer temperature was brought too low by Michael's usage. He gets flustered and complains loudly, which also annoys Betty. He manages, though, to get his dish out, but when he returns, Betty loses it and calls him an egotistical bastard. Okay, he IS annoying, but Betty's outburst seems a little beneath a grown woman and professional person. Sam's salad is a hit. Emily, who selected a surf and turf, and the judges and firemen think it's far too salty. Frank's mushroom dish is bizarre and unsuccessful. Cliff's grownup fish sticks and mac and cheese goes over well. As she uses her final fifteen minutes to finish her dishes, Betty has issues with the griddle in the firehouse. This pleases Marcel to no end and he tries to stare her down and makes several comments before the other chefs eventually convince him to shut it. After the event, the chefs head back to be judged. The three best chefs are called first, being Sam (whose salad was sophisticated, fun and cool), Cliff (the judges thought his food was well-prepared and had great flavors), and Betty (her sophisticated grilled cheese and red pepper soup were a nice twist on the tradition). Betty is selected as the winner, and she lets out a shriek that causes all the judges to jump. As her prize, she gets to send back the three worst: Emily, Michael and Frank. Frank is criticized for being too conceptual and not flavorful enough, Emily for completely missing the mark with seasoning her dishes, and Michael for being sloppy. After a brief confab, the judges bring them back in and announce that Emily must pack her knives and go. She's devastated, but says she has learned a lot. Well, Michael's stay-in-the-middle plan has kept him safe for another week. We'll have to tune in next week to see if mediocrity and boozin' keeps him on the winning path. -Leslie Seaton