In a surprise turn of events on episode 4 of Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition, no recruit was eliminated from Boot Camp. But last week that wasn’t the case. Facing a chicken-and-waffles challenge may have seemed dandy at the first mention, but once Chef Anne revealed there would be chicken butchering involved, everyone was terrified.

Executing that task was a challenge, and cooking the chicken through was yet another — one that Matt and Mindy couldn’t accomplish. The two ended up in the elimination round, where (surprise!) they had to butcher chickens once again for the mentors to judge blind. The recruit with the best and most pieces would get a pass to next week, and the other would be sent home.

Right from the top, Mindy went at her chicken like a champ with the utmost confidence, but along the way she lost steam and ended up “butchering” her bird. Chef Anne made her start on a second, and between the two chickens, Mindy was able to fry up good pieces. But when it came time for the tasting, Rachael noticed Mindy’s meat was far too undercooked.

Although Mindy’s teammates had their share of screw-ups, neither John nor Loni had undercooked meat, so Rachael nominated Mindy for the elimination challenge. Having to butcher a third chicken affected Mindy’s resolve, and once again she butchered a number of pieces and ended up partially finishing. Anne and Rachael felt Matt’s pieces were the better ones, and Mindy was eliminated. She went home with $5,000 for her charity, Heifer International.

How has your time been on this show?

Mindy Cohn: Good.

What do you take away from this experience?

MC: So many cooking skills, really. The kitchen’s my favorite room in the house, and now I feel even more comfortable in it.

Do you think you’ll now want to take a cooking class or learn more skill or just get in the kitchen and experiment?

MC: I don’t even know yet. I just got eliminated. I’m not even thinking of home yet.

How has it been working with Rachael? What’s been the biggest takeaway from that experience?

MC: Oh, just her expertise in the kitchen. It’s wonderful. Great recipes.

What were some of your struggles during the chicken-and-waffles challenge?

MC: I think just breaking down the chicken. That was really my only one.

You mentioned to Rachael that you felt like you had been disqualified. Why was that?

MC: In the rules it had said that you have to break down a chicken, and that if you screw up on your first chicken, you will have a second chicken, but that’s all you get. So, when I made errors in the second chicken, according to the rules — at least between my ears, the way I interpreted that — I was disqualified. … I thought I was eliminated.

During the tasting you mentioned you didn’t want to ever butcher a chicken again. Why did you feel that way?

MC: It’s me being wasteful. I really, especially my organization, Heifer International — the idea of wasting food, especially a whole chicken, was challenging for me.

What were some of the things that were going through your mind when Rachael was tasting your chicken and waffles? Were you worried at all?

MC: Not worried at all. I knew it tasted amazing. I learned from her to start tasting as you go, so I did. No, I knew I knocked it out of the park. That makes me feel really great — the last couple of meals, to have knocked them out of the park … feels good.

Were you nervous headed into the elimination challenge?

MC: No, I don’t get nervous. I think I present nervousness. It’s usually just very excited. It takes a lot to make me nervous, and cooking’s not one of [the things that do].

Did you feel you would be going home at this point in the competition, or were you hoping that you’d get a pass on to next week?

MC: I think in the beginning we all got kind of the lay of the land. There was a top four and a bottom four, and so I feel really happy that I’m the last of the bottom four.

Do you have any regrets in the competition? Would you have done anything differently?

MC: I don’t think do. I don’t live in regrets, so with this either.

What was the camaraderie like working with the other celebrities?

MC: You know, “everyone’s just been delightful” sounds so pejorative, but I mean in it in the truest sense of the word. We all had insta-bond. We’ve all hung out outside of the set, we get on incredibly well, and I think everyone, while wanting to win, also just really wanted to have a good time with each other, and we did.

Is there anyone on your team you’re rooting for to win?

MC: I have full confidence in Loni, but I think Nicole has the skills as well.

Watch Worst Cooks in America: Celebrity Edition on Wednesdays at 9|8c.