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The fourth finalist eliminated from the competition, Lovely impressed the judges with her poise and well-spoken nature on stage, but she ultimately couldn't deliver winning dishes.
Personal Journal
Each finalist was given a notebook to use during his or her time on the show, and Lovely filled hers with inspirational messages to herself, a list of recipes for easy access and reflections on challenges. On the first day of filming, she penned, "I'm doing this for myself and those who helped me get to this place."
Better in Theory
During the second episode's Burger Bash, Lovely had no trouble wooing guests to her station on account of an engaging presentation focused on her turkey burger with blue cheese butter. After they tasted her burger, however, these guests "didn't leave happy," according to Alton, who called her dish "disconnected."
Authority Over Rambutan
Lovely was gifted rambutan in a challenge designed to test the mastery of uncommon ingredients, and she prepared a dessert of bread pudding with raspberry-champagne sauce. "I like to make comfort food, then I glam out the dish," she said. Alton isn't wowed by the dish, explaining that, "the raspberry was a little bit of a misstep."
Elevating the Elementary
To conform to her "glam" point of view, Lovely dressed up such kid-friendly mystery basket ingredients as chicken nuggets, apple juice, cheddar fish crackers and fruit leathers during the Chopped challenge. Guest judge Alex Guarnaschelli found the dish "a bit too sweet," but Bobby appreciated her "smooth" speaking during the presentation.
Star Salvation
Lovely competed on Star Salvation, a four-part Web series hosted by Robert Irvine, for a chance to rejoin the on-air competition. Watch Star Salvation to see Lovely in action.
Dishes with "Heart"
"I want you both to cook your heart out," Robert told Lovely and her final Salvation rival, Chad, during their showdown challenge. They each chose two ingredient "hearts" from an altar of artichoke, romaine and celery hearts, plus hearts of palm and goat cheese hearts, to incorporate into their dish in 25 minutes.
Italian Specialty
For her first Mentor Challenge back in the competition, Lovely and the other finalists were "to create a mouthwatering description," according to Giada, of their ultimate pasta dishes. Lovely settled on a rich fettuccine Alfredo-style plate with shrimp and lemon. "I really have to do my best to describe this food to make them want to pick up that fork and just start woofing it down," she explained.
Change of Plans
Come tasting, the mentors announced that, rather than describe their own dishes, finalists must present a rival's plate. Lovely described Damaris' Bolognese, but because she missed Bobby's "culinary vocabulary" lesson last week, she didn't know to avoid words like "beautiful" and "delicious" in her performance.
Team Pizza
For what would be Lovely's final Star Challenge, she teamed up with Rodney and Russell to produce a field piece at Vito's Pizza. The group chatted with Vito and attempted to learn about his from-scratch pies in a tape that would be shown to the Selection Committee and a panel of critics from The Hollywood Reporter.
On-Camera Guests
Lovely's portion of the video included a brief conversation with two diners at Vito's, and she said of her plan for the presentation, "I want to have a good time while I'm doing this and make sure to incorporate these loyal customers." Despite her intentions, however, the guys are subdued and didn't help her advance the interview.
Presentation Woes
"I think that Lovely isn't necessarily engaging," one critic said of Lovely's performance in the piece. "She's almost too polished at the moment," another added; Giada agreed, telling Lovely at evaluation, "On this network, for this particular job, that kind of polish doesn't work."
Lovely's Final Exit
In the end, Lovely's return to the competition proved to be short-lived, as she was sent home after just one more week. "It's my time. There's nothing more I can do here," she explained afterward. "I sent six people home. I did that," she added of her success on Salvation. "So, you know what? I'm OK."
One-on-One with Lovely
Read Lovely's first exclusive exit interview to learn her thoughts on the competition and Salvation, and find out what she's up to next.
Meet the Other Season 9 Finalists
Meet the finalists from Season 9 of Food Network Star.