Penny Davidi, a restaurant owner and mom of two from Los Angeles, impressed the judges each week with her Middle Eastern flavors. Her likeability (or lack thereof) ultimately brought her down.
Star Journals
Each finalist was given a Food Network journal to use for challenge planning and reflection on the Star experience. Penny's pages show off her cooking chops and her changing point of view.
On Camera
Penny's camera presentations reached highs and lows during her seven episodes.
Stilettos in the Kitchen
"Bringing sexy back to the kitchen" was Penny's initial POV. She quickly re-evaluated when it became clear that the judges weren't into it.
Kissy Face
The finalists were also given digital cameras to document life in the Star house and behind the scenes. A fellow finalist snapped Penny giving the camera some love.
"Loving Every Minute"
After a photo shoot for Food Network Magazine early in the season, Penny writes that she "felt like a Star."
Bonding?
Penny clashed with several other finalists throughout her run on Star, especially her frequent challenge teammate Mary Beth. A shot from the house reveals a friendly moment between the two.
Prep List
Here, Penny plans her interpretation of beef short ribs for the restaurant challenge at Scarpetta. She outlines the ingredients she'll need for a steak sandwich.
Restaurant Cooking
After winning an advantage in the previous challenge, Penny picked her team strategically, thinking that she could easily knock out Katy. Turns out, she was right.
Scarpetta Strategy
Penny lists all of her steps for preparing her dish in the beautiful Scarpetta kitchen.
Polarizing
A polarizing finalist from the beginning — remember her spats with Alicia in the first episode? — Penny tried to at least win over the judges.
POV, Take Two
Penny's new point of view, Middle Eastern Mama, turned out to be a great move.
Embracing Heritage
When Penny embraced her Middle Eastern roots in her dishes, the judges were blown away by the flavors. She rarely had misses when it came to the cooking.
Frenemies
Penny and Jyll got into many a shouting match — one even happened in front of the judges. But in this shot from the house, they appear to be buddy-buddy.
Mac and Cheese Mishap
The Cougar Town challenge was Penny's only food fail. Her macaroni and cheese was burnt, but she failed to acknowledge it. Fortunately for her, Justin B. had a worse dish that day.
No NYC for Penny
Although Penny's shrimp dish for Wolfgang Puck was delicious, she didn't pass the midterm. While the top six finalists headed off to New York City, Penny stayed behind in her hometown of L.A.
