"I think my team is the team to beat," says Alex, who enters Episode 2 with an advantage from last week. She doles out the food-pairing challenges to her fellow teams, keeping meat and potatoes for her team. "I feel like I'm in the military," says August of Alex's mentoring style. "He doesn't listen to me," she says.

Team Michael takes on surf and turf, as Alex jokes, "They don't have a lot of lobster in Cleveland." Bill and Vanessa choose beef and shrimp, with Vanessa making carpaccio. Curtis tries to fool her by imitating Michael's voice, saying, "Now just drop that whole beef tenderloin in the fryer." Her retort: "I'll drop you in the fryer."

"You've done that in the wrong order," Curtis tells Mimi. "Next time, ask me," he says, trying to redirect her Asian patty, a take on chicken and waffles. Sharon has trouble getting her waffles out of the machine. "Just crumble it over the top and you've got a nice crouton," Curtis recommends.

"I just don't think roasted peppers will be able to take the place of pasta," says Bobby of Angela's decision to reinvent spaghetti and meatballs with no noodles. Bobby's more pleased with Joseph's progress: "Look at that, it's luscious," Bobby tells him, advising Joseph to add more lemon.