Rachael welcomes the kids to the kitchen, where they wait to find out about this week's challenges. "The theme for this week is snails," jokes Guy." But Finn takes it seriously: "I am so excited," he says. "Snails are the best." But the other kids are relieved to find out Guy was just joking.
Know Your Ingredients
The actual theme of this week's challenges is ingredients. "As a chef, you have to be able to rely on all your senses and understand the balance of ingredients," Rachael tells them. So for their first challenge, they'll have to use their senses while blindfolded.
Can't Touch This
Head-to-head the teams are put through five rounds, using taste, sight, smell and touch to figure out what sample of food they have in front of them. When presented with chicken feet to touch, the kids go crazy: "It has claws and it's slimy," says Lauren, "so it's my dad's foot or some kind of animal."
Taste Testing for the Win
Gibson is on a roll, getting four out of five correct on Guy's Team. And on Team Rachael, Madison gets three out of five correct. The two top scorers win a two-night stay in New York City along with tickets to the New York City Wine & Food Festival.
Readying for the Chopping Block
The kids walk into their main challenge to find the kitchen has been transformed into a Chopped-style space with Alex Guarnaschelli at the judging table. Each team must cook with mystery baskets, then present their dish to Alex. "Be yourself, be honest, be true," she says, "that comes through the camera."
Being Picky About Choosing
Each team has four baskets to choose from: one appetizer, two entrees and one dessert. But Team Guy is finding it hard to decide. Luckily Team Rachael agrees amicably, and Finn is happy to be cooking an appetizer: "I usually make main dishes," he says. "But today I want to get a challenge."
Sharing Tips and Tricks of the Trade
Amber decides to combine two of her basket ingredients — garbanzo beans and Israeli couscous — with roasted cauliflower to pair with the other basket ingredients of lamb and lemongrass. "You've got too much curry on here," Guy tells her when he tastes it, so he shows her a trick to rinse the couscous over it.
The Sign of a Champion
"I play football and baseball," says Luis, "and part of my being competitive is that I have to make sure everything comes out perfect." So he tries to cut even slices out of the pork tenderloin, a basket ingredient, with mushrooms, fig jam and Dijon mustard. Unfortunately he cuts himself, but luckily he quickly recovers.
Up Against the Baking Expert
Saffron is the only ingredient Helen doesn't recognize in her dessert basket, which also has vanilla cake mix, honey and cream cheese. Considering herself a strong baker, she explains to Guy her idea for a layer cake. "OK, I'm gonna leave," Guy says, "because you don't need me."
Who's the Bigger Baker?
"Desserts are Helen's thing, but they're also mine," says Lauren, who claims she's more experienced in baking because she's been baking longer than she's been cooking. To make her dessert feel more homemade, she's using poppy seeds in the cupcake batter.
Cooking with Confidence
Both Sean and Finn cooked the appetizer basket of clams, chorizo, almonds and bread. "The broth is really light, clean and fresh," Alex tells Sean about his seafood soup. "The chorizo was nice and fatty, and as a chef, I like that," says Finn when describing his dish, which gets a great reaction out of Alex.
Minor Fumbles and Fast Talking
Luis loses his train of thought while presenting, but Gibson, who made a deconstructed Wellington out of the same basket of ingredients, sails right through, although a little too fast and excitedly. "You excite me when I watch you talk," says Guy, who calls Gibson's dish "high-end restaurant food."
Reading a Book Beyond Its Cover
Madison, who cooked with the same basket of ingredients as Amber, concentrates on smiling while presenting her roasted lamb dish. At first Alex thought Madison's plate of food was lacking something in looks, but "the yogurt with those flavors on the lamb is dynamite," Alex says.
Starred Performance
"You thought Iron Chef was tough," Guy tells Alex, who must choose the winners. On Team Rachael, Alex awards Lauren the best dish. "I really needed the confidence boost," says Lauren, who gets her first star. Finn, whom Alex says she "believed the most," gets his first star for best presentation.
Team Guy Leads with a Tie
"This dish just had a taste that I seek to evoke in my own cooking," says Alex of Gibson's dish. He gets his third star, but Sean gets his second for performance and a third for MVP. Alex tells him it was "the lightness of your dish" that convinced her, because "that's really hard to achieve."
More Rachael vs. Guy: Kids Cook-Off
Go behind the scenes of the competition with photos and videos of the kid chefs, Rachael and Guy, and special celebrity guests.
