On day one of the competition, Chefs Bobby and Anne were greeted with some of the most-shockingly poor dishes they've ever encountered, including the round brown blob of College Dorm Chili made by Dr. Bob. "Forget about tasting it. I couldn't even look at it," Chef Bobby said afterward.
Hands-On Ingredient Sourcing
Week two of Boot Camp took the competitors out of the kitchen and offshore on a fishing trip to source their own black sea bass, challenging them to reel in their fresh catches if they wanted to have an ingredient to work with during their later Skill Drill.
Boot Camp Romance
Not shy about her feelings for Chef Bobby, Carla showed no shame in flirting with her Blue Team mentor at every opportunity. While at Boot Camp, she showered him with well-meaning romance by adorning plates with heart-shaped honey designs and serving dishes made with his favorite ingredients. Watch this video to view a collection of their top moments together.
Michael Getting Sick
Despite his lactose intolerance, Bowtie Mike couldn't help but taste — in very large quantities — the homemade gelato made by the mentors. His indulgence later caught up with him, as he was plagued with indigestion and sweaty palms during the challenge, and he needed teammate Sue's help to recover.
Grilled Cheese Meltdown
Although he was challenged to make a signature hamburger, vegetarian Aadip sought out meatless between-bread alternatives and wound up making a grilled cheese sandwich. His initial efforts may have proved more successful had he not tried to grill slices of cheese, as doing so only resulted in a gooey, melted mess.
Grease on Fire
The flickering grease fires didn't trip up "Primetime-99" Alex Stein; he managed to make Chef Bobby a Texican Burg-dog that "bites you back a little bit when you take a bite."
Sweet Disasters
Who better to lead the recruits in a cake challenge than Master Pastry Chef Ron Ben-Israel? The Sweet Genius stopped by Boot Camp to offer the competitors a detailed baking how-to, but despite his best efforts, there were numerous cake-and-frosting flops, including Crystal's dropped pan full of batter.
Scavenger Hunt Shenanigans
While the recruits were scouring the grocery store for ingredients, the mentors weren't content just standing quietly on the sidelines. Armed with a megaphone, they offered their contestants (mostly) helpful encouragement to outshop the other team and start cooking as quickly as possible.
Public Perception
In the fifth week of the competition, the remaining recruits took what they'd learned so far and used it to cook for crowds of strangers, first supermarket shoppers and later hungry motorcyclists. Although many of the contestants have sorry memories of parties past, they pulled off a catering event with biker bar bites successfully, even earning praise from guest Andy Animal.
Recruits-Turned-Mentors
For the first time during Boot Camp, it was up to the recruits to give culinary orders to their mentors, communicating via headset the ingredient and flavor profiles of a dish the chefs couldn't see but had to replicate. Rasheeda and Sue took their new roles seriously, asking Chef Anne, "Do you have your mise en place set up?" They were also heard telling her, "Keep in mind that this has to be plated perfectly, too."
Family Reunions
In the last Main Dish Challenge before the finale, the top four recruits received perhaps their greatest shock of the competition: a challenge to cook for their loved ones who'd dropped by Boot Camp for a surprise visit. Emotions ran high as Sue, Rasheeda, Alina and Chet welcomed their twin sister, son, friend Marshall and mom, respectively, for an extra-special meal.
Finale-Bound
After six weeks of Boot Camp, Chefs Anne and Bobby had to determine which of their top recruits would best represent them during the upcoming finale cook-off. Although each of the final four competitors had vastly improved since the premiere, Anne and Bobby chose to bring Rasheeda and Alina, respectively.
