Welcome back! Thanks for joining me as we dive into Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Season 2, Episode 7 recap. Last time, Gordon Ramsay’s team enjoyed a sweet success in the chocolate challenge, and Lisa Vanderpump sent Maria Laura Vacaflores home.
This week’s episode, “Show and Sell” challenges the contestants to demo and sell food gadgets at a trade show. Here’s everything you need to know about Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Season 2, Episode 7!
A daunting challenge
Team Ramsay, having won the previous challenge, hurtled down the Thames in a Thames Rocket. Meanwhile, Team Vanderpump shared a car. Womp, womp.
The setting for the next challenge is a food and beverage trade show, The International Food and Drink Event. This event will have 30,000 visitors. Wow! Lisa told the teams how important the “ability to sell” is to a business. Each team will present some kitchen gadgets, along with a $2,000 blender in front of brand reps and buyers. Oh, and they will be doing this live in three hours. No pressure!
Each team’s sales skills and presentation will be evaluated by a panel of experts in the food and drink industry. And the judges will be asked to place potential orders for the products. The team with the highest sales percentage will win.
Both Gordon and Lisa have some nerves about this challenge. Will the teams know how to sell a product and impress an audience? And can they “read the room” and know who they are selling to?
Team Ramsay
Here are the members of Gordon’s team.
Ali Schlichter
Kyson Clark
Andrew Whiting
Liz Aust
Rose Hankins
Rose decided to be team leader for this challenge because she had experience at a trade show. The products are unusual. There is an automatic pot stirrer and a three-in-one butter knife. Anyway, Kyson opted to present the butter knife, but his biggest concern is whether he will stutter. Finally, it is decided that Ali will present the grater, Liz will wrangle the pot stirrer, and Andrew will demo the blender.
Team Vanderpump
Here are the members of Team Vanderpump.
Erica Levin
Roman Desmond
Nicholas Ducos
Jess Druey
Nicholas stepped up as team leader because he has experience demonstrating in front of classes. So, Roman decided to present the avocado gadget, while Nicholas will demo the blender.
Erica selected the semi-automatic whisk, which left the grating tool for Jess. Although Jess tried to persuade Erica to switch with her, she was stuck with a confusing tool and zero cooking knowledge. That is a recipe for trouble.
Watch your fingers!
Jess was having a hard time with her product. Just then, Lisa showed up. When she asked what was wrong, Jess admitted that she was the only person with no cooking experience.
Then Lisa asked them to run through their presentation. When she heard that the team members were going to be sitting in the crowd, she made a face. A “that is a terrible idea” expression. Lisa worried that it seemed like a school play.
Unfortunately, as soon as she started the demo, Jess sliced her finger. “I hand her a cheese grater and she almost cuts her finger off. I’m like, ‘What the f*ck?’” Lisa commented. I guess Lisa’s sympathy meter was low that day.
Thankfully, Jess said that she was fine, and Lisa gave her the whisk to demo instead. In her confessional, a crying Jess was “overwhelmed” and “second-guessing herself” after the mishap. She felt that she let the team down, and Erica insisted that wasn’t the case.
Meanwhile, Erica had no problem sharing her feelings with Lisa. She told Lisa that she didn’t have time to make sure that Jess felt comfortable with the grater and that the “energy was frenetic and fast.” Finally, Lisa cautioned her team that they were presenting in front of “serious people.”
Prepping for their presentation
Over at Gordon’s team, the group decided to start their presentation with breakfast and move on to dinner. Most of all, Rose wanted them to prepare a fun presentation to hook the buyers.
Gordon came by and drilled down on how comfortable the team has to be with using the products. Afterward, Gordon confessed that Team Ramsay hadn’t utilized their prep time.
Next, Gordon and Lisa chatted with the panel that will be judging the challenge. Lucia Fox, who is a host on QVC, will judge along with Michael Baranowski, who is a buyer for Home Bargains, and VP of Sales for BlendTec, Chris Georgeson.
Gordon asked Lucia what was most important about a live presentation. She stated that “being authentic” and knowing all about the product were key. And reading the room was also important. As for the pitch? Michael explained that the person who is pitching needs to “have confidence in their product.”
Time for the presentations
Team Ramsay’s Rose took the stage and introduced her team members. It seemed like a high school pep rally. Kyson was up first with his butter knife, and he stuttered. My heart broke for him, but he kept going. When Kyson asked the different sides of the audience to “ooh” and “ahh,” it seemed immature. And he didn’t even spread the butter on the bread, so he didn’t fully demo the product.
Then Lucia asked what the three uses were for the knife, adding that she didn’t understand what made it different. Gordon was upset, noting that Kyson skipped the most important part of the demo. And Lisa also weighed in, calling it “a pantomime.”
Next, Rose presented a multi-blade herb scissor, while Liza demonstrated the automatic pot stirrer. But when Ali presented the grater, she had a hard time using it to slice carrots and Gordon thought that it appeared “dangerous.” Finally, Andrew knew all about the blender, and his presentation was incredible. But I loved it when, after the demo, Gordon demonstrated the butter knife, making curls of butter for Lisa.
Next, Team Vanderpump was up. Nicholas launched directly into the presentation, which focused on breakfast. He explained about the blender as he prepared a smoothie. Unfortunately, he forgot the lid. Oops! I think maybe presenting in front of their peers made both teams nervous.
When Lucia asked what else the blender could make, Nicholas replied that he liked to make soup in it. After that, Roman did a great job demonstrating the avocado tool and Erica showed off the grater. Meanwhile, Jess was energetic and really sold the whisk, even after her grating accident earlier. Chris asked a question about using the whisk to make foam out of milk, and Jess answered easily and confidently.
Afterward, Nicholas admitted that he missed talking about some of the blender’s functions. And Lisa felt her team was “slick” and “professional,” while Gordon thought that the demo was too quick.
Who won the challenge?
The teams gathered to hear the feedback. Team Ramsay was applauded for their “energy,” but the judges thought that they were “too informal” and that the demonstration “wasn’t aimed at the right audience.”
Meanwhile, Team Vanderpump was complimented on their “flow,” but not all the functions on every product were demonstrated.
Let’s not forget that the experts were asked if they would purchase the products based solely on the demos that they witnessed. Team Vanderpump had 50% of the possible sales, while Team Ramsay received 33% of the possible sales. That set off a series of f-bombs from Gordon.
The Grilling
Gordon started by announcing how unhappy he was as soon as his team sat down. As the team leader, Rose spoke up, explaining why getting the audience “comfortable” and “engaged” before you start selling was important. Gordon then asked about their lack of professionalism.
Gordon was upset that it was more like “a show” and the actual demos didn’t work. He reminded his team that he told them to “read the room.” He added, “Well, what the f*ck room were you guys in?”
Gordon was so agitated that he kept pacing. He questioned the decision to open the presentation like they were at a sports game. Rose took responsibility, and Gordon reminded her that they were presenting to “powerful individuals.”
Next, Gordon put Ali in the hot seat for not knowing more about the product and practicing with it. She acknowledged that her part of the demo “was embarrassing.” Finally, Gordon asked Kyson for his thoughts. Kyson explained that he wanted to make the audience smile. He added, “And that’s who I am.”
Gordon acknowledged that but told Kyson that he didn’t showcase the functions of the product. “I felt for you out there, because I know damn well, you’re better than that,” Gordon told Kyson.
The team admitted that they didn’t practice enough with the products. “I’m more nervous now giving away $250,000 to one of you,” Gordon said. He was savage during this Grilling. Finally, Gordon called out Kyson and Ali for dropping the ball and Rose for setting “the wrong tone.”
Who is leaving the competition?
Kyson Clark is leaving the competition.
“When this competition is done, I’m going to reach out and check in on you,” Gordon told Kyson. They embraced as Kyson prepared to leave. “This has been the best experience of my life,” he told the group. “And I would have never thought … I would have never thought that I would have [done] something like this. So, thank you so much.”
In his final confessional, Kyson stated, “I was scared to speak. Scared to be myself and Food Stars has [given] me the gift to use my voice. I may not be going home with the $250,000, but what I have gained, I can’t put a price tag on that.”
But wait! There’s more! Gordon told the remainder of his team to sit down. “I’m not done,” he told the shocked contestants.
Who else is leaving the competition?
Rose Hankins is leaving the competition.
Wow! A double elimination! In her final confessional, a tearful Rose stated, “It sucks … really sucks. I have learned that never giving up gives you something good, and this has been something so good.” She added, “I’m going to pick myself back up and I’m going to use what I learned here going forward because that can take me so, so far.”
After the dust settled, Gordon told his remaining team that he didn’t see the special spark during this challenge that he first saw in them. Yikes! If I were on Team Ramsay, I would be curled up in the fetal position nursing a cocktail.
Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars airs on Wednesdays, 9:00-10:00 PM ET on FOX.
