What I love about "NFNS" is that it invites - no, insists on - cynicism. It's the one show on The Food Network that openly admits it's not about food. Last night's episode packed an extra special punch because Robert Irvine of "Dinner: Impossible" was a guest judge. Some of you may remember that Irvine was ousted from The Food Network earlier this year for fudging the details of his resume. Obviously "NFNS" was taped before that whole brouhaha, and what were they supposed to do, not air the episode? So they just cut Irvine's screen time to the bare minimum and went on with it.

We started off with a scavenger hunt. The cooks were divided into three teams and sent off to answer trivia questions and gather ingredients. Each team then had 45 minutes to prepare three brunch dishes for the judges and 25 other guests. On a train!

Once again Aaron's food stood out: he did a New York strip steak with an orange-bourbon glaze. Lisa's French toast with creme fraiche also went over well with the judges. Ah, but this is "NFNS," so how did they do in their all-important presentations to the audience? Not bad. Lisa toned down the vocabulary a little per the judges' request and Aaron was big and friendly and "approachable" just like Bob told him to be. He was smart enough not to pretend he was robbing the train like Adam suggested, either...he just made a big entrance and talked about how he was a bold guy presenting bold flavors. Cheesy but effective. Do whatever it takes, Aaron, because you're the only one I'm rooting for at this point.

Which dishes tanked? Kevin's fig and honey crostini was way too sweet. Susie said it was like candy. Adam served eggs that were actually raw. Nipa's lamb kebabs were judged to be too hot for brunch. Okay, here's where my cynicism comes in. If this was "Top Chef" instead of "NFNS" Adam would have definitely been eliminated for serving raw egg to pretty much everyone in the dining car. But it's not "Top Chef," so Adam gets to stay because he's likable, funny, even someone Bobby Flay might want to have a beer with. Nipa gets to stay even though she threw a tantrum and walked out of the room during judging because, in Bob Tuschman's words, she's "a fresh, appealing Indian woman from the Midwest" and her concept is "ethnic made easy." Who went home? Kevin. The judges decided they weren't on board with his whole romantic cooking thing. (The funniest moment of the episode, for me, was when Kevin's teammate Jeffrey deadpanned "I don't see what's romantic about crostini.") Fair enough, I guess, but I just love that raw eggs and temper tantrums prevailed. "The Next Food Network Star:" it's sooo not about the food.

- Posted by Kate