Personally, this episode of “The Taste” was a hard one for me to swallow.  The contestant I was rooting for got kicked off!  Right now I am holding out hope that there will be some sort of twist where they bring people back for the finale.  We will see!

Keep reading for the full recap of Episode 7 from Jenn Tidwell!

Tonight on episode 7 of The Taste the remaining seven contestants were given the task to seduce the mentors with a single sumptuous spoonful. Only four of them will continue on to the finals meaning three will be sent home.

The guest judge was Ingrid Hoffmann, restaurateur and TV personality.

For the team challenge, as in the previous episodes, the contestants were given one hour to prepare their tasting spoons, one being chosen per team for judging, though for the first time the winner would not receive immunity. However they would gain the help from guest judge during the solo challenge along with a mountain full of top-of-the-line cookware used in the competition. They had to use at least one of the five seductive secret ingredients picked out by each of their mentors. Here’s what was on their lists:

Anthony- caviar, prosciutto, buckwheat flour, truffles and prawns

Nigella- figs, pancetta, sea salt, sambuca and beef

Ludo- lobster, Dover sole, champagne, caviar and truffles

Brian- oyster, lobster, caviar, abalone and grapes

After thinking about what got themselves in the mood the contestants got hot and heavy in the kitchen whipping up their creations. Here were the spoons put forward for judging and a bit of what Ingrid had to say about them:

Team Anthony- Diane’s Grilled Prawn with Butter Bisque and Shaved Truffle (she tasted the truffle but felt it covered up the lobster, which was actually a prawn)

Team Nigella- Lauren’s Italian Kisses with Blackberry and Chocolate Sauce (guessed the taste of coffee, liked the crunch of brittle, she couldn’t tell what the protein was, however there wasn’t one)

Team Ludo- Sarah’s Panna Cotta with Caviar and Caramel Sauce (Ingrid wasn’t a fan of caramel, though thought it had a nice spice kick in the back)

Team Brian- Jeff’s Oyster with Passion Fruit, Caviar and Edible Flowers (nice, oyster not over-powered by ingredients, soft, fresh and she felt sexy)

She enjoyed all the tasting spoons but the winning spoon was that of Sarah’s who won Ingrid’s help for the solo challenge and a slew of cookware from The Taste kitchen, but not immunity.

For the solo challenge the contestants were sent to a local farmers market to pick out the freshest ingredients they could find and were given one hour to cook up a seducing tasting spoon to be paired with something to sip on. Here are the spoons they felt would make the mentors pants dance and how the mentors actually felt about them :

Diane- Chocolate Pate’ with Cherries paired with Malbec (sour cherries were out of a jar, too much like what all chefs would put on a Valentine’s Day menu, chocolate and red wine are a classic combo, Anthony didn’t care for chocolate and any fruit together)

Lauren- Spicy Octopus Stew paired with Tequila (good heat, negative feeling about the fried tortilla chip, Brian didn’t feel it was sensual, it put Anthony in the mood, Ludo felt octopus is sexy and could touch you everywhere, Nigella agreed with Ludo)

Gregg- Caviar and Uni Butter Pasta paired with Champagne (Brian felt is was flat, Nigella said it was quite eggy or creamy, Anthony liked it saying it hit his sweet spot and made the comment “who doesn’t like plump sacks of eggs”, Ludo said uni is sex, overall could have used more salt)

Sarah- Mussels and Leeks paired with Sangria (oniony taste because it wasn’t quite cooked enough, perfect mussel, liked it, bad cocktail)

Paul- King Crab, Artichoke and Octopus Verbena paired with Champagne Cocktail (all felt seafood was seductive, octopus wasn’t prepared well, creative cocktail)

Jeff- Snapper and Uni Sashimi paired with Sake Gimlet (not much technique with raw fish, margaritaish cocktail, uni is seductive)

Khristianne- Uni, King Crab and Egg 63 paired with Champagne (mentors were excited at just the look of spoon with oohs and ahhs, they all loved it, Anthony said, “I’m a big nasty slut, take me now”…LOL!!!)

The mentors best and worst picks were:

Anthony’s Best- Khristianne and Worst- Paul

Nigella’s Best- Jeff and Worst- Diane

Ludo’s Best- Khristianne and Worst- Jeff

Brian’s Best- Khristianne and Worst- Lauren

Safe from elimination was Gregg and Sarah and Khristianne joined them, along with being the first contestant to earn three gold stars. After a heated deliberation and some of the mentors even changing their thoughts about the tasting spoons once finding out who prepared them it was unanimous that both Paul and Lauren were sent home. Where feelings got in the way was with choosing between Jeff and Diane though in the end it was Jeff that was sent packing.

Tonight’s Blue Ribbon moment was when Lauren added sea salt to the brittle on her Italian Kisses spoon taking her dish from good to the best.

A third Best Foods contest winner was announced. And it was Diane Turner of Brunswick, OH with her Carrot Cake. In her opinion it was a winning dish saying, “Best Foods is the secret ingredient to make a delicious moist cake. Just add cake mix, eggs, orange juice, Best Foods, carrots and raisins. Then top with cream cheese frosting”. For the entire recipe visit www.abc.com/thetaste.

Don’t miss next week’s finale of The Taste on ABC at 9PM where either Khristianne, Diane, Sarah or Gregg will be crowned as the season one winner of The Taste!!!

Happy Cooking,

Jenn