‘The Next Food Network Star’: A risotto flops, a star shines brighter, and someone goes home

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It seems like each week on ‘The Next Food Network Star’ finds the judges making noise about how hard it is to eliminate someone. This week, I felt their pain.

Melissa, Jeffrey and Debbie all deserved to be in the final three. All three have a unique culinary point of view. And it’s not hard at all to see each starring in -- and succeeding with -- his or her own Food Network show. But it’s called the final two for a reason. Someone has to go home. And it was L.A.’s Debbie Lee.

Debbie was a natural. She took to most of the challenges like she’d been doing it all her life -- she was repeatedly praised for both her ease in front of the camera as well as her cooking. Too often, though, she was dinged for not bringing enough of herself to the plate, as well as her unique point of view: Seoul to soul. (Born to Korean immigrants, she was raised in the South and Southwest, and her dishes are something akin to fried chicken meets kimchi.)

In many ways, it seemed like Bobby Flay and the other judges wanted more spice from her. Judges had also dinged her for not taking enough responsibility for her shortcomings. Still, everyone agreed she was a delight in front of the camera and, more often than not, captivated her audience.

That leaves Jeffrey, who has been a front-runner from Day 1, and Melissa, who just seems to get better and stronger with each passing day.

This week’s challenge was for contestants to watch the inspirational new movie ‘Julie & Julia’ and then find their own inspiration to cook up a three-course meal for 20 of the culinary world’s elite. Melissa held the room spellbound as she talked about her personal upbringing and then brought them to tears when she mentioned her mother’s suicide. That may sound manipulative, but it wasn’t at all. It was genuine and welcoming -- she let the Food Network family and others get a glimpse of the person who just might be their newest hire. Her menu won rave reviews and showed no sign of the kitchen foibles that happened behind closed doors. Melissa said she was truly inspired and decided to gamble it all on the menu and not hold anything back. If I’m going down, she said, I’m going down big!

By contrast, Jeffrey’s main entree was a disaster. His risotto may just go down as one of the worst meals served during the competition. Or at least the one that received the harshest criticism: It was called both an affront to Italian cooking and the worst risotto ever. (For a minute there, I thought I was watching ‘Hell’s Kitchen.’) Jeffrey and the other contestants were given $1,000 to spend on their meal. Jeffrey didn’t even spend $400. Had the meal been a success, he would have been lauded for doing it all on a dime. Instead, his judgment was called into question by Flay. Jeffrey has been able to offer a clear-eyed assessment of his own performance, and this week was no different. ‘Risk taken, and I lost,’ he said. His demo, though, was flawless, and there is no question that Jeffrey could easily command a TV show. He also has a seamless ability to explain cooking techniques without sounding like he’s ‘teaching’ someone, and no one has a better vocabulary when it comes to describing food.

If the judges had a tough time last week, I have no idea how they are going to pull the trigger next week. One thing is certain: It will be a fierce competition. Jeffrey put it best: ‘Let’s not kid ourselves. Melissa’s got a black belt underneath that kitchen apron.’

[Updated 11:30 a.m.:] Another indicator of just how hard the choice will be: From the start of the show, Bookmaker.com (registration required) has picked Jeffrey to win it. But that position changed today. According to the online oddsmaker, Melissa ‘has shown such improvement over the past few challenges, that despite Jeffery’s extensive training and experience, the competition is now too close to predict a clear winner.’

-- Rene Lynch