Team challenges are always the dodgy obstacles of early elimination rounds, and even the best chefs can be tripped up by the group dynamic. That appears to have been the problem for Spike Mendelsohn, whose tomato tamarind soup, olive oil poached shrimp, pineapple, tomatoes, and dill was judged to be the worst dish of the Elimination Challenge. The downfall of the dish could have been the overcooked shrimp, which was clearly on Spike, or it could have been the components added by his teammates at the last second before serving. Either way, Spike had to take responsibility for the dish and its shortcomings.
Each elimination in this All-Star competition seems particularly sad since we are seeing many of the brightest stars from the previous seven seasons. It's difficult to see any of them go, but go they must, so we bid a regretful farewell to Spike. Of course, with a successful restaurant business and a cookbook in the bookstores, we certainly have not heard the last from this talented chef.
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