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While the judges say kind things about the restaurant, they all agree that some of the dishes need work. Similarly, Paul is dissatisfied with the seasoning on the dish he made with Ty and all of the men agree that they choked a bit. Whether this proves to be a case of demanding too much of themselves or a reasonable take on their overall performance remains to be seen. The customers looked quite happy while the judges seemed divided on the overall dining experience. The women said little of note about their competition.

The memorable moment during the female food prep occurs after Lindsay reveals a bit about herself. Apparently, she was prom queen in high school and valedictorian in college. Lindsay demands excellence of herself and others. Keeping this in mind, she instructs Beverly on how to prepare the halibut dish for which Lindsay is responsible. Beverly immediately notes that this is preparation is not the way that she would do the dish but she respectfully does so as requested in order to create a harmonious work environment. Grayson and Sarah have no such consideration and clash repeatedly prior to the arrival of the customers. This could blow up huge for the ladies.

The evening meal starts poorly. Sarah treats Beverly like a misbehaving child rather than a reality show competitor. Her behavior is unbecoming in every way possible. Beverly continues the tactic she has utilized so effectively throughout the season. The determined chef keeps her head down and works, figuring that Heather’s dogged attempts to undermine ultimately led to her demise. Perhaps the same could happen with Sarah. Grayson is less settled in this regard. Over the course of the evening, she finds Sarah less and less tolerable and eventually begins to shout her down. This is not a four person team but rather a two on two match-up between the bullies and the worker bees. Ultimately, the schism somehow works.

The judges wait indefinitely for Lindsay to seat them. They have so much free time that Padma serves herself some lemonade as Lindsay talks potatoes in the kitchen. When the men show up later, they also have to wait. The women fundamentally win the design war, perhaps accidentally. Their usage of furniture prevents a view of the serving area, which means that if there are problems in expediting, the customers and (more importantly) the judges will not witness them. This counteracts the massive delays in seating and serving. Still, Tom notes that there is much less energy in the room than the night before. The women appear to be playing from behind.

The first course comes long after Padma complains that she is hungry. Eventually, the judges are served a peach salad with pickled shallots, bacon vinaigrette & candied pistachios, a Grayson dish, and a mozzarella filled arancino, sweet & sour eggplant & celery salad, a Sarah dish. Both of these are well received although Hugh again questions the unification of the components. This is a thing with him. The judges then wait so long for the second course that Padma complains about the length of time it is taking to be served. Lindsay points this out to Sarah who melts down while ironically accusing Lindsay of needing to calm down. Beverly then states that both of them are out of control, which seems correct. Lindsay is in a world of trouble if the women lose.

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