Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars: Episode 4 Recap – A Taste of the Fourth of July

Episode 4 of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars presented a challenge that blended culinary creativity with marketing prowess, all with a patriotic twist. Both teams, under the guidance of their mentors, were tasked with creating an easy-to-follow recipe inspired by the Fourth of July. The stakes were high, as the client they needed to impress was none other than the prestigious food magazine, Delish.

The Challenge

Each team had 24 hours to craft a recipe, complete with photographs and a live demo for Delish's website and eight at-home cooks. The twist? Among the at-home cooks were two of Delish's Food and Executive Editors, whose identities were hidden from the competitors. As in previous challenges, the teams were divided into sub-teams: the recipe team and the marketing team.

Team Divisions

Team Ramsay:

• Recipe Team: Ali, Andrew, Rose
• Marketing Team: Liz, Kyson, Chuan

Team Vanderpump:

• Recipe Team: Erica, Nicolas, Roman
• Marketing Team: Peri, Maria, Jess

Recipe Creations

Team Ramsay decided on a Firecracker Burger with candied bacon, paired with a beautiful gem salad dressed in a strawberry miso vinaigrette. Their aim was to create a dish that was both festive and approachable for at-home cooks.

Team Vanderpump opted for a fresh Pineapple, Shrimp, and Pepper Kabob, intending to capture the light, summery flavors of a Fourth of July barbecue.

Live Demo

On the day of the live demo, the teams split once more into live demonstrators and filming sub-teams. Andrew and Liz were chosen to present for Team Ramsay, while Kyson, Chuan, Rose, and Ali managed the cameras, earpieces, and live comment responses. Before the demo, Andrew and Liz agreed on their roles: Andrew would explain the recipes, and Liz, with her lack of culinary experience, would follow along as a relatable "at-home cook."

However, a last-minute instruction from Gordon Ramsay to interact more with the live audience threw a wrench into their plans. Liz recounted, "Before Gordon instructed us to interact with the live folks cooking along with us, I believe Andrew and I were on the same page with how we wanted the demo to unfold. But, once we got on stage, it seemed like Andrew did a lot of interacting with the crowd while I was demonstrating cooking the recipe. I was definitely thrown off by how the demo started to turn out, and quickly tried to adapt by preparing the side gem salad and the dressing. It wasn't my most inspired live performance, but it got more comfortable as the demo continued." During this time, you can see Liz to seemingly freeze while she mentally readjusts to the circumstances. Going live for an present audience is quite a bit different than going live on social media. 

Another blunder that Liz and Andrew needed to address: missing ingredients. Under all of the stress, the culinary team accidentally left two cruicial ingredients off the Bacon Burger recipe - Bacon and the Burger Buns! The team did a great job at making light of the situation and the cooking demonstration was able to commence as planned. 

Judging and Results

After the demos, both teams faced a nerve-wracking wait as the secret Delish judges deliberated with Gordon and Lisa. The judges then revealed their star ratings, which would determine the winning team.

Team Ramsay's recipe received a 3-star rating, causing a moment of panic among the team members, as it was lower than they had hoped. However, the tension quickly turned to elation when Team Vanderpump's recipe was announced to have earned just 2 stars. The joy and relief were palpable as Team Ramsay celebrated their victory and received a congratulatory hug from Gordon Ramsay himself. In contrast, Team Vanderpump was visibly shocked and frustrated by their loss, especially after receiving high praise from Lisa Vanderpump.

Team Ramsay's *complete* Firecracker Burger recipe is now on Delish's website and can be see here!

Looking Ahead

Team Ramsay managed to avoid the dreaded grilling once again, while Team Vanderpump found themselves on the chopping block. As the competition heats up, the next challenge will see each team reconceptualizing a limited edition wine from their own mentor's wine brands.

Stay tuned for the next episode of Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars, where creativity, strategy, and teamwork will be tested once more in the quest for culinary excellence and business acumen.

Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars airs Wednesdays on Fox! If you miss the live episode, you can always catch up on Hulu the next day!

Next Episode: Partners in Wine | Read More HERE!
Teams must craft a seasonal advertising campaign for wines; they must shoot and edit a commercial to present to wine enthusiasts at a launch event, and the team with the least effective campaign finds themselves on the chopping block.