From a cook's point of view, these may be two of the best episodes one could possibly partake in! Not only did the cheftestants get the honor of cooking for the appropriately chosen, very talented, and well-renowned chef/restaurateur Daniel Boulud but also the very knowledgeable and successful chef Geoffrey Zakarian. They were given the opportunity to express themselves through their food by creating their very own burger and also to showcase their skills in the Mise en Place Relay Race.

Not to mention that in these episodes they were also bestowed the very challenging undertaking of designing and executing their teams' very own restaurants, from front to back in both a soft and hard opening. These challenges are a very good test of what it takes to be a chef and have given us a bird's eye view of who has it and who doesn't. I might as well add that the only person that didn't receive a single negative comment in regards to their performance in any way was Hung. Every other contestant in some way, shape, or form, was caught by the judges' radar.

In the burger Quickfire Challenge, the cooks were given a few Red Robin menus to look over and some very insightful advice from Chef Boulud -- obviously the latter being the true source of inspiration. During the challenge the chefs were definitely frantic, and totally stressed to try and impress this chef with their signature burgers. Sara's burger was served "protein style" (AKA no bun) which she claimed to make it healthier. First off, I would like to address the misconception that eliminating complex carbohydrates from one's diet is a healthy choice. This couldn't be farther from the truth -- starches are one of the healthiest sources of energy for one's body and the only reason to minimalize their consumption is if you are a low activity person.

Hung's shrimp burger looked and sounded delicious, with its contrasting textures, well-balanced flavors, and its solid execution. It was obviously one of the more adventurous but well thought out burgers that had surely left a good impression on Chef Daniel Boulud. After Chef Daniel's deliberation and judgment, he awarded CJ his first Quickfire win. I will say his burger definitely looked like one that I would be more than happy to sink my teeth into. It was also nice to see him utilize a moderately refined technique by poaching his burger inside of the ring mold so as to retain a uniform shape. So, congratulations to him, but also to all of the other chefs, such as Hung and Dale, that really seemed to impress Chef Daniel with their elbow-dripping, mouth-watering, and vastly diverse, tasty-looking burgers.