Tuesday, March 8, 2011
TV Dinner Nashvillian Competing on America's Next Great Restaurant
Posted by Dana Kopp Franklin on Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 2:37 PM
- NBC.COM
- Eric Powell
Nashville's Eric Powell, who works in financial services and cooks for fun, has a concept called Meltworks, focusing on "grown-up grilled cheese sandwiches” — a familiar food elevated with fresh-baked bread, artisan cheeses and fresh vegetables and meats.
The judge/investors include mogul Steve Ells, founder of Chipotle, the restaurant that the show calls the model to inspire the budding entrepreneurs. The other two, Lorena Garcia and Curtis Stone, are both chefs and TV personalities.
The series debuted Sunday, winnowing 21 contestants to 10.
Powell got points for a well-prepared presentation. He also revealed an extra motivation to win — he and his wife were expecting a baby.
But it was a nail-biter for Powell — judges worried that great grilled cheeses might be too time-consuming for a fast-food business. He was the last of the 10 chosen and had to pass an additional challenge — making nearly 30 grilled sandwiches in 15 minutes.
A fascinating moment was when a stern-faced Flay said he was looking for contestants so passionate that they would "throw themselves under a bus" in their efforts to impress him. Let us hope it doesn't come to that.
Comments (7)
Showing 1-7 of 7
