Masterchef (2010) s01e06 Episode Script

Previously, on MasterChef The competition intensified and the heat went up in the MasterChef kitchen.
It better be good, yes? Family man Faruq failed to impress the judges.
That is about as Chinese as my mum, and she's from Glasgow in Scotland.
Others skillfully established themselves as frontrunners.
The youngest competitor, I'm like a butterfly and sting like a bee.
Has so far shown expertise far beyond her years.
You've nailed it-- this dish is something i would love to serve in a restaurant.
Congratulations.
Whitney, well done! Mike, a server from Los Angeles, has also shown real flair.
This is top of the heap.
High-five, man.
Whoo! For three home cooks, their journey ended.
This Is the problem.
It's boring! It's not the spirit of what we came here to do.
As 14 competitors became 11.
It looks like a throwaway dinner from a gas station.
It was kind of like a salad gone bad.
Please take off your apron and leave the MasterChef kitchen.
Tonight, they'll receive a visit from a surprise Chef.
Whoo! Who will offer them the chance of a lifetime.
If your dish is better, you catapult yourself to the Final Four.
Hot damn! Some will rise to the challenge.
This is my moment where I'm gonna go from the bottom to the top.
Others will reach their breaking point.
And I just started to crumble.
"No, this is not happening.
" It was like an absolute nightmare.
The last contestant standing will receive $250,000, a cookbook publishing deal, and above all else, become the first American MasterChef.
Let's go, guys.
How we doin'? I'm still kind of blown away by the fact that I'm actually here.
It's been a total whirlwind since the beginning.
Like, 11 people left.
That's a trip.
It's crazy.
I'm lovin' every second of it, though.
Okay, welcome! New day.
Here's the good news: From tens of thousands of you, amateur cooks across America, we're down to just 11 of you.
ButThere can only be one MasterChef.
Right? First, you have to make it through Today's test.
Another mystery box challenge.
As with every mystery box challenge, the contestants have to prepare, cook, and present one incredible dish using the ingredients inside the box.
Jake What would you want under there? Well, uh, anything seafood.
Maybe sauce oriented, yeah.
Seafood, wow.
Sure.
Tracy, what would you want under that box? I'd like some eggs, some flour, and some sugar.
I wanna bake something.
That's my thing.
Baking is what I do.
Gently At the count of three, lift the boxes.
One Two Three.
Oh, my God.
Yay! No! Oh, ho ho.
So I lift the mystery box, and there, poof! I'm A brick right now.
I'm like, I don't like to bake.
It's not my thing.
For today's mystery box challenge, all of you are gonna be making the most amazing cupcakes.
A cupcake challenge.
Money.
Cash money in the bank.
This is my competition.
Now, of course, cupcakes are all the rage right now.
There's cupcake shops.
There's cupcakes in restaurants.
You are all going to be starting with the same basic ingredients.
Okay.
Brace yourselves.
Take a look at this.
Oh, my God.
On this table, you have everything in the world you could possibly need to make a great cupcake.
You have chocolate, peanut butter, peanuts, fruits, everything in the world.
Just look at what's in front of you.
Everything on this table helps to take it to a completely different level.
Now, we're only gonna be tasting three of the cupcakes.
And the person that wins this challenge will have a huge advantage in the next stage of the competition.
Got it? Yes, Chef.
Excited? Yes, Chef! 45 minutes, starting Now.
Off you go.
A perfect cupcake is a challenge for any Chef, but to bake it and decorate it in 45 minutes is almost impossible.
There's cooks, and there's bakers.
Baking is a whole other realm.
It's like mathematics.
A little bit of science.
It's very linear, very by the numbers.
I'm not really a baker.
Okay, the first thing, is the batter made? Right.
Yes? Cupcake in.
And then you start working on the decoration, right? The first thing is the batter, yes? Yep.
What would you do? I would riff off a classic.
I would do, like, a bananas Foster cupcake or a strawberry shortcake or a Boston cream pie.
I'd go for a different colored frosting.
With nothing too sort of dark and heavy looking.
Right.
Inviting.
Cocoa powder, cocoa powder I have no idea what I'm doing.
I have no idea how to make a damn cupcake, so everything can go wrong.
Right, Sharone.
So you've never made a cupcake before, no? No.
Who normally makes the cupcakes at home? My wife.
Your wife.
My wife is the dessert queen.
So have you ever watched your wife make a cupcake before? I have.
You have? She makes this amazing cream cheese frosting.
Cream cheese frosting.
And I'm gonna whip in some crushed hazelnut and some nutella into it too.
Okay, good.
Whitney, how we doing? What flavors are you going with? I'm going with a coconut and lemon curd filling.
You make a lot of cupcakes at home? Cupcakes, cakes Everything.
Everything.
Great.
Good.
Lee, how we doin'? What are you making? I'm doin' irish coffee Irish coffee cupcakes? Uh, cupcakes.
So you're working with the Breville stand mixer on this.
That scraper beater means better mixing.
It's doing exactly what I want it to do, so I'm happy with it.
Looking forward to trying it.
All right.
All right, Tracy, what you doing? Carrot cupcake.
Carrot cupcake.
Okay, good.
I know you're reverting back to yourCookbook.
Mum's cookbook.
I am.
I'm taking it straight the way she taught me.
This is a slam dunk.
I'm gonna make my carrot cake recipe that my mom and I perfected that I know cold.
What are you doing with the frosting? Um, I'm gonna do a cream cheese frosting.
Cream cheese frosting.
Yes.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
What do you got, Jake? What are you making? I'm looking for just, like, some cocoa powder.
I love chocolate.
I'm a chocolate freak.
It's gonna be fruit.
It's gonna be chocolate.
It's gonna be a little party in your mouth.
Okay, first off, two unique contenders already.
Whitney and Tracy.
Can't wait to try the carrot cake cupcakes; I bet you they're good.
With the cream cheese frosting, it's gonna be great.
Sharone was, uh, using all these different nuts in his recipe, and it sounded good.
Candied nuts? Yeah.
Yeah, Whitney looks together.
It's so crucial, especially with the time limit that we had, to get the cupcakes into the oven.
It needed And then you want to be able to pull them out early enough to where whatever topping you're gonna put on 'em doesn't just completely melt away.
There's only 20 minutes left.
Everybody's cupcake should be in the oven by now.
And if they're not, you're gonna struggle to get them cooked in time.
What the remaining is that the winner of this challenge will be given the chance to take themselves directly into the Final Four.
Faruq.
They've got to go in the oven.
They're in there, Chef, right now.
I think I wasted a lot of precious time just getting prepped and getting ready to make the cupcakes.
Rise, rise.
Ten minutes left, everyone.
I've never made a cupcake before.
I've got my finger crossed behind my back.
They look like cupcakes.
How they taste, I don't know.
Whitney's looks amazing, even from here.
God, she's so smart, that girl.
I can win this challenge.
In this part of the competition, I want the advantage.
I think my cupcakes are gonna be really tasty.
Okay, five minutes to go.
I'm, uh, you know, top three material, at least.
It's time to separate the boys from the men.
Every challenge that goes down is so much more heightened and more important for me.
And I'm looking at my dish, and I'm looking at a couple dishes around me, and I'm like, "well, yeah, "I think I got a pretty good chance of getting up in the top three again.
" Two minutes, guys.
Oh, my .
Your frosting melted too, Mike? 90 seconds to go.
I don't want to take them out.
They're not ready.
I don't want them to be raw.
Oh, .
One minute left.
The judges will only taste the three most delicious-looking cupcakes, so the final seconds of decoration will be the difference between success and failure.
It's not done.
It's not cool.
They're not done.
I'm gonna have a melted mess on my hands.
Ten Nine Eight Seven SixFive FourThree TwoOne.
And stop! Oh, my God.
My cupcake is horrible.
Oh, my .
In this mystery box challenge, the judges will taste just three cupcakes.
Seven.
What the final 11 don't know is that the winner will be given the chance to propel themselves straight into the Final Four.
ThreeTwoOne.
And stop! Oh, my God! But that's looking unlikely to be Tracy.
I could hear my mother just going, "what are you doing? Like, what--what is that?" And that's when I just started to crumble.
Tracy.
What's the matter? My cupcake is horrible.
Right.
Who's not happy with their cupcake? Tracy, why not? I didn't have the time to cook, and the fro--and the cupcake was too warm.
It just looks horrible.
I mean, so it's a horrible cupcake.
Wow.
Zero.
NowReady? Graham, Joe, and myself have considered the top three, in no particular order.
First up Jake.
Congratulations.
Let's go, big boy.
I can speak in road racing terms, because I'm a motorcycle road racer, and any time you can finish in the top three and get on the boxes, you've done something.
That's how you win championships.
You surprised us all.
Yes, Chef.
Clumsy, like a bull in a China shop, and yet you come up with a handsome cupcake.
The idea behind it, what was it? Not to overcomplicate it.
Incorporate some fresh berries.
And lots of chocolate.
I'm a big fan of the chocolate.
You can tell just by slicing in half with the pressure of the knife on or off how light it is and how easy it goes through.
What I would have done with that? A few chocolate pistols running through the center, so you got a little bit more sort of oozing chocolate, make it even more moist.
However, 45 minutes.
You've produced the goods.
Thank you.
Well done.
This could be a dessert that you could put on a plate in a restaurant.
It's almost kind of an ode to a flourless chocolate cake.
Oh! Thank you.
Yo, my--my agenda is to not let you guys down.
A couple weeks ago, my new friend graham gave me a chance, an opportunity to prove myself, you know.
Whoa.
That's all I've ever asked anybody, man, is an opportunity, and I got that opportunity.
And I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you guys down in here.
Yeah, good job.
Very good job indeed.
Second person up.
Sharone.
Well done.
Let's go.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
What? How did you call my name? I've never made a cupcake before.
I gotta tall you, I was proud of myself.
I know it looks good.
Now I just hope it tastes the best too.
I flavored it with nutella.
I melted some dark chocolate, some milk chocolate.
I toasted hazelnuts, pistachios, so you get a little bit of crunch and texture in there.
So here's the bizarre news.
You've never made a cupcake in your life.
I'm a 28-year-old man, and this is the first cupcake I've ever baked.
The secret behind a good cupcake is the excitement that draws you into the top and the moist insides.
Right.
You can just feel with the-- the ease of the knife running through.
It's absolutely brilliant.
Good job.
Thank you, Chef.
Cream cheese is rich.
It's good.
This is, uh, quite an accomplishment.
It's also visually, i think, the prettiest one we've seen.
So thank you.
Well done.
Thank you, Chef.
Well done, well done, well done.
Good job, man.
Good job.
Right! One more Cupcake In the final three.
Looking at everyone else's cupcakes around me, I definitely thought my cupcake shined.
The overall product was something I was really pleased with.
I thought I had put out a pretty good cupcake in there.
It had some pretty good flavor.
You know, with the cookie in there, and the peanut butter.
Uh, I felt I would have been up for consideration in the top three.
Congratulations.
Whitney.
Well done.
Great job.
Describe it to me.
It's a coconut cupcake with a lemon glaze.
I always love lemon glazes, 'cause my grandmother always makes a glaze for her cupcakes.
Explain the topping.
Okay, the topping is toasted coconut.
Yeah.
'Cause it really brings out the sweetness, and I like the crunch it gives.
It really tastes of coconut, 'cause you've toasted it.
Mm-hmm.
It's good.
It's very good indeed.
Well done.
I'm gonna guess that you're really playing the game too.
You want to win.
Yes.
And you're being as smart and you're using everything you can to your advantage.
You know, plating to ingredients that are gonna show well.
And I admire that.
I love the, um, the coconut lemon interaction is really good.
It gives you a lot of flavor.
It pops.
Um, a very smart cupcake.
Thank you.
Okay.
In front of us are three stunning cupcakes.
The winner Of this challenge Congratulations goes to Here we go.
In front of us are three stunning cupcakes.
The judges have to make a delicious decision.
Will they choose Sharone's hazelnut and pistachio cupcake? I like my odds.
I like my presentation.
Fingers crossed behind my back.
Jake's chocolate lovers' delight? If it's my name, that's great.
I've got an advantage going into the next challenge.
I'm gonna rock it.
Or Whitney's coconut cupcake? I looked at my cupcake, and I was definitely satisfied.
And I'm just praying, like, please, please let it be my cupcake that makes it.
Okay The winner of this challenge Sharone, well done.
Well done.
Really well done.
Great job.
Absolutely phenomenal.
Never in my wildest dreams would I ever think I won a cupcake challenge.
I respect him as a fellow cook.
He works hard, he goes for it.
But, as a person, I don't like the dude.
He likes to Okay, how can I gently put this? Kiss ass a lot.
I think he feels like it's gonna get him ahead in this competition, and I think he's sadly mistaken.
Sharone, you have a huge advantage in the next stage of the competition.
Ready to see what it is? Absolutely.
Let's go, big boy.
This way down.
Let's go.
Sharone is in control of the next challenge, where one competitor will be going home.
He has no idea that a surprise is about to be revealed in the pantry.
Under these three domes, normally, there's three ingredients.
Not today.
Because under these domes are three dishes.
These were made by one of the best Chefs in America today.
Wow.
And she's here to tell you all about them.
Please say hello To Cat Cora.
Cat Cora.
No way! Cat Cora is, like, one of my heroes.
I've been watching her cook since I was a young teenager.
I felt like a 16-year-old school girl seeing Justin Timberlake for the first time.
Oh, my God, what an incredible experience.
First-ever female iron Chef.
Recently cooked at the white house for the president.
And the new book, your Classics with a Twist, right? That's right, that's right.
I couldn't have asked for anyone better to come out of that door.
You're kidding me.
Okay, ready to reveal under this first dome.
First dish is This is my truffle halibut.
With a sweet corn sauvignon and a fava bean salsa.
It smells amazing.
It will rock your world.
Under the second dome.
Under the second dome is Beef.
Oh, wow.
Now, this is my basque beef tenderloin.
This is a Spanish rub that I have on there.
It's also got a spicy chimichurri sauce.
A little saffron, couscous.
This is one of the dishes i absolutely think is a perfection on a plate.
Okay, what do you want under that in a perfect world? In a perfect world? Yeah.
And if I know cat, that's gotta be lamb.
Okay, cat, under the third dome, what is it, please? Under the third dome is You were right--lamb.
This is a little more Greek style.
Um, this is my marinated lamb chops, which are absolutely to die for.
And my feta salsa Verde, with some fried, uh, just really nice, crisp squash blossoms on top.
Think carefully.
You're gonna choose the one dish that everybody else cooks.
Which one? I think that, based on the intricacy in making that dish I'm gonna go with Sharone got to choose what everybody else will be cooking.
But he didn't just get to choose the main ingredient.
He got to choose the dish.
Sharone chose for all of you A stunning Halibut dish.
Well, I've cooked fish before.
I didn't really know all the intricacies of the dish just yet, but I was feeling pretty good.
When we found out that it was fish, that it was halibut, I was like, "I got this in the bag.
" Never ate halibut in my life.
I'm like, "ah, .
" All of you are gonna have to cook this dish properly to the exact specification of that dish.
Because the one individual that comes up with the worst tasting looking halibut dish will be eliminated from MasterChef.
Lucky for all of you the person who cooked this dish is here today to show you how to do it.
Please say hello and a warm welcome for Cat Cora.
Yeah! She's one of the top world-class Chefs.
It was just like a star struck moment for all of us.
She's a slender, small Lady, but don't let that fool you, because she knows how to throw down in the kitchen.
So great to be here with all of you.
And you look excited and inspired.
It's a fantastic dish.
Challenging, but, uh, y'all look up for the challenge, right? Yes.
Sharone.
Yes, Chef? Everybody else is cooking to save themselves from elimination.
You're going beyond that.
Because today, you're going to be cooking against Cat Cora.
What? If your dish tastes better than Cat Cora's dish today, you will get catapulted to the Final Four in MasterChef.
Wow.
That's rightThat means, for the next couple of weeks, you can just sit on the beach and forget every other challenge until the Final Four.
That is a very privileged position to be in.
So my question to you Can you beat Cat Cora? So my question to you: Can you beat Cat Cora? I will do every single thing I can to put my heart into that plate.
That, I can promise you.
As much as I love Cat, as much as I'm absolutely obsessed with her, I need to find a way to beat her.
Cat is now gonna demonstrate how to cook this halibut dish.
Please watch carefully.
The individual that comes up with the worst halibut dish will be eliminated.
So we were all competing against elimination, while Sharone competing against Cat for, you know, a free ride to the Final Four.
On the back of a Cupcake challenge.
Okay.
Cat, you ready to start the demo? I'm ready.
All right, everybody.
Gather round, gather round.
All right, now this is gonna all be about watching for technique.
Because that's the most important thing when you're cooking.
As Chef Cat Cora demonstrates the dish, contestants must keep in mind that today's challenge is about observing and replicating her dish without a recipe.
The person who makes the most mistakes will be going home.
These take about literally a minute.
And remember, you guys are under the clock.
I was watching her prepare that dish like a Hawk.
It's her dish.
Yes, she can do it with her eyes closed, but I gotta beat her.
The secret to cooking a great piece of fish is you want a smokin' hot pan, so when you put it down, you get that really beautiful caramelization on your fish.
It's so important to flavor.
Okay? Okay, first thing I took away from Cat's demonstration was how she sampled her oil in the pan to see how hot it was.
Immediately, technique, first thing.
The deal with the fish.
I'll use it for the rest of my life.
Still looking for a really beautiful color there.
Now what I'm gonna do is I'm just gonna turn my fire off.
My fish, you notice, is still cooking, and the fire's off.
That's why you want to be really careful with halibut and in overcooking.
There's definitely a balance in that, watching Chef Cat Cora go, because you're like, "wow, this is Chef Cat Cora.
" Like, I can't believe this.
But at the same time, you gotta be like, "hey, I got a job to do.
"I don't want to go home.
I gotta just focus on what she was doing.
" Take this cream.
I'm gonna pour it into the blender.
Do a little puree.
You want it really nice and pureed.
Blend it up really good.
Strain it right into my double boiler.
You guys hear what I said? The double boiler.
And we'll start plating.
Ready to taste? Cat, that looks fantastic.
Well done.
Bravo.
Absolutely amazing.
Absolutely brilliant.
You've all got one hour to cook this halibut dish.
But there's two games going on here.
Sharone, you're cooking against Cat Cora to potentially beat the Chef to catapult you into the Final Four.
And you guys here are cooking to avoid elimination.
One hour, one stunning halibut dish.
Sharone and Cat, we won't even see you guys cooking because you'll be sectioned off.
Bring in the wall, please! Are we ready? Yes, Chef.
On your marks Get set Go! Off you go.
Let's go.
Whoop! In my head, I'm thinking, "what can I do "to beat Cat Cora at her own game, at her own dish?" I got one hour.
That's gonna decide whether I can jump to the Final Four.
You think he's gonna copy her, or do you think he's gonna go down his own-- I think that he is stupid and proud enough to try to do something to distinguish himself, definitely.
And that's gonna be a big risk.
Yeah.
He's got the safety net to think that he's actually not going home.
So you think, "I've got nothing to lose.
Go for it.
" Nothing to lose, exactly.
You already got those fava beans in? Yeah, they're done, babe.
Oh, man.
Now, Cat sauteed her corn and her red onions in olive oil.
Maybe I can butter up these judges just a little bit and use butter instead of olive oil.
And I thought maybe with some shallot as opposed to that red onion-- it's a little sweeter-- I can sweeten up the judges a little bit as well.
While Sharone is battling Cat Cora for a spot in the Final Four, the remaining ten are fighting to keep their MasterChef dreams alive.
Faruq, how's it going? Going pretty good, Chef.
Yeah? First thing she said from day one-- get your pan nice and hot.
Your gas is not even on yet in the pan.
Oh, this one right here? Yeah.
Never, ever start in a cold pan.
Have you cooked halibut before? Yes, I have Chef.
So you know how easy it is to overcook it? Yes, Chef.
Yeah? You gotta take your time with it.
Gotta take your time.
Jake How's it going? It's going fine.
Yeah, first of all, very tidy.
Yeah, you got everything set up first, chopped.
Absolutely.
Halibut you've cooked before? Yes, I've done a lot of fishing, caught a lot of fish.
Pretty familiar with fish, so Okay, good.
Yeah, okay.
Whoo! That's some smoke.
This isn't a competition about creativity.
And so I think it's gonna be really, really crucial to see who seasons and tastes their food every step of the way.
They've got to replica that dish now to prevent them from going home.
And for me, the biggest disappointment is when you get a dry piece of halibut.
Yeah, we should be able to hear it as soon as that fish hits the pan.
All right, Mike.
What's goin' on, bud? You got both fish in, huh? Yes, Chef.
So no safety net.
You're playing without a net now.
You went all-in.
All-in, yeah.
Remember, you're looking for that cornflake kind of golden, uh, uh, shine to it, you know? Okay.
Okay, Whitney.
Yes? What went in there? Um, I forgot the-- the cream.
Oh, really? So I put it in the pan first.
Well, if you're gonna add cold cream to puree, you got every chance of splitting it, so be careful.
Mmm! That's nice.
You dropped your fava beans yet? Yeah, they're in.
I'm watching them like a Hawk.
I know she's an iron Chef for a reason, and that's because she's always winning.
I've made this dish at least 1,000 times.
Oh, my God.
Or more.
And she's an ultra-competitive person, just like myself.
So I'm not expecting any freebies here.
All right, Cat, here's my trick.
What's your trick? I'm using shallots instead of red onion for the, uh, saute.
Hey, man.
Change it up.
Just hoping that'll be a little sweeter.
And that'll give me the edge.
When you tried the dish that Cat prepared for you What was the first thing that came to your mind? It was the light cream sauce.
You think that that's exactly like hers? It might be a little better.
I think I've got a little-- i added a little more corn, a little more on the garlic.
Thought hers was a little on the light-hand side.
You taste that recently? I did.
Now, don't break his dream, though.
You know, he thinks that it's better than Cat's.
Better than Cat's? I think it's good.
There, that's-- that is why you are David Miller.
Better? That's why.
Watch the cook on the fish.
You got it.
Okay, folks, we got 15 minutes left.
Sharone.
Yes, Chef? Your competition is trying to catapult yourself into the Final Four.
Up against Cat Cora.
I gotta be confident, or else I'm not gonna win.
Just let the dish talk for itself, you know? Slim, what's up? Uh You're already plating, huh? I already Up.
That's why.
My sauce was starting to separate, because I forgot to strain it.
That is one of the most important steps, 'cause it's the sauce.
You don't screw up a sauce.
Can you make another one? No, I don't have any more corn.
Ouch.
Yeah.
Oh.
There's nothing I can do.
I'm just looking around at other people, and I'm just like, "I'm going home.
" Ah, .
Right, four minutes to go, guys, yes? Sharone! Yes, Chef? Your competition is trying to catapult yourself into the Final Four, up against Cat Cora.
Everything was coming according to plan.
I was organized.
Things looked good.
And I keep looking about every 90 seconds to my right and seeing what Cat Cory's doing.
Making sure I'm keeping up with her.
You ready? I'm just about there.
Sharone I haven't been able to see you cook in the last 55 minutes.
So it better be good, yes? I hope so.
Hope you're proud of me, Chef.
Put all that bravado and cockiness onto the plate.
Did he say confidence or cockiness? He said cockiness.
13 seconds to go.
I am proud as hell of this plate right here.
This is my moment where I'm gonna go from the-- start move--rising from the bottom to the top.
TenNine EightSeven SixFive FourThree TwoOne And stop, guys.
Well done.
Good job, baby.
Oh, my God.
Good job, good job.
The judges couldn't see Sharone or Cat Cora preparing their dishes, so they don't know which plate on the MasterChef bench belongs to which Chef.
It's a true blind taste test.
Okay, Sharone, you are in a phenomenal position.
If you have a halibut cooked by you, tasting better than Cat Cora's you go straight to the Final Four.
SoVisually, right now, I don't know which is which.
'Cause the color of the sauces are identical.
Sear on the fish is identical.
It's glistening.
It's cooked perfectly.
Wow.
That's delicious.
One of these dishes is, uh Is truly wonderful.
But the other one is, um, world class.
That fish was cooked off perfectly on both plates.
The plate on the left is silky.
I mean, we all agree it's the better dish.
Okay, tough call.
But there's a unanimous decision.
Both fishes were brilliantly cooked.
But there's one dish that is accomplished, polished, and just seasoned to the absolute perfection.
If I beat Cat Cora in this challenge, I get a free first-class ticket direct to the Final Four.
Need I say more? Now, Sharone, if that is your plate, you're going straight to the Final Four.
And is that your plate? Congratulations, Cat Cora.
Well done.
Well done, well done, well done.
Really well done.
No way he was gonna beat Cat Cora, no way.
He doesn't have the stuff to beat somebody like Cat Cora.
You know, it's just not gonna happen.
Cat Cora's been doing this for years, you know.
This is the dish.
You know? He is a very good cook.
He is a very good cook.
But he needs to learn modesty.
Now it's time to taste everybody else's halibut.
And on the back of that, one of you Will be leaving MasterChef.
Sharone, well done.
Cat, would you please come and join us? Thank you.
Back to the station.
Right.
Slim Please, bring your halibut up.
First up, facing the prospect of elimination I think I did pretty well, it's just a did forget to strain the sauce.
Before I, uh, started whisking it.
Yours was the first piece of fish that hit a pan in this competition.
Why'd you cook it so early? Every time we had a competition, i always thought that less time had passed than it actually did.
You got the color, but it's completely overcooked.
Better luck next time.
Okay, at this point in the competition, this level, I'm not gonna even eat the sauce, because I don't eat garlic boiled in cream.
Graham said better luck next time.
I'm not sure there will be a next time.
Thank you.
I'm trying to be optimistic, but I'm like, "no, I'm screwed, I know.
" I knew I Up, but the thing is, did somebody else screw up more than I did? Tracy.
After crying over her cupcakes, can Tracy's halibut help her to safety? What I think missed on this dish that-- on Cat's dish, there was kind of like this cornucopia of salad, and it was just kind of like the fish was trying to break through an ocean of all these delicious tomatoes and the spinach leaves and the onions.
But, um, I think that, uh, the caramelization on the fish is yellow and Brown and nice.
The fish looks like it's cooked very well.
The sauce appears to be a little bit light.
Actually, the fish is excellent.
Thank you.
Perfectly cooked.
Very well done.
I think that's a good interpretation of Cat's dish.
And I think it's a dish that you could serve in a restaurant.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
No doubt.
Good job.
Okay, next up.
David Miller, let's go.
David has yet to win a challenge, but he's confident that this dish will change all that.
This is the sauce that's better than Cat Cory's, right? I liked it.
I thought it was, uh, I don't know.
You--you said it was better.
I was hoping it was better.
Oh, okay.
Maybe I misheard you.
No, it's definitely not.
Okay.
Mike, let's go.
Mike Kim, on the other hand, won last week's challenge, and has become a MasterChef frontrunner.
Mike, how are you? Okay.
You can definitely tell you didn't use all the cream, and I'll tell you why.
Because it's very, very thick.
Yeah.
Let's see what you-- what your fish here.
Um, is that done? It's actually a little raw inside.
See, now, that's a little bit raw inside.
Really, um, in the center.
I-I--yeah, I Mike, it's not working for me at all, babe.
I'm sorry, it's just not.
I mean, you know, it's one of those dishes where.
.
I know you put a lot of effort into it.
But I don't even want to eat it.
I'm sorry.
Mike has been a frontrunner.
Every single one of his things as just been, like, blowing my mind.
And to see him mess up fish, you know, lets you know he's human.
You know, I was thinking that it was not looking good for him.
For their latest challenge, the remaining ten best home cooks in America had to replicate a Cat Cora signature dish.
So far, only Tracy has impressed the judges.
I think it's a dish that you could serve in a restaurant.
Thank you.
No doubt.
Whoever plates the worst dish will have to leave the MasterChef kitchen.
Jake, let's go.
I was proud to carry that dish up and present it to these amazing Chefs.
I think for, really, the first time in this competition, I was like, "there's nothing I would change about that dish.
" Wow.
Now, that's absolutely beautiful.
You definitely listened to, uh, to what I said about a good balance to the salsa.
I see some moistness there.
The sauce, now, I don't know the taste.
I'm gonna taste it right now, but the sauce is absolutely stunning.
Um Not too thick.
Not too runny.
Seasoning isAmazing.
Thank you.
Well, guess what, Jake.
It worked and you rocked it.
Thank you.
Good job.
Okay, Whitney, let's go.
I definitely do not feel very good or confident about what I prepared for them.
And Cat Cora was tasting it, and I didn't want to let myself down but her down knowing that, you know, I did a crappy job of making her dish.
Hey, Whitney, how are you? Good.
Let's see, uh, how you did on your dish.
Um You know, the thing that I'm seeing with your sauce is a little bit-- it's actually a little runny.
I should not be able to, like, do that and then have it run like that.
It needs seasoning.
Anything can look gorgeous.
You can put it in front of somebody.
Taste is everything.
You definitely need some seasoning on that.
Okay? The fish, you know, slightly overcooked.
The actual salsa, not really seasoned.
You know, you had a really-- a really good chance to make all these things sing, and instead, they're just kind of They're not even hummin'.
Is sucks so bad, because I'd just gotten the top of the cupcake challenge, and then I turned around and I could see myself in the bottom three.
And that's definitely not where I want to see myself, knowing there's elimination at the end of it.
Okay, last but not least, Faruq, let's go.
So my confidence is high.
I said, "you know what? If this plate right here is gonna put me in the bottom three, then I don't deserve to be here.
Did you follow Chef Cora's method? Yes, very organized.
I tried to follow it to a tee as much as possible.
I think that you definite-- there's a looseness to the sauce.
Could have been a little bit thicker.
Okay.
That just comes from whisking it a little bit more and not rushing it too much.
Um, the salsa, just a little dry.
You know, there's not a good mix of the the-- the seasoning and the oil.
It's--it's too bad, man.
Thank you.
So it's a very thin slice of halibut.
That could be your Nemesis.
It could come back and bite you on the butt, because it can be overcooked instantly.
Damn, the fish is dry.
And it sort of falls apart far too easily.
You go through there, and it's like sort of Almost like a canned texture, and suddenly, as you see, you've got that dry skin on the tomatoes, and it needs that-- that umph, that marinade and that salsa sort of excitement.
And then, sadly, let down With the dryness of the fish.
What a shame.
Before the elimination, Cat Cora, along with the MasterChef judges, select the best dish.
Let's get to our winner.
And we all agreed that it was the dish that was closest to Cat's in terms of presentation, execution, technique, and the whole plate coming together as one.
Congratulations Jake.
Well done.
It was sort of like surreal.
I'm like, "okay, I'm pretty sure he just said Jake, or at least something that rhymes with Jake.
" It's--it's-- it's awesome.
So, uh, I was super stoked.
Now that the judges have chosen the best dish, it's time to select the bottom three.
And for one of those unfortunate Chefs, their time in the MasterChef kitchen will come to an end.
Okay.
First dish In the bottom three belongs to Mike.
Let's go.
That's right.
I did not expect to see you here.
How could you go from hero to zero in such a short space of time? Second person To join Mike Slim.
Having had the demonstration live, i don't expect someone with your, uh, enthusiasm for food to forget to strain a sauce.
Joining slim and Mike I am terrified.
If they call my name, I definitely know I'm just gonna break down.
Is definitely Faruq.
Let's go.
For the second week in a row, Faruq finds himself in the bottom three.
Yeah, man.
Like, I literally felt by this point I was bleeding out.
My dish wasn't one of the best today.
But, you know, I don't think it was bottom three material.
That fish died for a reason-- so that you could take it and put it in a pan and make it amazing.
It--it's so sad, it's almost unforgivable.
Gotta do more than just dream about being a great Chef.
You've got to practice it and live it every day.
Slim, I'm concerned about your one-trick pony style of cooking.
Mike You move a little bit too fast for your own good.
And, Faruq, you're lacking finesse.
Okay.
The person That is leaving MasterChef Is Faruq.
Oh.
Please take off your apron.
Your time is done in MasterChef.
NowYou follow your dream, you keep your head up high, because you have come a long way in a very short time.
It was a pleasure cooking here in this kitchen.
Meeting everybody.
And it was a privilege to cook for y'all.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
You made your family proud, Faruq.
When I walked off, there was no sorrow.
You know, just-- just being here, being a part of this whole MasterChef thing, man, the mentors that we were able to get, the advice that we were able to get, I mean, all that stuff was priceless.
I grew so, so much just by making mistakes.
The only thing that I'm extremely disappointed about is that I didn't get a chance to show what I can really do in the kitchen.
I can cook, damn it.
I can cook.
The remaining ten are about to be split into opposing teams for a challenge to satisfy some of the hungriest appetites in the country.
You're gonna be cooking for the backbone of America.
Truckers! What the hell's he asking for? Dude, you're doing the burgers, right? No, you are.
Oh, my God.
I can't serve that, dude.
Jesus Christ almighty.
The team that loses will face the dreaded pressure test, where one more contestant's dream of becoming America's first MasterChef Will come to a bitter end.
Faruq, please take off your apron.
Your time is done in MasterChef.
With one more cook out of the competition, the remaining ten are about to be split into opposing teams for a challenge to satisfy some of the hungriest appetites in the country.
You're gonna be cooking for the backbone of America.
Truckers! What the hell you asking for? Dude, you're cooking the burgers, right? No, you are.
Oh, my God.
I can't serve that, dude.
The team that loses will face the dreaded pressure test.
Where one more contestant's dream of becoming America's first MasterChef will come to a bitter end.
Nearly 100 miles from the pristine MasterChef kitchen, the remaining ten competitors find themselves in the middle of the harsh wasteland of the California desert with no idea what today's challenge holds.
You see desert on your left, and you see snow-capped mountains on your right, and a whole bunch of nothing.
Some--some abandoned buildings.
Who knows what's gonna happen? This is nuts, man.
Okay.
That's gordon in the front seat.
It is him.
Hey! Okay.
Right.
Good morning.
Good morning.
You've cooked for us.
You even had the chance to cook for Cat Cora.
But now it's time to cook for the people who are clearly the backbone of this country.
Today your challenge is to cook for 100 hungry-ass truck drivers.
Yeah! You guys are gonna make them the ultimate truck stop dish.
Hamburgers.
All right, all right.
I was a trucker for many years, and I've spent certainly my fair share of time at truck stops, so it totally, you know, struck a chord with me.
I was like, "yeah, this is gonna be cool.
I can really dig in and get into this.
" Nothing says America like a hamburger.
You've probably had 100 in your lifetime.
I probably had 50 last week.
I guarantee these truckers have had more.
Some of them eat them every day of their lives.
Today you'll be competing in teams.
A blue team versus a red team.
Each team will have their own truck behind you full of the most amazing ingredients, from Chuck steak to pork to seasoning.
Everything you need to make that ultimate burger is in that truck.
Now You have to grind the meat yourselves.
Oh ho ho ho ho.
So therefore, you put the combination together, whether it's beef, pork, lamb.
That's your choice.
Remember, these guys are long haul truckers.
What's it gonna take to win them over? Is it a gourmet burger? Is it a burger that has more of an americana sensibility? So think about it very carefully.
Jake.
Yes, Chef.
You clearly had the most stunning halibut dish in our last challenge, so therefore you get to pick your team.
Yes, Chef.
Come over here please, Buddy.
Jakey! How you feeling? I feel great.
I'm gonna ask for you to nominate the first member of your team.
Okay.
Jake, with his experience with beef, that's gonna be the winning team, in my mind.
I wanted to be a part of that team so much.
To me, it would be a huge advantage in this competition.
First nominee is actually gonna be Tracy.
Oh, thank you, jakey.
I love this girl.
She's awesome.
She cooks with a lot of love.
Lot of passion.
Secondly, uh, I'm gonna go with this girl.
She kind of struggled on her last challenge.
And I wanna try and help kind of build her back up, you know, on a personal level.
So, Whitney, I want you to come over here, yeah? Thank you.
Uh, third choice, i feel like, going into battle, I've gotta have my guys on the ground.
That can lead the troops.
And today, that's Lee.
I want Lee on my team.
Jake won the challenge.
I immediately knew I'm not gonna be on his team.
We're both, I think, alphas, you know, and very dominant in our situations, like to do things our way.
I'm just ready to go to battle.
Ready to go to war on this.
So the last pick.
Take a good look at them, because it's your last.
I gotta go with Tony.
Tony and I, we're like peas and carrots in the kitchen.
And he keeps me level and keeps me calm.
I was psyched, you know.
I felt we had a rock-solid team.
Good, good, good.
Take one and pass them along.
Put them on.
Likewise, red team, take them on, pass them along.
Jake believes he has picked a winning team by choosing Tracy, Whitney, Tony, and Lee, while the remaining cooks-- Sharone, sheetal, slim, Dave, and Mike by default have become the underdogs.
We're not the team that was picked.
However, being an underdog is always extra motivation.
Nothing to lose, something to prove.
Each trucker will have a burger from the blue team and a burger from the red team.
Whichever burger they prefer wins the challenge.
The losing team will face a pressure test, and on the back of that pressure test one of you will be eliminated from MasterChef.
You'll all have 30 minutes prep time.
starting from now! Off you go! All right, let's go.
In the truck.
The teams have only 30 minutes before the truckers start to arrive.
In this short time, they must first select their meats, buns, and toppings, and then grind, season, and prep Right, blue team.
Burger, what is it? We're doing a, uh, got two different types of red meat going in here.
What cut of beef you got in there?? What have you got, short rib? We use, uh, short rib and, uh, short loin too, yeah? Short loin.
Yeah.
Any pork in there? No.
Okay, garnish for the burger.
What is it? Uh, butter lettuce.
Yep.
A slice of onion.
Yes.
Slice of tomato.
And, uh a killer little slaw we got on the side.
Okay, we're going with kind of a route 66 burger.
And top it with some killer slaw, you know.
Like the secret sauce, if you will.
How we doing, girls? We're great.
Are you done? Slaw is done.
Okay, let's get it out here, get it set up.
Ask what Lee needs for help, or help Whitney slice onions.
Okay, got it.
You girls start going on the meat.
These are Americans.
I think we should do 100% beef.
Meanwhile, the red team is also opting for a 100% all-beef burger and an eclectic blend of accompaniments.
We knew we had to make it powerful.
We had to add a lot of flavor in there.
Apple cider, vanilla.
I'm making a barbecue sauce.
I'm making barbecue.
Definitely bacon.
What trucker doesn't like bacon in a burger.
Good chunk of caramelized sauteed onions.
Swiss cheese, bleu cheese.
With a bold, spicy barbecue sauce.
That's a burger.
So, Dave just explain to me what's in there, please.
Bleu cheese, panko bread crumbs.
Yes.
Uh, granulated onion powder, granulated garlic powder.
And black pepper.
And smoked paprika.
Is there anything that's not in there? You putting the bleu cheese in the mix? Bleu cheese in the mix.
That's ambitious.
I really love blue cheese.
It gets beautifully melted.
and like you know, you can see the spots, it looks real cool you bite into it and it dribbles out.
Red team, blue cheese, inside the burger and then a barbecue sauce.
And bacon.
I think Red team has definitely fallen prey to the celebrity Chef burger syndrome.
Ten minutes left, guys! Ten minutes left! I'm slicing up some short ribs, getting the meat ready with Jake here.
Uh, we're doing a 50/50 combo with two cuts of meat.
Kind of very americana, but I think we're gonna pull this off today.
Whenever you have some patties ready.
Yeah, we're working on it right now.
Right behind you.
Jake took control.
Tony, me, Lee, this.
Whitney, prep.
You know, everybody got their jobs.
Everybody just fell in line.
We were a well-oiled machine.
You guys are kicking ass.
While the blue team remains calm and collected, the red team discovers a crucial problem with their beef and bleu cheese patties.
Oh, my God.
I can't serve that, dude.
It's--it's leaking all over the grill.
It's smoking everywhere.
The bleu cheese just gunked all over the place.
Got all over the griddle.
Melted through.
It was a complete disaster.
Yo, no bleu cheese in the Patty, please! Terrible.
Yeah, bad--bad call, guys.
No bleu cheese.
All right, you got it.
Two minutes left until the first trucker arrives.
100 burgers each.
Come on, dude.
With only two minutes left, the blue team's burger station is in full swing.
But on the red team, panic is taking hold as they scramble to prep a whole new batch of burgers.
Uh, we need a lot more meat, guys.
We're screwed.
Just turn those out first, brother, come on.
Where's the salt and pepper? Have to salt and pepper this.
The red team at this point is in Jeopardy of not having food when the truckers show up here in the next couple of minutes.
The blue team, judging from a dozen burgers on the grill and a set-up line will have food to offer the truckers.
Doesn't matter how good your food is if you can't get it made and put up in time.
Okay, guys, I think we can see the first trucker coming now! It's utter chaos.
Are you doing the buns? What's going on? You gotta-- you gotta do patties.
Come on, guys! We're like, "what the Is going on right now?" Oh, my God.
Guys, the truckers are starting to arrive.
Here they come.
Hey, how are you today? All right.
We're gonna get you a lovely burger.
As the first truckers roll in, the blue team is prepped and ready to go, serving up their all-beef Patty, topped with raw onion, lettuce, tomatoes, swiss cheese, and an old-fashioned coleslaw.
There you go.
You enjoy that, okay? I will say this is the best burger I've had in years.
Let's go, blue! Our burgers are firing.
Truckers are coming through.
We're feeding 'em.
I look over at the red team, and it's Utter chaos.
Come on, guys.
Patties, patties.
Patties over here.
Let her--let her do it.
What about the burgers? Dude, you're doing the burgers, right? No, you are.
Scrapping the bleu cheese from their Patty mix has put the red team way behind schedule.
Butter lettuce! Butter lettuce! .
Butter? What the hell are you asking for? You're gonna put the burgers on.
You're gonna put the bacon on.
Me? No, no.
Oh, he's doing the-- the bacon's not ready, dude.
Buns are burning, bacon's not cooked, it's not cooking evenly.
That pan, I told you.
Open these up.
Here it's open.
These are open.
Red team.
Yes, Chef.
Seriously Get a bit of teamwork going on right now.
Look, it's looking a little bit embarrassing.
Yes, Chef.
Sheetal, they can't vote for the red team unless they taste the red team's burger.
I realize that, I realize that.
Help Dave make those patties right now, please.
Red team, any burgers ready, please? Yeah, can we serve? Come on, guys.
In all honesty, on a normal day, would you really wait for a burger when you've been driving for six hours? No.
No chance.
Just give me one done piece, Mike.
Thank you.
Finally, the red team is serving their gourmet, all-beef burger, topped with sauteed onion, bacon, swiss cheese, and their secret weapon-- Sharone's chipotle barbecue sauce.
There we go, man.
Enjoy, bon appetit.
That's the first burger out, guys.
Yeah, congratulations.
With 100 hungry truckers to be served, the race is on.
The first team to 51 votes wins, while the losing team faces the dreaded pressure test, where one person will be eliminated.
Okay, red team, blue team, listen to me.
Chris has had a burger from each team.
He's now gonna cast the first vote on which one he prefers.
So two different burgers, one from the blue team, and one from the red team.
Come on, baby blue.
I am not feeling confident at all with our first trucker.
But what I did know is that we were making a kick-ass burger.
And that burger was gonna be the best burger out there.
Interesting combinations.
Which one did you prefer? Was it for the blue team or the red team? It's got to be blue.
It's got to be blue.
Let's go, blue! We might be disorganized, but we make a hell of a burger.
Come on! Pull it.
The red team.
Hallelujah! Why do you prefer the red team over the blue team? The sauce was good.
Right.
And the hamburger was good.
I mean, it was done just right.
That don't mean nothing.
That's one burger.
Red team or the blue team? Red team! Red team, wow.
Off you go.
Yeah! I had just told my blue team whatever's Happening with the scoreboard, it doesn't matter.
Just stay focused on the job at hand, and the best burger will win.
There you go.
You enjoy that, okay? It was great coleslaw.
Good.
It was, like, homemade, like your mom would make, you know? Make sure you vote for the blue team.
5, 3.
Okay, red team, it's 5, 5.
Keep it going, guys, come on.
Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Let's go, blue! No competition at all.
Red team.
Yeah, baby! We're feeling better.
You know, we got a rhythm going.
Yes.
And I think that was our problem to start.
We were all over the place.
Now it's our turn.
We're just like a perfectly oiled machine.
And then I look over at the score, and we're tied.
It's game time.
Dip them in the fat, and then just give them a quick sear, and put them on here for me.
I got you.
And put my buns there, and then you're gonna toast them right up here.
In a bold move to break the tie, Sharone comes up with a clever idea.
Yeah, get that bacon in there.
Yeah.
Hell, yeah.
I took a bun, put it in that bacon grease, let it sit in there for a couple minutes and marinate, and do what it wanted to do.
Then I put it back on the grill, and I got really the most beautiful, toasted bun you've ever seen in your life.
Yeah.
Wow, that is-- that is a show-stopper right there.
Look at that.
We're making bacon buns.
Oh, yeah.
Bacon bun? Bacon bun? Oh, yeah! Adaptability, baby.
I'm not worried.
There's a bunch of blue plates out there right now.
They're gonna end up walking up there, tugging on that blue handle.
That's what I'm talking about.
Yeah-yeah! Whoo! Red gets my vote.
Come on, blue.
Oh, yeah! That just hit 30.
Red team, well done.
All of a sudden, the red score board starts lighting up like crazy, and I was just like, "how is this possibly happening?" This is the burger that is beating your ass at the moment.
Have a taste, guys, yeah? It's not too late to adjust.
First one to 51, yeah? With the red team surging ahead, Gordon offers the blue team a taste of the opposition's burger.
Raw bacon right out of the Gate.
I'd serve no bacon before I'd serve raw bacon.
A little dense.
A little dense.
A lot dense.
That burger I just tasted was gross.
To me, it was gross.
It was a Burger slathered in barbecue sauce and raw bacon.
Okay, you're cooking for truckers.
We do the best we can.
Now it's gone a little bit too plain, and it's not too late to change, that's what I'm saying.
Absolutely.
Yes, Chef.
Good.
I've heard you.
Thank you.
There you go.
Absolutely.
I heard what Gordon had said, but I'm not just gonna jump ship in the middle of my deal and take off in a different direction.
You picked the teams Yeah.
You change the recipe.
I'm proud of my team.
I'm not asking you-- we win together, we lose together.
Don't sound like a loser, you want to win this competition, right? Absolutely.
We will win this competition.
Good.
Let me put it to you this way, there is no Way that the red team had a better burger than the blue team.
Yeah! Whoo! You're seven away from winning.
Red team seven burgers away from winning.
Red team are now serving double burgers, yeah? You got a double well done, right? Double with cheese.
Double with cheese.
Double burger, medium, with cheese, crispy bacon.
You're talking my language! We're kicking the blue team's butt here.
Double Patty, double cheese, double bacon, extra everything.
We adjusted, we improvised, we were adaptable, and that was our edge.
Six burgers away from winning! Come on! Come on! These people are saying it's the best burger they've had.
They love the sauce.
I think this is where-- it's not only cooking.
You got to do some marketing.
You got to think like a restaurateur.
Look at this.
Mike is out on the floor, tableside, spooning out barbecue sauce.
Here we go.
What do we got?.
Red team? Red or blue? Red? Another red.
Come on, guys.
Yeah, come on! Come on, man, we need to sell these burgers, baby.
Go, don't worry about the temperature.
Just serve them.
Serve them.
Come on, red team! We need a vote.
We need a vote.
Let's go, blue.
Let's go, blue.
47, amazing.
Come on! So, guys, remember, the first one to 51 wins.
Tracey, come on.
We need all those burgers served.
All the burgers-- okay, no problem.
Yes.
Oh.
Two more, guys.
Here we go.
On that board is 50.
One more vote.
Okay, red team, blue team, this next vote could win the competition for the red team if this trucker pulls that cord.
Sir, off you go.
Blue! Okay, this next vote could win the competition for the red team.
If this trucker pulls that cord.
Blue! Our burger was the better burger.
The weaker burger won today.
Not only did we win, we kicked the really cocky team's butt.
Who still, after we won, thought that they had a better burger.
I let the truckers speak for themselves.
And they spoke red team all the way.
With the red team safe, the blue team his about to face the dreaded pressure test that will send one of them home.
This is my first pressure test, so the only thing I know to expect is the absolute unexpected.
This means business.
You know, somebody's gonna actually go home today.
It's tense.
I was legitimately scared.
Under this black curtain in front of you are 25 ingredients.
They feature things from all over the world.
You have ingredients that you might be comfortable with.
You might have things here that you've never seen before.
Now this is a unique pressure test.
Identifying these ingredients with your eyes.
Yes? Today's pressure test, you'll guess as many ingredients as you can in a row.
When you get an ingredient wrong, your time is done.
The individual that guesses the fewest ingredients from this table, is leaving MasterChef.
Out of this whole team, I'm the only one who's actually faced a pressure test already, so I'm kind of confident with knowing I'm the only one who's experienced this already.
Jake, you're going first.
Let's go.
I'm thinking, "oh, wow.
"I'm gonna walk in and the judges are gonna say, "okay, Tracy, you have to name because Jake is gonna get all 25.
" Okay, Jake Be clever.
Good luck.
Thank you.
Joe, Graham.
I'm looking at these 25 ingredients, and I'm like, okay, boom, boom, boom.
My eyes are darting around, I'm seeing a bunch of stuff that I get, I'm seeing a few things that I probably am pretty sure about, and then I'm seeing a handful of things that I'm kind of, like, I don't really know what that is.
I was shooting for 20.
Okay, Jake.
Take one ingredient, onto the table, and tell us exactly what it is.
What are they? Those are golden raisins.
Correct.
One.
I know exactly why it's called a pressure test, because you are under a tremendous amount of pressure.
It's one shot on each ingredient, and if you get it wrong, that's it.
That's your number.
So there's zero room for error.
Jake, what is that? Tomatillo.
Correct.
Well done.
Two.
I was just really trying to stick with what I knew, and work my way through those ingredients.
What is that? Uh, made soup from it many times.
Uh, it's butternut squash.
Three.
Well done.
This is about touching Absolutely.
Texture.
Identification with the eyes.
Cooking with the eyes.
Okay.
What are they? Macadamia nuts.
Congratulations.
Four.
Good job.
Confident start.
And not the easiest ingredients you've chosen.
Love it.
I'm thinking, "oh, man.
"He's gonna set the bar real high for the rest of 'em," 'cause he knows his ingredients really well, so whoever's gonna come next is gonna have it hard.
What is that? That is definitely Rosemary.
Congratulations.
Well done.
My strategy was get as much as you know down, and then go to the stuff that you, you know, are 70% or 80% sure on.
That's a plantain.
Correct.
Well done.
That's lemongrass.
It's a filet.
Smoked salmon.
Congratulations.
Well done.
And if you get through that, eventually, me personally, was gonna be faced with I've never even seen before.
Wow.
Jake, what is that? Uh, it's okra.
Correct.
Well done.
Ten.
15 left.
Keep it going.
Really good start.
Jake, what is that? That's rhubarb.
Rhubarb.
Well done.
Excellent.
Correct.
How many are you unsure about now? Oh, maybe half a dozen.
Okay.
The 12th ingredient.
Tough one, this one.
The pressure's really on.
Okay.
Have you ever cooked with that ingredient before? Uh, I really don't cook it.
I've just kind of Used it in dishes, but not so much cooking it.
It cooks brilliantly.
It does.
What is that? UhSorrel? Sorrel.
Sorrel.
Jake That is Watercress.
Ah! You were sorely mistaken.
Jake, you've scored 11 out of 25.
Sorrel.
Jake! No way.
I'm thinking to myself, "dude, you blew it.
You're done.
" Buh-bye.
Jake, you've scored 11 out of 25.
Right.
Hopefully, that's enough.
Yeah.
At that moment, I thought I had just handed this competition over.
Next up is Tony.
Let's go.
Okay, Tony, pressure test.
The number to beat is 11 out of 25.
I was like, Jake got 11? I was pegging Jake to get, like, 22 or something like that.
But I felt, like, you know, I had a shot at, you know, at least getting a dozen of these things.
Think wisely.
Tony, what is that? That is Rosemary.
Congratulations.
Well done.
Good start.
Okay Ingredient number two.
What is that? I'm gonna say it's a nectarine.
Congratulations.
Well done.
I'm starting to, like, cycle through my brain, through the mental rolodex here, like Tony, what is that? Believe it is a catfish.
I'm gonna say that's a macadamia nut.
I'm like, "all right, you know, I know what that is.
"I know what that is.
I know what that is.
I know what that is.
" You know, I feel like, "all right, you know, I think I can get to 11 and at least tie Jake here.
" Uh, tomatillo.
Well done.
What is that? I'm gonna say it's okra.
I'm gonna say it's bleu cheese.
You're over there, and you're watching somebody that's got your fate in their hands.
It's a super emotional train wreck just waiting to happen.
I'm gonna say that's a filet mignon.
I'm gonna go with plantain.
Lucky number nine.
Come on, Tony.
Let's go, Tony.
Few more, Buddy.
Next ingredient.
Is it gonna send you to double figures? Think wisely.
Ingredient number ten.
What is that? I believe it's a passion fruit.
That's just jumping out at me right now, just seeing the way it's laying down.
So I'm gonna go with a passion fruit.
If you're right, you're one ingredient away from tying with Jake.
That ingredient is a Fruit But not passion.
It's a star fruit.
Passion fruit.
I don't know what I was thinking.
I never would have thought twice about it.
I would have said a star fruit.
I've seen it in the market I'm an idiot.
Jake.
Yes, Chef.
Big, deep breath.
Climb the stairs.
Congratulations.
I shot myself in the foot.
I knew what so many other things were on that thing.
Lee, let's go.
Okay.
The number to beat is nine.
Nine.
Nine.
I am extremely happy.
All I need to do is guess ten, and I know that I have this.
These are things that I can name in my sleep.
In my hand, I have a nectarine.
This is a butternut squash.
Right here I have Rosemary.
This is a papaya.
Here I have macadamia nuts.
This is okra.
These are golden raisins.
These are tomatillos.
This isStar fruit.
You're tied with Tony.
Well done.
Nine in a row.
Lee comes up And he just starts firing things off.
And I was like, "I'm screwed.
" You know, bring in whoever's next.
Bring in Whitney or Tracy.
Lee, get this right, you're joining Jake.
What's in your hand? In my hand I have smoked salmon.
Join Jake.
Congratulations.
Well done.
Ten in a row.
Thank you.
Well done.
He nailed it.
Going upstairs.
And then there were two.
Right.
Whitney.
Tony got nine in a row correct.
Good luck.
She's 22.
I'm like maybe, you know, the pressure That was quick.
First ingredient.
This is okra.
Dear lord, please.
I'm like, "you know, I need some company over here.
" A tomatillo.
These are dried black-eyed peas.
I see a lot of some Southern things going on.
You know, she started rattling 'em off.
These are golden raisins.
This is a butternut squash.
It's a nectarine.
It's smoked salmon.
It's Rosemary.
This is a papaya.
She went for the plantains.
I'm like, oh, Whitney, please say "banana.
" Please say "banana.
" Not an easy one.
What's on that plate? This is a plantain.
But no such luck.
Well done.
Ten in a row.
Good job.
It's starting to get hot.
Even, like, doing, like, signature dishes or cooking in that kitchen, I haven't sweat like I was sweating up there today.
Last up.
Tracy.
Doctor's in the house.
You're the last up.
The pressure is really on.
Tony, how you feeling? Uh, I feel like it's getting late early around here.
Tracy.
Yes.
Tony got 9 out of 25 correct.
Really? Seriously? Nine? He only got nine? Ten, the pressure's off.
Nine, you tie with Tony.
Any less than nine, Tracy, you're leaving MasterChef.
All right.
Being a girl from Georgia, I'm gonna go with these little babies right here first.
I'm thinking, "oh, here's another Southern girl.
" It is a sign of good luck, and these are black-eyed peas.
They brought you lots of luck.
Well done.
Good start.
Really good.
This is okra.
Plantain.
Catfish.
These are, um, golden raisins.
This is smoked salmon.
That is Rosemary.
This is Rhubarb.
Well done.
Whoo! Like, you know, bottom of the ninth, bases are loaded.
I only got one-run lead, and there's nobody out.
And it's not feeling good.
You got eight ingredients in a row correct.
You need this one to tie with Tony.
It is a nectarine.
You sure it's not a Georgia No.
I'm a Georgia peach.
That's not a Georgia peach.
Congratulations, Tracy.
You are now tied with nectarines.
Well done.
This next ingredient is either going to be my favorite ingredient or it's gonna be the ingredient that will haunt me for the rest of my life, other than a cupcake.
Just want to be absolutely sure.
You have to be 100% certain.
Right.
Um, okay.
Let me look over these ingredients in here.
I kind of zone in on, you know, this red meat.
It seems pretty straight forward, butThey have got to put a ringer on here.
They have got to put something on this table that is gonna trip up all of these smart contestants.
All right.
Let's do this.
You guys wouldn't trick me, right? If you get this ingredient right, Tony is eliminated from MasterChef.
I just hope I have what it takes just to make it back into the safe haven and keep my apron and keep on fighting here.
Name that ingredient, please.
This is if you get this ingredient right, Tony is eliminated from MasterChef.
Name that ingredient, please.
This is Filet mignon.
Tracy Just say it.
It's filet mignon.
Well done.
Congratulations.
Join the rest of them.
Tony, please come over.
Thank you.
Your journey's been amazing.
And you took us all by surprise.
Trust me, deep down inside, there's an amazing, passionate burning Chef at heart there.
Continue following that dream.
And if you don't find that dream, then give me a call.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Right on, Tony.
Yay.
It just bums me out.
That's not how I wanted to leave.
I beat myself today.
And, uh, that's the worst part about it.
I really wanted to shine.
Like, I wanted that day where I had the best dish, and I didn't get that chance, and, you know I got to learn new things in this competition.
I got to learn that I can go outside my comfort zone and I can cook with things I'm not familiar with.
And I pulled it off, and I mean, if I could do that, it made me feel like I could do anything.
You know, you only get one shot at this life, and you go out there, you just keep smiling, living and breathing and having a good time.
Next time on MasterChef The theme of the invention test is romance.
But some will leave with a broken heart.
Go back to your station.
I'm not tasting this crap.
When the amateur cooks must deliver on one of the most romantic days of all.
All of you are gonna be cooking For a wedding.
Some of them fall short of the occasion.
David, if you don't know where the salmon is Come on, right there! Look at me.
We're not done yet.
Look at me.
That is .
And must face the most intimidating pressure test to date.
Two of you will be leaving MasterChef.