Masterchef (2010) s03e20 Episode Script
The Winning Chef is Chosen
Let the MasterChef finale begin.
It's the biggest culinary show down of the year.
Family, friends, and former contestants have arrived to watch America's two best home cooks face off for the ultimate title.
There can only be one winner.
There can only be one MasterChef.
Will it be Josh or Christine who walks away with $250,000 I want this more than anything I've ever wanted in my life.
Their own cookbook Tonight's the night I make it happen.
And the title of MasterChef? The winner of MasterChef is MASTERCHEF S03 Ep20 - The Winning Chef Is Chosen Welcome to the biggest prime time culinary battle of 2012, the MasterChef finale.
It began long ago.
Home cooks all across America came out to present us with their very best dishes.
Every one of them hungry for the coveted title of MasterChef.
From the large cities to the tiniest towns Whoo.
They all had exactly the same dream To become the next American MasterChef.
We selected 100 home cooks and brought them all here to Los Angeles, California.
And only the very best 18 made it into the mast.
And now, only two remain.
Josh, a 24-year-old army contract specialist from Jackson, Mississippi.
He shot into this competition bursting with confidence How would you rate that out of 10? I would rate it a 10 1/2.
Blowing us away with his robust flavors This dish rises to the top.
Josh.
Guts and determination What's the deal with the pancakes? A fierce competitor throughout Yeah! He became a force to be reckoned with.
That was the one dish that can be put into any of our restaurants.
- You could win this thing.
- That's the plan.
And it was Josh's complex flavor profiles that propelled him this far.
Spicy? - Spicy good.
- Okay, great.
It's so flavorful.
If I was to win MasterChef, it would just be the beginning of so many great things to come in the future, like open a cooking school and have that cookbook deal and share my passion with others.
And I feel completely unstoppable.
Tonight, can Josh's bold flavors be the key to winning the MasterChef title? And Christine, a 32-year-old creative writing student from Houston, Texas.
From the start, she captivated us with her authentic Asian flavors and techniques.
Do you know what I'm gonna give you? - A white apron? - A white apron.
I'll come and get it.
Not many believed she could make it this far.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
With so many obstacles to overcome Fire! Can you help me? It pierced me.
I'm not here to just be an inspiration, to be a gimmick, you know? I wanna be taken seriously.
- The flavor's amazing.
- Yes, chef.
You've got to believe in yourself more.
She staked her claim for the title by relying on her instincts and her palate.
It's a Vietnamese desert.
This is a smart use of spices.
It is wildly flavorful.
You cook like an angel.
My life would change if I win this thing.
I can finally have my face on a cookbook and open restaurants and cafes.
I want that title.
Tonight, can Christine beat all the odds and be crowned MasterChef? One of you two amazing home cooks will win $250,000, publish your very own cookbook, and earn the most coveted prize in the world of food, the title of MasterChef.
And it's all happening right now.
Josh, can you believe that you made it this far? Believe or not, I-I can.
It's incredible.
Every single challenge has been one to remember.
And I learned so much from every single one.
And I'm ready to put that on a plate today.
What do you think your mom and sister's family would say if they were here right now? Man.
They'd be just crying and just beaming with Joy.
Josh, let's find out in their own words how supportive they are of what you're doing, and how proud they are of how far you've come.
- I love you, Josh.
- We love you, Josh.
Ooh! I love you.
Paulette, if there's one piece of advice you'd like to give him now, what would it be? Follow your dreams 'cause I know that you have the dedication, the perseverance, and most of all, the strength and toughness to handle it all.
Thank you.
Christine, you've been here in the MasterChef kitchen for a long, long time.
I'm guessing you've missed your husband.
Yes.
Here he is.
My brother, my mom.
My God.
Hi! My God! My God! Yes! John, your dear wife has been absolutely phenomenal across this competition.
I'm so proud of her for being this far.
Your mom would be so proud of you.
So proud.
I've had to deal with so many challenges in my life.
I'm an only child, and my mom passed away when I was young.
And dealing with my vision loss If I've been able to overcome that, then I can overcome anything.
There's no stopping me now.
Families, whilst we're grateful for your support, please It's time to say good-bye and wish them all the best, 'cause they're gonna need it.
I feel like I'm prime time, front row and center, back on the court, ready to tip-off and win this competition.
Josh, Christine You have now just two hours to cook the most sensational three-course meal of your lives.
We're looking for the most stunning appetizer, the most amazing entree, and the most delicious dessert.
Christine and Josh, please take your positions for the MasterChef finale.
- Let's go.
- Come on.
Josh, Christine, anything you wanna say to each other? Good luck But I got it though.
It's mine, baby.
Let the MasterChef finale begin.
Come on, come on, come on.
Throughout the entire journey, everybody thought, "oh, he's just a boy from the South.
And he cooks Southern soul food.
" But this isn't the time to playing it too safe.
So today I'm making a three-course meal.
My appetizer's gonna be lobster and grits.
For my entree, I'm gonna make a rack of lamb with a green curry spice.
And for dessert, I'm making a bacon pecan pie.
I wanna win this thing so bad.
It's gonna take a lot of bold flavors.
I'm gonna have to continue to just punch the judges in the mouth with flavor like I've been doing for the entire competition.
Peanuts.
Yeah, the roasted, salted.
Well, the dishes I'm making all sort of, you know, bring me back to childhood, bring me back to my mom's home cooking.
Can I get some dungeness crab? Same sort of flavors, but elevated.
Green papaya, jicama, cucumber.
My appetizer will be a Thai vegetable salad.
Pork belly.
My entree is a braised pork belly.
And my dessert is a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile.
The ingredients are fairly simple, but the flavors are really bold.
Winning that title of MasterChef is my destiny, but I'm taking it all the way.
Come on, Christine! Let's go, Josh.
You got this.
The title is mine because I have the passion, the ambition, and the skills to win it all.
You got two hours to change your life forever.
It's the final battle in the MasterChef kitchen.
Come on, Joshua! Go, Christine! Come on! Josh and Christine have just two hours to cook a three-course menu of their choosing.
The winner will be the home cook with the best overall meal.
Only one of them can be crowned America's next MasterChef.
- This is it, incredible.
- Amazing.
Amazing journey coming to an incredle finals.
What I'd like to see is them doing something based on their roots, but also showcasing the journey.
I think, in this menu, that they have to bring a part of everything they've experienced, everything they've learned to show us, technique, evolution, and skill.
And ultimately, they have to show us dishes that are gonna blow us away.
So today, I'm making a three-course meal.
My appetizer is gonna be a butter-poached lobster cooked to perfection with sweet corn grits, uh, sweet potato puree that's gonna have a little bit of spice to it.
For my entree, I'm gonna make a rack of lamb with a green curry spice.
Those bones look great, Josh.
Just keep working.
Keep it up.
And for dessert, I'm making a bacon pecan pie with vanilla bean and cinnamon ice cream.
Looks good, Josh.
Good job, man.
Thank you.
Come on.
Josh is really taking a big step putting out a lot of technique.
He's taking big, big risks.
But it sounds heavy, the lobster grits, the rack of like lamb, and then the big tart to finish.
Right.
I mean, it's three weighty courses.
Yeah.
They're big.
And I mean, the thing is, is it gonna be able to kind of be cohesive? Tell me when they're about pea size, okay? Okay.
Today, my three-course meal consists of a Thai crab salad.
Is it coming out like noodles? - Yeah.
- Is it okay? Okay.
My entree is braised pork belly that's caramelized with coconut soda and fish sauce.
And then my dessert is a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile.
- Christine's menu - I think that Christine's techniques certainly have to be attributed to her handicap.
She can't see a perfectly medium rare rack of lamb, so she is choosing steaming and braising - where the visual is less important.
- Mm - hmm.
But what Josh hasn't got is the intensified palate Christine has.
But he can see.
There are some things that you have to see in the kitchen.
Where's the chef's knife? Chef's knife? All the way on the right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
- There you go.
- Got it.
Graham, who's your money on? My money's gonna be on Christine.
I think hers is gonna work.
If I'm making a bet right now, I'm betting on Josh.
Josh's food's more risky.
It's more technically complex.
I'm on the fence.
I'm gonna go either way.
Looks tasty, Josh.
How are you doing, Josh? - I'm doing good, chef.
How are you? - How are you feeling? - I'm feeling great.
- How'd you come up with that menu? Um, these are just some flavors that I enjoy eating.
Well, where are we going? Are we going deep South? Are we going European? Where are you going with this? We going all over the place.
We're going definitely European with the rack of lamb.
We're definitely going deep South with the pecan pie.
And it's gonna be elevated on the eurocentric level to, you know, please thealate of my judges.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Yeah, Josh! Hi, Christine, it's Joe and Graham.
- Hi, Joe.
- How are you? - I'm good.
- The steaming and braising, does that play to the fact that the techniques, they really don't involve having to see the food - at the end of the day, right? - Yes.
- A lot of room for error.
- Right.
- Are you playing to your strengths? - Yes, I belive so.
I think at the end of the day it's about, like, taste and texture and how everything comes together.
Let's talk about the entrees.
You have starred European restaurant food versus hawker stand street food.
You're looking great, Josh, seriously, doing so good.
Josh, he uses such big, in-your-face flavors.
That gives him an edge in that you have to be able to compete against that to really wow the judges.
Christine and Josh, we're halfway through.
Exactly 60 minutes to go.
Come on.
Beautiful.
Christine has to really nail the braising in that pressure cooker.
Here she is in the middle of finale blind, and she's allowing the pressure cooker to take some of the pressure off her.
- Smart move.
- Right.
That looks awesome.
It think Christine's gonna win because she has a lot better flavor profiles than Josh does.
The way she plates food is better than Josh does.
And at the end of the day, I just think she's a better cook than Josh is.
Gorgeous, Christine.
- All right, Christine.
How you feeling? - Hi, chef.
Um, I feel the pressure of cooking the meal of my life.
Sorbet's a bold move for a finale in dessert.
'Cause I think it's got the flavours here What's the flavor of the sorbet? Conut and lime.
And then I wanna serve it with a ginger tuile.
When I stick with what I know, that's when, you know, I do the best.
So, um, I'm hoping to bring it home tonight with that.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Okay, Josh.
How's it going? It's going good.
I'm getting my pie crust together.
I need to get my pie in the oven.
I'm gonna put, uh, a little bit of bacon in the bottom of the crust.
- Bacon? - Yes.
I hope you like it.
It's gonna have a lot of flavoring to it.
I've never had bacon in the crust of any pie I've eaten in my life.
I think it could be delicious.
I mean, a smoky kind of flavor.
Not, you know, salty bacon, but just a hint of it.
It depends on how much you use in that that crust.
Well, my plan on showcasing everything that I've learned here so far.
And I plan on wowing you guys.
All right.
Yeah! So desserts, who's got it? Christine's sorbet, a good nice, clean way to finish the meal.
I think today Josh, with the Southern pecan pie with bacon in the crust I don't know.
I'm kind of worried about it.
I think bacon or not, pecan pie, if it's done right, is amazing.
Absolutely.
- Go Josh! - Looking good! One hour and a half gone, This is it.
in the competition.
Oh.
Is he gonna blend that lobster shell? You're gonna get all the iodine flavor from the shell in the sauce.
Why is he pureeing his lobster? Josh, you want all that? Why why wouldn't he just crush it? Why would he do that? He might be ruining his dish right here.
What the? Oh.
Ooh.
Come on, Joshua! He might be ruining his dish right here when he turns that blender on.
Ooh.
I know what I'm doing.
I put lobster shell in the blender just to extract all the flavors from the lobster.
And I'm not really concerned about what everybody else thinks.
That is a technical mistake that might cost him that course.
I'm not leaving here without this title.
It's mine.
Guys, 15 minutes to go.
Come on, Christine! I really have no idea how this is gonna go.
Like, Christine's pork looks beautiful.
Josh's lamb looks incredible.
I wish that could taste their food, because they both look so great.
- Go, Josh! - This is it.
This is the Super Bowl of cooking.
Josh is cutting his lamb.
Medium rare or bust, Josh.
If it's overcooked, he's out of the competition.
I'm sorry but you can't take the most expensive cut of lamb in the world And overcook it.
Yep.
Josh, that's look beautiful, dude.
Perfect.
That looks pretty nice.
The rack is cooked beautifully.
You know, you see Josh's food is like any two-star restaurant in Paris, London, New York, you can have a dinner like that.
Right here? Christine, I see the whole southeast Asia myriad of flavors, complexity.
I don't even know which way to go.
Good.
Josh and Christine, just under five minutes to go.
Come on.
Start focusing on the plating.
Come on.
Let's go, Josh.
You got this.
Way to go, "C".
I think Josh is the next MasterChef.
I honestly don't think I have met anyone quite as determined.
He has more sheer willpower and passion driving him to do the very best he can.
Holy crap, Josh, that looks amazing.
Two minutes to go, guys.
Come on.
- We have ice cream.
- Whoo.
Yeah, Christine! I think Christine will win this because she doesn't put anything on a plate that she would not wanna eat herself.
She's got such a high standard.
Sixty seconds to go.
Come on, guys.
I want my plate to have that absolute freakin' wow factor.
Finish strong, Josh.
Finish strong.
I want this so bad.
This is what I came here for, and tonight's the night I make it happen.
Come on.
Let's go, Christine! Thirty seconds to go.
- God.
- Come on, baby.
Careful careful.
It's gorgeous, Christine.
Winning the title of MasterChef would mean so much to me.
It's finally my chance to prove to everyone and to myself that I really can cook, that I'm not a fluke, that I have a culinary dream just like everyone else here.
Here we go.
10, 9, 8, 7, - 6, 5, 4 - Is it okay? And stop! - Love you dude.
- Love you too.
Amazing! Josh and Christine, well done.
Thank you, chef.
So I'm looking at my plates and I'm really impressed with what I was able to do.
My entree looks like one of the best things that I put out in this competition, practically one of the best things that I cooked in my life.
Everything looks absolutely beautiful.
I'm extremely proud.
I'm definitely happy with all of my dishes.
The ingredients are fairly simple and inexpensive, but the flavors are really bold.
There's gonna be, like, a symphony of flavors in your mouth.
We will meet you both in the MasterChef restaurant, where you will serve us your appetizers, your entrees, and then finally, your desserts.
There can only be one winner.
There can only be one MasterChef.
It will now be up to our three judges to decide who has the best overall meal and who will win the title of MasterChef.
Josh, bring us your appetizer, please.
It's an enhanced version of shrimp and grits.
I upscaled it a little bit by adding a little sweet potato puree.
And I spiced it a little bit with a little bit of, uh, cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.
And I poached the lobster tail in clarified butter.
Have you ever made lobster stock before? I haven't.
Is this a good day to try out a new technique? Lobster's difficult for a professional chef to nail, let alone an amateur.
There's no second-guesses.
No two seconds over, two seconds under.
It has to be perfect.
The sauce Worked.
Lovely fine puree on the sweet potato.
I love the crispness of the fry on top.
What you've not got right is the actual nailing of that lobster.
It's undercooked, 'cause it's still translucent.
Nothing buttery about it.
It's butter-poached.
And I expected the taste of melting-in-your-mouth butter.
And unfortunately, you haven't got that air.
Very ambitious.
The grits, delicious.
The sweet potato really works.
It's nice.
The lobster, which is the hero and the main star, is the only thing that's making me question this dish.
So this is lobster stock? Yes.
I was completely wrong.
I think your lobster stock is profound and rich.
But the only cooking that lobster ever saw was when you poached it.
Once you shocked it in that ice water, that's when the cooking stopped.
You have a half-cooked lobster.
My whole MasterChef life flashes before my eyes.
The MasterChef trophy is at stake right now.
And the smallest mistake could cost you $250,000.
Man, I may have screwed this one up.
A lobster between cooked and undercooked is a very, very fine line.
You have a half-cooked lobster.
Christine, can you please bring us your appetizer now? Yes.
- That's it, the front.
- A little more, a little more.
- Stop there.
- That's it, stop.
I made a Thai papaya salad.
In addition to papaya, there's jicama and carrots.
And then I topped it with crab.
And it's dressed with a fish sauce type of vinaigrette.
Josh comes out the gate with a complex, hot appetizer.
You opted for a cold salad topped with crab.
I think I really just thought cohesively about the menu.
And I just wanted to start off with something light.
When you present an appetizer that simple, it really needs to deliver some dynamic flavors.
It almost resembles a glass noodle or linguine.
Was that the idea in terms of the interpretation - of the vegetables? - Yes.
I was running it through a spiral turner to get some of the vegetables to come out sort of like noodles.
Certainly the star of this dish in my palate is this dressing with its bright acidity, back palate of heat.
The vegetables are amazing.
I almost wish that I had more crab.
I wanted to preserve the integrity of the salad, so mostly it is the vegetable, and also the dressing, that should be highlighted.
I just added the crab just for a little bit extra flavor.
The flavor's really nice.
It's balanced.
It is asking for more crab.
It's good.
It's refreshing.
It's delicious.
You've got the seasoning absolutely nailed, but I wanted more luxuriousness to it.
At this stage, I just want you to go that extra mile.
Please, bring us your entrees.
Thank you.
I think, a great start.
Josh goes all out to create something from a restaurant.
That sauce was intriguing because I thought he was gonna absolutely screw it when he blended it, but the reduction tasted delicious.
I thought the plating was some of the best - that we've seen him do so far.
- Yep.
Biggest drawback? The lobster undercooked.
For me, it's Christine all the way.
The balance between the heat and the acidity of her dressing was compelling.
And the technique behind the vegetables was amazing.
Christine's dish was really yummy, but it was very simple.
And I give more points to him for going out on a limb in the finale and trying something like that.
- But he wasn't able to do it.
- But he did do it.
It just wasn't cooked properly.
I think you guys are both out of your minds.
I can't reward people who do not execute what they set out to execute.
Her dish may have been slightly more simple, but no way that undercooked lobster is better than that crab salad.
I put a lot of finesse into this entree, from the parsnip puree to the perfectly cooked lamb.
I think this plate is a winner.
Josh takes an expensive ingredient like rack of lamb, and then I take a cheap ingredient like a pork belly and try to make it a higher dining plate.
Josh.
I cooked the lamb medium rare and, uh, just a little drizzle of green curry sauce.
I also served it with some spring vegetables, peas and carrots and a parsnip puree at the bottom.
Great flavor.
Cooked absolutely beautifully.
Thank you.
But it's a rack of lamb with a sort of light green curry sauce.
And then you've served spring vegetables with it? Yes.
And so parsnips are winter vegetables.
In the professional world, you wouldn't put roasted parsnip puree, which is delicious by the way, with spring vegetables.
So I'm a little bit confused to where we're going with it.
Josh, you've come such a long way.
It's beautiful, the way it was presented.
It tastes good.
I think the curry adds to it.
It's used judiciously.
Everything on it is top-notch.
It is absolutely delicious.
Thank you, chef.
Spring lamb, summer peas, autumn carrots, winter parsnips? I would say, chef, as the great maestro Antonio Vivaldi, you have captured all four seasons in one stroke.
I think that this is an architectural composition of mythical proportion.
The fact that Joe, the food snob himself, loves my dish I'm extremely proud.
Bravo, maestro.
An excellent dish.
Thank you, Joe.
Christine, please, may I have your entree? Right there.
- Land it.
- Lovely, thank you.
I decided to go with flavors from home that my mother used to cook, so I braised and caramelized pork belly and served it with some rice and a quail egg on top along with some kale and maitake mushrooms that I flashed fried in the deep fryer just for added, uh, crunch and texture.
It's got that, sort of, simplistic, rustic, classic Vietnamese background.
You can see that.
But We're not in Vietnam, and we're not at home.
You're in the final of MasterChef.
I decided to go with flavors from home that my mother used to cook.
We're not in Vietnam, and we're not at home.
You're in the final of MasterChef.
I'm slicing through that pork belly.
If that pork belly is not cooked perfectly, this could cost me the title.
Um The pork belly I mean, it's delicious.
Yeah, you've got that fat Rendered down beautifully.
It's crispy on the outside.
It's rich, buttery in the middle.
And it just melts in your mouth.
I understand totally now the history behind the appetizer, because it is a weighted, delicious entree.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
What it lacks in appearance, it makes up in spades with that flavor.
The pork belly tastes delicious.
You said that you, like, fried the mushrooms as well? Yes, chef.
Yeah, I've never seen that done.
But I think I'll probably copy it for something, because it's awesome.
Thank you, chef.
I think if anything, perhaps the dish is slightly sweet.
I would love to have something more acidic on it, but an excellent interpretation of a very traditional dish.
Thank you, sir.
Great.
Thank you.
Christine and Josh, please bring us your desserts.
Amazing.
I mean, Josh's lamb I think very ambitious, very complex on the palate.
Execution, beautifully done.
Christine's pork belly? It wasn't as visually stunning as Josh's.
But that was one that you could have doubled the portion and just mowed down on all day.
But, you know, are here to mow down dishes? Or are we here to have cooks who show finesse? The pork was absolutely amazing.
And if that was in any of our restaurants, we would be happy to pay $20, $30 for that entree.
I think there is just as much technique needed to produce that pork belly dish as the lamb.
And to me, they're absolutely even.
Let's go, "C"! - Let's go, Josh! - Come on, Josh! It's been a long and pressured journey.
This is it.
This is the final chance I have at becoming the next MasterChef.
Come on, Christine! I think I have the best palate here, and that's what's going to win it.
Josh, please present your dessert.
Thank you.
It's pecan pie.
I added a little twist to it by caramelizing some bacon and spreading it on the bottom of the crust to give a little bit of saltiness and smokiness.
I also made vanilla bean ice cream with a little bit of cinnamon.
The crust seems to be a little oily, almost like some of that fat was still in the bacon.
Or maybe when it was cooking, it rendered into the dough.
But the ice cream is great.
And little pinch of cinnamon? I actually let a cinnamon stick steep in it while while I was cooking my custard mixture.
That's great.
It's, like, just enough.
It's beautiful.
Thank you.
- I love your ice cream.
- Mm - hmm.
Heavy cream or milk? Half cream, half milk.
- It's really good.
- Thank you.
Great consistency.
Mmm.
Ice cream Is great.
It's fragrant.
You got the ice cream absolutely nailed 100%.
The pastry tastes nice.
The pecans tastes good.
Bacon, I can't even gently detect it.
- What's the point? - What's the point? But, ice cream's phenomenal.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
My pecan pie is good, but I nailed the ice cream.
They loved that.
I mean, it was so good.
Christine.
Thanks, Josh.
- Right there.
- Very good.
I wanted to take the menu full circle and return to something cold and refreshing, so I made a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile on top.
I also sieved in some Kaffir lime leaves and the zest of two limes.
The tuile is beautiful, that corn flake gold color.
And the aroma that comes from the lime, we all smell it across the table right now.
But I was expecting this really acidic, explosive lime flavor, and it's more of a coconut sorbet than anything else.
There's a lightness to it.
The texture's right.
Interesting.
You know, it's fragrant.
It's cooling.
And it is timed beautifully after a severe pork belly.
Let me tell you, really good.
Thank you, chef.
The next time we see you both, we will be crowning one of you the next American MasterChef.
We'll see you shortly.
Well done, both of you.
Thank you.
Yeah, tough call, very tough.
You've gotta really absolutely focus on the balance of their menu.
Very difficult.
Yeah, you've got one phenomenally technical, naturally gifted individual that's incredibly young.
And you've got one playing to her roots with an extraordinary palate.
I think if the judges look at the big picture about the entire menu cohesively, then I think that my menu is stronger.
It was delicious.
The rice and the egg and the pork belly The complexity and flavor was tremendous.
Once again, Christine has really astounded me.
It really is incredible.
My execution was freakin' spot-on with everything.
I showed technique, and I took so many huge risks.
He's come such a far way on this journey.
I liked Josh's ambition.
I think that he nailed it on a lot of levels.
It looked visually beautiful.
I mean, a definite impression of quality.
Fundamentally amazing dishes.
When you taste them side-by-side, it's, like, so neck and neck.
One dish may have made difference in my mind.
Yeah, I agree.
Hands down, definitely.
It's tough, but I think it's clear.
Do you think that we made the right choice? For sure.
It's tough, but I think it's clear.
- Let's go and tell 'em.
- All right.
I think Josh is actually really talented.
But overall, my menu is stronger than Josh's.
That title is mine.
I'm not leaving here without that trophy.
Christine is very inspirational.
She's an amazing cook.
And she's a great girl.
I love her and all, but I feel like my cooking has evolved so much to a level that it really can't be matched.
The title is mine because I have the passion, the ambition, and the skills to win it all.
Josh, Christine Tonight, we watched a culinary battle between two home cooks.
But from this night on, you will now be known as chefs.
And as a result, you both earned the right to stand here.
Please, swap places with all three of us.
Thank you.
This, honestly, has been the most difficult, the most compelling decision we've ever had to make in the history of MasterChef.
Both of you exceeded our expectations.
As you know, there can only be one winner.
And that winner will make $250,000, the unique opportunity to publish their very own cookbook, and to get their hands On this coveted title.
The winner of MasterChef Congratulations Christine! Whoo! - Well done, my darling.
- Thank you.
Amazing.
I just can't believe that I'm the MasterChef.
My God.
Whoo! This has been the most amazing experience, seriously.
After all the obstacles I've been through, going up against such awesome, amazing cooks.
Come on, Christine! Christine is a tough competitor.
I love her.
I respect her.
I'm just proud to be able to compete against her.
I would never give up of my dreaming.
It will came true.
Without my MasterChef or not.
Is definitely coming true.
- I'm really proud of you, dad.
- Thank you darling.
If you think you're gonna test as the next America's MasterChef then visit fox.
com/masterchef.
Good luck! I'm a living proof that dreams came true against all odds.
I'm the MasterChef!
It's the biggest culinary show down of the year.
Family, friends, and former contestants have arrived to watch America's two best home cooks face off for the ultimate title.
There can only be one winner.
There can only be one MasterChef.
Will it be Josh or Christine who walks away with $250,000 I want this more than anything I've ever wanted in my life.
Their own cookbook Tonight's the night I make it happen.
And the title of MasterChef? The winner of MasterChef is MASTERCHEF S03 Ep20 - The Winning Chef Is Chosen Welcome to the biggest prime time culinary battle of 2012, the MasterChef finale.
It began long ago.
Home cooks all across America came out to present us with their very best dishes.
Every one of them hungry for the coveted title of MasterChef.
From the large cities to the tiniest towns Whoo.
They all had exactly the same dream To become the next American MasterChef.
We selected 100 home cooks and brought them all here to Los Angeles, California.
And only the very best 18 made it into the mast.
And now, only two remain.
Josh, a 24-year-old army contract specialist from Jackson, Mississippi.
He shot into this competition bursting with confidence How would you rate that out of 10? I would rate it a 10 1/2.
Blowing us away with his robust flavors This dish rises to the top.
Josh.
Guts and determination What's the deal with the pancakes? A fierce competitor throughout Yeah! He became a force to be reckoned with.
That was the one dish that can be put into any of our restaurants.
- You could win this thing.
- That's the plan.
And it was Josh's complex flavor profiles that propelled him this far.
Spicy? - Spicy good.
- Okay, great.
It's so flavorful.
If I was to win MasterChef, it would just be the beginning of so many great things to come in the future, like open a cooking school and have that cookbook deal and share my passion with others.
And I feel completely unstoppable.
Tonight, can Josh's bold flavors be the key to winning the MasterChef title? And Christine, a 32-year-old creative writing student from Houston, Texas.
From the start, she captivated us with her authentic Asian flavors and techniques.
Do you know what I'm gonna give you? - A white apron? - A white apron.
I'll come and get it.
Not many believed she could make it this far.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
With so many obstacles to overcome Fire! Can you help me? It pierced me.
I'm not here to just be an inspiration, to be a gimmick, you know? I wanna be taken seriously.
- The flavor's amazing.
- Yes, chef.
You've got to believe in yourself more.
She staked her claim for the title by relying on her instincts and her palate.
It's a Vietnamese desert.
This is a smart use of spices.
It is wildly flavorful.
You cook like an angel.
My life would change if I win this thing.
I can finally have my face on a cookbook and open restaurants and cafes.
I want that title.
Tonight, can Christine beat all the odds and be crowned MasterChef? One of you two amazing home cooks will win $250,000, publish your very own cookbook, and earn the most coveted prize in the world of food, the title of MasterChef.
And it's all happening right now.
Josh, can you believe that you made it this far? Believe or not, I-I can.
It's incredible.
Every single challenge has been one to remember.
And I learned so much from every single one.
And I'm ready to put that on a plate today.
What do you think your mom and sister's family would say if they were here right now? Man.
They'd be just crying and just beaming with Joy.
Josh, let's find out in their own words how supportive they are of what you're doing, and how proud they are of how far you've come.
- I love you, Josh.
- We love you, Josh.
Ooh! I love you.
Paulette, if there's one piece of advice you'd like to give him now, what would it be? Follow your dreams 'cause I know that you have the dedication, the perseverance, and most of all, the strength and toughness to handle it all.
Thank you.
Christine, you've been here in the MasterChef kitchen for a long, long time.
I'm guessing you've missed your husband.
Yes.
Here he is.
My brother, my mom.
My God.
Hi! My God! My God! Yes! John, your dear wife has been absolutely phenomenal across this competition.
I'm so proud of her for being this far.
Your mom would be so proud of you.
So proud.
I've had to deal with so many challenges in my life.
I'm an only child, and my mom passed away when I was young.
And dealing with my vision loss If I've been able to overcome that, then I can overcome anything.
There's no stopping me now.
Families, whilst we're grateful for your support, please It's time to say good-bye and wish them all the best, 'cause they're gonna need it.
I feel like I'm prime time, front row and center, back on the court, ready to tip-off and win this competition.
Josh, Christine You have now just two hours to cook the most sensational three-course meal of your lives.
We're looking for the most stunning appetizer, the most amazing entree, and the most delicious dessert.
Christine and Josh, please take your positions for the MasterChef finale.
- Let's go.
- Come on.
Josh, Christine, anything you wanna say to each other? Good luck But I got it though.
It's mine, baby.
Let the MasterChef finale begin.
Come on, come on, come on.
Throughout the entire journey, everybody thought, "oh, he's just a boy from the South.
And he cooks Southern soul food.
" But this isn't the time to playing it too safe.
So today I'm making a three-course meal.
My appetizer's gonna be lobster and grits.
For my entree, I'm gonna make a rack of lamb with a green curry spice.
And for dessert, I'm making a bacon pecan pie.
I wanna win this thing so bad.
It's gonna take a lot of bold flavors.
I'm gonna have to continue to just punch the judges in the mouth with flavor like I've been doing for the entire competition.
Peanuts.
Yeah, the roasted, salted.
Well, the dishes I'm making all sort of, you know, bring me back to childhood, bring me back to my mom's home cooking.
Can I get some dungeness crab? Same sort of flavors, but elevated.
Green papaya, jicama, cucumber.
My appetizer will be a Thai vegetable salad.
Pork belly.
My entree is a braised pork belly.
And my dessert is a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile.
The ingredients are fairly simple, but the flavors are really bold.
Winning that title of MasterChef is my destiny, but I'm taking it all the way.
Come on, Christine! Let's go, Josh.
You got this.
The title is mine because I have the passion, the ambition, and the skills to win it all.
You got two hours to change your life forever.
It's the final battle in the MasterChef kitchen.
Come on, Joshua! Go, Christine! Come on! Josh and Christine have just two hours to cook a three-course menu of their choosing.
The winner will be the home cook with the best overall meal.
Only one of them can be crowned America's next MasterChef.
- This is it, incredible.
- Amazing.
Amazing journey coming to an incredle finals.
What I'd like to see is them doing something based on their roots, but also showcasing the journey.
I think, in this menu, that they have to bring a part of everything they've experienced, everything they've learned to show us, technique, evolution, and skill.
And ultimately, they have to show us dishes that are gonna blow us away.
So today, I'm making a three-course meal.
My appetizer is gonna be a butter-poached lobster cooked to perfection with sweet corn grits, uh, sweet potato puree that's gonna have a little bit of spice to it.
For my entree, I'm gonna make a rack of lamb with a green curry spice.
Those bones look great, Josh.
Just keep working.
Keep it up.
And for dessert, I'm making a bacon pecan pie with vanilla bean and cinnamon ice cream.
Looks good, Josh.
Good job, man.
Thank you.
Come on.
Josh is really taking a big step putting out a lot of technique.
He's taking big, big risks.
But it sounds heavy, the lobster grits, the rack of like lamb, and then the big tart to finish.
Right.
I mean, it's three weighty courses.
Yeah.
They're big.
And I mean, the thing is, is it gonna be able to kind of be cohesive? Tell me when they're about pea size, okay? Okay.
Today, my three-course meal consists of a Thai crab salad.
Is it coming out like noodles? - Yeah.
- Is it okay? Okay.
My entree is braised pork belly that's caramelized with coconut soda and fish sauce.
And then my dessert is a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile.
- Christine's menu - I think that Christine's techniques certainly have to be attributed to her handicap.
She can't see a perfectly medium rare rack of lamb, so she is choosing steaming and braising - where the visual is less important.
- Mm - hmm.
But what Josh hasn't got is the intensified palate Christine has.
But he can see.
There are some things that you have to see in the kitchen.
Where's the chef's knife? Chef's knife? All the way on the right.
Right.
Right.
Right.
- There you go.
- Got it.
Graham, who's your money on? My money's gonna be on Christine.
I think hers is gonna work.
If I'm making a bet right now, I'm betting on Josh.
Josh's food's more risky.
It's more technically complex.
I'm on the fence.
I'm gonna go either way.
Looks tasty, Josh.
How are you doing, Josh? - I'm doing good, chef.
How are you? - How are you feeling? - I'm feeling great.
- How'd you come up with that menu? Um, these are just some flavors that I enjoy eating.
Well, where are we going? Are we going deep South? Are we going European? Where are you going with this? We going all over the place.
We're going definitely European with the rack of lamb.
We're definitely going deep South with the pecan pie.
And it's gonna be elevated on the eurocentric level to, you know, please thealate of my judges.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Yeah, Josh! Hi, Christine, it's Joe and Graham.
- Hi, Joe.
- How are you? - I'm good.
- The steaming and braising, does that play to the fact that the techniques, they really don't involve having to see the food - at the end of the day, right? - Yes.
- A lot of room for error.
- Right.
- Are you playing to your strengths? - Yes, I belive so.
I think at the end of the day it's about, like, taste and texture and how everything comes together.
Let's talk about the entrees.
You have starred European restaurant food versus hawker stand street food.
You're looking great, Josh, seriously, doing so good.
Josh, he uses such big, in-your-face flavors.
That gives him an edge in that you have to be able to compete against that to really wow the judges.
Christine and Josh, we're halfway through.
Exactly 60 minutes to go.
Come on.
Beautiful.
Christine has to really nail the braising in that pressure cooker.
Here she is in the middle of finale blind, and she's allowing the pressure cooker to take some of the pressure off her.
- Smart move.
- Right.
That looks awesome.
It think Christine's gonna win because she has a lot better flavor profiles than Josh does.
The way she plates food is better than Josh does.
And at the end of the day, I just think she's a better cook than Josh is.
Gorgeous, Christine.
- All right, Christine.
How you feeling? - Hi, chef.
Um, I feel the pressure of cooking the meal of my life.
Sorbet's a bold move for a finale in dessert.
'Cause I think it's got the flavours here What's the flavor of the sorbet? Conut and lime.
And then I wanna serve it with a ginger tuile.
When I stick with what I know, that's when, you know, I do the best.
So, um, I'm hoping to bring it home tonight with that.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Okay, Josh.
How's it going? It's going good.
I'm getting my pie crust together.
I need to get my pie in the oven.
I'm gonna put, uh, a little bit of bacon in the bottom of the crust.
- Bacon? - Yes.
I hope you like it.
It's gonna have a lot of flavoring to it.
I've never had bacon in the crust of any pie I've eaten in my life.
I think it could be delicious.
I mean, a smoky kind of flavor.
Not, you know, salty bacon, but just a hint of it.
It depends on how much you use in that that crust.
Well, my plan on showcasing everything that I've learned here so far.
And I plan on wowing you guys.
All right.
Yeah! So desserts, who's got it? Christine's sorbet, a good nice, clean way to finish the meal.
I think today Josh, with the Southern pecan pie with bacon in the crust I don't know.
I'm kind of worried about it.
I think bacon or not, pecan pie, if it's done right, is amazing.
Absolutely.
- Go Josh! - Looking good! One hour and a half gone, This is it.
in the competition.
Oh.
Is he gonna blend that lobster shell? You're gonna get all the iodine flavor from the shell in the sauce.
Why is he pureeing his lobster? Josh, you want all that? Why why wouldn't he just crush it? Why would he do that? He might be ruining his dish right here.
What the? Oh.
Ooh.
Come on, Joshua! He might be ruining his dish right here when he turns that blender on.
Ooh.
I know what I'm doing.
I put lobster shell in the blender just to extract all the flavors from the lobster.
And I'm not really concerned about what everybody else thinks.
That is a technical mistake that might cost him that course.
I'm not leaving here without this title.
It's mine.
Guys, 15 minutes to go.
Come on, Christine! I really have no idea how this is gonna go.
Like, Christine's pork looks beautiful.
Josh's lamb looks incredible.
I wish that could taste their food, because they both look so great.
- Go, Josh! - This is it.
This is the Super Bowl of cooking.
Josh is cutting his lamb.
Medium rare or bust, Josh.
If it's overcooked, he's out of the competition.
I'm sorry but you can't take the most expensive cut of lamb in the world And overcook it.
Yep.
Josh, that's look beautiful, dude.
Perfect.
That looks pretty nice.
The rack is cooked beautifully.
You know, you see Josh's food is like any two-star restaurant in Paris, London, New York, you can have a dinner like that.
Right here? Christine, I see the whole southeast Asia myriad of flavors, complexity.
I don't even know which way to go.
Good.
Josh and Christine, just under five minutes to go.
Come on.
Start focusing on the plating.
Come on.
Let's go, Josh.
You got this.
Way to go, "C".
I think Josh is the next MasterChef.
I honestly don't think I have met anyone quite as determined.
He has more sheer willpower and passion driving him to do the very best he can.
Holy crap, Josh, that looks amazing.
Two minutes to go, guys.
Come on.
- We have ice cream.
- Whoo.
Yeah, Christine! I think Christine will win this because she doesn't put anything on a plate that she would not wanna eat herself.
She's got such a high standard.
Sixty seconds to go.
Come on, guys.
I want my plate to have that absolute freakin' wow factor.
Finish strong, Josh.
Finish strong.
I want this so bad.
This is what I came here for, and tonight's the night I make it happen.
Come on.
Let's go, Christine! Thirty seconds to go.
- God.
- Come on, baby.
Careful careful.
It's gorgeous, Christine.
Winning the title of MasterChef would mean so much to me.
It's finally my chance to prove to everyone and to myself that I really can cook, that I'm not a fluke, that I have a culinary dream just like everyone else here.
Here we go.
10, 9, 8, 7, - 6, 5, 4 - Is it okay? And stop! - Love you dude.
- Love you too.
Amazing! Josh and Christine, well done.
Thank you, chef.
So I'm looking at my plates and I'm really impressed with what I was able to do.
My entree looks like one of the best things that I put out in this competition, practically one of the best things that I cooked in my life.
Everything looks absolutely beautiful.
I'm extremely proud.
I'm definitely happy with all of my dishes.
The ingredients are fairly simple and inexpensive, but the flavors are really bold.
There's gonna be, like, a symphony of flavors in your mouth.
We will meet you both in the MasterChef restaurant, where you will serve us your appetizers, your entrees, and then finally, your desserts.
There can only be one winner.
There can only be one MasterChef.
It will now be up to our three judges to decide who has the best overall meal and who will win the title of MasterChef.
Josh, bring us your appetizer, please.
It's an enhanced version of shrimp and grits.
I upscaled it a little bit by adding a little sweet potato puree.
And I spiced it a little bit with a little bit of, uh, cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper.
And I poached the lobster tail in clarified butter.
Have you ever made lobster stock before? I haven't.
Is this a good day to try out a new technique? Lobster's difficult for a professional chef to nail, let alone an amateur.
There's no second-guesses.
No two seconds over, two seconds under.
It has to be perfect.
The sauce Worked.
Lovely fine puree on the sweet potato.
I love the crispness of the fry on top.
What you've not got right is the actual nailing of that lobster.
It's undercooked, 'cause it's still translucent.
Nothing buttery about it.
It's butter-poached.
And I expected the taste of melting-in-your-mouth butter.
And unfortunately, you haven't got that air.
Very ambitious.
The grits, delicious.
The sweet potato really works.
It's nice.
The lobster, which is the hero and the main star, is the only thing that's making me question this dish.
So this is lobster stock? Yes.
I was completely wrong.
I think your lobster stock is profound and rich.
But the only cooking that lobster ever saw was when you poached it.
Once you shocked it in that ice water, that's when the cooking stopped.
You have a half-cooked lobster.
My whole MasterChef life flashes before my eyes.
The MasterChef trophy is at stake right now.
And the smallest mistake could cost you $250,000.
Man, I may have screwed this one up.
A lobster between cooked and undercooked is a very, very fine line.
You have a half-cooked lobster.
Christine, can you please bring us your appetizer now? Yes.
- That's it, the front.
- A little more, a little more.
- Stop there.
- That's it, stop.
I made a Thai papaya salad.
In addition to papaya, there's jicama and carrots.
And then I topped it with crab.
And it's dressed with a fish sauce type of vinaigrette.
Josh comes out the gate with a complex, hot appetizer.
You opted for a cold salad topped with crab.
I think I really just thought cohesively about the menu.
And I just wanted to start off with something light.
When you present an appetizer that simple, it really needs to deliver some dynamic flavors.
It almost resembles a glass noodle or linguine.
Was that the idea in terms of the interpretation - of the vegetables? - Yes.
I was running it through a spiral turner to get some of the vegetables to come out sort of like noodles.
Certainly the star of this dish in my palate is this dressing with its bright acidity, back palate of heat.
The vegetables are amazing.
I almost wish that I had more crab.
I wanted to preserve the integrity of the salad, so mostly it is the vegetable, and also the dressing, that should be highlighted.
I just added the crab just for a little bit extra flavor.
The flavor's really nice.
It's balanced.
It is asking for more crab.
It's good.
It's refreshing.
It's delicious.
You've got the seasoning absolutely nailed, but I wanted more luxuriousness to it.
At this stage, I just want you to go that extra mile.
Please, bring us your entrees.
Thank you.
I think, a great start.
Josh goes all out to create something from a restaurant.
That sauce was intriguing because I thought he was gonna absolutely screw it when he blended it, but the reduction tasted delicious.
I thought the plating was some of the best - that we've seen him do so far.
- Yep.
Biggest drawback? The lobster undercooked.
For me, it's Christine all the way.
The balance between the heat and the acidity of her dressing was compelling.
And the technique behind the vegetables was amazing.
Christine's dish was really yummy, but it was very simple.
And I give more points to him for going out on a limb in the finale and trying something like that.
- But he wasn't able to do it.
- But he did do it.
It just wasn't cooked properly.
I think you guys are both out of your minds.
I can't reward people who do not execute what they set out to execute.
Her dish may have been slightly more simple, but no way that undercooked lobster is better than that crab salad.
I put a lot of finesse into this entree, from the parsnip puree to the perfectly cooked lamb.
I think this plate is a winner.
Josh takes an expensive ingredient like rack of lamb, and then I take a cheap ingredient like a pork belly and try to make it a higher dining plate.
Josh.
I cooked the lamb medium rare and, uh, just a little drizzle of green curry sauce.
I also served it with some spring vegetables, peas and carrots and a parsnip puree at the bottom.
Great flavor.
Cooked absolutely beautifully.
Thank you.
But it's a rack of lamb with a sort of light green curry sauce.
And then you've served spring vegetables with it? Yes.
And so parsnips are winter vegetables.
In the professional world, you wouldn't put roasted parsnip puree, which is delicious by the way, with spring vegetables.
So I'm a little bit confused to where we're going with it.
Josh, you've come such a long way.
It's beautiful, the way it was presented.
It tastes good.
I think the curry adds to it.
It's used judiciously.
Everything on it is top-notch.
It is absolutely delicious.
Thank you, chef.
Spring lamb, summer peas, autumn carrots, winter parsnips? I would say, chef, as the great maestro Antonio Vivaldi, you have captured all four seasons in one stroke.
I think that this is an architectural composition of mythical proportion.
The fact that Joe, the food snob himself, loves my dish I'm extremely proud.
Bravo, maestro.
An excellent dish.
Thank you, Joe.
Christine, please, may I have your entree? Right there.
- Land it.
- Lovely, thank you.
I decided to go with flavors from home that my mother used to cook, so I braised and caramelized pork belly and served it with some rice and a quail egg on top along with some kale and maitake mushrooms that I flashed fried in the deep fryer just for added, uh, crunch and texture.
It's got that, sort of, simplistic, rustic, classic Vietnamese background.
You can see that.
But We're not in Vietnam, and we're not at home.
You're in the final of MasterChef.
I decided to go with flavors from home that my mother used to cook.
We're not in Vietnam, and we're not at home.
You're in the final of MasterChef.
I'm slicing through that pork belly.
If that pork belly is not cooked perfectly, this could cost me the title.
Um The pork belly I mean, it's delicious.
Yeah, you've got that fat Rendered down beautifully.
It's crispy on the outside.
It's rich, buttery in the middle.
And it just melts in your mouth.
I understand totally now the history behind the appetizer, because it is a weighted, delicious entree.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
What it lacks in appearance, it makes up in spades with that flavor.
The pork belly tastes delicious.
You said that you, like, fried the mushrooms as well? Yes, chef.
Yeah, I've never seen that done.
But I think I'll probably copy it for something, because it's awesome.
Thank you, chef.
I think if anything, perhaps the dish is slightly sweet.
I would love to have something more acidic on it, but an excellent interpretation of a very traditional dish.
Thank you, sir.
Great.
Thank you.
Christine and Josh, please bring us your desserts.
Amazing.
I mean, Josh's lamb I think very ambitious, very complex on the palate.
Execution, beautifully done.
Christine's pork belly? It wasn't as visually stunning as Josh's.
But that was one that you could have doubled the portion and just mowed down on all day.
But, you know, are here to mow down dishes? Or are we here to have cooks who show finesse? The pork was absolutely amazing.
And if that was in any of our restaurants, we would be happy to pay $20, $30 for that entree.
I think there is just as much technique needed to produce that pork belly dish as the lamb.
And to me, they're absolutely even.
Let's go, "C"! - Let's go, Josh! - Come on, Josh! It's been a long and pressured journey.
This is it.
This is the final chance I have at becoming the next MasterChef.
Come on, Christine! I think I have the best palate here, and that's what's going to win it.
Josh, please present your dessert.
Thank you.
It's pecan pie.
I added a little twist to it by caramelizing some bacon and spreading it on the bottom of the crust to give a little bit of saltiness and smokiness.
I also made vanilla bean ice cream with a little bit of cinnamon.
The crust seems to be a little oily, almost like some of that fat was still in the bacon.
Or maybe when it was cooking, it rendered into the dough.
But the ice cream is great.
And little pinch of cinnamon? I actually let a cinnamon stick steep in it while while I was cooking my custard mixture.
That's great.
It's, like, just enough.
It's beautiful.
Thank you.
- I love your ice cream.
- Mm - hmm.
Heavy cream or milk? Half cream, half milk.
- It's really good.
- Thank you.
Great consistency.
Mmm.
Ice cream Is great.
It's fragrant.
You got the ice cream absolutely nailed 100%.
The pastry tastes nice.
The pecans tastes good.
Bacon, I can't even gently detect it.
- What's the point? - What's the point? But, ice cream's phenomenal.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
My pecan pie is good, but I nailed the ice cream.
They loved that.
I mean, it was so good.
Christine.
Thanks, Josh.
- Right there.
- Very good.
I wanted to take the menu full circle and return to something cold and refreshing, so I made a coconut lime sorbet with a ginger tuile on top.
I also sieved in some Kaffir lime leaves and the zest of two limes.
The tuile is beautiful, that corn flake gold color.
And the aroma that comes from the lime, we all smell it across the table right now.
But I was expecting this really acidic, explosive lime flavor, and it's more of a coconut sorbet than anything else.
There's a lightness to it.
The texture's right.
Interesting.
You know, it's fragrant.
It's cooling.
And it is timed beautifully after a severe pork belly.
Let me tell you, really good.
Thank you, chef.
The next time we see you both, we will be crowning one of you the next American MasterChef.
We'll see you shortly.
Well done, both of you.
Thank you.
Yeah, tough call, very tough.
You've gotta really absolutely focus on the balance of their menu.
Very difficult.
Yeah, you've got one phenomenally technical, naturally gifted individual that's incredibly young.
And you've got one playing to her roots with an extraordinary palate.
I think if the judges look at the big picture about the entire menu cohesively, then I think that my menu is stronger.
It was delicious.
The rice and the egg and the pork belly The complexity and flavor was tremendous.
Once again, Christine has really astounded me.
It really is incredible.
My execution was freakin' spot-on with everything.
I showed technique, and I took so many huge risks.
He's come such a far way on this journey.
I liked Josh's ambition.
I think that he nailed it on a lot of levels.
It looked visually beautiful.
I mean, a definite impression of quality.
Fundamentally amazing dishes.
When you taste them side-by-side, it's, like, so neck and neck.
One dish may have made difference in my mind.
Yeah, I agree.
Hands down, definitely.
It's tough, but I think it's clear.
Do you think that we made the right choice? For sure.
It's tough, but I think it's clear.
- Let's go and tell 'em.
- All right.
I think Josh is actually really talented.
But overall, my menu is stronger than Josh's.
That title is mine.
I'm not leaving here without that trophy.
Christine is very inspirational.
She's an amazing cook.
And she's a great girl.
I love her and all, but I feel like my cooking has evolved so much to a level that it really can't be matched.
The title is mine because I have the passion, the ambition, and the skills to win it all.
Josh, Christine Tonight, we watched a culinary battle between two home cooks.
But from this night on, you will now be known as chefs.
And as a result, you both earned the right to stand here.
Please, swap places with all three of us.
Thank you.
This, honestly, has been the most difficult, the most compelling decision we've ever had to make in the history of MasterChef.
Both of you exceeded our expectations.
As you know, there can only be one winner.
And that winner will make $250,000, the unique opportunity to publish their very own cookbook, and to get their hands On this coveted title.
The winner of MasterChef Congratulations Christine! Whoo! - Well done, my darling.
- Thank you.
Amazing.
I just can't believe that I'm the MasterChef.
My God.
Whoo! This has been the most amazing experience, seriously.
After all the obstacles I've been through, going up against such awesome, amazing cooks.
Come on, Christine! Christine is a tough competitor.
I love her.
I respect her.
I'm just proud to be able to compete against her.
I would never give up of my dreaming.
It will came true.
Without my MasterChef or not.
Is definitely coming true.
- I'm really proud of you, dad.
- Thank you darling.
If you think you're gonna test as the next America's MasterChef then visit fox.
com/masterchef.
Good luck! I'm a living proof that dreams came true against all odds.
I'm the MasterChef!