Masterchef (2010) s04e21 Episode Script

Previously on MasterChef A team challenge take the home cooks to the new heights.
Keep it up, guys! Running one of the country finest restaurant, where the competition reach the boiling point.
There is nothing coming out! - Start again! - The whole round.
Got it, chef.
Of course the whole [bleep.]
table! And when the red team was declared the winner Yes! the blue team headed to a pressure test.
Calamari.
Where Bri was sent home for the second time this season.
Take your apron off.
Tonight, the judges welcome some very special guests Our sons.
as the heirs to the MasterChef throne - How about some ketchup? - Peanut butter.
take charge of the mystery box.
- Do you have a boyfriend? - I do have a boyfriend.
And then, it's a showdown for a spot in the final four What's the matter with you? I'm in big trouble.
with astonishing result.
In the history of this competition, this is the most difficult decision we've ever had to make.
The best feeling in the world top five.
This is where the real competition starts.
Welcome, guys.
Making top five is such a big deal to me.
Four people away from the title, from the cookbook, everything.
You are the top five home cooks in America today.
One of you will leave here with $1/4 million, your very own cookbook deal, and most importantly, the MasterChef trophy.
We're about to throw you a mystery box curveball.
Tonight, we have some VIP guests that will be putting together the mystery box.
Please welcome Our sons.
Aw! That's cute.
The boys are cute.
I'm not gonna lie.
Gordon's son is adorable.
He is a perfect little carbon copy of Gordon.
It's crazy.
I see three Joes standig there.
It looks like I'm drunk.
We have the judges This is my He's vocal and direct, just like me.
And then, Miles, age 13.
He's my eldest son.
This handsome little dude is Conrad.
He's only 2 1/2, but already has an exceptional palate and deconstructs his hot dogs with finesse.
And this is my son Jack.
He's 13, single And an excellent cook, and he loves great food.
For tonight's mystery box challenge, we are giving our kids that mystery box and sending them into the pantry to fill it with 15 items of their choosing.
With those ingredients and your limited staple pantry box, you'll have just 60 minutes to create us a restaurant-quality, delicious dish.
Not a dish for our kids.
You're cooking for us.
Understood? Whoever wins this challenge will get a huge advantage in the elimination challenge.
Boys, your time in the pantry starts now.
Off you go.
This could be very big trouble.
A bunch of kids have been given power over us, and now they're gonna pick stuff? They're gonna grab the most random things possible.
Super.
We're all screwed, I think.
Anyone for a glass of wine? Yeah, how about some ketchup? Ketchup looks good.
I'm thinking they're gonna be picking everything - from chocolate - These! To vegetables to things that just don't go together And pecans.
'Cause they want to screw us up and see how we handle it.
How about they make some coffee? Yeah, sure.
Coffee seems good.
Where is the bacon? They're gonna have a sweet tooth.
Peanut butter.
- They're gonna hate on us, I'm afraid.
- A mini pineapple.
Gonna be making desserts, probably, today.
Bee-ooh! Yes, mini marshmallows.
I think this is pretty good.
Here we go.
Wow.
White chips, chocolate spread.
Mmm! Nice.
Ketchup.
Uh, wow.
Thank you, guys.
Uh, peanut butter.
Man.
Peanut butter.
- Jack? - I just felt like a coconut.
You felt like a coconut.
Okay, great.
Oh, come on, marshmallows? I mean, honestly.
A baby pineapple.
Passion fruit.
- Finally.
Wow.
Some bacon.
- Ah! Oh, here we go.
We've gone back down again.
Cheese slices? Seriously? Maple syrup, bananas, blueberries, fresh strawberries, and puff pastry.
Wow, wow, wow.
They want it to be a gourmet, restaurant-quality dish, and how are we gonna do that with rainbow marshmallows and little squares of sliced cheese? Thank you.
Can't wait.
Let me remind you, we want a restaurant-quality dish.
Tonight, we expect you to show us that you can cook a MasterChef caliber dish with anything.
Remember, you're not cooking for these guys, you're cooking for us.
Your 60 minutes starts Now! There's a lot of ingredients in there.
I mean, this is so exciting to see how good they can become with unfamiliar ingredients.
It's very, very tricky.
They're out of their comfort zone, and we're asking them to perform at a very high level, so we should see which ones have the skills to manipulate these raw ingredients.
Tonight has to be about desserts.
What dessert would you make? I would do a stunning white chocolate mint foie with some caramelized banana.
I would go on a tropical route, maybe even try to do a pineapple carpaccio, garnish it with some passion fruit.
Tough one, though.
I'm doing tropical pancakes.
I'm gonna do a coconut, I'm gonna do a pineapple, and I'm gonna do a blueberry, and then have it layered with the passion fruit.
I'd definitely like to win another mystery box.
I feel like I've got to show everyone here that I'm still in the game and I'm not going anywhere.
I'm making, um, banana cake with peanut butter butter cream and a white chocolate sauce.
My challenge today is taking this cake to the next level.
- Hi, Jessie.
- Jack, it's a pleasure to meet you.
- What are you making? - I'm doing little fruit tartlets.
I've got a vanilla cream over here, and then some of the passion fruit, and I'm gonna toast some coconut at the end.
Nice.
What's the chocolate for? I'm gonna melt that and just do a little drizzle around the plate, just to elevate it.
- Do you have a boyfriend? - I do have a boyfriend.
Damn! Luca-vello! Luca, what are you cooking? I'm making pineapple and white chocolate Napoleon.
I'm gonna try to make a little sauce with the passion fruit.
- It's good.
- You like the idea? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Where are you from? I live in New York.
We are neighbors, right? Do you have any kids? I don't have any kids yet, but as soon as I win the show, then I'm gonna start making kids.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, guys.
- Nice meeting you.
- Good luck.
Nice meeting you too.
- James, how are you doing? - I'm doing good, chef.
What are you making? I am doing white chocolate passion fruit turnovers with a coconut whipped cream.
So, are you a big fan of making desserts? Not particularly.
I don't really care for sweets that much, but I'm going for something that's a little outside of my comfort zone.
Right.
So, I'm going with flavors thatI don't use a lot, like white chocolate and passion fruit, 'cause I know acidity and white chocolate go beautiful together.
Yeah, true.
I don't think I'm gonna get an advantage unless I pull something out that's unexpected from me.
- Good luck, james.
- Thank you, chef.
And thank you, mini chef.
So, how are pacakes going, Natasha? They're going okay.
But are they a restaurant dish? I feel as though these will be, absolutely.
Who's going home tonight? Oh, Krissi.
Don't you like Krissi? - No, I can't stand her.
- Why? Do you guys ever have those people at your school that are bullies? - Yeah.
- That would be her.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, guys.
I want to see restaurant-quality dishes! I don't want to have to put any of your dishes in the trash! I don't think anyone wants that either.
Right now, the shining stars this evening Jessie's sounds amazing.
She's doing, like, little, miniature blueberry Napoleons.
- Oh, wow.
- That's a good idea.
James decided to go with a passion fruit, blueberry lemon popover.
There's good flavors.
That's classic, right? It sounds delicious.
and Luca's Napoleon? Luca seems to be confident.
I think he has a very good idea on the plating and the aesthetic of this dish.
I'm just wondering if he can pull together the flavors and manage the sweetness of it.
And Natasha, I was excited, but I could understand crepes, three ways, but not pancake, um Yeah, it sounds really weird.
Last 60 seconds.
Start plating, please.
Speed, speed, speed, speed.
It melted on me.
The butter cream starts to melt right away, and I'm like, seriously? This is this is not gonna work.
- Let's go.
- Unbelievable.
She's got one thing on her plate.
- Oh, no.
- Unbelievable.
Hands in the air! [bleep.]
I want to see restaurant-quality dishes! In tonight's mystery box challenge Yes, mini marshmallows.
the judges' sons have picked out a unique assortment of items, which the five remaining contestants must use to cook their restaurant-quality dishes.
Hands in the air! It's time for us now to have a closer look.
Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the home cooks' dishes as they come together.
They now take one last look to choose the top three standouts, and the winner of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round.
I'm actually really proud of my dish.
It looks restaurant quality.
Let's just hope it works for the judges.
Okay, let's be honest, guys.
It is way past your bedtime.
Say good night to our home cooks, and I'll see you in the morning.
- Thank you.
- Good luck.
- Bye, guys.
- Thank you, gentlemen.
See you guys.
You're welcome.
Good night.
Okay, there are three dishes that we want to take a much closer look at.
One of these three cooks will be coming to the pantry and receiving a huge advantage in the upcoming elimination challenge.
The first dish we want to bring forward Visually, it had that wow factor.
Congratulations - Luca.
- Yes! Let's go.
All right, Luca, that looks beautiful.
What is it? It's a white chocolate pineapple Napoleon.
Nice, even distribution of the pastry cream.
- It looks beautiful.
- Thank you.
I love the filling inside.
I thought the pineapple was gonna destroy slicing through the mint foie, but you've managed to get it right.
I'm surprised, because you've never been that confident with desserts, and on the back of this performance over the last 60 minutes, you should be.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
Really well done.
Did you think about using the passion fruit or no? It was way too sour.
It didn't go together with anything.
I love that you are understanding how to edit your food, knowing that, I'm not gonna put passion fruit on.
It's too acidic.
I'm just gonna leave it the pineapple and vanilla.
- Super smart.
Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
Okay.
The dish looks beautiful.
- It's the best looking dish of the lot.
- Thank you.
It's actually quite good.
I think the pineapple is delicious with the cream.
A top-notch, excellent dessert.
- Thank you.
- Well done.
Wow! They all liked the dessert a lot, and maybe it's the day I win my third mystery box.
The second dish that we would like to examine further, This cook used fruit to elevate their dessert and they still haven't won one.
Please step forward Jessie.
So, what exactly is it? A vanilla cream puff with fruit sauteed in brown butter, Coconut on top.
And these are all cream puffs, so they're all with, like, a chantilly cream? The chantilly cream is in the middle.
That one is a sauteed blueberry with some lemon zest and sugar.
And then the other one is the pineapple, passion fruit.
It's simple, yet refined.
Great flavors, great use of the really bizarre mix of crazy things that our kids picked.
You did really good.
- I'm proud of you.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
The passion fruit gives it that little bit of fragrance.
Chantilly is perfect.
Nice blend with the pastry.
Pastry cooked beautifully.
So it's bloody delicious.
What's starting to happen is that you're getting out of this comfort zone, and it seems like you're now prepared to take a risk.
It's a really good effort.
Good job.
Well done.
The third dish we want to look at, the elements we tasted made us really want to try the entire dish.
Please step forward James.
Finally.
Here you go, Joe.
What's the thought process here? I'm not a big dessert person, but my favorite dessert are turnovers, so I just made a white chocolate passion fruit turnover with a little blueberry mint puree underneath, and a little whip of cinnamon, sugar, and coconut.
- Very foo-foo for the big, bearded man.
- I know.
Kind of a weird thing for me to make.
The flavors are good.
The cookery's good.
That's light, tasty.
Nice use of a tricky mystery box.
Are you starting to take risks more? I kind of have to.
I'm just thinking, who are the strongest bakers left in this competition? - Krissi and Natasha.
- Guess what? None of 'em made it up here.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
The flavor is incredible.
Love the filling.
The mint in the blueberry just lifts it up and just sharpens it.
I didn't think you had that kind of technical ability to nail it, So for me, it's a welcome surprise.
It is absolutely delicious.
I wish everybody standing behind you could taste it.
Good job.
I had a good dessert.
I'm shocked.
You used premade puff pastry.
Congratulations.
I feel really cheated.
I'm actually really annoyed because, like, you know, here I am, making something from scratch.
I don't know.
As a baker, I'm kind of offended.
- A tough one, this one.
- Mm-hmm.
A tough one.
Not only that, but they're three stunning dishes.
Winning a mystery box is super important.
Especially at this stage of the competition.
I need to win this mystery box.
Okay, three of you, three stunning desserts.
Certainly any one of you can join us right now in the pantry and receive your huge advantage.
The person who cooked the best restaurant-quality dessert this evening To be in the top five and have never won a mystery box, That's like the stupidest thing I've heard.
I have to win this one.
I doubt I'll go any further if I don't.
Congratulations So, three of you, three stunning desserts.
Certainly any one of you can join us right now in the pantry and receive your huge advantage.
The person who cooked the best restaurant-quality dessert this evening Congratulations James.
Well done.
Great job.
- Really good job.
- Good job.
I never thought I would win a mystery box with baking.
That's pretty awesome.
Now, are you ready to receive that huge advantage? - Yes, chef.
- Let's go.
Good job, James.
- Bye, guys.
- Good job.
What took you so long? The winner of the mystery box is now in control of the elimination test.
James, welcome to the MasterChef pantry.
James, your first advantage for winning the mystery box challenge is that you will not have to cook.
You are safe from elimination.
James, congratulations.
Welcome to the final four.
Amazing.
Tonight's theme is so important.
We're about to give you the greatest dishes that Joe, Graham, and myself have ever eaten.
The first dish, it was served to me in Singapore by one of the best chefs in the world.
It is waku ghin marinated botan shrimp with sea urchin, custard, and the finest osetra caviar in the world.
Jeez.
That's pretty impressive.
Your next choice, for me, has so many great, warm memories associated with it.
It's a dish thatmy grandpa Franny made with me.
When I was about 12 years old, we went out crabbing in the chesapeake bay.
My grandfather's soft-shell crab sandwich.
This has the most important connection with myself.
The next dish, was, in fact, made by a phenomenal, elderly, toothless lady, mrs.
Di Hai.
We were on a tiny boat on a floating fish market on the Mekong delta in the middle of a monsoon in Vietnam.
This bowl of hu tieu mi, a stunning, delicious, slow-cooked pork noodle soup.
This, James, is the greatest dish I've ever eaten.
Please, James, step up and come and taste all three dishes.
Where to begin? So, first, you need to try waku ghin.
I mean, the creaminess of the sea urchin is married with thatamazing saltiness there of osetra caviar.
It's like a roller coaster.
Now you can try this.
The crab between two slices of bread is just incredible.
Incredible.
James, jump in.
Absolutely.
The broth is mind-blowing.
It's like an assault of flavor right away.
Remember, James, you're not having dinner.
You are creating a strategy to win this competition.
Oh, I am.
What an amazing treat.
For your second advantage, you will now get to choose which one of these three dishes everybody out there will have to replicate.
Who is the biggest target? I'm thinking of everybody, and I think Luca is my prime candidate.
Which dish are you gonna give to all four of your fellow competitors? I choose James.
That's right, everybody.
Not only did James gain immunity, he also got the chance to make a critical decision.
In the pantry, we gave James the choice of three incredibly meaningful dishes.
Meaningful because they were the greatest dishes that each one of us have ever eaten.
The dish that James chose that dish is My dish The most amazing Vietnamese pork noodle broth.
It's got the most ingredients, It's the most complex.
The broth is insane.
Layering the flavors is gonna be insane.
I don't think anyone's gonna replicate this thing.
Before you head into that pantry, I'd like all four of you to come up here and sample this incredible broth.
There you go.
Dive in.
I'm terrified about the Vietnamese soup, and we have to recreate those flavor, just tasting the dish.
Krissi, what do you think of the broth? I have no idea, you know, what these flavors are that I'm tasting.
I'm in big trouble.
Trying this soup, you have to use your palate to the extreme to figure out what spice is in there.
If you forget one thing, you could be screwed.
- Excited? - Yes, chef.
- No.
- You want to go home? I-I-I don't know how to make this.
- Krissi.
- You just tasted it.
Use your brain.
- I-I am - Figure it out.
But I'm really nervous.
Okay, you will all have five minutes in the pantry to gather everything you need to replicate this great dish.
If you forget anything, as always, you can't go back.
Make sure it's good, because I've been waiting years to relive that memory.
Don't leave me disappointed.
Your 75 minutes starts Now.
In the pantry, it's really a very tough moment because you need to go through your head, remembering the flavors that you felt in your mouth to make sure that I can put these flavors together.
So, I'm in the pantry, and I notice that everybody kind of has the same things in their basket, so I felt like I cheated on a test in high school or something, but I have to.
I gotta keep myself alive.
Nice.
Wow.
Good.
What could be the most fundamental error a home cook is making now in the beginning of the soup? Where it becomes so spicy, you can't identify the sweetness, the sourness, and those vegetables.
And if that spice kills that footwork, you're in danger.
The secret tonight is how they infuse that stock, how you blend those spices.
That's why you never season this thing at the beginning.
It's done through moments.
The minute you ignore it for 15 minutes You've got a completely different profile.
I'm looking everywhere in my basket, and I'm looking all over, and I don't have garlic.
Garlic is extremely crucial for this dish.
I'm pretty much screwed at this moment.
I know that Luca has garlic, looking behind me, but we don't care for each other one bit.
He's my biggest rival, so dare I ask him? Luca, can I use some garlic? Uh Luca, can I use some garlic? Uh Thank you very much.
Natasha asked me for some garlic.
Why i shouldn't give it to Natasha? That's not the way I am.
That's not the way I want to win.
Natasha forgot garlic.
It'd be really hard to ever come back from that.
She asked Luca and Luca just handed it over to her.
He may live to regret that.
I know how to make soup.
I've just never dealt with these flavors before, So I'm gonna do my best.
I'm definitely not giving up.
Someone's going home, and in a perfect world, Natasha would go home.
While they're down there, cooking away, I'm already in the top four, So my confidence level is going through the roof.
Professionally, I'd like to see Luca leave, 'cause he's the best competitor down there.
Personally, I'd like to see Natasha leave.
If I get rid of one of those two today, I'd consider it a victory.
- All right.
Natasha.
- Yes, chef.
- How are you feeling? - I'm okay.
- That smells nice.
- Thank you.
What have you got in there? Um, I've got some ginger, some star anise, some cinnamon, some cloves.
That smells delicious.
Get that in two or three pans and start reducing that down so you can gain time rather than lose time.
- Yes, chef.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
- Yes, chef.
Luca.
What's in this pan? Cinnamon, star anise, black peppercorn.
I didn't season it yet, because I know they're reducing it.
Why don't you put salt in? What's the matter with you? Okay, I'm putting in the salt.
Then you're gonna tell me it's too salty.
I don't want too much salt.
- I want it to be the right amount.
- I know.
Salt is like a magnifying glass for flavor.
- Okay, you're right.
- Come here.
- You gave her the garlic? - Yes.
What's the matter with you? If I go home tonight, it's not gonna be because I gave her the garlic.
Are you sure? Honestly, I don't really care what the other people is going to do.
I just want to do the best dish of here, save myself, go up there, and relax.
- Good luck, Luca.
- Thank you.
Ooh.
Well, how are you doing? I'm doing my best, chef.
What have you done with the pork? I seared it all and, um, it is in the pressure cooker.
Do you think you can nail this? I'm trying my best here.
When you come across something that you don't like, why turn your nose up at something so delicious? No, I didn't turn my nose up.
I was afraid of it.
You are good out of your comfort zone.
Stop doubting yourself.
So, adapt.
You'll surprise yourself.
Okay? - Got it.
- Come on.
I want some spice! - Jessie, how are we doing? - Hey, chef, doing good.
Does this dish scream social circle or what? - Not at all.
- This is your broth right here? - Mm-hmm.
- There's not very much of it.
I know, there's not very very much.
Why is it so acidic? Did you already add the lime? I just squeezed a lime in there right before you came.
Remember, lime, it's just like when you're cooking a piece of fish Last second, just to brighten it up.
The more it cooks, it starts getting bitter.
- Gotcha.
- Good luck.
It smells incredible.
I love that pork stock.
I mean, it absolutely smells incredible.
There are some good dishes out there.
There are some very good dishes out there.
I mean, Natasha is absolutely nailing it.
Two pans on with the broth, one that's a natural broth, one that's already a fragrant broth and she's reducing that in all the time, Almost like a risotto.
- Every time, a little ladle.
- Mm-hmm.
Jessie, being from Georgia, none of these flavors are there, but she's always on this boat, right? - Yeah.
- She's stewarding it.
And when you're going to the Caribbean, you've got all those spices, chilies, cilantro, a lot of those herbs that are in there, right? Krissi's tastes nice.
- It's got that hearty flavor.
- Mm-hmm.
It's got no garnish in there yet, it's got no pork butts in there, but she's got a nice base to it.
A good Italian cook knows how to make a great chicken stock.
If you just take the Asian version of a chicken stock, you can turn this soup into something that's good.
You understand how to extract flavor.
It's very difficult to judge, though, because with so many different stock pots, the formula that comes together at the last minute, when you serve it to us, is the one we judge.
Yeah, it's like a potion.
James, from up there, who is looking good right now? I think, out of everybody, uh, Luca is looking the best.
Come on.
Start assembling that amazing dish.
Taste that broth before it goes in the bowl, guys.
Hands in the air! Wow.
That was a tough dish to replicate.
Okay, first up, Natasha.
Let's go, please.
It looks like it's been well proportioned, as far as the vegetable, noodle, pork.
Maybe a little more pork, but I like the color that you got on it.
- You seared it - Mm-hmm.
All the way around before putting it in? Yep, all the way around.
The broth is a little sweet for me.
Everything else is great.
That pork shoulder was properly braised.
All the vegetables, everything's in proportion.
But that broth, that should be the star.
- It's it's kind of like a supporting role.
- Okay.
But I think that, overall, everything in here, cooked perfectly.
The flavors are all there.
Good job.
The pork is delicious.
Cooked beautifully.
Did you add any of the pork juices into your broth? I added just a couple tablespoons.
It's slightly missing on that sourness, just to sort of balance that sweetness, that caramelized sort of stock.
However, you've got the right balance of the pork to the noodles.
The vegetables are stunning.
It's good.
It's very good.
Thank you.
It has good depth of flavor, but did you not have any salt on your station? No, I did.
Why didn't you put any in here? I put salt.
I just didn't put enough.
the lack of salt makes it taste Sweeter than it even is.
- Yep.
- I applaud the effort.
The dish is good, but is it good enough to keep you in the competition? I'm not ready to leave this competition.
Natasha's dish looked pretty good.
I think the judges are, like, on the fence, but at this point, everyone is a great cook, and right now, there's a good chance she could go home.
I applaud the effort.
The dish is good, but is it good enough to keep you in the competition? I'm not ready to leave this competition.
Thank you, Natasha.
All right, next up, please.
Luca.
- The color is incredible.
- Thank you.
It's perfect.
That's a nice sear on the pork.
Everything's in proportion.
The flavor, overall It's got the heat from the chili, the underlying spice that you've toasted off there.
Um, and I love the the herbaceous notes, The basil, uh, kind of going throughout there.
It's it's amazing to see how much you are learning and taking that and gaining confidence along the way.
- Thank you.
- And you're getting into a rhythm.
You're starting to temper it and kind of balance and taste and build, and you're in the zone.
This is really good.
This is a great dish.
You should be really, really proud.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
See, this is so close to that amazing, salty, sweet, spicy, delicious broth.
Honestly, it just takes me back to that boat in Vietnam.
Mind-blowing.
The smell is incredible.
I love the energy that you put into it.
You are really seriously hitting the mark.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
- Seriously.
Honestly.
- Yes! Next, we'd like to try Jessie, please.
This looks like a beautiful soup.
Thank you.
The broth itself is beautiful.
The right thickness.
This has depth in spades.
It's very complex.
It's layered.
It's really good.
I did taste the soup that Gordon made, and in my opinion, this is very damn close to that soup.
- It's delicious.
- Yay! It's fragrant, it's spicy, but it's got that crunch, 'cause the vegetables are raw.
If there's one think I'd like to kick back on, it's the sourness.
The lime should have been at the end.
However, it's a bloody good effort.
I just love the way you fight back every time, every challenge.
- You're nailing it.
- Thank you.
Well done.
All right, next up, please.
Krissi.
I don't particularly enjoy Asian food.
I've never been so uncommitted or nervous in my life, but I really tried, and, um, I think I did all right.
Wow, you got everything in there.
The chilies, cilantro, basil, lime, carrots, bamboo.
I didn't think you were gonna get it all in there.
So, not a big fan of Vietnamese food or just not exposed to it as much? I've never been exposed to it.
The flavors are all there.
The negative would be that it's over-spiced.
I wish that it was a little more concentrated in flavor, but I think that, overall, everything in here is cooked perfectly, and everything else is equally balanced, and it's a very valiant effort.
- Good job.
- Thanks.
It has a lot of heat.
I get, like, a spice on the outside of my tongue, on the front palate immediately, but ultimately, it's very complex.
It's layered.
It has a lot of flavor in the broth itself.
I think it's a good effort.
I think it's kind of indicative of your trajectory in your journey here.
Yes, you're trying.
Are you hitting it on all levels? No.
But this is a pretty impressive effort.
Thanks.
You know, too many noodles.
Slightly lighter in color.
Less fragrant than I would have preferred.
Slightly too spicy.
But the foundation is there.
So, have you ever thought about the biggest problem in your cooking? Come here.
It's you.
Break down the barriers.
You're so tense about, not for me.
I'm gonna stick to my comfort food in Philly.
Get out of that and open your mind.
You'll surprise yourself, because you can cook.
- That is a good effort.
Thank you.
- Thanks.
Mind-blowing, all of you.
I'm struggling to find a lot of fault across all these dishes.
A spectacular performance by all four of you.
But you've just made it more difficult for us.
Therefore, we need a minute, please.
So, a difficult decision.
This is very tough, because we are all very good.
I'm just proud of myself that I got close on the dish.
Yeah, that's good.
We all did, and we should be proud of ourselves.
Please let Natasha go home.
It's time.
Natasha's knife skills with the vegetables were great.
- Yeah.
- They looked professional.
But she spent too much time being technical.
Right.
I'm getting a little nervous because they liked everyone's dish.
The smallest little mistake could send someone packing.
Anyone could go home today.
Yeah, tough, very tough, once we get down to these four.
I thought it was gonna be too sour, but it wasn't sour.
It was absolutely on the button.
He made a base, and then took that cooked stock that was cooking down and mixed them all up like an alchemist.
The longer it sits there, the better it got.
It was so close, really.
Yeah, not a clear worst.
This is tough, very tough, especially as it gets down to this four.
The judges liked everyone's dish, and I'm kind of looking around and I'm realizing, I'm like, I have no idea who could go home from this.
Jessica, Krissi, Luca, Natasha, please come down to the front.
Jessie, Luca, please step forward.
Both of you did an amazing job.
Two very delicious dishes that were millimeters off the mark of what I experienced in Vietnam.
We have to pick a winner.
Luca, congratulations Thank you.
On the best dish of the night.
Good job.
Both of you, congratulations.
You're in.
Top four.
Off you go.
Well done.
You know, as much as I don't get along with Krissi and there's things that I can't stand about her, I feel as though, deep down in my heart, that we just don't deserve to go home.
Natasha, Krissi, again, two strong performances.
That was an extraordinary challenge.
You both came up with stunning dishes.
This is where it's very hard for us, but we have to make a very tough decision.
Natasha, you cook like a dream.
You've wowed us on so many occasions.
You have the technical ability to cook like a professional chef.
Krissi, you've been in all of the pressure tests, Yet you fight back.
If anyone confirms food is about an emotional journey, you're the one.
This is one of the most difficult decisions we've ever had to make.
Krissi You're going upstairs.
You're safe.
Please, join the rest.
I'm sorry.
Natasha, tonight was an extraordinary challenge, and all four of you put in an amazing performance.
It is so difficult and so unfair because you produced a great dish.
Natasha, this is just way too close to call.
You are joining everyone else on the balcony because you do not deserve to go home.
I am sorry, the dish was that good, and we cannot split the performance that all of you put in tonight, it was that close.
you were that good.
Get upstairs and join the rest of them.
It's been extremely challenging to put aside my family and focus on something other than them, but seeing that MasterChef title and being so close to it has just put everything into perspective of why I'm really here.
That's all I want to go home with is that title.
That is the first time in the history of this competition, that we cannot decide, who put out the weakest dish this evening.
All of you pulled off a virtual miracle.
Get some rest, because the next time you see us, if you thought that was pressure, we've just gone up to a different level.
Good night.