Masterchef (2010) s05e13 Episode Script
Top 8 Compete
Tonight - You gotta get them into oven fast.
The final eight pair up You want to check it, check it.
and Gordon Ramsay joins them for a game of chicken.
Are you kidding me? This is gonna be epic.
Some will rule the roost - It's kind of a dreamy dish.
- while others fall foul.
I don't expect to see that kind of crap at this stage of the game.
and a shocking twist Tonight's pressure test or should I say, tests? will eliminate one more home cook.
Come on down.
My heart is absolutely in food, and I put everything on the line and quit my job in the video game industry to be here.
You don't gamble, you can't win.
It's down to eight.
I got seven more people to knock down.
It's like a domino effect.
As soon as I knock one down, they're all gonna fall.
We began the search for this year's MasterChef tasting dishes from thousands and thousands of home cooks, and now we're down to you eight.
Wow.
Honestly, all of you, right now, should feel incredibly proud.
Yeah.
But you should also be feeling the pressure.
Tonight you'll be cooking in pairs.
Again? Oh, my god.
The person who's going to pick your teams is You.
- Right on.
- That's right, you.
You will pick your own teams.
Pick your partners smartly.
Trust me, best friends don't always make great teams.
- Don't look so shocked.
- Off you go.
Let the bidding wars begin.
They let all the animals out of the cage, and everybody's vying for position.
- Elizabeth.
- Elizabeth.
Elizabeth.
I feel like a cool kid.
I'm like, "This is awesome.
" I wish I had been popular in high school.
It probably felt like this.
I'm a hot commodity.
It's like, I should be in high demand.
It's like the school dance.
- Daniel? - Daniel? How do I tell Courtney, "Mm, never, not in a million years"? Jaimee, wanna do it? You and I could be the match made in heaven.
Sorry, Willie.
I'm willing to listen to your ideas.
I'm the best working horse you'll ever get.
Leslie basically says, "You can have complete creative control.
" And I'm like, "sold.
" Willie, let's do it.
All right, Christian.
- What? - Wow.
Your palate, my palate is right up there, so why not? You need me, girl.
- Now, that is interesting.
- I did not see that coming.
Leslie, you were like the insurance salesman.
Pushingshe was, like, trying to push you away.
I work in advertising, as you know, and I appreciate the power of a great pitch.
And leslie came up and basically said, "I will let you control me.
" And then he had me.
I will never admit to any of that.
Mr.
Submissive.
- What's happened to you? - Oh, my god.
Now that you have your teams, it's time to find out exactly what you will have to cook as a pair.
Now, a MasterChef has to be many things, but to win this competition, you definitely cannot be chicken.
But Buddy.
Each team is only going to get to cook with one different part of this amazing chicken.
One of the most popular cuts anywhere, these beautiful things, chicken wings.
I'd love to see a stuffed chicken wing.
I do not want to see a boring fried chicken wing.
Next, the legs.
Down, push through, And then just let the knife do the work.
Beautiful drum, very forgiving, steeped in the most amazing flavor.
And then the bit that everybody wants: the actual chicken breast.
Probably one of the most recognized cuts, but let's be honest, one of the easiest to overcook.
Which brings me to the final cut, very often overlooked, and it's called the chicken oyster.
The oyster is that little gem of meat that's tucked away underneath the thigh.
One of the most tender parts of the chicken, one of the most flavorsome, and it's a chef's dream.
Watching chef Ramsay break down a chicken He just, like And then the chicken just magically fell into, like, eight parts.
So in the pantry, there are four boxes.
Each has a different part of the chicken inside.
You will be picking the boxes completely at random.
You'll have five minutes to collect your chicken and to gather all the ingredients that you need for that dish.
The two teams with the best dishes will be safe from elimination.
The teams with the worst dishes will go into the pressure test where at least one of you will be eliminated.
- Are you ready? - Yes, chef.
Your five minutes in the pantry starts Now.
Come on.
Let's go.
Run, Christian! So they're going in there, and they're assuming they're gonna get assigned a chicken part, and they'll shop for that.
Got the box, Christian.
Got the box.
Little do they know - Open it.
- Can't open it.
It's locked.
Oh, oh, it's definitely locked.
Okay.
They will not know what chicken part they're shopping for.
How do you do that? We got to get stuff in the basket.
We got to shop blindly, basically.
All right, let's go.
- We'll need an onion, right? - Yeah.
We just got to think of everything we can get.
First of all, this is dangerous, I mean very dangerous, because you can't just focus on one particular dish.
So you cover all bases and shop for four cuts.
I have a dish that would work with three out of the four cuts.
I couldn't have picked a better partner.
She's smart.
She knows where she wants to go with this dish.
It's a New Delhi curry.
I've made it a million times.
It's awesome.
It knocks everybody's socks off.
I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, man.
Did I pick a winner, finally.
" Are you cool with that? I mean Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You tell me what you want.
That works for me.
Stick to home.
Let's stick to home.
I think the chicken should be lemon pepper.
That's kind of plain and simple.
Okay, well, think of something else.
I think dumplings with a butternut squash would be amazing.
I don't think so.
I told him I don't think chicken and dumplings is a good idea, but Cutter don't listen.
It's like his way or the highway.
Let's go, guys.
Let's go.
Right.
In front of you is the key to this challenge.
Please open those boxes.
- Get in.
- Come on, Courtney! What cut chicken have you got? I'm hoping it's the big ol' breast.
And it is.
A big ol' chicken breast.
- Oysters.
- Oysters.
I don't want wings, 'cause that's the biggest challenge as far as I'm concerned.
We're really hoping for the legs.
It's the chicken legs.
It's exactly what we wanted.
I know we can make an amazing dish with this.
The wings.
Not what I wanted, man.
Honestly, not what I wanted.
It's got the least amount of meat on it.
That's gonna be a tough one to knock out of the park.
You will have 45 minutes to cook us the very best chicken dish of your entire life.
Is everyone ready? - Yes, chef.
- Yes, sir.
Your 45 minutes starts Now.
Christian and I are doing a pan-seared chicken thigh over a "cannelli" bean puree with a heirloom tomato sauce.
I know that it's gonna work for us.
Come on, guys.
Speed up.
Wow.
What about those teams? I mean, here's the big one for me: Christian, Courtney.
Never would have thought that these guys would have picked each other.
Well, you know, the past is the past.
I mean, we don't want to be the ones to go home, you know? I'm thinking for the chicken oysters, I think we just season them simply, simply.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
- Saute them in a pan.
- I agree.
Why did Elizabeth pick Leslie? He convinced her.
He got on his knees and said, "I'll do whatever you want.
You got to pick me.
" Oh, wow.
He's a crafty old dog, this little schmuck.
Okay, so how do you want to do the wings? Jaimee and Daniel have the wings.
That's the devil in the box tonight.
That's the one that nobody wants.
Would they go down that gourmet route? Would they do that chicken lollipop, - you know, when you scrape all the meat down? - Very technical.
I don't know if they have that kind of experience.
- How do you get that out? - I don't know.
The dumplings may not be the right way.
Let's just get that chicken in there, and then we can talk about it while we're doing everything else.
Cutter and Willie Dream cut was the breast.
They should have the best dish.
So, here, you've got the chicken, and I'll start making the broth.
I can get the hollandaise going with the boil, and we'll get the asparagus.
- What is he doing? - Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Getting the hollandaise ready.
Cutter, did you just say hollandaise with a broth? No, hollandaise on the asparagus.
With a broth.
No? Ten minutes gone.
Let's go.
- Right, Elizabeth.
- Hi, chef.
Describe the dish.
A sauteed, marinated chicken oyster, and then we're making a green New Delhi curry to go around the outside.
Love that idea.
Whose idea was this? This was my idea.
- What's going on, Daniel? - What's up, Joe? How's it going? How do you turn wings into an entree? That's what I was curious about.
We got some oven-roasted fingerling potatoes.
We're gonna mix that up with a little arugula at the end.
We're gonna make sure that these things are packed with flavor.
But I still don't understand the dish, because chicken wings on the bone still doesn't seem like an entree to me, especially a restaurant-quality entree.
But that's the hand we were dealt, so we'd better roll with it, right? - Big Willie, Cutter.
- Yes, chef.
You got the breast, the dream cut.
Okay, what's the dish? It's a lemon pepper roasted chicken that we're gonna make a butternut squash chicken and dumplings with.
Chicken and dumplings? What? I think of a chicken breast, I don't think of a dumpling.
- Whose idea was that? - The dumpling was my idea.
Dumplings? And it's gonna be in a chicken broth.
Cutter had all these ideas that just didn't make sense.
Rule number one: You don't put a breast in a broth.
Well, I just figured the lemon pepper chicken breast was too simple.
Really? You don't put a breast that's beautiful In a [bleep.]
broth.
There's only 20 minutes.
We don't have time to make another dish.
We're in trouble.
Like, a lot of trouble.
You don't put a breast that's beautiful in a [bleep.]
broth.
- Okay.
- You know that.
- And you know that.
- Yes, chef.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
All right, guys.
Courtney, what are you guys working on? This is my sauce, and our chicken is resting here.
We cut it, so it would cook faster and have a really nice So it's not like one giant piece.
How did you cook it? Because this stuff takes at least 30 minutes.
We pan-seared it very well, put it in the oven, and then we basted it.
We checked the temperature on both pieces.
Okay, 'cause remember, close to the bone, if we cut into that and it's bleeding and it's red Yes, Christian got here on fried chicken.
His signature dish is chicken.
I know he's not gonna go home on a chicken.
All right.
Good luck.
Just under eight minutes to go.
Come on.
Please.
Speed up.
The dish of the night for me that sounds absolutely delicious is a light chicken oyster curry - Nice.
So smart.
- With fragrant rice.
Elizabeth and Leslie.
She's actually spoon-feeding him.
- "Have a little taste of this, darling.
" - No way.
"Taste that.
" I swear to god.
No, it's like the MasterChef love boat out there, honestly.
Which team is not gelling? Cutter and Willie are opposite ends.
Yeah, they are on two different teams.
Just try this.
It's like they each made a dish and combined them into one.
I like that.
I like that too.
How are the dumplings? We're dropping it now.
They're dropping the dumplings.
Do they know what they're doing? I love that.
And Jaimee and Daniel seem to be a little bit in trouble, because they didn't consider how challenging it would be to make an entree out of chicken wings.
They've got great flavor.
One minute remaining.
Run and get a ring mold right now.
Let's go, guys.
Finish it up.
Make sure that chicken is cooked.
The last thing we want to eat is raw chicken.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Okay, first up, Elizabeth, Leslie.
Beautiful.
Describe your dish.
These are marinated, sauteed chicken oysters in an Indian curry sauce and roasted cumin ginger baby carrots.
Tell me about this curry.
It's a shallot, mushroom, and serrano pepper base with a lot of cumin and some lime to finish.
Wow.
The curry's rich.
The rice is perfectly cooked, the chicken caramelized perfectly, but they're still moist, and the carrots are fabulous.
It's kind of a dreamy dish.
Thanks.
Wow.
It looks beautiful.
Vibrant, mouthwatering.
How'd you cook the oysters? We marinated them in yogurt and lime and scallions first, and then we just sauteed them in a pan, high heat, just to get the color on them.
A little salt and pepper.
Really simple.
It's delicious.
I mean, phenomenal.
but the smartest move on this plate tonight was Leslie sticking to you like a magnet.
- Great job, seriously - Thank you, chef.
Elizabeth - and Leslie.
- Thank you.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
Good job, Leslie.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Good job.
I just got her to cook me a meal, taught me her techniques.
Think about that for a minute.
Who's the smart one here? Jaimee Vitolo, Daniel, please.
Let's go.
Daniel and I had a really hard piece of chicken to work with, but I'm feeling pretty confident.
Please describe your dish.
We have chicken wings basted with sage, rosemary, thyme, butter, chorizo, and bacon fat, fingerling potatoes with arugula, and oven-roasted baby carrots.
No matter how good wings taste, they're probably the most unsexy thing that you can watch somebody eat.
I mean, it's a great dish.
It's got some crispness to the skin, but I would have liked to have seen it just somehow cooked down a little longer.
That skin just continues to crisp up.
But overall, I mean, you guys really did a great job with what you were given.
- Good job.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you, chef.
It looks like, you know, a nice dish that I would expect to get maybe in a airport restaurant.
It's nice.
The sauce is, like, very It's a white wine lemon sauce, very Italiano.
Was that yours? You made the sauce? He started it, and I finished it.
And the chicken is actually crispy.
- You cooked it? - Yes, sir.
It's good.
Did it blow me away? No.
It's an interesting fusion of your two visions, I think.
Thank you.
That was weird.
Okay, the unlikely duo of tonight Let's go, Laurel and Hardy-- I mean, Cutter and Willie.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
First it was a broth.
It was butternut squash dumplings.
It was hollandaise.
It was grilled asparagus.
Where's the asparagus? Where's the hollandaise? Where's the broth? What the [bleep.]
happened? Well, it's a combination of everything.
We took three grilled asparagus.
And we had the chicken breast laid it on top.
We reduced the broth down to a light sauce with the root vegetables.
And what happened to the hollandaise? It broke.
It broke on me, and I didn't have Thank god for that.
The chicken breast, it's bland.
The asparagus got the butts on.
I thought I cut enough of the butt off.
I apologize.
I don't expect to see that kind of crap at this stage of the game.
Okay.
And let's not forget that you had the cut that everybody wanted.
And then you give it the clumsy look with the almost like the bottom of a stockpot.
The butts of the asparagus.
So I'm not impressed.
- Are you impressed? - No, chef.
- Are you impressed? - Not at all.
Did you work together? Not as much as we should have.
Thank you.
Good night.
Let's not forget that you had the cut that everybody wanted.
And then you give it the clumsy look with the almost like the bottom of a stockpot.
So I'm not impressed.
- Are you impressed? - No, chef.
- Are you impressed? - Not at all.
Did you work together? Not as much as we should have.
Thank you.
Good night.
Cutter had all these ideas and was not able to execute any of them.
And I'm even upset because I didn't say anything.
And now we could be facing the pressure test.
Last up, the team of Christian and Courtney.
I am so proud of this dish.
We've applied all of the notes the judges have given, so this dish should be an A-plus.
All right, so let's talk about the teams first.
Christian, how was it working with Courtney? I definitely have a brand-new respect for her.
- Same for me.
- And it was great working with her.
You guys are both equally great home cooks, you know? Yes.
So it's good that you get to work side by side.
All right, walk me through what we have.
What you have is the leg and the thigh.
I braised it with tarragon, garlic, butter, and olive oil.
And then Courtney, she braised the brussels sprouts.
Um, white beans? - Yes, we did "cannelli" beans.
- Cannellinis? And then I did an heirloom tomato that I pan-roasted.
That right there is That's the money shot.
- Look at that caramelization.
- Yeah, it is.
Awesome.
Really, really good job, guys.
Wow, thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Yeah, that's a dish that I'd love to sit down and have for dinner.
- Great job working together.
- Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Right, who cooked the chicken? I did, chef.
Chicken's got a great sear on it, but I want a bit more work on the plate at this stage of the game.
Yes, chef.
I thought the bone would have come out the thigh.
I thought you would have trimmed the drum and got a really nice presentation on there.
Chicken tastes delicious.
The seasoning is spot-on.
White beans beautifully done.
But the brussels sprouts and the tomatoes I [bleep.]
hate.
Caramelized brussels sprouts do not go with tomatoes.
- Yes, chef.
- Bacon, sprouts, definitely.
Tomatoes, chicken, definitely.
But not sprouts and tomatoes.
Let's get that right.
Yes, chef.
Bit like you two.
You're never gonna get married, are you? No, chef.
There you go.
Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
All four teams took your chicken parts and attempted to elevate them into restaurant-quality dishes.
What we need to do now is decide which two teams will be headed up to the balcony to be safe and which two teams will go into the pressure test.
Please, we need a moment.
Good job.
Sorry, man.
It was a team effort.
Cutter and Willie did not work together.
- No.
- And we could taste that.
Clearly, they're the one team that's in the pressure.
The other three are pretty close.
Elizabeth and Leslie's, incredible.
You made a whole curry? Yeah.
Did you do it with dried spices, or did you Don't share our secrets.
And Courtney and Christian The cook on that chicken was awesome.
Brussels sprouts and the tomatoes did not work together.
Tomatoes and brussels sprouts? What the [bleep.]
were you thinking? Honestly, I didn't know.
But Daniel's and Jaimee's, I mean, they got the wings, which is the toughest one.
Much more impressive than I thought it was gonna be.
I think that the skin could have been a little crispier.
Let's go.
It was a difficult challenge, and I have to tell you, it was not an easy decision.
The first team that is safe easily the best dish of the night, Leslie and Elizabeth.
Great job.
Well done.
You're safe.
Please head up to the balcony.
Good job.
Finally, I'm a winner.
I don't have to do the pressure test.
Great dish.
- Thank you.
- Really well done.
So nice to see a dish with that kind of finesse at this stage of the competition, brilliant.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
The second team safe from elimination tonight, with their very simple, classic dish Congratulations Courtney and Christian.
Well done.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
Great job.
You four home cooks cooked us the worst dishes of the evening.
You know what that means: a dreaded pressure test.
Yes, chef.
At least one of you will be going home.
Please take those white aprons off and put these ones on.
Thank you.
Tonight's pressure test is going to work a little differently.
Oh, man.
Or should I say tests? Tonight's pressure test is going to work a little differently.
Or should I say tests? Oh, man.
We'll start with four home cooks.
Whoever wins the first challenge will be saved.
Then we'll head into another battle with three home cooks, then two.
Those two remaining home cooks will then go head-to-head in an all-or-nothing, do-or-die battle.
Lose that battle, your time in this kitchen is done.
You don't want to be involved in that final head-to-head battle.
Get safe on that balcony as quick as you can.
Whatever this challenge is, first round, I have to nail it, because I can't go through these emotions.
You all just took part in that chicken challenge, but what comes first? The chicken or the egg? Every dish that you will have to make us tonight in every stage of this pressure test will feature the humble egg.
First up, we want all four of you to prepare an egg in a simple fashion.
For the first challenge, you will need to perfect the poached egg.
Perfect, smooth, silky.
And guess what.
You only get one egg.
- That's right, one egg or bust.
- God.
Wow.
Head to your stations.
It's way too intense, knowing you only get one shot at it, and failure could mean going home.
Can't go home because of eggs.
You all have everything you need to make us one perfectly poached egg.
Your ten minutes starts Now.
- Wow.
- This is really hard.
Yeah, a tough one.
One egg.
One mistake, and you're out.
What is the technique to keeping that egg white together? Poached egg, it takes 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, so if I was doing this tonight, that five minutes, gotta get the water perfectly done.
Season the water first.
Touch of vinegar in it.
How much vinegar do you put in? A drop.
Vinegar strengthens the egg white, So it stops it from separating.
The thing is, you do not want to taste that vinegar.
And then you would get a vortex.
Then crack it in with three minutes to go.
Only having one egg to poach, that's the kicker, 'cause it's impossible for this guy with these hands to just do everything perfect the first time.
Three minutes remaining.
This is the secret.
The secret is, sing Amazing grace three times, you have the perfect poached egg.
I'm going up to that balcony.
He's stirring it with the egg inside, which is the most dangerous thing to do, 'cause that spoon could slice that egg in half.
Come on, Daniel.
Last ten seconds.
Come on.
Let's go.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
God! Bring 'em down.
I get my egg out.
And I nicked it, and that's all it took was just a little small nick.
Yolk just goes, everywhere.
Right, Jaimee.
Okay.
That's poached nicely.
The yolk, silky, warm, and absolutely spot-on.
Needs a touch of salt, seasoning, but by and large, you've done a great job.
Thank you.
Willie, what's your technique on this? I put a tablespoon of vinegar, and I sung Amazing grace three times in my head.
and I'm hoping that it came out right.
Let's see if Jesus is a fan of eggs.
I'm worried, with a tablespoon of vinegar, - that it's going to taste - Vinegary.
A little too vinegary.
You know what it tastes like? Vinegar? Delicious egg.
Yes! Good job, Willie.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
"Thank you, jesus," indeed.
Oh, lordy.
Okay, Daniel.
Where's the rest of the egg? I broke the egg in the water, and I lost the yolk.
- You lost the yolk? - I did.
- There's no yolk in here? - There's no yolk there.
I apologize.
Uh-oh, no one's home.
Knock-knock.
This is very difficult, to separate the white from the yolk.
Wow.
I don't need to taste that.
No.
If it wasn't so sad, it'd be funny.
Cutter.
Damn.
What happened? I went to set it on the plate, and it broke.
If there's one thing you can't do, it's manhandle a poached egg.
Damn.
What a shame.
Actually tastes quite nice.
Yolk, silky.
Cooked beautifully.
What a shame you burst it.
Potentially could have been one of the best of the night.
Damn.
It's cooked beautifully.
Big floating island.
They both look beautiful.
Damn.
The best egg, and the home cook that is now safe to cook another day Please head up to the balcony The best egg, and the home cook that is now safe to cook another day Please head up to the balcony Big Willie.
Thank oh, thank you, jesus.
Good job.
Great job.
Well done.
So Big Willie is safe, and after this, one more will be saved.
Then, for the two remaining, it's a head-to-head battle to see who will be going home.
Cutter, Daniel, Jaimee, are you ready to find out what all three of you are gonna have to cook in this next battle? Yes, chef.
We want you to make a dish that initially hides the egg: Egg yolk ravioli with a soft egg yolk inside.
You want that yolk to just ooze out, But it still needs to be warm.
This is an incredibly technical, difficult dish to pull off.
On your stations, you'll find everything that you need to make us one egg yolk ravioli.
Is everybody ready? Yes, chef.
Your 15 minutes start Now.
Just think of the quantum leap from a poached egg to an egg yolk ravioli.
It's double the pressure now, because you're still doing, in essence, A poached egg, but with a wrapping of pasta.
This is so tough.
The secret's all about the pasta being transparent, wafer thin.
And then sealing that deal when you put those two disks together, to make sure there's not a speck of water in there.
One little seep of water through there, and you are done.
What's he doing with a fork? He shouldn't be using the fork on that.
Gently, Cutter.
Last minute.
Come on.
Ten Put 'em up.
nine, eight, seven, six Let's go.
This is it.
- Five - Come on, guys.
- Four, three - Run! Two, one.
And stop.
Good girl.
Well done.
Okay, Jaimee.
And now, for the moment of truth You ready? - Yes.
- Let's do it.
- Daniel.
- Chef.
It looks like maybe you didn't seal it enough here.
And that means that the water gets in there and starts cooking that egg more.
That's no bueno.
Cutter.
Shape looks great.
What am I expecting to get in the middle? Should have a silky yellow center, chef.
Not raw? No, sir.
Yeah, I mean, it's rich, it's silky.
- But water got in.
- Boiling water got in.
Hers was completely liquid.
The person that is safe, that produced the best egg yolk ravioli, is Cutter.
Great job.
You nailed it, young man.
Pasta cooked beautifully, egg yolk rich, seasoned to perfection.
Well done.
Thank you, chef.
Man, 1,000 pounds off my chest.
That pressure test is no joke.
Get me upstairs.
And then there were two.
One of you will stay, and one of you will leave MasterChef.
Daniel and Jaimee, it all comes down to this: one last pressure test.
We want you two to make one of the most challenging and most technical egg dishes anywhere in the entire world.
We want you to make A stunning cheese souffle.
This is the humble egg at its most elevated form.
It takes finesse, skill.
It will show us which one of you truly belongs here and who should be going home.
On your stations, you will find eggs, Flour, butter, white cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.
You will have just 40 minutes to make us one incredible cheese souffle.
Your 40 minutes starts Now.
Two talented individuals, both very good technicians.
Can they handle the pressure of a souffle? Souffle is intricate, hard.
This is all about the chemistry and the even distribution of those egg whites.
The bechamel is the stability, the foundation.
The butter, the flour, the milk You let it cool down then incorporate your egg yolks.
There's so many things that can go wrong.
How much finesse do you need to have this come out of the oven and not collapse on you? It all depends on how they mix those egg whites.
What's the cook time? You okay? Pretty confident, chef.
What's the cheese? Mixture of parmesan and white cheddar.
Yeah, I honestly thought you and Jaimee would be both on the balcony earlier.
You started as a team, and now you're both head-to-head.
Can't be angry about it.
Can't be pissed.
You just gotta do the best job you can.
Jaimee is incredibly competent, and so am I.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- How we doing, Jaimee? - Good, chef.
This is almost making, like, a mornay sauce, where you're dissolving the cheese in the bechamel.
- My cheese is not dissolving.
- I know, I know.
Looks like you're making an omelet.
You got to find a way to get it warm, get that melted.
Double boiler.
Less than 20 minutes.
You got to get these going in in a bit.
Come on, cheese.
Jaimee's bechamel got too cold.
The cheese is not dissolving.
It's like a big bowl of eggy mass With cheese in it, so now she's trying To mix it again and warm it up.
Daniel's bechamel looks very runny.
I think he's added too much milk.
- And it'll never rise.
- Right.
Be too heavy for the egg whites.
It's gonna make a souffle soup.
Right now, we're on course for a disaster.
If you both don't get your souffles in the oven in the next two minutes, both of you will be going home.
I beg you to get a souffle in the bloody oven.
Jaimee's are in.
And 30 seconds behind her, Daniel put two in as well.
Right now it's all in the fate of the ovens.
Two minutes to go.
Which one are you taking out? The one on the right, 'cause it's cleaner.
It's not about the cleanest one.
It's about the best-tasting one.
They should taste the same.
Have a look at Daniel's.
Have a look at Jaimee's.
Oh, those look good too.
This is gonna be a close one.
Oh, my god.
It's gorgeous! - Ten, nine - They look exactly the same.
eight, seven, six, five, four Oh, my god.
three two, one.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Let's go.
Knowing that my life depends on a cheese souffle right now, it's so scary.
This is $1/4 million souffle.
My heart is pounding.
They look almost identical.
They've both risen about the same.
They have nearly the same color, very close on consistency.
It's gonna have to come down to taste.
Are you okay? I got nervous.
All right, Jaimee, Daniel, give us a minute, please.
I think that they both have their pluses and minuses.
Jaimee's is not brilliant.
The souffle, that's so in Jaimee's wheelhouse.
She's gonna have the edge over Daniel.
Daniel was generous with the cheese and the flavors.
I thought Daniel's souffle looked the best.
I had watched him during the whole process.
He had been seasoning it good and tasting it as he went.
I'm really thinking Daniel's got this one.
Four challenges in one night.
Boy, have you two been put through your paces.
Well done.
Two very gallant attempts.
Jaimee, your souffle, great crust on the outside, beautiful seasoning.
On the whole, it tasted good.
But insufficient bechamel and too much egg white.
Could have done with a bit more cheese.
Daniel, beautiful crust.
Little bit of nutmeg in there.
Good flavor.
The bechamel beyond belief.
The issue we had: Too salty.
Both of you did an amazing job.
One person is leaving this competition, and one is joining everybody else on the balcony.
The person that made the best souffle Jaimee Vitolo.
Well done.
Please say good night to Daniel.
Oh, Daniel, tough one, that, buddy.
I think what we admire more about you is the sacrifices.
Love the passion.
But you quit your job to come into this competition.
Sure did.
What do you want to do next? I'm gonna open a little bar that serves really awesome plates, has some amazing beer on tap, and has some of the best japanese arcade games in the world.
I think it's ironic what really probably sets you apart is not staying within the lines.
And I think sometimes that hurts you in this competition.
But I like that about you, and when you open up that bar, never lose that attitude.
Never conform to the establishment.
And I'll bring Graham, and I'll buy the beers.
Deal.
Come say good-bye, man.
Good luck.
- Thanks, man.
- Good job, brother.
Thank you, Daniel.
I feel devastated, but it's not the end.
I liked everything about this dish.
- Good job.
- Thank you, sir.
I made tremendous sacrifices, but I'm proud of myself for taking a chance, you know? My whole life, I've been afraid to really gamble.
You, sir, are a beast with the sugar and yeast.
MasterChef is the push and the motivation I need to start taking more chances.
The red team, ladies and gentlemen! On to bigger things.
I can't wait to see what's next.
Next week Switch! A chaotic tag team challenge Get your pot stickers on the pan.
has the home cooks on the run.
Push it! Let's do this! Go, go, go! Who will win the race Set your partner up for success.
Way to go! and who will fall short of the finish line? Ah! It's breaking on me.
Man, come on, willie! Let's go! find out next time - Get them on the tray! - Three on MasterChef.
- Two - Lids on! one.
Is she okay? I'm okay.
I'm fine.
The final eight pair up You want to check it, check it.
and Gordon Ramsay joins them for a game of chicken.
Are you kidding me? This is gonna be epic.
Some will rule the roost - It's kind of a dreamy dish.
- while others fall foul.
I don't expect to see that kind of crap at this stage of the game.
and a shocking twist Tonight's pressure test or should I say, tests? will eliminate one more home cook.
Come on down.
My heart is absolutely in food, and I put everything on the line and quit my job in the video game industry to be here.
You don't gamble, you can't win.
It's down to eight.
I got seven more people to knock down.
It's like a domino effect.
As soon as I knock one down, they're all gonna fall.
We began the search for this year's MasterChef tasting dishes from thousands and thousands of home cooks, and now we're down to you eight.
Wow.
Honestly, all of you, right now, should feel incredibly proud.
Yeah.
But you should also be feeling the pressure.
Tonight you'll be cooking in pairs.
Again? Oh, my god.
The person who's going to pick your teams is You.
- Right on.
- That's right, you.
You will pick your own teams.
Pick your partners smartly.
Trust me, best friends don't always make great teams.
- Don't look so shocked.
- Off you go.
Let the bidding wars begin.
They let all the animals out of the cage, and everybody's vying for position.
- Elizabeth.
- Elizabeth.
Elizabeth.
I feel like a cool kid.
I'm like, "This is awesome.
" I wish I had been popular in high school.
It probably felt like this.
I'm a hot commodity.
It's like, I should be in high demand.
It's like the school dance.
- Daniel? - Daniel? How do I tell Courtney, "Mm, never, not in a million years"? Jaimee, wanna do it? You and I could be the match made in heaven.
Sorry, Willie.
I'm willing to listen to your ideas.
I'm the best working horse you'll ever get.
Leslie basically says, "You can have complete creative control.
" And I'm like, "sold.
" Willie, let's do it.
All right, Christian.
- What? - Wow.
Your palate, my palate is right up there, so why not? You need me, girl.
- Now, that is interesting.
- I did not see that coming.
Leslie, you were like the insurance salesman.
Pushingshe was, like, trying to push you away.
I work in advertising, as you know, and I appreciate the power of a great pitch.
And leslie came up and basically said, "I will let you control me.
" And then he had me.
I will never admit to any of that.
Mr.
Submissive.
- What's happened to you? - Oh, my god.
Now that you have your teams, it's time to find out exactly what you will have to cook as a pair.
Now, a MasterChef has to be many things, but to win this competition, you definitely cannot be chicken.
But Buddy.
Each team is only going to get to cook with one different part of this amazing chicken.
One of the most popular cuts anywhere, these beautiful things, chicken wings.
I'd love to see a stuffed chicken wing.
I do not want to see a boring fried chicken wing.
Next, the legs.
Down, push through, And then just let the knife do the work.
Beautiful drum, very forgiving, steeped in the most amazing flavor.
And then the bit that everybody wants: the actual chicken breast.
Probably one of the most recognized cuts, but let's be honest, one of the easiest to overcook.
Which brings me to the final cut, very often overlooked, and it's called the chicken oyster.
The oyster is that little gem of meat that's tucked away underneath the thigh.
One of the most tender parts of the chicken, one of the most flavorsome, and it's a chef's dream.
Watching chef Ramsay break down a chicken He just, like And then the chicken just magically fell into, like, eight parts.
So in the pantry, there are four boxes.
Each has a different part of the chicken inside.
You will be picking the boxes completely at random.
You'll have five minutes to collect your chicken and to gather all the ingredients that you need for that dish.
The two teams with the best dishes will be safe from elimination.
The teams with the worst dishes will go into the pressure test where at least one of you will be eliminated.
- Are you ready? - Yes, chef.
Your five minutes in the pantry starts Now.
Come on.
Let's go.
Run, Christian! So they're going in there, and they're assuming they're gonna get assigned a chicken part, and they'll shop for that.
Got the box, Christian.
Got the box.
Little do they know - Open it.
- Can't open it.
It's locked.
Oh, oh, it's definitely locked.
Okay.
They will not know what chicken part they're shopping for.
How do you do that? We got to get stuff in the basket.
We got to shop blindly, basically.
All right, let's go.
- We'll need an onion, right? - Yeah.
We just got to think of everything we can get.
First of all, this is dangerous, I mean very dangerous, because you can't just focus on one particular dish.
So you cover all bases and shop for four cuts.
I have a dish that would work with three out of the four cuts.
I couldn't have picked a better partner.
She's smart.
She knows where she wants to go with this dish.
It's a New Delhi curry.
I've made it a million times.
It's awesome.
It knocks everybody's socks off.
I'm thinking to myself, "Wow, man.
Did I pick a winner, finally.
" Are you cool with that? I mean Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
You tell me what you want.
That works for me.
Stick to home.
Let's stick to home.
I think the chicken should be lemon pepper.
That's kind of plain and simple.
Okay, well, think of something else.
I think dumplings with a butternut squash would be amazing.
I don't think so.
I told him I don't think chicken and dumplings is a good idea, but Cutter don't listen.
It's like his way or the highway.
Let's go, guys.
Let's go.
Right.
In front of you is the key to this challenge.
Please open those boxes.
- Get in.
- Come on, Courtney! What cut chicken have you got? I'm hoping it's the big ol' breast.
And it is.
A big ol' chicken breast.
- Oysters.
- Oysters.
I don't want wings, 'cause that's the biggest challenge as far as I'm concerned.
We're really hoping for the legs.
It's the chicken legs.
It's exactly what we wanted.
I know we can make an amazing dish with this.
The wings.
Not what I wanted, man.
Honestly, not what I wanted.
It's got the least amount of meat on it.
That's gonna be a tough one to knock out of the park.
You will have 45 minutes to cook us the very best chicken dish of your entire life.
Is everyone ready? - Yes, chef.
- Yes, sir.
Your 45 minutes starts Now.
Christian and I are doing a pan-seared chicken thigh over a "cannelli" bean puree with a heirloom tomato sauce.
I know that it's gonna work for us.
Come on, guys.
Speed up.
Wow.
What about those teams? I mean, here's the big one for me: Christian, Courtney.
Never would have thought that these guys would have picked each other.
Well, you know, the past is the past.
I mean, we don't want to be the ones to go home, you know? I'm thinking for the chicken oysters, I think we just season them simply, simply.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
- Saute them in a pan.
- I agree.
Why did Elizabeth pick Leslie? He convinced her.
He got on his knees and said, "I'll do whatever you want.
You got to pick me.
" Oh, wow.
He's a crafty old dog, this little schmuck.
Okay, so how do you want to do the wings? Jaimee and Daniel have the wings.
That's the devil in the box tonight.
That's the one that nobody wants.
Would they go down that gourmet route? Would they do that chicken lollipop, - you know, when you scrape all the meat down? - Very technical.
I don't know if they have that kind of experience.
- How do you get that out? - I don't know.
The dumplings may not be the right way.
Let's just get that chicken in there, and then we can talk about it while we're doing everything else.
Cutter and Willie Dream cut was the breast.
They should have the best dish.
So, here, you've got the chicken, and I'll start making the broth.
I can get the hollandaise going with the boil, and we'll get the asparagus.
- What is he doing? - Oh, no.
Oh, no.
Getting the hollandaise ready.
Cutter, did you just say hollandaise with a broth? No, hollandaise on the asparagus.
With a broth.
No? Ten minutes gone.
Let's go.
- Right, Elizabeth.
- Hi, chef.
Describe the dish.
A sauteed, marinated chicken oyster, and then we're making a green New Delhi curry to go around the outside.
Love that idea.
Whose idea was this? This was my idea.
- What's going on, Daniel? - What's up, Joe? How's it going? How do you turn wings into an entree? That's what I was curious about.
We got some oven-roasted fingerling potatoes.
We're gonna mix that up with a little arugula at the end.
We're gonna make sure that these things are packed with flavor.
But I still don't understand the dish, because chicken wings on the bone still doesn't seem like an entree to me, especially a restaurant-quality entree.
But that's the hand we were dealt, so we'd better roll with it, right? - Big Willie, Cutter.
- Yes, chef.
You got the breast, the dream cut.
Okay, what's the dish? It's a lemon pepper roasted chicken that we're gonna make a butternut squash chicken and dumplings with.
Chicken and dumplings? What? I think of a chicken breast, I don't think of a dumpling.
- Whose idea was that? - The dumpling was my idea.
Dumplings? And it's gonna be in a chicken broth.
Cutter had all these ideas that just didn't make sense.
Rule number one: You don't put a breast in a broth.
Well, I just figured the lemon pepper chicken breast was too simple.
Really? You don't put a breast that's beautiful In a [bleep.]
broth.
There's only 20 minutes.
We don't have time to make another dish.
We're in trouble.
Like, a lot of trouble.
You don't put a breast that's beautiful in a [bleep.]
broth.
- Okay.
- You know that.
- And you know that.
- Yes, chef.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
All right, guys.
Courtney, what are you guys working on? This is my sauce, and our chicken is resting here.
We cut it, so it would cook faster and have a really nice So it's not like one giant piece.
How did you cook it? Because this stuff takes at least 30 minutes.
We pan-seared it very well, put it in the oven, and then we basted it.
We checked the temperature on both pieces.
Okay, 'cause remember, close to the bone, if we cut into that and it's bleeding and it's red Yes, Christian got here on fried chicken.
His signature dish is chicken.
I know he's not gonna go home on a chicken.
All right.
Good luck.
Just under eight minutes to go.
Come on.
Please.
Speed up.
The dish of the night for me that sounds absolutely delicious is a light chicken oyster curry - Nice.
So smart.
- With fragrant rice.
Elizabeth and Leslie.
She's actually spoon-feeding him.
- "Have a little taste of this, darling.
" - No way.
"Taste that.
" I swear to god.
No, it's like the MasterChef love boat out there, honestly.
Which team is not gelling? Cutter and Willie are opposite ends.
Yeah, they are on two different teams.
Just try this.
It's like they each made a dish and combined them into one.
I like that.
I like that too.
How are the dumplings? We're dropping it now.
They're dropping the dumplings.
Do they know what they're doing? I love that.
And Jaimee and Daniel seem to be a little bit in trouble, because they didn't consider how challenging it would be to make an entree out of chicken wings.
They've got great flavor.
One minute remaining.
Run and get a ring mold right now.
Let's go, guys.
Finish it up.
Make sure that chicken is cooked.
The last thing we want to eat is raw chicken.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one and stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Okay, first up, Elizabeth, Leslie.
Beautiful.
Describe your dish.
These are marinated, sauteed chicken oysters in an Indian curry sauce and roasted cumin ginger baby carrots.
Tell me about this curry.
It's a shallot, mushroom, and serrano pepper base with a lot of cumin and some lime to finish.
Wow.
The curry's rich.
The rice is perfectly cooked, the chicken caramelized perfectly, but they're still moist, and the carrots are fabulous.
It's kind of a dreamy dish.
Thanks.
Wow.
It looks beautiful.
Vibrant, mouthwatering.
How'd you cook the oysters? We marinated them in yogurt and lime and scallions first, and then we just sauteed them in a pan, high heat, just to get the color on them.
A little salt and pepper.
Really simple.
It's delicious.
I mean, phenomenal.
but the smartest move on this plate tonight was Leslie sticking to you like a magnet.
- Great job, seriously - Thank you, chef.
Elizabeth - and Leslie.
- Thank you.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
Good job, Leslie.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Good job.
I just got her to cook me a meal, taught me her techniques.
Think about that for a minute.
Who's the smart one here? Jaimee Vitolo, Daniel, please.
Let's go.
Daniel and I had a really hard piece of chicken to work with, but I'm feeling pretty confident.
Please describe your dish.
We have chicken wings basted with sage, rosemary, thyme, butter, chorizo, and bacon fat, fingerling potatoes with arugula, and oven-roasted baby carrots.
No matter how good wings taste, they're probably the most unsexy thing that you can watch somebody eat.
I mean, it's a great dish.
It's got some crispness to the skin, but I would have liked to have seen it just somehow cooked down a little longer.
That skin just continues to crisp up.
But overall, I mean, you guys really did a great job with what you were given.
- Good job.
- Thank you so much.
Thank you, chef.
It looks like, you know, a nice dish that I would expect to get maybe in a airport restaurant.
It's nice.
The sauce is, like, very It's a white wine lemon sauce, very Italiano.
Was that yours? You made the sauce? He started it, and I finished it.
And the chicken is actually crispy.
- You cooked it? - Yes, sir.
It's good.
Did it blow me away? No.
It's an interesting fusion of your two visions, I think.
Thank you.
That was weird.
Okay, the unlikely duo of tonight Let's go, Laurel and Hardy-- I mean, Cutter and Willie.
Wow.
Wow, wow, wow.
First it was a broth.
It was butternut squash dumplings.
It was hollandaise.
It was grilled asparagus.
Where's the asparagus? Where's the hollandaise? Where's the broth? What the [bleep.]
happened? Well, it's a combination of everything.
We took three grilled asparagus.
And we had the chicken breast laid it on top.
We reduced the broth down to a light sauce with the root vegetables.
And what happened to the hollandaise? It broke.
It broke on me, and I didn't have Thank god for that.
The chicken breast, it's bland.
The asparagus got the butts on.
I thought I cut enough of the butt off.
I apologize.
I don't expect to see that kind of crap at this stage of the game.
Okay.
And let's not forget that you had the cut that everybody wanted.
And then you give it the clumsy look with the almost like the bottom of a stockpot.
The butts of the asparagus.
So I'm not impressed.
- Are you impressed? - No, chef.
- Are you impressed? - Not at all.
Did you work together? Not as much as we should have.
Thank you.
Good night.
Let's not forget that you had the cut that everybody wanted.
And then you give it the clumsy look with the almost like the bottom of a stockpot.
So I'm not impressed.
- Are you impressed? - No, chef.
- Are you impressed? - Not at all.
Did you work together? Not as much as we should have.
Thank you.
Good night.
Cutter had all these ideas and was not able to execute any of them.
And I'm even upset because I didn't say anything.
And now we could be facing the pressure test.
Last up, the team of Christian and Courtney.
I am so proud of this dish.
We've applied all of the notes the judges have given, so this dish should be an A-plus.
All right, so let's talk about the teams first.
Christian, how was it working with Courtney? I definitely have a brand-new respect for her.
- Same for me.
- And it was great working with her.
You guys are both equally great home cooks, you know? Yes.
So it's good that you get to work side by side.
All right, walk me through what we have.
What you have is the leg and the thigh.
I braised it with tarragon, garlic, butter, and olive oil.
And then Courtney, she braised the brussels sprouts.
Um, white beans? - Yes, we did "cannelli" beans.
- Cannellinis? And then I did an heirloom tomato that I pan-roasted.
That right there is That's the money shot.
- Look at that caramelization.
- Yeah, it is.
Awesome.
Really, really good job, guys.
Wow, thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Yeah, that's a dish that I'd love to sit down and have for dinner.
- Great job working together.
- Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Right, who cooked the chicken? I did, chef.
Chicken's got a great sear on it, but I want a bit more work on the plate at this stage of the game.
Yes, chef.
I thought the bone would have come out the thigh.
I thought you would have trimmed the drum and got a really nice presentation on there.
Chicken tastes delicious.
The seasoning is spot-on.
White beans beautifully done.
But the brussels sprouts and the tomatoes I [bleep.]
hate.
Caramelized brussels sprouts do not go with tomatoes.
- Yes, chef.
- Bacon, sprouts, definitely.
Tomatoes, chicken, definitely.
But not sprouts and tomatoes.
Let's get that right.
Yes, chef.
Bit like you two.
You're never gonna get married, are you? No, chef.
There you go.
Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
All four teams took your chicken parts and attempted to elevate them into restaurant-quality dishes.
What we need to do now is decide which two teams will be headed up to the balcony to be safe and which two teams will go into the pressure test.
Please, we need a moment.
Good job.
Sorry, man.
It was a team effort.
Cutter and Willie did not work together.
- No.
- And we could taste that.
Clearly, they're the one team that's in the pressure.
The other three are pretty close.
Elizabeth and Leslie's, incredible.
You made a whole curry? Yeah.
Did you do it with dried spices, or did you Don't share our secrets.
And Courtney and Christian The cook on that chicken was awesome.
Brussels sprouts and the tomatoes did not work together.
Tomatoes and brussels sprouts? What the [bleep.]
were you thinking? Honestly, I didn't know.
But Daniel's and Jaimee's, I mean, they got the wings, which is the toughest one.
Much more impressive than I thought it was gonna be.
I think that the skin could have been a little crispier.
Let's go.
It was a difficult challenge, and I have to tell you, it was not an easy decision.
The first team that is safe easily the best dish of the night, Leslie and Elizabeth.
Great job.
Well done.
You're safe.
Please head up to the balcony.
Good job.
Finally, I'm a winner.
I don't have to do the pressure test.
Great dish.
- Thank you.
- Really well done.
So nice to see a dish with that kind of finesse at this stage of the competition, brilliant.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
The second team safe from elimination tonight, with their very simple, classic dish Congratulations Courtney and Christian.
Well done.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
Great job.
You four home cooks cooked us the worst dishes of the evening.
You know what that means: a dreaded pressure test.
Yes, chef.
At least one of you will be going home.
Please take those white aprons off and put these ones on.
Thank you.
Tonight's pressure test is going to work a little differently.
Oh, man.
Or should I say tests? Tonight's pressure test is going to work a little differently.
Or should I say tests? Oh, man.
We'll start with four home cooks.
Whoever wins the first challenge will be saved.
Then we'll head into another battle with three home cooks, then two.
Those two remaining home cooks will then go head-to-head in an all-or-nothing, do-or-die battle.
Lose that battle, your time in this kitchen is done.
You don't want to be involved in that final head-to-head battle.
Get safe on that balcony as quick as you can.
Whatever this challenge is, first round, I have to nail it, because I can't go through these emotions.
You all just took part in that chicken challenge, but what comes first? The chicken or the egg? Every dish that you will have to make us tonight in every stage of this pressure test will feature the humble egg.
First up, we want all four of you to prepare an egg in a simple fashion.
For the first challenge, you will need to perfect the poached egg.
Perfect, smooth, silky.
And guess what.
You only get one egg.
- That's right, one egg or bust.
- God.
Wow.
Head to your stations.
It's way too intense, knowing you only get one shot at it, and failure could mean going home.
Can't go home because of eggs.
You all have everything you need to make us one perfectly poached egg.
Your ten minutes starts Now.
- Wow.
- This is really hard.
Yeah, a tough one.
One egg.
One mistake, and you're out.
What is the technique to keeping that egg white together? Poached egg, it takes 3 1/2 to 4 minutes, so if I was doing this tonight, that five minutes, gotta get the water perfectly done.
Season the water first.
Touch of vinegar in it.
How much vinegar do you put in? A drop.
Vinegar strengthens the egg white, So it stops it from separating.
The thing is, you do not want to taste that vinegar.
And then you would get a vortex.
Then crack it in with three minutes to go.
Only having one egg to poach, that's the kicker, 'cause it's impossible for this guy with these hands to just do everything perfect the first time.
Three minutes remaining.
This is the secret.
The secret is, sing Amazing grace three times, you have the perfect poached egg.
I'm going up to that balcony.
He's stirring it with the egg inside, which is the most dangerous thing to do, 'cause that spoon could slice that egg in half.
Come on, Daniel.
Last ten seconds.
Come on.
Let's go.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
God! Bring 'em down.
I get my egg out.
And I nicked it, and that's all it took was just a little small nick.
Yolk just goes, everywhere.
Right, Jaimee.
Okay.
That's poached nicely.
The yolk, silky, warm, and absolutely spot-on.
Needs a touch of salt, seasoning, but by and large, you've done a great job.
Thank you.
Willie, what's your technique on this? I put a tablespoon of vinegar, and I sung Amazing grace three times in my head.
and I'm hoping that it came out right.
Let's see if Jesus is a fan of eggs.
I'm worried, with a tablespoon of vinegar, - that it's going to taste - Vinegary.
A little too vinegary.
You know what it tastes like? Vinegar? Delicious egg.
Yes! Good job, Willie.
Oh, thank you, Jesus.
"Thank you, jesus," indeed.
Oh, lordy.
Okay, Daniel.
Where's the rest of the egg? I broke the egg in the water, and I lost the yolk.
- You lost the yolk? - I did.
- There's no yolk in here? - There's no yolk there.
I apologize.
Uh-oh, no one's home.
Knock-knock.
This is very difficult, to separate the white from the yolk.
Wow.
I don't need to taste that.
No.
If it wasn't so sad, it'd be funny.
Cutter.
Damn.
What happened? I went to set it on the plate, and it broke.
If there's one thing you can't do, it's manhandle a poached egg.
Damn.
What a shame.
Actually tastes quite nice.
Yolk, silky.
Cooked beautifully.
What a shame you burst it.
Potentially could have been one of the best of the night.
Damn.
It's cooked beautifully.
Big floating island.
They both look beautiful.
Damn.
The best egg, and the home cook that is now safe to cook another day Please head up to the balcony The best egg, and the home cook that is now safe to cook another day Please head up to the balcony Big Willie.
Thank oh, thank you, jesus.
Good job.
Great job.
Well done.
So Big Willie is safe, and after this, one more will be saved.
Then, for the two remaining, it's a head-to-head battle to see who will be going home.
Cutter, Daniel, Jaimee, are you ready to find out what all three of you are gonna have to cook in this next battle? Yes, chef.
We want you to make a dish that initially hides the egg: Egg yolk ravioli with a soft egg yolk inside.
You want that yolk to just ooze out, But it still needs to be warm.
This is an incredibly technical, difficult dish to pull off.
On your stations, you'll find everything that you need to make us one egg yolk ravioli.
Is everybody ready? Yes, chef.
Your 15 minutes start Now.
Just think of the quantum leap from a poached egg to an egg yolk ravioli.
It's double the pressure now, because you're still doing, in essence, A poached egg, but with a wrapping of pasta.
This is so tough.
The secret's all about the pasta being transparent, wafer thin.
And then sealing that deal when you put those two disks together, to make sure there's not a speck of water in there.
One little seep of water through there, and you are done.
What's he doing with a fork? He shouldn't be using the fork on that.
Gently, Cutter.
Last minute.
Come on.
Ten Put 'em up.
nine, eight, seven, six Let's go.
This is it.
- Five - Come on, guys.
- Four, three - Run! Two, one.
And stop.
Good girl.
Well done.
Okay, Jaimee.
And now, for the moment of truth You ready? - Yes.
- Let's do it.
- Daniel.
- Chef.
It looks like maybe you didn't seal it enough here.
And that means that the water gets in there and starts cooking that egg more.
That's no bueno.
Cutter.
Shape looks great.
What am I expecting to get in the middle? Should have a silky yellow center, chef.
Not raw? No, sir.
Yeah, I mean, it's rich, it's silky.
- But water got in.
- Boiling water got in.
Hers was completely liquid.
The person that is safe, that produced the best egg yolk ravioli, is Cutter.
Great job.
You nailed it, young man.
Pasta cooked beautifully, egg yolk rich, seasoned to perfection.
Well done.
Thank you, chef.
Man, 1,000 pounds off my chest.
That pressure test is no joke.
Get me upstairs.
And then there were two.
One of you will stay, and one of you will leave MasterChef.
Daniel and Jaimee, it all comes down to this: one last pressure test.
We want you two to make one of the most challenging and most technical egg dishes anywhere in the entire world.
We want you to make A stunning cheese souffle.
This is the humble egg at its most elevated form.
It takes finesse, skill.
It will show us which one of you truly belongs here and who should be going home.
On your stations, you will find eggs, Flour, butter, white cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper.
You will have just 40 minutes to make us one incredible cheese souffle.
Your 40 minutes starts Now.
Two talented individuals, both very good technicians.
Can they handle the pressure of a souffle? Souffle is intricate, hard.
This is all about the chemistry and the even distribution of those egg whites.
The bechamel is the stability, the foundation.
The butter, the flour, the milk You let it cool down then incorporate your egg yolks.
There's so many things that can go wrong.
How much finesse do you need to have this come out of the oven and not collapse on you? It all depends on how they mix those egg whites.
What's the cook time? You okay? Pretty confident, chef.
What's the cheese? Mixture of parmesan and white cheddar.
Yeah, I honestly thought you and Jaimee would be both on the balcony earlier.
You started as a team, and now you're both head-to-head.
Can't be angry about it.
Can't be pissed.
You just gotta do the best job you can.
Jaimee is incredibly competent, and so am I.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- How we doing, Jaimee? - Good, chef.
This is almost making, like, a mornay sauce, where you're dissolving the cheese in the bechamel.
- My cheese is not dissolving.
- I know, I know.
Looks like you're making an omelet.
You got to find a way to get it warm, get that melted.
Double boiler.
Less than 20 minutes.
You got to get these going in in a bit.
Come on, cheese.
Jaimee's bechamel got too cold.
The cheese is not dissolving.
It's like a big bowl of eggy mass With cheese in it, so now she's trying To mix it again and warm it up.
Daniel's bechamel looks very runny.
I think he's added too much milk.
- And it'll never rise.
- Right.
Be too heavy for the egg whites.
It's gonna make a souffle soup.
Right now, we're on course for a disaster.
If you both don't get your souffles in the oven in the next two minutes, both of you will be going home.
I beg you to get a souffle in the bloody oven.
Jaimee's are in.
And 30 seconds behind her, Daniel put two in as well.
Right now it's all in the fate of the ovens.
Two minutes to go.
Which one are you taking out? The one on the right, 'cause it's cleaner.
It's not about the cleanest one.
It's about the best-tasting one.
They should taste the same.
Have a look at Daniel's.
Have a look at Jaimee's.
Oh, those look good too.
This is gonna be a close one.
Oh, my god.
It's gorgeous! - Ten, nine - They look exactly the same.
eight, seven, six, five, four Oh, my god.
three two, one.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Let's go.
Knowing that my life depends on a cheese souffle right now, it's so scary.
This is $1/4 million souffle.
My heart is pounding.
They look almost identical.
They've both risen about the same.
They have nearly the same color, very close on consistency.
It's gonna have to come down to taste.
Are you okay? I got nervous.
All right, Jaimee, Daniel, give us a minute, please.
I think that they both have their pluses and minuses.
Jaimee's is not brilliant.
The souffle, that's so in Jaimee's wheelhouse.
She's gonna have the edge over Daniel.
Daniel was generous with the cheese and the flavors.
I thought Daniel's souffle looked the best.
I had watched him during the whole process.
He had been seasoning it good and tasting it as he went.
I'm really thinking Daniel's got this one.
Four challenges in one night.
Boy, have you two been put through your paces.
Well done.
Two very gallant attempts.
Jaimee, your souffle, great crust on the outside, beautiful seasoning.
On the whole, it tasted good.
But insufficient bechamel and too much egg white.
Could have done with a bit more cheese.
Daniel, beautiful crust.
Little bit of nutmeg in there.
Good flavor.
The bechamel beyond belief.
The issue we had: Too salty.
Both of you did an amazing job.
One person is leaving this competition, and one is joining everybody else on the balcony.
The person that made the best souffle Jaimee Vitolo.
Well done.
Please say good night to Daniel.
Oh, Daniel, tough one, that, buddy.
I think what we admire more about you is the sacrifices.
Love the passion.
But you quit your job to come into this competition.
Sure did.
What do you want to do next? I'm gonna open a little bar that serves really awesome plates, has some amazing beer on tap, and has some of the best japanese arcade games in the world.
I think it's ironic what really probably sets you apart is not staying within the lines.
And I think sometimes that hurts you in this competition.
But I like that about you, and when you open up that bar, never lose that attitude.
Never conform to the establishment.
And I'll bring Graham, and I'll buy the beers.
Deal.
Come say good-bye, man.
Good luck.
- Thanks, man.
- Good job, brother.
Thank you, Daniel.
I feel devastated, but it's not the end.
I liked everything about this dish.
- Good job.
- Thank you, sir.
I made tremendous sacrifices, but I'm proud of myself for taking a chance, you know? My whole life, I've been afraid to really gamble.
You, sir, are a beast with the sugar and yeast.
MasterChef is the push and the motivation I need to start taking more chances.
The red team, ladies and gentlemen! On to bigger things.
I can't wait to see what's next.
Next week Switch! A chaotic tag team challenge Get your pot stickers on the pan.
has the home cooks on the run.
Push it! Let's do this! Go, go, go! Who will win the race Set your partner up for success.
Way to go! and who will fall short of the finish line? Ah! It's breaking on me.
Man, come on, willie! Let's go! find out next time - Get them on the tray! - Three on MasterChef.
- Two - Lids on! one.
Is she okay? I'm okay.
I'm fine.