Masterchef (2010) s06e13 Episode Script
A Little Southern Flare
Last week, the pressure test, brought out the worst in Christopher.
Have you got a little ant infestation? Rolling your eyes to the balcony? Don't be disrespectful.
Ending his MasterChef dream.
Tonight We're gonna show you how it's done.
Damn! The judges fire up the competition Oh! As the final nine face an explosive challenge.
- Whoo! - Aah! You must be careful playing with fire.
Which home cook will produce the hottest dish of their life? Really delicious.
Boom.
You just keep getting better and better.
And who will go down in flames? That has just put you to the back.
I'm in the top nine, baby! That feels great, but it's also really scary.
Let's go, guys.
Welcome.
There are eight people here besides me who want to be MasterChef.
I'm gonna have to stop these children! You have all faced the heat of this kitchen, and you've survived so far.
It's time for your next mystery box challenge.
Right, on the count of three, very carefully lift your mystery boxes.
One two three, lift.
- Yes! - Whoo! Liquor! This is good.
Let's have a shot.
Let's get it going here.
Five different types of liqueur: bourbon, brandy, Calvados, anise liqueur, Cognac, and some matches.
This box reminds me of my college years.
You know, there's booze and matches.
This is a recipe for disaster.
This competition is heating up big-time, because for this challenge, the dishes you are about to make will all have to be flambéed.
Now, all of you, please come stand down here.
We're gonna show you how it's done.
Getting another cooking demonstration from Gordon, Graham, and Christina is a magical treat.
"Flambé" in French means "flamed.
" You take alcoholic liquor and light it on fire.
Burning off alcohol adds a depth of flavor.
I'm using Cognac to make one of my favorite comfort dishes, beef stroganof I like to sort of elevate it a little bit, with some nice darker enoki mushrooms, a nice beef tenderloin cut really thin, and some micro chives.
I'm using anise liqueur to turn these incredible mussels into a delicious dish.
Throw in a little bit of shallot, garlic, fennel.
I'm using a stunning Calvados, an apple brandy, to make a delicious peach and shortbread dessert.
Make some caramel.
Place your peaches on top of the sugar.
You must be careful playing with fire.
Make sure you don't get burned.
In, tip, and tilt.
- All right.
- Damn! Having three judges in front of me flambé three different types of plates is just an absolute delight.
This is a culinary student's dream.
All right, so beef stroganoff flambéed with Cognac.
Mussels flambéed with anise liqueur.
flambéed in Calvados.
Beautiful.
Oh, my God, man! Those dishes look amazing.
This flambé demonstration really gets the creative juices flowing.
All of you, please return to your stations, thank you.
The closest thing I got to flambé was burning down my house in 1998, and I hope I don't burn down the MasterChef kitchen today.
Tonight, we want you to make us a stunning flambé dish in just 45 minutes.
You're going to have access to a limited pantry of ingredients that you can use to make your flambé dishes shine.
In there, you're going to find proteins like pork tenderloin, clams, sea bass, and shrimp, as well as a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products.
You know what's at stake.
The winner gets a huge advantage in the pantry.
Is everyone ready to light this place on fire? - Yes, Chef! - Whoo! Yes, Chef! I'm so glad that I'm not the only thing flaming in this kitchen tonight.
Your 45 minutes starts now.
Whoo! Excuse me.
This is the final nine.
Why flambé now? What does it really show us in these home cooks' technique? To flambé something spectacular is not easy to pull off.
You gotta understand: what does it do to the flavor? And it starts to transform those amateur chefs into professional chefs.
I'm about to set this mystery box on fire! Today I'm making a veal Calvados with flambéed apples.
Top nine you gotta step up, and I need to make sure they see what I can do.
Oh! I'm making almond shortbreads with a play on an old fashioned, so I'm going to do a bourbon orange flambé.
I'm used to cooking with spicy, not really with fire.
I try to avoid that, but there's a first time for everything.
Halfway, guys! VoilÃÂ .
Tommy, bonsoir.
Tout va bien? Bonsoir.
C'est trés bien aussi.
Right.
What are you doing? I'm going to do one of the famous things from the French Quarter, which is bananas Foster.
Looks like tonight you're going back to your roots, Southern Louisiana.
I'm trying to.
You know, this has got a lot of drama in it, and I always love to bring the drama to the dinner table.
I would never have guessed that.
No.
- How's that? - Huh? - Yes.
- Good luck.
All right, guys, just over 15 minutes remaining.
Whoo! Stephen, how we doing? I got, like, magic happening right now.
The food, it's telling me what it wants, and I'm listening, yeah.
All right, so tell me what the finished dish is going to be on the plate.
I'm doing, like, a garden on a plate here.
Okay.
I got sea bass wrapped in leeks, flambé it with some anise, blanched asparagus, some little Brussels sprouts.
Who do you think, like, the top two or three people are right now? - Uh - Your biggest competition? Uh, Derrick, but I can't worry about what he's gonna do.
I can only concern myself with right here, right now.
All right, go.
Yeah.
Derrick! What are you making? Chilean sea bass with the fennel.
I'm gonna flambé the fennel in that Smart.
And then I'm gonna flambé pears in bourbon.
I'm setting this up super artsy.
Yeah, I see the potatoes cut out with a ring cutter here.
- Yeah.
- These are beautiful! I'm gonna make a tunnel cascading down, and then my pieces of Chilean sea bass are gonna be in there.
This is going to be the most stylistic plate up there, hands down.
All right, good luck.
I'm excited to see how it comes together.
Thank you.
Whoo, yeah.
Whoo! - Right, Katrina.
- Yes, Chef.
- How are you feeling? - I'm doing great.
Tell me the dish.
What are you doing? I'm doing a sea bass with clams and fennel, onions - Wow.
Nice.
- Bacon, thyme.
I alrey flambéed the fennel and the shallots.
- What did you use? - Cognac.
Cognac.
Why Cognac? - I was thinking French.
- Mmm.
I was thinking, like, you know, like You know, crab bisque? And I would love to have crusty bread to dip in, you know? Nice.
Look at you.
Wow.
- Yeah.
- You've gone all French on me.
- I kind of did.
- Can you do this? - Yeah.
- Good, good luck.
Thank you very much.
There we go.
How much time do we have? Yep, that's happening.
Oh, no.
These dishes are looking incredible, come on.
Our real problem is gonna be picking the top three here.
Yeah.
There are so many amazing dishes out there.
Aah! - Ten - Oh, my God.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
- And stop! - Whoo! Hands in the air! Well done! Come on, guys.
Do your final flambé.
Five, four, three, two, one.
- And stop! - Whoo! Hands in the air! Well done.
Great job, all of you.
As you know, in every mystery box challenge trust me we watch everything.
We taste everything.
We miss nothing.
There are three highlights out there that we, right now, are dying to take a much closer look at.
This first home cook's dish combined two different styles of flambé.
The dish has a fruit component.
Please step forward, Tommy.
Oh.
Ha! Yes, baby.
I've been called first.
The judges are gonna be quite impressed today with Tommy Walton.
Looks beautiful.
Describe the dish, please.
It is a bananas Foster with maple and bourbon cream, garnished with Granny Smith apples.
Inside is what? Inside is a sweetened cream cheese th the banana inside.
It smells incredibly fragrant.
And you haven't just done the sort of cheap flambé, because the whole crepe is colored beautifully.
Mmm.
Wow.
It's rich.
It's sumptuous.
It's steeped in alcohol.
But you've just burned off the right amount of liqueur.
I love what you've done with the savoriness of the cream cheese inside as well.
Tommy, delicious.
Merci beaucoup.
Great flavor.
I love the use of the bourbon.
I love the whipped cream.
But where's the apple in the dessert? The apple is really just the garnish, and the apple was actually cooked in the pan along with the bananas.
If there was anything that I'd do to change it up, it would simply be to omit the apple.
Apple, kind of coming from left field.
But what's on the plate is delicious.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
I'm glad you went down the dessert route.
Oh, good.
I'm very happy to have seen that.
You have really simple, humble flavors, but you've found a way to have them sort of scream and shout.
Oh.
Thank you.
I think that your pecans, for me, provide plenty of texture.
The crepes are beautiful.
They're perfectly thin.
The flavor that you achieved in that caramel flambéing really shows your confidence and strength in this challenge, so - Thank you.
- Yes.
This second dish that we'd like to examine further, this person was one of a number of home cooks out there that went down the seafood route.
They also opted to use the anise-flavored liqueur, a great flavor.
We really want to dive into it.
Please come forward, Katrina.
I've been in the top twice for mystery boxes, and I haven't n one.
I'm aching for one, and today, hopefully, it will happen.
All right, so, Katrina, tell me what the dish is.
It's a pan-seared sea bass with a seafood stew, which contains clams, bacon, fennel, heavy cream.
Look at that.
I got bacon.
I've got clams.
I've got fennel.
I've got the fish.
You've made so many tasty dishes for us.
You've been an amazing team captain.
However, you just keep getting better and better.
This is the best dish I've tasted from you.
Thank you.
The stew, the bacon, and all the flavoring in there is so tasty.
And that cook on the fish just shows, like boom that you've got it.
You can go any direction, and I'm proud to see you continue that journey.
- Getting better and better.
- Thank you so much.
Why sea bass? I wanted to think about a hearty dish.
I mean, I'm from a big family.
It's never small portions.
That's really hard for me, so That's fine.
The dish has rustic charm.
It feels like I'm in Brittany, on the coast, sat on a little port.
Love what you did with that fennel.
It's delivering a punch in flavor.
It's delicious.
Great job.
- Well done.
Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
The third and final dish we want to take a closer look at is a dish that's truly restaurant quality.
This home cook used sea bass as the main protein on their plate.
Please welcome Stephen.
Oh, my God! I don't believe that.
Today I cooked my heart out.
I gave 'em my best.
I deserve it.
I deserve to be in the top three.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Stephen, tell me about your dish.
Sea bass wrapped in leeks, flambéed, and then slowly braised with garlic and shallots and pecan.
It is darn delicious.
It shows that you clearly know how to cook a piece of fish.
It has incredible richness, incredible depth of flavor.
There's some acidity.
You're channeling so much confidence and knowledge in this dish.
I would be blown away if I went to a restaurant and ordered this dish.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you very much.
Uh, the alcohol, you've been clever with it without being overindulgent.
You showed finesse.
Touch more seasoning underneath before you wrap things, but it's great.
Whether you like it or not, you're this wild beast.
We've gotta bring the best out in you, and I think this dish highlights it.
- Good job.
- Ha ha! Great job.
Quick on that one.
That was good.
- Yeah.
- Very good.
- So good.
- Awesome.
One's restaurant quality.
One's like a nice little bistro-y deal.
Yes.
Katrina's dish looks beautiful, and Stephen's dish looks like we're taking a walk in his garden.
But I know my mama would love this bananas Foster, and my mama is telling me, "My baby's got this one.
" Tommy, Katrina, Stephen, tonight you produced three stunning flambé dishes, but only one of you will receive a game-changing advantage.
The winning dish that we felt used the flambéing technique to highlight their dish, congratulations The winning dish, congratulations Stephen! Yeah! Finally I won a mystery box! I'm feeling electric right now, man.
Are you ready to join us in the MasterChef pantry and receive your huge advantage? - I am ready.
- Let's go.
As the winner of the mystery box challenge, Stephen is now in control of the elimination test, where at least one person will leave the competition.
Let's get this party started! Let's I don't - Whoo! - I d For your first big advantage tonight, you do not have to cook in tonight's elimination.
Yeah! Whoo! Thank you.
For your second big advantage tonight, you will get to choose what everybody out there will be cooking tonight.
I love it! You will be choosing from the food of the South.
I love Southern food.
I grew up in Virginia, - and I know Southern food.
- Mm.
Under here is one of my absolute favorite things to make and to eat.
Shrimp and grits.
Simple, homey, but it's not easy to get right.
One bum note and this dish is a disaster.
Next up, one of my absolute favorite Southern-inspired dishes.
- Chicken and waffles! - Yeah! Two totally different techniques, nowhere near as easy as it looks.
No.
This is the pride and joy of New Orleans.
Gumbo.
Takes a lot of skill to get right.
You have to be precise and make sure you get the balance of flavors absolutely spot-on.
If you don't, gumbo can go from greatness to gruel.
All right, Stephen, it's up to you now to choose between one of these three Southern dishes: shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, or gumbo.
I'm gonna have to lean a little bit towards Ha ha! You can see for yourselves that Stephen does not have to cook in tonight's tough elimination challenge.
For his second advantage tonight, Stephen got to choose from three of our favorite Southern dishes.
Stephen chose Chicken and waffles.
People don't think that I'm a Southern boy, but the trutis, I'm Creole, honey! I love chicken and waffles, more than church loves sin! Everybody will have 60 minutes to make us the best chicken and waffle you've ever made in your entire lives.
Actually, that's not entirely true.
Stepheotr advantage that we didn't tell you about.
You will get to choose one person that has to make the chicken and waffle dish in 30 minutes.
[bleep.]
.
- Half the time.
- Oh, nice.
So, Stephen, it's time to tell us your decision.
Basically, I have a list of each name from the beginning of the competition.
Obviously there was a lot more names here.
On the top of the list are my toughest competition.
You see Derrick on the top right over here next to my name.
Um, this is because I'm looking at him.
Drum roll.
Who is it, please? Bum bum bum bum bum I will take Derrick, the little drummer boy, for 500, please.
Buh-bye.
Buh-bye.
You watch me work in 30 minutes, Stephen.
Think of what's at stake elimination.
This could be your last time cooking in this kitchen.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
Ooh! - Tommy.
- Yeah, baby.
Derrick, there's no rush.
You've got plenty of time.
- Whoa! - Aah! Chicken.
I'm going last.
I got 30 minutes to waste.
Chicken and waffles, one of my favorite treats at home for me and my little girl.
We deep-fry.
We make a nice, creamy batter.
Let's go! I was raised in the South, so come on.
I can't wait to kill this one.
Why do you think Stephen chose chicken and waffles? It's the hardest to nail with the two techniques.
A lot could go wrong.
Christina, the perfect waffle.
I'd put a little bit of corn, sort of bring out the sweetness but the earthiness that a waffle can bring.
That waffle needs to be crispy in order to hold the maple syrup.
- Sure.
- And the butter? If they do not nonstick spray those waffle irons, you're gone.
Yeah, my big worry tonight is the oil.
If they get that oil too hot and the chicken colors too quickly and they think it's cooked and the inside of that chicken is still bloody, bang.
- Yeah.
- Game over.
Sorry.
I'm proud to be from California, so I'm doing a Southwest fried chicken and waffles with a horseradish maple syrup.
I'm really excited about this.
I am making cayenne and buttermilk fried chicken legs with lemon and thyme waffle.
Definitely something that I love to make with my munchkin, and I want to make her proud today.
Right, Tommy, how are you doing? I'm doing okay, Chef.
Thanks for asking.
Tell me about this.
What's going on? I'm doing a duck fat fried chicken.
Whose recipe is that? That's my recipe.
It can be yours too, you know.
You are in your wheelhouse.
You are in the comfort zone.
Confident you can nail this? I think I've got it pretty good.
- 36 minutes to nail it.
- Okay.
Hurry up, let's go.
I'm doing miso fried chicken with scallion waffles.
Kind of thought, like, hey, let's bring something different to it.
I have confidence now, so I just want to do my best.
Derrick, 30 seconds to go.
Derrick, good luck.
I believe in you.
- No, you don't.
- I do.
Get out of here.
Stephen put the target on Derrick's back.
He's taken 30 minutes from his cook time.
Derrick already has one foot out the door.
Well, I wish you all the luck.
All right.
Five, four, three, two, one.
- And start.
Derrick, let's go.
- All right.
Let's go, Derrick.
Right behind you.
I want to watch the magic.
They've made their waffles.
They've marinated their chicken.
Derrick has just started cooking.
Yup.
Chicken takes minimum 20, Do you really think this is Derrick's last moment? I don't think this is possible.
I don't think he's gonna do it.
Derrick.
Derrick.
Derrick! Hey, buddy.
How you doing? Figuring it out in my head.
You know me.
You know me.
It is such a treat to irritate Derrick.
I love you.
This is like playing Battleship with little kids, you know? I want to hit that target, and I want to sink that ship.
There is going to be a war in this kitchen.
- Derrick? - Yes, baby.
The door's right there.
Aah! They've made their waffles.
They've marinated their chicken.
Derrick has just started cooking.
- Derrick - Yes, baby.
- The door is right there.
- Aah! Yeah.
Stephen is taking the psychological warfare to a completely different level.
- I believe in you.
- All right.
This is going to make you stronger.
It's going to make you a better cook.
Get out of here.
Oops.
[bleep.]
.
Buttermilk back to breading, back to butterm - Hetal.
- Yes.
All right, so talk to me about the dish.
This is your waffle? It's cornmeal, onion, some spices.
Smells good.
Kind of reminds me of something my mom makes me called pudla when I would be sick.
This feels like you.
I was very worried you would get lost in this challenge.
So was I.
But I'm still worried about the chicken.
So I'm going to go buttermilk, flour, bread, into the oil.
The hope is that I have the technique.
Good luck.
This is delicious.
Thank you.
This is a dead piece.
This piece is dying.
Right, Shelly, how you doing? I'm doing pretty good.
I'm just redoing this last waffle.
Redoing the waffle? I tested it, but that one I didn't like the browning, so I went back in with it, and then it got all weird.
What style of chicken Where are we going? We going tender, drum? I'm actually doing whichever one comes out best.
- This is in your wheelhouse, right? - Yes.
This isomething that you ck a lot of, so you should be pretty familiar with this, right? I'm familiar with it, but that's kind of my Achilles heel when I get so confident in something, I kind of psych myself out.
Really? Okay, you've got nine minutes to nail it.
- Good luck.
- Yes, Chef.
Thank you.
All or nothing.
Beautiful, Shelly.
- Derrick.
- What's up? - All right, how you feeling? - Cool as a cucumber.
You got fried chicken.
What'd you go with, a breast? I did a cayenne buttermilk crust.
Okay.
I got a beautiful Belgian waffle.
Ooh, looks good.
Then I got a blackberry chili maple sauce.
Are you gonna have to lower the standards, or are you going to be able to pull it off? It was a waste for Stephen.
I will never sacrifice presentation.
- I'm going to nail this.
- Wow.
Okay, thanks.
Two minutes to go, guys.
You've got to start thinking of plating.
Hetal's waffle is delicious.
Wow, that's great.
Great news.
If she can pull this chicken off, she might be in the top.
I did it right! Hopefully it tastes good.
That's the goal.
Shelly's choosing betweex different waffles.
None of them have color.
How many times have we seen an elimination challenge where this dish is in their wheelhouse, and they just completely fail? I think she has all the potential, but it's up here.
She's got to get out of her head.
All right, let's do this one more time.
The chicken she's going to serve us has the batter already pulled off.
She's giving us chicken that has no color on it.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop.
- Well done.
- Whoo! Wow.
That's what I call a energetic 60 minutes.
Great job.
First up, the person who was up against it the most.
Derrick, let's go please.
Looking at my finished dish, I am a little nervous.
I got 30 minutes to cook chicken and waffles.
It's not easy by any means, and I hope they really admire my effort.
Okay, before I say anything, how does it make you feel that he, up there on the balcony, in minutes from now wants you sat at home? I've had a target on my back since I got here.
I'm going to wear it like a cape.
Batman has a cape.
Superman has a cape.
Mine's red and white.
That's cool.
Hope you can use it to fly home.
There you go.
Derrick, describe the dish, please.
Buttermilk chicken and waffles with a spicy blackberry and maple reduction.
You had half the time that everybody else standing behind you had tonight.
Up against it with 30 minutes, the tender needs to be cooked absolutely perfect.
Chicken, nice and crisp.
Seasoned beautifully.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
The waffle is delicious.
Crunchy on the outside, light in the middle.
It's a brave effort.
It's not your best.
Let's get that right.
But I'm amazed you got something done with that level of finesse in 30 minutes.
Thank you, Derrick.
Thank you, Gordon.
Looking at the dish, I love the idea of kind of keeping it Southern in spirit with the blackberries.
You stewed down fresh blackberry Blackberries and maple and then a dash of Sriracha and blood orange.
The glaze is awesome.
Ton of flavor, acidity, the chicken itself, it's got a good crunch on it.
The technique is there.
Chicken's a little dry, but of course, I think that's inherent with the tender.
When I think fried chicken, I never think white meat.
Okay.
However, with 30 minutes, you did not have a lot of options.
I didn't.
I think it's the smartest choice, and the flavor of the waffle awesome.
- Yeah! - Good job.
Stephen's attempt to knock me off, it's not working, 'cause guess what, I'm not going home today.
My chicken is good.
Next up, Hetal.
My chicken and waffles look gorgeous.
But since I've never ever had chicken and waffles, who knows if it tastes good? I don't know.
- Hetal.
- Hello.
Tell me what you've made.
It's a cornmeal waffle with cilantro, peppers, and onions in it with ginger, nutmeg, Indian spice fried chicken.
Basically, your comfort food that I have now Hetal-ified to my version of Indian comfort food.
Looks like you have chicken tenders here.
- Yes.
- Why not a drumstick? The drumsticks take longer to cook, so it was me just playing it semi-safe.
Hopefully you like it.
Okay.
Did I make you proud? Uh-oh.
Hopefully you like it.
Okay, let's give it a taste.
Did I make you proud? Uh-oh.
That is delicious.
Yes! Okay.
- Really delicious.
- Thank you.
And for me this dish is absolutely comfort food 'cause it is chicken and waffles and it reminds me of home, but it also reminds me of my favorite dish at an Indian restaurant.
You get sweet and salty, and you get spice, but you don't get spice the way that you get it from hot sauce down South.
You get spice the way that Hetal would bring you spice, and it better be in your cookbook if you take home this competition.
- That is delicious.
- Yes.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Good job, Hetal! Next up, Claudia.
Waffles are something that I make with my daughter every weekend, and I make this chicken all the time, so I'm really confident at this point.
I know that my flavors are on point.
Claudia, describe the dish, please.
I've made a cayenne and buttermilk fried chicken with a lemon and thyme sweet waffle with a citrus maple glaze sauce.
Wow.
This looks terrible.
It looks like it's just come out of a diner.
The chicken, unfortunately, is still pink.
If you're going to use a big thigh of chicken like that, you can put the chicken in the oven the minute it comes out of the fryer.
That breading is seasoned correctly, so you've got that bit right, but waffles are embarrassing.
Just touch that, okay? It's like my granddad's mattress.
Soft, spongy, and just horrible.
Here's the thing.
And I think back to some of the desserts and what you've done with your spin, your twist.
Have you got lazy? No, not at all, Chef.
This is you at your best? It wasn't at my best, but I think that if I had a little bit more time to finish and add the garnishes and everything, I would have done better.
How dare you ask for more time when there's a guy standing behind you that had half your time? That, for me, has just put you to the back of the line.
Dead Mexican walking, ladies and gentlemen.
I have no words.
This is the first time that I feel like I'm at the bottom, and I don't like it.
Next up, Nick.
So I did a Southwest fried chicken with waffles infused with a little bit of orange zest and rolled oats, horseradish maple syrup, and a pink peppercorn compound butter.
Southwest? Maybe southwest Germany.
Horseradish has nothing to do with desert-style cuisine.
Chicken, good flavor.
Love the bacon.
It's just stepping back and making sure that every single thing on the dish has a reason.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
Katrina.
It's a miso fried chicken with scallion waffles and peach hot sauce and a compound butter with honey and chives.
Why miso? I wanted to do something different.
Miso disappointed.
The problem with the tenders, they can go dry 'cause there's no fat in there.
Okay.
The waffles are good, but it's just not you at your best.
- I want more.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
Olivia.
It's an orange and ginger waffle with a honey soy glazed chicken topped with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro.
I actually think the toasted sesame seeds are what saves the chicken, but the breast is dry even with the skin on the meat itself.
The waffle, I think it's okay, but definitely I think you could have done a lot better.
Thank you.
- Next up, Tommy.
- Oh.
I'm really happy with this dish.
My chicken wings, my chicken drumsticks, they look like solid gold.
Describe the dish, please.
Duck fat fried chicken with a pecan quinoa corn waffle and a tomato whisky marmalade.
Why duck fat? My Aunt Lorraine and my grandmother always kept a little coffee can of duck fat on the back of the stove - Yeah.
- That was saved.
Nothing went to waste.
Chicken Incredible.
Waffle's another league.
It's authentic.
It's delicious.
You're frying in duck fat, which is a chef's dream.
I think this is one of your best dishes that you've performed so far, and you may look the part, but now you can really cook the part.
Oh, thank you.
Tommy, have you gone all country on us now? I am country.
I was born in Little Rock.
That is righteous stuff, Tommy.
Uh-huh.
Fried chicken, nailed.
One of the most flavorful of the night.
This marmalade jam, you need to jar it up, sell it, 'cause it's awesome.
This is the deal right here, and this is what will get you further in the competition.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Good job, Tommy.
Good job, Tommy.
Last up, Shelly, please.
Let's go.
All right.
I'm not 100% happy with my dish.
I know my waffle's a little blonde, and my plating isn't like, wow.
I'm hoping and I'm praying the judges like it.
Please describe your dish.
Classic chicken and waffles with a bourbon maple syrup and a vanilla-scented waffle.
Okay.
Let's try the chicken first.
You've cut the chicken.
Just to make sure it was done.
To make sure it was done? - Yes, Chef.
- So is it done? Yeah, I didn't want to give raw chicken.
Shelly, it's pink.
Yeah.
There was other bits of chicken on your board.
- Where are they? - On the - Are they cooked? - Yes, Chef.
So you've left the cooked chicken on the bench and served me the pink chicken.
So you've left the cooked chicken on the bench and served me the pink chicken? The chicken's undercooked, it's bland, and it's a shame.
A waffle that doesn't really taste of anything and a fruit salad or just chopped strawberries.
At this stage in the competition - Not sufficient.
- Not sufficient.
- Did you give up? - I didn't give up.
I mean, I was praying today, and I was really focused going in here because all of this has been getting in my head, and it's just been psyching me out, and I've been second-guessing myself, but I know I know I can cook.
I know what I can do, and I know I'm capable, and I know I'm not a failure.
Too much second-guessing, Shelly.
More conviction.
Yes, Chef.
Thank you.
I know I can do better, and I know I deserve to be here, but that wasn't Shelly on a plate.
I'm hoping that the judges can see beyond this dish.
Tonight was a tall order, but there were two incredible standout dishes.
Congratulations, Hetal and Tommy.
- Yay, Tommy! - Yay, Tommy.
Good job.
Both of you will be captains in our next big challenge.
Okay.
Good job.
Thanks again.
And now for the bad news.
For the overall two worst dishes, one of these home cooks will be going home.
The first home cook, there was a fruit component that didn't work, and the chicken was not cooked properly.
Please step forward, Shelly.
The second disastrous dish was lackluster.
This contestant has never been in the bottom.
Please step forward, Claudia.
Claudia, I strongly believe that you have all the makings of going on and continuing to be a very strong chef.
I'm shocked as much as Christina and Graham to see you down here.
Shelly, you know, at the beginning, you came into this competition, you fought for an apron, you lost that battle.
I saw something in you that nobody else did.
We brought you back.
I believed in you.
And you know what, young lady, I still believe in you.
But I do believe you have gone as far as you can in this competition.
I'm sorry.
Your journey is ending tonight.
Claudia, please say good-bye to Shelly and head back to your station.
Listen, do the damn thing for the moms, okay? - Yep.
- Okay.
All right, babe.
Thank you, chefs.
Young lady, you are an inspiration.
Yes, you had a tough journey here, but you found happiness.
Yes.
It's a blessing.
This entire experience was bigger than anything.
I woke up feeling brand-new.
It's like a sense of appreciation.
It's just like, if you don't take something from every single moment here, you're a fool.
I'm going to save my money, and I'm going to go to culinary school, and I'm still going to teach people that don't know what to do with food stamps that are single moms that food is power, food is love.
And I'm going to do right by you guys, and you guys are going to see Shelly Flash again and be like, "I remember her.
" I'm happy knowing what you're going to achieve - after this competition.
- Yeah.
You got a big heart, so hats off.
Thank you.
Come and say good-bye, my darling.
All right.
Good luck.
- Ay-yi-yi.
- Thank you.
Ah.
- We're gonna miss you.
- Chef Christina.
Bye, y'all.
Bye.
This defeat, it stings, but I like looking at the glass half full.
Bye, y'all.
How many people can say they made top nine on MasterChef? I gotta say, really delicious.
Thank you, Chef.
I know my daughter's proud of me.
You got this, Mommy, okay? Stay calm.
She's my biggest cheerleader, so I work hard to lead by example.
Red Team.
Congratulations, Shelly.
Food is not for substance.
Food is my heart.
One of your best performances, but for me, you're growing in confidence, which is what MasterChef is all about.
Don't stop.
I thank Chef Ramsay for seeing something that I had yet to see in myself and to igniting something in me Welcome back.
That will not burn out, that will not die out, and that will be brilliant.
Good night, darling.
Next week It's the first ever MasterChef vegetarian team challenge.
Cook these down.
Blend the [bleep.]
out of them.
Who will claim victory? That's way too much water.
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- This is a mess.
Go faster.
Two at a time.
I see one at a time.
Shut up.
Thank God I'm not a vegetarian.
And in the most gruesome pressure test ever I suggest you do not turn around.
Whose head is on the chopping block? Intimidated? Previously on Home Free Are you ready? Eight remaining couples competed Go, go, go.
To win a brand-new dream home.
Oh, my God.
Come on, go.
At the Drill Down Challenge Ten's a C clamp, right? Couples fought to control the game.
- We're done! - Done! - Wrong.
Brian and Kathy won - Whoo-hoo! And chose to reunite the Gold Team.
Gold Team! Make it right! A defeated Green Team was desperate for a win.
So what time do you guys think you'll be here till tonight? Till the job's done.
But a lack of team chemistry The final say-so does fall on Heather.
Put them at odds.
What's the length on the sofa? Tell him to go away.
The Gold Team's confidence continued to soar.
You know how you know who's on top?
Have you got a little ant infestation? Rolling your eyes to the balcony? Don't be disrespectful.
Ending his MasterChef dream.
Tonight We're gonna show you how it's done.
Damn! The judges fire up the competition Oh! As the final nine face an explosive challenge.
- Whoo! - Aah! You must be careful playing with fire.
Which home cook will produce the hottest dish of their life? Really delicious.
Boom.
You just keep getting better and better.
And who will go down in flames? That has just put you to the back.
I'm in the top nine, baby! That feels great, but it's also really scary.
Let's go, guys.
Welcome.
There are eight people here besides me who want to be MasterChef.
I'm gonna have to stop these children! You have all faced the heat of this kitchen, and you've survived so far.
It's time for your next mystery box challenge.
Right, on the count of three, very carefully lift your mystery boxes.
One two three, lift.
- Yes! - Whoo! Liquor! This is good.
Let's have a shot.
Let's get it going here.
Five different types of liqueur: bourbon, brandy, Calvados, anise liqueur, Cognac, and some matches.
This box reminds me of my college years.
You know, there's booze and matches.
This is a recipe for disaster.
This competition is heating up big-time, because for this challenge, the dishes you are about to make will all have to be flambéed.
Now, all of you, please come stand down here.
We're gonna show you how it's done.
Getting another cooking demonstration from Gordon, Graham, and Christina is a magical treat.
"Flambé" in French means "flamed.
" You take alcoholic liquor and light it on fire.
Burning off alcohol adds a depth of flavor.
I'm using Cognac to make one of my favorite comfort dishes, beef stroganof I like to sort of elevate it a little bit, with some nice darker enoki mushrooms, a nice beef tenderloin cut really thin, and some micro chives.
I'm using anise liqueur to turn these incredible mussels into a delicious dish.
Throw in a little bit of shallot, garlic, fennel.
I'm using a stunning Calvados, an apple brandy, to make a delicious peach and shortbread dessert.
Make some caramel.
Place your peaches on top of the sugar.
You must be careful playing with fire.
Make sure you don't get burned.
In, tip, and tilt.
- All right.
- Damn! Having three judges in front of me flambé three different types of plates is just an absolute delight.
This is a culinary student's dream.
All right, so beef stroganoff flambéed with Cognac.
Mussels flambéed with anise liqueur.
flambéed in Calvados.
Beautiful.
Oh, my God, man! Those dishes look amazing.
This flambé demonstration really gets the creative juices flowing.
All of you, please return to your stations, thank you.
The closest thing I got to flambé was burning down my house in 1998, and I hope I don't burn down the MasterChef kitchen today.
Tonight, we want you to make us a stunning flambé dish in just 45 minutes.
You're going to have access to a limited pantry of ingredients that you can use to make your flambé dishes shine.
In there, you're going to find proteins like pork tenderloin, clams, sea bass, and shrimp, as well as a bounty of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy products.
You know what's at stake.
The winner gets a huge advantage in the pantry.
Is everyone ready to light this place on fire? - Yes, Chef! - Whoo! Yes, Chef! I'm so glad that I'm not the only thing flaming in this kitchen tonight.
Your 45 minutes starts now.
Whoo! Excuse me.
This is the final nine.
Why flambé now? What does it really show us in these home cooks' technique? To flambé something spectacular is not easy to pull off.
You gotta understand: what does it do to the flavor? And it starts to transform those amateur chefs into professional chefs.
I'm about to set this mystery box on fire! Today I'm making a veal Calvados with flambéed apples.
Top nine you gotta step up, and I need to make sure they see what I can do.
Oh! I'm making almond shortbreads with a play on an old fashioned, so I'm going to do a bourbon orange flambé.
I'm used to cooking with spicy, not really with fire.
I try to avoid that, but there's a first time for everything.
Halfway, guys! VoilÃÂ .
Tommy, bonsoir.
Tout va bien? Bonsoir.
C'est trés bien aussi.
Right.
What are you doing? I'm going to do one of the famous things from the French Quarter, which is bananas Foster.
Looks like tonight you're going back to your roots, Southern Louisiana.
I'm trying to.
You know, this has got a lot of drama in it, and I always love to bring the drama to the dinner table.
I would never have guessed that.
No.
- How's that? - Huh? - Yes.
- Good luck.
All right, guys, just over 15 minutes remaining.
Whoo! Stephen, how we doing? I got, like, magic happening right now.
The food, it's telling me what it wants, and I'm listening, yeah.
All right, so tell me what the finished dish is going to be on the plate.
I'm doing, like, a garden on a plate here.
Okay.
I got sea bass wrapped in leeks, flambé it with some anise, blanched asparagus, some little Brussels sprouts.
Who do you think, like, the top two or three people are right now? - Uh - Your biggest competition? Uh, Derrick, but I can't worry about what he's gonna do.
I can only concern myself with right here, right now.
All right, go.
Yeah.
Derrick! What are you making? Chilean sea bass with the fennel.
I'm gonna flambé the fennel in that Smart.
And then I'm gonna flambé pears in bourbon.
I'm setting this up super artsy.
Yeah, I see the potatoes cut out with a ring cutter here.
- Yeah.
- These are beautiful! I'm gonna make a tunnel cascading down, and then my pieces of Chilean sea bass are gonna be in there.
This is going to be the most stylistic plate up there, hands down.
All right, good luck.
I'm excited to see how it comes together.
Thank you.
Whoo, yeah.
Whoo! - Right, Katrina.
- Yes, Chef.
- How are you feeling? - I'm doing great.
Tell me the dish.
What are you doing? I'm doing a sea bass with clams and fennel, onions - Wow.
Nice.
- Bacon, thyme.
I alrey flambéed the fennel and the shallots.
- What did you use? - Cognac.
Cognac.
Why Cognac? - I was thinking French.
- Mmm.
I was thinking, like, you know, like You know, crab bisque? And I would love to have crusty bread to dip in, you know? Nice.
Look at you.
Wow.
- Yeah.
- You've gone all French on me.
- I kind of did.
- Can you do this? - Yeah.
- Good, good luck.
Thank you very much.
There we go.
How much time do we have? Yep, that's happening.
Oh, no.
These dishes are looking incredible, come on.
Our real problem is gonna be picking the top three here.
Yeah.
There are so many amazing dishes out there.
Aah! - Ten - Oh, my God.
Nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
- And stop! - Whoo! Hands in the air! Well done! Come on, guys.
Do your final flambé.
Five, four, three, two, one.
- And stop! - Whoo! Hands in the air! Well done.
Great job, all of you.
As you know, in every mystery box challenge trust me we watch everything.
We taste everything.
We miss nothing.
There are three highlights out there that we, right now, are dying to take a much closer look at.
This first home cook's dish combined two different styles of flambé.
The dish has a fruit component.
Please step forward, Tommy.
Oh.
Ha! Yes, baby.
I've been called first.
The judges are gonna be quite impressed today with Tommy Walton.
Looks beautiful.
Describe the dish, please.
It is a bananas Foster with maple and bourbon cream, garnished with Granny Smith apples.
Inside is what? Inside is a sweetened cream cheese th the banana inside.
It smells incredibly fragrant.
And you haven't just done the sort of cheap flambé, because the whole crepe is colored beautifully.
Mmm.
Wow.
It's rich.
It's sumptuous.
It's steeped in alcohol.
But you've just burned off the right amount of liqueur.
I love what you've done with the savoriness of the cream cheese inside as well.
Tommy, delicious.
Merci beaucoup.
Great flavor.
I love the use of the bourbon.
I love the whipped cream.
But where's the apple in the dessert? The apple is really just the garnish, and the apple was actually cooked in the pan along with the bananas.
If there was anything that I'd do to change it up, it would simply be to omit the apple.
Apple, kind of coming from left field.
But what's on the plate is delicious.
- Good job.
- Thank you.
I'm glad you went down the dessert route.
Oh, good.
I'm very happy to have seen that.
You have really simple, humble flavors, but you've found a way to have them sort of scream and shout.
Oh.
Thank you.
I think that your pecans, for me, provide plenty of texture.
The crepes are beautiful.
They're perfectly thin.
The flavor that you achieved in that caramel flambéing really shows your confidence and strength in this challenge, so - Thank you.
- Yes.
This second dish that we'd like to examine further, this person was one of a number of home cooks out there that went down the seafood route.
They also opted to use the anise-flavored liqueur, a great flavor.
We really want to dive into it.
Please come forward, Katrina.
I've been in the top twice for mystery boxes, and I haven't n one.
I'm aching for one, and today, hopefully, it will happen.
All right, so, Katrina, tell me what the dish is.
It's a pan-seared sea bass with a seafood stew, which contains clams, bacon, fennel, heavy cream.
Look at that.
I got bacon.
I've got clams.
I've got fennel.
I've got the fish.
You've made so many tasty dishes for us.
You've been an amazing team captain.
However, you just keep getting better and better.
This is the best dish I've tasted from you.
Thank you.
The stew, the bacon, and all the flavoring in there is so tasty.
And that cook on the fish just shows, like boom that you've got it.
You can go any direction, and I'm proud to see you continue that journey.
- Getting better and better.
- Thank you so much.
Why sea bass? I wanted to think about a hearty dish.
I mean, I'm from a big family.
It's never small portions.
That's really hard for me, so That's fine.
The dish has rustic charm.
It feels like I'm in Brittany, on the coast, sat on a little port.
Love what you did with that fennel.
It's delivering a punch in flavor.
It's delicious.
Great job.
- Well done.
Thank you.
- Thank you so much.
The third and final dish we want to take a closer look at is a dish that's truly restaurant quality.
This home cook used sea bass as the main protein on their plate.
Please welcome Stephen.
Oh, my God! I don't believe that.
Today I cooked my heart out.
I gave 'em my best.
I deserve it.
I deserve to be in the top three.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Stephen, tell me about your dish.
Sea bass wrapped in leeks, flambéed, and then slowly braised with garlic and shallots and pecan.
It is darn delicious.
It shows that you clearly know how to cook a piece of fish.
It has incredible richness, incredible depth of flavor.
There's some acidity.
You're channeling so much confidence and knowledge in this dish.
I would be blown away if I went to a restaurant and ordered this dish.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you very much.
Uh, the alcohol, you've been clever with it without being overindulgent.
You showed finesse.
Touch more seasoning underneath before you wrap things, but it's great.
Whether you like it or not, you're this wild beast.
We've gotta bring the best out in you, and I think this dish highlights it.
- Good job.
- Ha ha! Great job.
Quick on that one.
That was good.
- Yeah.
- Very good.
- So good.
- Awesome.
One's restaurant quality.
One's like a nice little bistro-y deal.
Yes.
Katrina's dish looks beautiful, and Stephen's dish looks like we're taking a walk in his garden.
But I know my mama would love this bananas Foster, and my mama is telling me, "My baby's got this one.
" Tommy, Katrina, Stephen, tonight you produced three stunning flambé dishes, but only one of you will receive a game-changing advantage.
The winning dish that we felt used the flambéing technique to highlight their dish, congratulations The winning dish, congratulations Stephen! Yeah! Finally I won a mystery box! I'm feeling electric right now, man.
Are you ready to join us in the MasterChef pantry and receive your huge advantage? - I am ready.
- Let's go.
As the winner of the mystery box challenge, Stephen is now in control of the elimination test, where at least one person will leave the competition.
Let's get this party started! Let's I don't - Whoo! - I d For your first big advantage tonight, you do not have to cook in tonight's elimination.
Yeah! Whoo! Thank you.
For your second big advantage tonight, you will get to choose what everybody out there will be cooking tonight.
I love it! You will be choosing from the food of the South.
I love Southern food.
I grew up in Virginia, - and I know Southern food.
- Mm.
Under here is one of my absolute favorite things to make and to eat.
Shrimp and grits.
Simple, homey, but it's not easy to get right.
One bum note and this dish is a disaster.
Next up, one of my absolute favorite Southern-inspired dishes.
- Chicken and waffles! - Yeah! Two totally different techniques, nowhere near as easy as it looks.
No.
This is the pride and joy of New Orleans.
Gumbo.
Takes a lot of skill to get right.
You have to be precise and make sure you get the balance of flavors absolutely spot-on.
If you don't, gumbo can go from greatness to gruel.
All right, Stephen, it's up to you now to choose between one of these three Southern dishes: shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, or gumbo.
I'm gonna have to lean a little bit towards Ha ha! You can see for yourselves that Stephen does not have to cook in tonight's tough elimination challenge.
For his second advantage tonight, Stephen got to choose from three of our favorite Southern dishes.
Stephen chose Chicken and waffles.
People don't think that I'm a Southern boy, but the trutis, I'm Creole, honey! I love chicken and waffles, more than church loves sin! Everybody will have 60 minutes to make us the best chicken and waffle you've ever made in your entire lives.
Actually, that's not entirely true.
Stepheotr advantage that we didn't tell you about.
You will get to choose one person that has to make the chicken and waffle dish in 30 minutes.
[bleep.]
.
- Half the time.
- Oh, nice.
So, Stephen, it's time to tell us your decision.
Basically, I have a list of each name from the beginning of the competition.
Obviously there was a lot more names here.
On the top of the list are my toughest competition.
You see Derrick on the top right over here next to my name.
Um, this is because I'm looking at him.
Drum roll.
Who is it, please? Bum bum bum bum bum I will take Derrick, the little drummer boy, for 500, please.
Buh-bye.
Buh-bye.
You watch me work in 30 minutes, Stephen.
Think of what's at stake elimination.
This could be your last time cooking in this kitchen.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
Ooh! - Tommy.
- Yeah, baby.
Derrick, there's no rush.
You've got plenty of time.
- Whoa! - Aah! Chicken.
I'm going last.
I got 30 minutes to waste.
Chicken and waffles, one of my favorite treats at home for me and my little girl.
We deep-fry.
We make a nice, creamy batter.
Let's go! I was raised in the South, so come on.
I can't wait to kill this one.
Why do you think Stephen chose chicken and waffles? It's the hardest to nail with the two techniques.
A lot could go wrong.
Christina, the perfect waffle.
I'd put a little bit of corn, sort of bring out the sweetness but the earthiness that a waffle can bring.
That waffle needs to be crispy in order to hold the maple syrup.
- Sure.
- And the butter? If they do not nonstick spray those waffle irons, you're gone.
Yeah, my big worry tonight is the oil.
If they get that oil too hot and the chicken colors too quickly and they think it's cooked and the inside of that chicken is still bloody, bang.
- Yeah.
- Game over.
Sorry.
I'm proud to be from California, so I'm doing a Southwest fried chicken and waffles with a horseradish maple syrup.
I'm really excited about this.
I am making cayenne and buttermilk fried chicken legs with lemon and thyme waffle.
Definitely something that I love to make with my munchkin, and I want to make her proud today.
Right, Tommy, how are you doing? I'm doing okay, Chef.
Thanks for asking.
Tell me about this.
What's going on? I'm doing a duck fat fried chicken.
Whose recipe is that? That's my recipe.
It can be yours too, you know.
You are in your wheelhouse.
You are in the comfort zone.
Confident you can nail this? I think I've got it pretty good.
- 36 minutes to nail it.
- Okay.
Hurry up, let's go.
I'm doing miso fried chicken with scallion waffles.
Kind of thought, like, hey, let's bring something different to it.
I have confidence now, so I just want to do my best.
Derrick, 30 seconds to go.
Derrick, good luck.
I believe in you.
- No, you don't.
- I do.
Get out of here.
Stephen put the target on Derrick's back.
He's taken 30 minutes from his cook time.
Derrick already has one foot out the door.
Well, I wish you all the luck.
All right.
Five, four, three, two, one.
- And start.
Derrick, let's go.
- All right.
Let's go, Derrick.
Right behind you.
I want to watch the magic.
They've made their waffles.
They've marinated their chicken.
Derrick has just started cooking.
Yup.
Chicken takes minimum 20, Do you really think this is Derrick's last moment? I don't think this is possible.
I don't think he's gonna do it.
Derrick.
Derrick.
Derrick! Hey, buddy.
How you doing? Figuring it out in my head.
You know me.
You know me.
It is such a treat to irritate Derrick.
I love you.
This is like playing Battleship with little kids, you know? I want to hit that target, and I want to sink that ship.
There is going to be a war in this kitchen.
- Derrick? - Yes, baby.
The door's right there.
Aah! They've made their waffles.
They've marinated their chicken.
Derrick has just started cooking.
- Derrick - Yes, baby.
- The door is right there.
- Aah! Yeah.
Stephen is taking the psychological warfare to a completely different level.
- I believe in you.
- All right.
This is going to make you stronger.
It's going to make you a better cook.
Get out of here.
Oops.
[bleep.]
.
Buttermilk back to breading, back to butterm - Hetal.
- Yes.
All right, so talk to me about the dish.
This is your waffle? It's cornmeal, onion, some spices.
Smells good.
Kind of reminds me of something my mom makes me called pudla when I would be sick.
This feels like you.
I was very worried you would get lost in this challenge.
So was I.
But I'm still worried about the chicken.
So I'm going to go buttermilk, flour, bread, into the oil.
The hope is that I have the technique.
Good luck.
This is delicious.
Thank you.
This is a dead piece.
This piece is dying.
Right, Shelly, how you doing? I'm doing pretty good.
I'm just redoing this last waffle.
Redoing the waffle? I tested it, but that one I didn't like the browning, so I went back in with it, and then it got all weird.
What style of chicken Where are we going? We going tender, drum? I'm actually doing whichever one comes out best.
- This is in your wheelhouse, right? - Yes.
This isomething that you ck a lot of, so you should be pretty familiar with this, right? I'm familiar with it, but that's kind of my Achilles heel when I get so confident in something, I kind of psych myself out.
Really? Okay, you've got nine minutes to nail it.
- Good luck.
- Yes, Chef.
Thank you.
All or nothing.
Beautiful, Shelly.
- Derrick.
- What's up? - All right, how you feeling? - Cool as a cucumber.
You got fried chicken.
What'd you go with, a breast? I did a cayenne buttermilk crust.
Okay.
I got a beautiful Belgian waffle.
Ooh, looks good.
Then I got a blackberry chili maple sauce.
Are you gonna have to lower the standards, or are you going to be able to pull it off? It was a waste for Stephen.
I will never sacrifice presentation.
- I'm going to nail this.
- Wow.
Okay, thanks.
Two minutes to go, guys.
You've got to start thinking of plating.
Hetal's waffle is delicious.
Wow, that's great.
Great news.
If she can pull this chicken off, she might be in the top.
I did it right! Hopefully it tastes good.
That's the goal.
Shelly's choosing betweex different waffles.
None of them have color.
How many times have we seen an elimination challenge where this dish is in their wheelhouse, and they just completely fail? I think she has all the potential, but it's up here.
She's got to get out of her head.
All right, let's do this one more time.
The chicken she's going to serve us has the batter already pulled off.
She's giving us chicken that has no color on it.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop.
- Well done.
- Whoo! Wow.
That's what I call a energetic 60 minutes.
Great job.
First up, the person who was up against it the most.
Derrick, let's go please.
Looking at my finished dish, I am a little nervous.
I got 30 minutes to cook chicken and waffles.
It's not easy by any means, and I hope they really admire my effort.
Okay, before I say anything, how does it make you feel that he, up there on the balcony, in minutes from now wants you sat at home? I've had a target on my back since I got here.
I'm going to wear it like a cape.
Batman has a cape.
Superman has a cape.
Mine's red and white.
That's cool.
Hope you can use it to fly home.
There you go.
Derrick, describe the dish, please.
Buttermilk chicken and waffles with a spicy blackberry and maple reduction.
You had half the time that everybody else standing behind you had tonight.
Up against it with 30 minutes, the tender needs to be cooked absolutely perfect.
Chicken, nice and crisp.
Seasoned beautifully.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
The waffle is delicious.
Crunchy on the outside, light in the middle.
It's a brave effort.
It's not your best.
Let's get that right.
But I'm amazed you got something done with that level of finesse in 30 minutes.
Thank you, Derrick.
Thank you, Gordon.
Looking at the dish, I love the idea of kind of keeping it Southern in spirit with the blackberries.
You stewed down fresh blackberry Blackberries and maple and then a dash of Sriracha and blood orange.
The glaze is awesome.
Ton of flavor, acidity, the chicken itself, it's got a good crunch on it.
The technique is there.
Chicken's a little dry, but of course, I think that's inherent with the tender.
When I think fried chicken, I never think white meat.
Okay.
However, with 30 minutes, you did not have a lot of options.
I didn't.
I think it's the smartest choice, and the flavor of the waffle awesome.
- Yeah! - Good job.
Stephen's attempt to knock me off, it's not working, 'cause guess what, I'm not going home today.
My chicken is good.
Next up, Hetal.
My chicken and waffles look gorgeous.
But since I've never ever had chicken and waffles, who knows if it tastes good? I don't know.
- Hetal.
- Hello.
Tell me what you've made.
It's a cornmeal waffle with cilantro, peppers, and onions in it with ginger, nutmeg, Indian spice fried chicken.
Basically, your comfort food that I have now Hetal-ified to my version of Indian comfort food.
Looks like you have chicken tenders here.
- Yes.
- Why not a drumstick? The drumsticks take longer to cook, so it was me just playing it semi-safe.
Hopefully you like it.
Okay.
Did I make you proud? Uh-oh.
Hopefully you like it.
Okay, let's give it a taste.
Did I make you proud? Uh-oh.
That is delicious.
Yes! Okay.
- Really delicious.
- Thank you.
And for me this dish is absolutely comfort food 'cause it is chicken and waffles and it reminds me of home, but it also reminds me of my favorite dish at an Indian restaurant.
You get sweet and salty, and you get spice, but you don't get spice the way that you get it from hot sauce down South.
You get spice the way that Hetal would bring you spice, and it better be in your cookbook if you take home this competition.
- That is delicious.
- Yes.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
Good job, Hetal! Next up, Claudia.
Waffles are something that I make with my daughter every weekend, and I make this chicken all the time, so I'm really confident at this point.
I know that my flavors are on point.
Claudia, describe the dish, please.
I've made a cayenne and buttermilk fried chicken with a lemon and thyme sweet waffle with a citrus maple glaze sauce.
Wow.
This looks terrible.
It looks like it's just come out of a diner.
The chicken, unfortunately, is still pink.
If you're going to use a big thigh of chicken like that, you can put the chicken in the oven the minute it comes out of the fryer.
That breading is seasoned correctly, so you've got that bit right, but waffles are embarrassing.
Just touch that, okay? It's like my granddad's mattress.
Soft, spongy, and just horrible.
Here's the thing.
And I think back to some of the desserts and what you've done with your spin, your twist.
Have you got lazy? No, not at all, Chef.
This is you at your best? It wasn't at my best, but I think that if I had a little bit more time to finish and add the garnishes and everything, I would have done better.
How dare you ask for more time when there's a guy standing behind you that had half your time? That, for me, has just put you to the back of the line.
Dead Mexican walking, ladies and gentlemen.
I have no words.
This is the first time that I feel like I'm at the bottom, and I don't like it.
Next up, Nick.
So I did a Southwest fried chicken with waffles infused with a little bit of orange zest and rolled oats, horseradish maple syrup, and a pink peppercorn compound butter.
Southwest? Maybe southwest Germany.
Horseradish has nothing to do with desert-style cuisine.
Chicken, good flavor.
Love the bacon.
It's just stepping back and making sure that every single thing on the dish has a reason.
- Okay.
- Thanks.
Katrina.
It's a miso fried chicken with scallion waffles and peach hot sauce and a compound butter with honey and chives.
Why miso? I wanted to do something different.
Miso disappointed.
The problem with the tenders, they can go dry 'cause there's no fat in there.
Okay.
The waffles are good, but it's just not you at your best.
- I want more.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
Olivia.
It's an orange and ginger waffle with a honey soy glazed chicken topped with toasted sesame seeds and cilantro.
I actually think the toasted sesame seeds are what saves the chicken, but the breast is dry even with the skin on the meat itself.
The waffle, I think it's okay, but definitely I think you could have done a lot better.
Thank you.
- Next up, Tommy.
- Oh.
I'm really happy with this dish.
My chicken wings, my chicken drumsticks, they look like solid gold.
Describe the dish, please.
Duck fat fried chicken with a pecan quinoa corn waffle and a tomato whisky marmalade.
Why duck fat? My Aunt Lorraine and my grandmother always kept a little coffee can of duck fat on the back of the stove - Yeah.
- That was saved.
Nothing went to waste.
Chicken Incredible.
Waffle's another league.
It's authentic.
It's delicious.
You're frying in duck fat, which is a chef's dream.
I think this is one of your best dishes that you've performed so far, and you may look the part, but now you can really cook the part.
Oh, thank you.
Tommy, have you gone all country on us now? I am country.
I was born in Little Rock.
That is righteous stuff, Tommy.
Uh-huh.
Fried chicken, nailed.
One of the most flavorful of the night.
This marmalade jam, you need to jar it up, sell it, 'cause it's awesome.
This is the deal right here, and this is what will get you further in the competition.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Good job, Tommy.
Good job, Tommy.
Last up, Shelly, please.
Let's go.
All right.
I'm not 100% happy with my dish.
I know my waffle's a little blonde, and my plating isn't like, wow.
I'm hoping and I'm praying the judges like it.
Please describe your dish.
Classic chicken and waffles with a bourbon maple syrup and a vanilla-scented waffle.
Okay.
Let's try the chicken first.
You've cut the chicken.
Just to make sure it was done.
To make sure it was done? - Yes, Chef.
- So is it done? Yeah, I didn't want to give raw chicken.
Shelly, it's pink.
Yeah.
There was other bits of chicken on your board.
- Where are they? - On the - Are they cooked? - Yes, Chef.
So you've left the cooked chicken on the bench and served me the pink chicken.
So you've left the cooked chicken on the bench and served me the pink chicken? The chicken's undercooked, it's bland, and it's a shame.
A waffle that doesn't really taste of anything and a fruit salad or just chopped strawberries.
At this stage in the competition - Not sufficient.
- Not sufficient.
- Did you give up? - I didn't give up.
I mean, I was praying today, and I was really focused going in here because all of this has been getting in my head, and it's just been psyching me out, and I've been second-guessing myself, but I know I know I can cook.
I know what I can do, and I know I'm capable, and I know I'm not a failure.
Too much second-guessing, Shelly.
More conviction.
Yes, Chef.
Thank you.
I know I can do better, and I know I deserve to be here, but that wasn't Shelly on a plate.
I'm hoping that the judges can see beyond this dish.
Tonight was a tall order, but there were two incredible standout dishes.
Congratulations, Hetal and Tommy.
- Yay, Tommy! - Yay, Tommy.
Good job.
Both of you will be captains in our next big challenge.
Okay.
Good job.
Thanks again.
And now for the bad news.
For the overall two worst dishes, one of these home cooks will be going home.
The first home cook, there was a fruit component that didn't work, and the chicken was not cooked properly.
Please step forward, Shelly.
The second disastrous dish was lackluster.
This contestant has never been in the bottom.
Please step forward, Claudia.
Claudia, I strongly believe that you have all the makings of going on and continuing to be a very strong chef.
I'm shocked as much as Christina and Graham to see you down here.
Shelly, you know, at the beginning, you came into this competition, you fought for an apron, you lost that battle.
I saw something in you that nobody else did.
We brought you back.
I believed in you.
And you know what, young lady, I still believe in you.
But I do believe you have gone as far as you can in this competition.
I'm sorry.
Your journey is ending tonight.
Claudia, please say good-bye to Shelly and head back to your station.
Listen, do the damn thing for the moms, okay? - Yep.
- Okay.
All right, babe.
Thank you, chefs.
Young lady, you are an inspiration.
Yes, you had a tough journey here, but you found happiness.
Yes.
It's a blessing.
This entire experience was bigger than anything.
I woke up feeling brand-new.
It's like a sense of appreciation.
It's just like, if you don't take something from every single moment here, you're a fool.
I'm going to save my money, and I'm going to go to culinary school, and I'm still going to teach people that don't know what to do with food stamps that are single moms that food is power, food is love.
And I'm going to do right by you guys, and you guys are going to see Shelly Flash again and be like, "I remember her.
" I'm happy knowing what you're going to achieve - after this competition.
- Yeah.
You got a big heart, so hats off.
Thank you.
Come and say good-bye, my darling.
All right.
Good luck.
- Ay-yi-yi.
- Thank you.
Ah.
- We're gonna miss you.
- Chef Christina.
Bye, y'all.
Bye.
This defeat, it stings, but I like looking at the glass half full.
Bye, y'all.
How many people can say they made top nine on MasterChef? I gotta say, really delicious.
Thank you, Chef.
I know my daughter's proud of me.
You got this, Mommy, okay? Stay calm.
She's my biggest cheerleader, so I work hard to lead by example.
Red Team.
Congratulations, Shelly.
Food is not for substance.
Food is my heart.
One of your best performances, but for me, you're growing in confidence, which is what MasterChef is all about.
Don't stop.
I thank Chef Ramsay for seeing something that I had yet to see in myself and to igniting something in me Welcome back.
That will not burn out, that will not die out, and that will be brilliant.
Good night, darling.
Next week It's the first ever MasterChef vegetarian team challenge.
Cook these down.
Blend the [bleep.]
out of them.
Who will claim victory? That's way too much water.
- No, no, no, no, no, no.
- This is a mess.
Go faster.
Two at a time.
I see one at a time.
Shut up.
Thank God I'm not a vegetarian.
And in the most gruesome pressure test ever I suggest you do not turn around.
Whose head is on the chopping block? Intimidated? Previously on Home Free Are you ready? Eight remaining couples competed Go, go, go.
To win a brand-new dream home.
Oh, my God.
Come on, go.
At the Drill Down Challenge Ten's a C clamp, right? Couples fought to control the game.
- We're done! - Done! - Wrong.
Brian and Kathy won - Whoo-hoo! And chose to reunite the Gold Team.
Gold Team! Make it right! A defeated Green Team was desperate for a win.
So what time do you guys think you'll be here till tonight? Till the job's done.
But a lack of team chemistry The final say-so does fall on Heather.
Put them at odds.
What's the length on the sofa? Tell him to go away.
The Gold Team's confidence continued to soar.
You know how you know who's on top?