Masterchef (2010) s07e11 Episode Script

1 I'm top 10 and the MasterChef kitchen.
Somebody pinch me, please.
Welcome, guys.
I mean, I have two little girls back home.
I work two jobs.
I'm busy all the time.
For once in a long time, I want to be selfish.
I want to chase my dream of becoming America's next MasterChef.
You are the MasterChef's top 10.
Give yourselves a round of applause.
Come on.
Whoo! But just one of you will win a quarter of a million dollars, Publish your very own cookbook, sail the Caribbean on the MasterChef cruise, and claim the most coveted prize in the culinary world.
The MasterChef trophy.
All right, it's time to see what's lurking underneath those mystery boxes.
At the count of three, lift your boxes.
One, two, three.
Lift.
Whoo! Nutella, it goes on everything.
I put it in my protein shakes after I work out.
That's the only thing frat guys like more than beer.
Nutella, the original hazelnut spread that originated in Italy over 50 years ago? This roasted hazelnut and cocoa spread can be incorporated into all kinds of dishes.
Breakfast, lunch, dinnertime, and my favsnack timeorite snacktime.
Tonight, for your mystery box challenge, you're gonna focus on using Nutella in one particular meal time.
Breakfast.
Is it on toast? The most amazing warm waffles? Delicious pancakes, crepes, croissants.
The list of possibilities is endless.
And I'm gonna cook a Nutella breakfast right alongside all of you.
Finally, we get to see Christina Tosi bake and not just with anything-- with Nutella.
It's just the icing on the cake.
At your stations you will find a MasterChef staple pantry box.
And in the equipment room, you'll find some more ingredients to help you make a Nutella breakfast dish capable of blowing our minds.
Now if you win this challenge tonight, you could get a significant advantage in the pantry.
Please, Christina, head to your station.
Thank you.
You'll all have 60 minutes to make us one incredible breakfast dish.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
- Coming right behind you, Katie.
- Right in front.
The top 10.
This is where the competition goes to a completely different level.
You've got a fireman, elementary school teacher, a poker player, a handyman, a DJ.
And I love seeing how 10 people are gonna take Nutella in 10 different ways.
But we don't want to see anyone in their comfort zone.
I wanna see that Nutella incorporated in a very smart way.
- Christina, how's it going? - Great, It's fun down here.
Tell us about the dish.
What are you doing? There are banana cake donuts with a chocolate hazelnut glaze paired with a Nutella cappuccino.
- A little coffee and donut.
- Wow.
Pretzel bread French toast soaked in a pretzel milk, filled with Nutella, then a parfait.
Nutella yogurt, corn pudding, and chocolate hazelnut granola on top.
Stop it.
Three dishes from one mystery box.
Showing off a bit, Christina, I expect nothing less.
I am making a Nutella crepe with Nutella and espresso pastry cream, caramelized bananas, and toasted hazelnuts.
We're at the top 10, so everyone now is a really good cook.
You can't snake by.
Your dish just has to be the best.
Come on, bacon.
This challenge is about Nutella.
So Nutella needs to shine.
So I am making a cream cheese and Nutella stuffed French toast.
With a berry and banana foster syrup, and Nutella-covered bacon.
Nutella's easy, but you've gotta be able to elevate it.
And if you don't elevate it, you're going home.
I'm making huevos rancheros.
A banana muffin with a Nutella topping.
And I'm also making a granola parfait.
We go through a jar of Nutella a week at my house.
It's something I love and my kids love.
So I'm cooking for my kids today.
30 minutes remaining.
- We're halfway there.
- Whoo! Dan, how you feeling? Excellent, chef.
Tell me about the dish, what are you doing? I'm doing sweet and savory Nutella turnovers with bacon and Nutella inside.
That's gonna be my savory part of the breakfast.
For my sweet turnovers, I'm gonna use banana, Nutella.
That's a classic combination.
Yeah, something you grew up with, Nutella.
Oh, yeah.
See my mom was always working.
She was an anchor woman.
So every day I would have to get up and make breakfast for my little brother and sister.
- Wow, love that.
- Thank you, chef.
That smells delicious.
Damn.
- How you doing, Eric? - I'm doing great.
Do you guys cook breakfast in your firehouse? Every single morning, actually.
It's the most important part of the day.
- What are you making? - All right, Chef, I'm making croissant French toast, with a corn pop crunch on it, with some brandied peaches, and then I'm also gonna make a Nutella pancake.
You're in the top 10 now.
Who are you most afraid of? My neighbor.
My neighbor, Shaun.
I'm very honored, but he's a good cook as well.
No one's afraid of Dan? No.
You know what, Dan, I'm afraid of you though.
- Thank you.
- For many reasons other than cooking.
Chef Lee, I appreciate that.
All right, good luck, man.
Thank you, chef.
- Terry, how you doing? - Yes, Chef, good.
- What's the dish? - A hazelnut crepe, French toast.
I wanna make a nice little Italian zeppole donut with hazelnut in the middle.
And this is just gonna be a little side, a little hazelnut truffle.
Wow, four ways, Terry.
Look at you.
Right, let's go.
Come on.
Mmm, mmm.
Wow, some exciting breakfast dishes out there tonight.
Amazing.
Dan, he's doing two dishes.
The savory turnover with Nutella - and a sweet Nutella turnover.
- Wow.
So it's really interesting.
I'm interested in what Brandi's doing.
She's making a Nutella crepe, Nutella whipped cream.
She's got a lot of different flavors going on here.
If she can nail that crepe, it's gonna be delicious.
Thirty seconds remaining.
Perfect.
Remember, all of you-- a huge advantage.
Here we go, guys.
Ten, nine, eight, seven six, five, four, three two, one.
And stop.
Hands in the air.
Whoo! Well done.
Christina, it looks like you made three stunning dishes.
Can't wait to taste them.
Please, bring them up to the front, please.
Thank you.
Wow.
Give us a little insight to what we have.
Banana cake donuts, chocolate hazelnut glazed, toasted crushed hazelnuts and caramelized banana patons, - and a Nutella cappuccino.
- Wow.
Then, my take on a parfait, some Nutella yogurt some corn pudding on top, and then a chocolate hazelnut granola.
And then a Nutella stuffed pretzel toast.
Caramel glazed pretzels some strawberries and a little pretzel syrup to finish.
Mm, I'm using my fingers.
This is like Christina Tosi is Christina Tosi.
Like, she can make three incredible, very distinct, different dishes in the same amount of time that I'm scrambling to make one dish.
Growing up I actually always wanted to be a pastry chef.
And so, it's really inspiring.
Delicious.
Honestly, I would not want to be following those, let me tell you, but the three of you tonight will be.
Let's have a look.
Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the home cook's dishes as they come together.
- Looks good.
- Thank you.
They now take one final look to choose the top three standouts.
Ooh, wow.
And the winner of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round.
The first home cook who impressed us tonight surprised us with their balance of sweet and savory.
This home cook is becoming a real contender in this kitchen.
Please step forward.
The first home cook who impressed us tonight made a delicious breakfast that stood out.
Please step forward.
Dan.
Yes! First time in the top three.
My pastry looks like it came out of a professional pastry shop.
People are gonna think I went up and stole this from Christina Tosi's station.
But, no, this is straight up Captain Dan.
Dan, tell me what it is.
I did sweet and savory Nutella turnovers made from cream cheese dough with a vanilla sour cream maple syrup.
When I walked back to your station I thought you had used store bought pastry because it looks beautiful.
I love the egg wash on them, and I love that each one of the turnovers has a little decor on top, so I know what I'm getting into before I get into it.
That's a very pro pastry chef move.
What's in this turnover? Well, on strawberry ones, super ripe bananas, some rolled oats, and freeze-dried strawberries.
It's tasty.
I think the freeze-dried strawberry in the filling, such a smart move.
It's not wet and soggy.
I love that you used a super ripe bananas, because all I need is a little bite.
The Nutella is great.
I think a little bit more moisture in there would have gone a really long way, but I think you did a really nice job, and I'm very impressed with your baking skills.
Thank you.
Now, this is the bacon one, right? Yes, bacon, rice crisps, and Nutella.
This is a good breakfast dish.
It's perfect, it's simple, it's hearty, it's comforting.
You know what I love about this? The simplicity of it.
You can create something this simple and still win this, because it's about flavor.
Good job.
Right.
Why didn't you play it safe and go for French toast? I wanted to elevate all the ingredients to show you guys that I'm here to be serious now.
It's delicious.
Almost aerated, caramelized.
I think this journey just started for you.
You got rid of the goofiness.
And you proved, yet again, to everyone standing behind you that you're in it to win it.
- Very good.
Thank you.
- Thank you, chef.
Good job, Dan.
The second dish we'll want to dip into, artfully perfected a very popular breakfast dish.
This home cook demonstrated a classic dish with style panache, with heart.
It's time to see if this home cook can win her second mystery box challenge.
Step forward Tanorria.
Yay.
I really want to win this advantage a second time.
It's gonna send a message to all the contestants that I'm here to win top 10, top five.
Winner.
Wow.
You didn't pull the punches on the calories here, huh? - I usually don't when it comes to breakfast.
- Tell me what you got.
So, I made for you a Nutella and cream cheese stuffed French toast.
There is a strawberry banana sauce on top with a little bit of orange, Nutella covered bacon and a Nutella and hazelnut covered strawberry.
There was a lot of sweet going on, so I wanted opportunities to cut it with the salty from the bacon, the tartness from the cream cheese, the tartness from the strawberry, so that it just wasn't sugar.
It's satisfying.
Your French toast is cooked perfectly.
There's like an old-timey diner in Louisville and it's so simple, yet so delicious.
And this just makes me - feel like I'm back home.
- I love that.
It's a little bit clunky.
- Just refine it a little bit more, okay? - Okay.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
What's the coating on the French bread? I crushed up some toasted hazelnuts, added a little bit of flour to help with the coating, as well as a little bit of sugar.
That Nutella filling is delicious.
You've elevated that to a complete different level.
I'm glad you baked it because of that crispness on the outside.
The bacon is sweet, the chocolate is sweet, but salty as well, so it's like a salty chocolate caramel.
- It's lovely.
- Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
Yeah, girl.
The third and final dish we'd like to take a closer look at.
This person used more than one element.
In fact, this home cook almost gave Christina a run for her money.
We can't wait to taste it.
Please, make your way down here.
- Terry, let's go.
- Oh.
You know, I've been in every single pressure test.
I was the first captain.
The one thing that I haven't done is won a mystery box yet.
Four different items on the plate.
What is the dish? I made Nutella four ways.
I made a Nutella stuffed French toast.
I have a Nutella filled beignet.
I made a Nutella and banana stuffed crepe and I also have some Nutella truffles.
You pushed yourself over these 60 minutes and you are showcasing a variety of different techniques.
Did you go to pastry school? How did you learn this? Mostly just from practicing at home and making it for the family.
Mmm.
The crepe is delicious.
The French toast is great.
The beignets, they're beautiful.
You stole my heart when I saw you making truffles because that's something that they teach you when you work at a five-star restaurant.
You clearly pushed yourself over those 60 minutes, but I want you to think more about presentation on a plate.
I want more color.
Now Terry, you're in the top 10.
Do you think you can win this? I do, chef.
- Me too.
- Thank you, chef.
What's in the middle? - Inside the crepe? - Inside there I have bananas and I have Nutella.
And then the French toast? The French toast has some mascarpone cheese that I infused with a little bit of the Nutella.
And on top I also have a Nutella chantilly cream.
Mm.
It's crisp on the outside.
Love the idea of the chocolate truffles.
Hazelnut inside.
Delicious.
Beignets are spot-on.
French toast doesn't need all this on top.
But that is a very, very good effort.
Well done.
- Thank you, chef.
- Whoo! Terry! Three incredible breakfast dishes, all highlighting the versatility of Nutella.
There's one home cook tonight, whose breakfast dish really stood out among the rest.
The person who will join us in the pantry to receive a massive advantage That dish was made by Three incredible breakfast dishes.
But the person who will join us in the pantry to receive a massive advantage - Congratulations Terry.
- Yes.
Whoo! Good job, Terry.
I just won the mystery box challenge.
- I'm completely blown away.
- Let's go.
It's just something that I've been waiting for you know, since the top 20.
Right, Terry.
Please come in.
Now Terry, the fate of every home cook out there is in your hands.
- Excited? - Yes, chef.
Whilst you stand up on the balcony, safe from elimination, all remaining home cooks are going to have to showcase one of the most popular ingredients on the planet tonight.
It is the versatile, the very humble, yet all mighty Rice.
Terry, under here, this Spanish one pan wonder, is a global hit.
Any idea what I'm talking about? Paella, chef.
- Paella.
- Oh.
Now, that's Spanish.
On the rice, studded with mussels, clams, spicy chorizo, head on shrimp, of course, but it's not that easy to get paella right.
Each bit of protein has to be cooked to perfection.
Yes, chef.
All right, next up.
Under here the Korean is fast becoming an American classic.
The Korean name for this dish literally translates into mixed rice.
Do you know what I'm talking about? Chef, I lived in Koreatown for almost three years.
- It's the Korean bibimbap.
- You know it.
Bibimbap.
Sushi rice, delicious beef, sautéed vegetables, mushrooms, bean sprouts, sunnyside up egg on top.
This is pure rice bliss.
But no where near as easy as it looks.
You have to properly execute every element in that dish.
Now, Terry, let me tell you.
This is a beloved Italian classic rice dish.
Any idea what I'm talking about? Risotto.
A stunning risotto.
Arborio rice, seasoned with porcini mushrooms, and finished with black truffles.
Trust me, it may look simple, but you cannot rush risotto.
Terry, it's like making love.
You don't stop until 25 minutes is up.
I don't know about the 25 minutes.
I mean, I am newlywed.
Okay, Terry, will it be paella, bibimbap, or risotto? I choose Hey, Terry.
Back in the pantry, Terry got some huge advantages.
First and foremost, as you can see, Terry does not have to cook in tonight's challenge.
- Comfortable up there? - Very comfortable, chef.
For his second advantage Terry had to choose between three of our favorite highly technical rice-based dishes.
Spanish paella, Korean bibimbap, - and Italian risotto.
- Oh, Lord.
Terry chose Bibimbap.
Bibimbap? What? What is that? I'm pretty sure that's a Hanson song.
Maybe it's a Korean version that I've never heard of, but I'm screwed.
This rice bowl is basically the national dish of Korea.
You have a stone bowl which you want to heat up.
That's going to crisp the rice on the bottom.
And then you're going to have four, five, six toppings that when you mix them all together at the end, they work together.
Tonight we are looking for your take on bibimbap.
You guys will all have 45 minutes to make the most incredible bibimbap you've ever made in your entire life.
Is everyone ready? Yes, chef.
Your 45 minutes starts now.
Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it.
Onions.
Today I'm thinking an African style bibimbap.
If anyone sees the cabbage, let me know.
I spent three years in Zambia doing children's ministry with my family and if I was making this true African style, I'd make it with caterpillars, but there's no caterpillars in the pantry today, so I grabbed chicken instead.
I have never made bibimbap, but my spin on this rice dish is inspired by my children.
Do we not have shrimp? I love Thai flavors.
It reminds me of a day at the beach with my kids.
So, this dish is gonna be my family all in a bowl.
Let's go, guys.
Whoo, wow.
Bibimbap.
- Edward, this is a tough one.
- It is.
- You cannot underestimate.
- It is.
Give us the A to Z about perfect bibimbap.
All right.
Starts with the rice.
The rice has to be fluffy, but you've gotta have that crispy layer on the bottom.
If you don't, it's not bibimbap, it's just a rice bowl at that point.
Come on, come on, heat up, baby.
After the rice is done, you need a visual array of toppings.
Vegetables, meat, anything you want.
So, each one of those stations of food should bring something different - to the dish.
- It should show their knife work, their technique, their creativity.
And also, their voice.
I'm curious to see what they've got out there tonight.
I have no idea what bibimbap is, but I make a fried rice my family loves, and one dish that I make it with is an Asian shrimp and pineapple skewer.
So, I'm kinda combining those two into one here.
I'm making a curry duck bibimbap.
The duck fat I thought would be a really good way to get the bottom of that bowl to crisp up.
I've never had bibimbap before, but I'm pretty sure I can use my legendary palate to guide me.
Thirty minutes to go.
Hey, Diamond, what are you making? So, most of my family's from the South.
- They all live in Georgia, Mississippi.
- Oh, wow.
And so I wanted to make a lot of different things my grandma likes to make during Thanksgiving.
So, I've got a little bit of fried chicken for you right there as my protein.
I have some red beans working back right there.
And then in the oven I have a corn bread, so I will be adding a little bit of like, a stuffing type of flavor.
- What kind of rice is this? - I used jasmine.
- Smells good.
All right, good luck.
- Thank you.
Guys, we are halfway.
Taste everything.
Make sure you perfect those knife skills.
Nathan, what's wrong? I don't know what's wrong.
You don't know what's wrong? That's the problem.
- I can't breathe.
- What happened? Tell me.
I I haven't cooked rice before.
So, I don't even know if I'm doing it right.
Are you kidding me? Nathan just said he doesn't know how to make rice.
I cooked it when I was a kid, but, then, in our family, food was big, so my sister did the rice.
My five-year-old daughter knows how to make rice.
How are you expecting to be America's next MasterChef when you don't even know how to cook rice? Nathan, what's wrong? Tell me.
I I haven't cooked rice, so I don't even know - if I'm doing it right.
- Christ! Okay.
Let's give you a little taste.
Let's see what we got there.
How does it taste? Correct the seasoning? Now, visually it looks good, that rice.
Yeah, it does.
So, just turn this off? I don't think it looks like it needs anymore cooking.
I can't do that for you, but you need to be in control of it.
- Okay.
- What are you making? I'm making an African style bibimbap with African blackened chicken and baked summer squash topped with fried egg.
Wow, it sounds adventurous.
But-- we can't-- don't get too fancy.
- Bibimbap is a street food.
- Okay.
- All right.
- Come on, you can do this.
Good luck.
Fifteen minutes remaining, guys.
- All right, Shaun.
- Hello, chef, how are you doing today? I'm great.
So, will you tell me what's in that pot? That is some shallot and some garlic - deglazed with sake.
- I saw that sake.
Soy sauce, some fish sauce.
I'm also going to do some really hard charred shishitos.
Now, you're more of a high end flavor profile - and you seem like you're on track today.
- Yes.
Terry's targeted everybody on this one.
He's making us step up our game.
- All right, Shaun, good luck.
- Thank you.
- How are you doing, David? - I'm doing great, chef.
- What's your dish? - I'm making a ratatouille bibimbap.
So, I've got here bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini.
For my sauce, I'm gonna use a tomato sauce.
I'm taking a traditional ratatouille and turning it into a bibimbap topped with a fried egg.
And I'm going to use a little Italian sausage.
Okay, the ratatouille is French.
- Ratatouille is French? - You got Italian sausage.
And then you've got a Korean base.
At the end of the day it's gonna taste good and that's the important part.
Just be careful that the rice and the vegetables - work together.
- Definitely.
- Thank you, chef, I appreciate all that tips.
- You got it.
Three minutes remaining.
All right, gentlemen, who's going home? That's a tough one, this one.
- I think Diamond looks a little bit flustered.
- Ooh.
And Nathan is all over the place.
David's doing ratatouille.
I just don't get how he's gonna take tomato sauce and crispy rice and put it together.
I'm worried about Katie.
- Really? - I think that she signed herself up for too many different ingredients and she's not going to have enough time to finesse them all, because presentation for that bibimbap is key.
Katie, you've got to hurry up.
Sixty seconds remaining.
Make sure it looks amazing.
Come on, Diamond.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
- And stop.
- That's all.
Whoo-hoo! Yeah! Great job.
Right.
Let's start with Brandi.
Let's go.
This crazy dish I've never heard of has been thrown at me, but when my husband and I were in high school, we went to this Japanese hibachi restaurant.
My husband fell in love with fried rice there and I've spent the last nine years trying to perfect it.
So, I know I can take Asian flavors and make thetaste really great.
Brandi, describe your dish.
This is a coconut jasmine bibibap.
Bibibop? Bibimop? Bimibap? Bimibap? I have no idea.
Bibimbap and bap and bap and bap.
I mean-- Sorry, can you tell me how to say it correctly? Bibimbap.
- "Bibimbap?" Okay.
- Yeah.
I made an Asian inspired shrimp and pineapple bibimbap.
What is this here? It's an Asian.
What's underneath the egg? What is this? That is the hoisin sriracha in soy sauce.
Right.
Get-- I can hear underneath and you can just tell - that's what I want to see there.
- Yeah.
- Look at it.
You can see the crispiness.
- Oh, wow.
My mom would be proud of that.
I mean that is incredible.
How do you get the rice crispy? I drizzled sesame oil around the outside and cranked it up and it started sounding like rice krispies.
Here's the thing-- it's absolutely delicious.
I love what you've done with the shrimp, the heat's there.
I thought the pineapple was really a bit too sweet, but it's nice.
What I'd change, a little bit - more green in there.
- Okay.
However, you're a teacher.
Yet, for us, you're one the most perfect students.
You may not pronounce it correctly, but you can definitely cook it brilliantly.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
Well done.
Really good.
How far out of your comfort zone was this dish? The flavors, I was comfortable with.
My kids love fried rice.
They love different Asian dishes.
And just because I'm from a small town, I don't want my children to be held back.
I want them to be able to taste other cultures.
Hmm.
The yellow carrots bring a sweetness, but also an earthiness.
And I think the sesame oil, that nuttiness is actually what helps make it a really deliciously harmonious bibimbap.
And it's great to see that you are so much more than a great skilled Southern home cook.
Really nice job.
Thank you, chef.
Yay, Brandi.
The next home cook we want to see is David.
For the first time in the kitchen, I've really stepped out of the box.
Because it's the top 10, it's no longer time to play it safe.
Hello chefs.
I gambled with some flavors today, but sometimes you've gotta take big risks for big rewards.
I have for you a ratatouille style bibimbap with peppers, onions, tomato sauce, ricotta, and Italian sausage, chef.
I get that you embraced taking this challenge and making it personal and making it your own.
But it looks pretty horrendous right now.
I understand that the tomato sauce kinda ruins the beauty of the other slices of the vegetables.
What's tragic is you've ruined something that was beautiful.
I'll tell you this, if you served this to my mom she would have been really mad.
If you served this to my mom, she would have been really mad.
And what's tragic is you cut all your vegetables so pretty.
It's like you painted this glorious painting on a canvas and then you just took some red paint and just-- Ideally the tomato sauce would have been a bed on top of the rice underneath all the components.
But as time was running out, I wanted to make sure I got it on the plate.
It's just-- it doesn't look appetizing to me.
Does it look better mixed up? Yeah, I mean, it couldn't look any worse the other way, so, Of course it was gonna look better.
So, the rice is beautifully cooked, but what you gave me was a ratatouille on top of an Asian rice bowl.
So, now there's one story on the top layer of this dish and then another story on the bottom layer, and that all has to work together.
Thank you, chef.
I clap for myself.
Right, next up, Dan.
Let's go.
I don't know if you guys can tell or not, I'm not Asian.
I was never whipping up bibimbap in the fraternity house.
But I'm a great student.
Always was.
So, I'm just really counting on my palate to help me impress the judges.
We have a duck curry bibimbap with coconut milk and lemongrass.
Infused basmati rice along with several pickled vegetables.
I love the color.
How did you get that crispiness? I used the duck fat to coat the bowl.
I knew it could crisp the rice really well.
Smart.
Why curry, though? It's a type of spice that I know works well with the duck.
And I also grew up hunting duck on my family's farm.
- Seriously? - Yes, chef.
- You hunting? What, in a pair of shorts? - No, no.
I can imagine you, right now, hunting chicks, but not ducks, Dan.
And, here's the thing, it tastes great.
The curry's actually fragrant.
It's delicious.
Rice is cooked nicely.
I would prefer to see a little bit more correct garnish with the duck.
Water chestnuts, mushrooms.
But the actual blend of making that curry spice worked.
Before we started you were absolutely fixated on what Edward was saying.
That's the sign of a smart pupil.
I just liked the fact that you're getting stronger and this proves why you're in the top 10.
- Well done.
- Thank you, chef.
Thank you.
Brilliant tasting.
Cooking things in duck fat.
I mean, come on.
Clever.
All right, the next home cooked bibimbap we want to taste is Nathan.
I've never cooked rice before, but when in doubt, go African.
I really think it's gonna be something Chef Edward's never seen before and I want to prove that I deserve to be in the top 10.
I have for you tonight a African style bibimbap.
Blackened chicken, baked squash, sautéed caramelized carrot, and this is the Zambian's relish.
Interesting.
So, an African bibimbap.
Yes, my parents were missionaries in Zambia.
When I was 16 years old, my parents moved over there and I didn't come back till I was 19.
It was probably the greatest three years of my life.
Well, it's certainly not Korean.
No, chef.
Over the short period of time I've been here, I have come to stop expecting anything normal.
You are a complete anomaly.
And so out of the box.
The chicken is a little overdone, the rice is beautifully cooked, but there's no crisp on the bottom, but you brought this African spice blend that is just addictive and delicious.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
All right, next up, Katie.
Go, Katie.
Hi.
All right.
Describe your bibimbap.
I did a pineapple Thai shrimp with sweet carrots, sweet potatoes and then underneath the egg I have Thai peanut sauce, and black forbidden rice.
You gotta chance to see that classic bibimbap.
Where do you think yours differs visually? On the classic one I think everything's a little smaller, but I was thinking when I was making this I wanted a good visual.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
It's just big.
This makes me feel like I'm at a tropical fruit buffet.
Now, why did you choose this black forbidden rice? I love black forbidden rice.
The issue with it in bibimbap is that that husk is gonna make any sort of flavor - and texture slide right off.
- Okay.
It's gonna repel it.
The flavor's a little clunky, the texture's a little clunky.
Even at the starch of the sweet potato and then the thickness of that peanut based thickened sauce, it's thick on thick, and the rice just isn't the star tonight.
I was, in my mind, just thinking of being on the beach at the end of a long day with my girls.
At this point you might be seeing your girls sooner rather than later.
Next home cook, Shaun.
So, I took a dish that I would order from restaurant take out, and I elevated this bibimbap to a high-end fine dining plate.
Right now I'm the guy setting the bar, and I'm going to keep setting it higher and higher and higher.
All right, Shaun, what's the dish? It's a New York strip bibimbap with sushi rice.
I did two pickled radishes and charred shishito, the kimchi and sambal paste, and then deep fried a shishito leaf.
I love the vibrant colors.
I mean, this looks like something I would get at a Korean restaurant.
I want to dig into this.
Now remember, we're looking for crispy rice.
Oh, oh, oh.
You see that? You definitely have some crispiness down there.
That makes me so happy.
Look at that.
- That is a sexy egg yolk.
- Thank you, chef.
Makes everything so unctuous.
This is absolutely delicious.
All the different vegetables work.
That kimchi sambal sauce that you had, fantastic.
Keep going this way, and I guarantee you, you're gonna make it to the end.
Thank you.
Air-five.
Last up.
Diamond, please.
Let's go.
I'm hoping that my dish will stand out since I'm not going the traditional Asian route or a tropical flavored route.
I'm just going American type of flavors and, so, I'm feeling pretty confident with my bibimbap.
Well, right.
Describe your dish.
Today I made a Southern Thanksgiving style bibimbap with fried chicken, some panfried sweet potato.
I have homemade cornbread and red beans.
Thanksgiving.
What's that got to do with Bibimbap? A plate that has a lot of different flavors and a lot of different sides that you can mix together that came in my mind.
You're elegant, you're very pretty.
This has to be one of the ugliest dishes I've seen so far tonight.
I mean, so unappetizing.
It's almost like it's been eaten and that's the leftovers.
That looks horrible.
- That looks horrible.
- Mm.
There's no colors that are popping showing very bad knife skills.
You go from thick to thin.
And then the big worry for me is that you dumped a cornbread loaf on top of heavy rich rice.
- What's that? - That is a pan gravy.
I used the chicken grease that I fried and I made a gravy like my grandmother would make.
Diamond, it looks like puke.
I didn't think it would get any worse, but gravy.
Ed, ever seen a gravy in a bibimbap? - Never.
- Christina? No.
The cornbread is undercooked, the beans are heavy.
I get the rice and beans.
I get all that.
But you masquerade all that rice with that heavy, stodgy gravy.
So, there's no crispiness to the rice.
- You've never made this before, right? - No, chef.
Yeah, it shows.
Right now, sadly, that's one of the worst dishes tonight.
I feel like this could be the night that I go home.
I think the one saving grace that I have is that at least I did try to show myself on a plate.
Maybe they'll see where my inspiration was coming from and give me another chance.
Today I get to deliver the good news.
There was a handful of dishes that really, really impressed us.
But the best dish of tonight was Shaun.
Thank you, chef.
- Thank you.
- Beautiful.
It's an honor.
Now to the not so glamorous news.
Three of you tonight made some incredibly disappnting dishes.
The first home cook delivered a dish that didn't make sense.
Please step down, Diamond.
The second home cook put together a bibimbap that just had no inspiration, please step forward, David.
The third and final home cook put things together in a very clumsy way.
You know who you are.
Come on down.
Three pretty bad dishes tonight, guys.
David, please step forward.
Tonight, you gambled with flavors.
It didn't work.
But you got lucky.
'Cause the rice, alone, is what saved you.
- Please head back to your station.
Thank you, chefs.
Clearly two very talented home cooks.
Unfortunately there's no room for both of you to stay in this competition.
This is hard.
I mean, both dishes were lackluster.
They could easily both win.
I know, but is it the meticulous pineapple over the corn bread? As mas miss my girls back home, and as much as I miss my family, my journey here's not over.
I'm not ready to go home.
This is really tough.
Katie, we've witnessed you get stronger, growing in confidence, growing in flavor, and particularly strong in team challenges, but tonight your performance was a disappointment.
Katie it's time for you-- I've got so much left in me.
Tonight was a mess up.
I have so much left in me.
to get a grip and head back to your station.
Say good-bye to Diamond.
Diamond, you cook with flair, you cook with lightness, and you have that level of excitement around everything you've done, but tonight was a disappointment.
I'm sorry, but your time is up.
Please come up and say good-bye.
Thank you so much.
It's been awesome.
I have the Miss San Diego crown.
Unfortunately I did not get the MasterChef crown that I wanted.
I wanted to prove that pageant girls can do more than look pretty.
And so, to know that I made it to the top 10, that I grew and pushed myself further for my own personal growth, I'll always have that in my heart.
I am extremely proud of myself and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens in the future.
- Good night.
Thank you.
- Good night.
Next time Whoa.
That is a chef's dream.
A high-end mystery box - Whoa! - takes the competition to a whole new level.
This is MasterChef cooking at it's absolute best.
And then - Salmon.
- All right.
- For the top nine-- - Ew.
it's sink or swim.
There's no ocean in Kentucky.
And only the sharpest home cooks will survive.
That's definitely one of the worst.
You're a talented cook, but it's dreadful.