Masterchef (2010) s07e90 Episode Script
Celebrity Showdown
1 Announcer: Tonight - Are you excited? - Yes.
America's favorite stars enter the culinary battle of their lives - Oh, wow.
- Not even looking.
competing for charity - Yeah.
- Yes, baby.
and for the title, MasterChef Champion.
It's going to be a very close race.
First up, it's an eye for an eye Kal's pulled for a minute.
as TV comedian Cheryl Hines Are you drunk? Maybe.
takes on actor, Kal Penn.
Here, come here! Then, Atlanta's favorite reality TV couple, NeNe and Gregg Leakes Come on, baby.
Come on.
face off against "Empire" stars, Trai and Grace Byers - We're newlyweds and - We're going up against the "oldyweds.
" in an unbelievable Switch.
tag-team competition.
Next up, family pride is at stake Yo, we gotta roll.
when rock star twins, Joel and Benji Madden Whip it, whip it, whip it.
go head to head Yeah, buddy.
with NFL legends Oh, my.
Ronde and Tiki Barber.
- Dominate these dudes.
- This is going to be a slaughter.
And for the first time ever, alongside their celebrity friends The very talented, Anthony Anderson ( yells ) Christina: Jordana Brewster! Gordon: Jordana may be in "The Fast and Furious", but I am the fast and furious.
Gordon and Christina Come on.
Little haircut.
They're out of control.
battle each other.
We makin' it rain.
This is the ( cheering ) Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Welcome to the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" Tonight is a very special MasterChef event.
You will all have front row seats for our lineup of head-to-head culinary fights that will happen tonight when some of America's favorite stars step into that incredible ring of fire.
It's time to begin the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" First up, it's time to find out how two of television's hottest stars handle the intensity of the MasterChef kitchen.
Please welcome a two-time Emmy-nominated actor from "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and most recently on FOX's new hit comedy, "Son of Zorn.
" Ladies and gentlemen, Cheryl Hines.
Thank you, guys! You know, it's a little terrifying.
I'm not a trained chef.
Thank you.
However, my kids appreciate my cooking.
The question is, will Chef Ramsay? Aww, it has my name.
I'm just hoping the night doesn't end in tears.
In the kitchen, how ambitious are you? I like to have my friends over, and I like to cook, like big Sunday dinner.
I like to bake with my daughter.
She's rooting for me.
- Cat.
- All right, hey.
Cheryl, which charity are you cooking for tonight? United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida.
I have a nephew named Michael who I know is watching right now, and he was born with cerebral palsy.
Our family came together.
We reached out to UCP and they helped us so much.
It's just a great organization and I've been with them ever since.
Wow, amazing.
Cheryl, are you ready to find out who you're about to go up against tonight - to get your hands on that $25,000 check? - Yes.
- You will be going head-to-head against a fellow actor.
- Oh.
Please welcome, from the ABC drama, "Designated Survivor" and the host of a brand-new FOX competition series, "SuperHuman," Kal Penn, ladies and gentlemen.
Hey, guys.
Hello.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I can't believe that I am here at "MasterChef.
" I'm a fan of the show.
I learned how to chop and slice on Gordon Ramsay videos online.
- Good luck.
- Good luck.
I'm confident that I'm going to be able to deliver at least a good-tasting meal.
I can't guarantee presentation.
I've wanted one of these.
Oh, yeah.
You're a big home cook.
Tell me about your love for food.
I'm the son of Indian immigrants who was born and raised in New Jersey.
So you've got, literally, every kind of food.
New Jersey has a huge Italian community, Jewish community, Asian community.
So those were all foods that I just saw as being New Jersey.
So a lot of those are my comfort foods, my kind of go-tos.
Amazing.
Now, Kal, give us a little insight to the charity that you're supporting tonight.
I chose the United Nations Agency for Relief and Works for Palestinian Refugees.
25 grand for them can feed a thousand people for a year.
Gordon: Amazing.
Now, Cheryl, Kal, please head to your stations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I'm scared.
- Oh man, it's the box.
- The box.
Tonight, we're not going easy on you.
We're holding you to our MasterChef standard.
and what better challenge to throw at you than to present you with America's favorite food challenge.
It is the Mystery Box Challenge.
On the count of three, please lift your mystery boxes.
One.
Two.
Two and a half.
Three.
Lift.
- I like that.
- Yeah.
Gordon: Come on.
My favorite, ice cold beers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
Now, tonight, we are pushing you both out of your comfort zones, because you'll be cooking with it.
Cheryl, when you finish drinking it.
Yes.
I can do both, right? Maybe just save a little bit for the cooking.
It's convenient 'cause she showed up drunk anyway, so it's fine, right? Christina: Oh, it's like that.
He better watch it when he turns his back, that knife - All right, you two.
- Yes.
Cheryl, put the glass down.
It'll be gone in a minute, please.
You both have 60 minutes to come up with an incredible dish.
So to make sure that your beer dishes are the best, behind you we've given you an array of incredible pantry ingredients.
From vegetables to incredible proteins, herbs, spices.
dry spices, you name it, it's all there.
The best of the best.
The MasterChef pantry.
Now, Cheryl, Kal, it's time for the battle to start.
We cannot wait to see what you're going to come up with.
60 minutes on the clock.
Are you both ready? - Yes.
- Yes.
Your 60 minutes starts now, let's go.
Oh, my God! Wow.
This is nerve-racking.
Super nerve-racking.
Just for playing in this kitchen and cooking us a dish tonight, $15,000 guaranteed for their charity, but if they win, $25,000 they will get.
Watch this flair.
That's pretty good.
Do, like, 10 more of those.
Give me some love, let's go.
Cheryl: All right.
Now they're both wildly competitive.
Both home cooks.
Kal, bachelor, so definitely has a different approach to food.
- Used to more drinking it than cooking with it.
- Perhaps.
The good news is for me, beer.
How exciting, you can transform that.
I think tonight we'll be seeing lots of marinades, batters, even a sauce with a great beer as well, in terms of reduction.
Tonight I'm going to do beer chicken and waffles and then a beer orange sauce.
I'm hoping that the judges will be drinking some of the beer.
I think it will taste better after a few glasses.
Do you see Kal with that knife? The way he's chopping on that? Guy looks like he's been in the kitchen for the last five years.
I'm making beer-marinated halibut with beer tortillas and a beer-based chipotle aioli.
I hope that there's plenty of beer to split between my dish and my mouth.
Right, Cheryl.
- Right now, tell me about the dish what are you cooking? - Yes? Fried chicken and waffles.
Fried chicken and waffles? Wow.
Amazing, and how are you incorporating the beer? Where's the beer going? Is it the batter or a marinade? Well, in all of it.
What's in there? It's marmalade and beer.
Marmalade and beer.
Where is that going? That's going to go on the waffles.
It's going to be so good.
How are we cooking the chicken? I'm going to deep-fry it.
Is there batter you're going to do with-- - Yeah, I'm soaking the chicken.
- Right.
With some buttermilk and beer.
So you're marinating.
That sounds nice.
- ( squeals ) - Oh.
Oh, geez.
Jesus.
Your secret is to blow on it? How much beer did you put in that? I put in a whole thing.
Maybe that was a mistake.
- Cheryl? - Yes? - Are you drunk? - Maybe.
A little bit.
Just a little bit.
Come on.
Good luck.
46 minutes to go.
- Kal.
- Hello.
What are you doing over there? I'm making some halibut tacos.
How are you going to elevate these tacos? You've got a tough competitor over there.
So I'm about to make an aioli with some chipotle sauce - that will get a little kick to it.
- All right.
And then I'm going to sear the halibut, which is marinating right now - and hopefully add some layers of flavor.
- All right.
- You're making your own tortillas? - I am.
- Is there beer in there too? - There is beer in the tortillas.
So it's also going to tenderize the masa a little bit more.
- I'm curious whether it will hold that tortilla together.
- That's the hope.
Now how are you feeling about your competitor? - Do not let her sidetrack you.
- No, I won't.
That's her game right now, I can see it from over here.
- Kal, make sure beer's the star.
- Yep.
- Nail that tortilla.
Good luck.
- Thank you, I appreciate it.
What is he doing over there? Don't worry about it.
I'm winning.
I can't concentrate.
Gordon: Oh dear.
- Gordon: Coming up - Yes, baby! - it's the Leakes - Christina: Mimi's pan's on fire! versus the Byers.
No, no, no.
Christina: Two things in the fryer at the same time.
Come on.
And later, I step into the MasterChef ring.
We're doing an entree and we're doing a dessert.
What's going on over there? We makin' it rain! Oh dear.
Did I really poke you in the eye? - Yeah! - I am so sorry.
- Oh, my God! - Wow.
I poked him in the eye by accident.
Do not want to lose his eyesight.
Kal's got a medic.
- Sorry.
- So I can't see.
I should, just to be safe, because it's starting to hurt a little.
I'm so sorry.
You told me to watch my back, not my eye.
I didn't think you'd turn around like that.
This probably looked so calm until with my eye, like-- I feel so bad.
- Christine: Cheryl? - Yes? How you looking? Um, great.
Don't sound too confident.
Well, there's a lot going on.
- Kal's almost lost an eye.
- I know.
You've gotta win the right way tonight, though.
I mean I didn't mean to poke his eyeball out.
Accidentally poked me in eye, which means on purpose - Do you make fried chicken at home often? - Yeah.
- What's that chicken going in? - This is it.
Just out of the marinade, into the seasoned flour, into the fryer.
That's correct.
Not worried.
All right, Cheryl, waffles, get them going keep them warm in the oven.
Keep the waffles warm in the oven? Why not? You've got just over 30 minutes to go and it all has to be a complete dish when time is called.
- But, hot? - Yeah.
Yeah, good luck.
Thank you.
I'm really sorry about your eyeball.
It's okay, I'm sorry you're going to lose.
Ohh! ( audience chanting ) Go, Cheryl, go! Cheryl's dish sounds great.
She's got a stout beer working in those waffles.
- Wheat beer with orange zest in it as well.
- Nice.
Got her fried chicken working.
She's on track.
She's definitely playing a little coy.
Well, Kal, look at him.
He's almost got his tacos in an assembly line.
He's got all the garnish there, the shredded cabbage, got the spice there.
He's going to start making the tortilla shell, the marinade But Gordon, he's only working with one eye at this point.
He can barely keep the other one open.
- Young man, how are you doing? - Good.
What's it like cooking with one eye? I have no depth perception, which is the crazy part.
Now, what's in here? Some slaw, some citrus.
Who sliced this? - Uh, I did.
- What is that? - Let's toss that one.
- Oh, let's toss that one.
Now, what's the dressing in here? Some salt, lime, and a little olive oil.
( audience laughs ) It needs more seasoning.
- More seasoning? - More seasoning.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
Christina: One eye, 14 minutes to go.
Is this burning? Looks like Kal's ?? almost fallen behind a little bit because those tortillas are a little too dry so they're breaking up.
I'm worried about Cheryl's flavors.
I'm worried about Kal's ability to get his done.
Two minutes to go.
Audience: Oh! Seven-second rule.
- I mean-- - 10-second rule in the MasterChef kitchen? Now he's got the avocado.
Finesse, finesse, finesse.
Let's go.
Love the way Kal's starting to assemble those tacos.
Finishing touches, let's go.
Audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One, and stop.
- Kal, I'm so sorry.
- It's okay.
Amazing.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, that looks amazing.
I can't believe you made that in an hour.
Well done Cheryl, Kal.
Amazing.
Now for the most important part, of course, the tasting.
First up, Kal, please let's go.
Wow.
Kal, describe the dish, please.
Sure.
So I have beer-marinated halibut tacos with sort of a simple masa flour tortilla, with some citrus slaw, a little aioli, some TajÃn, just to finish it off, with some avocado.
Okay, great, and how do you incorporate the hero of tonight's challenge, the beer? So I wanted beer to be part of every component of this.
There's a little bit of beer in the masa flour mix.
The majority of the marinade for the fish is beer.
And the aioli also has a bit of beer in it.
I'd like to see the fish first, but all I can see now is vegetables and slaw.
Maybe I should have gone a little lighter on the slaw and things on the top.
So, the shells.
They've got color on there, right? ( bleep ) Damn.
Announcer: Coming up PA Announcer: Leakes, Byers seven minutes to stage please.
They're the Byers for a reason because they are going bye-bye.
Gordon: Kal, describe the dish please.
The bottom you have is your halibut, on top is chipotle aioli, then the slaw.
On top of that, avocado and TajÃn.
( bleep ).
Damn.
I was trying to hold it.
Damn.
It was either undercooked or it's too wet.
This one's better.
Traditionally in Mexico, they serve it with two tortillas.
So when you put substantial amount of ingredients inside it stops it from cracking.
Kal, it's bloody delicious.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
I love the heat from the chipotle, the refreshingness of the coleslaw.
You cooked the halibut, delicious.
Wrap it in two tortillas.
Make sure you've got an insurance policy so we miss nothing.
But considering you got stabbed in the eye within the first five minutes, you've done a bloody good job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
Man.
All right, Kal, let's see if it tastes as good as it looks.
- Did a great job there.
- Thank you.
- Delicious.
- Oh, thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Christina: The beer is absolutely present.
It's tenderized the fish because it's been marinated.
The masa harina gives a nice texture.
I really like where the heat level is at.
I think it's very thoughtful.
It makes you feel like you're on a beach in Mexico.
Makes me want to drink the rest of that beer.
- Fantastic job.
- Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
- It was terrifying.
- Good job.
Gordon: Amazing, cheers.
Right, next up, Cheryl, please bring your dish forward.
Thank you.
- Please describe the dish.
- Chicken and waffles.
The waffles have have a little bit of orange zest in them and beer, and the chicken was bathed in buttermilk and beer and then a beautiful batter and then fried.
So there's beer in the waffles, beer in the chicken - and beer in the sauce.
- That's right.
- And beer in your tummy.
- That's right.
Did you use the thigh, the drum, the breast.
The thigh and the drumstick.
This looks like a chicken breast.
Oh, then it may be.
- Okay, so let's get in there.
- Yeah.
You may not know what part of the chicken it is, but it is cooked beautifully.
- Let's get that right.
- Thank you.
It's glistening.
Thing is the actual chicken is delicious, really good.
I love the essence of that beer running through the marinade.
- Batter is nice and crispy, which is lovely.
- Thank you, Chef.
I've always wanted to say that.
The only thing I'd like to see less of is the sugary items, because the actual waffle is very sweet.
- Is the waffle very sweet? - It's very sweet.
I find that hard to believe.
How many beers did you have? But for me the chicken is delicious.
The protein, amazing.
So, good job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Right, Miss Cheryl, let's see what we've got here.
What type of beer did you use in this batter? I used stout.
It's delicious.
It's juicy, it's moist.
Let's look at this waffle.
The way the marmalade is filling into those nooks and crannies of the waffle, - that citrus note is a real compliment to the beer.
- Thank you.
It transports me home.
It's light, it's bright.
You've made our jobs difficult.
It's going to be a very, very, very close race.
Thank you.
- Good luck, sir.
- Congratulations.
Gordon: Right, tough one.
Cheryl's chicken.
The breast is the worst one to get right because it goes dry so quickly.
I thought she was going to stick to the drum and the thigh, but she put the breast there.
- And it was juicy and flavorful and delicious.
- Really good.
Christina: Kal's fish taco, for me, I loved the idea of a fish taco being seemingly simple, seemingly humble.
We've seen professional chefs come in and make tacos, don't even start with their own tortillas.
So to start off with a base like that, he's the real deal.
They both just nailed beer and neither one of them tried to just sneak it in to an ingredient last minute.
- So I think that we've got a winner, do you agree? - I do.
- Excellent.
Gordon: Right, Cheryl, Kal we have a decision.
- Now, Cheryl your dish was plated in a rustic fashion.
- Yes.
You cooked one of the most difficult cuts of the chicken and you nailed it.
You incorporated beer brilliantly, three times.
Kal, very few professional chefs would choose to make their own taco shell.
You came in here tonight like a bat out of hell and you absolutely nailed the essence of the challenge with the beer traveling through the dish.
Two very strong efforts and the individual that will receive a check for $25,000 to their chosen charity, congratulations, goes to - Chef Penn.
- Oh! Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, thank you! Yeah, thank you, Chef.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you.
- Congratulations to Kal and his amazing charity.
- Thank you.
Cheryl, you did an amazing job tonight.
It was such a tight race.
- And you will take home $15,000 for your charity.
- Thank you.
- Come on up here.
- Come on, darling.
This was so fun.
It's okay.
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up please.
Kal and Cheryl.
Thank you guys.
Cheryl: Bye.
Whoa, I can't see anything.
Gordon: Coming up We makin' it rain.
That's what I'm talking about.
This is incredible.
Some very special guests - Do you want the truth? - Mm-hmm.
judge the masters.
I don't like it, okay? Our next celebrity home cooks are competing in teams of two, and not only are both teams stealing the spotlight on their hit TV shows both teams are also married.
First up, two stars from one of the most successful television franchises in recent history.
Gordon: Please welcome from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," NeNe and Gregg Leakes.
Here we go.
Gregg: MasterChef is huge.
I watch it all the time.
I think it's amazing, and where I'm from, we want good-tasting food.
Even down to the French fries, honey.
Gregg: I love watching my wife cook, because my mind's not on the food.
My mind's on how hot she look cooking it.
You better say that.
You know I'm gonna do it, baby.
- First of all, those aprons look incredible on you.
- Thank you.
NeNe, are you a big fan of "MasterChef," "MasterChef Junior"? I am such a fan of both and I'm a fan of you guys, oh, my God! Thank you.
- Gregg? - Yes? - Welcome, sir.
- Thank you.
How would you describe NeNe's cooking? Look at me.
It's not from my own cooking.
Tell us, what charity are you competing for? I'm playing for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
So that's why I'm here and I hope that we get that $25,000 because we need it.
- Yeah.
- Nice, nice.
NeNe, Gregg, you both ready to check out your competition? Come on, competition.
This next pair of celebrity home cooks are newlyweds in real life and co-stars on America's reigning number one hit show, "Empire.
" Please give a huge round of applause for Trai and Grace, the Byers.
This feels amazing to be on "MasterChef.
" - We actually watch the show, all the time.
- We do.
- Grace: We're newlyweds and-- - Trai: We're going up against Both: NeNe and Gregg Leakes.
- The oldyweds.
- Yeah.
Grace: But, we're gonna bring the key to the first six successful months of marriage, which is communication.
Absolutely.
Welcome, Trai and Grace to our culinary arena.
How are you feeling? - We're feeling good, we're ready.
- Ready to go.
Give us an insight to the charity you're both cooking for tonight.
Saving Our Daughters.
So, they're a nonprofit that empowers young girls with the tools that they need in order to overcome bullying and they have a bunch of different programs in order to allow these girls to realize the value and the worth of who they are.
Sounds fantastic.
Amazing.
My big question is, are you confident that you can take down NeNe and Gregg? - Yes.
- Yes.
Right.
Tonight you'll be competing in teams of two.
This time of year, America's got one thing on their minds: - football.
- Yes.
Do you know my favorite thing about the American football season? Food.
Tonight, it doesn't get any more American than this.
A MasterChef game day party platter.
Yes.
Gordon: Here we have the most amazing chicken wings served with a buttermilk dressing.
Beautifully stuffed jalapeño poppers, incredible, and then these, all-American classic sliders.
These dainty little pigs in a blanket, spicy sausages wrapped in puff pastry and then, of course, this stunning rich guacamole, with the wonderful hand-cut chips.
This platter is an all-American game day spread to die for.
You are all gonna have to replicate it exactly.
Trust me, this will not be easy.
Gregg, are you excited? I'm very excited.
I'm starting with the wings and I'm gonna bring it all home with the pigs right in them blankets.
Christina: All right, each team will have just 60 minutes to make their game day party platter, and we're going to do this battle as a MasterChef tag-team.
Here's how it's going to work.
The gentlemen will kick us off and enter the ring to get things started.
You'll find all the ingredients you need on the boards at your stations.
Then, when we shout "switch," you'll tag each other out.
At the end of all that chaos, we want two flawless platters.
- Got it? - Got it.
Gentlemen, head into the ring, here we go.
Right, 60 minutes on the clock.
- There we are.
- Right.
- Let's do it, brother.
- Let's do this.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
Come on, babe.
Go babe, go on.
Come on, Yes, yes, baby! Hey, put a little bit more salt.
Make sure you season.
Baby, whisk the eggs.
You're right, you're right.
- This platter is all about the timing, okay? - Absolutely.
Gordon: So I'd start off with marinating those chicken wings - and then after that, the pigs in the blanket.
- Yes.
- Cut them all.
- Got you, sweetheart.
Gordon: Then, from there, it's the jalapeño poppers.
Get those three big things off, then you're halfway there.
Christina: And then from there, seasoning the meat so it's ready to go when it's actually time to sear.
Those chips, the guacamole, all that stuff can happen much, much, much later towards the end.
NeNe: Gregg, go, go, go.
You got this, Gregg.
Gregg started cooking the wings in the first ten minutes.
They think it's a race for the fastest couple in the MasterChef arena.
Grate the cheese.
Grate the cheese.
- All: ( chanting ) Grate the cheese.
- Yeah.
Leave them, leave them.
Start pigs in the blanket.
Christina: Both of the Byers, costars on "Empire," married in real life so they clearly know how to collaborate.
Gordon: Yeah, but the Leakes have been married for 20 years, so the big advantages tonight is with the Leakes.
Season the meat, babe.
Season the meat.
( screams ) But it looks like NeNe's pulling her hair out.
God, please help me, God.
Help me.
Two minutes to go until our first swap.
Use a paring knife longways.
- Trai: There we go.
- Grace: Perfect.
Beautiful.
Yep.
One minute to go until we switch.
Babe, hurry up, child.
Oh, my God.
Put the chicken in the oven, honey.
Where is Gregg going with those wings? - Putting them in the oven.
- You're the best.
It's all going down the route of being overcooked.
You got it.
Here we go.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Audience: Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
All righty.
- You're gonna need the butter.
- I know, I know.
Grace is in control, let's get that right.
Look at the fierce face she has on her right now.
Trai: Good job, baby.
Flip the burgers, baby.
Honey, my wig gonna blow off up in here.
- NeNe's all over the place.
- Wow.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
- My nerves, up in here.
- Come on baby, stay with it.
Whoo! NeNe's pan's on fire! Gordon: Coming up, Anthony Anderson goes head-to-head with Jordana Brewster.
Anthony: There's a bump.
That back there, was a bump.
Okay.
All right, this is not "Fast and the Furious 22," right now.
Just wanted to shake it up.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
- My nerves, up in here.
- Come on baby, stay with it.
Whoo! NeNe's pan's on fire! Not good.
Gregg: Push your burgers to the back of your burner.
Flip your burgers, baby.
- Here we go.
- Look at Gregg, no problem.
You're doing great.
Tonight is a big platter, lots going on.
I'll get that.
Sauces.
Gordon: It's two amazing couples, 60 minutes.
Where the cheese? The Leakes versus the Byers.
- How we doing? - Good.
Why were the chicken wings cooked so quickly? Because they should be cooked first.
Get all the prep done and then worry about cooking, okay? - Okay.
- Good girl.
Sauces, baby, sauces.
What did Trai set you up for? He did the pigs in a blanket.
Now I'm doing the sauces.
So he's like the sous chef, you're head chef? - Right.
- Yes.
Don't worry about bread crumbs yet.
I gotta stuff these other two peppers.
You're doing great.
- You use your worcestershire sauce, baby? - Yeah.
Make sure we're tasting it along the way.
Yep, we're right on time.
30 seconds to go.
Perfect, perfect, perfect.
This one needs some more egg on it, it's not sticking.
Check your wings while you're there.
Check your wings.
Three.
Two.
One, and switch.
Gregg, what's going on with these jalapeño poppers? The poppers gotta be redone.
Okay, I'll redo them.
NeNe, how's Gregg doing? Gregg is great.
I'm stressed out, child.
Well, you're not even cooking.
This is pressure.
Baby, you gotta get it.
Tilt the bowl to the side to get it all over.
There you go.
All right, Trai.
Who's taking the lead? Is it you, is it Grace? Is Grace sort of driving this bus? She's doing a really great job reminding me of what it is that I'm forgetting.
- Check on the pigs in a blanket.
- Perfect, perfect.
- We're getting there.
- She's watching you like a hawk.
Good luck! - Gordon: 30 seconds to go.
- Put the chips in.
Christina: Looks like Trai's got his chips going in.
No, no, no, no! Christina: Uh-oh, he's got two things in the fryer at the same time.
Come on.
Double duty, that's all right.
Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
Let's go.
You got one more, let it cook until it's done on the other side.
- So I'm gonna do the jalapeño peppers.
- You gotta cut the chips.
You gotta make the guacamole.
Make sure it's brown all the way, not light brown.
Golden brown, okay? ( stammers ) Great baby, salt the chips.
With what? With salt? - The Tanjin.
- Where? You've gotta salt and season those chips immediately.
It just will not stick otherwise.
I don't see it.
It's okay, just go to the meat, sweetheart.
Doing good.
Babe, there's no crumbs in the refrigerator.
It's gotta stick right, we don't have anymore.
This is the second time NeNe's made jalapeño poppers.
Gordon: Look, she's squashing it like it's putty.
You gotta put some flour in.
What are you working on, baby? - Prepping the burgers.
- Great, great, great.
15 seconds to go.
Do what you can do.
Come on, baby.
That's good.
Keep going.
Gordon: Switch.
- Take out the sliders.
- Got you, got you, got you.
- Sliders are great.
- Just assemble the burgers.
You got this, Gregg.
'Cause Lord knows, I ain't got it.
We gotta put some kind of sauce on the burgers.
I ain't got time for that.
Gordon: Last minute, guys.
Setting up for your final switch.
Babe, don't worry about it.
Start setting up the plate up.
Just start setting the platter up.
Put one on top.
Put the guacamole in the bowl.
Guacamole in the bowl.
- NeNe: Go ahead baby, go.
- Audience: Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
Switch.
Finish it out.
It's all coming down to the ladies.
They're going to finish off strong.
You got time, baby.
Make it pretty.
Grace, don't put it all the way down.
Grace, oh Lord.
We are down to one minute to go.
Last minute, come on.
Come on, NeNe, smooth! Make it pretty, Grace! Gordon: NeNe's pulled it out of the bag, She's coming together brilliantly.
30 seconds to go! Come on, down to the wire.
Gordon and audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Judges: Time's up.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Proud of you.
Gordon: Right, the moment we've all been waiting for.
The tasting.
Let's start off with NeNe and Gregg.
Let's go.
First, your platter looks incredible.
Amazing.
Gregg, what did you do on the platter? ( laughing ) Let me put it this way.
Gregg, what did you not do? I didn't put the sauce in the glasses.
You didn't put the sauce in the glasses.
Let's dig in there, shall we? The jalapeño poppers.
Now, this is what you struggled with, right? - Yes.
- Quite.
Was it a problem with the stuffing, the breading? What was it? You know, we were missing the flour.
Sure.
Until the last time, we got it.
A lot of filling in there.
What cheese did you put in there? That's cheddar and mozzarella.
- Oh my.
- It's spicy? They are very spicy.
NeNe, I don't want you to be upset.
Gordon: Coming up Benji: We're honored to be cooking against the Barber brothers.
If we beat them, we can actually say we beat professional athletes at something.
Ronde: Benji, Joel, we're comin' for you boy.
What do you got on this? Gordon: The jalapeño poppers, now this is what you struggled with, right? - Yes.
- Quite, yes.
They are very spicy.
What? It's wrong? NeNe, I don't want you to be upset.
It's good.
Trust me.
Very good.
The pigs in a blanket.
I love what you've done with the egg wash.
Let's just check to make sure they're cooked inside.
Pastry is nice and flaky.
Ooh, yes.
That's beautiful.
How do they taste? They're wonderful.
Gordon: They taste good.
- Guacamole, who seasoned that? - Me.
Seasoned beautifully.
What else is in there? - Cilantro, lime, tomatoes.
- And? - A lot of love.
- A lot of love.
That's good.
Well done, both of you.
Seriously, good job.
All right, Gregg, the sliders.
- I saw you searing these patties off pretty early.
- Yes.
Got a little worried that they'd be overcooked.
What are we going for, temperature-wise? Medium well to medium well plus.
Let's see what you got, guys.
Gregg, it's a little overdone, but let's see how this sucker tastes.
Mmm.
Not a med-well slider gal, but if this is how you cook them at your house, I will come over for game day any day of the week, sir.
Nice job.
I'm going chicken wings next.
Let's see how you did.
Beautiful.
Beautiful job.
Great color.
Look at those juices still shining through.
Listen, not only did you get everything on the platter the execution, the flavor of what you got on the platter is incredibly impressive.
The two of you were a dynamite team, tonight.
- Very nice job.
- NeNe: Thank you.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Byers, that's a tough act to follow.
Please head up with your party platter.
Thank you.
Impressive.
Gordon: I mean that platter looks like a celebration.
Great job.
Now, who cooked the sliders? Grace: Trai started them, and then I finished them in the oven Gordon: Okay, great.
What temperature are we looking for inside? Medium rare.
They look incredible.
Wow, seasoned beautifully.
Really good job, indeed.
The jalapeño poppers, great color.
Who stuffed these? I did.
They look beautiful.
You were frying the jalapeño poppers and you put in your chips in there at the same time.
- Whose idea was that? - I did it in a rush.
- Trai, come on.
- Yeah.
Good food can never be rushed, right? Rule number one.
You're absolutely right.
You're absolutely right.
Who made the guacamole? I did.
Yeah, see, look the texture looks beautiful.
What did you season the chips with? Grace: Little bit of salt, little bit of hot pepper.
- Here's the thing: chips taste a bit bland.
- Okay.
I wouldn't put them in the same bloody fryer.
The minute they come out of the fryer, you hit them with the seasoning, when they're nice and warm so they absorb that spice.
- Yes.
- Grace: Yeah.
But you cook like you've been together for decades let alone months.
Great job.
Well done.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Christina: All right.
I'm gonna take a look at these pigs in a blanket.
The egg wash is beautiful.
You can see it glistening there.
Let's see what it looks like center--I mean, come on.
Look at that.
You can see those beautiful layers of flake.
- Mmm, delicious.
- Thank you.
Now, I wanna know a little bit more about these chicken wings.
Trai fried them for like a good three, four minutes and then we finished them off in the oven and then we tossed them in the sauce.
Nice color on them.
Got a nice fry.
They're nice and caramelized.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Just, delicious.
Perfection.
You impressed me tonight.
You look like chefs in the kitchen.
You move like them.
It's going to be a tough call.
Please, go ahead and head back to your station.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.
It's tough with this one, very tough.
How do you break this down? I mean, two very good platters.
NeNe, Gregg we think that you guys are awesome, awesome people.
- You can probably cook really well - Probably.
but not good enough.
Christina: I mean, it's going to come down to the finest of details.
Whether it's the cook on the burger, the flavors of those chicken wings.
Byers, we love you, but bye-bye.
- Gordon: I think we know who the right one is.
- I think so.
It was not easy, but we have made our decision.
Gordon: Now, the team leaving with a check for $25,000, coupled with the bragging rights to every dinner party from now on in, they are MasterChef champions.
Congratulations goes to The Byers.
- Yes.
Yeah! - Nice job.
And also, great job to NeNe and Gregg.
You'll take home $15,000 for your charity.
- Hurry up, come and get it.
- Come on up.
To all four of you, thank you so much for putting on an extraordinary performance.
Thank you very much.
The Byers and the Leakes, ladies and gentlemen.
Bye, guys.
Our next celebrity home cooks are no strangers to arenas like this.
They've all lived their lives performing in the spotlight.
Two sets of brothers.
First up, two rock star twins that are about to trade in their guitars for aprons.
Please welcome, from one of America's favorite rock bands, Good Charlotte, Joel and Benji Madden.
He's, I think, a better cook than me.
Benji: Well, both of us are lucky because we married women who are amazing cooks, and I think both of us always want to give them a night off or we always want to wow them.
Or try to wow them or impress them because they're always cooking every meal for the family.
Listen, guys, we're super excited to have you but more than anything we want to know, what charity are you guys competing for tonight? The charity that we're competing for tonight is MusiCares.
It's hard for artists, songwriters, musicians to take care of themselves and make a living so MusiCares provides financial assistance for struggling artists and musicians.
Well, guys, we're pumped to have you here.
Good luck.
Now, Joel, Benji, you'll be battling another pair of identical twins but these twins are not musicians.
They are sports royalty.
Please welcome, not one, but two NFL legends and another set of identical twins, Ronde and Tiki Barber.
The Barber Brothers.
Tiki: I love food, because it was necessary for me.
- When I was playing I had to keep my weight up.
- Yeah, a lot of weigh-ins.
I'm naturally small, but I'm used to consuming 4000 calories a day just so that I didn't get my butt kicked when I went out on the field on Sundays.
Liking the guns, Benj.
We've always been competitors against each other.
Now we get to be teammates.
I need you to do well, today.
- All right.
- Handle your business.
I will.
I always do.
Guys, give us an insight to the charity that you're cooking for tonight.
It's called KultureCity.
The mission is to create a society where kids with autism are treated with acceptance and not defined by their diagnosis, and more importantly, they have a limitless future just like every other kid in America.
Great.
Well said.
Guys, this is the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" The Madden brothers versus the Barber brothers.
Tonight, you will be baking.
You do know we're football players and rock stars, right? You do know I'm a pastry chef, right? All right.
Here we go.
Now, it's delicate, it's light as air.
It is, of course, cream puffs.
Both teams will have one hour to bake us a box of 12 perfect cream puffs.
You want a perfect pastry and a delicious filling.
The specifics beyond that, entirely up to you.
You'll find all the ingredients in your pantry at the back of your stations.
Be creative.
Be clever.
And, guys, be competitive.
No doubt.
Chefs, take your positions inside that incredible ring.
Let's go.
Let's have 60 minutes on the clock.
Guys, good luck.
Your 60 minutes start now.
Gordon: Here we go.
Let's start with the dough.
We're going to be making a triple espresso cream puff and a dark chocolate and sea salt with a vanilla cream in the center.
Whip it, whip it, whip it.
Teaspoon.
Teaspoon.
Ronde: Today, we're making these cream puffs.
Fill it with some vanilla cream.
We're gonna put some blood orange in one.
We're gonna put some raspberry paste in another one.
Don't overdo it.
Man let's do it.
Wanna try some? Good Charlotte, awesome rockers, but they're not used to competing.
Tiki: We're used to competing.
Dominate these dudes.
This is gonna be a slaughter.
So musicians versus pro football players.
Rock and roll versus NFL stars, - but you know how technical actual pastry is.
- Absolutely.
You have to have the perfect pâte àchoux batter.
Water, butter, flour, cooked down in a saucepan until that starch is fully cooked out.
Thrown into a stand mixer.
Yeah, buddy.
Christina: You add eggs to sort of create that fluffy egginess, and then that batter gets piped into perfect rounds onto a baking sheet and baked in the oven.
Audience: Let's go Barbers, let's go.
Gordon: Ten minutes gone, 50 minutes remaining.
Come on.
Christina: Come on.
Let's go.
Right.
Okay, Benji.
Now, how are you going to put your spin on these cream puffs? My choice was a triple espresso.
The other one's gonna be dark chocolate with sea salt on top.
Wow.
Sounds amazing.
Let's go.
Good luck.
All right, boys, tell me about these cream puffs.
We're going to try to get a raspberry flavor for the Bucks, colorwise, and some dark blue chocolate on top for the Giants.
For the Giants, so - And some blood orange filling.
- Christina: I like this.
Nice job, guys.
Keep going.
Joel: Need any help? No, I'm not sure if I got the dough right, though.
So, the Barber brothers have got their choux pastries in the oven now.
Christina: All right.
These cream puffs take about 15 minutes to bake and then they need another five to 10 minutes to cool down.
If the Madden brothers do not get the cream puffs in the oven Yo, we gotta roll.
they're doomed.
- Ronde.
- Oh, my.
Yo, we gotta roll.
Christina: If the Madden brothers do not get their cream puffs in the oven, they're doomed.
Absolutely.
I don't think-- This didn't come out right.
- We cooled this too long.
- What happened to it? I don't know.
The consistency is way too thick, you know what I mean? How about we just mash it down? - Come on, guys.
- Come on.
Now, the Madden brothers fell a little bit behind with that pâte àchoux pastry, but they still have enough time to bake, cool, and fill.
- How's the dough? - I dropped an eggshell in there.
Did it get ground up in it? ( chuckles ) Some of it.
So, who's going to pipe and who's going to decorate? Because the piping you get away with being a little bit shoddy.
The actual decoration at the end, you need to have a precise hand.
Christina: You need to have a precise hand, - but if that cream puff isn't filled full - Yep.
it is depressing.
I don't want an empty cream puff tonight.
- I want it chock full of filling.
- Sure.
How can I-- How soon can I start filling up the cream paste.
- Soon.
- Check it.
See how firm it is.
Fifteen minutes to go, guys.
- So we're very calm here.
- Yes.
Right, who's piping and who's finishing? Uh, we're going to dual pipe.
Dual pipe? There is no such thing.
- Yes there is.
- Now, how do you dual pipe? Because he's going to hold and I'm going to inject.
- So, you'll have four hands on one bag.
- Yes.
It's not a cow.
Come on, it's a piping bag.
We were one egg that split into two.
We can use four hands.
That's true.
That's true.
You've got 12 and a half minutes to go.
Good luck, guys.
Let's go.
- Should I try it? - Huh? That ain't good.
Look at the Barber brothers, helping each other.
Four hands for that cream puff.
Four hands on one tiny cream puff, honestly.
Christina: They're footballers, they've got big hands, - but they definitely have the finesse.
- Yep.
- How many's that? - Five.
- Five minutes to go, guys.
- Come on, guys.
This is where you take the humble cream puff and elevate it into a box of magic.
It is.
These last five minutes, it's all about finesse.
Make sure those cream puffs are filled all the way.
Hey, I'm pouring this in? - Yes.
- Okay, this one's a mess.
Gotta get another one.
That-that killed it.
The heavy cream killed it.
Don't worry about that, just leave that one.
We've gotta redo it.
Just use this one.
Okay.
One minute to go.
Where's the powdered sugar? Gordon: Let's go, come on.
Judges, audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
- One.
- Gordon: Stop.
Hands in the air.
Time's up.
Good job.
That was pretty good.
Madden brothers and Barber brothers, please come around to the front.
Now it's time for the best part of any dessert challenge, the tasting.
All right, Ronde and Tiki, please bring up your box of cream puffs.
All right, guys, let's see what's inside.
What do we have? So we're going with the football theme, and you'll see the blue chocolate, Giants' color.
The filling inside that one is blood orange.
The other one is pure raspberry inside - Tiki: Because Tampa Bay-- - Ronde: Tampa Bay's red, with the powdered sugar and a little bit of - a blue drizzle on top of that.
- Okay.
Listen, at first glance it feels like we're celebrating game day.
- We are.
- Which I appreciate.
Now, I wanna see that raspberry cream filled entirely.
Let's see how you did.
Little bit short.
Listen, I think that your heart was in it.
I think the flavor is there, but the cream puff should be bigger.
And I wanna see that finesse at the end - look like the most luxurious box of cream puffs.
- Okay.
- Nice job, both of you.
- Thank you.
Oh, wow.
I feel like a Smurf just ( bleep ) all over the box.
I love the Smurfs.
Gordon: Right, let's get in there, shall we? What I will say, okay, I love the flavor, the actual pastry.
What doesn't sit with me is the actual texture of the cream.
Because there's like a bizarre bit in there.
It took a little bit of finagling to get that cream the right consistency.
Yeah, it's a technical dish to pull off.
Overall, pretty decent job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Madden brothers, please bring up your box of cream puffs.
All right, let's take a look.
Wow.
Gotta say guys, they look pretty brilliant.
Thank you.
So, what do you got? We have dark chocolate sea salt cream puff with vanilla cream filling in the center and a triple espresso cream puff.
It's got espresso cream, glaze, and a crunchy espresso topping.
I'm going to go into the salted dark chocolate.
Look at that.
Oh! That's not bad.
Now, I've have one point that I'm a little concerned about.
- Yep? - What's that? Ooh.
Egg shells.
I was hoping it wouldn't be in the one you chose.
Because it was kind of like an egg shell lottery.
But, it might taste amazing.
Let's see.
That vanilla pastry cream, it's smooth, it's rich, it's decadent.
But the eggshell, for me, is the one thing.
Other than that, guys, very impressive job.
Let's see what Gordon thinks.
Right, let's get in there, shall we? Hope it's full.
Listen, the flavor is there, little bit too sweet.
Could have done with a little bit more time to cool down.
So when the cream hits it in the center, it doesn't go wet.
But, by and large, I think it's a pretty good performance.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Good job.
Good luck, guys.
This is a tough one, I mean, with the Maddens it was a much better oval look.
Christina: Technically, there was egg shell.
Ronde and Tiki, I feel like they never faced such fierce competitors.
Christina: Barbers were so much faster out of the gate.
Their pâte àchoux base itself was stronger.
We got great competition against some other twins, - popular twins in the-- - Yeah, but they're rock stars.
- Benji and Joel - Joel and Benji are rock stars.
If they can cook better than us, then something's wrong.
Right, that was tough.
Madden brothers, you may have started out somewhat slow.
I said whole eggs.
You threw, literally, whole eggs in there.
But, visually, it had that impact and the flavors worked well together.
Barber brothers, you know, you worked immaculately.
Came out the gate strong.
Love the blood orange.
Slightly more garish on the presentation.
However, the effort across the board was pretty good.
All four of you did a great job.
Really well done.
Christina: It's true.
We've made our decision.
The team that's leaving with $25,000 for their chosen charity and MasterChef culinary bragging rights.
Congratulations goes to the Madden brothers! Come and join us.
Congratulations.
You did an awesome job.
What an incredible job.
Well done.
Benji, how do you feel? I feel like I just won the Super Bowl.
Barbers, you also are walking away with a check, $15,000.
Ladies and gentlemen, big round of applause.
Come on, guys.
We know that the real winners tonight are the charities.
All four of you put an exceptional job.
Ladies and gentleman give it up, please, for the Madden brothers and the Barber brothers.
Thank you, guys.
- Well done.
- Let's hear it for them.
Madden brothers and the Barber brothers.
Thank you.
Gordon: Coming up - Are you ready Gordon? - I was born ready.
- I jump into the ring with Anthony Anderson - There we go.
and take on Christina and Jordana Brewster.
Congratulations.
Tonight has been an evening full of star power.
And now, it's the battle you've all been waiting for.
I'm about to step into the culinary ring and go head-to-head with the one and only Mr.
Gordon Ramsay.
That's right.
This is gonna be a battle of such epic proportions that Christina and I will not be working alone tonight.
That's right.
I will be battling Christina, alongside one of America's favorite TV stars and he also just happens to be a very serious force to be reckoned with in the kitchen.
Please welcome, from the hit TV show, "Blackish" the very talented, Anthony Anderson, ladies and gentlemen.
- Welcome, bud.
- Thank you.
Anthony: People know me as an actor, but what they don't know is that I love to cook.
Whoo! Anthony: Being here at "MasterChef," cooking alongside Gordon Ramsay.
I've done a lot of big things in my life, but this is at the top of the list.
Christina, come on, scared? Mmm, not one bit.
Okay.
You guys ready to find out which celebrity is joining my team tonight? All righty right.
Please welcome, from the insanely successful "Fast and Furious" movie franchise and the new hit FOX show, "Lethal Weapon," Jordana Brewster! Jordana: There's really nothing bigger than MasterChef, when it comes to a cooking competition.
Right here.
We got you.
So, I've been practicing.
Julian, my son, - has been tasting my food, so I feel like I'm ready.
- Okay.
I am ready for Gordon and Anthony to bring their A game.
Me and Christina might whoop some butt.
- Good luck.
- Same to you, my love.
Best of luck.
Anthony, Jordana, welcome to the MasterChef arena.
Please, both of you put on those incredible MasterChef aprons.
Okay, okay.
Uh-huh, look at that.
- Anthony? - Yes, sir? This love of food, where did it come from? Well, my mother stopped cooking for the family because of her addiction to bingo.
Same here.
So, since the age of 11, I've been cooking for the family, and that's where the love and passion kind of start.
Love it, love it, love it.
Jordana, what are your go-to dishes when you're at home? I cook for my three-year-old son, so he's usually my gauge.
I'm real nervous now.
Excuse me.
The person who's palate you're preparing food for is three.
- Excuse me.
- Hmm, really? - Julian - This is your ace in the hole, Christina? - Hey, hey, hey.
- She's cooking for a three-year-old toddler - Julian is very picky.
- who eats paste, but okay.
Okay.
Now, tonight is all about charity and Anthony, together, you and I are going to do our very best to win a $25,000 donation for charity of your choice.
Now, give us a little insight to the charity near and dear to your heart.
My charity is the, Watts and Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club, an organization that I was a part of growing up in Compton, California.
So, they help kids out with after-school programs, computer centers, and just giving them safe havens to come and learn and to stay off the streets.
That's why I'm a part of that.
Amazing.
Jordana, tell us what charity are you cooking for tonight? I'm cooking for No Kid Hungry, which is an amazing charity that combats childhood hunger in America and they have amazing programs, such as teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.
They put breakfast in schools.
I've worked with them for many years and they're an amazing organization.
Wow.
Amazing.
Anthony and Jordana, please both of you, head to your stations.
Amazing.
- Ladies first.
- Thank you.
We have our teams.
What we don't know yet, is what we're cooking.
Gordon: Tonight, the four of us will be competing in a MasterChef Mystery Box Challenge.
We're all going to have to take whatever we find underneath those identical mystery boxes and create one stunning dish.
Gordon: On the count of three, please very carefully, lift your boxes.
One.
Two.
Three.
Lift.
All right, Jordana, give me a little insight.
What are a few items on that board? I see raspberries, dates, mozzarella, parmesan, asparagus, cod.
Now, Anthony, what's grabbing your eye? Crushed tomatoes, veal, blood oranges Huh.
Pretzel.
We will have just 60 minutes to make a dish worthy of $25,000 for a very important charity.
Jordana, any last words to say to these fellas? Good luck.
- Second place isn't so bad.
- Tell yourself that later.
Yeah, okay.
Right, ladies and gentlemen, 60 minutes on the clock, please.
Amazing.
And, you're going to need one of these, madam.
Mmm, you too, sir.
Let's go, thank you.
Get that on.
Now Are you ready, Gordon? I was born ready.
Jordana, may be in "The Fast and Furious," but I am the fast and furious.
Let's get that right.
- Everybody set? - Yes.
Yes.
Our 60 minutes starts now.
- Right.
- All right.
Yeah, there you go.
- Oh, get this stuff.
- Okay, let's go.
- All right.
- All right, let's talk.
What do we want to go with? What better way to really get him, than to make something that's very Gordon Ramsay.
We either do beef Wellington or we do fish and chips.
- Fish and chips.
- Fish and chips.
Okay, okay.
Christina and I are making fish and chips with a tartar sauce.
And you wanna make the batter for frying the fish.
I'm Brazilian, so I really appreciate delicious flavors that aren't fancy-schmancy.
- Do we go beer batter? - Vinegary.
- Vinegar, okay.
- Give it a little kick.
Jordana: And fish and chips aren't fancy schmancy.
- Come on.
- Aye yai yai.
I only have 60 minutes so I'm going to have to be lethal and fast and furious in the kitchen.
We've got this, don't you worry.
We're going to out-Brit the Brit.
That veal looks amazing.
Maybe like a - A veal parmesan.
- Parmesan.
- Okay.
- Got it.
Way to go, baby.
Anthony: We will be making veal parmesan made with panko bread crust a little bit of parmesan cheese and parsley.
I didn't know you could chop like this.
I've watched you long enough on television, Gordon.
Throw that on some pasta.
Homemade pasta, at that.
- Going to make some fresh tagliatelle, okay? - Okay.
Anthony: With fresh tomato marinara sauce.
Gordon and I, we're on the same page.
- Are you good? - I'm good.
Anthony: Don't get any better than that.
Jordana, Christina, yeah, looking right into your soul right now.
Bring your A game.
- Seriously.
- Oh wow.
Look, I'm not even looking.
Not even looking.
Jordana: I don't have as much culinary schooling as Anthony, but I would just never underestimate the underdog.
You never know what's going to happen.
He's never gonna see what's coming.
No.
They have to watch their backs.
Anthony: That's how you putting it down in the kitchen? We gonna see.
Going down.
You're going down! - Here we go.
- Okay, crew.
- Whoo! - Yeah.
- How's the pasta? - All good over here.
What do you think? Shallots, capers? Perfect.
Anthony, that is a perfect dough.
Thank you.
Come on, that's what I'm talking about.
Gordon: Let's go.
Give it up, Anthony and Jordana, come on.
- Man.
- I got it.
I got it, Chef.
There you go, batter, keep your eye on it.
This is incredible.
Honestly, the challenge of the year.
We're gonna do a veal parmesan.
Hold on, there's more.
We're doing the most amazing fresh marinara sauce.
That's good.
And then we are making fresh tagliatelle.
Amazing.
Listen, we figured what better way to beat you at your game than to do one of your dishes.
Stop it.
A Gordon Ramsay classic.
- Fish and chips? - Look at her go.
Seriously? Okay, brace yourselves.
Now don't get upset, because we're doing our veal parmesan and we're doing a dessert.
Apple pie! Two dishes! We're doing an entree and a dessert.
- I gotta go.
- We've got just under 45 minutes to go.
Jordana, they're making veal parm and apple pie.
You keep 'em thick, I'll keep 'em thin, and then get that beauty in the oven.
We've gotta do a Gordon Ramsay classic dessert.
What? Like something delicious? - Sticky toffee pudding cake.
- Okay.
- I'll get this caramel going.
- Perfect.
- Anthony, are we good? - We're good, Coach.
Pinch that dough.
And then, from there, a little hair cut.
- Touch of sugar on top.
- Okay, I've got the sugar.
I've got the egg wash here.
We making it rain! What's going on over there? We making it rain! - Got my cake batter going.
Perfect.
- Yes.
Oh, it looks so good.
- And I've got the caramel.
- Yes.
So what do you think? Three spoonfuls? Yes, it's delicious sugariness.
So, we'll let those cool.
Come on, let's get you to whip some cream.
She is ready for the oven.
In she goes.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Ooh la la.
They're out of control.
Oh, my gosh.
Congratulations.
Whoa! - You want this in the oven? - Yeah.
In the oven.
Boom.
- All right, I'm rolling the pasta now.
- Okay.
That looks good.
Next are chips.
- Yes.
- Okay, okay.
Christina: Halfway there, guys.
- 30 minutes.
- Whoa! We're rocking over here.
Another pair of hands.
Okay, good man.
There you go.
What are they making over there? Tagliatelle over there? Like a true MasterChef.
Ba da bum.
Up and down.
- Boom, we are done.
- Booyah.
Right, get everything ready and we'll start cooking at the end, - with got five minutes to go.
- Five minutes to go.
Gordon: 12 minutes remaining.
Pull them out.
Let's see what we've got.
- We good? - We good.
Yes.
Do you want to cook the veal, I'll cook the pasta? Okay.
All right.
- It's in.
- Where's your bowl? - With the herbs.
- Have them right here.
Gordon: We have five minutes to go.
- Ready to fry the fish? - Yeah.
This is it.
This is it.
Good man, let it drain.
Good.
Fries are done.
Beautiful.
How's the apple pie looking? It's looking delicious.
Come on, look at that.
Christina: We're gonna make it.
Yeah.
Straight on, baby.
Straight on.
- Just one slice? - Two.
- Oh, beautiful.
- Right? Beautiful.
There you go, melt it.
Keep it nice and close.
One minute.
There you go, yeah, yeah.
They'll go in here.
- Christina: Good.
- Gordon: Come on.
Speed up.
30 seconds.
Glaze your pie.
Glaze your pie.
There you go.
Good man.
Here we go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Keep on going.
Audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
( cheering ) - Good job.
- That looks great.
- That looks good.
- Very nice job.
That looks good, mama.
That looks good.
Right, obviously Christina and I are competing against each other, which means for once, we will not be judging, ladies and gentlemen.
That task will be in the hands of some very, very special guest judges tonight.
Guest judges who know the MasterChef standards better than anybody.
Please welcome, ladies and gentlemen, not one, not two, but three phenomenal guest judges.
America's reigning MasterChef, Shaun O'Neale.
Come on.
Thank you.
Welcome back.
Honored to be here.
And joining Shaun, from the up-and-coming season of "MasterChef Junior," 13-year-old Shayne and the gorgeous 11-year-old Justise.
Well.
Now, Justise, on a scale of one to ten, as a critic and a judge tonight, how tough are you? I'm not sure, I don't want to be mean, but I don't want to be nice.
- Shayne, Texas born and bred.
- Yes, sir.
How excited are you to be turning the tables on me and Christina tonight? I am like overwhelmed with joy.
You get to see how it feels now.
All of you, welcome.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
So now, it's time for the moment of truth, the tasting.
We're going to start with Gordon and Anthony.
Anthony, tell us what we have here today.
We have veal parmesan, topped with some fresh mozzarella cheese, some homemade pasta, and the pièce de résistance, the sauce.
Very nice.
So Justise, visually, how do you feel about this representation here? - It's just-- - It looks good, right? - It looks delicious.
- Mm-hmm.
What I'm looking for here is that beautiful pink veal on the inside so it's still nice and juicy.
Ooh, come on.
- I mean.
- Look at that, man! That's pretty good.
Pretty good, right? - Evenly coated, look at that.
- Justise: Wow.
He did, the coating is staying on there really well.
Which is tough to do in a parmesan.
Mmm.
Talk to me.
Kids, why don't you go ahead and get in here.
Let's see here.
Justise, you're incredible.
Shayne, wanna be on "Blackish?" Focus on the food.
You want the truth, Gordon? Oh yes, please, Justise.
I don't like it, okay? She said she doesn't like it? I don't like it.
Do you want the truth, Gordon? Yes, please, Justise.
I don't like it, okay? I don't like it.
I love it.
Got ya.
Yes.
That was a successful entree.
Now, let's move on to this beautiful dessert.
Anthony: Homemade apple pie.
Granny Smith apples, topped with some cinnamon and some sugar to add a little color to it Let's get in here and taste it.
The crust is amazing.
It's flaky.
Look at that.
I think it might actually be a little undercooked on the bottom.
- Justise: Mm-hmm.
- Just a little bit.
We're all going to try this together.
You guys ready? One.
Two.
Three.
His eyes.
Watch his eyes.
Mmm.
What? What'd you say? I love it.
- Yes, yes.
- All right.
These were some extraordinary dishes and I expect nothing less from you Chef Ramsay.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Excellent.
- Thank you, judges.
- Thank you.
All right, let's do it, girl.
What do we have this evening? Jordana: We have some fish and chips with some delicious tartar sauce and sticky toffee pudding.
These dishes sound like I know somebody who makes these dishes.
Are you trying to go after Gordon at his own game? Are you trying to take him out? Go after him? We're up against him.
Yeah, I know.
Are you trying to get him? - Listen, you can't shy away from your competition.
- Absolutely.
Justise, what do you think about how it looks? It looks very elevated.
Shayne, what do you think? Visually, it looks stunning.
It makes me hungry.
I think they look beautiful, let's get in here.
The color is perfect on it.
It is calling my name.
Shayne, why don't you get in there and try that fish out.
Thank you.
- Mmm, that's good.
- Thank you.
I just think maybe you added a hair too much salt.
Oh, okay.
Big bite.
Mmm.
Delicious.
- Thank you.
- Yes, thank you.
That is perfection.
You crushed it.
So, let's move on to this beautiful dessert.
Jordana: Christina and I did sticky toffee pudding with a delicious caramel sauce.
Let's all get in here together at the same time.
Yes.
Get in there.
Oh.
Justise: It's glist-- Like, look at that.
I mean that is-- it's perfect.
Delicious.
The flavor just keeps growing and growing.
Absolutely delicious.
Good job.
Man.
All right, so what do you guys think? They nailed the most important thing.
- They nailed that protein.
- Yeah.
But blue's dessert, though.
That was stunning.
- I could eat that every single day.
- Me too.
Oh man, it's a tough one.
But we're good, we're ready.
All right, high fives.
All right, let's do this.
This was an amazing battle to watch, but just one of your teams will leave here tonight with $25,000 to your favorite charity.
Hand the check over, please.
The winning team, is The Blue Team.
We did it! What? Shaun.
This is really important.
Why the Blue Team? That sticky toffee pudding was the best bite we had all day.
Because it's his! Because it's his! They made it.
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
Give it up, please, Anthony Anderson, Jordana Brewster, and "MasterChef Junior" contestants and the reigning MasterChef champion, Shaun O'Neale.
Do not forget to tune into the new season "of MasterChef Junior," Thursday, February 9th at 8:00 PM.
Thank you so much for coming.
Good night! Sync & corrected:
America's favorite stars enter the culinary battle of their lives - Oh, wow.
- Not even looking.
competing for charity - Yeah.
- Yes, baby.
and for the title, MasterChef Champion.
It's going to be a very close race.
First up, it's an eye for an eye Kal's pulled for a minute.
as TV comedian Cheryl Hines Are you drunk? Maybe.
takes on actor, Kal Penn.
Here, come here! Then, Atlanta's favorite reality TV couple, NeNe and Gregg Leakes Come on, baby.
Come on.
face off against "Empire" stars, Trai and Grace Byers - We're newlyweds and - We're going up against the "oldyweds.
" in an unbelievable Switch.
tag-team competition.
Next up, family pride is at stake Yo, we gotta roll.
when rock star twins, Joel and Benji Madden Whip it, whip it, whip it.
go head to head Yeah, buddy.
with NFL legends Oh, my.
Ronde and Tiki Barber.
- Dominate these dudes.
- This is going to be a slaughter.
And for the first time ever, alongside their celebrity friends The very talented, Anthony Anderson ( yells ) Christina: Jordana Brewster! Gordon: Jordana may be in "The Fast and Furious", but I am the fast and furious.
Gordon and Christina Come on.
Little haircut.
They're out of control.
battle each other.
We makin' it rain.
This is the ( cheering ) Thank you.
Thank you very much.
Welcome to the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" Tonight is a very special MasterChef event.
You will all have front row seats for our lineup of head-to-head culinary fights that will happen tonight when some of America's favorite stars step into that incredible ring of fire.
It's time to begin the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" First up, it's time to find out how two of television's hottest stars handle the intensity of the MasterChef kitchen.
Please welcome a two-time Emmy-nominated actor from "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and most recently on FOX's new hit comedy, "Son of Zorn.
" Ladies and gentlemen, Cheryl Hines.
Thank you, guys! You know, it's a little terrifying.
I'm not a trained chef.
Thank you.
However, my kids appreciate my cooking.
The question is, will Chef Ramsay? Aww, it has my name.
I'm just hoping the night doesn't end in tears.
In the kitchen, how ambitious are you? I like to have my friends over, and I like to cook, like big Sunday dinner.
I like to bake with my daughter.
She's rooting for me.
- Cat.
- All right, hey.
Cheryl, which charity are you cooking for tonight? United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida.
I have a nephew named Michael who I know is watching right now, and he was born with cerebral palsy.
Our family came together.
We reached out to UCP and they helped us so much.
It's just a great organization and I've been with them ever since.
Wow, amazing.
Cheryl, are you ready to find out who you're about to go up against tonight - to get your hands on that $25,000 check? - Yes.
- You will be going head-to-head against a fellow actor.
- Oh.
Please welcome, from the ABC drama, "Designated Survivor" and the host of a brand-new FOX competition series, "SuperHuman," Kal Penn, ladies and gentlemen.
Hey, guys.
Hello.
Thank you.
Thank you.
I can't believe that I am here at "MasterChef.
" I'm a fan of the show.
I learned how to chop and slice on Gordon Ramsay videos online.
- Good luck.
- Good luck.
I'm confident that I'm going to be able to deliver at least a good-tasting meal.
I can't guarantee presentation.
I've wanted one of these.
Oh, yeah.
You're a big home cook.
Tell me about your love for food.
I'm the son of Indian immigrants who was born and raised in New Jersey.
So you've got, literally, every kind of food.
New Jersey has a huge Italian community, Jewish community, Asian community.
So those were all foods that I just saw as being New Jersey.
So a lot of those are my comfort foods, my kind of go-tos.
Amazing.
Now, Kal, give us a little insight to the charity that you're supporting tonight.
I chose the United Nations Agency for Relief and Works for Palestinian Refugees.
25 grand for them can feed a thousand people for a year.
Gordon: Amazing.
Now, Cheryl, Kal, please head to your stations.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
I'm scared.
- Oh man, it's the box.
- The box.
Tonight, we're not going easy on you.
We're holding you to our MasterChef standard.
and what better challenge to throw at you than to present you with America's favorite food challenge.
It is the Mystery Box Challenge.
On the count of three, please lift your mystery boxes.
One.
Two.
Two and a half.
Three.
Lift.
- I like that.
- Yeah.
Gordon: Come on.
My favorite, ice cold beers.
- Cheers.
- Cheers.
Now, tonight, we are pushing you both out of your comfort zones, because you'll be cooking with it.
Cheryl, when you finish drinking it.
Yes.
I can do both, right? Maybe just save a little bit for the cooking.
It's convenient 'cause she showed up drunk anyway, so it's fine, right? Christina: Oh, it's like that.
He better watch it when he turns his back, that knife - All right, you two.
- Yes.
Cheryl, put the glass down.
It'll be gone in a minute, please.
You both have 60 minutes to come up with an incredible dish.
So to make sure that your beer dishes are the best, behind you we've given you an array of incredible pantry ingredients.
From vegetables to incredible proteins, herbs, spices.
dry spices, you name it, it's all there.
The best of the best.
The MasterChef pantry.
Now, Cheryl, Kal, it's time for the battle to start.
We cannot wait to see what you're going to come up with.
60 minutes on the clock.
Are you both ready? - Yes.
- Yes.
Your 60 minutes starts now, let's go.
Oh, my God! Wow.
This is nerve-racking.
Super nerve-racking.
Just for playing in this kitchen and cooking us a dish tonight, $15,000 guaranteed for their charity, but if they win, $25,000 they will get.
Watch this flair.
That's pretty good.
Do, like, 10 more of those.
Give me some love, let's go.
Cheryl: All right.
Now they're both wildly competitive.
Both home cooks.
Kal, bachelor, so definitely has a different approach to food.
- Used to more drinking it than cooking with it.
- Perhaps.
The good news is for me, beer.
How exciting, you can transform that.
I think tonight we'll be seeing lots of marinades, batters, even a sauce with a great beer as well, in terms of reduction.
Tonight I'm going to do beer chicken and waffles and then a beer orange sauce.
I'm hoping that the judges will be drinking some of the beer.
I think it will taste better after a few glasses.
Do you see Kal with that knife? The way he's chopping on that? Guy looks like he's been in the kitchen for the last five years.
I'm making beer-marinated halibut with beer tortillas and a beer-based chipotle aioli.
I hope that there's plenty of beer to split between my dish and my mouth.
Right, Cheryl.
- Right now, tell me about the dish what are you cooking? - Yes? Fried chicken and waffles.
Fried chicken and waffles? Wow.
Amazing, and how are you incorporating the beer? Where's the beer going? Is it the batter or a marinade? Well, in all of it.
What's in there? It's marmalade and beer.
Marmalade and beer.
Where is that going? That's going to go on the waffles.
It's going to be so good.
How are we cooking the chicken? I'm going to deep-fry it.
Is there batter you're going to do with-- - Yeah, I'm soaking the chicken.
- Right.
With some buttermilk and beer.
So you're marinating.
That sounds nice.
- ( squeals ) - Oh.
Oh, geez.
Jesus.
Your secret is to blow on it? How much beer did you put in that? I put in a whole thing.
Maybe that was a mistake.
- Cheryl? - Yes? - Are you drunk? - Maybe.
A little bit.
Just a little bit.
Come on.
Good luck.
46 minutes to go.
- Kal.
- Hello.
What are you doing over there? I'm making some halibut tacos.
How are you going to elevate these tacos? You've got a tough competitor over there.
So I'm about to make an aioli with some chipotle sauce - that will get a little kick to it.
- All right.
And then I'm going to sear the halibut, which is marinating right now - and hopefully add some layers of flavor.
- All right.
- You're making your own tortillas? - I am.
- Is there beer in there too? - There is beer in the tortillas.
So it's also going to tenderize the masa a little bit more.
- I'm curious whether it will hold that tortilla together.
- That's the hope.
Now how are you feeling about your competitor? - Do not let her sidetrack you.
- No, I won't.
That's her game right now, I can see it from over here.
- Kal, make sure beer's the star.
- Yep.
- Nail that tortilla.
Good luck.
- Thank you, I appreciate it.
What is he doing over there? Don't worry about it.
I'm winning.
I can't concentrate.
Gordon: Oh dear.
- Gordon: Coming up - Yes, baby! - it's the Leakes - Christina: Mimi's pan's on fire! versus the Byers.
No, no, no.
Christina: Two things in the fryer at the same time.
Come on.
And later, I step into the MasterChef ring.
We're doing an entree and we're doing a dessert.
What's going on over there? We makin' it rain! Oh dear.
Did I really poke you in the eye? - Yeah! - I am so sorry.
- Oh, my God! - Wow.
I poked him in the eye by accident.
Do not want to lose his eyesight.
Kal's got a medic.
- Sorry.
- So I can't see.
I should, just to be safe, because it's starting to hurt a little.
I'm so sorry.
You told me to watch my back, not my eye.
I didn't think you'd turn around like that.
This probably looked so calm until with my eye, like-- I feel so bad.
- Christine: Cheryl? - Yes? How you looking? Um, great.
Don't sound too confident.
Well, there's a lot going on.
- Kal's almost lost an eye.
- I know.
You've gotta win the right way tonight, though.
I mean I didn't mean to poke his eyeball out.
Accidentally poked me in eye, which means on purpose - Do you make fried chicken at home often? - Yeah.
- What's that chicken going in? - This is it.
Just out of the marinade, into the seasoned flour, into the fryer.
That's correct.
Not worried.
All right, Cheryl, waffles, get them going keep them warm in the oven.
Keep the waffles warm in the oven? Why not? You've got just over 30 minutes to go and it all has to be a complete dish when time is called.
- But, hot? - Yeah.
Yeah, good luck.
Thank you.
I'm really sorry about your eyeball.
It's okay, I'm sorry you're going to lose.
Ohh! ( audience chanting ) Go, Cheryl, go! Cheryl's dish sounds great.
She's got a stout beer working in those waffles.
- Wheat beer with orange zest in it as well.
- Nice.
Got her fried chicken working.
She's on track.
She's definitely playing a little coy.
Well, Kal, look at him.
He's almost got his tacos in an assembly line.
He's got all the garnish there, the shredded cabbage, got the spice there.
He's going to start making the tortilla shell, the marinade But Gordon, he's only working with one eye at this point.
He can barely keep the other one open.
- Young man, how are you doing? - Good.
What's it like cooking with one eye? I have no depth perception, which is the crazy part.
Now, what's in here? Some slaw, some citrus.
Who sliced this? - Uh, I did.
- What is that? - Let's toss that one.
- Oh, let's toss that one.
Now, what's the dressing in here? Some salt, lime, and a little olive oil.
( audience laughs ) It needs more seasoning.
- More seasoning? - More seasoning.
- Okay.
- Good luck.
Christina: One eye, 14 minutes to go.
Is this burning? Looks like Kal's ?? almost fallen behind a little bit because those tortillas are a little too dry so they're breaking up.
I'm worried about Cheryl's flavors.
I'm worried about Kal's ability to get his done.
Two minutes to go.
Audience: Oh! Seven-second rule.
- I mean-- - 10-second rule in the MasterChef kitchen? Now he's got the avocado.
Finesse, finesse, finesse.
Let's go.
Love the way Kal's starting to assemble those tacos.
Finishing touches, let's go.
Audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One, and stop.
- Kal, I'm so sorry.
- It's okay.
Amazing.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God, that looks amazing.
I can't believe you made that in an hour.
Well done Cheryl, Kal.
Amazing.
Now for the most important part, of course, the tasting.
First up, Kal, please let's go.
Wow.
Kal, describe the dish, please.
Sure.
So I have beer-marinated halibut tacos with sort of a simple masa flour tortilla, with some citrus slaw, a little aioli, some TajÃn, just to finish it off, with some avocado.
Okay, great, and how do you incorporate the hero of tonight's challenge, the beer? So I wanted beer to be part of every component of this.
There's a little bit of beer in the masa flour mix.
The majority of the marinade for the fish is beer.
And the aioli also has a bit of beer in it.
I'd like to see the fish first, but all I can see now is vegetables and slaw.
Maybe I should have gone a little lighter on the slaw and things on the top.
So, the shells.
They've got color on there, right? ( bleep ) Damn.
Announcer: Coming up PA Announcer: Leakes, Byers seven minutes to stage please.
They're the Byers for a reason because they are going bye-bye.
Gordon: Kal, describe the dish please.
The bottom you have is your halibut, on top is chipotle aioli, then the slaw.
On top of that, avocado and TajÃn.
( bleep ).
Damn.
I was trying to hold it.
Damn.
It was either undercooked or it's too wet.
This one's better.
Traditionally in Mexico, they serve it with two tortillas.
So when you put substantial amount of ingredients inside it stops it from cracking.
Kal, it's bloody delicious.
Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
I love the heat from the chipotle, the refreshingness of the coleslaw.
You cooked the halibut, delicious.
Wrap it in two tortillas.
Make sure you've got an insurance policy so we miss nothing.
But considering you got stabbed in the eye within the first five minutes, you've done a bloody good job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thanks.
Man.
All right, Kal, let's see if it tastes as good as it looks.
- Did a great job there.
- Thank you.
- Delicious.
- Oh, thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
Christina: The beer is absolutely present.
It's tenderized the fish because it's been marinated.
The masa harina gives a nice texture.
I really like where the heat level is at.
I think it's very thoughtful.
It makes you feel like you're on a beach in Mexico.
Makes me want to drink the rest of that beer.
- Fantastic job.
- Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
- It was terrifying.
- Good job.
Gordon: Amazing, cheers.
Right, next up, Cheryl, please bring your dish forward.
Thank you.
- Please describe the dish.
- Chicken and waffles.
The waffles have have a little bit of orange zest in them and beer, and the chicken was bathed in buttermilk and beer and then a beautiful batter and then fried.
So there's beer in the waffles, beer in the chicken - and beer in the sauce.
- That's right.
- And beer in your tummy.
- That's right.
Did you use the thigh, the drum, the breast.
The thigh and the drumstick.
This looks like a chicken breast.
Oh, then it may be.
- Okay, so let's get in there.
- Yeah.
You may not know what part of the chicken it is, but it is cooked beautifully.
- Let's get that right.
- Thank you.
It's glistening.
Thing is the actual chicken is delicious, really good.
I love the essence of that beer running through the marinade.
- Batter is nice and crispy, which is lovely.
- Thank you, Chef.
I've always wanted to say that.
The only thing I'd like to see less of is the sugary items, because the actual waffle is very sweet.
- Is the waffle very sweet? - It's very sweet.
I find that hard to believe.
How many beers did you have? But for me the chicken is delicious.
The protein, amazing.
So, good job.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Right, Miss Cheryl, let's see what we've got here.
What type of beer did you use in this batter? I used stout.
It's delicious.
It's juicy, it's moist.
Let's look at this waffle.
The way the marmalade is filling into those nooks and crannies of the waffle, - that citrus note is a real compliment to the beer.
- Thank you.
It transports me home.
It's light, it's bright.
You've made our jobs difficult.
It's going to be a very, very, very close race.
Thank you.
- Good luck, sir.
- Congratulations.
Gordon: Right, tough one.
Cheryl's chicken.
The breast is the worst one to get right because it goes dry so quickly.
I thought she was going to stick to the drum and the thigh, but she put the breast there.
- And it was juicy and flavorful and delicious.
- Really good.
Christina: Kal's fish taco, for me, I loved the idea of a fish taco being seemingly simple, seemingly humble.
We've seen professional chefs come in and make tacos, don't even start with their own tortillas.
So to start off with a base like that, he's the real deal.
They both just nailed beer and neither one of them tried to just sneak it in to an ingredient last minute.
- So I think that we've got a winner, do you agree? - I do.
- Excellent.
Gordon: Right, Cheryl, Kal we have a decision.
- Now, Cheryl your dish was plated in a rustic fashion.
- Yes.
You cooked one of the most difficult cuts of the chicken and you nailed it.
You incorporated beer brilliantly, three times.
Kal, very few professional chefs would choose to make their own taco shell.
You came in here tonight like a bat out of hell and you absolutely nailed the essence of the challenge with the beer traveling through the dish.
Two very strong efforts and the individual that will receive a check for $25,000 to their chosen charity, congratulations, goes to - Chef Penn.
- Oh! Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, thank you! Yeah, thank you, Chef.
- Great job.
- Thank you.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Thank you.
- Congratulations to Kal and his amazing charity.
- Thank you.
Cheryl, you did an amazing job tonight.
It was such a tight race.
- And you will take home $15,000 for your charity.
- Thank you.
- Come on up here.
- Come on, darling.
This was so fun.
It's okay.
Ladies and gentlemen, give it up please.
Kal and Cheryl.
Thank you guys.
Cheryl: Bye.
Whoa, I can't see anything.
Gordon: Coming up We makin' it rain.
That's what I'm talking about.
This is incredible.
Some very special guests - Do you want the truth? - Mm-hmm.
judge the masters.
I don't like it, okay? Our next celebrity home cooks are competing in teams of two, and not only are both teams stealing the spotlight on their hit TV shows both teams are also married.
First up, two stars from one of the most successful television franchises in recent history.
Gordon: Please welcome from "The Real Housewives of Atlanta," NeNe and Gregg Leakes.
Here we go.
Gregg: MasterChef is huge.
I watch it all the time.
I think it's amazing, and where I'm from, we want good-tasting food.
Even down to the French fries, honey.
Gregg: I love watching my wife cook, because my mind's not on the food.
My mind's on how hot she look cooking it.
You better say that.
You know I'm gonna do it, baby.
- First of all, those aprons look incredible on you.
- Thank you.
NeNe, are you a big fan of "MasterChef," "MasterChef Junior"? I am such a fan of both and I'm a fan of you guys, oh, my God! Thank you.
- Gregg? - Yes? - Welcome, sir.
- Thank you.
How would you describe NeNe's cooking? Look at me.
It's not from my own cooking.
Tell us, what charity are you competing for? I'm playing for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
So that's why I'm here and I hope that we get that $25,000 because we need it.
- Yeah.
- Nice, nice.
NeNe, Gregg, you both ready to check out your competition? Come on, competition.
This next pair of celebrity home cooks are newlyweds in real life and co-stars on America's reigning number one hit show, "Empire.
" Please give a huge round of applause for Trai and Grace, the Byers.
This feels amazing to be on "MasterChef.
" - We actually watch the show, all the time.
- We do.
- Grace: We're newlyweds and-- - Trai: We're going up against Both: NeNe and Gregg Leakes.
- The oldyweds.
- Yeah.
Grace: But, we're gonna bring the key to the first six successful months of marriage, which is communication.
Absolutely.
Welcome, Trai and Grace to our culinary arena.
How are you feeling? - We're feeling good, we're ready.
- Ready to go.
Give us an insight to the charity you're both cooking for tonight.
Saving Our Daughters.
So, they're a nonprofit that empowers young girls with the tools that they need in order to overcome bullying and they have a bunch of different programs in order to allow these girls to realize the value and the worth of who they are.
Sounds fantastic.
Amazing.
My big question is, are you confident that you can take down NeNe and Gregg? - Yes.
- Yes.
Right.
Tonight you'll be competing in teams of two.
This time of year, America's got one thing on their minds: - football.
- Yes.
Do you know my favorite thing about the American football season? Food.
Tonight, it doesn't get any more American than this.
A MasterChef game day party platter.
Yes.
Gordon: Here we have the most amazing chicken wings served with a buttermilk dressing.
Beautifully stuffed jalapeño poppers, incredible, and then these, all-American classic sliders.
These dainty little pigs in a blanket, spicy sausages wrapped in puff pastry and then, of course, this stunning rich guacamole, with the wonderful hand-cut chips.
This platter is an all-American game day spread to die for.
You are all gonna have to replicate it exactly.
Trust me, this will not be easy.
Gregg, are you excited? I'm very excited.
I'm starting with the wings and I'm gonna bring it all home with the pigs right in them blankets.
Christina: All right, each team will have just 60 minutes to make their game day party platter, and we're going to do this battle as a MasterChef tag-team.
Here's how it's going to work.
The gentlemen will kick us off and enter the ring to get things started.
You'll find all the ingredients you need on the boards at your stations.
Then, when we shout "switch," you'll tag each other out.
At the end of all that chaos, we want two flawless platters.
- Got it? - Got it.
Gentlemen, head into the ring, here we go.
Right, 60 minutes on the clock.
- There we are.
- Right.
- Let's do it, brother.
- Let's do this.
Your 60 minutes starts now.
Come on, babe.
Go babe, go on.
Come on, Yes, yes, baby! Hey, put a little bit more salt.
Make sure you season.
Baby, whisk the eggs.
You're right, you're right.
- This platter is all about the timing, okay? - Absolutely.
Gordon: So I'd start off with marinating those chicken wings - and then after that, the pigs in the blanket.
- Yes.
- Cut them all.
- Got you, sweetheart.
Gordon: Then, from there, it's the jalapeño poppers.
Get those three big things off, then you're halfway there.
Christina: And then from there, seasoning the meat so it's ready to go when it's actually time to sear.
Those chips, the guacamole, all that stuff can happen much, much, much later towards the end.
NeNe: Gregg, go, go, go.
You got this, Gregg.
Gregg started cooking the wings in the first ten minutes.
They think it's a race for the fastest couple in the MasterChef arena.
Grate the cheese.
Grate the cheese.
- All: ( chanting ) Grate the cheese.
- Yeah.
Leave them, leave them.
Start pigs in the blanket.
Christina: Both of the Byers, costars on "Empire," married in real life so they clearly know how to collaborate.
Gordon: Yeah, but the Leakes have been married for 20 years, so the big advantages tonight is with the Leakes.
Season the meat, babe.
Season the meat.
( screams ) But it looks like NeNe's pulling her hair out.
God, please help me, God.
Help me.
Two minutes to go until our first swap.
Use a paring knife longways.
- Trai: There we go.
- Grace: Perfect.
Beautiful.
Yep.
One minute to go until we switch.
Babe, hurry up, child.
Oh, my God.
Put the chicken in the oven, honey.
Where is Gregg going with those wings? - Putting them in the oven.
- You're the best.
It's all going down the route of being overcooked.
You got it.
Here we go.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Audience: Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
All righty.
- You're gonna need the butter.
- I know, I know.
Grace is in control, let's get that right.
Look at the fierce face she has on her right now.
Trai: Good job, baby.
Flip the burgers, baby.
Honey, my wig gonna blow off up in here.
- NeNe's all over the place.
- Wow.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
- My nerves, up in here.
- Come on baby, stay with it.
Whoo! NeNe's pan's on fire! Gordon: Coming up, Anthony Anderson goes head-to-head with Jordana Brewster.
Anthony: There's a bump.
That back there, was a bump.
Okay.
All right, this is not "Fast and the Furious 22," right now.
Just wanted to shake it up.
Come on, baby.
Come on, baby.
- My nerves, up in here.
- Come on baby, stay with it.
Whoo! NeNe's pan's on fire! Not good.
Gregg: Push your burgers to the back of your burner.
Flip your burgers, baby.
- Here we go.
- Look at Gregg, no problem.
You're doing great.
Tonight is a big platter, lots going on.
I'll get that.
Sauces.
Gordon: It's two amazing couples, 60 minutes.
Where the cheese? The Leakes versus the Byers.
- How we doing? - Good.
Why were the chicken wings cooked so quickly? Because they should be cooked first.
Get all the prep done and then worry about cooking, okay? - Okay.
- Good girl.
Sauces, baby, sauces.
What did Trai set you up for? He did the pigs in a blanket.
Now I'm doing the sauces.
So he's like the sous chef, you're head chef? - Right.
- Yes.
Don't worry about bread crumbs yet.
I gotta stuff these other two peppers.
You're doing great.
- You use your worcestershire sauce, baby? - Yeah.
Make sure we're tasting it along the way.
Yep, we're right on time.
30 seconds to go.
Perfect, perfect, perfect.
This one needs some more egg on it, it's not sticking.
Check your wings while you're there.
Check your wings.
Three.
Two.
One, and switch.
Gregg, what's going on with these jalapeño poppers? The poppers gotta be redone.
Okay, I'll redo them.
NeNe, how's Gregg doing? Gregg is great.
I'm stressed out, child.
Well, you're not even cooking.
This is pressure.
Baby, you gotta get it.
Tilt the bowl to the side to get it all over.
There you go.
All right, Trai.
Who's taking the lead? Is it you, is it Grace? Is Grace sort of driving this bus? She's doing a really great job reminding me of what it is that I'm forgetting.
- Check on the pigs in a blanket.
- Perfect, perfect.
- We're getting there.
- She's watching you like a hawk.
Good luck! - Gordon: 30 seconds to go.
- Put the chips in.
Christina: Looks like Trai's got his chips going in.
No, no, no, no! Christina: Uh-oh, he's got two things in the fryer at the same time.
Come on.
Double duty, that's all right.
Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
Let's go.
You got one more, let it cook until it's done on the other side.
- So I'm gonna do the jalapeño peppers.
- You gotta cut the chips.
You gotta make the guacamole.
Make sure it's brown all the way, not light brown.
Golden brown, okay? ( stammers ) Great baby, salt the chips.
With what? With salt? - The Tanjin.
- Where? You've gotta salt and season those chips immediately.
It just will not stick otherwise.
I don't see it.
It's okay, just go to the meat, sweetheart.
Doing good.
Babe, there's no crumbs in the refrigerator.
It's gotta stick right, we don't have anymore.
This is the second time NeNe's made jalapeño poppers.
Gordon: Look, she's squashing it like it's putty.
You gotta put some flour in.
What are you working on, baby? - Prepping the burgers.
- Great, great, great.
15 seconds to go.
Do what you can do.
Come on, baby.
That's good.
Keep going.
Gordon: Switch.
- Take out the sliders.
- Got you, got you, got you.
- Sliders are great.
- Just assemble the burgers.
You got this, Gregg.
'Cause Lord knows, I ain't got it.
We gotta put some kind of sauce on the burgers.
I ain't got time for that.
Gordon: Last minute, guys.
Setting up for your final switch.
Babe, don't worry about it.
Start setting up the plate up.
Just start setting the platter up.
Put one on top.
Put the guacamole in the bowl.
Guacamole in the bowl.
- NeNe: Go ahead baby, go.
- Audience: Three.
Two.
One.
Switch.
Switch.
Finish it out.
It's all coming down to the ladies.
They're going to finish off strong.
You got time, baby.
Make it pretty.
Grace, don't put it all the way down.
Grace, oh Lord.
We are down to one minute to go.
Last minute, come on.
Come on, NeNe, smooth! Make it pretty, Grace! Gordon: NeNe's pulled it out of the bag, She's coming together brilliantly.
30 seconds to go! Come on, down to the wire.
Gordon and audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
Judges: Time's up.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
Proud of you.
Gordon: Right, the moment we've all been waiting for.
The tasting.
Let's start off with NeNe and Gregg.
Let's go.
First, your platter looks incredible.
Amazing.
Gregg, what did you do on the platter? ( laughing ) Let me put it this way.
Gregg, what did you not do? I didn't put the sauce in the glasses.
You didn't put the sauce in the glasses.
Let's dig in there, shall we? The jalapeño poppers.
Now, this is what you struggled with, right? - Yes.
- Quite.
Was it a problem with the stuffing, the breading? What was it? You know, we were missing the flour.
Sure.
Until the last time, we got it.
A lot of filling in there.
What cheese did you put in there? That's cheddar and mozzarella.
- Oh my.
- It's spicy? They are very spicy.
NeNe, I don't want you to be upset.
Gordon: Coming up Benji: We're honored to be cooking against the Barber brothers.
If we beat them, we can actually say we beat professional athletes at something.
Ronde: Benji, Joel, we're comin' for you boy.
What do you got on this? Gordon: The jalapeño poppers, now this is what you struggled with, right? - Yes.
- Quite, yes.
They are very spicy.
What? It's wrong? NeNe, I don't want you to be upset.
It's good.
Trust me.
Very good.
The pigs in a blanket.
I love what you've done with the egg wash.
Let's just check to make sure they're cooked inside.
Pastry is nice and flaky.
Ooh, yes.
That's beautiful.
How do they taste? They're wonderful.
Gordon: They taste good.
- Guacamole, who seasoned that? - Me.
Seasoned beautifully.
What else is in there? - Cilantro, lime, tomatoes.
- And? - A lot of love.
- A lot of love.
That's good.
Well done, both of you.
Seriously, good job.
All right, Gregg, the sliders.
- I saw you searing these patties off pretty early.
- Yes.
Got a little worried that they'd be overcooked.
What are we going for, temperature-wise? Medium well to medium well plus.
Let's see what you got, guys.
Gregg, it's a little overdone, but let's see how this sucker tastes.
Mmm.
Not a med-well slider gal, but if this is how you cook them at your house, I will come over for game day any day of the week, sir.
Nice job.
I'm going chicken wings next.
Let's see how you did.
Beautiful.
Beautiful job.
Great color.
Look at those juices still shining through.
Listen, not only did you get everything on the platter the execution, the flavor of what you got on the platter is incredibly impressive.
The two of you were a dynamite team, tonight.
- Very nice job.
- NeNe: Thank you.
Mr.
and Mrs.
Byers, that's a tough act to follow.
Please head up with your party platter.
Thank you.
Impressive.
Gordon: I mean that platter looks like a celebration.
Great job.
Now, who cooked the sliders? Grace: Trai started them, and then I finished them in the oven Gordon: Okay, great.
What temperature are we looking for inside? Medium rare.
They look incredible.
Wow, seasoned beautifully.
Really good job, indeed.
The jalapeño poppers, great color.
Who stuffed these? I did.
They look beautiful.
You were frying the jalapeño poppers and you put in your chips in there at the same time.
- Whose idea was that? - I did it in a rush.
- Trai, come on.
- Yeah.
Good food can never be rushed, right? Rule number one.
You're absolutely right.
You're absolutely right.
Who made the guacamole? I did.
Yeah, see, look the texture looks beautiful.
What did you season the chips with? Grace: Little bit of salt, little bit of hot pepper.
- Here's the thing: chips taste a bit bland.
- Okay.
I wouldn't put them in the same bloody fryer.
The minute they come out of the fryer, you hit them with the seasoning, when they're nice and warm so they absorb that spice.
- Yes.
- Grace: Yeah.
But you cook like you've been together for decades let alone months.
Great job.
Well done.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Christina: All right.
I'm gonna take a look at these pigs in a blanket.
The egg wash is beautiful.
You can see it glistening there.
Let's see what it looks like center--I mean, come on.
Look at that.
You can see those beautiful layers of flake.
- Mmm, delicious.
- Thank you.
Now, I wanna know a little bit more about these chicken wings.
Trai fried them for like a good three, four minutes and then we finished them off in the oven and then we tossed them in the sauce.
Nice color on them.
Got a nice fry.
They're nice and caramelized.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
Just, delicious.
Perfection.
You impressed me tonight.
You look like chefs in the kitchen.
You move like them.
It's going to be a tough call.
Please, go ahead and head back to your station.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, guys.
It's tough with this one, very tough.
How do you break this down? I mean, two very good platters.
NeNe, Gregg we think that you guys are awesome, awesome people.
- You can probably cook really well - Probably.
but not good enough.
Christina: I mean, it's going to come down to the finest of details.
Whether it's the cook on the burger, the flavors of those chicken wings.
Byers, we love you, but bye-bye.
- Gordon: I think we know who the right one is.
- I think so.
It was not easy, but we have made our decision.
Gordon: Now, the team leaving with a check for $25,000, coupled with the bragging rights to every dinner party from now on in, they are MasterChef champions.
Congratulations goes to The Byers.
- Yes.
Yeah! - Nice job.
And also, great job to NeNe and Gregg.
You'll take home $15,000 for your charity.
- Hurry up, come and get it.
- Come on up.
To all four of you, thank you so much for putting on an extraordinary performance.
Thank you very much.
The Byers and the Leakes, ladies and gentlemen.
Bye, guys.
Our next celebrity home cooks are no strangers to arenas like this.
They've all lived their lives performing in the spotlight.
Two sets of brothers.
First up, two rock star twins that are about to trade in their guitars for aprons.
Please welcome, from one of America's favorite rock bands, Good Charlotte, Joel and Benji Madden.
He's, I think, a better cook than me.
Benji: Well, both of us are lucky because we married women who are amazing cooks, and I think both of us always want to give them a night off or we always want to wow them.
Or try to wow them or impress them because they're always cooking every meal for the family.
Listen, guys, we're super excited to have you but more than anything we want to know, what charity are you guys competing for tonight? The charity that we're competing for tonight is MusiCares.
It's hard for artists, songwriters, musicians to take care of themselves and make a living so MusiCares provides financial assistance for struggling artists and musicians.
Well, guys, we're pumped to have you here.
Good luck.
Now, Joel, Benji, you'll be battling another pair of identical twins but these twins are not musicians.
They are sports royalty.
Please welcome, not one, but two NFL legends and another set of identical twins, Ronde and Tiki Barber.
The Barber Brothers.
Tiki: I love food, because it was necessary for me.
- When I was playing I had to keep my weight up.
- Yeah, a lot of weigh-ins.
I'm naturally small, but I'm used to consuming 4000 calories a day just so that I didn't get my butt kicked when I went out on the field on Sundays.
Liking the guns, Benj.
We've always been competitors against each other.
Now we get to be teammates.
I need you to do well, today.
- All right.
- Handle your business.
I will.
I always do.
Guys, give us an insight to the charity that you're cooking for tonight.
It's called KultureCity.
The mission is to create a society where kids with autism are treated with acceptance and not defined by their diagnosis, and more importantly, they have a limitless future just like every other kid in America.
Great.
Well said.
Guys, this is the "MasterChef Celebrity Showdown.
" The Madden brothers versus the Barber brothers.
Tonight, you will be baking.
You do know we're football players and rock stars, right? You do know I'm a pastry chef, right? All right.
Here we go.
Now, it's delicate, it's light as air.
It is, of course, cream puffs.
Both teams will have one hour to bake us a box of 12 perfect cream puffs.
You want a perfect pastry and a delicious filling.
The specifics beyond that, entirely up to you.
You'll find all the ingredients in your pantry at the back of your stations.
Be creative.
Be clever.
And, guys, be competitive.
No doubt.
Chefs, take your positions inside that incredible ring.
Let's go.
Let's have 60 minutes on the clock.
Guys, good luck.
Your 60 minutes start now.
Gordon: Here we go.
Let's start with the dough.
We're going to be making a triple espresso cream puff and a dark chocolate and sea salt with a vanilla cream in the center.
Whip it, whip it, whip it.
Teaspoon.
Teaspoon.
Ronde: Today, we're making these cream puffs.
Fill it with some vanilla cream.
We're gonna put some blood orange in one.
We're gonna put some raspberry paste in another one.
Don't overdo it.
Man let's do it.
Wanna try some? Good Charlotte, awesome rockers, but they're not used to competing.
Tiki: We're used to competing.
Dominate these dudes.
This is gonna be a slaughter.
So musicians versus pro football players.
Rock and roll versus NFL stars, - but you know how technical actual pastry is.
- Absolutely.
You have to have the perfect pâte àchoux batter.
Water, butter, flour, cooked down in a saucepan until that starch is fully cooked out.
Thrown into a stand mixer.
Yeah, buddy.
Christina: You add eggs to sort of create that fluffy egginess, and then that batter gets piped into perfect rounds onto a baking sheet and baked in the oven.
Audience: Let's go Barbers, let's go.
Gordon: Ten minutes gone, 50 minutes remaining.
Come on.
Christina: Come on.
Let's go.
Right.
Okay, Benji.
Now, how are you going to put your spin on these cream puffs? My choice was a triple espresso.
The other one's gonna be dark chocolate with sea salt on top.
Wow.
Sounds amazing.
Let's go.
Good luck.
All right, boys, tell me about these cream puffs.
We're going to try to get a raspberry flavor for the Bucks, colorwise, and some dark blue chocolate on top for the Giants.
For the Giants, so - And some blood orange filling.
- Christina: I like this.
Nice job, guys.
Keep going.
Joel: Need any help? No, I'm not sure if I got the dough right, though.
So, the Barber brothers have got their choux pastries in the oven now.
Christina: All right.
These cream puffs take about 15 minutes to bake and then they need another five to 10 minutes to cool down.
If the Madden brothers do not get the cream puffs in the oven Yo, we gotta roll.
they're doomed.
- Ronde.
- Oh, my.
Yo, we gotta roll.
Christina: If the Madden brothers do not get their cream puffs in the oven, they're doomed.
Absolutely.
I don't think-- This didn't come out right.
- We cooled this too long.
- What happened to it? I don't know.
The consistency is way too thick, you know what I mean? How about we just mash it down? - Come on, guys.
- Come on.
Now, the Madden brothers fell a little bit behind with that pâte àchoux pastry, but they still have enough time to bake, cool, and fill.
- How's the dough? - I dropped an eggshell in there.
Did it get ground up in it? ( chuckles ) Some of it.
So, who's going to pipe and who's going to decorate? Because the piping you get away with being a little bit shoddy.
The actual decoration at the end, you need to have a precise hand.
Christina: You need to have a precise hand, - but if that cream puff isn't filled full - Yep.
it is depressing.
I don't want an empty cream puff tonight.
- I want it chock full of filling.
- Sure.
How can I-- How soon can I start filling up the cream paste.
- Soon.
- Check it.
See how firm it is.
Fifteen minutes to go, guys.
- So we're very calm here.
- Yes.
Right, who's piping and who's finishing? Uh, we're going to dual pipe.
Dual pipe? There is no such thing.
- Yes there is.
- Now, how do you dual pipe? Because he's going to hold and I'm going to inject.
- So, you'll have four hands on one bag.
- Yes.
It's not a cow.
Come on, it's a piping bag.
We were one egg that split into two.
We can use four hands.
That's true.
That's true.
You've got 12 and a half minutes to go.
Good luck, guys.
Let's go.
- Should I try it? - Huh? That ain't good.
Look at the Barber brothers, helping each other.
Four hands for that cream puff.
Four hands on one tiny cream puff, honestly.
Christina: They're footballers, they've got big hands, - but they definitely have the finesse.
- Yep.
- How many's that? - Five.
- Five minutes to go, guys.
- Come on, guys.
This is where you take the humble cream puff and elevate it into a box of magic.
It is.
These last five minutes, it's all about finesse.
Make sure those cream puffs are filled all the way.
Hey, I'm pouring this in? - Yes.
- Okay, this one's a mess.
Gotta get another one.
That-that killed it.
The heavy cream killed it.
Don't worry about that, just leave that one.
We've gotta redo it.
Just use this one.
Okay.
One minute to go.
Where's the powdered sugar? Gordon: Let's go, come on.
Judges, audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
- One.
- Gordon: Stop.
Hands in the air.
Time's up.
Good job.
That was pretty good.
Madden brothers and Barber brothers, please come around to the front.
Now it's time for the best part of any dessert challenge, the tasting.
All right, Ronde and Tiki, please bring up your box of cream puffs.
All right, guys, let's see what's inside.
What do we have? So we're going with the football theme, and you'll see the blue chocolate, Giants' color.
The filling inside that one is blood orange.
The other one is pure raspberry inside - Tiki: Because Tampa Bay-- - Ronde: Tampa Bay's red, with the powdered sugar and a little bit of - a blue drizzle on top of that.
- Okay.
Listen, at first glance it feels like we're celebrating game day.
- We are.
- Which I appreciate.
Now, I wanna see that raspberry cream filled entirely.
Let's see how you did.
Little bit short.
Listen, I think that your heart was in it.
I think the flavor is there, but the cream puff should be bigger.
And I wanna see that finesse at the end - look like the most luxurious box of cream puffs.
- Okay.
- Nice job, both of you.
- Thank you.
Oh, wow.
I feel like a Smurf just ( bleep ) all over the box.
I love the Smurfs.
Gordon: Right, let's get in there, shall we? What I will say, okay, I love the flavor, the actual pastry.
What doesn't sit with me is the actual texture of the cream.
Because there's like a bizarre bit in there.
It took a little bit of finagling to get that cream the right consistency.
Yeah, it's a technical dish to pull off.
Overall, pretty decent job.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Madden brothers, please bring up your box of cream puffs.
All right, let's take a look.
Wow.
Gotta say guys, they look pretty brilliant.
Thank you.
So, what do you got? We have dark chocolate sea salt cream puff with vanilla cream filling in the center and a triple espresso cream puff.
It's got espresso cream, glaze, and a crunchy espresso topping.
I'm going to go into the salted dark chocolate.
Look at that.
Oh! That's not bad.
Now, I've have one point that I'm a little concerned about.
- Yep? - What's that? Ooh.
Egg shells.
I was hoping it wouldn't be in the one you chose.
Because it was kind of like an egg shell lottery.
But, it might taste amazing.
Let's see.
That vanilla pastry cream, it's smooth, it's rich, it's decadent.
But the eggshell, for me, is the one thing.
Other than that, guys, very impressive job.
Let's see what Gordon thinks.
Right, let's get in there, shall we? Hope it's full.
Listen, the flavor is there, little bit too sweet.
Could have done with a little bit more time to cool down.
So when the cream hits it in the center, it doesn't go wet.
But, by and large, I think it's a pretty good performance.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Good job.
Good luck, guys.
This is a tough one, I mean, with the Maddens it was a much better oval look.
Christina: Technically, there was egg shell.
Ronde and Tiki, I feel like they never faced such fierce competitors.
Christina: Barbers were so much faster out of the gate.
Their pâte àchoux base itself was stronger.
We got great competition against some other twins, - popular twins in the-- - Yeah, but they're rock stars.
- Benji and Joel - Joel and Benji are rock stars.
If they can cook better than us, then something's wrong.
Right, that was tough.
Madden brothers, you may have started out somewhat slow.
I said whole eggs.
You threw, literally, whole eggs in there.
But, visually, it had that impact and the flavors worked well together.
Barber brothers, you know, you worked immaculately.
Came out the gate strong.
Love the blood orange.
Slightly more garish on the presentation.
However, the effort across the board was pretty good.
All four of you did a great job.
Really well done.
Christina: It's true.
We've made our decision.
The team that's leaving with $25,000 for their chosen charity and MasterChef culinary bragging rights.
Congratulations goes to the Madden brothers! Come and join us.
Congratulations.
You did an awesome job.
What an incredible job.
Well done.
Benji, how do you feel? I feel like I just won the Super Bowl.
Barbers, you also are walking away with a check, $15,000.
Ladies and gentlemen, big round of applause.
Come on, guys.
We know that the real winners tonight are the charities.
All four of you put an exceptional job.
Ladies and gentleman give it up, please, for the Madden brothers and the Barber brothers.
Thank you, guys.
- Well done.
- Let's hear it for them.
Madden brothers and the Barber brothers.
Thank you.
Gordon: Coming up - Are you ready Gordon? - I was born ready.
- I jump into the ring with Anthony Anderson - There we go.
and take on Christina and Jordana Brewster.
Congratulations.
Tonight has been an evening full of star power.
And now, it's the battle you've all been waiting for.
I'm about to step into the culinary ring and go head-to-head with the one and only Mr.
Gordon Ramsay.
That's right.
This is gonna be a battle of such epic proportions that Christina and I will not be working alone tonight.
That's right.
I will be battling Christina, alongside one of America's favorite TV stars and he also just happens to be a very serious force to be reckoned with in the kitchen.
Please welcome, from the hit TV show, "Blackish" the very talented, Anthony Anderson, ladies and gentlemen.
- Welcome, bud.
- Thank you.
Anthony: People know me as an actor, but what they don't know is that I love to cook.
Whoo! Anthony: Being here at "MasterChef," cooking alongside Gordon Ramsay.
I've done a lot of big things in my life, but this is at the top of the list.
Christina, come on, scared? Mmm, not one bit.
Okay.
You guys ready to find out which celebrity is joining my team tonight? All righty right.
Please welcome, from the insanely successful "Fast and Furious" movie franchise and the new hit FOX show, "Lethal Weapon," Jordana Brewster! Jordana: There's really nothing bigger than MasterChef, when it comes to a cooking competition.
Right here.
We got you.
So, I've been practicing.
Julian, my son, - has been tasting my food, so I feel like I'm ready.
- Okay.
I am ready for Gordon and Anthony to bring their A game.
Me and Christina might whoop some butt.
- Good luck.
- Same to you, my love.
Best of luck.
Anthony, Jordana, welcome to the MasterChef arena.
Please, both of you put on those incredible MasterChef aprons.
Okay, okay.
Uh-huh, look at that.
- Anthony? - Yes, sir? This love of food, where did it come from? Well, my mother stopped cooking for the family because of her addiction to bingo.
Same here.
So, since the age of 11, I've been cooking for the family, and that's where the love and passion kind of start.
Love it, love it, love it.
Jordana, what are your go-to dishes when you're at home? I cook for my three-year-old son, so he's usually my gauge.
I'm real nervous now.
Excuse me.
The person who's palate you're preparing food for is three.
- Excuse me.
- Hmm, really? - Julian - This is your ace in the hole, Christina? - Hey, hey, hey.
- She's cooking for a three-year-old toddler - Julian is very picky.
- who eats paste, but okay.
Okay.
Now, tonight is all about charity and Anthony, together, you and I are going to do our very best to win a $25,000 donation for charity of your choice.
Now, give us a little insight to the charity near and dear to your heart.
My charity is the, Watts and Willowbrook Boys and Girls Club, an organization that I was a part of growing up in Compton, California.
So, they help kids out with after-school programs, computer centers, and just giving them safe havens to come and learn and to stay off the streets.
That's why I'm a part of that.
Amazing.
Jordana, tell us what charity are you cooking for tonight? I'm cooking for No Kid Hungry, which is an amazing charity that combats childhood hunger in America and they have amazing programs, such as teaching families how to cook healthy, affordable meals.
They put breakfast in schools.
I've worked with them for many years and they're an amazing organization.
Wow.
Amazing.
Anthony and Jordana, please both of you, head to your stations.
Amazing.
- Ladies first.
- Thank you.
We have our teams.
What we don't know yet, is what we're cooking.
Gordon: Tonight, the four of us will be competing in a MasterChef Mystery Box Challenge.
We're all going to have to take whatever we find underneath those identical mystery boxes and create one stunning dish.
Gordon: On the count of three, please very carefully, lift your boxes.
One.
Two.
Three.
Lift.
All right, Jordana, give me a little insight.
What are a few items on that board? I see raspberries, dates, mozzarella, parmesan, asparagus, cod.
Now, Anthony, what's grabbing your eye? Crushed tomatoes, veal, blood oranges Huh.
Pretzel.
We will have just 60 minutes to make a dish worthy of $25,000 for a very important charity.
Jordana, any last words to say to these fellas? Good luck.
- Second place isn't so bad.
- Tell yourself that later.
Yeah, okay.
Right, ladies and gentlemen, 60 minutes on the clock, please.
Amazing.
And, you're going to need one of these, madam.
Mmm, you too, sir.
Let's go, thank you.
Get that on.
Now Are you ready, Gordon? I was born ready.
Jordana, may be in "The Fast and Furious," but I am the fast and furious.
Let's get that right.
- Everybody set? - Yes.
Yes.
Our 60 minutes starts now.
- Right.
- All right.
Yeah, there you go.
- Oh, get this stuff.
- Okay, let's go.
- All right.
- All right, let's talk.
What do we want to go with? What better way to really get him, than to make something that's very Gordon Ramsay.
We either do beef Wellington or we do fish and chips.
- Fish and chips.
- Fish and chips.
Okay, okay.
Christina and I are making fish and chips with a tartar sauce.
And you wanna make the batter for frying the fish.
I'm Brazilian, so I really appreciate delicious flavors that aren't fancy-schmancy.
- Do we go beer batter? - Vinegary.
- Vinegar, okay.
- Give it a little kick.
Jordana: And fish and chips aren't fancy schmancy.
- Come on.
- Aye yai yai.
I only have 60 minutes so I'm going to have to be lethal and fast and furious in the kitchen.
We've got this, don't you worry.
We're going to out-Brit the Brit.
That veal looks amazing.
Maybe like a - A veal parmesan.
- Parmesan.
- Okay.
- Got it.
Way to go, baby.
Anthony: We will be making veal parmesan made with panko bread crust a little bit of parmesan cheese and parsley.
I didn't know you could chop like this.
I've watched you long enough on television, Gordon.
Throw that on some pasta.
Homemade pasta, at that.
- Going to make some fresh tagliatelle, okay? - Okay.
Anthony: With fresh tomato marinara sauce.
Gordon and I, we're on the same page.
- Are you good? - I'm good.
Anthony: Don't get any better than that.
Jordana, Christina, yeah, looking right into your soul right now.
Bring your A game.
- Seriously.
- Oh wow.
Look, I'm not even looking.
Not even looking.
Jordana: I don't have as much culinary schooling as Anthony, but I would just never underestimate the underdog.
You never know what's going to happen.
He's never gonna see what's coming.
No.
They have to watch their backs.
Anthony: That's how you putting it down in the kitchen? We gonna see.
Going down.
You're going down! - Here we go.
- Okay, crew.
- Whoo! - Yeah.
- How's the pasta? - All good over here.
What do you think? Shallots, capers? Perfect.
Anthony, that is a perfect dough.
Thank you.
Come on, that's what I'm talking about.
Gordon: Let's go.
Give it up, Anthony and Jordana, come on.
- Man.
- I got it.
I got it, Chef.
There you go, batter, keep your eye on it.
This is incredible.
Honestly, the challenge of the year.
We're gonna do a veal parmesan.
Hold on, there's more.
We're doing the most amazing fresh marinara sauce.
That's good.
And then we are making fresh tagliatelle.
Amazing.
Listen, we figured what better way to beat you at your game than to do one of your dishes.
Stop it.
A Gordon Ramsay classic.
- Fish and chips? - Look at her go.
Seriously? Okay, brace yourselves.
Now don't get upset, because we're doing our veal parmesan and we're doing a dessert.
Apple pie! Two dishes! We're doing an entree and a dessert.
- I gotta go.
- We've got just under 45 minutes to go.
Jordana, they're making veal parm and apple pie.
You keep 'em thick, I'll keep 'em thin, and then get that beauty in the oven.
We've gotta do a Gordon Ramsay classic dessert.
What? Like something delicious? - Sticky toffee pudding cake.
- Okay.
- I'll get this caramel going.
- Perfect.
- Anthony, are we good? - We're good, Coach.
Pinch that dough.
And then, from there, a little hair cut.
- Touch of sugar on top.
- Okay, I've got the sugar.
I've got the egg wash here.
We making it rain! What's going on over there? We making it rain! - Got my cake batter going.
Perfect.
- Yes.
Oh, it looks so good.
- And I've got the caramel.
- Yes.
So what do you think? Three spoonfuls? Yes, it's delicious sugariness.
So, we'll let those cool.
Come on, let's get you to whip some cream.
She is ready for the oven.
In she goes.
- Yeah! - Yeah! Ooh la la.
They're out of control.
Oh, my gosh.
Congratulations.
Whoa! - You want this in the oven? - Yeah.
In the oven.
Boom.
- All right, I'm rolling the pasta now.
- Okay.
That looks good.
Next are chips.
- Yes.
- Okay, okay.
Christina: Halfway there, guys.
- 30 minutes.
- Whoa! We're rocking over here.
Another pair of hands.
Okay, good man.
There you go.
What are they making over there? Tagliatelle over there? Like a true MasterChef.
Ba da bum.
Up and down.
- Boom, we are done.
- Booyah.
Right, get everything ready and we'll start cooking at the end, - with got five minutes to go.
- Five minutes to go.
Gordon: 12 minutes remaining.
Pull them out.
Let's see what we've got.
- We good? - We good.
Yes.
Do you want to cook the veal, I'll cook the pasta? Okay.
All right.
- It's in.
- Where's your bowl? - With the herbs.
- Have them right here.
Gordon: We have five minutes to go.
- Ready to fry the fish? - Yeah.
This is it.
This is it.
Good man, let it drain.
Good.
Fries are done.
Beautiful.
How's the apple pie looking? It's looking delicious.
Come on, look at that.
Christina: We're gonna make it.
Yeah.
Straight on, baby.
Straight on.
- Just one slice? - Two.
- Oh, beautiful.
- Right? Beautiful.
There you go, melt it.
Keep it nice and close.
One minute.
There you go, yeah, yeah.
They'll go in here.
- Christina: Good.
- Gordon: Come on.
Speed up.
30 seconds.
Glaze your pie.
Glaze your pie.
There you go.
Good man.
Here we go.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Keep on going.
Audience: Ten.
Nine.
Eight.
Seven.
Six.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Two.
One.
( cheering ) - Good job.
- That looks great.
- That looks good.
- Very nice job.
That looks good, mama.
That looks good.
Right, obviously Christina and I are competing against each other, which means for once, we will not be judging, ladies and gentlemen.
That task will be in the hands of some very, very special guest judges tonight.
Guest judges who know the MasterChef standards better than anybody.
Please welcome, ladies and gentlemen, not one, not two, but three phenomenal guest judges.
America's reigning MasterChef, Shaun O'Neale.
Come on.
Thank you.
Welcome back.
Honored to be here.
And joining Shaun, from the up-and-coming season of "MasterChef Junior," 13-year-old Shayne and the gorgeous 11-year-old Justise.
Well.
Now, Justise, on a scale of one to ten, as a critic and a judge tonight, how tough are you? I'm not sure, I don't want to be mean, but I don't want to be nice.
- Shayne, Texas born and bred.
- Yes, sir.
How excited are you to be turning the tables on me and Christina tonight? I am like overwhelmed with joy.
You get to see how it feels now.
All of you, welcome.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
So now, it's time for the moment of truth, the tasting.
We're going to start with Gordon and Anthony.
Anthony, tell us what we have here today.
We have veal parmesan, topped with some fresh mozzarella cheese, some homemade pasta, and the pièce de résistance, the sauce.
Very nice.
So Justise, visually, how do you feel about this representation here? - It's just-- - It looks good, right? - It looks delicious.
- Mm-hmm.
What I'm looking for here is that beautiful pink veal on the inside so it's still nice and juicy.
Ooh, come on.
- I mean.
- Look at that, man! That's pretty good.
Pretty good, right? - Evenly coated, look at that.
- Justise: Wow.
He did, the coating is staying on there really well.
Which is tough to do in a parmesan.
Mmm.
Talk to me.
Kids, why don't you go ahead and get in here.
Let's see here.
Justise, you're incredible.
Shayne, wanna be on "Blackish?" Focus on the food.
You want the truth, Gordon? Oh yes, please, Justise.
I don't like it, okay? She said she doesn't like it? I don't like it.
Do you want the truth, Gordon? Yes, please, Justise.
I don't like it, okay? I don't like it.
I love it.
Got ya.
Yes.
That was a successful entree.
Now, let's move on to this beautiful dessert.
Anthony: Homemade apple pie.
Granny Smith apples, topped with some cinnamon and some sugar to add a little color to it Let's get in here and taste it.
The crust is amazing.
It's flaky.
Look at that.
I think it might actually be a little undercooked on the bottom.
- Justise: Mm-hmm.
- Just a little bit.
We're all going to try this together.
You guys ready? One.
Two.
Three.
His eyes.
Watch his eyes.
Mmm.
What? What'd you say? I love it.
- Yes, yes.
- All right.
These were some extraordinary dishes and I expect nothing less from you Chef Ramsay.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Excellent.
- Thank you, judges.
- Thank you.
All right, let's do it, girl.
What do we have this evening? Jordana: We have some fish and chips with some delicious tartar sauce and sticky toffee pudding.
These dishes sound like I know somebody who makes these dishes.
Are you trying to go after Gordon at his own game? Are you trying to take him out? Go after him? We're up against him.
Yeah, I know.
Are you trying to get him? - Listen, you can't shy away from your competition.
- Absolutely.
Justise, what do you think about how it looks? It looks very elevated.
Shayne, what do you think? Visually, it looks stunning.
It makes me hungry.
I think they look beautiful, let's get in here.
The color is perfect on it.
It is calling my name.
Shayne, why don't you get in there and try that fish out.
Thank you.
- Mmm, that's good.
- Thank you.
I just think maybe you added a hair too much salt.
Oh, okay.
Big bite.
Mmm.
Delicious.
- Thank you.
- Yes, thank you.
That is perfection.
You crushed it.
So, let's move on to this beautiful dessert.
Jordana: Christina and I did sticky toffee pudding with a delicious caramel sauce.
Let's all get in here together at the same time.
Yes.
Get in there.
Oh.
Justise: It's glist-- Like, look at that.
I mean that is-- it's perfect.
Delicious.
The flavor just keeps growing and growing.
Absolutely delicious.
Good job.
Man.
All right, so what do you guys think? They nailed the most important thing.
- They nailed that protein.
- Yeah.
But blue's dessert, though.
That was stunning.
- I could eat that every single day.
- Me too.
Oh man, it's a tough one.
But we're good, we're ready.
All right, high fives.
All right, let's do this.
This was an amazing battle to watch, but just one of your teams will leave here tonight with $25,000 to your favorite charity.
Hand the check over, please.
The winning team, is The Blue Team.
We did it! What? Shaun.
This is really important.
Why the Blue Team? That sticky toffee pudding was the best bite we had all day.
Because it's his! Because it's his! They made it.
Amazing, amazing, amazing.
Give it up, please, Anthony Anderson, Jordana Brewster, and "MasterChef Junior" contestants and the reigning MasterChef champion, Shaun O'Neale.
Do not forget to tune into the new season "of MasterChef Junior," Thursday, February 9th at 8:00 PM.
Thank you so much for coming.
Good night! Sync & corrected: