Masterchef (2010) s10e07 Episode Script
Gordon Takes on a Tarte
1 Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef" This incredible tenth season continues with this mystery box - Yes! - What? - Aarón: Let's move! - You want to make the best dish possible, you got to use the appropriate equipment.
I've cooked well over a hundred pounds of skirt steak in my day.
- Okay, you know what, Evan? - Oh, wow.
The ( bleep ) that you dole out will come back at you.
Gordon: with just three home cooks gaining immunity.
- I absolutely love this dish.
- Joe: Wow.
- Gordon: Shari.
- Nick.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Wuta.
- Whoo! - There you go! Sam, Liz, and Fred, you three have the worst dishes of the night.
Those of you still down here face elimination.
- Tonight - It's your first dessert challenge.
it's a demo from me that you won't want to miss.
- Awesome.
- Oh! And an elimination challenge - with an ending that surprises everyone.
- I don't like it at all.
- I-- Gordon: This could send you home tonight.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- Whoo! - Welcome back to the amazing tenth season of "MasterChef.
" Let's do this today.
Sam: Going into this challenge, I'm not feeling very confident.
I'm coming off of the worst performance I've had so far.
I just need to regroup, focus, and get some confidence back.
Honestly, it's been the most talented pool of home cooks we've ever seen.
But you know what's on the line tonight.
At least one of you will be eliminated from this competition.
Yesterday, three of you exceeded our expectations.
That's why you are all three safe up on the balcony.
For the rest of you, it is time now to put on your black aprons to face elimination.
Liz: Being unsafe and having to cook in the elimination challenge is scary.
But I'm not leaving "MasterChef" until I win this thing.
Your upcoming elimination challenge will put you in a sticky situation.
- Oh, boy.
- Oh, boy.
That's right, it's your first dessert challenge.
Nothing should scare you guys more.
Keturah: I don't eat desserts, I don't make desserts, so I am losing it right now.
Are you ready to face your fears? All: Yes, Chef! What's under here is one of my favorites.
It is a classic, delicious French dessert.
- A stunning - A tarte tatin! - caramelized pear tarte tatin.
- Oh, yes! - Yes.
Dorian: I was hoping for a crème brulee.
Even a soufflé.
But I've never seen on "MasterChef" something so technical.
Chef Ramsay is pulling out the big guns this season.
Now to make this dish correctly, it takes utter precision, skill, finesse, and in your case, a little help.
That's why I'm about to show you how it's done.
Noah: Hallelujah.
So, the master blaster is going to show us how to do this.
It's a dream come true, really.
Tonight, you'll have 60 minutes to cook a caramelized tarte tatin.
The secret is the pastry and the fruit.
You got apples, pineapples, peaches.
Take it any direction you wish, but there's steps you've got to follow.
First thing, the short crust.
Flour, sugar, salt, okay? And your butter.
Make sure your butter is nice and firm.
The most important thing in this short crust is to make sure it's robust.
Any of you ever made a tarte tatin before? I made one for a Christmas party at work.
Wow.
Make this dough nice and pliable.
Let that rest now.
Now, for the caramel, take a cast iron pan, place that butter into the pan.
From there, fingers, push that down.
Lightly sprinkle the sugar, and that's the base of the caramel.
You got the butter, you got the sugar.
Some cinnamon sticks, some star anise, and then a beautiful vanilla pod.
Now, the pears.
You place the round part into the butter at a 90 degree angle, and the point comes up.
All the way around.
Look at that there.
We put that on.
We'll start seeing that sugar and that butter melt, but you need to be super careful here.
Caramel, as you know, we're going to take it to 380 degrees.
We're not burning it, but we're going to get it really nice and dark.
Take this caramel too far and it's bitter.
I have no clue how I'm going to do all this stuff as smoothly as he's doing it.
Now for the pastry.
The secret here is to make sure we do not roll this pastry too thin.
You're looking for about 3/4 of a centimeter thick.
Then we can see the color, right? It's nice and dark.
The smell is incredible.
Take that off the gas.
You go onto the board, super careful.
We lift up and we go over the pan quickly.
- Awesome.
- Then you lift up the pear and tuck the pastry in.
Up and twist.
Lift up and tuck in.
Super important-- one, two, three.
If we don't pierce that pastry, you're going to steam it underneath, and it'll be raw.
Into the oven she goes.
18 to 20 minutes, 375.
Wuta: I'm so grateful I'm up here, because this is one of the challenges that either makes a chef or breaks a chef.
I've never even seen this dessert before.
Now, crème anglaise.
What is crème anglaise? It's custard.
You start off and bring your cream and your milk to a boil.
As that's boiling, whisk in the yolks, in with your sugar, and we whisk.
Now, I'm doing a vanilla basic custard.
What I want to see tonight is some creativity.
You can go any route.
In she goes.
One third, a quick whisk.
And then from there, back in.
This is where you got to be super careful.
You turn the gas down, nonstop stirring.
As you start to see it thickening, you take that off.
I'm feeling nervous.
It's a classic French dessert, so how do I put an Indian twist on it? Out.
Back on.
380 degrees caramel.
Please be careful.
Plate on top, firm hand on, and twist.
And there we have our beautiful tarte tatin.
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
- Wow.
- All right.
Gordon: Well, guess what.
We're not done yet.
Lights down, please.
Cognac in.
We're going to flambé the tarte tatin.
In.
Tilt.
- Noah: Awesome.
- Wow.
Noah: Oh, my gosh.
That smells so good.
And then finally, a beautiful sprinkling of powdered sugar across the caramelized pastry.
- And that is how a true MasterChef delivers a caramelized tarte tatin.
- Beautiful.
- Awesome.
Micah: This tarte tatin challenge is deceptively simple.
I can see a thousand ways it could go wrong.
Your dough could be too thick.
You could burn the caramel.
- You could burn your fruit.
- Head to your stations.
- Yes, Joe.
- I'm honestly terrified because baking challenges in the MasterChef kitchen are the toughest, and it has sent home some of the best cooks.
Your 60 minutes start now.
Let's go.
Aarón: Come on, everyone, let's go.
Damn, Subha.
Renee: Running into the pantry, and I see all this beautiful fruit.
Peach is my favorite.
Dorian: I doubt, Renee, if you're going to need - that many peaches.
- First come, first serve.
Oh, my God.
Keturah: My strategy right now is I'm making my dough first because I want it to have ample time to rest.
Get that pastry started.
Smart, Keturah.
I'm feeling really anxious.
I've never actually made a tarte tatin before.
Unbelievable, I know, being that my family lives in France.
But I just, um-- I don't eat desserts.
Fred, like, knows what he's doing, so he's just-- he's loving this.
I've been asking for a baking challenge this whole time.
I'm making an apple ginger infused tarte tatin.
I need to redeem myself from being told that I was one of the worst three dishes last night.
And because I'm the only one in the room who's made a tarte tatin before, I feel like they're going to have much, much higher expectations of me.
I'm excited about this challenge.
I've never made a tarte tatin before, but I know cooking.
I know baking.
I've been blessed to be able to cook and bake, and I definitely got this one.
Noah: This is like an upside-down fruitcake.
I've never made that, of course, but I've eaten a hell of a lot of them, because I used to be, like, almost 400 pounds.
So I definitely have tasted a hundred cakes sort of similar to this.
We don't really eat a lot of desserts at home, and when we do, it's usually something like an apple pie or something that's simple.
This is an extremely difficult dessert.
I just have to stay focused enough to not miss one of these steps.
Good job, "Heimey.
" - Who's Heimey? - Heimey is how you say "Jamie" in Spanish.
Subha, all right, so talk to us about your tarte tatin.
I'm going to have a mixed one, half pear and half apple.
You're taking a big risk because you have two different cook times.
Good luck, Subha.
Thank you.
Just under 45 minutes to go.
I demonstrated that dish properly for them.
The big question tonight is do they become even more adventurous? Do they use the peaches? Do they go down the pineapple? Do they use the banana? Keturah: I'm focusing on my dough right now, and I'm about to run into the kitchen to let it rest.
- There we go, K.
- My strategy right now is to go with peach, but by the time I make it into the pantry, all the peaches are gone.
I don't believe it.
How are there no peaches left? The only other fruit that I'm fairly familiar with is a pineapple.
I've used it in curries and sauces, but definitely don't know how to work with it on a pastry.
Pineapple is risky.
Nick: I would not use a pineapple.
Really watery and really acidic.
I sliced the pineapple into rings because I figure that's the way that it should be in a dessert, but after that, I have no clue what to do with it.
- Right.
How are you feeling? - Very, very nervous.
You got your work cut out.
One of the most difficult fruits.
Fibrous, difficult, watery.
I've never made this before.
I wanted to use peaches.
The peaches had run out.
Choosing pineapple is bloody brave.
Nobody else is doing pineapple.
In fact, one's doing pineapple.
Everybody else is going for the easy route, you know, the apples, the pears, and the peaches.
This is the most difficult.
So this could send you home tonight.
Keturah: I am terrified.
I can't do this.
Keturah: I am terrified.
I feel like this might be the moment that I go home.
Hey, you still got 40 minutes to go.
You decided to do it.
We're going to go with it now.
You pull this one off, you will not be going home.
- Okay? - Okay.
Do not crumble under pressure.
Okay, thank you, Chef.
Come on, Keturah.
Don't lose it now, sweetie.
Okay.
- Gordon: Keturah started crying.
- Aarón: You know what? The pressure, the fact that this is an elimination, there's so many high emotions going on right now.
Sarah: This challenge is all about making the perfect tarte tatin.
Coming from a background of military service, I can follow direction really well.
My strategy is to follow Gordon's steps as much as possible, because if you can't follow direction, you are done.
Michael: I'm not huge into sweets, but my fiancée has the biggest sweet tooth in the world, so every single Sunday, I'm baking.
That's what I love to do.
So, I'm definitely not going home today.
I can't.
I've worked too hard for this.
Right.
Young man, how are you feeling? - Hey, I'm feeling awesome.
- Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? I'm doing a pear and apple tart.
What are you worried about? Yesterday, I had some trouble managing my time, and that's something I want to pay attention to today.
But you're keeping your head down.
You're turning into one of the most articulate pupils, because you're absorbing.
I'm listening.
I'm paying attention to not just what I'm doing, but everybody else is doing.
- Focus.
Come on.
Good luck.
- Thank you.
Thyme is on which shelf? Evan: I know next to nothing about a tarte tatin.
But I've got the deepest knowledge base that's out there.
I've traveled the world.
I know about a ton of ingredients.
So I'm feeling really confident and I'm super excited.
So, Evan, are you a big dessert baker? - No.
- Jeez, you have to be a complete package.
I got plenty of package.
I actually do bake a little.
I have family members that bake semi-professionally.
That's not going to help you tonight.
You need to know-- No, I spent a little time with them learning some tips, - so - So what are you going to be doing? Talk to me here, Evan.
It's going to be an apple tarte tatin.
Okay, are you doing anything unique with your crème anglaise? I'm going to kind of fly by the seat of my pants.
- Uh, yeah.
- Anyway, Evan-- - Thank you.
- It's a pleasure, gents.
Evan: I'm not worried in the least.
I'm going to blow right through this thing.
I don't need Gordon's step by step instructions.
I can knock out awesome dishes with what I got up here.
So, come at me.
All right, everyone, just over 30 minutes.
Your tarte tatin should be caramelizing now.
Shari: Looks good, Noah.
Looks good.
Liz, those bananas look nice.
The big Achilles' heel this evening is that caramel, and having the confidence to get it nice and dark before it goes into the oven.
Sarah, that looks really, really good.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
Beautiful.
What's the flavor of the caramel? - Vanilla and ginger.
- Love it.
But can we get the caramel where it needs to be? - Okay? Good luck.
- Thank you, Chef.
Keturah: I am extremely daunted by this challenge, but I need to calm down and remember why I'm here.
What goes well with pineapple? Um, a bit of spice.
Okay, some ginger.
Why don't we take that up a notch with a little bit of cayenne? I'm just thinking of everything that I would use ordinarily in a savory dish.
Gordon: Keturah's gone for the pineapple because the peaches have gone.
She's now back on track, and she's cut it thinly into slices.
- Yeah, she's smart.
- Okay, okay, okay.
I'm seriously worried about Sam.
He's gone and cut the pineapple into chunks.
- It's going to be fibrous.
- Yes.
Sam: I'm sacrificing a lot to be here right now.
My wife is at home taking care of our 11-month-old by herself.
I have a busy job as an attorney that I'm basically putting on hold.
I can't go home.
I wanted to make sure that my caramelization happens correctly, and I don't want to leave the station until then.
The technique in caramelizing, it is key.
You can burn it or you can under-caramelize it, so that is my current nervous worry.
Micah, let's go, let's go, let's go.
I'm feeling really confident.
I just got to keep an eye on this.
I've never made a tarte tatin, but I've made a lot of caramels, I've made a lot of crème anglaises before.
One day, I want to open up a bakery.
I love to do pastries.
Oh, that caramel makes me nervous.
It looks done.
Doesn't it look done? - Oh, yeah.
- Everything is going well.
I'm just waiting on the caramel.
I go back there, and I smell it, and my heart drops to my shoes.
It burned.
Oh, Micah's is burning.
Micah's is burning.
It's just a complete disaster.
And I know I cannot serve that, because it will completely ruin my dish.
I'm done-zo.
Look at Micah's caramel.
There's smoke coming out of that pan now.
Micah: My caramel burned.
It's just a complete disaster.
You got this, Micah.
Come on.
Take a deep breath.
You got it.
I cannot let this send me home.
What the heck's he doing? Shari: He's going to start over.
I don't really know if there's enough time to make another caramel, but I have to go for it.
Shari: You got this, Micah! Come on.
Aarón: You should be rolling out your dough, everyone.
Start to fabricate the look and the aesthetic of your tarte tatin.
Shari: All right, Noah.
Dorian's got pecans in her pastry.
Love it.
Shari: Oh, gosh.
Sarah's is going to burn, too.
Oh, my God.
Oh, no.
Oh.
My caramel is too dark.
So, I would redo it.
I would just redo it.
Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God.
I don't have time to start again.
I'm trying to put more butter in there, put a little bit more sugar to try and save it.
I'm just crossing my fingers and saying a couple prayers - that it's going to work out.
- Nick: Come on, Sarah.
You're good, you're good.
Don't panic.
Guys, in the next three minutes, your tarte tatins have got to be in the oven.
- Noah: Yes, Chef.
- Allow 15 to 18 minutes cook time.
Shari: Keturah, you're doing awesome! - Fred's gone in the oven.
- Joe: In the oven.
First one.
- Wow.
- Good boy.
Good.
- Did you pierce the top? - Yes, I did.
I did six holes.
- Good boy.
- Oh, for God's sake.
I ( bleep ) up somehow.
Sam: The caramel just isn't as brown as I would like.
Gordon: Now, Sam, he's cut the pineapple into chunks.
The caramel is going to be so weak because there's so much juice in the pineapple.
It's going to to negate a lot of the caramelization.
That's right.
It won't happen.
He'll never get color on it.
To me, it's certainly better to be slightly under.
If it's over-caramelized, it'll be burnt.
Evan: So, I'm looking at the tarte tatin, and it looks wet, like there's almost a little too much caramel.
Let's do this.
I decide I'm going to pour off a little bit of the caramel liquid.
What the hell is he doing? I know what I'm doing.
That actually looks kind of sexy.
I promise you, if somebody can do it, it's you.
We're down to 21 minutes remaining.
Nick: Come on, Subha, let's go.
Let's go.
Get it in the oven.
Sarah, I want that in the oven in the next three minutes.
Let's go.
Shari: Sarah, you're doing great.
Wuta: There we go, Micah.
Way to come back.
You made me nervous for a second.
Micah: 18 minutes is all a tarte tatin needs.
I just pray that I'm going to have it done in time.
Guys, just under 18 minutes to go.
Under 18 minutes to go.
Shari: Great job, Micah.
Great job.
Subha: I'm putting an Indian inspired twist on the French tarte tatin.
In the crème anglaise, I want to use a rose flavor, and then use cardamom with it.
- Rosewater, ooh! - Mmm.
Wow.
- Man! - So, Subha, he's going to be very unique.
He's going to use rosewater, and he seems like he's really fired up.
Joe: I hope he knows what he's doing.
Just over ten minutes to go.
Looking good! Looking good, Bri! Wuta: Let's go, y'all! Let's go! You guys got this.
You guys got this.
Shari: Fred, you're doing awesome.
Fred: My tarte tatin should be almost done.
But I noticed it wasn't cooking fast enough.
It just needs so much more color.
This is insane.
If I don't nail this, they're just going to eject me.
Shari: It's looking good, Liz.
Holy cow.
Look at that.
Wow.
That one looks-- it looks like a chicken pot pie, baby, in the South, baby! Fred, I can't wait to see it.
Shari: Sam, that looks great! I have no ( bleep ) idea how long this thing's been in there.
- Now, Fred.
- Yeah.
Gordon: Fred, tonight, is in his element.
I've never seen this guy so focused.
That is his calling, guys, by the way.
I mean, he wants to be America's next MasterChef, but baking is his skill.
Fred: I am having an outright panic attack.
If I leave it in there longer, my apples are going to be overcooked.
Everything comes down to this moment.
Is that cooked, Fred? Is it cooked? The dough is really, really undercooked.
I think my pastry is definitely too thick.
I don't have a whole lot of time.
I'm staring right at my death dish.
Gordon: Five minutes to go, guys! Shari: Looking good, guys.
Fred: I'm freaking out right now.
Oh, jeez.
because it's still not cooked through.
Come on, Fred! But I'm definitely running out of time, so it has to come out now.
My pastry must be too thick, and it breaks my heart into a million pieces, because the last thing I want to go home on is something that I love to do.
Shari: That looks beautiful, Noah.
The moment has come that I'm going to have to frickin' do this flip.
The moment of truth right here.
Gordon: Hand, cloth, tip.
Large plate.
Has everybody got a large plate? - All: Yes, Chef! - How dramatic it's going to be when you invert that tarte tatin.
It's-- Noah: You got one shot to do this.
If I drop it, it's over.
I'm going home.
Oh! Shari: Hey, great job, Noah! Whoo! Oh, Jamie, that was awesome.
- Whoo, son! - Shari: Beautiful.
- Oh, yeah.
- Shari: Liz, I'm so proud of you.
It's awesome.
Ooh.
Yay! What happened to Evan's-- what is that? Looking down at the tart, it looks really dry.
Did you drain off some of that excess juice? - I did.
- Good.
Did you keep it? That would've been genius.
Never throw that genius stuff away.
You know, it's true.
It has all that flavor and that complexity.
I really wish I didn't toss that extra caramel, but when it's said and done, I'm happy with what's on the plate.
Tilt it! You need it nice and-- oh! - Whoo! - Yeah, Subha! Over! Over! Oh, my God.
I think he did.
You have brandy down your glove.
- Over.
- Oh.
There we go.
You okay? Is it burnt? No, no.
Nothing at all, no.
( bleep ) Subha.
Two, three! Gordon: Take your time.
Oh.
Oh, do you smell that? Sarah: I hope it's not burnt.
And it's hard to tell because I can't cut into it.
Shari: Good job, Micah! Whoo! Great job, Micah! Micah: Even though I did my caramel again, if I ruined those peaches in that first caramel, that is going to transfer into my tarte tatin.
I'm just praying that acrid, disgusting petrol taste Damn.
did not affect my fruit.
Everyone should be dusting! Dust! 30 seconds to go.
Finish strong, finish strong! Not so confident.
Gordon: Come on, let's go! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, - 3, 2, 1! - And stop! - Hands in the air! - Hands in the air! That one was a blast! I'm worried if they'll ding me because I don't have a lot of-- like, my caramel evaporated into the tarte, so it's not as oozy as everyone else's.
- Well done! - No matter what happens, - it was an honor to cook.
- Whoo, son! Never thought I'd be able to do that in an hour.
Holy cow, man.
That's a big sucker.
Why is it so fat? Joe: Because you put 12 peaches in there.
- Tough challenge, right? - All: Yes, Chef.
Now it's time to taste.
Let's dig in.
Did you have any trouble? Just a little bit.
Liz, are you happy with the way it looks? I've never made it before, so I'm pretty happy with it.
Sam: When I finished the challenge, I'm mostly thinking about the job I did, shortcuts I could've taken to be a little more efficient.
- That's crispy, huh? - I tried my best, Chef.
But in the back of your head after a challenge, you're always thinking, I hope someone did worse than me.
The pressure got you tonight, didn't it? A little bit, Chef.
It did.
Because at the end of the day, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the guy next to you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Guys, it was a tough call there tonight.
- Yeah, yeah.
- There's one that's not even a tarte tatin.
I feel everyone really showed their culinary identity - with the crème anglaises.
- A couple of the individuals have got the fruit overcooked.
They're actually caramelizing it too long.
I think it's pretty clear who needs to go upstairs - and stay down.
- Yeah, I'm with you.
- Well done, all of you.
- All: Thank you, Chef.
Some of you baked some beautiful desserts.
You will not face elimination tonight.
There was one home cook that stood out.
This individual executed a delicious tarte tatin.
The crust on that pastry is exemplary.
Michael, make your way up to the balcony.
- Congrats.
- Thank you, guys.
Let's go, boy.
Michael: I feel awesome.
I am the first one called up to the balcony.
And, honestly, I feel like I kicked butt.
All right, so the next person that we felt really showed some culinary skill in interpreting this very classic French dessert, - and that is Bri.
- Yay! - Join your colleagues.
- Thank you.
It feels amazing that the judges think that I stand out from the pack, and I'm so happy to have that recognition.
The next home cook continues to excel and do her state of Georgia proud.
Dorian continues to wow us with her desserts.
Good job.
Head upstairs, Dorian.
- Congratulations, Liz.
- Yes! Liz: I went from having the worst dish to having the best dish, and I pulled it off.
I totally pulled off something I've never made before.
Micah: I'm sweating buckets.
I'm watching everyone go up to the balcony.
Renee, please head up to the balcony.
Renee: I am beyond happy.
I nailed it.
Praise Jesus, I am on the balcony.
- Noah.
- Thank you, Chef! My heart goes from my shoes up to my throat.
I'm so nervous.
I just want to be safe.
And the catch of the day-- Jamie, congratulations.
- Go ahead, big fella! - Whoo! Sarah: I'm looking around the room trying to compare it to other people's, but to me, I-- I just don't think it's there.
If I go out on this note, like, why did I even come here? The last person heading up to the safety of the balcony, this individual started off in the weeds, but, boy, did they rectify and come back strong.
The crust is extraordinary.
The cook on the fruit, mind-blowing.
And I think we want to see this individual have a little bit more confidence about themselves.
Because what they've just done, is pretty spot-on.
Please make your way up to the balcony The last person heading up to the safety of the balcony Micah.
Man: All right, Micah! - Yeah, Micah! - Well done, Micah! Thank you.
- Man, I'm on cloud ten.
- Good job.
I'm one step closer to where I want to be.
For those of you remaining, Joe, Aarón, and myself need to dig way, way deeper into your dishes.
Shortly, we have a huge decision to make.
At least one of you have cooked for your very last time - inside this incredible kitchen.
- Wow.
All right, so the first home cook that we'd like to bring up and taste their dish further is Keturah.
Please come on up.
Keturah: Desserts are my weak point, and I'm very, very, very frightened that this could be my last hurrah in the MasterChef kitchen.
Describe the dish, please.
This is a spiced pineapple tarte tatin, and a pineapple sauce.
- Keturah, how are you feeling? - Nervous.
You've got your work cut out-- one of the most difficult fruits.
So this could send you home tonight.
When I saw you cut the pineapple the way you did, I was relieved that they were slices, not chunks.
Keturah, I actually love this.
I think you were able to really do a great job with cooking the pineapple in such a way that it didn't go to that place of no return.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Joe: It's far from traditional, but it's well-executed.
It's crunchy, it's buttery.
Really good.
Watching you cook under panic and stress is interesting because you get to find out a lot about yourself when you're vulnerable.
And tonight, it's actually good to see the real you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Great job, Keturah.
- Yes.
Sam? - Go, Sam.
Do it, Sam.
- Go, Sam! Sam: After yesterday, I really wanted an opportunity to redeem myself, but I know I haven't really done such a good job.
I'm one mistake away from going home.
Yeah.
Sam, describe the dish, please.
This is a pineapple tarte tatin.
It's flavored with vanilla, star anise, and cinnamon.
The crème anglaise is flavored with coconut milk and lime juice.
Did you think of another cut before you assembled it? - Or did you want to go chunks? - No, I wanted to go chunks.
I heard you saying, "If you're gonna do banana, do an inch and a half or two inches thick.
" So immediately in my mind, I think, "All right, so my pineapple should be an inch and a half to two inches thick.
" Completely different fruits.
- So, I would've done rings.
- Understood.
An inch, and cut the rings in half.
So much liquid here, it's extraordinary.
Joe: Crème anglaise is straightforward? Vanilla? Nothing-- no twists? No, instead of milk, I used coconut milk and a little lime juice.
It's disappointing, Sam, 'cause I'm really equating this to, like, when you get a pizza that doesn't have enough cheese, and then you kind of swipe it down and then you're just left with the bottom of the crust, you know? That's what I have here.
But what you do have there is well-seasoned and well-flavored.
It's just the construction of it is lacking a lot.
The tops are cut beautifully, so you've got the top part.
You've just-- you've got your work cut out when the pineapple's so chunky because you can't caramelize a chunk.
The one redeeming factor here is that I thought the idea of putting coconut milk - and pineapple together was really fantastic.
- Thank you, Joe.
- Thank you, Sam.
- Great job, brother.
Tough one.
Next up, Sarah, please.
Let's go.
Sarah: I'm really concerned about the darkness on the tarte tatin.
If it's actually burnt, it's gonna be bitter.
So I'm hoping that it's not so bad that I'm out of this competition.
Describe the dish, please.
I've made for you a peach and ginger tarte tatin with a ginger and vanilla anglaise.
Are you happy with it? I'm not happy with it, Chef.
I overcooked my caramel.
I'm not proud of this dish at all.
Mm-hmm.
- Well? - It has a little petrol-y, acrid situation, but I think the peaches are cooked perfectly.
I think your crème anglaise is beautiful.
- It's silky, it's smooth.
- Here's the thing.
It's just on that over-caramelized flavor.
It's got that little aftertaste.
It's kind of like the acidity and caramel-y taste that you get when you eat cough syrup.
Thank you, Sarah.
Good job, Sarah.
Sarah, you're all right.
- You're all right, Sarah.
- Good job, Sarah.
As I'm waiting to hear my name called, I'm trying to listen very closely to all the other criticisms.
The judges are being tough, and that's definitely making me nervous.
- Next, Subha.
- Subha: I'm very nervous.
This could be bad, because I put an Indian twist on a very traditional French dessert.
Describe the dish, please.
The dish is pear and apple tarte tatin and a rose flavor crème anglaise.
So, visually the pears should be turned the other way.
They're upside-down.
Joe: You know what I love about this is it has a beautiful golden hue to it.
Not like Sarah's, like, super charred.
It has, like, a very nice color tone to it.
- Aarón: Yeah.
- Beautiful consistency.
I think the true star is that right there, that crème anglaise.
It's wonderful.
I think, instinctually, you have a clear vision with what you want to do.
I just think you need to back it up with technique.
When you put apple and pear together, they cook at different times, so you're shooting yourself in the foot because the apple's disintegrated, but the pear's beautiful.
Here's the bizarre news.
You're like the Willy Wonka of the MasterChef kitchen.
Rosewater crème anglaise-- it works.
But every time I watch you cook, it's-- I feel like I've got to go and lie down for 10 minutes because you're so confusing.
- Thank you, Subha.
- Thank you, Chef.
Noah: Great job, Subha.
Great job, Subha.
- Good job, Subaru! - Well done, Subha.
Next tarte tatin, Evan, please come forward.
- Let's go, Evan.
- Let's go, Evan! I'm a little worried that it's maybe a minute or two over, but if that was in front of me and I liked apples and fruity dessert, I'd probably nick a bite of that.
- Describe the dish, please.
- I have an apple, lemon, and ginger tarte tatin with a thyme anglaise.
So, aesthetically, it looks like a tarte fine.
It's like you've got puff pastry with sliced apples on there.
Did you cut the apples further than half? No, I cored and quartered the apples.
- Quartered? Quartered? - Quartered? - You half them.
- Like, little slices of apples this big? I took the halves and halved them.
- Ah, that's why.
- So, the problem you've got there is that they'll never, ever retain any form of structure whilst caramelizing.
I didn't cut mine into quarters.
Let's get in there, shall we? - How long did you cook it for? - 22 minutes roughly.
22 minutes.
So you quartered the apples and cooked it longer than I suggested.
- I didn't have a timer running - Right.
so I just looked for the color.
Do you often bake without a timer? Do you drive without looking at the speedometer? I don't drive that often, living in the city.
Do you often bake without a timer? Do you drive without looking at the speedometer? I don't drive that often, living in the city.
Baking is not like making an omelet or cooking a steak where you touch it, and you feel it.
- There's a science to this.
- I had my eye on the clock.
I executed it to the best of my ability.
The actual crust is way better than the apples.
The apples are way overcooked.
The problem with this is it's more like an apple tarte.
- Flat.
- Yeah.
It's like a-- Where is the caramel? Look, there's nothing.
There's no caramel.
Nothing.
Where is it? This is not a tarte tatin.
- This is an apple tarte.
- The whole part of a tarte tatin for me is that beautiful balance of having it caramelized and also having a little bite to it.
- This has gone the other way.
- It's very simple for me.
It's a very good apple tarte.
It's a very poor apple tarte tatin.
- Apologies.
- Thanks, Evan.
Great job, Evan.
Fred, please bring up your tarte tatin.
- Yes, Chef.
- Come on, Fred.
- Come on, Fred.
- Let's go, let's go! Because I'm the only one in the room who has made a tarte tatin before, the judges have much, much higher expectations of me.
I definitely think if anything's gonna send me home, it's gonna be this dish.
- Describe the dish, please.
- For you I have a ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon infused apple tarte tatin with a brown butter and cardamom crème anglaise.
Well, obviously, it's raw here, it's caramelized here.
It's imbalanced, it's kind of-- structurally, it fell apart.
That's not what we wanted.
You were the only home cook that's made a tarte tatin before and I can't see that here.
For me, it's applesauce.
I don't like it at all.
It's not the cake we wanted.
I disagree.
I like the flavor.
You've got that right.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look decent.
Personally, I expected more from you tonight.
I expected more from myself, Chef.
Thank you.
- Good job, Fred.
- Good job, Fred! Stand tall.
Stay focused.
Excuse us, as we need a moment to discuss this very important matter.
Thank you.
Fred: I feel like I failed.
After hearing the judges' critiques, I'm basically saying my good-byes to everyone.
I already am trying to envision what my life was before this competition because I'm expecting that I have to go back to it.
Some standouts again, without a doubt.
It's just really deciding whose was worse.
I think it's pretty obvious who the weakest one is, yeah? - Ready? - Yeah.
All six of you, please make your way down to the front.
Thank you.
Going home would literally be shocking.
I don't want to go home.
I want to live till tomorrow to be able to cook again.
This one was tough for us.
Sarah and Keturah, please step forward.
Both of you girls struggled this evening.
Nice to see that you could come back.
In fact, the comeback was just enough to retain your white aprons.
- Go on upstairs.
- Let's go, girls! Let's go, girls! Sarah: I was just saying prayers that they weren't gonna send me home, and, uh, I'm still here.
The positive of this experience has been I've learned that it's okay to be vulnerable.
But I don't ever want to see a black apron again.
Subha, please step forward.
Subha, to be very honest, I think you made some fundamental mistakes, but you continue to put your background into your dishes, and we can taste it.
We felt that it was just good enough - for you to retain your apron.
- Let's go, Subha! - Please head upstairs.
- Good luck, guys.
Good luck, good luck.
- Good job, buddy.
- Fred, Sam, Evan, clearly you three are at the bottom of the barrel.
And, Fred, a lackluster performance, especially when you're the only one in the room this evening who had done this before.
Sam, you know, the crust was delicious, but it was literally swimming in water.
Evan, you didn't put your spin on it, you completely changed the dish.
This is a tough call.
The person leaving "MasterChef," not entering the top 16 of this incredible competition is Evan.
Fred, Sam, move it.
Up to the balcony, quick.
- I'm so sorry, Evan.
- It's all good, guys.
Fred: I am trying to learn, which I think is probably the one reason why they saved me over Evan.
Evan, to become America's next MasterChef, we need an incredible pupil.
There's times across this competition that you have been so difficult about taking advice.
Yeah, I think your knowledge and your love of food is apparent, Evan, and I hope you can take that with whatever you do in your food career, 'cause I know it's gonna be there.
- Thank you.
- Please place your apron on your bench.
Good night.
Evan: In the end, it doesn't matter.
I still feel like my experience and my knowledge base means that I was the best chef in this competition.
This is not the end of my culinary journey.
This is just the beginning.
I've cooked well over a hundred pounds of skirt steak in my day.
- Okay, you know what, Evan? - Oh, wow.
The ( bleep ) that you dole out will come back at you.
Gordon: with just three home cooks gaining immunity.
- I absolutely love this dish.
- Joe: Wow.
- Gordon: Shari.
- Nick.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Wuta.
- Whoo! - There you go! Sam, Liz, and Fred, you three have the worst dishes of the night.
Those of you still down here face elimination.
- Tonight - It's your first dessert challenge.
it's a demo from me that you won't want to miss.
- Awesome.
- Oh! And an elimination challenge - with an ending that surprises everyone.
- I don't like it at all.
- I-- Gordon: This could send you home tonight.
Let's go, let's go, let's go.
- Whoo! - Welcome back to the amazing tenth season of "MasterChef.
" Let's do this today.
Sam: Going into this challenge, I'm not feeling very confident.
I'm coming off of the worst performance I've had so far.
I just need to regroup, focus, and get some confidence back.
Honestly, it's been the most talented pool of home cooks we've ever seen.
But you know what's on the line tonight.
At least one of you will be eliminated from this competition.
Yesterday, three of you exceeded our expectations.
That's why you are all three safe up on the balcony.
For the rest of you, it is time now to put on your black aprons to face elimination.
Liz: Being unsafe and having to cook in the elimination challenge is scary.
But I'm not leaving "MasterChef" until I win this thing.
Your upcoming elimination challenge will put you in a sticky situation.
- Oh, boy.
- Oh, boy.
That's right, it's your first dessert challenge.
Nothing should scare you guys more.
Keturah: I don't eat desserts, I don't make desserts, so I am losing it right now.
Are you ready to face your fears? All: Yes, Chef! What's under here is one of my favorites.
It is a classic, delicious French dessert.
- A stunning - A tarte tatin! - caramelized pear tarte tatin.
- Oh, yes! - Yes.
Dorian: I was hoping for a crème brulee.
Even a soufflé.
But I've never seen on "MasterChef" something so technical.
Chef Ramsay is pulling out the big guns this season.
Now to make this dish correctly, it takes utter precision, skill, finesse, and in your case, a little help.
That's why I'm about to show you how it's done.
Noah: Hallelujah.
So, the master blaster is going to show us how to do this.
It's a dream come true, really.
Tonight, you'll have 60 minutes to cook a caramelized tarte tatin.
The secret is the pastry and the fruit.
You got apples, pineapples, peaches.
Take it any direction you wish, but there's steps you've got to follow.
First thing, the short crust.
Flour, sugar, salt, okay? And your butter.
Make sure your butter is nice and firm.
The most important thing in this short crust is to make sure it's robust.
Any of you ever made a tarte tatin before? I made one for a Christmas party at work.
Wow.
Make this dough nice and pliable.
Let that rest now.
Now, for the caramel, take a cast iron pan, place that butter into the pan.
From there, fingers, push that down.
Lightly sprinkle the sugar, and that's the base of the caramel.
You got the butter, you got the sugar.
Some cinnamon sticks, some star anise, and then a beautiful vanilla pod.
Now, the pears.
You place the round part into the butter at a 90 degree angle, and the point comes up.
All the way around.
Look at that there.
We put that on.
We'll start seeing that sugar and that butter melt, but you need to be super careful here.
Caramel, as you know, we're going to take it to 380 degrees.
We're not burning it, but we're going to get it really nice and dark.
Take this caramel too far and it's bitter.
I have no clue how I'm going to do all this stuff as smoothly as he's doing it.
Now for the pastry.
The secret here is to make sure we do not roll this pastry too thin.
You're looking for about 3/4 of a centimeter thick.
Then we can see the color, right? It's nice and dark.
The smell is incredible.
Take that off the gas.
You go onto the board, super careful.
We lift up and we go over the pan quickly.
- Awesome.
- Then you lift up the pear and tuck the pastry in.
Up and twist.
Lift up and tuck in.
Super important-- one, two, three.
If we don't pierce that pastry, you're going to steam it underneath, and it'll be raw.
Into the oven she goes.
18 to 20 minutes, 375.
Wuta: I'm so grateful I'm up here, because this is one of the challenges that either makes a chef or breaks a chef.
I've never even seen this dessert before.
Now, crème anglaise.
What is crème anglaise? It's custard.
You start off and bring your cream and your milk to a boil.
As that's boiling, whisk in the yolks, in with your sugar, and we whisk.
Now, I'm doing a vanilla basic custard.
What I want to see tonight is some creativity.
You can go any route.
In she goes.
One third, a quick whisk.
And then from there, back in.
This is where you got to be super careful.
You turn the gas down, nonstop stirring.
As you start to see it thickening, you take that off.
I'm feeling nervous.
It's a classic French dessert, so how do I put an Indian twist on it? Out.
Back on.
380 degrees caramel.
Please be careful.
Plate on top, firm hand on, and twist.
And there we have our beautiful tarte tatin.
- Oh, wow.
- Wow.
- Wow.
- All right.
Gordon: Well, guess what.
We're not done yet.
Lights down, please.
Cognac in.
We're going to flambé the tarte tatin.
In.
Tilt.
- Noah: Awesome.
- Wow.
Noah: Oh, my gosh.
That smells so good.
And then finally, a beautiful sprinkling of powdered sugar across the caramelized pastry.
- And that is how a true MasterChef delivers a caramelized tarte tatin.
- Beautiful.
- Awesome.
Micah: This tarte tatin challenge is deceptively simple.
I can see a thousand ways it could go wrong.
Your dough could be too thick.
You could burn the caramel.
- You could burn your fruit.
- Head to your stations.
- Yes, Joe.
- I'm honestly terrified because baking challenges in the MasterChef kitchen are the toughest, and it has sent home some of the best cooks.
Your 60 minutes start now.
Let's go.
Aarón: Come on, everyone, let's go.
Damn, Subha.
Renee: Running into the pantry, and I see all this beautiful fruit.
Peach is my favorite.
Dorian: I doubt, Renee, if you're going to need - that many peaches.
- First come, first serve.
Oh, my God.
Keturah: My strategy right now is I'm making my dough first because I want it to have ample time to rest.
Get that pastry started.
Smart, Keturah.
I'm feeling really anxious.
I've never actually made a tarte tatin before.
Unbelievable, I know, being that my family lives in France.
But I just, um-- I don't eat desserts.
Fred, like, knows what he's doing, so he's just-- he's loving this.
I've been asking for a baking challenge this whole time.
I'm making an apple ginger infused tarte tatin.
I need to redeem myself from being told that I was one of the worst three dishes last night.
And because I'm the only one in the room who's made a tarte tatin before, I feel like they're going to have much, much higher expectations of me.
I'm excited about this challenge.
I've never made a tarte tatin before, but I know cooking.
I know baking.
I've been blessed to be able to cook and bake, and I definitely got this one.
Noah: This is like an upside-down fruitcake.
I've never made that, of course, but I've eaten a hell of a lot of them, because I used to be, like, almost 400 pounds.
So I definitely have tasted a hundred cakes sort of similar to this.
We don't really eat a lot of desserts at home, and when we do, it's usually something like an apple pie or something that's simple.
This is an extremely difficult dessert.
I just have to stay focused enough to not miss one of these steps.
Good job, "Heimey.
" - Who's Heimey? - Heimey is how you say "Jamie" in Spanish.
Subha, all right, so talk to us about your tarte tatin.
I'm going to have a mixed one, half pear and half apple.
You're taking a big risk because you have two different cook times.
Good luck, Subha.
Thank you.
Just under 45 minutes to go.
I demonstrated that dish properly for them.
The big question tonight is do they become even more adventurous? Do they use the peaches? Do they go down the pineapple? Do they use the banana? Keturah: I'm focusing on my dough right now, and I'm about to run into the kitchen to let it rest.
- There we go, K.
- My strategy right now is to go with peach, but by the time I make it into the pantry, all the peaches are gone.
I don't believe it.
How are there no peaches left? The only other fruit that I'm fairly familiar with is a pineapple.
I've used it in curries and sauces, but definitely don't know how to work with it on a pastry.
Pineapple is risky.
Nick: I would not use a pineapple.
Really watery and really acidic.
I sliced the pineapple into rings because I figure that's the way that it should be in a dessert, but after that, I have no clue what to do with it.
- Right.
How are you feeling? - Very, very nervous.
You got your work cut out.
One of the most difficult fruits.
Fibrous, difficult, watery.
I've never made this before.
I wanted to use peaches.
The peaches had run out.
Choosing pineapple is bloody brave.
Nobody else is doing pineapple.
In fact, one's doing pineapple.
Everybody else is going for the easy route, you know, the apples, the pears, and the peaches.
This is the most difficult.
So this could send you home tonight.
Keturah: I am terrified.
I can't do this.
Keturah: I am terrified.
I feel like this might be the moment that I go home.
Hey, you still got 40 minutes to go.
You decided to do it.
We're going to go with it now.
You pull this one off, you will not be going home.
- Okay? - Okay.
Do not crumble under pressure.
Okay, thank you, Chef.
Come on, Keturah.
Don't lose it now, sweetie.
Okay.
- Gordon: Keturah started crying.
- Aarón: You know what? The pressure, the fact that this is an elimination, there's so many high emotions going on right now.
Sarah: This challenge is all about making the perfect tarte tatin.
Coming from a background of military service, I can follow direction really well.
My strategy is to follow Gordon's steps as much as possible, because if you can't follow direction, you are done.
Michael: I'm not huge into sweets, but my fiancée has the biggest sweet tooth in the world, so every single Sunday, I'm baking.
That's what I love to do.
So, I'm definitely not going home today.
I can't.
I've worked too hard for this.
Right.
Young man, how are you feeling? - Hey, I'm feeling awesome.
- Tell me about the dish.
What are you doing? I'm doing a pear and apple tart.
What are you worried about? Yesterday, I had some trouble managing my time, and that's something I want to pay attention to today.
But you're keeping your head down.
You're turning into one of the most articulate pupils, because you're absorbing.
I'm listening.
I'm paying attention to not just what I'm doing, but everybody else is doing.
- Focus.
Come on.
Good luck.
- Thank you.
Thyme is on which shelf? Evan: I know next to nothing about a tarte tatin.
But I've got the deepest knowledge base that's out there.
I've traveled the world.
I know about a ton of ingredients.
So I'm feeling really confident and I'm super excited.
So, Evan, are you a big dessert baker? - No.
- Jeez, you have to be a complete package.
I got plenty of package.
I actually do bake a little.
I have family members that bake semi-professionally.
That's not going to help you tonight.
You need to know-- No, I spent a little time with them learning some tips, - so - So what are you going to be doing? Talk to me here, Evan.
It's going to be an apple tarte tatin.
Okay, are you doing anything unique with your crème anglaise? I'm going to kind of fly by the seat of my pants.
- Uh, yeah.
- Anyway, Evan-- - Thank you.
- It's a pleasure, gents.
Evan: I'm not worried in the least.
I'm going to blow right through this thing.
I don't need Gordon's step by step instructions.
I can knock out awesome dishes with what I got up here.
So, come at me.
All right, everyone, just over 30 minutes.
Your tarte tatin should be caramelizing now.
Shari: Looks good, Noah.
Looks good.
Liz, those bananas look nice.
The big Achilles' heel this evening is that caramel, and having the confidence to get it nice and dark before it goes into the oven.
Sarah, that looks really, really good.
- Thank you.
- Good job.
Beautiful.
What's the flavor of the caramel? - Vanilla and ginger.
- Love it.
But can we get the caramel where it needs to be? - Okay? Good luck.
- Thank you, Chef.
Keturah: I am extremely daunted by this challenge, but I need to calm down and remember why I'm here.
What goes well with pineapple? Um, a bit of spice.
Okay, some ginger.
Why don't we take that up a notch with a little bit of cayenne? I'm just thinking of everything that I would use ordinarily in a savory dish.
Gordon: Keturah's gone for the pineapple because the peaches have gone.
She's now back on track, and she's cut it thinly into slices.
- Yeah, she's smart.
- Okay, okay, okay.
I'm seriously worried about Sam.
He's gone and cut the pineapple into chunks.
- It's going to be fibrous.
- Yes.
Sam: I'm sacrificing a lot to be here right now.
My wife is at home taking care of our 11-month-old by herself.
I have a busy job as an attorney that I'm basically putting on hold.
I can't go home.
I wanted to make sure that my caramelization happens correctly, and I don't want to leave the station until then.
The technique in caramelizing, it is key.
You can burn it or you can under-caramelize it, so that is my current nervous worry.
Micah, let's go, let's go, let's go.
I'm feeling really confident.
I just got to keep an eye on this.
I've never made a tarte tatin, but I've made a lot of caramels, I've made a lot of crème anglaises before.
One day, I want to open up a bakery.
I love to do pastries.
Oh, that caramel makes me nervous.
It looks done.
Doesn't it look done? - Oh, yeah.
- Everything is going well.
I'm just waiting on the caramel.
I go back there, and I smell it, and my heart drops to my shoes.
It burned.
Oh, Micah's is burning.
Micah's is burning.
It's just a complete disaster.
And I know I cannot serve that, because it will completely ruin my dish.
I'm done-zo.
Look at Micah's caramel.
There's smoke coming out of that pan now.
Micah: My caramel burned.
It's just a complete disaster.
You got this, Micah.
Come on.
Take a deep breath.
You got it.
I cannot let this send me home.
What the heck's he doing? Shari: He's going to start over.
I don't really know if there's enough time to make another caramel, but I have to go for it.
Shari: You got this, Micah! Come on.
Aarón: You should be rolling out your dough, everyone.
Start to fabricate the look and the aesthetic of your tarte tatin.
Shari: All right, Noah.
Dorian's got pecans in her pastry.
Love it.
Shari: Oh, gosh.
Sarah's is going to burn, too.
Oh, my God.
Oh, no.
Oh.
My caramel is too dark.
So, I would redo it.
I would just redo it.
Oh, my God, oh, my God, oh, my God.
I don't have time to start again.
I'm trying to put more butter in there, put a little bit more sugar to try and save it.
I'm just crossing my fingers and saying a couple prayers - that it's going to work out.
- Nick: Come on, Sarah.
You're good, you're good.
Don't panic.
Guys, in the next three minutes, your tarte tatins have got to be in the oven.
- Noah: Yes, Chef.
- Allow 15 to 18 minutes cook time.
Shari: Keturah, you're doing awesome! - Fred's gone in the oven.
- Joe: In the oven.
First one.
- Wow.
- Good boy.
Good.
- Did you pierce the top? - Yes, I did.
I did six holes.
- Good boy.
- Oh, for God's sake.
I ( bleep ) up somehow.
Sam: The caramel just isn't as brown as I would like.
Gordon: Now, Sam, he's cut the pineapple into chunks.
The caramel is going to be so weak because there's so much juice in the pineapple.
It's going to to negate a lot of the caramelization.
That's right.
It won't happen.
He'll never get color on it.
To me, it's certainly better to be slightly under.
If it's over-caramelized, it'll be burnt.
Evan: So, I'm looking at the tarte tatin, and it looks wet, like there's almost a little too much caramel.
Let's do this.
I decide I'm going to pour off a little bit of the caramel liquid.
What the hell is he doing? I know what I'm doing.
That actually looks kind of sexy.
I promise you, if somebody can do it, it's you.
We're down to 21 minutes remaining.
Nick: Come on, Subha, let's go.
Let's go.
Get it in the oven.
Sarah, I want that in the oven in the next three minutes.
Let's go.
Shari: Sarah, you're doing great.
Wuta: There we go, Micah.
Way to come back.
You made me nervous for a second.
Micah: 18 minutes is all a tarte tatin needs.
I just pray that I'm going to have it done in time.
Guys, just under 18 minutes to go.
Under 18 minutes to go.
Shari: Great job, Micah.
Great job.
Subha: I'm putting an Indian inspired twist on the French tarte tatin.
In the crème anglaise, I want to use a rose flavor, and then use cardamom with it.
- Rosewater, ooh! - Mmm.
Wow.
- Man! - So, Subha, he's going to be very unique.
He's going to use rosewater, and he seems like he's really fired up.
Joe: I hope he knows what he's doing.
Just over ten minutes to go.
Looking good! Looking good, Bri! Wuta: Let's go, y'all! Let's go! You guys got this.
You guys got this.
Shari: Fred, you're doing awesome.
Fred: My tarte tatin should be almost done.
But I noticed it wasn't cooking fast enough.
It just needs so much more color.
This is insane.
If I don't nail this, they're just going to eject me.
Shari: It's looking good, Liz.
Holy cow.
Look at that.
Wow.
That one looks-- it looks like a chicken pot pie, baby, in the South, baby! Fred, I can't wait to see it.
Shari: Sam, that looks great! I have no ( bleep ) idea how long this thing's been in there.
- Now, Fred.
- Yeah.
Gordon: Fred, tonight, is in his element.
I've never seen this guy so focused.
That is his calling, guys, by the way.
I mean, he wants to be America's next MasterChef, but baking is his skill.
Fred: I am having an outright panic attack.
If I leave it in there longer, my apples are going to be overcooked.
Everything comes down to this moment.
Is that cooked, Fred? Is it cooked? The dough is really, really undercooked.
I think my pastry is definitely too thick.
I don't have a whole lot of time.
I'm staring right at my death dish.
Gordon: Five minutes to go, guys! Shari: Looking good, guys.
Fred: I'm freaking out right now.
Oh, jeez.
because it's still not cooked through.
Come on, Fred! But I'm definitely running out of time, so it has to come out now.
My pastry must be too thick, and it breaks my heart into a million pieces, because the last thing I want to go home on is something that I love to do.
Shari: That looks beautiful, Noah.
The moment has come that I'm going to have to frickin' do this flip.
The moment of truth right here.
Gordon: Hand, cloth, tip.
Large plate.
Has everybody got a large plate? - All: Yes, Chef! - How dramatic it's going to be when you invert that tarte tatin.
It's-- Noah: You got one shot to do this.
If I drop it, it's over.
I'm going home.
Oh! Shari: Hey, great job, Noah! Whoo! Oh, Jamie, that was awesome.
- Whoo, son! - Shari: Beautiful.
- Oh, yeah.
- Shari: Liz, I'm so proud of you.
It's awesome.
Ooh.
Yay! What happened to Evan's-- what is that? Looking down at the tart, it looks really dry.
Did you drain off some of that excess juice? - I did.
- Good.
Did you keep it? That would've been genius.
Never throw that genius stuff away.
You know, it's true.
It has all that flavor and that complexity.
I really wish I didn't toss that extra caramel, but when it's said and done, I'm happy with what's on the plate.
Tilt it! You need it nice and-- oh! - Whoo! - Yeah, Subha! Over! Over! Oh, my God.
I think he did.
You have brandy down your glove.
- Over.
- Oh.
There we go.
You okay? Is it burnt? No, no.
Nothing at all, no.
( bleep ) Subha.
Two, three! Gordon: Take your time.
Oh.
Oh, do you smell that? Sarah: I hope it's not burnt.
And it's hard to tell because I can't cut into it.
Shari: Good job, Micah! Whoo! Great job, Micah! Micah: Even though I did my caramel again, if I ruined those peaches in that first caramel, that is going to transfer into my tarte tatin.
I'm just praying that acrid, disgusting petrol taste Damn.
did not affect my fruit.
Everyone should be dusting! Dust! 30 seconds to go.
Finish strong, finish strong! Not so confident.
Gordon: Come on, let's go! 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, - 3, 2, 1! - And stop! - Hands in the air! - Hands in the air! That one was a blast! I'm worried if they'll ding me because I don't have a lot of-- like, my caramel evaporated into the tarte, so it's not as oozy as everyone else's.
- Well done! - No matter what happens, - it was an honor to cook.
- Whoo, son! Never thought I'd be able to do that in an hour.
Holy cow, man.
That's a big sucker.
Why is it so fat? Joe: Because you put 12 peaches in there.
- Tough challenge, right? - All: Yes, Chef.
Now it's time to taste.
Let's dig in.
Did you have any trouble? Just a little bit.
Liz, are you happy with the way it looks? I've never made it before, so I'm pretty happy with it.
Sam: When I finished the challenge, I'm mostly thinking about the job I did, shortcuts I could've taken to be a little more efficient.
- That's crispy, huh? - I tried my best, Chef.
But in the back of your head after a challenge, you're always thinking, I hope someone did worse than me.
The pressure got you tonight, didn't it? A little bit, Chef.
It did.
Because at the end of the day, you don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun the guy next to you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Guys, it was a tough call there tonight.
- Yeah, yeah.
- There's one that's not even a tarte tatin.
I feel everyone really showed their culinary identity - with the crème anglaises.
- A couple of the individuals have got the fruit overcooked.
They're actually caramelizing it too long.
I think it's pretty clear who needs to go upstairs - and stay down.
- Yeah, I'm with you.
- Well done, all of you.
- All: Thank you, Chef.
Some of you baked some beautiful desserts.
You will not face elimination tonight.
There was one home cook that stood out.
This individual executed a delicious tarte tatin.
The crust on that pastry is exemplary.
Michael, make your way up to the balcony.
- Congrats.
- Thank you, guys.
Let's go, boy.
Michael: I feel awesome.
I am the first one called up to the balcony.
And, honestly, I feel like I kicked butt.
All right, so the next person that we felt really showed some culinary skill in interpreting this very classic French dessert, - and that is Bri.
- Yay! - Join your colleagues.
- Thank you.
It feels amazing that the judges think that I stand out from the pack, and I'm so happy to have that recognition.
The next home cook continues to excel and do her state of Georgia proud.
Dorian continues to wow us with her desserts.
Good job.
Head upstairs, Dorian.
- Congratulations, Liz.
- Yes! Liz: I went from having the worst dish to having the best dish, and I pulled it off.
I totally pulled off something I've never made before.
Micah: I'm sweating buckets.
I'm watching everyone go up to the balcony.
Renee, please head up to the balcony.
Renee: I am beyond happy.
I nailed it.
Praise Jesus, I am on the balcony.
- Noah.
- Thank you, Chef! My heart goes from my shoes up to my throat.
I'm so nervous.
I just want to be safe.
And the catch of the day-- Jamie, congratulations.
- Go ahead, big fella! - Whoo! Sarah: I'm looking around the room trying to compare it to other people's, but to me, I-- I just don't think it's there.
If I go out on this note, like, why did I even come here? The last person heading up to the safety of the balcony, this individual started off in the weeds, but, boy, did they rectify and come back strong.
The crust is extraordinary.
The cook on the fruit, mind-blowing.
And I think we want to see this individual have a little bit more confidence about themselves.
Because what they've just done, is pretty spot-on.
Please make your way up to the balcony The last person heading up to the safety of the balcony Micah.
Man: All right, Micah! - Yeah, Micah! - Well done, Micah! Thank you.
- Man, I'm on cloud ten.
- Good job.
I'm one step closer to where I want to be.
For those of you remaining, Joe, Aarón, and myself need to dig way, way deeper into your dishes.
Shortly, we have a huge decision to make.
At least one of you have cooked for your very last time - inside this incredible kitchen.
- Wow.
All right, so the first home cook that we'd like to bring up and taste their dish further is Keturah.
Please come on up.
Keturah: Desserts are my weak point, and I'm very, very, very frightened that this could be my last hurrah in the MasterChef kitchen.
Describe the dish, please.
This is a spiced pineapple tarte tatin, and a pineapple sauce.
- Keturah, how are you feeling? - Nervous.
You've got your work cut out-- one of the most difficult fruits.
So this could send you home tonight.
When I saw you cut the pineapple the way you did, I was relieved that they were slices, not chunks.
Keturah, I actually love this.
I think you were able to really do a great job with cooking the pineapple in such a way that it didn't go to that place of no return.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Joe: It's far from traditional, but it's well-executed.
It's crunchy, it's buttery.
Really good.
Watching you cook under panic and stress is interesting because you get to find out a lot about yourself when you're vulnerable.
And tonight, it's actually good to see the real you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you, Chef.
- Great job, Keturah.
- Yes.
Sam? - Go, Sam.
Do it, Sam.
- Go, Sam! Sam: After yesterday, I really wanted an opportunity to redeem myself, but I know I haven't really done such a good job.
I'm one mistake away from going home.
Yeah.
Sam, describe the dish, please.
This is a pineapple tarte tatin.
It's flavored with vanilla, star anise, and cinnamon.
The crème anglaise is flavored with coconut milk and lime juice.
Did you think of another cut before you assembled it? - Or did you want to go chunks? - No, I wanted to go chunks.
I heard you saying, "If you're gonna do banana, do an inch and a half or two inches thick.
" So immediately in my mind, I think, "All right, so my pineapple should be an inch and a half to two inches thick.
" Completely different fruits.
- So, I would've done rings.
- Understood.
An inch, and cut the rings in half.
So much liquid here, it's extraordinary.
Joe: Crème anglaise is straightforward? Vanilla? Nothing-- no twists? No, instead of milk, I used coconut milk and a little lime juice.
It's disappointing, Sam, 'cause I'm really equating this to, like, when you get a pizza that doesn't have enough cheese, and then you kind of swipe it down and then you're just left with the bottom of the crust, you know? That's what I have here.
But what you do have there is well-seasoned and well-flavored.
It's just the construction of it is lacking a lot.
The tops are cut beautifully, so you've got the top part.
You've just-- you've got your work cut out when the pineapple's so chunky because you can't caramelize a chunk.
The one redeeming factor here is that I thought the idea of putting coconut milk - and pineapple together was really fantastic.
- Thank you, Joe.
- Thank you, Sam.
- Great job, brother.
Tough one.
Next up, Sarah, please.
Let's go.
Sarah: I'm really concerned about the darkness on the tarte tatin.
If it's actually burnt, it's gonna be bitter.
So I'm hoping that it's not so bad that I'm out of this competition.
Describe the dish, please.
I've made for you a peach and ginger tarte tatin with a ginger and vanilla anglaise.
Are you happy with it? I'm not happy with it, Chef.
I overcooked my caramel.
I'm not proud of this dish at all.
Mm-hmm.
- Well? - It has a little petrol-y, acrid situation, but I think the peaches are cooked perfectly.
I think your crème anglaise is beautiful.
- It's silky, it's smooth.
- Here's the thing.
It's just on that over-caramelized flavor.
It's got that little aftertaste.
It's kind of like the acidity and caramel-y taste that you get when you eat cough syrup.
Thank you, Sarah.
Good job, Sarah.
Sarah, you're all right.
- You're all right, Sarah.
- Good job, Sarah.
As I'm waiting to hear my name called, I'm trying to listen very closely to all the other criticisms.
The judges are being tough, and that's definitely making me nervous.
- Next, Subha.
- Subha: I'm very nervous.
This could be bad, because I put an Indian twist on a very traditional French dessert.
Describe the dish, please.
The dish is pear and apple tarte tatin and a rose flavor crème anglaise.
So, visually the pears should be turned the other way.
They're upside-down.
Joe: You know what I love about this is it has a beautiful golden hue to it.
Not like Sarah's, like, super charred.
It has, like, a very nice color tone to it.
- Aarón: Yeah.
- Beautiful consistency.
I think the true star is that right there, that crème anglaise.
It's wonderful.
I think, instinctually, you have a clear vision with what you want to do.
I just think you need to back it up with technique.
When you put apple and pear together, they cook at different times, so you're shooting yourself in the foot because the apple's disintegrated, but the pear's beautiful.
Here's the bizarre news.
You're like the Willy Wonka of the MasterChef kitchen.
Rosewater crème anglaise-- it works.
But every time I watch you cook, it's-- I feel like I've got to go and lie down for 10 minutes because you're so confusing.
- Thank you, Subha.
- Thank you, Chef.
Noah: Great job, Subha.
Great job, Subha.
- Good job, Subaru! - Well done, Subha.
Next tarte tatin, Evan, please come forward.
- Let's go, Evan.
- Let's go, Evan! I'm a little worried that it's maybe a minute or two over, but if that was in front of me and I liked apples and fruity dessert, I'd probably nick a bite of that.
- Describe the dish, please.
- I have an apple, lemon, and ginger tarte tatin with a thyme anglaise.
So, aesthetically, it looks like a tarte fine.
It's like you've got puff pastry with sliced apples on there.
Did you cut the apples further than half? No, I cored and quartered the apples.
- Quartered? Quartered? - Quartered? - You half them.
- Like, little slices of apples this big? I took the halves and halved them.
- Ah, that's why.
- So, the problem you've got there is that they'll never, ever retain any form of structure whilst caramelizing.
I didn't cut mine into quarters.
Let's get in there, shall we? - How long did you cook it for? - 22 minutes roughly.
22 minutes.
So you quartered the apples and cooked it longer than I suggested.
- I didn't have a timer running - Right.
so I just looked for the color.
Do you often bake without a timer? Do you drive without looking at the speedometer? I don't drive that often, living in the city.
Do you often bake without a timer? Do you drive without looking at the speedometer? I don't drive that often, living in the city.
Baking is not like making an omelet or cooking a steak where you touch it, and you feel it.
- There's a science to this.
- I had my eye on the clock.
I executed it to the best of my ability.
The actual crust is way better than the apples.
The apples are way overcooked.
The problem with this is it's more like an apple tarte.
- Flat.
- Yeah.
It's like a-- Where is the caramel? Look, there's nothing.
There's no caramel.
Nothing.
Where is it? This is not a tarte tatin.
- This is an apple tarte.
- The whole part of a tarte tatin for me is that beautiful balance of having it caramelized and also having a little bite to it.
- This has gone the other way.
- It's very simple for me.
It's a very good apple tarte.
It's a very poor apple tarte tatin.
- Apologies.
- Thanks, Evan.
Great job, Evan.
Fred, please bring up your tarte tatin.
- Yes, Chef.
- Come on, Fred.
- Come on, Fred.
- Let's go, let's go! Because I'm the only one in the room who has made a tarte tatin before, the judges have much, much higher expectations of me.
I definitely think if anything's gonna send me home, it's gonna be this dish.
- Describe the dish, please.
- For you I have a ginger, vanilla, and cinnamon infused apple tarte tatin with a brown butter and cardamom crème anglaise.
Well, obviously, it's raw here, it's caramelized here.
It's imbalanced, it's kind of-- structurally, it fell apart.
That's not what we wanted.
You were the only home cook that's made a tarte tatin before and I can't see that here.
For me, it's applesauce.
I don't like it at all.
It's not the cake we wanted.
I disagree.
I like the flavor.
You've got that right.
Unfortunately, it doesn't look decent.
Personally, I expected more from you tonight.
I expected more from myself, Chef.
Thank you.
- Good job, Fred.
- Good job, Fred! Stand tall.
Stay focused.
Excuse us, as we need a moment to discuss this very important matter.
Thank you.
Fred: I feel like I failed.
After hearing the judges' critiques, I'm basically saying my good-byes to everyone.
I already am trying to envision what my life was before this competition because I'm expecting that I have to go back to it.
Some standouts again, without a doubt.
It's just really deciding whose was worse.
I think it's pretty obvious who the weakest one is, yeah? - Ready? - Yeah.
All six of you, please make your way down to the front.
Thank you.
Going home would literally be shocking.
I don't want to go home.
I want to live till tomorrow to be able to cook again.
This one was tough for us.
Sarah and Keturah, please step forward.
Both of you girls struggled this evening.
Nice to see that you could come back.
In fact, the comeback was just enough to retain your white aprons.
- Go on upstairs.
- Let's go, girls! Let's go, girls! Sarah: I was just saying prayers that they weren't gonna send me home, and, uh, I'm still here.
The positive of this experience has been I've learned that it's okay to be vulnerable.
But I don't ever want to see a black apron again.
Subha, please step forward.
Subha, to be very honest, I think you made some fundamental mistakes, but you continue to put your background into your dishes, and we can taste it.
We felt that it was just good enough - for you to retain your apron.
- Let's go, Subha! - Please head upstairs.
- Good luck, guys.
Good luck, good luck.
- Good job, buddy.
- Fred, Sam, Evan, clearly you three are at the bottom of the barrel.
And, Fred, a lackluster performance, especially when you're the only one in the room this evening who had done this before.
Sam, you know, the crust was delicious, but it was literally swimming in water.
Evan, you didn't put your spin on it, you completely changed the dish.
This is a tough call.
The person leaving "MasterChef," not entering the top 16 of this incredible competition is Evan.
Fred, Sam, move it.
Up to the balcony, quick.
- I'm so sorry, Evan.
- It's all good, guys.
Fred: I am trying to learn, which I think is probably the one reason why they saved me over Evan.
Evan, to become America's next MasterChef, we need an incredible pupil.
There's times across this competition that you have been so difficult about taking advice.
Yeah, I think your knowledge and your love of food is apparent, Evan, and I hope you can take that with whatever you do in your food career, 'cause I know it's gonna be there.
- Thank you.
- Please place your apron on your bench.
Good night.
Evan: In the end, it doesn't matter.
I still feel like my experience and my knowledge base means that I was the best chef in this competition.
This is not the end of my culinary journey.
This is just the beginning.