Previously on MasterChef
The 40 best home cooks in America faced off
in the culinary battle of their lives.
Boom!
- That is delicious. - Thank you.
- In the end... - Pass this apron to your son.
...only the 20 best claimed a coveted white apron.
And a spot in the competition.
MasterChef
Tonight, the kitchen is graced...
No.
...by a culinary legend.
My mind is just...
But it's an epic Gordon Ramsay dish...
Everybody got it? Why's is it so quiet?
...that takes center stage.
Stop the clock.
For one of you, this is your last ten minutes
in this competition.
Yeah, baby! Woo!
I'm a retired golf professional
from California.
But don't let this gray hair fool you.
I'm like Muhammad Ali.
When I'm in that kitchen, I float like a butterfly.
But get in my way, and I sting like a bee.
And I'm gonna take these youngsters out one by one.
Welcome, everybody.
Come on down.
Woo!
Before this, I was in my dorm room
cooking in a microwave.
And now I'm in the nicest kitchen
I've ever seen in my life.
The equipment room is like stacked
with steel this, steel that.
Every equipment you could ever wish for.
Oh, my God.
Someone pinch me. I'm freaking out.
Welcome to the MasterChef kitchen.
One of you 20 home cooks
will become America's next MasterChef.
And one of you will win
the ultimate culinary prize.
The MasterChef trophy.
- It's not here. - Hey!
Because it's coming via a very special delivery.
Throughout the competition we will be welcoming
some of the world's greatest chefs
to judge your dishes.
And tonight, Christina and I
are beyond thrilled to welcome
a world renowned chef, who has created
one of the biggest food empires on the planet.
Who's it gonna be?
The one and only...
No.
Wolfgang Puck.
Oh, I love it.
Wolfgang Puck is the God of the culinary world.
- Hi, Gordon. How are you? Good to see you. - How is it?
MasterChef is stepping up their game this year.
It's an absolute honor to have you here.
I'm so excited to be here.
The biggest cooking competition in America.
I'll take that trophy from you.
The competition starts right now
with America's most iconic food challenge.
The MasterChef mystery box.
For your first MasterChef mystery box,
I have chosen an ingredient
which comes in many colors, shapes, and forms.
And I am really excited what you're going to do with it.
On the count of three, you will lift those boxes.
- One, two, three. - Oh, my gosh.
Lift.
Whoa.
Potatoes.
Oh, my gosh.
You'll have 60 minutes to make us
one beautiful MasterChef-worthy dish
with the humble potato as the starring role.
You'll also have access to a limited pantry
of amazing proteins, along with fresh fruits and vegetables.
Please, show Wolfgang, Christina and I,
that we picked the right cooks.
Are you all ready?
Yes, chef.
Your time starts now.
We are so honored that you're here.
And I'm so excited to see these home cooks
make probably better dishes than a lot of professionals.
You're absolutely right.
These home cooks are from all over the U.S.
We've got home cooks from the East Coast,
to the West Coast,
from Kentucky, Iowa, Illinois.
We're gonna see the landscape of America
on a dish.
That's what I'm looking for.
The pressure is on.
Cooking a humble potato for Wolfgang Puck.
My hands are shaking.
I am making one of Chef Wolfgang Puck's
recipes from his book.
It's latke, smoked salmon pizza
with crème fraîche and caviar.
Let's see if I can do it the way he likes it.
Today I'm gonna make a baked russet potato
stuffed with bacon and chives,
with a purple potato and cauliflower mash.
Growing up in church with my dad being a pastor
sometimes he'd come home bringing this family over for dinner.
Mom was great at throwing together amazing dishes.
And so, yeah, this is like an homage to her.
Trying to fill out a sweet potato gnocchi
with a brown butter, sage, walnut sauce.
I've never made gnocchi before
so it's Shaun putting his ass on the line.
But there's some strong chefs in here
so I got to bring my "A" game.
Where's my knives at?
Let's go to Granddad.
- Bill. How're you doing? - Yes, Chef.
- Hello, Bill. - Wolfgang, Bill.
- So glad to meet you, Chef. - How are you? Good to meet you.
- What an honor. - Same here.
Bill is our oldest contestant
we've ever had in MasterChef kitchen.
What is it, empty pan?
I'm trying to get rolling here.
Okay, start cooking.
I'm making potato pancakes, I'm gonna be doing that
with my standard maple crusted bacon.
t was one of our family's favorite breakfasts
that I've learned from my grandmother.
My grandmother used to make potato pancakes too
so we'll see what you're coming out with.
Oh, I hope I can match up.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
- Terry, how's it going? - Yes, how are you, Chef?
I'm gonna go with potato pancake
- from three different colors. - Okay.
And then I'm gonna also put in a red cabbage slaw.
I'm German and Irish so we got a lot of potatoes in our background.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
Let's cook, baby, cook.
- Hello, Andrea. - Chef, hi, how are you guys?
What are we making?
So I studied abroad in Spain last semester.
I just love Spanish food, I love Spanish culture.
So I'm making a tortilla Española.
And you said it with a perfect accent.
Thank you, I'm Spanish.
And I'm making with that a potato croqueta
and then a sweet potato gazpacho.
So three things, I have a lot to do,
but I'm really focusing on the potato.
Wow, you have a lot to do.
- You better get going. - Good luck.
Just over 30 minutes to go, guys.
Speed up.
Today I'm making a fried potato salad.
Because everything's fried in Iowa.
I'm topping it with a few strips
of really beautiful New York peppered strip steak.
Growing up, I didn't have a lot of money.
So naturally we grew up every single day eating potatoes.
So I am confident that Wolfgang Puck has never had
these kind of potatoes before,
because he's going to love them.
Beautiful.
There are some great looking dishes out there.
- I am intrigued by the Spanish lady. - Beautiful.
I thought to do three different dishes, ambitious.
And I can't wait to taste my potato latkes with a smoked salmon.
- Whose is? - Barbara's stolen
one of Wolfgang's recipe's, Christina.
I know the dish so well, so it better be perfect.
Ten minutes to go.
Stop the clock.
Everybody, stop what you're doing.
Listen up, I've got some very important news.
For one of you, this is your last ten minutes
in this competition.
Because the person who cooks the worst dish
will be giving us back their white apron.
Ten minutes to go.
Stop the clock.
For one of you, this is your last ten minutes
in this competition.
- Clock starts now. - Let's go.
I don't think I can make it,
but I'm gonna give it my damnedest.
Ten minutes to go, Wolfgang,
and you are falling behind, what would you suggest?
Think about the presentation.
- Because the first impression is very important. - Yeah.
Absolutely.
Not working.
Cassie I'm seriously worried about.
It just looks a bit plain, the steak, the potatoes.
It didn't really sound like it was gonna get elevated.
If I don't get anything on my plate,
I'm definitely going home.
Shaun is losing it.
I don't even think he's making
a sweet potato gnocchi anymore,
I think he's doing like a sweet potato ravioli.
He is. Oh, my goodness.
Are they burnt, Diamond?
Um, crispy.
That's another word for "burnt."
One minute to go.
You've got to start plating.
Nathan's hands are shaking.
Remember, someone is going home.
Brush, brush, brush.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
- And stop, hands in the air. - Hands in the air.
- Well done. - Nice job.
That was intense.
As you know, we taste all your dishes
as they come together.
Remember, we're looking for the best dish.
But we're also looking for the worst dish.
Tonight, there were three dishes
that really blew us away...
with how bad they were.
The first home cook tonight did not maximize
across the 60 minutes.
What this dish was for us was way too simple,
way too little imagination.
My dish looks like crap.
And all I can keep saying to myself is,
"Please, don't taste my dish. Please, don't taste my dish."
Please, step forward, Nathan.
What do they do, they taste my dish.
Wolfgang Puck is up there on the stage.
My gut drops to the floor.
- Nathan, - Yes, Chef.
what are you calling the dish?
I have a twice baked potato,
it's got caramelized onions and bacon,
filled with purple potato and cauliflower purée.
You know, the whole color in here,
- does that look appetizing to you? - No, Chef.
It looks like somebody ate it already once.
Yes, Chef.
A few of the ideas are actually good.
You know, you had the bacon, it gives it a lot of flavor.
The cheese gives it a lot of flavor.
But maybe spice it up a little bit.
I'm always looking for creativity.
Turn around.
What does it say up there?
MasterChef Chef.
What does it mean?
It means we are the 20 most passionate chefs in America, Chef.
You have a long way to go.
We asked Wolfgang to give up his day
to come and judge some phenomenal dishes.
And this is where it gets embarrassing for Christina and I.
- It just looks sad. - Yeah.
Inside is a bit strange. The purée is wet.
The cauliflower is sort of smelly,
like a dirty sock in there.
And the purple potato almost tastes
sort of undercooked.
You are one of the youngest,
and tonight it showed that lack of maturity.
You heard I stopped the clock
with ten minutes to go, what did I say?
One chef will be going home tonight.
Damn.
Growing up, I dealt with a lot of people
who said I was immature for my age,
who just told me to give up on my dreams.
So what Gordon said really hit me hard.
I'm here to prove them wrong.
The second disastrous dish
was put together by another home cook
that put something on a plate
we've kind of seen a million times.
And the presentation, just really lacking, sadly.
Please step forward...
Cassie.
I came into this competition with no intentions
in ever being in the bottom three.
Never have I made anything that anyone has said,
this is the worst.
Hello, chefs.
All right, Cassie.
Explain the dish.
This is a New York peppered strip steak
over a fried potato salad, Chef.
- Visually, a potato salad is typically light in color. - A lot creamier.
- Yeah, because you're tossing it with mayonnaise. - Yes, yes.
And what is this orange stuff here?
I just wanted to get a pop of color
with some sweet potato.
You used three different kinds of potatoes.
There's definitely something to be said for that.
But overall, for me, steak and potatoes
is just so ordinary and so commonplace.
You definitely just didn't take it far enough.
I mean, how would you feel if this was your last dish?
Break my heart.
- It might be. - Yes, Chef.
Now, you know what,
if you give me that in a restaurant,
I wouldn't eat it, I would send it back.
That's it.
- "Bring me something different." - Yes, Chef.
Color is so important, you know.
This look like brown.
And I come all the way from my restaurant
- to eat that, no. - Sorry, Chef.
The third dish
that really missed the mark tonight,
was made by a home cook
who probably spent more time in the equipment room
than on the stove.
Please, step forward...
Bill.
I know didn't make the best potato dish
out there today,
but I know it wasn't the worst.
Hopefully the judges are gonna see
that I made it the star.
- Bill... - Yes, Chef.
What do you call that?
I call it potato pancakes with bacon.
You think this is creative?
Today, I wanted to make the potatoes the star.
- You know what, it's a fading star. - Yes, sir.
We want to have the ingredients to shine.
Now, how did you make this?
I baked at a high temperature
so I can get the right texture.
Can you hear the potatoes? They're still crunchy inside too.
- So you have to bake them longer. - A little more.
Though the bacon is always good.
This is a cooking competition
and you have to go out on a limb
and try to do something where the judge is gonna say,
- "Wow, I wish I would have thought about that." - Yes, Chef.
You let yourself down. I know you can do better than that.
- All right, Bill. - Yes, Chef.
There's a big advantage being one of the oldest in this competition,
'cause of the experience.
But looking at that, it worries me that this
is as far as your imagination can take you.
The competition is on.
Behind you are some very talented home cooks.
You need to bring your "A" game.
And that is a "D-".
So I mean, three lackluster dishes.
- Not brilliant. - No.
Three home cooks.
Sadly, someone has cooked their last dish...
in the MasterChef kitchen.
The person going home is...
Three home cooks.
Sadly, someone has cooked their first and last dish,
in the MasterChef kitchen.
The person going home is...
Cassie.
I'm afraid, tonight, it's the end of the road.
We asked the potato to be the hero.
Unfortunately, the two potatoes you put on there
were dreadful.
Please, remove your apron
and leave the MasterChef kitchen.
Thank you.
I am just a self-taught baker from Iowa.
And even though it was an early exit,
I will always wear the apron in my heart.
Nathan, Bill, please go back to your stations.
Thank you, Chef.
Let's get on to some better news, shall we?
There were some really incredible dishes there tonight.
But there can only be one winner.
The winning dish
really celebrated the potato.
I was very impressed.
Congratulations...
Andrea.
I won! I won, I won, I won.
Wolfgang Puck loved my potatoes.
Need a minute?
I can't breathe.
I can literally die happy right now.
Uh, all of you, join Christina and I,
in thanking this incredible chef.
Thank you.
Woo!
Challenge number one in MasterChef
we had Wolfgang Puck.
- Thank you. - Bye, Chef.
Thanks.
Who's walking through that door next?
I'm so excited and I can't wait to see.
Andrea, join Christina and I
up here, right now.
Let's go.
- Get it, Dre. - Good job.
Thank you.
You are in the driver's seat.
You do not have to cook
in the upcoming elimination challenge.
For your second advantage,
you'll get to save half of the home cooks.
Wow.
Do you save all the girls...
Oh!
- or do you save all the boys? - Oh!
Someone's going home at the end of this challenge
and I'm trying to get rid of my competition.
So I gotta choose wisely.
- Have you made your mind up? - I have.
I'm going to save...
my ladies.
Head on up to the balcony.
- Bye, ladies. - Good luck, guys.
These girls can be friendly as they want with me now,
but little do they know,
I don't see them as competition.
Ladies, a sigh of relief.
I know I can beat them.
And the boys, let them fight it out themselves.
Gents, are you all ready to find out
what you're cooking
in your first ever elimination challenge?
Yes, Chef.
Well, tough.
Because I'm not gonna tell you.
Instead, I'm going to show you.
- Oh, my gosh. - Wow.
Please, all of you, come down to the front.
Let's go.
Oh, this is so cool.
This is amazing to watch.
But I'm so glad I'm not down there cooking.
Because this is gonna be so hard.
I'm really sorry, boys, but one of y'all going home.
This next challenge is the ultimate culinary test.
Tonight, you will be replicating
a highly technical Gordon Ramsay dish.
That's right, you'll have to rely on your eyes
and your palate to recreate it.
Because I'm gonna make it,
but I'm not gonna tell you what's in it.
Yes, Chef.
I just won this apron and you already want me to cook like you.
Really?
So fish is gonna be the star of this dish.
What the first thing you see on fish?
When it comes out the sea?
- Scales. - Scales.
So gently place the scales on.
This is all about finesse.
There nothing better than watching
Gordon Ramsay cook.
Scale side down.
It's mesmerizing, he moves with this confidence
that I don't think I've ever seen
anybody cook with.
...into the oven.
But the problem is
I'm seeing all of these ingredients
that I can't quite place.
Think of the perfect garnish.
Like those are definitely not cheese balls.
Like, they're carrots, right?
In here, a delicious vegetable couscous.
I have never in my life heard of a vegetable couscous.
The sauce will be based on two items.
Olive oil and a stock.
Mmm.
Just smell the fragrance in there.
Bill, don't singe that beard.
Now for the exciting part.
Everything goes on a plate for a reason.
If you put anything on a plate, we are gonna judge you.
Vegetables around the outside.
So that the taste of the Earth...
One thing you don't do
is flood the plate with a sauce.
You put it on there with a little bit of elegance.
And then finally...
It smells so good.
- Just lift. - Oh, wow.
- And then on... - Wow.
How cool was that?
Grab a spoon and dig in.
Oh, I'm so jealous.
Take a mouthful.
All I can think about
is how to identify these flavors.
Get some of that sauce.
I've eaten at all of Gordon Ramsay's
restaurants in Vegas.
I know what he delivers.
I hope you were paying attention.
Because now it's your turn
to replicate it from scratch.
You'll all have five minutes in the MasterChef pantry
but once you've shopped, there is no going back in.
All of you, welcome to MasterChef
Any questions?
- No, Chef. - What'd you put in it?
All right, guys. Your five minutes starts now.
This challenge is going to be extremely insane.
We have to make a Gordon Ramsay dish
and we don't know what the ingredients are.
So the pantry is chaos.
The only thing I don't feel confident about is the fish.
I'm just praying it's sea bass,
because that's what I got.
My big question is, will they get the fish right?
It was a classic white fish
that dries out very, very quickly.
Halibut.
Now, there were two potatoes on there.
For the scales, we used the Yukon Gold.
And there was one more potato around the outside.
I think they're going to think it was carrot.
It was a sweet potato.
I'm grabbing orange carrots,
and all the while, I'm watching the boys grab couscous.
I'm like, "Uh, they're stupid boys."
Because I know that couscous isn't couscous.
There's no couscous in there.
It was all made with cauliflower.
Easily the most important five minutes
of this entire challenge.
I've gotta put all this together in five minutes?
I'm looking around,
and my basket is half as full as everybody around me.
Five minutes gone.
Ugh. I'm in trouble.
I'm as nervous as a long-tailed cat
in a room full of rocking chairs.
I don't know what I'm gonna do.
Whoo, whoo!
I'm hoping you've shopped properly.
Wow. What has Bill got in his basket?
You got five minutes and you put six things in your basket.
Ahh.
This is the first big challenge.
- It's not gonna be perfect tonight. - No.
But even if they've got the wrong fish,
as long as they've got a white fish on there,
some form of a potato on top,
a nice couscous,
and the vinaigrette balance with the purée.
- That will keep me happy. - Yeah.
I picked halibut.
I'm from North Carolina, I grew up going to the beach with my family,
catching fish with my grandpa.
I know seafood. I think I'm gonna be fine.
I am confident in my taste buds.
Gentlemen, 40 minutes remaining.
D'Andre, how are you doing?
I'm thinking I'm okay, Chef.
- What fish did you use? - I'm using sea bass.
I just thought that the flake of the fish
reminded me more of sea bass than anything else.
- This is-- - What's in there?
That's my white carrot purée that I'm gonna blend up
and pass through chinoise.
And what'd you think the balls were?
You know, it was toss up between carrot and sweet potato.
I just felt like the way that it broke
when I smashed it with my spoon
reminded me a little bit more of carrots.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
How are we doing, potato?
All right, Bill.
How's it going?
I forgot a lot of my ingredients today.
I gotta work with the hand I dealt myself.
Okay, so let's just talk about this.
Yeah, I got my couscous steaming.
Is that what you tasted on Gordon's dish?
I thought it was, but I realized it was cauliflower.
So I really screwed up on that.
I'm gonna leave you to it.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef. Thank you.
I think the Jolly Green Giant, he's gonna surprise us.
- Terry, how's it going? - Very good, Chef.
You're a handyman, so you're constantly multitasking.
Are you confident?
Yes, Chef. I love whenever the pressure comes.
I step up to the challenge.
Tell me about the fish. What'd you get?
Well, I got halibut, Chef.
- Right. What's in here? - That's the sweet potato, Chef.
So you thought the balls around the outside were sweet potato.
I thought they were.
- Cooking is important to you, right? ‭- Without a doubt, Chef.
It's my-- It's everything for me.
I'm more than excited to learn.
And I don't want to go anywhere.
Well, focus and concentrate.
You've got just under 15 minutes, good luck.
Thank you.
- Nathan. - Hi.
You were on the chopping block
during the mystery box challenge,
how are you feeling about this challenge?
I can't believe I'm replicating a Gordon Ramsay dish.
But I do believe I'm gonna be the person who nails it.
What do you think the fish was?
I've got halibut.
I've eaten a lot of fish, my dad's a big fisherman.
He'd go down to Florida several times a year and fish.
And I have had halibut.
- Okay. Good luck, Nathan. - Thank you, Chef.
Ten minutes to go.
There you go, Shaun.
So many of them are coming up
to the crucial moment of putting the fish in the pan.
All right, who's looking good?
Terry's fish looks amazing.
He's got the right fish. He's got the halibut.
He's got the cauliflower in there,
that Yukon Gold and that sweet potatoes.
So he looks like he's on track.
I'm losing it.
D'Andre, I gotta say,
- Damn. - I just don't know
that over the course of 60 minutes,
he's gonna be able to recreate.
What is Bill doing?
He's got a big mound of Israeli couscous
that he tried to steam in a bamboo steamer.
Geez.
Gordon Ay-yai-yai.
Now, Dan just flipped his fish.
Every scale bar two fell off.
A lot of the ingredients are spot on,
but the technique just isn't there.
- Fire. - Really, fireman?
Is there a fireman in the house?
Two and half minutes to go.
Come on, finesse.
Come on, guys.
Get some food on the plate, please, Bill.
One minute to go.
Oh, my God, Bill.
Remember, at least one of you is going home.
based on the replication of Gordon's dish.
Oh, my God!
Ten, nine, eight,
- seven, six, five, - Oh, my God.
four, three, two, one.
And stop. Hands in the air.
- Good job, guys! - Oh, my God.
Great job, guys.
In tonight's challenge, we asked you to recreate
Gordon's extremely detailed dish
without a recipe.
My dish was
an amazing Yukon Gold scaled...
halibut.
I knew it was halibut.
Underneath that was a fragrant cauliflower couscous.
Around the outside was caramelized sweet potatoes.
Matched with a parsnip purée.
Garnished with sugar snapped peas
and garlic flowers.
And then surrounding that a vinaigrette.
We were asking you home cooks to replicate
a three Michelin starred dish.
Whoa
Now it's time to find out
just how close your plates were to Gordon's.
Let's start off with the youngest tonight.
Nathan, let's go.
This is my last shot at redemption.
I barely made it by in the last challenge
and I cannot be in the bottom again
or I am for sure going home.
You've just come out of the bottom three
with a lacklust potato dish.
Yes, we threw you in the deep end.
Yes, we put you up against trying to replicate
a three Michelin star dish.
However, I'm looking for potential.
This looks...
You've just come out of the bottom three
with a lacklust potato dish.
This looks...
stunning.
Thank you, Chef.
- Nice job, Nathan. - Really good.
Describe the dish.
I have for you a Yukon Gold scaled halibut.
With cauliflower couscous with olive oil vinaigrette sauce
and carrots instead of sweet potatoes.
- Visually, it looks beautiful. Let's get that right. - Thank you, Chef.
In terms of of the proportion against my dish,
you've got the right amount of couscous on there.
The grain is spot on.
Inside the couscous, you've got what?
Um, capers, lemon zest, dill and the cauliflower.
Nathan, it's good.
Fish, nice and moist.
Crispy potatoes. Beautifully seasoned.
Got a few things wrong, carrots aren't on there.
Needs a bit more sauce.
But had you got that right, young man,
you would've nailed it, 100 percent.
I can guarantee you, you're not going home tonight.
- Thank you very much, Chef. - Great job.
What a comeback.
Go Nathan!
- How are you feeling? - I'm feeling great, Chef.
You feeling emotional?
- Yes, Chef. - Why?
You know, when I plated that first dish,
I was really disappointed with myself
earlier this evening.
Growing up I was bullied a lot
for things like being immature,
and it hit me that I was not gonna leave this challenge
with the last words being "immature."
So I wanted to come back.
Nathan, if Wolfgang Puck
could see you now...
he would be as proud as we are.
Thank you, Chef.
That vinaigrette, so bright, so vibrant.
Right fish, right couscous.
Gordon Ramsay has just said you got close
to his three Michelin star dish.
What do you say now to all those people
who say you're immature, say you can't do it?
I say, they're wrong, 100 percent.
- I say they're wrong too. - Thank you, Chef.
You really stepped it up.
- Nice job. - Thank you very much, Chef.
Good job, Nathan.
Wow, what a start.
Next up, Bill.
Even though I grabbed limited ingredients,
I know I got the right fish.
I just hope I executed properly.
- Bill, - Yes, Chef.
describe the dish, please.
I have a Yukon Gold encrusted halibut
on a bed of citrus couscous
with sweet potatoes and peas.
I had pretty much the ingredients.
Are you serious? When you get an opportunity
to go into that MasterChef pantry,
it is a chance for you to show off.
It looks like you went in there on a budget.
Why Israeli couscous? When you tasted my dish,
did you honestly think that was couscous?
- No purée? - No purée.
- No sauce? - No sauce.
Yes, you got the right fish, granted.
But I'm only gonna judge you on what you give me to eat.
- Yes, Chef. - Come on, Bill.
Next up, Eric.
Yeah, go Eric!
All right, Eric.
Tonight, I have for you a fingerling scaled halibut
over a white carrot couscous,
snap peas, caramelized carrots
and a parsnip purée.
You got a nice color on those potato scales.
The purée is spot on.
But your dish played a little bit more to the sweeter notes.
Gordon used cauliflower as his couscous,
and you used white carrot.
Definitely not perfect,
but technique-wise, we can see the pursuit of finesse in your dish.
- Strong effort. - Appreciate it, thank you.
- Good job, Eric! - Good job, Eric!
Next up, David.
Yeah, David!
I have a Yukon Gold potato scaled sea bass
with a cauliflower couscous,
carrots, parsnip purée,
sugar snap peas,
with a citrus fish stock vinaigrette.
Fish was the wrong fish. Sea bass instead of halibut, but nice cook on it.
Scales could be a little bit more finessed.
Parsnip purée, nice job.
- Thank you. - Not a lot of guys got that.
Next up, D'Andre, please.
Let's go.
The judges have to eat this dish
and I don't wanna serve it to them.
I ran out of time and I know I didn't put my best foot forward.
Walking down here shaking your head
doesn't give Christina and I much confidence.
Describe the dish, please.
We have a fingerling crusted sea bass
with a cauliflower couscous, caramelized carrots
and a cauliflower root and white carrot purée.
What's the dribble around the outside?
That was my vinaigrette, I didn't have time to spoon it in the way that I wanted to.
I didn't have time to the tourné the carrots. I don't know.
It wasn't even a carrot.
This was not my best effort today.
The carrots are like bullets.
Wrong fish, but at least I thought
you would have done it justice
and cooked it beautifully.
You're quite a cool, vibrant young man.
So you've got a bit of style and panache about you.
But I don't see it on the plate.
Next up, Terry.
Go Terry!
You got it, dude!
Chef, I have Yukon Gold crusted halibut
on top of a bed of cauliflower couscous
garnished with a sweet potato
and a squash purée.
Flavorwise, it's light, it's bright.
Nice seasoning in the potatoes.
The sweet potato, I would love to see them
glazed just a little bit more of that butter in the pan.
But it shows everything we were looking for,
technique, flavor, potential.
Thank you, Chef.
Does your family know you can cook like this?
Um, no, I have never cooked anything
that spectacular for them.
But what I wanna do is hang up my handyman belt definitely
and open up a restaurant.
Good, because you aren't going anywhere
with a dish like this.
- Oh, thank you guys. - Nice job.
Thank you, Chef.
Good job, Terry!
- Dan, let's go. - All righty.
I've never cooked anything this complicated in my life.
But I've got a college degree,
I'm one of the best students here.
I mean, I can't screw this up.
Chefs, I don't think I nailed it,
but I do think I did a pretty good job.
Dan, you may wow the ladies
and flash your teeth, your smile,
but that doesn't really work for me.
We have a lot of pressure on our shoulders
to find America's next MasterChef.
And that...
just looks like fish
sat on a frat party bag of puke.
- Dan. - All righty.
Let's go.
Chefs, I don't think I nailed it,
but I do think I did a pretty good job.
Dan, that looks terrible.
Describe your mess.
I made a pan seared and roasted halibut,
with Yukon Gold potatoes,
cauliflower couscous,
cauliflower purée
and butter glazed sweet potatoes.
You got the fish right. Cauliflower right.
And then you go and screw it up
by throwing a liter of stock on there.
It looks like you've [bleep] on my plate.
It does.
It's not funny.
I hope you're not here as some kind of goofball.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
- But are you serious about this competition? - Yes.
You're not taking it seriously enough.
Because that scares the crap out of me.
Thank you.
I'm looking at this as a life lesson.
I wanna show America that I'm serious.
Just 'cause I'm a frat guy doesn't mean I can't cook.
All right, guys, some of you
really impressed us tonight.
There were two particularly stunning dishes.
The first home cook showed us great technique.
with his gigantic hands.
- Terry! - Big T!
But the winning dish tonight...
- Nathan. - Oh, my gosh!
Thank you, Chef.
Both of you will now become captains
in our next big team challenge.
Congratulations to you both.
- Well done. - Thank you.
Now, I've got some bad news.
At least one person will be leaving
the MasterChef kitchen tonight.
The first home cook,
please come down to the front.
Bill.
The old saying, "if you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen."
This might be the day
that I'm gonna have to get out of the kitchen.
But maybe I can squeeze by this.
The second disappointment,
D'Andre. Make your way down here.
Two very different home cooks.
Bill, 62, from Pauma Valley, California.
D'Andre, 25, from Las Vegas.
Bill, you were lost tonight.
And you can't go missing,
especially not in an elimination challenge.
D'Andre, your plate was devoid
of potential and finesse.
That's something that we expect of you
every single day that you're in this kitchen.
D'Andre, please step forward.
Tonight, D'Andre, you tell me,
are you staying or are you going?
I feel like I was born to be here.
I feel like I can do better because I know I've done better.
- I've-- - Cut the [bleep].
Sure.
Are you staying or are you going?
I'm staying, Chef.
D'Andre,
that's the only thing you got right tonight.
Back to your station.
I feel like the luckiest person
in the world.
Going forward, I have to make sure
that I shine and perform under pressure.
Bill, you may be a sweet guy,
but you are dead set in your old ways.
- Yes, Chef. - And you know what they say.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks.
Please, take off your apron.
And exit the MasterChef kitchen.
- It's been great. - Thank you, Bill.
Good night.
I came here to prove that no matter how old you are,
if you have a passion for something,
you have to pursue it.
See you guys, I love you guys.
- Bye, Bill. - Love you, Bill.
Love you.
I was given the opportunity to pursue that passion
and MasterChef has really opened my eyes
to what is available, even for a guy my age.
Thank you.
Next week, wedding bells are ringing.
Nick Nappi is getting married.
Make this day a day to remember.
Yes, chef!
The top 18 face the biggest challenge...
Come on!
...of their lives.
- Gotta bring it down a little bit. - Do you wanna wear this?
- But the commitment gives some home cooks... - Oh, my God.
- Move, move. - ...cold feet.
- Nathan! - Nathan, stop!
- And the celebration may end... - Smell that.
- ...before it begins. - It's raw.
We're about to screw the wedding.
I'm done.
Sync & corrections: Ajvngou www.addic7ed.com