Previously on MasterChef.
Nick Nappi is getting married.
Make this day a day to remember.
Yes, chef!
When the top 18 catered the big day...
Let's go! Let's go! Let's go!
...it was Barbara's costly mistake...
You can't cook them now.
We're about to screw the wedding!
...that led to a red team victory...
...and her MasterChef exit.
Tonight...
Please welcome back Claudia.
...a champion's mystery box...
Oh.
- Oh my God. - Whoa.
What is that?
...delivers winning results...
You could go all the way.
It's one of the best dishes I've ever seen in this competition, ever.
...and a baking challenge...
What a mess.
Wow. Looks like an oil slick.
...that becomes a nightmare.
That scares the crap out of me.
Whoa!
- Whoo. - Let's do this.
Hey.
I'm super excited to be
one of the top 17 home cooks in America.
When I decided to give up my job at the credit union,
I knew I was going to be all or nothing.
Welcome, guys.
Hello.
But you know, other than my battle,
I haven't like really had an opportunity to shine.
I need to prove to the judges that I'm the one to invest in.
You've already worked with the legendary Wolfgang Puck,
and tonight, we have another phenomenal chef
and guest judge from the culinary world.
Actually, tonight, we'll be welcoming not one but two great chefs.
Wow.
First up is one of America's leading contemporary Latin chefs.
Ooh.
He's a critically acclaimed James Beard award winning chef.
Please welcome...
Chef Aarón Sánchez, everybody.
How you guys doing?
Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome.
You've got a fan club.
I'm literally jumping out of my skin right now.
Aarón Sánchez is like the top of top Latino chefs.
I'm like, what?
Being first generation Cuban American,
I can't wait to cook for him.
Very good to see you. It's an absolute pleasure.
How's it feel to be here judging
in the MasterChef kitchen?
This for me is an opportunity
to really share with you guys my culinary path.
It really starts at home.
My whole goal in life is to cook 50 percent as good as my grandma
and 50 percent as good as my Mom, and I'll be in good shape.
So I hope you guys know what a special opportunity is before you.
So go and get it.
Wow.
Our next guest shares many similarities
with Aarón in terms of heritage and cuisine,
but unlike Aarón,
the next chef has been in our kitchen before.
Please welcome back to the MasterChef kitchen...
Oh, my gosh!
...America's reigning MasterChef champion...
Yes.
...Claudia.
- Whoo! - Yay!
So good to see you.
Claudia, welcome home.
It's good to be home.
What have you been up to across the last 12 months?
The last 12 months have been absolutely incredible.
I've gotten to be a guest chef in Chicago at a Michelin Star restaurant,
been doing a bazillion different popup dinners.
Wow!
And of course, working on this beauty,
which I'm really, really proud of.
Amazing.
Tonight, Claudia has handpicked
all of the ingredients under your mystery boxes.
All right, guys. On the count of three,
lift those mystery boxes.
One, two, three, lift.
Whoa.
- Awesome. - Oh, my God.
I'm sure it's no surprise
that Claudia has filled your mystery boxes
with her favorite Latin inspired ingredients.
Being from Venezuela,
I'm very excited about this challenge,
but then I realized the pressure's on me.
I'm the one who has to cook the best meal, of course.
The Latin guy.
To show you just what Latin chefs
can do with those ingredients
in front of you, Claudia and Aarón Sánchez
will be cooking alongside all of you tonight.
Wow.
That's so cool.
Chefs, would you take to your stations?
Thank you.
Your 60 minutes starts...
now.
Latin inspired mystery box.
Big, bold, bright, exciting flavors.
Remember, the seeds have all the heat, honey.
- Okay. - All right.
Who do you think should nail it?
I think the obvious choice is Alejandro.
Being Venezuelan, Latin cuisine is somewhat in his wheelhouse.
I saw his face light up when Aarón walked in.
Yes.
Two phenomenal professional chefs
cooking in front of our 17 amateurs.
It doesn't get any better than that in terms of inspiration.
I want to stop and watch him cook, but I know I can't.
Got two of the best chefs in the world in front of us,
and just being able to cook in front of him is quite an honor.
So, I'm going to do a little surf and turf taco.
I'm making masa tortillas for the first time,
but the only way to become the next MasterChef
is to push myself to the limit.
So this fireman's going to take these fire ingredients to the next level.
I'm making a green poblano rice with a dried chili shrimp
and pickled mango.
There's not a lot of places to eat where we live,
but we have a great Mexican restaurant that my kids love to eat at.
We have it probably two or three nights a week.
So this dish is for my kids today.
Focus, focus, focus.
I'm making marinated flank steak
with lemon cilantro rice and pineapple puree.
I'm from San Diego,
so I live in the area with a really high Latino population
so this is the type of food that I love to eat
so I don't feel any pressure.
Right behind you.
Just coming up to 15 minutes gone.
Chef, how are you feeling?
I'm doing fantastic, Gordon.
Tell us about the dish. What are you doing?
I'm going to do actually a play on a wonderful classic dish from Veracruz
called mojo de ajo which is basically a roasted garlic puree
that's going to have a base of chilies for the shrimp
and then I'm going to do a little pickled vegetable salad
with some cactus or nopales.
Excellent. Just under 45 minutes.
Absolutely. Good luck, Aarón.
Claudia, what are you making, love?
I'm making my version of a pescado zarandeado.
Pescado zarandeado is like a grilled fish.
I'm using garlic and onion and some ancho chilies,
almost like a barbecue sauce if you will,
but a Mexican spicy one.
That sounds amazing.
- You good, Claudia? - I'm doing great. Thank you.
Tanorria, tell me about the dish, what you're doing.
I'm going to do a cilantro lime shrimp
over a roasted poblano cream corn.
Now, you're from Tennessee.
- Chatanooga. - Yes, sir.
How familiar are you with these ingredients?
I am very familiar.
Rice and corn, that is Tennessee.
This dish actually...
my grandmother and my mom both make a very southern version.
So I'm just going to be adding some Mexican flare.
Good luck.
Aw, son of a bitch.
Less than 30 minutes to go, guys. Speed up!
- All right, Andrea. - Hi, Christina. How's it going?
I'm good.
I'm very curious as to how you feel about this mystery box.
I'm from Miami.
So these are all ingredients I have in my backyard.
So I'm like... I'm feeling really good.
What's going on here?
So yeah. I'm doing a very light egg white coating.
I roasted the poblano, stuffed it with queso fresco.
Oh, it's stuffed with queso fresco.
Exactly.
And I want to pair it with Spanish rice and spot prawn al ajillo.
Interesting. All right. Good luck, mama.
Thank you.
Beautiful!
Alejandro, how are you doing?
Yes, sir. So-so. I've been better.
Come on. I mean, Aarón Sánchez, Claudia back.
- I understand. - This is in your wheelhouse, Venezuelan.
I'm working on arepas which is a classic Venezuelan...
Stuffed sort of feta bread.
- Exactly. - What do you put in there?
I'm filling it three ways.
One is what we call in Venezuela domino,
which is a black bean and white cheese.
Yes.
The other one I'm going to make steak,
and I'm going to try to see if I have
enough time to make my last one a seafood.
- Right. Good luck. - Thank you.
Smells amazing.
Wow. The smell, the flame.
Aarón looks incredible, multitasking.
Claudia, cool as a cucumber.
Every single one of these dishes is going to pack a punch.
60 seconds to go!
Last minute! Come on, guys!
Chef Aarón is also tasting your dishes.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
And stop! Hands in the air!
Nice job!
MasterChef winner, Claudia's new cookbook,
"Claudia's Cocina, A Taste of Mexico,"
features a modern twist on family inspired Mexican dishes
straight from her kitchen to yours.
Order now at fox.com/masterchef or wherever books are sold.
- Here we go. - Let's go, guys.
Five, four, three, two, one!
And stop! Hands in the air!
Whoo!
- Oh, crap. - Well done!
Aarón, Claudia, those dishes look incredible.
Please, both of you, bring your dishes up.
- Thank you. - Whoo!
- Amazing. - Stunning!
Claudia, that looks beautiful. Describe the dish please.
Of course. This is pescado zarandeado
served over a tomatillo and cilantro rice and grilled cactus.
Stunning dish.
Thank you.
Chef Aarón, what'd you make tonight?
So I just actually did two preparations. I did one...
- Two eparations? - Yeah. Two preparations.
Hey, man, you gave me a lot of time.
Not to--
So we have spot prawns of mojo de ajo
which is just a puree of roasted garlic
and then I made my own shrimp stock with those heads.
And then over here, put a nice aggressive seasoning on that skirt steak,
cooked it to medium rare,
served it with a cactus salad and then a little chimichurri
or fresh salsa of tomatillo and roasted corn.
Claudia and Aarón's dishes look amazing.
I absolutely want to get to the Claudia and Aarón Sánchez level someday.
Watching them work in the kitchen is like a work of art.
Chef Aarón, it's unbelievable.
Thank you.
- That, Claudia, delicious. - Thank you.
All of you join us
in giving this amazing lady a great send off.
- Thank you, my darling. - Thank you so much.
I feel like it just wasn't that long ago
that she was standing here in my shoes.
Bye.
And I kind of see myself in Claudia
because she's a mother as well.
She cooks for her family.
So it really makes me think that I can go the next step too.
Now, as you guys know over those 60 minutes as you cook
we taste, we ask questions to really understand
what's going on at each of your stations.
Now, there are three dishes
that we want to take a closer look at.
The first dish we'd like to bring forward...
this home cook was able to use more than one protein.
They stayed really true to themselves,
to their heritage by putting themselves on the plate.
Please step forward...
Alejandro.
Ale--
Arepas are a staple of our culture.
Venezuelans are arepas.
So this is my time to shine right now.
All right, Alejandro.
Please describe your dish.
So these are pumpkin seed arepas three ways.
One of them is a seafood mix with red snapper and shrimp
and the other is black beans and white cheese
and the last one is mango salsa and skirt steak.
So you use some of the fish and the shrimp?
Yes.
In one?
Um. Great heat there. What kind of seasoning?
I used cilantro, parsley, butter, olive oil, a little bit of garlic.
The arepa shell itself has such a great balance
of salt and pumpkin seed.
I love that you took like the standard every day fare
of Venezuela and you made it your own.
- Nice job. - Yes, ma'am. Thank you, Chef.
I think the corn flavor itself...
the fact that you were able to toast it
gives that beautiful sweetness and that nuttiness
that this kind of masa needs desperately.
So I appreciate that aspect of it.
I think the flavor profile for me is very straight forward.
The sofrito, the peppers, the onions,
the lime juice, the butter.
That adds much needed moisture to this arepa.
I think that was a smart move on your part.
You got a home run.
- Thank you, chef. - Thank you.
- Good job, Alejandro. - Thank you.
Our second dish that we want to have a much closer look at
is a very colorful plate,
stunning presentation.
The heat across that dish,
just gives a little insight into how smart the individual is.
Please step forward...
Tanorria.
- Yeah, T! - Yay!
I made a southern American comfort dish
that I've been cooking for as long as I can remember.
I put myself on that plate,
and that's the plate that's going to win today.
Visually, beautiful. Describe the dish please.
I made for you a cilantro lime roasted shrimp
with a roasted poblano cream corn,
black beans and rice and an avocado crema.
Why keep the shells on?
It's absolutely beautiful,
and I think you're really going to enjoy
the cook of the shrimp with the shells on as well.
How did you cook them?
I tossed them with cilantro, lime zest and juice,
chili lime seasoning and smoked paprika.
The presentation's got that wow factor.
However, when you serve them whole like that,
they're awkward to eat because you've polished the dish up.
And yet you served it as if the shell should be off.
Right.
But flavor... this is the exciting thing about you.
The dish is delicious.
Love the heat in there as well.
Pretty good indeed. If this is a sign of things to come... yeah.
It's bloody delicious. Well done. Thank you.
Thank you, chef.
I'm just going to go in there with my hand.
Sure.
These prawns are super sweet,
and you're able to put the right amount of seasoning,
lime, all the things that really bring out
the inherent flavor of the actual shellfish.
Thank you, Chef.
The corn has great seasoning.
Everything is thoughtful, right amount of cumin,
a little bit of heat with the cayenne.
Nothing is competing against one another,
and I think that for me is remarkable.
Thank you.
Good job, Tanorria.
Good job.
The third and final dish
that we want to take a look at
impressed us immediately with technique.
It has beautifully, beautifully cooked shrimp.
This dish belongs to...
...Andrea.
Whoo!
Oh my God!
I not only proved myself last challenge,
but now Aarón Sánchez is calling my name
as one of the top three dishes.
Ah!
So apparently you've already won one of these mystery box challenges.
So this is like no big deal for you.
Just another day at the office, right?
No, my heart's racing.
So talk to me a little bit about your dish.
This is a spot prawn al ajillo
over some Spanish rice with some grilled cactus.
And on the side a roasted poblano
stuffed with queso fresco.
And I know it's kind of weird, but breaded in egg white.
That's actually not weird at all.
- Really? - No.
That's the traditional way in Mexico that you make chile rellenos.
- Cool. Thank you. - So your instincts were spot on.
I'm just going to get in there with my hands.
You have a beautiful seasoning on the shrimp itself.
- Okay. - You have a lot of spice,
a lot of richness in this cheese chile relleno.
- I think this is awesome. - Thank you.
I think you could have put one more ingredient in these nopales.
Dress it with some red onion, some radish.
- Mmm-hmm. - Kind of make this more of a focal point
and a fresh element, something to break up all the richness and the spice.
But that chile relleno in the rice, man,
memorable bites.
Thank you, Chef. It's an honor.
No, The honor's mine.
The rice is intense.
It's a lot of heat there.
I like the nopales.
It brings an acidity to the dish that helps balance.
The chile relleno is by far my favorite part.
- Thank you. - The execution of it is really well done.
I think the spot prawns are delicious.
I just wish they were more garlic
because I think that would have really sealed the deal.
But overall, you wowed me.
- Thank you. - Good job, Dre.
Good job, Dre.
Ow!
Wow.
All three of you made some really brilliant dishes.
Unfortunately, there can only be one winner.
The home cook with the best dish of the night
and a huge advantage in the next challenge...
I'm talking huge...
The winner is...
The home cook with the best dish of the night.
Congratulations, I'm super impressed.
Tanorria.
Whoo!
Oh my gosh. Is this really happening?
An American southern comfort food cook
won a mystery box for Latin flavors?
What is that?
Let's go into the MasterChef pantry.
The competition better watch out
because I know a little bit more than the south.
Tanorria, this is where you get the opportunity
to take control of the competition.
You get to choose what everyone else is going to have to cook.
We'd thought we'd make your victory as sweet as possible
with a dessert challenge.
- Okay. - My favorite dessert
represents one of life's
most simple, yet comforting pleasures.
Pies.
Now, I love pies of any description,
all shapes and sizes, flavors and varieties.
Now, if you pick this one,
not a single person will get any imperfections past me.
Now, even if you don't have a sweet tooth as big as Christina's,
everyone on the planet can appreciate one of my favorite desserts...
puddings, the ultimate indulgence.
The opportunities to elevate a pudding dish are endless,
but it takes a lot of technique and skill.
And they're very easy to get wrong.
Absolutely.
Next up, we have my favorite classic dessert.
Trust me. I can't get enough of these.
- I just love puffs. - Oh wow.
Exquisite puff pastries all based on that French patachou.
They are decadent and utterly delicious.
But not everyone can pull off a puff.
All right, Tanorria. It's time to make your decision.
Which one of these classic, stunning desserts are you going to choose
for everyone else out there to cook tonight?
Pies, puddings or puffs?
This is not going to be an easy decision,
but I know one of those desserts,
there's so many technical errors that can go wrong.
It's going to show who's really strong and who's really weak.
I choose...
What'd you do to us?
This is fantastic!
Back in the pantry, Tanorria got some major advantages.
First and foremost, Tanorria does not have to cook
in tonight's challenge.
And for Tanorria's second advantage of the night,
she got to choose between pies, puddings or puffs.
Tanorria chose...
...pie.
I feel like I'm definitely
in my element right now
because back in Kentucky I bake apple pie,
sweet potato pie, pumpkin pie.
I'm used to making pies.
Now, you'll have 75 minutes
to make us your stunning masterpiece.
- Tanorria? - Yes, chef.
What's the view like from way up there?
The view is pretty fantastic.
I can stay up here all day.
Good, because there is a third advantage.
What?
At the end of 75 minutes, Tanorria will get to select
three home cooks to spare from elimination.
I love you.
Are you ready to cook us the pies of your life?
Yes, chef.
Your time starts now!
Please don't knock me down.
We have heels on!
Whoops, sorry.
I love to bake. I baked before I could cook.
Baking is a way for me to relieve stress
and also to be able to bond with my daughter.
Anyone see cinnamon over here?
Stay true to your roots, and you'll find everything you need.
Behind.
Growing up in North Carolina,
I was never baking things as a child.
I've never baked a pie in my life.
Let's go!
Watch your step!
So I'm going to have to channel
my Aunt Bobbie Kay's old recipe,
a country style berry pie with a cream cheese pie crust.
Come on, pie!
So I'm making a blackberry, blueberry pie
with a brown sugar oatmeal crumble.
I've never made this before, but I'm ready to prove to everybody
that this firefighter can do more than cook savory.
I'm here to bake too.
Tanorria, I miss you over here.
Sorry, boo.
Christina, give us the A to Z of a perfect pie.
Great pie always starts with a great crust.
You take flour, some sugar, a little salt,
some sort of fat...
I like to use butter.
From there, it's all about the filling.
Right on target.
I'm going to make a blueberry pie today with a nice lattice top.
When I was a kid in New York,
I used to eat them like there was no tomorrow
to the point that I got sick of them after a while.
But I'm back. I love blueberry pie.
Excited to make one today.
You sure you're not missing this, Tanorria?
I'm totally okay with being up here.
50 minutes remaining, guys.
Dough done.
This isn't going.
Pie is looking pretty sexy.
David, how are you feeling?
- I'm feeling good, chef. - What are you doing? What's this?
I am making a cherry pie with every kind of cherry you can imagine.
You are one of the best poker players anywhere in the world.
So you are a strategist.
What is your MasterChef strategy?
To fly under the radar, make sure I'm never targeted,
make sure no one finds me a threat until it's too late.
Good luck.
The best looking pie in the world.
It's lattice time.
- Brittany, how's it going? - It's going good.
What are you doing with pie tonight?
I'm going to make a strawberry rhubarb pie.
Rhubarb? That's a challenging ingredient.
I grew up on a farm in upstate New York,
so rhubarb and strawberries and all these berries...
I'm very familiar with them, seen this made a million times.
Strawberries have a lot of water.
And when they cook down, they get a little wet and mushy
so make sure that pie crust is not too thick and not too thin,
just right for the balance.
Thank you very much.
Less than 40 minutes to go, guys.
If your pie is not yet in the oven, it needs to be there.
Where the hell does the time go?
I'm like a mess over here.
How do I keep it from being so mushy?
Lisa-Ann, tell me about the pie. What are you doing?
I'm making a blueberry mint raspberry pie.
- Nice. - With some mascarpone cheese,
which is something completely different
and something I've never really done before.
- Is that it there? - Yeah.
It looks terrible.
Okay.
It looks like an oil slick.
Oh, that's bad.
All right, Lisa-Ann. Tell me about the pie. What are you doing?
So I'm making a blueberry mint raspberry pie.
- Nice. - With some mascarpone cheese.
- Is that it there? - Yeah.
It looks terrible.
It's a high concentrated fat, mascarpone.
- Okay, - So it could separate.
Oh, that's bad.
I don't know what to do.
The best thing to do, tip out carefully,
and maybe think about the mascarpone on top at the end.
Okay.
Let's go! 35 minutes remaining.
I got to get this pie in the oven.
It needs to be in there ten minutes ago.
Don't touch it. Don't touch it. Don't touch it.
Miss Brandi Mud.
- Hello. - What do you got working?
I been smelling all kinds of flavors.
This is bacon maple pecan.
So I'm taking a very southern apple pie, and I'm elevating it.
It's got cheddar cheese, maple in it.
My kids... the one topping
that we can all agree on is cheese.
And this cheddar cheese apple pie is your standout moment?
Yes. I don't really want to be safe
because I want you to taste my pie,
and I want you to love it.
Just under ten minutes to go.
Some fantastic looking pies out there.
Terry is in the game.
That guy bakes with the eyes closed.
He's covered that lattice top with aluminum foil
so that it doesn't burn while the rest of the pie bakes.
Smart. Brittany over there,
she has a beautiful lattice threading on the top.
I mean, visually I think it looks great.
Perfect.
Two and a half minutes to go.
Dan's pie is out of the oven.
He's taken scissors to it.
Never seen that one before.
David's got his pie out of the oven.
Doesn't seem to have a great crust on it.
I don't think it's cooked all the way through.
60 seconds to go!
And for at least one of you,
your last time cooking inside the MasterChef kitchen!
Get as much bacon on this as you can.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
Stop! Hands in the air!
Great job, everybody. Well done.
- Tanorria? - Yes, chef.
We promised you that third advantage.
Each one of these spoons represents safety
to whomever you choose to hand it to.
Tanorria, please make your way down
and pass on your wooden spoons.
I need this wooden spoon from Tanorria
because this, hands down, has to be the worst pie
I've probably ever made in my entire life.
Who wants a spoon?
Brittany.
Isn't it cute?
Is it sweet enough to get a spoon?
- Yes. I'm sweet enough. - No.
- You're not getting a spoon. - Oh!
I'm in complete control.
Their fate is up to me.
- Do you want a spoon? - Yeah, sure.
Okay, good, because you're not getting one.
- Brandi. - I don't want a spoon.
- You're not getting one. - Thank you.
I have no id when I'm going to get an opportunity
to have this much control again.
Diana.
Miss Tanorria.
I'm going to use this opportunity wisely.
That pie would send you home today, and I want to beat you later.
Thank you very much, love.
Diana, make your way up to the balcony.
My strategy is to save the people that cooked a poor pie.
I can guarantee you'll be here another week
because I'm giving you a spoon.
Yes!
They're just going to send themselves home later.
One more spoon.
Lisa-Ann.
I know it doesn't look exactly right.
So you're hoping that the taste wins you victory?
Along with a spoon.
You should keep hoping for taste.
She's brutal.
- Hi, David. - How you doing?
Is your pie super juicy?
Yeah. I couldn't get my juice to thicken.
A spoon would help to make sure I don't have to worry about that.
Such a charmer. Asking for my spoon.
- I love you. - Wow.
All right.
Let's start off with Brandi.
I'm feeling so excited right now.
I used a lot of unique flavors to elevate my pie.
I don't feel like I've shown my southern flavor so far in this competition.
I really want the judges to see what the food tastes like where I've come from.
Describe the pie, please.
I made a Granny Smith apple and cheddar cheese pie
with maple bacon and pecan on top.
My kids love to take their bacon
and dip it in maple syrup when they're eating breakfast.
Oh.
Jeez.
I just hope that those kids are in bed right now.
They're not. They're watching this.
You let them watch horror movies?
Because that scares the crap out of me.
Jeez.
Oh.
I just hope that those kids are in bed right now.
They're not. They're watching this.
You let them watch horror movies?
Because that scares the crap out of me.
Why Granny Smith?
Because they're tart.
It's an apple that's unforgiving.
It doesn't cook down that well.
Let's have a look underneath. Look at that.
- I know. - A big damp patch.
Mmm-hmm.
Everybody constantly talks about your passion,
and I know you've got it.
But I think this has been one of the biggest disasters
you've cooked in this competition so far.
You've got one foot out the door,
and I'd be mortified to lose you in this competition.
- Thank you. - Dang.
Look, I don't mind the amount of cheese
that's going on with the apples.
I think what's unfortunate about this
is that the undercooking of the pie dough
also emphasizes the undercookedness of the apple.
So now I'm looking at two elements that are underdone.
Thank you very much, Brandi.
Thank you.
I'm feeling like junk.
I've done so well in this competition so far.
I feel like I stepped into my comfort zone and completely screwed up.
Our next home cook,
a handyman who also likes to bake.
Terry, come on up.
- All right. - Terry!
- Let's go, Terry! - Yeah, Terry!
Terry, what kind of pie did you make?
This is a good old American blueberry pie,
Chef, that I grew up with.
It has a nice buttery crust.
Here I also added a little bit of raw sugar on the top.
The moment of truth, Terry.
Is the pie slice beautiful as the pie?
I mean, Terry. It's beautiful!
Way to go, Terry!
It's shiny. It's glistening.
The blueberries are inviting you in.
The sugar in there has been cooked down.
It's just stunning.
If you ask me, with that slice of pie, you could go all the way.
Oh, boy. Thank you, Chef.
Beautiful!
Put your hand out.
Your hands are bigger than the pie!
Look at it. I mean, seriously.
It is a piece of art.
What did you combine the blueberries with?
Put a little bit of lemon in there for some acidity.
I added some cornstarch and some sugar.
Taste it.
I shouldn't really do that, should I?
Here you go. Look.
You tell me what that tastes of?
It tastes pretty good, Chef.
Victory.
It's one of the best pies I've ever seen
in this competition ever, ever.
Terry!
Great job. Enjoy it.
- Thank you. - Well done.
Yeah, Terry!
Oh my gosh.
Next up, Lisa-Ann.
I'm scared.
Baking my pie was a disaster.
It looks terrible,
but I'm really hoping and praying to my Sicilian angels
up there that it tastes really good.
Talk to me about the filling.
So the filling is made with blueberries,
raspberries, and mint and a little bit of chocolate,
and I put a little bit of orange zest in there.
What I wanted to do was bring
my Sicilian Italian side into it
and kind of throw some mascarpone cheese in it.
It's a lot of flavors, Lisa-Ann.
- Ooh. - Um, so, crust is raw.
Okay.
Nice slice coming out of it.
Yeah. I'm surprised.
Your fruit needs a lot more sugar.
I don't think you need the mascarpone at all.
The mint can be gone.
The blood orange can be gone.
There are some things that work, but I can't tell if they're like
a surprise for you or if they're showing of some sort of promise.
- Thank you, Chef. - Yeah.
- Mmm-mmm. - Next up, Dan, please.
Let's go.
Here we go.
What's inside the pie?
This is a country berry pie with raspberries,
blackberries, along with a cream cheese pie crust.
It's actually quite nice.
Pastry's cooked beautifully.
It tastes really good, the pie is actually clean.
Tonight, somebody's going home.
And with that, you're definitely not going home.
- I'm seriously impressed. - Thank you, chef.
Eric.
Talk to me a little bit what you have inside.
We have a blackberry blueberry combo.
On top of that, we have a graham cracker brown
sugar oatmeal crumble,
some raspberries for a little taste on the outside as well.
I saw that come out.
That oat crust that you have on top,
it doesn't look like it's cooked enough.
Okay.
I think you have too many berries.
All those berries cook at different times
and have different water contents.
You can see the amount of liquid in there, Eric.
It's making me not want to go back for another bite.
Yes, Chef.
Mmm-mmm.
Last up, Brittany.
All right.
I think her pie looks awesome.
It's my favorite flavors. Strawberry rhubarb.
Describe the pie, please.
I did a strawberry and blueberry rhubarb pie
with a cinnamon crust.
Why strawberries and rhubarb?
My grandma used to make us pie out of them.
So this is definitely like an homage to my grandmother.
That's not good.
Not good at all.
There's nothing more disappointing to see something
that looks lovely and tastes bland.
You built me up, and you just kicked me in the nuts.
There's nothing more disappointing to see something
that looks lovely and tastes bland.
You built me up, and you just kicked me in the nuts.
Underneath, damp. I mean, really damp.
- You can see that, right? - Yeah, yeah.
So you've got watery strawberries,
undercooked rhubarb and undercooked base.
It needs way more flavor.
Okay.
It looks semi decent, but tastes terrible.
That was crazy.
I'm so happy I'm not down there.
Tell me about it.
I got to say some of those pies were pretty impressive,
and some, unfortunately not so good.
And we would be lying to say
that some of you are not flirting with elimination.
We have to have a little pow wow about this.
Give us a moment.
Some great ones out there.
Terry, how good was that?
- I mean... - Seriously, he made the best.
Are you kidding me?
- Picture perfect. - Incredible.
Couldn't be more textbook.
I get to enjoy it for tonight
and then tomorrow we all go back into the trenches, right?
Goes back to zero.
Dan is good. Is it a fluke, though?
I don't think he knows his own potential,
but I don't think that pie was a fluke at all.
- Yeah. - So the disasters,
Brandi's pie dough on the bottom was raw.
I killed it.
Like, killed it.
Eric's had a soupy mess at the end.
He chose too many berries,
and that streusel did not cook out.
I just pulled it way too early.
Had I left it in there another ten minutes,
it would have been fine.
Brittany's was inedible, though.
It wouldn't hold its shape.
The filling was disastrous.
The pastry was undercooked.
Ones that fell tonight really fell.
- Happy? Yeah? - Yeah.
- Let's go.
The best pie that completely wowed all three of us,
this person really cooks from the heart.
Brilliant job. Congratulations, Terry.
- Amazing. - Thank you, Chef.
- Good job, T! - Good job, Terry!
Big T!
Now, sadly for the bad news.
The three worst pies of the night.
The first home cook that we would like to bring down.
Pastry was soggy, and frankly showed their inexperience.
Please come down, Brittany.
The second worst dish, a bit of a shock for us
but please make your way forward, Eric.
The third and final home cook
who completely failed in execution tonight.
Please come down, Brandi.
All from different walks of life,
united by one dream,
to become America's next MasterChef.
Unfortunately, you can't all stay
here in the MasterChef competition.
- Eric. - Yes, Chef.
Please take one step forward.
Tonight, your pie had some big mistakes.
Concept and execution both let you down.
Eric, I'm sorry to say...
you need to say goodbye...
Yes, Chef.
Oh, no.
...to Brittany and Brandi.
- Go back to your station. - Oh, my God.
- Whew. -Becoming a firefighter was like winning
the lottery for me,
and it's the same thing here.
You got to get through lots of obstacles
to become the next MasterChef.
Eric, you got lucky.
Yes, Chef.
I'm ecstatic because I have another fighting chance to keep going,
and I won't give up until I win this competition.
You learn from your mistakes,
and you bounce back and do it better the next time.
Okay, ladies.
This is not pleasant for any of us.
One's staying and one's going home.
Brandi...
you're not going to see the kids in the classroom for a while
because we still believe in you.
But you have to bring you're A-game.
- Yes, Chef. - That is it.
Go back to your station, please.
Brittany, this is never easy. Let me tell you.
The pastry was incredibly raw.
The flavor was just not apparent.
Strong effort. Keep that head up high.
Thanks.
This was such an amazing experience.
It gave me so much purpose and so much worth.
I'm young. I'm 22 years old.
I'm a server from upstate New York, and being here,
I learned that food means so much more to me
than just bringing it to people.
Although it's sad and although I don't want to leave,
I'm excited to go home to a future in food.
Next week on MasterChef.
Cooking lobster is something that you go to culinary school for.
I'll show you how it's done.
Front row seats for a Gordon Ramsey master class.
Watching Gordon is like watching Mozart play the piano.
As the home cooks claw their way toward victory...
It looks like your lobster has been in a car crash.
...who will break out of their shell
and whose MasterChef dream will go...
Oh, my God!
...up in flames?
Sync & corrections: Ajvngou www.addic7ed.com