Narrator: Previously on MasterChef...
Oohh!
You all will have ingridients from your home states.
The first mystery box of the season...
sent three home cooks...
Syd, you didn't use your time wisely.
Sal, it was inedible.
Alecia, totally failed.
into a high-stakes elimination test...
- Whoo! - Go, guys. Let's go!
where Sal...
Too bad you cooked it medium
instead of medium-rare.
and Syd...
It's lacking seasoning.
The sauce is broke.
...saw their MasterChef dream
come to an end.
Tonight...
- Crabs! - ( cheering )
a Gordon Ramsay master class...
Oh, my gosh. Wow.
I have no idea how I'm gonna do this.
leaves the top 22...
- Oh! - ( squeals )
...shell-shocked. And...
The is the reason I gave you the pin.
while some home cooks break out of their shell...
- Pop! There we go. - others...
- Feel like I'm gonna faint. - ...crack under the pressure.
We hate to see people in our own apron walking out the door.
( cheering )
Hey! Hey! Yeah, we here, baby!
- Whoo! - We here!
I'm one of the top 22 home cooks in America.
I'm on cloud nine. I cannot be taken down.
Yeah! We here!
Something that I tell my students every single day,
is that if you put your mind to it, you can achieve it.
I'm really feeling that statement
in the MasterChef kitchen tonight.
Welcome back, everybody.
You are the best 22 home cooks in America.
- Whoo! - All right, guys,
your next challenge is what we call a skills test.
- ( sighs ) - ( murmuring )
Oh, no.
Tonight is all about one ingredient,
and it's best when it's 100% fresh.
Tonight, you will all have to work with...
- ...crabs! - ( cheering )
Oh, my God, it's freaking crabs.
- I'm allergic to all shellfish... - There you go.
...but I'm gonna put all this fear behind me,
and take this challenge head on.
Tonight, each of you will take one of these Dungeness crabs,
boil it, shuck it, and break it down.
- Oh, Lord. - And if you've never done it before,
don't worry, because I'm about to show you how.
Being from Arizona, man, we don't get crab very often.
I'm a little scared,
but Gordon fricking Ramsay is gonna show us
how to completely break down a Dungeness crab.
I'm beyond honored.
First off, salt the water.
Bring that up to a boil, grab the crab, and in she goes.
- 15 minutes. - Okay.
Undercooked, we're in trouble.
You're not gonna release that incredible meat from the shell.
Once it's done, hold it nice and firmly,
and straight in to ice water.
Submerge it in there, and from there we take it out,
and we start breaking it down.
Take off the legs, pull and twist.
Twist off.
Now, open up the purse. Thumbs underneath.
Lift that purse up there.
- Wow. - And then the body.
Knife in.
Now, over a tray,
you get your thumb and you flush out all this amazing crab,
every little ounce of it.
Now, for the legs.
First cut here,
and then open up the top and the bottom.
And then literally slide your finger through.
Beautiful. The secret is to get these out nice and whole.
Now, the claws-- twist, pull out the blade.
Really important. Then from there, knife.
- Twist. - Wow.
Finger in, pop out that beautiful claw.
- Damn. - And now we start to present it.
Get a touch of olive oil and lightly brush your shell,
and gently go over those claws.
The olive oil protects it and stops it from going dry.
Now, take your sweet meat.
It is super delicious.
The crab sits on top.
Then start putting the crab back together.
Come around. Finally, back legs on.
And that is how a true MasterChef dresses a crab.
( cheers, applause )
- You guys ready? - All: Yes, Chef.
Good. Let's go.
Aarón: All right, guys, so now it's your turn.
So, please, reach in,
grab a crab out of that tank, and head back to your stations.
- Okay. - Come on up.
- Get 'er done! - Go, guys!
Come on.
( clamoring )
- Oh, my God. - ( cheering )
- ( screaming ) - Okay. All right. All right.
Oh. Damn, I gotta do it.
All right, this my boy right here.
Indian Cuisine, in terms of the region my parents are from,
we're not really near any bodies of water.
So I never really had the chance to experience crab.
It always kind of freaked me out.
So today's skills test
is really gonna be a challenge for me.
All right, guys, so you have 30 minutes to cook,
get that crab meat out, and displayed on that slate
just like Gordon did.
When your time is up, if you got even close to Gordon,
you will immediately move up to the safety of the balcony.
But if we decide you haven't
removed enough meat from the crab,
or if we find shell in amongst your crab meat,
you will immediately face elimination
in the next challenge.
- Aarón: Is everyone ready? - All: Yes, Chef.
Your 30 minutes start...
...now.
Gotta get that water salty.
- Make it taste like the sea, Gerron. - I know.
This is a super restaurant-y, professional skill set.
- Yes. - Are we asking too much of these 22 contestants
at this point in the competition?
( screeching )
The level this year already is up there.
In order to test their ability,
- this is a great skills test. - ( screaming )
- ( laughing ) - What are we looking for in our next MasterChef?
Gordon: We're looking for a quick learner tonight.
We're looking for someone who's got great attention to detail,
and also who's respecting the product.
This whole competition is about confidence,
learning things that might be a little bit scary to you,
and adapting and overcoming.
Hey. You got this.
As a vegetarian of over 10 years,
I really wanted to show that regardless of never having eaten crab or meat,
I can do just as well as anybody else in here.
So, I'm gonna get up on that balcony today. You'll see.
Come on.
- Olusola, how you doing, sweetie? - I'm doing great.
I don't have experience cooking a crab live,
but I'm gonna take delicate care with the crab.
I'm gonna do everything that Chef Gordon Ramsay has presented to me today.
Everything is at stake. I am not going back home to drive a bus.
Guys, we're halfway, okay? 15 minutes remaining.
You should all be getting your crabs out.
Oh, he's fat.
( sighs )
Should be good, should be good.
Ooh, the ice!
( groaning )
Okay. I did it.
Pop! There we go, baby.
Tonight, the objective is to maximize the yield
in that amazing crab,
and more importantly, no shell across that meat.
Come on. No shell, no shell.
I feel really good. I'm from Iowa.
So, it's not very common that we have fresh crab,
but watching Gordon, I think he explained it really well.
And I'm still in school. I'm used to learning every day.
So, I think that's definitely an advantage.
I'm trying to work clean like Chef said,
and just get it done.
Last 10 minutes. Here we go.
Come out of there for big papa.
Come on. Work quickly.
Faster, just faster.
Come on, Ralph. Pick it up.
I'm feeling pretty confident.
I've done a good job of, I think,
paying attention to what Gordon said.
I really made sure there was no shells.
The big thing in dentistry is clean as you go,
so we really wanna make sure that we have a clean workspace.
So, I really apply the same skills to cooking
when it comes to cross-contamination, being organized,
and, you know, if you have everything in place,
and have a plan together, you should succeed.
I'm extremely comfortable with crabs.
At my mom's restaurant,
we have a crab and lobster bisque,
so I'm breaking 'em down every day.
You know, I've worked with shellfish,
oysters, clams, lobster.
I'm from Maine, so I'm not gonna be eliminated today.
I'm very comfortable with this animal.
- Gordon: Five minutes remaining. - ( groans )
You've got less than three minutes to continue extracting,
and spend the last 90 seconds on plating.
Plenty of time. We good.
Ryan's doing this like a pro.
Aarón: We're he's from in Houston,
there's a lot of crab shacks
all up the Gulf Coast of Mexico.
You gotta believe that he's been exposed to this.
- Oh, God. - Shanika is absolutely trembling.
( sighs ) Open that up.
She's talking to herself. You know, a nervous mumble.
Whoo! I feel like I'm gonna faint.
- Get that meat out. - Joe: Shanika is wearing my apron,
but she's not working confidently.
Show him why you deserve to be here.
Farhan is finished. He's standing by. Look at that.
- Wow. - I got a lot of damn meat in that.
Gordon: 60 seconds remaining.
Let's go, guys. Come on.
All right, face that way.
Aarón: Immaculate presentations.
Here we go. Ten.
Judges: Nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four, three,
- two, one. - Gordon: And stop!
Hands in the air. Well done.
Well done, everyone. Tonight you all had 30 minutes
to break down that crab just like Gordon did.
Now, to find out who rises up to safety
and who will have to compete for survival tonight.
Let's take a closer look.
All right, Mark. You're wearing Joe's apron.
- How do you feel you did? - I feel I did great.
I think I got more than enough crab out of the shell.
- Have you done this before? - I have.
Okay. The front claw--
this one's a little bit chewed up, sadly.
Knife might've gotten a little further
into the claw than necessary.
Okay. Let's take a look underneath.
The good news is all the pieces are intact.
They've held their shape, they're beautiful in color.
- Thank you. Thank you. - And you got a very generous yield.
- You are safe. Please go up to the balcony. - Thank you. Thank you.
It couldn't be more of a validating sentence
for Chef Aarón to tell me that I did a good job.
- Pretty incredible. - All that experience paid off,
and balcony, here I come.
Doing pretty good for a 19-year-old from Maine.
Aarón: So, Alecia, you have my pin.
I saw you get a little squeamish
when you took that crab out of the water.
- What was that all about? - I don't do live things.
- You eat crab often? - I do.
- Do you have a new appreciation for crab now? - Yes, I do.
I gotta say, right off the bat, I think it looks beautiful.
I can't find one flaw in those claws or legs,
but let's see under the body.
Well, the crab meat is beautiful.
It's glistening. It's moist.
So, you are out of your comfort zone tonight,
- Yes, Chef. - and knocked out a crab
that, I gotta say, is pretty spectacular.
- You're safe. So please go up to the balcony. - Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, my goodness, it feels so good to not be in elimination.
Thank you.
Even though crabs scare the hell out of me,
I was able to conquer this challenge.
This girl's on fire.
Cesar, how many times you done this before?
- First time, Chef. - Visually it looks beautiful.
Love the fact that it's all intact.
You've got the knuckles out of the claws as well.
I didn't expect anyone to get the knuckles out tonight with such little time.
And the yield underneath, it's glistening,
and it's quite bright and it's white,
so it means it's cooked beautifully.
Make your way up to the top. Well done.
- Thank you, Chef. - Good job.
I'm grateful for my photographic memory.
That is incredible.
I've always been an avid reader,
and that's why I teach English.
It is easy for me to remember plots, characters,
and I was able to apply that skill in today's challenge.
- Farhan. - Hello, Chefs.
So, first of all, five minutes to go,
you were done, standing there like that.
- Yes, Chef. - We never stand still in any kitchen.
As a future dentist, that's one of the things
that we really harp on, is efficiency.
- I love you finishing on time, but not five minutes early. - Yes, Chef.
Let's have a closer look. So, the claws,
little bit chewed up at the end there. What happened there?
I think I just got in there with my scissors
and I ended up stabbing it a little bit.
Underneath, let's check it.
Wait. What is that?
Lights down, please.
So the black light will identify every tiny fragment of shell.
- This is what? - A shell.
A shell. Just touch how sharp that is.
- Like a razor blade. - Do you know what that means in our world?
- A lawsuit. - A lawsuit.
You are not safe. And a word of warning:
when you have time on your hands, double check,
- double check, double check again. - Yes, Chef.
Oh, Farhan.
Gordon pulls out this black light,
my heart sinks to my stomach.
As a medical professional,
I'm trying to make people healthy.
So for him to tell me
that this potentially could harm someone
or send them to the hospital,
is just terrifying to me.
- All right, Gerron. - What's up, Chef?
First things first. You are wearing my pin.
- Yeah. - How was this challenge for you?
My first time working with live crab.
I just got in there and just did my best at it.
Looks pretty good. The pieces are very, very big.
Good yield.
- I'm very impressed. - Thank you, Chef.
- Good job. - Thank you.
Wait. What's this?
I'm unsure. My crab was missing one leg,
and I didn't wanna put that one on the plate
and make it look unappetizing.
Oh, my dear.
Do you think that that was a good decision?
Um...
I think that it was a great decision for presentation.
Yes, presentation is all very important.
The most important theme here is that every speck
of this crab is utilized.
That kinda just shows me where your head's at,
maybe not completely in the game.
Gerron, for that reason, you're not safe.
Please stay at your station.
I mean, it looks horrible. To be very honest,
it's like a slap in the face to the crab.
This is absolutely terrifying.
Lights down, please.
- ( exhales ) - Joe: Ooh.
Oh, dear, oh, dear.
- That's a big one. - Now we got freaking black lights?
- What's next? X-rays? - Do you have any idea
what would happen to an individual's throat if they swallowed that?
It's just slashed.
Ralph, the yield's off and that's chewed up.
That is riddled with little bits of shell.
Stephanie, you are not going up to the balcony.
Darrick: I'm getting a little nervous here,
'cause I think I've got all the shells out.
Joe: That's a piece of hard shell. Uh-oh.
- Oh, come on. - I checked with my hands.
I didn't hear any shell, I didn't feel any shell,
I didn't see any shell.
Aarón: Oh, man.
Did you hide some in your pocket or what?
- No, Chef. - Darrick.
So, hey! We're gonna see how I'm gonna do here,
and it's a little nerve-racking.
Can you lower the lights, please?
- Oh, no. - Oh, wow.
That's a big one. That's like a razor blade.
Darrick, I think you know where you're heading.
- Nowhere. - Thank you, sir.
That's a mistake that is very costly.
It could've cost me $250,000. I don't know yet.
But some of my competition is rising up to the next level.
Juni, you're a great student,
and that's why I gave you that pin,
and that's exactly what we're looking for.
Chelsea, that is a near-perfect execution.
Congrats to Aarón and congrats to you.
- Good job. Head up. - Thank you.
- Ashley, you are safe. - Get up those stairs,
and reaffirm why I gave you an apron.
Joe: Shanika, how was this challenge for you?
It was really, really tough, 'cause I'm allergic to crabs.
- You're allergic to crabs? - And lobster.
- You did all this while you're allergic to crabs? - That's why I was shaking.
So that's what all the hyperventilating was about.
We were concerned.
But I have to judge you for what you did.
You're absolutely right.
I'm praying that there's no shells in there.
Oh, dear. ( sighs )
- Ooh. - Oh, no.
Um...
- You did all this while you're allergic to crabs? - That's why I was shaking.
So that's what all the hyperventilating was about.
We were concerned.
But I have to judge you for what you did.
You're absolutely right.
I'm praying that there's no shells in there.
Oh, wow.
That's not so bad.
So you got some good yield.
Nice and lumpy on the crab meat.
Shanika, I know you were out of your comfort zone,
and it's very apparent to us and to me that you struggled.
But the good news is you did a good job.
This is the reason I gave you the pin,
is this kind of resilience.
You're safe. Head up to the balcony.
Whoo!
I literally risked my life today.
My competitors know now that I'm willing to risk anything
to get that title.
I didn't come to play.
I came to slay.
And I slayed that crab.
Poor crab.
To all of you up there on the balcony,
what an amazing job. Well done.
- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you.
But there was someone that had an edge over everybody,
and nailed every section,
someone that was so meticulous,
it was a dream performance.
Congratulations, Chelsea.
( cheers, applause )
- Thank you. - A perfect performance.
You are a talent to watch, young lady.
- Great job. - Thank you.
For those of you still standing behind your stations,
your night is about to get even tougher
because your elimination challenge starts right now.
Everyone, please, come on down.
Going into this elimination challenge, it sucks.
- Let's go. - This is a tough competition,
but only the strong survive.
Home cooks, tonight you'll be replicating
a version of a crab dish prepared by
one of the greatest chefs that I know.
Gordon Ramsay.
Gordon: Tonight, you're going to have to use
the crab meat that you extracted earlier,
and turn it into a faultless replication
of my amazing crab Benedict.
You all have to recreate this exact masterpiece.
Now, I'm gonna show you how it's done.
Buns, cast-iron pan, lightly buttered,
and get them in there so they're nice and toasted.
Right, hollandaise. First off, water, up to a rolling boil.
Bowl in, egg yolks in.
Now, we start whisking. On the heat, 15 seconds.
Off the heat.
Next step, on.
A little teaspoon of your tarragon reduction in.
And keep whisking, really important.
Now, slowly add your butter.
One, two, three, stop.
You can see the sauce starting to thicken up.
Now we start to season.
Salt.
From there, a little touch of fresh lemon juice.
Just squeeze that lemon in there,
and then pour that delicious, rich hollandaise
- into your ramekin. - Wow.
Now, poaching an egg.
First of all, a touch of salt into the water,
and then a teaspoon of vinegar.
From there, crack the egg, open it up into a cup.
What we're gonna do now is create a bit of a vortex.
Spin the water round,
and then we drop the egg in there
so it swirls round gently.
It should take on average 90 seconds to two minutes
to poach that egg beautifully.
Now, the crab. Salt and pepper.
Drizzle of olive oil, just a touch.
From there, lemon zest.
This is going to make it really nice and vibrant.
And then squeeze your lemon juice in there.
From there, your fresh chives.
Roll that around. Don't overwork the crab.
Now, we're ready for eggs.
Lift up and then gently place them on the towel.
While it's just sitting there, a light seasoning.
- Beautiful poached eggs. - Okay.
Now, our muffins. Beautifully toasted,
and then take your crab onto the bun.
Now, very carefully,
roll the egg into the spoon
and sit it gently onto the crab.
Now, you take your hollandaise and you coat it,
almost like a nice brush of varnish.
No drips. Again,
take your time, careful of the pressure on the egg.
And then finally, a light dusting of paprika.
And that's how you make a delicious crab Benedict.
But when we go in...
...that is what we're looking for.
That's sexy.
This is a deceptively difficult dish,
and a lot of components that can go wrong.
Please, head to your stations.
So I've never made a crab Benedict before.
I don't even think I've ever eaten one.
I've had an eggs Benedict after work
at two in the morning at the diner.
And now I have to recreate
Gordon Ramsay's crab Benedict.
Awesome. Not really.
Aarón: You have in front of you everything that you need
to perfectly replicate Chef Ramsay's crab Benedict.
Joe: Oh, and one more thing.
If you think the odds of going home tonight are one in nine,
you're wrong.
- Two of you are going home tonight. - Oh, my God.
Your odds of survival just got worse.
Your 30 minutes starts... now. Let's go.
Let's get it, let's get it.
Aarón: Remember how Chef Ramsay did it, guys. Come on.
In general, everybody did a great job. Let's get that right.
- Yeah. - Those up on the balcony? Spectacular.
- The nine down here, not so good. - Oh, my God.
Look, I don't know how to poach no egg, but I'm finna make it happen today.
So what is the difficulty in assembling this crab hollandaise?
- Where can you go wrong? - There's three big components.
The first one, of course, is the hollandaise, the mother of all sauces.
That is a delicate, difficult, dainty sauce to make.
The second big one is the seasoning on that crab.
- Just a little bit. - And then, of course,
the third one is the poaching of the egg.
Seven minutes gone. 23 minutes remaining.
We had just thought one was going home at first, but then they kinda surprised us.
I haven't felt this much pressure since I've taken boards for optometry school.
Whoa.
I've never made eggs Benedict before in my life.
In Arizona, my wife likes her eggs scrambled.
She doesn't like yolks. So these are definitely
the most important eggs I've ever cooked.
With two people going home, I gotta make sure that I nail this.
I ain't going home.
- Whip it, Ralph. Whip it. - Got this, yo.
- Ralph. How you doing? - How's it going, Chef?
I'm doing great. We're getting this hollandaise going.
- Have you ever made hollandaise before? - I made it once,
- but I know how good hollandaise tastes, so-- - Good.
Have you toasted the muffin yet?
Oh, of course, yes, sir. Not yet.
Now-- multitask. You're standing in front of the pan.
Slice that in half, get it in there.
- Yes, sir. - You are here for a reason,
because Joe believed in you.
Snap into it and get a grip a little bit.
- Okay? - Yes, sir.
Just over 20 minutes remaining.
Hollandaise should be halfway made.
Ryan, first of all, how you feeling?
Pretty good, Chef. I'm definitely trying to redeem myself
- from that last mistake. - Yeah.
- What are you worried about with this one? - Nothing.
Hollandaise is a classic staple in our brunch.
We actually do a brunch at the spot I play at on Sundays.
- So you know this inside out? - Yes, sir.
- Are you staying or you going? - I'm staying, Chef.
- Let's go. - Thank you, Chef.
- Samantha. - Yes?
So, you pick up a lot of your sorority sisters
- after long nights out, right? - Yes.
Do you guys have eggs Benedict late at night?
Have you made this before?
I have not made it for my sorority sisters.
It's not something really that sorority sisters ask for at 2 AM.
- Usually they want nachos. - Yeah, of course.
But I feel confident in my ability
to make a hollandaise and poaching eggs.
- All right. - Good luck.
- Thank you. - Gordon: We are halfway.
15 minutes remaining.
Just get that on that warm water.
There we go, there we go.
- Gerron, how you feeling? - Yes, Chef.
- I'm good, Chef. I'm good. - Have you made hollandaise before?
I have never made hollandaise sauce.
Have you poached eggs before?
I have never poached eggs before.
- Really? - Chef, I'm from the hood.
We don't really do the poached eggs in the hood.
How do you do 'em in the hood?
We fry 'em hard. We fry 'em hard.
Were you watching carefully?
- I was. - Good. Poach those eggs beautifully.
- Multitask. Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
- Farhan. So, eggs Benedict is something that's very classic. - Sir.
- Have you made and had this dish before? - No.
Growing up traditional Indian,
we don't eat food like this at home.
Benedict is usually made with bacon and ham.
I don't eat any pork.
Two people are going home tonight.
- Are you gonna be one of them? - No, Chef.
- You've picked me to be on your-- - Got your apron on.
on your team, and I wanna make you proud.
- All right. Good luck. - Thank you.
Gordon: 10 minutes remaining.
Hollandaise should be finished, crab beautifully seasoned.
I like the way this one looks, man.
That ain't right. That ain't right.
- I gotta do another one. - You got it, Lulu.
- ( bleep ) up one egg. - Olusola's eggs are all over the place.
- Aarón: You can see the pressure is getting to her. - ( Olusola groans )
- Let's go, Lulu. - Come on.
- Oh, my God. - ( groans )
- Egg keeps splitting, man. - What is she doing?
- She's on her fifth egg. - I don't know about this one.
Shanika: Olusola, come on.
I have to get a perfect egg or I'm going home.
Olusola, like, what are you doing?
Use the egg that you have and get that hollandaise finished.
She might not get it done.
It does not look good for Olusola right now.
My eggs ain't right.
Gordon: Hollandaise should be finished.
Shanika: Olusola, come on.
I have to get a perfect egg or I'm going home.
Gordon: What is she doing?
She's on her fifth egg.
- Right, young lady, how you feeling? - Nervous as hell.
I tried several eggs and I couldn't get it right,
- but I'm gonna get it. - Good.
Make sure you poach those eggs
- perfectly, okay? - Yes, Chef.
- Now, hollandaise, have you made it before? - Yes, Chef, I have.
Just gotta get these eggs together.
You only need enough hollandaise
- to cover two eggs. - Okay.
So don't spend too long making it.
- You got this? - I got this.
- Let's go. - Thank you.
- Go, go, go. - Come on, "Chef-phanie!"
So, Stephanie, you're a bartender from New Jersey.
- Yes. Yes. - Work late nights.
Are you a brunch gal that goes out that next day?
I'm absolutely a brunch gal, sometimes after work.
- Oh, really? Cool. - Yes.
So have you made this dish for friends and family before?
I've never made an eggs Benedict before.
- Really? - This is my first time.
- You're on Gordon's team. - I am.
I'm a little nervous, but I think I'm gonna pull it through.
- So, hollandaise. That's it all right there? - Yes.
- Seems a little light, isn't it? - Yeah.
- Make sure you have the right consistency. - Yes, Chef.
Good luck.
Gordon: Eight minutes remaining. Eggs should be poached.
This is like a proper restaurant pick up.
I mean, we're really raising the level.
So who's looking good out there that we've talked to?
Ryan's looking super nice.
I mean, that guy's cooking with a vengeance.
- You got it, Ryan. - No doubt. No doubt, baby.
Who really worries you out there?
- Gerron and Ralph. - Oh, my God.
I think they're gonna be in the danger zone.
Seriously, I don't think it's in their wheelhouse.
Two minutes remaining. You've got to start finishing.
- Crunch time, y'all. - Taste everything, y'all.
Just keep moving.
60 seconds remaining.
Hollandaise should be going on now.
- Keep moving. - Let's go, guys.
Come on! Don't give up.
Judges: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six.
- Beautiful. - Five, four, three, two, one.
Gordon: And stop, hands in the air. Oh, man, what a night.
- Great job, guys. - Well done, all of you.
It's time to see who has cooked for their last time
inside this incredible kitchen.
Joe: Remember, two of you will be going home tonight.
Gordon: First up, it's from the home cook
that Joe gave an apron to.
Ralph, let's go, please.
This dish was definitely harder than I thought it was gonna be.
I'm feeling nervous about my hollandaise,
because if you mess up hollandaise
on an eggs Benedict,
you might as well not call it an eggs Benedict.
Okay.
How many times you poached eggs before?
I poached it, like, two or three times.
You know, in the Filipino culture,
usually they come a little hard.
But I made sure it was, like, two minutes and it was out,
so the thing's gonna be runny.
Let's find out.
- Come on, Ralph. - They are.
- Beautiful. - Yes. Yes.
Second one.
Again, beautiful.
Ralphie boy.
A thin lining of the egg white set,
encasing that amazing eruption
of glossy, delicious, warm egg yolk.
Now, how did you toast the muffin?
I toasted it with just a little bit of butter in the cast-iron.
It's delicious.
Crab's seasoned beautifully, eggs cooked lovely.
Great toast on the muffin.
Hollandaise is absolutely spot-on.
I'm seriously impressed.
Thank you.
- Good job, Ralph. - Good, Ralph.
Joe: The home cook Gordon Ramsay gave an apron to,
Stephanie, please, bring your dish up.
My experience with eggs is very limited,
because, unfortunately, my son A.J. is allergic.
But I feel like I did a pretty good job on my crab Benedict.
I got every element on the dish,
so I feel like I have a fighting chance.
Talk to me.
- Was this a difficult challenge for you? - Yes.
Considering that Chef Gordon is the person that gave me my apron,
I wanted to make sure that I executed properly.
Let's see how the eggs are cooked.
All right, so it seems you cooked your eggs properly.
The crab is flavorful, but...
it's not a sauce.
The problem here, this is not a hollandaise.
That's clarified butter,
so your hollandaise is broke.
- You didn't bind it. - Damn.
You work as a bartender, so as you know,
someone who's involved in mixology, every component matters.
Here we're missing one of the three major components.
Sorry, Stephanie.
Head up, head up, head up.
Next up, Farhan, please. Let's go.
For me, this is a shot at redemption.
I'm representing Aarón Sánchez on my apron,
and I really wanna show him
that I can redeem myself,
learn from my mistakes,
and be a good student along the way.
It was good to see you maximizing across the 30 minutes,
not standing there with a cup of tea with five minutes to go.
I was really embarrassed earlier
that I didn't pay attention to detail,
especially when I had extra time.
Okay, young man. Eggs.
- Confident? - I feel pretty good.
I actually made a third egg. So I picked the best.
Let's get in there.
Eggs are poached beautifully.
- Thank you, Chef. - Nice job.
Little heavy-handed on the old paprika there.
Yeah, I was running out of time
and I wanted to make sure I got it on there,
but I was a little heavy-handed.
Eggs are delicious.
Crab, seasoned, fragrant with the lemon zest.
Hollandaise, rich. You've nailed that.
So, you got all the basics done beautifully,
but the simplest thing you've done wrong.
Too heavy-handed on the spice.
I know you're a spice boy, and I get all that,
but, you know, you're cooking for the judges,
- and you're cooking for survival. - Yes, Chef.
So it's just a tap. I'd rather have less than more.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.
The next home cook, please step up, Gerron.
I am a nervous wreck.
I feel like I'm going for a final exam.
My presentation is not there,
but I'm hoping that the taste of my crab Benedict
will carry me to the balcony.
Gerron, Joe gave you that apron for a reason.
Are you 100% content with this presentation?
Not 100%, Chef.
Well, let's take a look.
( sighs )
You see how it's set in there?
That's an indication that it's poached too hard.
Okay?
This is a bit better,
but this presentation is not consistent.
Let's see if the flavor can somehow rescue
the uneven cooking of the eggs.
Here's what I'm tasting.
The flavor of the hollandaise, delicious.
Crab needs more lemon, and then the bun needs to be pressed down,
toasted more consistently.
So, I really need to think about this
to make sure that there's enough here
to keep you in this competition.
And right now, I'm not sure.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.
- Head up, Gerron. - Let's go, Gerron.
The next home cook we'd like up here, please,
Samantha.
I'm feeling pretty anxious.
I know I got all the components on the plate,
but my Benedict looks a little rough.
I just hope my flavors are there,
and I hope I did enough to do Gordon proud.
Samantha, crab Benedict. You ever heard of it?
No, and I've never had it, either.
I live in Iowa, so fresh crab is hard to come by.
You feel the weight of the Gordon Ramsay apron?
Definitely.
The seasoning on the crab is good.
Lemony, zesty. Your hollandaise sauce, properly salted, tart.
The muffin's toasted well.
- Good dish. Thank you, Samantha. - Thank you.
Aarón: The next home cook that Joe brought
into this kitchen, Matt.
Matt, you slice that open, what's it gonna look like?
It's gonna run nice and clear.
The white's are gonna be cooked all the way.
That is perfectly cooked.
Thank you, Chef.
- Delicious. - Thank you.
Hollandaise, beautiful balance of acidity and richness,
but the crab meat needs a little bit more seasoning.
Gordon: Next up, a home cook that Aarón gave an apron to.
Ryan, please, come up. Let's go.
Let's get in there, shall we?
You poached those eggs to perfection.
The actual hollandaise sauce is bloody delicious.
- The problem is there's not enough of it. - Right.
Had you put one more spoon of that hollandaise on there,
then that would be a near-perfect crab Benedict.
- Good job. - Thank you, Chef.
The next home cook we'd like up here, please, Darrick.
So, Arizona guy.
Never poached an egg,
never worked with crab like this,
and my plate looks beautiful.
So I have a feeling I'm gonna be sitting on the balcony
at the end of the night.
Darrick, what does it mean to you to be standing here
- wearing Gordon's apron? - Sir, it means everything.
You know, for all of us judges,
we hate to see people in our own aprons
walking out the door.
Right now, Gordon's probably praying
that these eggs are cooked to perfection.
Are they?
They are cooked to perfection, sir.
Let's find out.
- Ready, Gordon? - Yup.
- Nervous? - Let it run.
- Nice egg. - Thank you, sir.
Oh, even better than the first one.
Very nice. So, your toast looks good.
The crab's a little bit all over the place.
Not much of it.
Your hollandaise is good. It's acidic.
The crab is seasoned pretty well,
just needs some more of it.
Gordon, they're all right.
- Good. - Thank you.
Good job, Darrick.
Olusola, please come forward.
I feel like I'm going to fail Joe,
the one who gave me my apron.
My frustrations took the best of me
and I did not execute my time wisely,
so at this point, I'd rather be sitting
in South Carolina traffic
than present what I have to the judges.
Damn.
I already know.
Olusola...
we gave everyone the same amount of ingredients,
the same amount of plates.
Correct.
This beautiful black plate.
And then I see this.
Where is that black plate?
Olusola, we gave everyone
the same amount of ingredients,
this beautiful black plate.
Where is that black plate?
My black plate is still at the station.
Once I started poaching the eggs,
being that this is my first time,
I just panicked.
All right, so we didn't get the beautiful black plate,
and then we're also missing a Benedict as well.
All right, so I should cut this open,
that beautiful yolk is gonna run off
and cascade over all that beautiful crab, right?
That's what I'm expecting, so, yes.
( groans ) Here we go.
Guess what, Olusola?
That's what's going on right now.
Look at that.
- Oh, nice. Nice. - ( murmuring )
( sighs ) Let's see how we did here.
Here's the deal, Olusola.
The crab meat is spot on.
You toasted that English muffin to perfection.
But your hollandaise needs more seasoning,
so it's safe to say that time got away from you.
- It did. - But please keep your head up.
- Okay. - All right?
Everybody has a fight in them, right?
- Yes. - Do you have a fight in you?
Of course. All the time.
Thank you.
Head up, Lulu.
Nine home cooks with varying degrees of success tonight.
Now, not one,
but two home cooks are leaving us tonight.
Please come down to the front, all nine of you.
- It's tough. - Yeah.
It's that feeling of doing something bad
and you know you're in trouble,
and you have to take that long walk
to the principal's office.
I'm doing all that I can on the outside
not to show how nervous I am,
but my head is hot and my ears are sweating.
That was an extremely difficult challenge.
As you all know, we're gonna lose two home cooks tonight.
Please step forward...
Ryan.
Ralph.
Matt.
Samantha, please.
Farhan.
Darrick.
Head up to the balcony.
Darrick: As an engineer, I put in the work
when the work needs to be done.
So here I am, never poached an egg
never worked with crab like this,
safe from elimination.
Whew.
Right. That leaves three talented home cooks.
The big question for all of us
is who do we keep?
We need to see that individual with...
potential, passion, hunger.
Gerron...
You are not...
going home.
Get upstairs.
( cheering )
Yes. Yes.
I cannot believe that I am safe.
Like, I passed by the skin of my teeth.
I am still in it,
and I know moving forward,
I gotta bring my A game.
Ladies, listen carefully.
Sending anybody home, having invested in all of you,
it's not easy. First of all, Olusola,
the dish was half-completed
and it was nowhere near the standard of "MasterChef."
Stephanie, eggs Benedict needs a hollandaise.
It's fundamental. You presented a poached egg
on crab tonight with no hollandaise.
So, ladies, unfortunately, tonight is the last time
you've cooked in the MasterChef kitchen.
Please, take your aprons off
and place them on your bench.
- Good night. - Good night.
- Thank you. - Joe: Bye.
- ( applause ) - Love you, Olusola.
Olusola: I'm proud of myself.
Not too many people can say
they made it here to the MasterChef kitchen
and wore a white apron
from Joe Bastianich.
I'm gonna go back and drive that bus
with my head held high,
thinking about different recipes
and master my craft even more.
A poached egg gonna stop me? Yeah, right.
Never give up, girl.
Stephanie: I feel like I've let myself down.
I feel like I let Gordon down,
but I'm owning my mistakes.
I'm gonna learn from it. I'm gonna excel from it.
So, for single moms especially,
don't let your circumstances define you.
I beat out so many thousands of people to be here,
and you can rise above whatever is going on.
You can do this, too.
Announcer: Next time...
We're at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery.
- ( honking ) - ( cheering )
Ryan: Chef Ramsey drives forklifts, too?
Leave something for somebody else.
Announcer: For the top 20...
It's your first team challenge!
( bell ringing )
...a storm is brewing.
- We hungry? - ( all shouting )
Oh, my God.
All these hungry brewers
are like a swarm of bees.
Announcer: Who will rise to the top?
And whose MasterChef dream...
Look at this.
...will fizzle out?
Sync: Ajvngou www.addic7ed.com