Narrator: Tonight on "MasterChef"...
- Ashley: Oh, my God! - Whoa!
Ashley: They're landing for dinner!
When the top 10 cook for American heroes...
100 airmen. This is massive!
- Expectations... - Hanger steak.
- That's a no-no. - ...are sky-high.
- These are incinerated. - How do we serve that to the Air Force?
- ( Plate shatters ) - Emily: Oh, my God!
We're getting invaded...
Joe: This pork chop's completely raw.
...and I'm about to call for a mayday,
because we all might be going down.
Go away. Go away.
MasterChef zero-niner.
March Tower, check wheels down.
Runway three two, wind at three, one, zero at four.
Clear to land.
Gordon: Roger that, March Tower.
Cleared for landing, see you on the deck.
( Cheers and applause )
Cesar: Making top 10 is a huge achievement.
It's mental strength.
It's emotional fortitude.
It's not an achievement that should be taken for granted.
I've never seen a drone in person.
Emily: We've got drones
and cargo planes and fighter jets.
So this is obviously our battleground,
and we're here today to fight it out.
I just know something crazy is about to happen.
Gerron: That's dope! You see that?
Oh! What is this?
( Cheers and applause )
Gerron: All of a sudden, Aarón and Joe pop up.
I'm like, "What the hell?"
These guys come in crazy every time.
- Who's that in the jet? - Yeah, no, he's moving.
- No! No way! - Oh, my God!
- No way! - Oh!
- No! - No way.
Chef Ramsay's dope.
( Cheering )
Shanika: These guys look so cute!
They've got their little glasses on.
Gordon comes out of the damn jet.
This is cool.
Welcome to March Air Reserve Base.
( Cheering )
The March Air Reserve Base is one of the oldest
and one of the most prolific airfields
operated by the United States military.
The base actually opened its doors in 1918,
which means this year it's celebrating
its hundredth anniversary.
And today, you guys will be splitting up into two teams
to cook for 100 airmen.
Awesome. Yes!
I feel so honored.
My grandfather was a part of the Air Force,
and I have a huge respect for where we are right now.
This is incredible.
Emily and Cesar,
because you did the best in the halibut skills challenge,
today, you will be our team captains.
Samantha: I'm not thrilled about Emily or Cesar for captain.
Cesar can be a little overbearing.
And I think Emily is just kind of pretentious, honestly.
- Emily, how are you feeling? - I run a team of project analysts
that do primary research.
So, I mean, the kitchen should be run no differently.
I think it's my time to shine.
Well, very, very interesting information.
- Uh-oh. - But today,
your teams are picking you.
- Mm. - Of course.
If you wanna be on Emily's team,
you will stand over to the right.
If you wanna be on Cesar's team,
you'll go on the left.
Back in my playground days, I was always kind of second,
if not last pick for sports.
So, hopefully, more than one person walks over to my side.
Does everyone know where they're going?
- Yes. - Yes.
In one, two, three. Go.
- Gordon: Wow. Wow! - Joe: Wow! Interesting.
Even.
I've never seen such a clear decision-making take place
in the history of this competition.
Wow. Right, captains, please head over
and give your teams their aprons, please. Thank you.
I'm really, really happy to be on Cesar's team,
because Emily, she is so controlling.
Red team, blue team, you will have 75 minutes to prep
and just 60 minutes to cook 100 composed plates.
Make "MasterChef" proud.
If you don't, you'll be heading straight into battle
in the dreaded pressure test.
- Okay? - All: Yes, Chef!
Your time starts...
...now.
- Here we go, guys. - Let's go.
Gordon: Let's go.
- Whoo! - Aarón: Come on, guys.
All right, guys, what protein are y'all thinking about?
I think the hanger steak.
I mean, we're in a hangar. A hanger steak.
Yeah, that makes sense.
What are y'all thinking for sides?
- I'm thinking asparagus. - Yeah, I think the asparagus.
- Just do it nice and simple in the oven. - Okay.
And then I can do a polenta cake and I can even put some goat cheese in there.
- I like that. Okay, okay. - Make it a little bit sharper.
The pressure on a captain during any team challenge is incredible.
Your team can die or live by a single decision the captain makes.
So I know that's already on my shoulders.
- Are we gonna grill? - Because of the wind,
I think the grill's not gonna get hot enough.
We'll go pan-sear.
- Are you sure? - Yes.
I don't think pan-sear is a great idea.
We have such a big grill here for a reason.
I am not cool with that.
Cesar: Come on, guys. Let's do this.
What are our first thoughts on proteins?
- Salmon. - I'm thinking salmon as well.
Pork, I think, is an easier go when it comes
- to marking, finish in the oven-- - Okay, but what I feel like
with the salmon is, we have a hundred people to feed.
How can we get this pork done in time to feed a 101 people?
Because we have 75 minutes to prep before we even serve.
Shanika: I think pork chop is a mistake.
Salmon doesn't take that long to cook.
We can be a little bit more organized,
but pork chop it shall be.
What do you think about doing, like, a peach chutney
- to go along with the pork chop? - Yes, yes.
Peaches, pork go really well with balsamic.
- If we do-- - No balsamic, no balsamic.
If we throw balsamic in a pan and reduce it down to a glaze,
it's one of our garnish elements on the plate.
- Balsamic and peaches don't go together. - But we're keeping it separate,
so, we don't-- They do, they do.
But when you eat, you eat a combination of everything together.
- It doesn't go. - I'm saying that's our--
Have you ever heard of a peach balsamic dressing?
You know, Shanika, this is not the Shanika show.
This is "MasterChef." Either get on board
or you need to rethink maybe what team you chose to be on.
No matter what, we need a ( bleep ) plan B.
Period. We need a plan B.
This is going to be a battle.
Joe: Very exciting luncheon.
The bar is super high.
Two amazing captains in Emily and Cesar.
Julia: We can do triangles of polenta.
- And then the sauce on the side. - I like that idea.
Now, Cesar's a talented, super smart teacher.
Will he have the vocal cords today to lead his team to victory?
I don't know how much of a leader he really is.
I don't know how vocal he can be.
- So-- Yeah. - Are you sure you wanna just do the ends?
I feel like this is a waste of asparagus, just cutting the tips off.
Cesar: We're looking good, guys. Just keep going at this speed.
Blue team captained by Emily.
Smart, articulate, vocal.
Do all the peaches, you guys.
Do not underestimate a hundred portions.
Joe: She's got all the makings
to be a true chef in a field challenge.
Let's see if she can rise to that occasion today.
Emily: A lot of salt. Yeah, yeah.
- Okay. - The salt is like a quick brine, and it actually acts
- to make the pork moister once we cook it. Okay? - Okay.
So, Emily, please, describe your dish.
Yeah, so we are doing a grilled pork chop
over sautéed Swiss chard, a cauliflower puree,
and a peach chutney.
A bone-in pork chop for me is a high degree of risk.
- Yeah. - How you gonna cook it?
We're grilling it and then finishing it in the oven.
I think presentation-wise and flavor-wise, it's worth the risk.
If you nail it, it's great, but you could go a safer route.
- That's true. - Who made that decision, you?
- I did make that decision. - All right.
- Live and die by it. - Hoping I don't live to regret it.
I hope not.
- Right, Cesar. - Yes, Chef.
Give me an insight to the dish. What are you doing?
All right, so we're doing a pan-seared hanger steak, Chef.
We're gonna brush it with chimichurri sauce right before it's done.
We're doing a goat cheese polenta, sautéed asparagus,
and I'm doing a red jalapeño and peach salsa to go with it.
So, we're talking about pan-seared hanger steak.
That's a no-no, right there. Big no-no.
What does a hanger steak need?
- It needs high-- - Charring.
- It needs high heat. - High intensity. There we go.
- Yes, Chef. Mm-hmm. - Okay?
The grill's there, nobody's using it.
- Yes, Chef. - I'm trying to help here.
- Okay? Samantha. - Yes, Chef.
- What are you doing? - I'm cutting asparagus.
- Cutting asparagus. - Yep.
Oh, my Lord.
- Look at me. - Yes.
They're young asparagus.
- They're weeks old. - Yeah.
They're delicious. Why are we cutting off the best part?
I-- I was doing what I was told, Chef.
- I was told to cut them off. - Cesar, come over, please.
Yes, Chef.
- Are you upset with me? - No, Chef, I'm not upset with you.
But-- But look! This is all going in the trash.
- I'm upset about that. - So why do it?
Samantha: I'm pissed right now.
I told Cesar in the beginning
that we shouldn't be cutting it that way.
- Look. Trash. Hey! - I know. I know.
- Air Force. Trash. Air Force. - Yeah.
I don't get it.
If we go down because of something as simple as roasted asparagus,
that is on you, Cesar.
- Gordon: Red team. - Red team: Yes, Chef.
How do we serve that to the Air Force?
I-- I'm sorry, Chef.
I should've spoken up a little bit more.
Honestly, guys, this is so stupid.
Yeah, I agree.
I'm pissed about this right now.
I have my mentor Chef Gordon Ramsay
yelling at me for how this asparagus is cut,
when Cesar told me to do it. Thanks a lot, Cesar.
Please, work with your brains.
- All: Yes, Chef. - Thank you. Come on!
Guys, if you open the oven, close it, please.
- Sam, you gotta keep your cool. - I am trying, Cesar!
I'm just trying to do what everybody is telling me to do.
Remember who we're cooking for, y'all.
Focus on that meat, Ashley.
Guys, guys, guys, don't do this.
Unbelievable. Guys, these are incinerated.
- Big mistake. Oh, my God. - Aarón: Get 'em out.
Finish 'em in the oven.
Emily, what problem do you see here already?
Well, this is not done.
- This is totally burnt. - Burnt.
- How's that gonna look on a dish? No. - Not great.
You don't realize how much pressure
the team captain is under
until you're actually put in that situation.
Flip 'em, flip 'em, flip 'em, go!
Work faster, faster, faster, faster. There you go.
Joe: This is like a ( bleep ) comedy show, these two on the grill.
- This one's rare. And this one's burnt. - Yes.
The pork chops are at the same time being burnt and undercooked.
Oh, my God, guys.
I can't serve a black pork chop.
I mean, at this point I'm about to call for a mayday,
because we might be going down.
- Oh, there they are. There they are. Look. - Oh, wow.
How cool is that?
Red team, blue team, our guests are arriving.
Look. Parachutes in the air.
Gerron: Wow!
- Whoa! - Oh!
Is that a bird, a plane?
No, it's airmen falling from the sky.
Emily: Our guests are arriving, guys!
Farhan: Wow.
Emily: Guys, this is insane.
Wow, that's incredible.
- Look at that. - Whoa!
Aarón: Unbelievable. Look at this.
Samantha: Airmen are coming from the sky.
They're coming from behind all the planes.
They're coming from all angles.
They're invading our kitchens right now.
- Whoa! - Guys, keep working.
- Don't look up at the sky. - Yep. Okay.
Are they gonna help us plate? 'Cause I don't think so.
- Hello, hello. - Oh, my God!
- They're landing for dinner. - Farhan: Wow!
I see why the Air Force is the Air Force.
These are people that work so hard to keep us safe.
And we really wanna do our best with this meal.
Gordon: Red team, blue team, guests are lining up.
Start to serve, please. Let's go!
Come on, guys! We're serving now!
- All right, heard serving. - Julia: Thank you.
Taylor: Thank you so much for your service.
Cesar: We have a grilled hanger steak,
goat cheese polenta, roasted asparagus,
and peach and red jalapeño salsa.
- Joe: Here they come. - Thank you.
Thank you so much for your service.
Emily: We got a grilled pork chop
over sautéed Swiss chard.
We've got a cauliflower puree
topped with a peach chutney.
Emily: Shanika, I will do the greens.
Um, okay.
Can you start placing our pork chops, please?
Oh, my God! Look at this one. Look at this one.
- Shanika: The hell we was thinking. - Emily: Let me check.
Let you check this?
Whoo! I did not know coming into this team
that Emily was so controlling.
This is-- This one's rare.
This is why I wanted to do the damn salmon, captain.
( Groans )
Honestly, Shanika is the only person left
who is still hanging on to the salmon.
Shanika, do you feel comfortable cooking pork?
- Hell, nah. I'll plate. - Oh, great.
I told you I didn't wanna do this damn pork.
She can see that negative spark of energy
that just transfers like wildfire to everyone.
Shanika: I knew we should've did damn salmon.
- Nobody wanna listen to me. I know. - It's coming.
- Pork is easy to cook if you know what you're doing. - Yeah, yeah.
- You don't need to get sassy. - You're the one that's getting sassy.
- Bowen: Those are raw. - They're raw.
( Bleep )
Try the-- The smaller ones, Bowen.
Take the smaller ones, Bowen.
We cannot serve raw meat.
This is a hundredth anniversary.
This isn't some backyard barbecue.
- It's raw. - Okay, then grab another one.
Let's go. Come on.
I am 3-0 in team challenges,
and I don't intend on losing today.
Like, seriously, red team, we need to get it together.
- Guys, we need steaks now. - Steaks going in the oven.
Guys, those standards have to be as high as they can be.
A hundred years, baby. Let's go.
Gordon: Do you know if they're cooked or not?
- Gerron, are these cooked? - Yeah, they are.
- Touch 'em. Those are cooked. - They were the first batch that came out.
- Emily approved them. - Julia: Emily approved them.
- Shanika: Emily approved them. - Stop. Stop right there.
Blue team, come here.
- Stop. Come here. - Yes, Chef.
Stop.
Stop right there.
We're in trouble here.
- That is not gonna get you a vote. - No.
Captain, you need to be a little bit more protective.
You can't just, "They're all cooked!"
Get a grip.
- Yes, Chef. - Okay, Chef.
- Emily. - Yes, Chef.
I'm gonna look as stupid as you if that goes out.
- Yes. Absolutely. - Okay?
You have no stripes on your shoulders. What does that mean?
- That means I'm a cadet. Air Force academy. - You're a cadet.
We're on the Air Force parachute team, The Wings of Blue.
All right, who is gonna vote for the red team? Hands in the air.
And blue team?
Thank you very much. Good luck with your career, guys.
I really loved everything on my blue plate.
And whatever this chutney is is delicious.
The pork chop was cooked perfectly,
but the red team, the steak was just amazing.
Beautiful steak, medium rare. Come on!
- Everything well? No. What's wrong? - No.
Oh, my God, it's completely raw.
- Yeah. - Let me have this, guys.
- Give me a second. I apologize. - All right. Thank you.
I need a pan of pork, please. Pan of pork to the pass.
- Guys, we got a problem. - What's wrong, Joe, please?
- This pork chop's completely raw. Like, raw. - Oh, no. No.
- Like, cold in the middle. - Oh, no. ( Bleep )
Embarrassing.
Emily: You have got to be kidding me.
This is not just a little pink in the middle.
This is like it was kissed by the grill and then sent out on a plate.
- Gerron! Ashley! - Yes, Chef.
- No! - Come on, guys.
- Don't fall apart now. Let's go. - Heard.
Emily: I'm depending on my team to be my parachute.
And if they can't execute, then we're done for.
It's a hundred year anniversary. Happy birthday.
- Guys, we got a problem. - What's wrong, Joe?
- Pork chop's completely raw. Like, raw. - Oh, no. No.
- Like, cold in the middle. Embarrassing. - Oh, no.
Shanika: Damn it.
- Emily. - Yes, Chef.
- You're supposed to be the captain. - Yes, Chef.
Emily, what kind of captain are you
if you're not really doing your job?
If we lose this challenge right now,
it's gonna be because of Emily.
How we doing? How's the red team and blue team?
- Any problems? - Yeah, just with the-- the red team.
There's actually a hair in my dish.
Where? Oh, my God.
You have a hair. It's in the asparagus.
- Yes. - Oh, my God.
- Is that yours? - No, it's not my hair.
- 'Cause it's not mine. It's not yours. - Right. Right.
All right, I'm gonna go back and see if they have an explanation for this.
- Gordon: Red team. - Red team: Yes, Chef.
Just under 20 guests left, guys, yeah?
- Yes, Chef. - Quality, right?
- Guys, guys, guys. Gordon, we have a problem. - What's wrong?
Oh, jeez. Come on.
- Oh, Lord. - Embarrassing.
Taylor: It's either me or Julia.
And I'm like, "( bleep )!"
Please get a ( bleep ) grip, now.
Okay, Chef.
Julia: Guys, we need more steaks! Come on!
- Samantha: I'm on it. - Julia: Come on, guys.
Gordon: Ladies and gentlemen, could you please cast your votes.
Thank you.
I'm definitely going to be voting for the red team.
The steak was just cooked wonderfully.
I really loved everything on my blue plate.
They did a really good job.
Gerron: Check those. Just make sure they're done.
- I poked the middle. - Yep.
They are cooked. Thank you, Gerron.
No problem, Chef.
I'm gonna have to go with the red team.
I thought the hanger steak was cooked great.
There's a good char. I thought it was a great dish.
Gordon: Your last plate, red team. Come on.
- Thank you for waiting. - Well done. Clear up.
- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you, Chef.
Cesar: Besides the hair, I'm confident
that the flavors that we presented today
will win us at least that one deciding vote.
The blue team's pork is a lot more flavorful than the red team's steak.
Definitely. The blue team is really good.
Well done. What screwed it for you all
is the control of the pork.
But the most important thing is a hundred got served. Okay?
- Clear down. - All: Yes, Chef.
Emily: We fell apart a little bit at the end,
but we only had one pork chop that came back very rare,
um, which I think when cooking pork is almost a miracle.
I told y'all we shoulda used damn salmon.
- No, nobody wanna do salmon. - No, no, no, no, no, no.
That was not the issue.
I mean, stay positive, think on the positive side.
I'm trying to stay positive, but you know why we messed up.
- Uh-- - Out of all of those pork chops that was cooked,
one came back raw.
- Gerron and Emily: One. - You got a point.
- I'm going for the blue. - Red.
- Blue. - Red.
All right, it looks like we're a table divided.
It's gonna be pretty interesting.
- Right. Thank you. - ( cheers and applause )
Ladies and gentlemen,
we hope you all enjoyed a delicious lunch.
And a special thank you to all the airmen
that dedicate your lives on a daily basis
to keeping us and this incredible country safe.
Thank you all so much.
- ( Applause ) - Thank you so much.
So, both teams fought hard to serve their best today,
but ultimately one of these teams will be safe
and the other will go into the dreaded pressure test.
It looks like the results are in.
Wherever he lands,
that will confirm today's winner.
Oh, my God.
This is intense.
The winning team to help celebrate
the hundredth anniversary is...
...the blue team!
( Cheering )
Gordon: Wow.
We freakin' pulled it off.
All right, Emily, I ain't mad no more.
Whoo! We did it.
But wait a minute.
There is one more parachute in the air.
- What? - Oh, man.
What?
Another skydiver?
Where in the hell does he think he's going?
He is landing on...
Oh, I can't watch.
Oh, my God. Oh, my God.
- Gordon: On red! - ( cheers and applause )
Cesar: Whoa, we got a tie!
Oh, my God.
Gordon: That is extraordinary.
Ladies and gentlemen,
that means for the first time ever
in the history of "MasterChef",
we have a tie!
- Oh, my Lord. - ( cheers and applause )
Gordon: Wow. Wow!
Emily: It's a tie.
What do we even do now?
That means us, as judges,
will need to break this tie...
...tomorrow morning, 0800 sharp,
back in the MasterChef kitchen.
Incredible. Ladies and gentlemen,
give them a round of applause, please.
That is extraordinary.
Never in the history of "MasterChef"
have we ever had a tie.
Cesar: The battle may be over,
but the war is definitely gonna continue between blue and red
once we step back into the MasterChef kitchen.
Who would've thought that? Amazing.
Line up, please. Welcome back.
Emily: It's a tie.
First time ever in "MasterChef" history.
The blue team started off strong
and our communication was on point.
At least four out of five of us
had a common goal and a common vision,
but I think Shanika
is really weighing us down at this point.
So, however this is gonna pan out,
I hope that she goes home as soon as possible.
All 10 of you made "MasterChef" history
with our first ever tie.
Unfortunately, it is our duty
to decide a winning team and a losing team.
The losing team will face the pressure test.
Oh, my God.
After which at least one of you ten will go home.
Now, we do have a winning team.
And that team is, by the narrowest of margins,
the... red team.
- ( Sighs ) - Oh, my God.
Yes, it was a 50-50 draw,
but based on the feedback and discussing every vote,
it was a more comprehensive dish
and it was better received.
- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.
- Head up to the balcony, please. - Thank you.
- Congrats, guys. - Congrats, y'all.
So, blue team, please put on
those black pressure test aprons that are behind you.
When you lose, it kind of sucks.
But at the end of the day,
I'm not kissing nobody's behind to be safe.
If something is wrong,
I'm gonna say how I feel, and that is it.
So whatever's gonna happen today is gonna happen.
Joe: For your pressure test tonight,
you'll be making something very difficult--
An extremely technical, multilayered culinary classic.
The infamous...
Black Forest cake.
- Voila. - Wow.
- Whoa. - I am not scared of baking.
It might be a Black Forest cake.
I may never have made or eaten a Black Forest cake before,
but baking is my wheelhouse.
Shanika and everyone else down here in the kitchen
should be scared as hell because they know
that my Black Forest cake
is going to one of the best, if not the best.
Tonight, we are looking for a perfect replication
of this masterpiece in front of me.
We wanna see the four incredible,
- light, fluffy layers... - Nice.
...evenly cooked, and more importantly, evenly frosted.
And then that beautiful sour, sweet cherry mouthful
has to be had across every bite.
From a patisserie point of view,
it takes not months, but years to master.
It's an architectural nightmare.
Get this wrong at the beginning,
this whole thing could collapse.
All right, guys, before you all start baking
- there's just one more thing. - ( sighs )
Emily, you have a very important decision to make.
This is gonna be the single biggest decision
that you have made in this kitchen.
You can either now pick one person from your team
to go up against head-to-head in this challenge,
and for that, you would be saving
three other home cooks.
Or you can save just yourself.
Whoa.
I know what it's like to be safe up on the balcony,
and that's the best feeling on the face of the planet.
But on the flipside, I also have skills
that I think could be beneficial in this pressure test.
Unless something catastrophic happens,
I could make a fantastic Black Forest cake.
I'm gonna choose to go head-to-head.
- Wow! - Wow.
I am a believer in positive communication,
and respecting people in the kitchen.
So, I will have to say go head-to-head with Shanika.
- I'm ready. - I'm sorry, Joe.
- We're both on your team. - I'm losing on every front here.
Ashley, Farhan, Gerron, get up to the safety of the balcony.
Shanika: Okay, Emily, I'm not the best baker,
but I know that I'm strong and I'm determined.
You wanna battle it out? Let's fight.
This is it.
The baking battle of the century.
At your stations, you'll have everything that you need
to make a perfect Black Forest cake.
And you'll have just 75 minutes to make it happen.
Both of you, please, head to your stations.
Shanika: Emily is the strongest baker.
This is like David and Goliath.
I don't know how I'm gonna do this,
other than me staying focused, but I am not going home.
We're gonna battle this out to the bitter end,
and the best cake shall win.
Your 75 minutes start now.
- Come on, guys. - Let's go!
Come on, y'all.
We need vanilla in the batter, milk in the batter.
Where are my eggs?
Guys, we're witnessing the biggest baking battle
- in history of this competition. - ( sighs )
- Teaspoon. - I really believe that Emily could win
this whole thing, and I might lose her.
And then she doubled downed on me
by choosing to go against another
one of my team members, Shanika.
So, I will lose one apron today.
Guys, I love Black Forest cake. How do you make it?
For me, it's all about that sponge.
- So first off, you gotta whip that butter. - All right.
Add the eggs, and then incorporate the sugar,
- and then the cocoa powder. - All right.
The most important part is the equal measures
of sponge you put in those tins.
A millimeter higher-lower,
then you have already an uneven cake layer.
Big difference-- Emily weighed out the batter in each one,
- and Shanika's doing it by eye. - Let's go, Shanika.
Get that cake in the oven.
Emily's in the oven, and under ten minutes.
- That's incredible. - All right.
Oh, man. Shanika, confident you can nail this?
Um, I'm feeling good. I mean, it is what it is.
I guess that's what you get for being opinionated and speaking your mind.
- Ever made a Black Forest cake before? - Nope.
- I'm allergic to chocolate. - You're allergic to chocolate?
- Yep. - Wow. But you're a fighter.
I never back down from a fight.
Now if you were captain, who would you have chosen to go head-to-head with?
I probably would've did the same thing.
She's just a nasty girl.
You've got 60 minutes to nail this.
- Good luck. - Thank you very much.
- Come on, Shanika. - Emily.
- Yes, sir. - I'm slightly disappointed
to see you here right now. What are you thinking?
I think Shanika has maybe overstayed her welcome.
- Oh. - Ha! Overstayed my damn welcome.
Girl, it's going down tonight.
- So it's a personal thing? - It's personal and professional.
In professional, she was not in the challenge,
- and this is the punishment. - She's gonna be her own demise.
So is everything going to plan? No variables so far?
My variable was putting a little extra cocoa powder
- into my cake batter. - I saw that.
It certainly takes a lot of confidence
with all the chips on the table...
- Mm-hmm. - ...to double down
by varying a classic recipe, but, you know, it could work.
- Better pull it through. - Hopefully I do.
Gordon: 45 minutes to go, guys.
Let's go.
- Top dog versus underdog. - You're in for a shock.
Shanika is allergic to chocolate.
- What? - She cannot taste chocolate.
Shanika has dropped the bombshell.
- Hope I have enough. - Oh, man.
Emily has gone double down,
and she's making the cocoa percentage much higher
in the sponge cake, so it's risky.
- Right on schedule. - Once the sponge is made,
you then start with your frosting.
I did not add my vanilla extract.
I gotta put that back in there.
You need that lovely frosting to be not too buttery,
and sweet enough against the sourness of the cherries.
And then you start thinking about the chopping of the cherries,
incorporating that through the frosting,
and making sure there's no ragged edges.
Anything ragged in the middle of that layer,
you're gonna rip and tear that cake
the minute you start slicing it.
I don't think she cooled down her cake enough.
Do not try to put cream or layer any kind of cake
if that cake is even warm.
( Sighs ) Oh, my God.
Emily's looks too tall, guys.
It's looking like The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Julia: Hers looks like it's leaning.
What I don't want to do
is to put this cream on this cake
and it is not ready for it.
( Sighs )
Because this cake will collapse if it's too hot--
- From the cream. - 20 minutes remaining.
Aarón: So, Shanika is up to her third layer.
Her cake is smaller than Emily's.
You have-- oh, my God.
Farhan: ( whispers ) Oh, no, her cake fell over.
All you see is this cream smeared on the side of the door.
This is catastrophic.
I don't know if there's any bouncing back from this.
- You okay? - Uh, no.
You have-- oh, my God.
Farhan: ( whispers ) Oh, no, her cake fell over.
- You okay? - Uh, no.
- What happened? - The cake was fine
when I put it in the blast chiller.
Unfortunately, it's not fine taking it out of the blast chiller,
and it toppled over.
- Um-- Yep. - Well, you still got 15 minutes to go to change it.
This could literally not have happened at a worse time.
There's no time to re-bake my cake.
There's no time to reconstruct it.
Shanika: It was too hot, girl.
You took it out too fast.
Everything has fallen apart.
Not only my cake,
but my entire plan to send Shanika home.
Julia: They were too warm.
( Sighs ) Oh, my God.
- ( Sighs ) - What went on there?
Emily's cake had fallen over in the blast chiller.
Ugh, come on, man.
Emily's cake is so tall, and the blast chiller could actually blow it over
- Mm. - If that sponge is not cold. This is a nightmare.
( Sighs ) There is almost no way to come back from that.
Gordon: Five minutes to go.
You've got to start looking at the finishing touches.
I'm just trying to get these sides even.
Come on, Shanika, start decorating.
Get it on that glass.
All right, decorating it shall be.
- It's beautiful. - Thank you, Bowen.
Gordon: Last three minutes! Chocolate on there,
every little shard you've got,
and make them look incredible.
- Come on. - Okay, Chef, gotcha.
- Come on, ladies. You've got this. - Oh, my God.
Aarón: There you go. Come on, Emily.
Last minute! Come on, please, let's go.
- Finishing touches. - Let's go, Shanika.
It might not be the perfect one, but I shall try.
Judges: Ten, nine, eight,
- seven, six, five... - Oh, my God.
...four, three, two, one.
- Gordon: And stop! Well done. - Well done.
Joe: Wow! That was intense.
Now, both of you bring your cakes
down to front bench. Thank you.
My cake was in pieces ten minutes ago,
and I have reassembled this
into something resembling a Black Forest cake.
It's by no means my best work,
but I know it's good enough to stay.
Two home cooks, both wearing my aprons,
and one of you will be going home tonight.
Let's see how you did.
Okay, Emily, tell me what happened.
( laughs ) My cake fell over.
- Wow! - I think I recovered nicely,
- but disaster struck today. - You built it high.
It's considerably higher than Shanika's. Why is that?
Perhaps because the depth of my cake layers,
but also because I made sure to have a nice layer
of whipped cream in between all four of my layers.
Apart from it falling over,
is there anything else you would've done differently?
Nothing that I would've done differently,
but something that I did do differently,
mine has just a touch more cocoa powder in the cake itself
just to give it a little bit more richness
and balance out the lightness of the whipped cream.
The question is really, like, what the layers are like.
How's that look?
- Not as great as it could look. - No.
What happened to the layers of whipped cream?
They compressed.
So this is like a rich, chocolate sponge cake?
The cherries themselves, did you do anything to them?
I quartered the cherries for the filling on the inside.
The sponge, um...
is very, very moist, and has a very assertive
chocolate flavor, which I like.
The extra chocolate paid off. Cherries are good.
Nice and crunchy. You can taste the alcohol.
It's too bad we don't have more cream in between.
The amount of cake to cream-- The ratio's way off.
- Mm-hmm. - That's where I'm having a bit of trouble here.
Thank you.
Emily, you're happy with the flavor of the cake itself?
All of the different elements jiving well together?
I am. I think the richness of the cake
is cut by the lightness of the whipped cream
and the tartness of the cherries.
Um, I think the construction of the cake suffered
by many different variables.
I just want more cherry flavor, I think, 'cause it's so dense.
If I had it my way, I would've taken those cherries
and put 'em in the food processor and made a paste.
And then I would've spread the paste on each layer evenly
'cause then I would've got just little pops of cherry.
But what I do love, I love the additional cocoa powder.
I think it's necessary. I think you have a lot of richness
'cause your chantilly cream is so deep and rich.
And I think that small change made a big difference
in the overall flavor of the cake.
And that's what I find the most memorable.
Shanika: Emily's cake wasn't perfect,
but at the end of the day,
it's all gonna come down to what my cake looks like inside.
I'm hoping that my layers are there.
I'm hoping that everything is even.
Oh, MasterChef gods, help me out.
Okay, Shanika.
Well done. Tough 75 minutes.
- How are you feeling? - Relieved that it's over,
and just ready for judgment.
Something fascinating happened.
Emily's weighing out her tins to the absolute gram,
and you're just putting it in with the eye.
You weighed nothing out, why?
- I just went by scoop and just on hopes that-- - By scoop.
- ( Clicks tongue ) - We need four immaculate layers...
- Absolutely right. - ...In order to build this cake beautifully,
and start off with a consistent base.
So without weighing any of your mixture,
how'd you know it's evenly layered?
I'm just hoping for the best right now.
Let's get in there.
I love the little shards of chocolate on top.
Knife is smoothly going through. It's light.
And here we are. Let's have a look.
- ( Gasps ) - Wow.
And here we are. Let's have a look.
( Gasps )
Wow. Look at that.
That is beautiful.
( Sighs )
That's beautiful.
Emily, what do you think?
I think she's got whipped cream
in between each of her layers of cake.
Um...
...it's delicious. It really is delicious.
It's rich, it's nicely soaked.
Visually you can see the four layers,
but cherries a little bit too big.
- So it's a little bit chunky. - Okay.
So when we cut through them, it tears.
- But well done. - Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.
So, Emily, "JB" on your pin.
Shanika, "JB" on your pin.
This is, like, an epic moment.
It's like when Venus and Serena play,
- who does the dad root for? - ( laughter )
- That's a good question. - That is a good one.
That's the position I find myself in.
So, clearly you have layers with cherries in them.
- Yes. - Now, the construction of this cake allows me...
- ( chuckles ) - ...to enjoy it in a more traditional way,
where I can just kinda take a bite and it should have everything.
Shanika: It should.
The sponge cake is good. It's light.
Very flavorful. Chantilly cream, very good.
But a Black Forest cake needs to be a juicy cake.
- Mm-hmm. - I like your cake.
All the elements of it are good,
but it tastes like a chocolate pound cake with chantilly cream
and a couple of cherries in it.
For me, it's not really saying Black Forest.
Okay.
Ugh.
Emily, Shanika,
please come around to the front. Thank you.
Honestly, Shanika is the one that deserves to go home tonight.
Maybe she got her layers correct,
but at the end of the day, my flavors are more on point,
and I'm hoping that gets me through.
Ladies, quite possibly the most difficult,
the most stressful 75 minutes of all of your culinary lives.
Emily, well done. Shanika, well done.
You've left us with very little room
to decide on who is leaving shortly.
Right now, Joe, Aarón, and myself
are in desperate need of a very serious discussion.
Please, excuse us for a moment. Thank you.
So, uh, this is a tough one.
We have to dissect each element.
Emily's first. Great tasting sponge.
Yeah, but visually, it didn't come together.
She took some liberties as far as adding some more cocoa powder.
On the other hand, Shanika had a more traditional composition of the cake,
that looked and tasted more
like what we presented for them to replicate.
I don't agree. I think it may have looked like it,
it didn't taste more like it.
Shanika's sponge is a lot lighter,
but Emily's cream-- Delicious at the top,
but you had to search for it.
But if you put it together on your fork
with the right ratio, it's delicious.
Yeah, it's a tale of two cakes.
- I think we know what we need to do. - Yes.
Let's go.
Emily, Shanika, this decision is down to the wire.
Two extraordinary performances,
and only one person is staying,
and the other is heading home.
It's been hard enough,
so I'm gonna cut straight to the chase.
The person leaving the MasterChef kitchen
is...
...Emily.
- ( Exhales ) - Gordon: Oh, dear.
- Shanika, congratulations. - Thank you, Chef.
Please, head up to the balcony. Thank you.
This feels unreal right now,
but I am taking my butt up onto that balcony.
I believed I can do it, and I did it,
but I know everybody up there are in disbelief right now.
David has beat Goliath.
Oh, this feels so good.
Emily, I don't know what to say.
I am losing one of my home cooks,
and I thought you could've won the whole thing.
The great words of Winston Churchill,
"Success is not permanent, and failure is not fatal.
It's the courage to continue."
And I think you have the courage to continue.
Absolutely.
Unfortunately, I have to say it,
Emily, your time is done in the MasterChef kitchen.
Come here and say good-bye.
Thank you.
Good luck.
Oh, man. Oh, dear, oh, dear.
This is one question I never thought I was going to be asking you.
Up there, you know them inside out.
Who do you think is gonna become America's next MasterChef?
My money is on Ashley or Farhan, I think.
Oh, lady, you've been amazing.
Oh, Emily, please, place your apron on top of your bench.
Thank you, my darling.
- Gerron: Love you, Ems. - Love you, Emily.
Emily: Unfortunately, today is my day to go home.
But coming from small-town Neenah, Wisconsin,
all the way to the top ten of "MasterChef" was a dream,
and it's something that I'm gonna hold on to forever.
This whole experience
has only added to my passion for food.
That's only gonna continue to grow.
It's like that one little snowball
that starts the avalanche.
- Narrator: Next time... - Switch!
- Go, go, go, go! - ...The race to be the next MasterChef...
- Whack the garlic! - ...kicks into high gear...
- Let's go! - ...In an explosive tag team challenge.
Don't be scared of the fire!
Have you never cooked over a ( bleep ) grill?
Who will cross the finish line?
- Perfect. - Oh, man. That's hot.
And who will fall short?
- 60 seconds to go! - They're so burnt.
Ugh, this chicken is raw, Sam.
It's burnt. Oh, my God.
- Get it on the plate! - Oh, my God.
Is he okay?
You've just taken a bite out of MasterChef.