Announcer: Previously on "MasterChef"...
Welcome to the grand finale
of the world's biggest cooking competition.
...the three best home cooks in America
faced off over their appetizers.
Cesar impressed...
You've nailed the lobster. It's just beautifully done.
Gerron delivered...
Aarón: Fantastic job. This is exactly
what "MasterChef" is intended to do.
- But Ashley... - Joe: Your snapper,
it's overcooked and dry.
...stumbled.
Gordon: We're down to four minutes to go, guys.
( Groans )
- What is she doing? - Come on. Come on, come on.
Julia: Come on, Ashley, get it together.
She's cooking collard greens twice. Oh, my Lord.
- Ashley, come on, girl. - Oh, my gosh.
- Let's go to the plate. Come on, Ashley. - Heard, Chef.
Everybody, just stop yelling at me.
There will be no mistakes in this round.
I'm getting more collard greens on right now.
- Last second. - She's got three minutes to make three plates.
- Can she do it? - Gordon: She's up against it.
- They do cook quickly. - Come on.
They will be out and they will be perfect.
- Come on. - Gordon: This is it, guys.
Start plating, come on.
Gerron: Plating. Come on, baby.
- Here we go. - Ash, you got to start plating, darling.
- Yep. - Ashley, let's go!
- Joe: Is she gonna make it? - Get something on the plate now.
- Aarón: Let's go to the plate, Ash, come on. - Come on, Ashley.
- What's she doing? - Yeah, baby!
You can do it!
Why does she always leave plating to the last second?
Two minutes to go. Come on, guys.
- Cesar, come on! - You got it!
- Get it! - That looks beautiful.
- Oh, my goodness. - Can I have a bite?
Can we have a bite?
Just one!
- Let's go! - Come on, Ashley!
- Push it! - Tell 'em it's art. They'll wait.
- Look at Ashley. Whoo! - Well done, Ashley.
We are down to 60 seconds to go!
- Last minute, come on. - Come on, Gerron!
- Let's go! - Whoo!
Damn, Gerron's plate looks good, girl. I'm sorry.
- Let's go, come on! - That's it, Cesar!
- Look at you! - Cesar, nice and easy.
- Let's go! - Let's go, Ashley!
Let's go, baby! Give 'em the sauce, girl. Give 'em the sauce.
- Let's get it, Gerron. - Yeah, we right here.
- Whoo! - Oh, my God. Beautiful.
All: Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four, three,
- two, one. - And stop! Hands in the air!
( Cheering )
- Wow! - ( Maria shouting )
You did it, mijo.
- Good job, everyone. - Good job, man. That was excellent.
( Cheering )
- All three of you, well done. - Thank you, Chef.
Tonight you set a new standard
for all times in the MasterChef kitchen,
and the great moment has arrived.
It is now time for us to taste your three entrées.
Let's go.
( Cheering continues )
Let's go, Gerron!
Gordon: Well done.
Those entrées look incredible.
Right, Ashley, please. Let's start off with you.
- Present your entrées, please, thank you. - Absolutely.
I got such harsh criticism in my appetizer,
so I did everything
to make sure the guinea hen is juicy.
I'm praying it is perfect.
Ashley, describe your dish, please.
Tonight I've prepared for you
pan-seared guinea hen breast
with a black-eyed pea and collard green ragout,
and a quince cognac sauce.
Now, guinea hen, one of the most difficult proteins to cook.
Now, the skin looks crispy,
but the real point of jeopardy is that breast.
That's the hero.
I'm gonna slice this right down the middle
to see the consistency of the cook.
Ashley, in French,
that's called...
...parfait.
Perfection.
It's cooked beautifully.
Thank you, Chef.
Now, the heart throughout the ragout, why?
I did not want the heart to be
kind of minced in with everything.
I really wanted to let that shine,
and I also feel like
why not show off the characteristics
of the different parts of the guinea hen?
Gordon: The black-eyed peas with the heart,
it's delicious.
That's the bit that's like, "This is super rich."
And the jus is to die for.
Thank you.
And if I die after this,
I'm gonna die happy, six foot under.
- ( Chuckles ) - Gordon: My God.
It's delivering a profile of flavor beyond. Well done.
- Merci, Chef. - Ashley, I'm really impressed
in how you utilized every fragrant part of the guinea hen,
'cause they all deliver on different levels of flavor.
And it shows that you have taken great lessons from your mentor,
'cause this is something that I see a lot of Gordon Ramsay in this dish.
You really did celebrate the guinea hen.
- Great job. - Thank you.
Ashley, the skin, on appearance I thought it was too dark,
but in tasting it, it actually works.
You seasoned it properly, and that really gives it
that umami component to the leanness of the meat.
The sauce was very good, very technical.
I wish there was a little bit more.
But it's a great dish.
Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Chef.
Cesar, please present your entrée.
I'm really pushing the boundaries
of what can be done in this MasterChef kitchen,
and I want the judges to remember
the teacher from Houston
who made the most delicious mole
they've ever tried in 60 minutes.
Cesar, please, describe the dish.
I have a pan-seared duck breast
with charcoal roasted vegetables
and an almond mole.
Cesar, you accomplished something
that is very challenging to do,
and that's make mole in 60 minutes.
And you made it, like, the centerpiece in this dish.
You can just see the sheen and all the beautiful
kind of brick, rusty color of the mole. I love that.
Mole, traditionally it's served with rice, and that's it.
Do you feel that your approach to do the duck breast
is gonna pay off in flavor?
I know it's understood that an entrée, the protein is the star.
But for me, this was all about that mole sauce,
and I feel the duck is gonna complement the sauce.
But definitely the star of my entrée is that mole.
That's a big divergence, because you know here in the MasterChef kitchen
that properly-cooked protein is always the benchmark for any dish.
And you're telling me that the duck breast,
a very, very difficult thing to cook,
- you're saying it's not the star. - Mm-hmm.
- But we're gonna judge it - Right.
Like it is the star, as important as the mole.
- It has to be perfect. - That's correct.
How confident are you
that the duck is pink in the middle?
I'm confident it'll be the correct temperature in the center.
Let's get in there, shall we?
Cesar...
( exhales )
Cesar, how confident are you
that the duck is pink in the middle?
I'm confident it'll be the correct temperature in the center.
Let's get in there, shall we?
Cesar, it's...
...overcooked.
But you said the hero for you tonight
- is the mole. - That's correct, Chef.
Gordon: Explain the vegetables.
What kind of vegetables have we got, please?
Fingerling potatoes, red pearl onions,
turnips, and golden beets,
and I felt they would complement the mole sauce perfectly.
The mole's delicious. The fact that you got that done
with such flavor in 60 minutes, incredible.
The vegetables are exceptional.
Grilled, deliciously seasoned.
What would I leave off?
It begins with D, ends in K.
And I have to judge you on everything you put in front of us,
but I admire you greatly, and your mole defied all the odds.
- Thank you, Chef. - Cesar, for me,
my duck's a little overdone.
That's unfortunate, but the flavor of the mole
is-- it's just amazing.
It's the flavor of those little stands in the mercado.
It's all of that, and it's just such a source of pride for me
to see you wear my pin, and be able to execute a mole
with this kind of depth
and with this kind of richness and complexity.
It's just-- it's mind-boggling.
- Thank you. - Joe: I have to say, Cesar,
I'm not really an expert on mole.
I've had it. I happen to know good food,
- and that is delicious. - Yep.
And it has the spice and the heat and the sweetness,
the char and chiles, and it's just, like,
firing on so many cylinders on my palate,
that I wish that you had cooked the duck perfectly.
The perfect piece of medium rare, tender duck
in that mole would have been a game-changer.
- Makes sense. - Thank you, Cesar.
Thank you.
Right, Gerron, please present your entrée.
Gerron: My mom has been with me
every step of the way in the MasterChef kitchen
and this dish is in memory of my mom.
I've taken her favorite dish
and elevated it to the highest umpteenth.
I am doing my mom justice here tonight.
Thank you.
Describe your entrée, please.
You have Carabinero prawns
with heirloom grits, a shellfish au jus,
and crispy shallots.
Gerron, when you serve that amount of grits,
in terms of this volume,
how do you know you've perfected the fat,
the acidity to the creaminess?
I really know the taste of grits,
and so I always dig a spoon in
and just taste it to make sure that,
you know, the flavor's leveled out
with the amount of fat that I put in,
so that you can still taste that corn flavor within the grits.
So that fork there, with the shrimp, the grits,
the sauce, the jus, is worth a quarter of a million dollars.
I think so, Chef.
Gerron,
I just wish one thing.
Young man, I wish your mom was present to taste them.
- They're delicious. - Oh, Chef, don't scare me like that.
Gordon: It's creamy, heavy, shrimp cooked beautifully.
And then the grits.
It's so nice to see grits elevated
to the premiere league of flavors.
- Well done. - Thank you.
Gerron, the fact that
you can cook shrimp with this technique,
I love it, and the grits are cooked well,
but some of the knife work is a little clunky.
I think you need to continue to improve on your knife skills.
But the flavor, man, the soul, it's all there.
- Thank you, Chef. - Joe: Gerron,
shrimp and grits, you took it to another level.
The shrimp, spot-on.
Grits, that creaminess is exceptional.
My question is, Gerron, as your mentor,
was tonight your opportunity
to leave your past behind
and dive into the unknown,
to just show us how far you've really come?
That's the only question I keep asking myself.
Absolutely not. Tonight was about showcasing skill,
but also staying true to my family and my story.
I know, but you cooking a French-inspired dish,
is not abandoning your story.
It's opening the chapter in the book of Gerron.
And at some point, when you make such progress in your journey,
you have to end one chapter and begin another.
It's very, very difficult for me to decide what I feel right now.
- Thank you, Gerron. - Thank you, Joe.
Well done, all three of you.
Now, end this incredible dinner
with the best dessert you've ever cooked.
All: Yes, Chef.
Gordon: Head back to the kitchen. Thank you.
( Cheers and applause )
( cheering continues )
So, three incredible stories, three incredible entrées.
I am blown away by the amount of work that they put in.
Yeah, the level went up on the entrées for me, for sure.
More complexity, more technique, great dishes.
But "MasterChef" is about a three-course dinner,
and they're all in the running.
Now, time for the final, last course of the evening,
the course that will land them the trophy.
Let's go.
( Cheers and applause )
( cheering continues )
Cesar, Ashley, and Gerron,
this is the closest race we've ever had.
Are you three ready to cook us the best dessert
- of your entire culinary lives? - Yes, Chef!
Your final hour...
starts...
- ...now. Let's go. - ( cheering )
Great appetizers, amazing entrées,
and it all comes down to this.
Right now, it's anyone's game.
- Come on, Cesar! - Come on, baby!
Thank you! For dessert I'm making
a flourless chocolate cake,
with a coconut-lime mousse,
tamarind caramel,
and a spicy papita brittle.
The whole idea for the dessert dish is based on my childhood.
It's all of the sweets that I loved eating as a kid.
I really want the judges to just close their eyes
and be like, "This is Cesar."
- Ashley! - Whoo!
For my dessert round, I'm making an orange genoise
with a smoked chocolate ganache,
and glazed cherries.
I got my apron by putting a spicy spin on chocolate.
This time, my unique spin is to smoke it.
I am bringing that trophy to Opa-Locka.
Let's go. Let the cooking do the talking, baby.
- Go, Gerron! - For dessert,
I am making an amaretto chess pie,
a white chocolate mousse, raspberry coulis, and puffed sorghum.
Look at that white chocolate. Mmm, yes!
After this dessert round, we will find out
who is the next MasterChef.
Someone's life is about to change.
Let's go!
Come on, come on, come on!
Bueno, Cesar!
You got it, you got it!
( Cheering )
- Whoo! - Let's go!
- Come on! - Come on, Cesar! You got it!
- Come on, guys! - Whoo!
- Wow, what a night. - Ashley!
Gordon: Great appetizers, amazing entrées,
and it all comes down to this.
- Go, Gerron! - Go, Gerron!
- Yeah! Yeah! - You got it.
Who needs this final dish the most?
Honestly, all three of them.
It's that close.
Just over 40 minutes to go. Come on!
- Wow. - You got it, girl!
Gordon: Right, young lady. How you feeling?
- I'm feeling good, Chef. - You're going down that French route.
You're gonna mix that genoise sponge.
That's a light, aerated sponge.
- Yes. - Difficult to pull off.
It's go big or go home at this point.
There's chocolate liqueur, there's a coulis,
there's chocolate soil in this dessert.
It's gonna just bring everything together,
- my Miami roots, my French roots. - Gordon: Right.
And what kind of message is this dessert sending out
- to Cesar and Gerron? - That I'm a bad woman, Chef.
( laughing )
Are you giving yourself enough time
to execute this incredible dessert?
I am. You see I've got, like, five pans on right now.
- Young lady, you've got this, - Yes, Chef.
But please start dressing this thing
before 90 seconds to go. Promise me?
- Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef! - Good luck.
- Thank you, Chef. - Come on, you've got this.
- ( Cheering ) - Go, Ashley!
- Whoo! - Shanika: Let's go, Gerron!
- Whoo! Come on! - Come on, guys!
- Let's go! - Come on, Cesar! You got it!
Let's go, Cesar!
- Cesar! - Hey, que pasó, Chef?
So talk to me about this flourless chocolate cake.
I'm trying to recapture all the sweets
that I grew up eating.
There's a two-block radius in my home in Mexico
that I would go eat chocolate from the candy store,
spiced pecans, and peanuts from this man
that just sold it out of a wheelbarrow.
And then, Mexican candy's known to walk that line
of is it tangy, is it sweet,
- is it spicy? - Yep.
So that's where that influence
for the tamarind caramel comes from.
Where do you stand as far as your competitors right now?
I think I have a little bit more heart,
a little bit more passion that I'm putting
- into it tonight, Chef. - Mira nada más.
All right, Cesar, come on.
Make sure this is delicious, mijo!
Yeah.
- Whoo! - Come on, Cesar!
Gordon: 30 minutes remaining.
Your last 30 minutes inside this incredible kitchen,
and for one of you, 30 minutes away
from being crowned America's next MasterChef.
- All right! - Let's go, Gerron!
- Joe: Gerron, how you doing, man? - I'm good.
So what does a chess pie mean to you?
Why bring it out tonight?
My grandma Elizabeth, right up there,
- she showed me how to make a chess pie. - Yeah!
Now how are you taking your sweet granny's chess pie
and elevating it like you've done everything else tonight?
I'm adding a little bit of amaretto liqueur
to give it another element of flavor.
- Uh-huh. - I'm also putting it with a popped sorghum.
What that is, it's almost like a caramel baby popcorn.
And you're making a vanilla mousse as well.
- Yes. - You've gotta quenelle that, no?
I do, and that is a tough technique.
Maybe I should have told you,
"Gerron, make a chocolate soufflé."
But you decided to go right back,
take tradition, and try to play with it
and have it bring you to victory.
If I did anything in this finale
that didn't represent the South or represent me and who I am,
then I wouldn't be doing myself justice.
- Go ahead! - Gerron, listen, man,
it's been me and you all the way.
Let's cross the finish line together, brother.
Yes, sir. Yes, sir!
Let's go! Let's go!
Man: Let's go, Gerron!
Woman: Let's go, Gerron!
We're coming down to 60 minutes to go.
This is it! Come on.
- Come on, Ashley! - Come on, Cesar!
Ashley's dessert tonight is that French genoise,
which is a light, aerated sponge.
What she's gonna do is not roll it like a Swiss roll,
but cut it out individually and stack these.
That's layered in between a chocolate ganache.
- It's hard to pull off - Yeah.
- In 60 minutes. - Mmm!
She's always one that has trouble managing her time.
She's over-ambitious in what she can do.
Cesar's making this beautiful flourless chocolate cake.
When you're making a chocolate dessert with no flour,
you have to be super careful on the timing.
Undercooked-- There's no comeback.
- There's not. - Flat, stodgy.
Overcooked-- there's just this horrible texture.
Aarón: But I think Cesar is so dialed in
that he's gonna nail it.
Joe: Gerron is making this chess pie,
something very typical to the South.
Gordon: But this is a big gamble,
because it's a very basic staple.
But again, you know, everything he's brought out of Nashville,
he's elevating. So, if it works, home run.
If it doesn't hit those notes...
Joe: Well, it certainly stays
consistent with his theme tonight.
The quarter-million-dollar question tonight,
do you believe in Gerron's dessert?
I don't know, but I can tell you one thing.
I believe in the man.
- Let's go, Gerron! - All right, Gerron, you got it!
Last five, guys. Here we go. Five minutes remaining.
Smoked, smoked, smoked. There we go.
( Yelps, gasps )
Cesar: Oh, man.
- Cesar cut his finger. - Oh, my God!
- ( Speaking Spanish ) - Medic!
How do you cut yourself in the final five minutes
- of the biggest cooking competition in the world? - Damn.
- I got blood all over me. - Damn, bro.
- Medic! - Oh, my God.
Come on, Cesar. Come on, Cesar.
Emily: This is not the time
that this needs to be happening.
It's a big cut, he's losing time,
there's minutes to go.
The competition could be over.
Come on.
- Hurry, hurry. - Oh, my God.
Elizabeth: Cesar cut his finger.
Oh, my God.
- I got blood all over me. Medic! - Damn, bro.
Cesar is receiving serious medical attention right now.
- Damn. - What happened?
- Come on. - It's a big cut,
he's losing time, and there's minutes to go,
and the competition could be over.
- Oh, my God. - Come on, Cesar. Come on, Cesar.
More importantly, he cannot step back in this kitchen
with blood dripping everywhere.
Joe: How do you cut yourself in the final five minutes
- of the biggest cooking competition in the world? - Damn.
Okay, get that glove on.
- I think the nerves-- - The nerves are getting the better of him.
All right. You're good?
Yeah.
There you go, Cesar! Come on!
- Come on, mijo! - Come on!
Come on, Cesar!
- ( Cheering ) - Come on!
Cesar, you okay? Well done, young man.
He's got minutes to go. Right now, he's behind.
Joe: He's lost blood and time,
and at this point, the time is more valuable.
- You got it! - Come on, Cesar.
We're coming down to three minutes to go.
Come on, Gerron! Come on!
- Come on, Ashley! - Yeah!
You got it! You got it!
You're almost there. You got it!
- Let's go! - Let's go, Gerron!
- Come on! - You got it, Gerron!
- Come on, Ashley! - Let's go, Ashley!
- Ashley: Go, go, go. - Cesar, let's go.
- Cesar! - Let's go, Cesar!
Come on! Two minutes to go. Speed up, guys.
- Let's go, Cesar! - Joe: Let's go, come on!
- Let's go, let's go! - Ralph: You got this, guys.
- Go, Ash! - Go, Ashley!
- 60 seconds to go. Come on. - Let's go, guys, come on!
Cesar, one minute!
- One minute! - One minute!
Gordon: Come on, Ashley. Shards are only a garnish.
Quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick!
You're at the finish line! Let's go!
- Come on. Whoo! - Whoa!
His coulis is a little loose.
It's okay. No! Come on!
- Ooh! - Gerron! Come on!
- Quick, quick, quick. - Whoo!
Steady hand! Steady hand, Cesar!
All: Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four, three,
two, one, stop!
- Hands in the air. - ( cheering )
Whoo, mijo!
Whoo!
Right. Quite possibly
the most courageous hour by all three of you
we've ever seen in the history of this competition.
Now, it's time for the most critical tasting
of your entire lives.
Let's go.
( Cheering )
( cheers and applause )
Come on, baby. You got this.
Whoo!
This is it.
It's time to taste the final course.
Let's begin...
...with Gerron.
Gerron: I've strived every round of the finale
to make sure that my presentation is on point.
And with this coulis splattering everywhere,
my plate is a disaster.
I sure hope that my flavors
are big and bold enough to see me through.
In front of you, you have an amaretto chess pie
with a raspberry coulis and popped sorghum.
- Grandma was watching you live. - She was.
What was going through your mind?
She's really influenced my life,
and without her, I wouldn't be here.
You know, I wouldn't have the baking technique that I have.
I just would not have the passion
for food and cooking that I do now.
I owe everything to her.
Gerron... wow.
The flavor is so well-balanced.
I love the fact that you browned the top of the chess pie.
It gives it another dimension.
For me, it's just a little sloppy
with the saucing of the dish like this.
And when you're talking about such talent behind you,
sloppy saucing on a dessert can make the difference.
- Yes, Chef. - Gordon: Gerron...
...it is delicious.
And it's got such finesse.
To put the filling in and still have that crunch?
Beautiful. Really beautiful.
But I'm dying to hear what your mentor's got to say.
- Great job. - Thank you, Chef.
( Gerron laughs )
- Good job, brother. - Thank you, Joe. Thank you.
- I'm so proud. - I appreciate it.
You know, if in the beginning, you came on my journey,
now I feel like I'm on your journey.
This is some-- wow.
I was completely wrong in thinking
that you should venture out into doing other cuisines
and other techniques that don't pertain to you.
You stuck to your root, and you know what?
You were right and I was wrong.
And I don't say that very often.
You achieved in creating the great American dessert.
- Thank you. - I consider it an honor to mentor you.
Thank you, Joe.
Next, up, Cesar, please.
Cesar: The whole idea for the dessert dish
is based on my childhood.
Chocolate is just one of those ingredients
synonymous with Mexican cuisine.
So, I really want the judges to transport to my hometown,
and to just close their eyes
and be like, "This is Cesar."
Cesar, you look like you've been through it, my friend.
- Like a back alley brawl. - Yep.
Not many people come into this competition
with blood on their jacket,
and finesse on this plate.
Cesar: Thank you.
Please, describe your dish.
I have a flourless chocolate cake,
tamarind caramel, and spicy papita brittle.
All right, Cesar, let's not forget
that you guys are neck and neck,
so close, that so much is riding on this.
When I cut into this, it shouldn't fall apart.
- Right. - 'Cause if it starts to break down
and become brittle, that means it's overcooked.
Gotcha.
This is make or break.
Cesar, when I cut into this, it shouldn't fall apart.
'Cause if it starts to break down
and become brittle, that means it's overcooked.
Gotcha.
- How's it look to you? - It's moist and it's rich
- in chocolatiness. - That's what you want,
but the flavor definitely has to be there, obviously.
It's truly just...
...a big bomb of beautiful chocolate flavor.
The texture's there.
It's not sandy, it's not mealy.
The tamarind sauce, for me, is just the right amount.
This, my friend, is the reason I gave you an apron.
Thank you, Chef Aarón.
Cesar, you know, it's delicious.
It's dense, it's wonderful, it's rich,
and everything you want from a flourless cake.
The tamarind, the caramel goes brilliantly with that.
You've just sent pastry chefs across America tonight
racing to start including tamarind in a caramel.
- Thank you, Chef. - Really good.
The outside of the cake was very deep in flavor.
It's the essence of chocolate and richness on your palate.
The caramel sauce, the mango is delicious.
Very, very satisfying. Thank you.
Ashley, can you please bring your dessert?
Ashley: It is a bittersweet moment.
The bitter side is that this is our last cook
in the MasterChef competition.
And the sweet side is this dessert
is the last thing
that the judges will remember me by.
Ashley, please, give us the name of your dish.
Tonight, I've prepared for you an orange genoise
with a smoked chocolate ganache,
and glazed cherries with a chocolate soil.
It's a cocoa powder, sugar,
and I also added some Sicilian pistachios.
Ashley, you know, this is a dessert
that has a lot of things going on.
The cake, the baking is perfection.
The ganache is rich, light at the same time.
It's constructed almost flawlessly.
This is a spectacular dessert.
Thank you.
Uh, Ashley, this dessert hits all the notes
when it comes to dessert, and I love that.
You stayed singular to the structure of the dessert,
as far as beautiful, airy, fluffy, genoise cake,
and letting that be the perfect canvas
for all the wonderful richness of the chocolate.
The soil, it's not gritty, it's magical,
and I'm interested to see what
arguably one of the best chefs in the world has to say.
And he has mentored you--
- And he has a sweet tooth. - And he has a sweet tooth.
Oh, please.
Ashley, it's delicious. The ganache is rich.
The combination of the chocolate,
the orange, delicious.
Your little play on the soil, delicious.
But this here,
just the color of the gold speckles
flickering through that chocolate.
That thin.
Your hands were nearly a hundred degrees
and melting every time you picked that up.
So to get that on there, I'm so happy.
I'm just proud in tasting this dessert.
Well bloody done.
Thank you, Chef.
- Good job. - Good job.
- Good job, Ash. - Good job, Ash.
Gerron, Cesar, Ashley, we have a lot to discuss.
The next time we see you,
we'll know which one of you
will become America's next MasterChef.
Now, you three, head back to the kitchen,
because we need some serious time.
Thank you.
( Cheering )
Whoo!
- Whoo! - Congratulations, guys!
- You go, guys! - Whoo!
So, three amazing cooks,
three exceptional dishes,
three great journeys.
But let's remember,
it is our job to decide
which one of these three talented home cooks
created the best menu
for the "MasterChef" finale tonight.
And, of course, we each had
one home cook representing us judges.
I, of course, had Cesar.
For his appetizer, I thought he came out strong
with the squid ink infladita.
I thought the lobster was poached beautifully,
and he had such a great level of spice
- and balance in that dish. - Joe: I agree.
It had complexity, it was sophisticated.
- I was like, "Wow!" - Yeah. Incredible.
And for his entrée, he gave us a pan-seared duck breast
with an almond mole
and some charcoal roasted vegetables.
My bone of contention was the duck.
- It was overcooked. - But look, the idea
of Cesar tackling the most iconic sauce
in Mexico in 60 minutes
- deserves high praise. - Joe: I agree.
I've never tasted anything quite like that.
I thought it was really spectacular,
and I really wanna eat more mole now.
Cesar's dessert, for me, tonight was exceptional.
He stood strong to his roots, but more importantly,
the cook on my flourless cake was incredible.
Joe: That was a great dish.
The tamarind caramel, the mango,
it was executed in perfection.
Yeah. I think Cesar embodies what "MasterChef" is about.
It's about technique,
it's about being a great student.
And I thought he was very successful this evening
in getting his mission and his message across
of elevating Mexican food.
Cesar: I took a lot of risks.
I did things that many people wouldn't have attempted.
And having Chef Aarón put his trust in me,
his confidence in me, from day one,
made me the person that I am now,
and I'm grateful for that.
Now, Ashley, started off with an appetizer
of that pan-seared red snapper,
served on that exotic conch salsa,
topped with those little fritters.
The dish was her.
It was screaming Florida, and seasoning on point.
Joe: But my snapper was overcooked.
I think the dish as a whole just reeked of too much ambition.
Her entrée was the best.
- You both know that. - It was good.
Guinea hen was cooked to perfection.
Aarón: For me that ragout, it was rich,
and it just showed that she can layer flavors
in the right way and celebrate an ingredient
that a lot of people are not familiar with.
And then, of course,
the masterpiece, the dessert.
This smoked ganache,
chocolate genoise sponge,
layered with shards of delicious chocolate
with marinated cherries.
- Just utter perfection. Showstopper. - Yeah.
The ganache was sophisticated
and smoked and rich,
and the cake was cooked well.
It was decadent. Everything I want in a dessert.
You know, she brought a huge French influence
with incredible flavors.
She pushed it to the max this evening,
and the amount of work that went into those three plates,
that was pure quality.
Ashley: To be mentored by Chef Ramsay
has changed who I am as a chef.
And I feel like I've done what it takes,
and I've showed the skill set necessary
to become the next MasterChef.
Now, Gerron started with an appetizer
of Nashville hot quail
with fingerling potato salad, poached quail eggs,
with some quick cucumbers and some radishes.
It was done with finesse. The plating was beautiful.
Yeah, I think Gerron was so masterful
with frying that quail.
And talk about paying homage to Nashville.
I thought he did a great job.
For me, there was no better plate
than Gerron's shrimp and grits.
It was the most delicious,
the most satisfying plate I tasted tonight.
The shrimps were sweet and delicious
and those grits,
they were exceptional.
- Absolutely. - Then, his dessert,
an incredible amaretto chess pie,
with raspberry coulis and puffed sorghum.
It's just the perfect end to his journey.
You know, he kind of stayed true to himself.
The corn flavor was consistent throughout.
The garnish was impeccable.
But I had some issues with the coulis.
It was inconsistent plating throughout.
It was messy, so he needed
to really work on refinement,
and I did not appreciate that,
considering that this is the finale.
But the guy brought everything
a "MasterChef" contestant needs to bring.
And tonight, even though
I thought he might've needed to go beyond,
he brought his family, his story,
and cooked with such passion and love
every time he got the chance to.
I couldn't be prouder of him as his mentor.
He was playing at the top of his game.
Gerron: Joe invested everything into me,
and he really challenged me to do something different
and go creative and go out of the box.
I am so proud at what I've become.
I showed refinement on every single thing that I plate.
I'm hoping that I have done enough
to win the MasterChef title and take home that trophy.
This is gonna be the most difficult decision.
Now I want you to take your mentorship off.
Forget pins, forget who we've been backing.
Who is America's next MasterChef?
So, gentlemen,
have we collectively made a decision?
I think we have, gentlemen.
I think it's our duty to tell them. Let's go.
( Cheers and applause )
( cheering )
Cesar: My life has changed already.
But winning this would make me reevaluate
the course of my life.
Do I go back to the classroom?
Or do I dedicate my life
to food and the passion that I have for it?
That's what's at stake here-- Defining who I am.
I want to be a leader in the culinary world,
and winning this title will propel me
to do what I'm passionate about
for the rest of my life.
I want this.
Cesar, Ashley, and Gerron,
you've done your families proud,
you've done yourselves proud,
but more importantly,
all three of you have excelled beautifully.
Joe: You may have started this journey
as talented home cooks,
but you have all grown into chefs.
And now it's time for you to take your well-earned place
at the top of the culinary world.
We want you three to come up here
and switch places with us.
( Cheering )
I came to "MasterChef" to pursue a dream.
Now I got the passion and the skill.
I have to take this title home.
I want it more than anything.
This is my destiny,
and I've come too far to walk home empty-handed.
One of you will receive a check...
for a quarter of a million dollars.
And only one of you will win this...
...the most coveted and most important trophy
in the culinary world--
The MasterChef trophy.
And that person...
the winner of "MasterChef" is...
Congratulations...
( exhales )
Gerron!
( Cheers and applause )
Ashley: Congratulations, Gerron!
Oh, my God!
- Congrats! - ( Gerron crying )
I'm the next MasterChef, baby! Yeah!
That is amazing! That is amazing!
I wish my mom was here in the flesh.
Everything that I put out on a plate
was representation of me, home, my family,
and I really feel like I did my mom proud tonight.
Ladies and gentlemen, America's MasterChef,
- Gerron! - ( cheering )
Joe has invested so much in me.
From the very beginning, he gave me an apron
when no other judge saw anything in me.
Believe me when I say that I am honored
to be your mentor and your friend.
Thank you for giving me a chance at the beginning
when no one else saw me.
Thank you, Joe. I love you.
Here's a quarter-million dollars.
- How about a hug, big boy? - Yeah!
- Yeah! Yeah! - ( Joe laughs )
Cheers to Gerron. Cheers to Cesar.
It was just a pleasure and a blessing
to be cooking in this finale and have made it this far.
It was a victory for all of us, and I'm so happy for you.
- You did it. You did it! - And I'm so happy for--
- ( laughs ) - Oh, my God, this is--
I'm grateful for this experience
because it really defined what I need to be doing
with my life and what I'm passionate for.
And I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
Now that I'm America's next MasterChef,
I finally have the opportunity to go back home
and start this culinary program
at my school for my students.
This is my dream. My dream has come true, baby!
Turn up!
Yeah, baby!
- Whoo! - Open it up! Open it up!
( Cheers and applause )
Yeah!
- Thank you so much for always believing in me - Brandi: I love you.
Every step of the way. Thank you so much.
- I love you. - I love you, too.
I am America's next MasterChef, baby!
Yeah, baby! Whoo!