Tonight on MasterChef...
The Thomas Fire ravage Ventura county.
Today you are going to be cooking
for 25 amazing men and women who fought that fire.
When the top eight serve America's finest...
These are some of the most important guests,
that we have ever served.
This is a joke and looks disgusting.
...things backfire.
You can't expect us to taste this.
It is still raw.
Get a grip or i will cut this lunch on my own
and send you four home.
( music playing )
Gerron: I know we're gonna be cooking
with some fresh ingredients today.
( laughter )
What I'm looking at right now is beautiful!
Back home in Louisville, Kentucky, I'm a teacher.
It's not every day I get to see palm trees everywhere.
There are large mountains, there are animals,
there are lemon trees and orange trees.
I'm loving every minute of it.
I think the kitchen's on the top of the mountain, y'all.
- Wow! - Look at this view!
If this is what it's like to be in the top eight,
I cannot wait to get to the top five.
I'm the king of the world!
Right now Team Aarón has three aprons,
Gordon is finally down to three,
but Team Joe, we're down to two.
We cannot afford to lose anybody else, period.
( horn blaring )
Oh, my gosh, y'all, look at the fire truck!
- Appreciate it, sir. - Thank you, sir.
Oh, my God!
The judges have come out of a plane,
they've come out of forklifts.
The fire truck... I'm not surprised they have one in their garage,
but what does this mean?
Are you just anticipating we're gonna create a fire
and you wanna be sure that you have the capabilities to put it out?
Welcome to Peterson Ranch and your next team challenge.
- Wow. - Come on, guys.
Tell me this is not the most beautiful place you've ever seen.
- It is beautiful! - Outstanding.
But all of this was threatened when the Thomas fires broke out
this past December.
Wow!
Joe: The Thomas fire burned over 281,000 acres
over five weeks.
The smoke produced was so massive,
it could be seen from outer space.
And today you are going to be cooking
for 25 amazing men and women who fought that fire.
Samantha: I am incredibly honored.
I lived in Southern California for a while.
When we lived here there was a big wildfire
and we had to evacuate from our homes,
but because of firefighting men and women,
like those that we're serving today, our house was saved.
Now, Bowen and Cesar, you guys won
that incredible tag team challenge.
Both of you will be team captains today.
Bowen: This is amazing.
Being a team captain.
Let's go, Cesar, Bowen.
I've been captain once in the first team challenge,
and I lead my team to be success.
My strategy is simple.
Just kick his ass.
All right, I want you six
to break yourselves into two teams of three.
Right now.
Y'all really gonna huddle up like that?
I'm good.
I'm going with Farhan and Julia.
I don't even have to move.
Farhan is spice boy.
He knows his spices,
he knows how to cook.
Julia, she has never lost a team challenge.
This is dream team. We got this.
Eventually, each of you captains will pair up with one of those teams.
But first, let's see what you will be cooking today.
Your choice of protein today is between two of my favorites
for special occasions.
The first happens to be the stunning rack of lamb.
I mean, that's a chef's Rolls-Royce cut.
Today we're looking for a perfect medium rare temperature.
Captains, for your other protein... sea bass!
A sweet, tasty white fish
that lets you know when it's cooked by turning bright white.
One of the captains will get to choose
between picking their protein first or picking their team.
- Oh. - Ah.
But first we need to flip a coin.
Heads it's Bowen, tails it's Cesar.
Bowen and Cesar: Got it.
Heads. Bowen.
Are you choosing your protein first or your team first?
I wanna choose my protein.
- Okay. - Bowen: We are top eight.
Everybody can cook.
So, the protein is more important than the team.
Which one are you going to pick?
- Sea bass. - You're gonna pick the sea bass.
Joe: Ooh.
Cesar, which of these two teams will you be working with today?
I'll go with Julia, Farhan, and Gerron.
Joe: Okay.
Captains, team aprons.
Cesar: For me, this is an easy choice.
You got Farhan, amazing with spices and seasoning.
You got Gerron, fellow educator who works from the heart.
It matches my shirt.
And Julia and I have been in two other team challenges.
We won them both.
We're not a team to be taken lightly.
Gordon: Aprons on, please.
Ashley: I'm looking at our red team.
Shanika and Samantha can cook,
but I have been on a team with Bowen as my captain.
He gets frazzled and loses his mind.
Hopefully, we don't go down in flames.
Okay, red team, blue team, you will have just 60 minutes
to conceive, prep, cook, and serve 25 perfect plates
for these elite firefighters.
Every one of these firefighters will vote at the end of lunch
by ringing a team colored fire bell.
The team with the most votes will win this challenge.
- Yes. - These are some of the most important guests
that we have ever cooked for in "MasterChef."
- Absolutely. - So after 30 minutes,
we are gonna taste your dish and give you some feedback.
Home cooks: Yes, Chef.
Okay, teams, are you ready?
Home cooks: Yes.
Your time starts...
...now!
- Come on, come on, come on! - Go, go, go, go!
- Cesar: Hustle, hustle. - Samantha: Come on, we got this, guys.
All right, guys, I think what we should do roasted rack of lamb.
- Okay. - With couscous and a pea puree.
- Yeah. - What are you thinking for the lamb?
I know you're an expert on lamb.
How you gonna handle the fat cap?
Render it in the pan.
I eat lamb all the time.
My dad's a halal butcher.
He slaughters 200 lambs a week.
I've never had to cook 25 lamb racks in an hour,
but it's a challenge I'm willing to take on.
- All right, blue team. - Let's go.
- One, two, three. - All: Blue team!
I'm thinking about to make a pan-seared sea bass
- with roast baby carrots... - Okay.
- ...cauliflower puree. - White or purple? Which one...
- Purple. And the... - Okay.
- I really like the carrots. - Okay.
Go, go, go, go, go!
Ashley: I'm pleasantly surprised by Bowen right now.
Shanika, use salt and pepper.
- Okay. - Just really simple.
He seems confident,
and that makes me confident for our team.
As long as we stay focused we can pull it together,
and this will be a beautiful dish.
Come on, guys.
Guys, we're down to the top eight.
There's four on each team. Come on.
I'm expecting great things today.
Bowen won the coin toss and he chose the sea bass.
How many portions do we have total?
- We're prepping 26. - I think it was a foolish, foolish decision
to go with choosing a protein first.
You have to choose your team first,
because those are the people who are gonna affect the quality of the dish.
I disagree, Joe. It depends on how strong a captain you are.
- I want you do this way. - Gotcha.
Gordon: If you delegate strong enough, your team will follow.
- Bowen: Shanika, you all right? - Yes, sir.
Cesar was relegated to the rack of lamb.
It's a showstopper. You can do so many different things with it.
A crust would be ideal.
I'm toasting almonds for the crust.
Sounds good, dude. These lamb racks are amazing.
- Farhan is rendering the fat. - He's rendering 'em.
That is so unforgiving.
Farhan, be a little more aggressive with the salt.
I'm gonna add it right now.
I'm rendering out all the fat currently.
The difficulty about cooking rack of lamb is handling the fat cap.
So, you know, there's two methods you can do it.
You can either slice the fat off, make sure they cook faster,
or render the fat down and hope it melts all away,
which is how I love to cook it.
Work as fast as possible, but work precise.
The big risk here is it's gonna take me a little bit of time,
but I think it's gonna be worth it.
We gotta get the lamb in the oven.
First batch.
- Samantha: They're here for tasting, guys. - We gotta move, y'all.
Bowen: Cooking the sea bass is really hard.
So I'm nervous, but as a pilot, a little bit nervousness
can cause you get good performance.
Ready, Bowen? All four of you, let's go.
Explain the dish, please.
Pan-seared sea bass with carrots roasted and cauliflower puree.
- Who cooked the fish? - I did.
Aarón: Skin needs more time.
- Skin needs more time. - Okay, sure.
I'm nervous a little bit.
The cooking, wrong side.
Skin side down for 90% of the way.
- You flip it with two minutes to go. - Okay.
Carrots, beautifully done and puree nice.
A bit more of it so it makes the dish more wholesome.
Joe: The components of it are right.
You need to amplify it. It needs to be this times two.
- Let's get back here. - It's my fault.
Shanika: I think the judges criticizing Bowen
just put a dent in his freaking confidence.
We can't afford this today.
Everything has to be perfect.
Bowen: Shanika, do the sea bass.
You got this, just calm down.
Gordon: Ready, Cesar?
Yes, Chef, cutting lamb right now.
- Come on, please, blue team. - Cesar: Come on, guys.
All four of you, let's go. Line up, please. Thank you.
Explain the dish, please.
Roasted rack of lamb, minted mushy peas,
couscous with mushrooms and roasted root vegetables,
and then we have the red wine demi.
It looks disgusting.
Guys, that's raw fat. That's just a visual, okay?
You're not even close. This lamb is ten minutes away
in an oven at 350 being anything near to being done.
We have half an hour to get this out. Come on, guys.
Joe: You can't expect us to taste this.
Gordon: There's no freaking way!
- Come on, guys. - Joe: You can't expect us to taste this.
Gordon: There's no freaking way!
Figure this out now.
This is not a dish you would present to anyone important.
Let's go, let's go, let's go!
Julia: I can't believe our lamb is raw.
Like seriously, Farhan,
that's the main star of the dish.
We're getting rid of the fat caps.
That's gonna take more time, guys.
No, it's gonna cut our sear time down.
But we're adding another step is what I'm saying, though.
Yeah, but it's faster than rendering it down.
Julia: Farhan says that he knows how to do it.
I don't think that he'd lie about it,
because he knows how serious it is,
but I'm not just gonna take his word for it.
I'm definitely gonna check up on Farhan with this lamb.
Speed it up. It looked horrible.
- Gordon: Speed up, red team. - Ashley and Samantha: Heard, Chef.
I need somebody like to clean the station for me.
I'm trying to clean, Bowen.
I said get the pans hot and then who filled them up with oil?
( bleep ) no.
- When do you put the oil in? - When you're ready to cook.
Thank you. Can you tell him, please?
- Yes. Yeah. - Don't put the oil until you're ready to put the fish on.
Oh, dear, oh, dear.
Is there any oil in these pans?
Oh, guys, come on.
We have 26 minutes
- to get 25 plates on there. - Heard, Chef.
Three minutes from now, bus in.
Two minutes before the bus comes out, you flip it, cook the other side.
Butter in. Don't put the butter in too early, 'cause you'll burn the butter.
- As a captain, get a grip! - Okay, sure, Chef.
I love Bowen, but he's getting a little frazzled.
Somebody has to step in and help put this fire out right now.
- I'm gonna help cook in the back. We got this. - Okay.
- ( horn honking ) - Red team, blue team.
- Julia and Farhan: Yes, Chef. - Our esteemed guests are arriving.
Let's go.
Cesar: All right, guys, we really gotta hustle now.
Farhan: Let's do this.
Get your pans hot, Bowen.
Get ready to sear that fish.
Yes, yes, Chef.
I'm Alison Hesterly, fire captain.
I am so excited to see what the chefs have prepared for us.
I think we're all looking forward to it.
Bowen, we got the skin side down for 90% of the time.
- Got it. - I'm Mike Dubron.
I'm with the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
I've been a firefighter for 27 years,
and we're expecting a really nice dinner tonight.
Hopefully we're able to enjoy a meal
versus the chaotic scene we saw just a few months ago.
Hot plates going in. First batch is in the oven.
- Okay. Come on, guys. - These ( bleep ) are hot.
Hey, FYI, anyone complains about being hot here, I'm gonna kick their ass.
Welcome, welcome, everyone.
Hi. I'm Joe. Nice to see everyone.
I just wanted to say thank you for all you do,
and for what you did for California
during the Thomas fire.
Please enjoy some canapés and lunch will be served momentarily.
Thank you for coming.
- So, Farhan, all the lambs in the oven? - No.
We still need to finish crusting. We have half the lamb ready, Chef.
All right, so let's go, guys. Come on.
Is that the last of the 25 that you guys are crusting up?
- Yes. - Gerron, do you have enough herbs in there?
- Yeah. - I'll be honest, it looks a little skimpy on the herbs.
Just don't put something on to put it on.
- Okay, Chef. - Make sure it's consistent.
What do you need? Do you need lemon zest? I got you.
- Cesar: You got herbs, you got thyme. - I got the tarragon.
Cesar: Every component of the dish has to be firing at all cylinders
just to meet the expectations.
This is fine dining.
It's a struggle and a daunting task to be put up against.
There we go. That looks better.
Let's do this, you guys.
Bowen, stay focused.
Gordon: 15 minutes. We need to go.
- Let's go. - Almost ready.
Check the color. Crispy skin, beautifully done.
- See how crispy that is? - Yeah.
Good girl. There you go.
Oh, Bowen.
Why'd you put the butter in?
I said two minutes before the bass comes out, butter goes in,
and he's put the butter in already.
You're just not listening to anything.
Butter goes in last.
'cause it burns!
- Sorry, Chef. - You can say sorry all you want.
- This is important for me. - I know it's important.
- Give me your apron, I'll wear it. - No.
- Shanika: Come on, Bowen. - Honestly, this is a joke.
( bleep ) hell, man.
Gordon: Butter goes in last...
- Okay. I remember. - ..'cause it burns.
- Sorry, Chef. - Everybody here is trying to help you,
but you're just ignoring the help.
No, Chef, I will... I will get help.
- Shanika. - Yes, Chef.
Can you take over the bass?
- Gotcha, Chef. - Gordon: Yes?
Pass all the bass to her and you start plating now.
Now Gordon is relying on me to get all of this fish done.
Take control, young lady.
We need resting racks for this fish.
Part of me is appreciating that Gordon believes in me,
then a part of me is like I'm in charge of the protein now.
If this ship goes down, I'm gonna be like one of the heads
that's gonna get rolled because of this.
( clicks tongue ) This is not what I signed up for today.
Farhan, let's go with that lamb.
- All right. Hey, we're slicing here. - Yeah.
Farhan: Plating's starting and my only thought process is,
if I didn't get this lamb right,
it's like I'm leading the blue team to slaughter.
- Where's your tray to put the lamb on? - ( bleep )!
Come on, Farhan.
Julia: The couscous is done, pea puree is finished,
but the lamb is the star of the dish.
I wanna make sure that this is cooked perfect.
Farhan, come on.
Show me what these look like.
Cesar, you just want it down the middle, right?
Yup.
Nice, okay.
Julia: Pretty good.
- Cesar: Yeah, that's nice. - Beautifully cooked.
- Gordon: Get ready to sauce, please. - Gotcha, Chef.
Farhan: I nailed it. It's a beautiful medium rare.
All my lamb drama finally paid off!
- Oh, perfect. - Don't shout perfect now, young man.
We haven't ( bleep ) served anything yet.
- Let's celebrate when we got something to celebrate. - Julia: Yes, Chef.
Samantha: Any fish ready?
Give it one minute. Okay?
- Okay! - I'm just letting you know.
- All right. - Calm down.
Everyone on the team is cracking under pressure right now.
But if I get this sea bass right,
we still have a chance at winning.
I want the most beautiful 25 pieces of fish you have.
- Aarón: Let's go. - Julia: Hurry up, the servers are coming, guys.
- Okay. - Hurry up.
Two minutes to get these plates out.
- How long for the bass, please, Shanika? - One minute, Chef.
- One minute. - One minute. Thank God you're here, you lady.
Shanika is busting out sea bass.
We got enough fish.
She is handling her station like a freaking pro.
Gordon: 90 seconds we start serving.
Guys, one minute left. Let's go.
- We're good? - Gerron: It's time to be picky now, y'all.
Make sure everything is good.
Get the bass on the plate, guys, get the bass on the plate.
You, get the bass on the plate. You're still missing two.
- Shanika: Less than 30 seconds. - Bowen: Okay.
Put it on there, get these microgreens on this damn plate. Move.
- It's 25. You are good. - Gordon: Time up.
Serve. Cloches on.
Service, please, pick up.
Bowen: Today I was bad team leader
because I didn't cook the fish properly.
But the firefighters didn't see that.
Be gentle.
The only thing they see is our dish,
and we put everything together on the plate.
Shanika: The dish looked good.
Cesar: They're ready to grab just from the bottom.
Thank you, guys.
We're looking down at 25
perfectly cooked medium rare racks of lamb.
We don't wanna celebrate too early,
but we're giving silent fist bumps to each other,
and I'm proud of the dish
that we're sending to our 25 esteemed guests.
Hello, everybody.
In front of you, you each have a dish from the red team,
and a dish from the blue team.
The red team has served...
pan-seared sea bass
with roasted baby carrots, cauliflower puree
and a citrus herb vinaigrette.
The blue team has served...
crusted rack of American lamb,
pea-mint puree, couscous, and a red wine demi sauce.
Buon appetito. Enjoy.
It's judgment time. We could've did better.
I don't think we worked well as a team,
but the flavors are there and it looks beautiful.
- For you, sir? - Both of them are really good.
I think the blue team did a really nice job.
The rack of lamb is tender, but I have to say that the red team
did probably the best sea bass I've ever had.
- For you, sir? - Red team.
I like the texture, I like the skin.
It's crunchy.
That food gonna come through, y'all.
It was flavorful.
- For you, sir? - The blue team, rack of lamb.
- Rack of lamb. - In all my 34 years of firefighting,
I've never had a rack of lamb this good.
- What do you think? - My preference is the lamb.
Blue team. Every bite is just filled with flavor,
and it goes really well with the, um...
- With the minty peas. - Minty peas, right.
Great job on that cook.
I think the pea puree is pretty good.
Yeah, it's awesome.
- And for you, sir? - Well, they're both fantastic.
There's an invitation to both
the red and blue team to come to my firehouse.
Nice. Okay.
Well, now it's time to vote.
- ( bell ringing ) - You guys hear them bells?
Oh, yeah. Hopefully that's for us.
- Gerron: I hope so. - Julia: Oh, my God.
Ashley: Y'all hear that?
Samantha: Oh, gosh.
I got this instinct that tells me blue bells are ringing.
I know it's blue. I'm confident that it's blue.
I sure hope it's blue. ( laughs )
Ashley: There's another one, y'all.
It's another bell?
- Oh, I hope those are red team bells. - Ashley: I know.
Shanika: Where the wood at? Right here.
Knock on wood.
Ladies and gentlemen, um, first of all,
thank you for giving us the opportunity
to spoil you for once.
Now, please, give a warm welcome for our red team and our blue team.
- Thank you. - ( applause )
As you know, there can only be one winning team,
and the other team will face the dreaded pressure test.
So, without further ado,
congratulations goes to...
( cheering )
They got it.
We did it! They loved my lamb!
I had so much pressure on my shoulders today, but it paid off.
Blue team, congratulations. Go and say hello
to our esteemed guests. Come on.
- Thank you so much. - Thank you so much for everything you do.
Red team, you're gonna have to face the dreaded pressure test.
Finish up cleaning,
and I'll see you back in the MasterChef kitchen.
Of course, we lost.
Bowen killed our team and I'm livid.
It sucks. All of us got our ass rang out today.
Yeah, it sucks. I mean, Captain, you're still not saying anything.
You were putting oil in pans, you were putting butter in pans.
- And then you... - Because Shanika... Shanika had to step up
and cook perfect sea bass for the whole team.
Every ( bleep ) I made ( bleep ), and then you have...
You do everything correct.
So we will figure out tomorrow pressure test. Let's go.
- Welcome back. - Shanika: I'm disappointed.
We lost because we just lacked communication.
- Bowen shut down. - Gordon: Let's go.
But if there's anybody that can handle the pressure test, it's me.
Joe, you won't lose another apron today.
I guarantee you that.
Yesterday, we challenged you to make an exquisite lunch
for 25 brave men and women who saved countless lives
in the recent California wildfires.
And, sadly, for you four, the firefighters decided
that the blue team's dish was better than yours.
They won with 72% of the vote.
- ( whispers ) Wow! - ( whistles )
Red team, tonight you will face an intense pressure test,
and after this pressure test,
at least one home cook will be eliminated.
For your pressure test tonight,
you'll be making something that I built my career around.
Tonight, to keep your place in this competition,
you will have to make...
pasta.
Nice.
This specific pasta dish is a perfect pappardelle Capricciosa.
Ribbons of pasta with a sauce of San Marzano tomatoes,
prosciutto, and onions.
Doesn't get any better than that.
In fact, I love it so much,
- one pasta is just never enough. - No.
Mezzelune filled with a classic combination
of braised Swiss chard and ricotta cheese
in a simple sauce of slightly burnt butter with sage.
These are two of my favorite pasta dishes.
The problem is I also really love...
a dish my grandmother taught me to make.
garganelli with funghi trifolati.
It's mixed sautéed mushroom
with thyme, garlic, and olive oil.
And I expect you to replicate all three.
( exhales ) Of course.
And to complete all three,
you only get 60 minutes.
So, before all of you start cooking,
Joe is gonna show you how it's done.
Watch and learn.
Whoa! This is dope.
Joe Bastianich, you look up his name,
there's pasta sitting next to it.
This front row seat into Joe Bastianich master class
is the best seat in the house.
So we start with the dough.
The dough should be worked properly, rested.
And then the next thing we have to do here is sheet it out.
You wanna get enough thinness to it
so that it's like very elastic.
So we can use the same sheet for all three shapes of pasta.
First shape is pappardelle.
Pappardelle ribbon pasta's generally like an inch wide
and about six to eight inches in length.
That's a perfect pappardelle.
You wanna flour it again a little bit
so it doesn't stick together.
About 10 to 12 pieces in a portion.
And that's our pappardelle.
Next we will make mezzelune.
With the stamp mold, you get the perfect shape of pasta.
It's filled with ricotta, braised Swiss chard, and Grana Padano.
You take a little bit of egg wash.
You go around the lower half perimeter.
Push it back and then you're gonna pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch,
pinch, pinch, pinch.
VoilÃ .
So that's the mezzelune.
And last but not least,
we will make the garganelli.
So I'm gonna stamp out my squares.
And then carefully push just hard enough
so you get that beautiful little shape on it.
VoilÃ .
- Wow! - Joe: There you have it.
So, pappardelle are gonna go with a Capricciosa sauce.
That's San Marzano tomatoes, prosciutto, and onions,
mezzelune in a brown butter and sage sauce,
garganelli with sautéed mushroom, garlic, thyme,
finished with Grana Padano cheese.
Three simple pastas, delicious, but not so easy.
Cooking three different types of pastas,
three different sauces in 60 minutes...
professional chefs with decades of experience
would have trouble with that,
and I'm just happy I'm not down there.
At your stations, you have everything that you need
to make those three amazing pasta dishes.
Right, you four, when the 60 minutes are up
you need to have all of your three pasta dishes
placed down the front.
- Is everybody ready? - Home cooks: Yes.
Your 60 minutes starts...
now.
Joe, you've asked them to make three dishes.
What's the most difficult one to nail?
Probably the mezzelune, because it's a stuffed pasta.
So you have the variable of making the filling.
So you have to braise your Swiss chard,
olive oil, give it flavor.
You have to rinse out the water,
because if you put that Swiss chard in wet with the ricotta,
- it's gonna be a pond. - Game over.
- Whoa. - Wow, stressing me out.
So, the garganelli.
The trick here is your funghi trifolati.
So, mushrooms have a lot of moisture in them.
You have to sauté them with thyme, whole garlic cloves,
and olive oil, so you render the water out of them.
Make it come to life.
Aarón: All right, Joe, so the pappardelle.
What are some of the things that they have to nail in order to get that pasta right?
So, pappardelle is perhaps the most straightforward of the three.
They're just ribbon-shaped pasta.
You have to have the right thickness.
It has to be elastic.
You have to be able to see through it,
but it has to be able to hold its form.
Not so easy.
Come on.
- Looks really dry. - It looks hella dry.
Guys, we've 34 minutes remaining.
- Heard, Chef. - Sauces should be en route,
and you should be starting to roll your pasta
within the next ten minutes.
Let's go, Sam. Come on, let's go.
- Right, Samantha. - Yes, Chef.
How many times have you made pasta before?
I make pasta all the time for myself, my sorority sisters.
My dad loved pasta.
- But you never made three dishes in one go. - No, I have not.
So that's gonna be a bit of a struggle.
- Are you gonna nail this? - Yes, Chef, I will nail this.
The worst thing for me, I've got three of my pins down here.
I'd be so upset if you were to leave tonight.
- Don't let me down. Good luck. - Yes, Chef. Thank you.
- Tomatoes. - Ashley, how we doing?
I have one sauce that just kinda needs a little finishing touch.
I have my mushrooms going, my water is boiling,
and I'm about to roll out my pasta now,
and I have one of the fillings already ready as well.
Do you feel that this pasta challenge is too great to surmount or what?
Absolutely not. I feel like for those who can't,
- you know, then it's just their time to go home. - All right, good luck.
- Farhan: Looking good, Bowen. - Keep hustlin'.
- Bowen. - Yes, Chef.
- How you feeling? - I'm feeling good.
Do me a favor. Turn around and look.
Look at the contestants.
- Yup. - You're the only one that's got no sauce up.
This is empty. You're making a filling for ravioli
that we don't even need yet.
- I will. I will. - Young man.
- Are you going home? - No, I'm not.
- I'm not going home. - Come on, then prioritize!
- Get the sauces on. Come on. - Okay, sure, Chef.
- Snap out of it. - This is so stressful.
- Does Shanika have any pasta in the water? - No.
Okay, Shanika.
This is the most stressed I've seen you, quite frankly.
- Is it the challenge or... - Well, it's pasta three times.
- It's not pasta once. - Shanika, that's like a rock.
If you don't get this dough softer,
- you could be going home today. - All right.
That's like a fossil.
- Gotcha. - And there's no way you're gonna get that through there.
- Gotcha. Gotcha. - You have a real problem right now.
Oh, man.
Joe: Guys, less than 20 minutes left.
So, Shanika's in a big mess.
- Come on. - Gordon: The way that pasta's too dry,
you got no chance of making a ravioli.
Yeah. It's gonna open up on you.
- It won't stick together. - Oh, my God!
Gordon: 45 minutes gone, 15 minutes remaining.
Whoa! Pasta needs 15 minutes to rest
before you could even shape it or cut it.
Come on.
- Come on, Shanika. You could do it. - Let's go, Shanika.
- Farhan: Come on, girl. - There's no time
to start another batch of dough.
- Damn it! - It's over. It can't be done.
It's gonna need a freakin' miracle right now.
She has to be able to get that pasta dough through that sheeter.
If she can't, she might as well hand over her apron now.
Gordon: 15 minutes remaining.
It's gonna need a freakin' miracle right now.
Shanika has to be able to get that pasta dough through that sheeter.
If she can't, she might as well hand over her apron now.
Oh, my God!
We only have about 15 minutes to go,
and there is not enough time for me to restart this dough.
So I'm gonna try to fix it.
I'm gonna see if I can save it.
I'm gonna wet this a little bit,
I'm gonna knead it a little bit more.
Come on, come on.
I have to make this pasta work.
It's a little better. I think I can do it.
- Cesar: Shanika's is looking better. - Turn up, Shanika. Turn up.
Gordon: Look at Shanika.
She's worked her pasta back, but the big worry is Bowen.
- Have no sauces on. - Joe: What is he waiting for?
No idea. I think the pressure's getting to him.
I will do best job I can.
Gordon: Right, the youngest wearing my pin, Samantha.
She's made pasta hundreds of times
- and she is literally on it. - There it is.
Gordon: Three minutes to go.
The one trick to all three of these pastas,
is that in the sauce pan, you need to add
some of the pasta boiling water into the pan,
and the pasta needs to finish cooking in the sauté pan.
'cause it releases starch,
and the pasta and the sauce become one.
- And that's the goal. - Yup.
( screams )
- 60 seconds remaining. - Let's go!
Joe: Wait, Bowen is not sautéing the pasta in the sauce.
Gordon: Samantha's got her dish. Good girl.
Aarón: Serve food, let's go.
- Come on, guys. - Come on, guys, let's go.
Gordon: Ashley's got her second plate down.
35 seconds to go!
Sam's got three plates down. Well done.
Shanika, come on!
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
And stop. Hands in the air.
I wasted so much time making sure that my dough was right,
that I barely got my dishes out in time,
and this is my worst performance in this kitchen.
Home cooks, I can't tell you how nice it is
to smell home.
And at least one of you is going home.
Okay, Shanika, let's begin with the pappardelle Capricciosa.
Your pasta isn't terrible, but there's one piece of pasta.
I know. Not enough.
Okay, moving on.
So these are the mezzelune.
- Didn't we say burnt butter? - Yeah.
You didn't have time to burn the butter.
No, I mean, I had the butter on, but I had it melting.
And I didn't... I was running around doing other stuff
and did not wanna take my eye off of it too much.
So, it's melted butter.
How did you do with your filling?
I think I did pretty good.
Filling's not bad.
It's just that it's not the dish.
It's just raw butter.
It tastes like popcorn in a movie theater.
And the garganelli with funghi trifolati.
What happened here? You made one, two, three garganelli.
- Yeah. - I mean, like literally, these dishes look like
if I was a waiter in a restaurant
and I just cleared your table.
- And this is what you're presenting to us? - I don't disagree with you.
I wanted to bring down something so I brought down what I had.
Joe: Okay.
I'm not sure what to say, Shanika.
I'm disappointed in myself as well.
I know I could do better.
Um, you know, seasoning's on point, let's get that right.
I just wish you had prioritized.
'cause you got all the skill.
It's just a bad finish. Thank you.
- Joe: Samantha. - Joe.
Okay, so let's start with this,
pappardelle Capricciosa.
So the Capricciosa sauce,
- is there onions and prosciutto in here? - There is.
Pappardelle Capricciosa, very nice.
Light, fluffy, your pasta has a very good texture to it.
- Thank you. - So these are the mezzelune.
- You happy with them? - I am.
I wish I hadn't put that sage leaf on top.
- Yeah, you have to fry it. - Yeah.
It's a little bit thin in the filling,
but the pasta shape itself looks okay.
Let's see what it tastes like.
The brown butter's good, taste of sage is right.
Very delicate, very light. Moving on.
This is the garganelli with funghi trifolati.
- Mm-hmm. - How did you cook the mushrooms?
Olive oil, sautéed, and then threw in some pasta water at the end.
You taste the garlic, but not overpowering.
You can taste the thyme.
You can taste real earthy mushroom flavor.
The garganelli rolled perfectly.
Sauced perfectly.
- This is kinda textbook. - Thank you.
It screams more sauce.
And especially the pappardelle 'cause it's denser and longer.
It really can take almost an over-saucing.
- Okay. - But the actual pasta, the base is delicious.
- Great job. - Thank you.
( whispers ) Nice.
All right, Ashley,
let's start with this pappardelle Capricciosa.
This pappardelle Capricciosa,
the pasta itself is like a sheet
of pasta you would make for lasagna,
which is much thicker and much more rough.
It's a completely different take on the dish.
This is supposed to be mezzelune in brown butter sage sauce.
- Yes. - But you decided to put mushrooms in it.
It was a misstep.
( whispers ) Damn.
The filling portion and the actual dimension of these look about right.
How did you sauté your Swiss chard?
I blanched them.
I didn't sauté them.
How are you gonna give it flavor?
Swiss chard is supposed to be sautéed in garlic and olive oil.
- I didn't know to do that. - Mm.
I can't evaluate the sauce because it isn't here,
and the filling is basically boiled Swiss chard with ricotta.
Okay.
Okay, moving on.
This is the garganelli with funghi trifolati.
How did you cook the mushrooms?
I sautéed them in butter and thyme and some salt.
The mushrooms are lightly sautéed,
but they're still crunchy. Very, very good.
The garganelli is actually a pretty good example.
Not bad.
The salt is right on all the pastas.
I think the highlight of your three pastas is the Capricciosa sauce.
I think it's delicious,
and I think for me, the star over here is just the mushrooms.
I think 'cause you were flustered, you messed up sauces.
They're incomplete,
and they're not talking to me like a pasta should.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Joe.
( whispers ) Oh, man.
Okay, Bowen.
Here we certainly have the most creative
interpretation of pasta.
Yeah.
You took the prosciutto and fried it
in, like, these lumps, which is a little bit strange.
- And this is your pasta? - Yes.
I never had pasta before, so I definitely gonna try...
You never had pasta before?
- No. - You never ate pasta once?
I never ate pasta.
So you come here to "MasterChef,"
to the biggest cooking competition in the world,
- from China to win it... - ( whispers ) Oh, geez.
...and you never, ever tried pasta before coming here?
Mm.
Unfortunately, not.
You never tried pasta before coming here?
Unfortunately, not.
It's like eating a tissue.
It just dissolves under your tongue.
But I think the flavor is good.
- You think the flavor is good? It's disappointing. - Yes.
Joe: Okay.
What is this stuff here?
It's brown butter with a...
- Chopped up sage? - Yes.
You see, here you have the same problem.
The pasta is so thin it can't even hold the ravioli.
It's just, like, disintegrating.
- What's inside? - Swiss chard with ricotta cheese.
I sautéed the Swiss chard with salt and pepper.
Oh, the filling's very good.
Swiss chard tastes nice, taste garlic,
but again your pasta doesn't hold the form.
( whispers ) Those are dumplings.
So these are garganelli,
but they're completely flat.
The ones I made were round.
How did you cook the mushrooms?
Sautéed them with olive oil, salt and pepper,
and a touch of butter.
They're excellent.
But Bowen, I mean, the problem here is that
this is not really pasta.
You boiled noodles and then put condiments on the side.
Pasta has to cook with the sauce by definition.
This is really interesting,
'cause outside of the pasta, everything else is really good.
Pasta too thin, but on-point seasoning.
You can cook and you're gifted,
but this was about replicating what you got shown,
and you can't even bother to do that.
I'm disappointed in myself,
because Joe is the reason I'm here,
and I definitely think I let him down today.
But I'm feeling a little bit optimistic
because Ashley and Bowen both had mistakes.
It's three of us that didn't do too good.
Which one is gonna be the worst?
And I'm hoping it's not me.
One home cook is going home minutes from now.
But tonight, one home cook really showed us
their skill under pressure.
Samantha, mentored by myself.
( whispers ) Nice!
You cook pasta like an old Italian lady.
( laughs )
- And that's good. - Yes, thank you.
Now, head up to the safety of the balcony, please.
- Congratulations. - Thank you.
- Good job, Samantha. - Gordon: Well done.
Samantha: I'm elated right now.
I came into this knowing that I had to cook for my life,
and I did that and then some.
- Come here, nonna. Ciao. - ( laughs ) Thank you.
There is another home cook that did just enough to be safe.
There were enough compelling elements on the plate
to show us they deserve their place in this kitchen.
And this home cook also has Gordon's pin on.
Ashley.
Up to the balcony.
Thank you.
That leaves Shanika and Bowen,
one with Joe's pin and one with my pin.
This is a really tough decision.
'cause you both had a bad night.
Bowen...
your time, my friend, in this kitchen...
is not quite over.
You are safe.
And I'm losing one of my home cooks.
Bowen, go to the balcony, please.
( sighs )
I can't believe I am going to be safe.
Moving forward, I will work my butt off
to be a really good listener
and to make Gordon proud to give me that apron.
Shanika, this was a tough test for you.
It's unfortunate that pasta should be able to take down
such a lioness like you.
So, I'm very, very sad that this had to happen on my challenge.
Young lady, understand what you have achieved,
and remember how strong you are.
We're sorry to see you go.
Come up here and say goodbye.
- Don't stop that determination. - Oh, I won't.
- Gordon: Please. Thank you. - Aarón: Great job.
- Thank you. - Oh, thank you, dear.
Seven remain up on the balcony.
Who is America's next MasterChef?
It's gonna be Bowen. He's gonna get focused
and he's gonna win it.
- Shanika, please place your apron on your bench. - Bye, guys.
- Bye, Shanika. - Gordon: Have a safe trip home. Thank you.
Thank you, Chef. Thank you, guys.
I don't wanna go home,
but I'm super proud of how far I've come.
Before this competition,
I didn't have any fancy schooling.
Everything that I knew I taught myself.
But MasterChef has pushed me and tested me
like I've never even imagined before.
- Gerron: Bye, Shanika. - It's some fire in me.
So, world, watch out.
Narrator: Next time...
Ladies and gentlemen...
...the one and only, Gordon Ramsay.
- I see you, Chef. - Want a picture?
- ...a culinary legend... - That's my mentor.
...joins the top seven as they attempt to turn trash...
There's carcasses. What am I gonna do with this?
- ...into treasure. - This is a real showstopper.
- Excuse me, look away. - Whoa!
- Wow. - ( whistles )
Mmm.
That's America's next MasterChef right there.
Competition over.
Sync: Ajvngou www.addic7ed.com