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Narrator: Tonight...
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!
( Whistles )
Mmm.
That's America's next MasterChef right there.
Competition over.
( Music playing )
- Gordon: Welcome back. - Aarón: Gerron!
- Head to your stations, please. - Farhan: Top seven.
I came into "MasterChef" wanting to show America
what Indian food is all about.
Now it's time to show my versatility.
Hello, hello.
I'm learning so much from Aarón and him mentoring me
that I'm beginning to see
that I have the chops to be the next MasterChef,
and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting closer.
Good to see you all.
We're down to seven super talented amateur cooks.
Very soon, one of you will win
a quarter of a million dollars,
and walk out of here with...
the MasterChef trophy.
Let's get right into our next mystery box challenge.
On the count of three, lift those boxes.
One, two, three!
Lift them.
Oh!
Cesar: Okay.
Is that chicken livers?
- ( Sniffs ) - Hmm.
Whoa, wait a minute.
I see a bunch of trash,
a bunch of groceries that have been used.
There's carcasses. What am I gonna do with this?
These are ingredients that are mostly discarded
by home cooks and chefs alike.
What you see are
- carrot tops, beet tops, - Ashley: Yeah.
Chicken livers, beef trimmings and bits of fat,
fish roe, hamachi collar,
chicken carcasses, juice pulp,
and stems of cauliflower and broccoli.
Nice.
According to the Food and Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations,
1.3 billion tons of food
ends up in the trash every year.
In the last few years,
there's been a huge movement to reducing food waste
and it's an important mission for us here at "MasterChef."
For sure.
Along with those often wasted ingredients,
you'll only have access to the MasterChef staple pantry.
Use that staple pantry box wisely.
- Okay. - Gordon: And guess what?
The winner of tonight's challenge
will get a critical advantage
in the upcoming elimination.
Very cool.
Tonight, we have invited a special guest
- to cook with you all. - Nice!
To show you what they can do with discarded ingredients
- like the ones you have in front of you. - Oh, wow.
Please, face the door and welcome...
...the one and only...
- Julia: Are you kidding me? - ...Chef Gordon Ramsay.
Bowen: Oh, my God!
( laughs ) It's my mentor!
- Yes! - Joe: Gordon, please take your station.
Oh, I'm so excited.
I can always learn a thing or two or five from Chef Ramsay.
- Wow! - I feel so honored.
Like, Gordon Ramsay is about to throw down.
All right, home cooks and Chef Ramsay,
you'll have just 45 minutes
to turn this trash into a MasterChef-worthy dish.
- Okay. - Are you ready?
I was born ready.
Your 45 minutes start...
...now.
Ashley: Chef, do you know what you're doing?
That's a really good question.
- Ask me that again in ten minutes time, please. - Okay, perfect.
My dad's a butcher,
and it really makes you think
about where your food comes from,
and honoring the ingredients.
Well, I'm really excited about doing a fresh pappardelle,
and I'm gonna do an oven-roasted hamachi collar.
And then I'm doing a green curry sauce
using the pulp to go along with it.
Julia: I'm making some pastry dough,
because I'm thinking of a chicken pot pie,
but I'm doing it upscale with the mushrooms
and the chicken being a little bit more refined.
It's hard for me to keep focused,
because it's really hard not to watch Gordon cook.
( laughs )
Aarón: Unbelievable.
We're down to the top seven home cooks in all of America.
And Gordon's cooking with them.
This is the first time in the history of "MasterChef"
we've ever dedicated the mystery box
completely to waste in the kitchen.
And this is such a difficult challenge,
'cause you have this open canvas.
Joe: Very tricky, but they entered here weeks ago.
They've lived in this MasterChef kitchen.
So, I wanna see a dish from them
that I could put on my restaurant menu tonight.
Dear, oh, dear.
In China, we always eat different part of animals,
because good chef never wastes nothing.
So today I will do a fried chicken liver
with a sautéed mushroom cream sauce,
on top of Italian pasta with caviar for the garnish,
because I want to redeem myself from the last challenge.
Nice.
Joe: 34 minutes left, guys.
All right, Gerron. I had eight aprons.
You're my only shot left.
- I know this. - It's just you.
- What are you making today? - Me and my fiancée, Brandi,
we eat Italian food a couple times a week,
and so I'm gonna make a fresh pasta.
I'm gonna toss the roe and the lemon cream sauce,
but I also have some homemade stock
- that I'm tossing in to give it that fishy flavor. - Okay.
Then I have some of the-- Like, the cheeks from the fish
- that I'm gonna put inside the pasta. - That sounds really good.
Make sure your pasta's like silk.
I got a lot riding on you, Gerron.
- I got you. I won't let you down. Yup. - Thanks, bro.
All right, so, Samantha, what do you got going on?
It's gonna be kind of like a soup.
I have the chicken carcass to make a bone broth.
I'm gonna really utilize that juice pulp here,
- Yeah. - 'cause this has, like, kale,
and ginger, and all those wonderful flavors in there.
Something I have learned from my mom is to make stock,
and I use that all the time in college.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
All right, Ashley, what do you got going on?
I'm really excited about this challenge.
You know, Grandma never threw anything away,
- so I'm really channeling her right now. - What is the dish?
I'm going for a stuffed agnolotti.
- You made fresh pasta already? - Yes, it's resting,
and I used some of the juice puree.
It's going to be filled with the chicken livers,
and I also have some chicken skin in the oven right now.
- That's great. - Careful.
- Well, good luck, Ashley. - Thank you.
Aarón: All right, so just over 15 minutes, guys.
Cesar: Gotta do something with that hamachi.
- All right, Cesar. Talk to me about your dish. - Hi, Chef.
I have never cooked with waste, so it's really cool.
I'm gonna be making grilled chicken liver skewers
with sautéed beet tops, with some roasted mushrooms in there,
and a little bit of pickled broccoli and cauliflower stems.
And I wanna use that guy, hamachi,
maybe make a surf and turf idea.
Chicken livers are a very hard proposition
- to make look good. - Yes. Right.
And I need you, 'cause you have my apron on,
you're one of my three,
- to put your idea together and make a cohesive dish. - Okay.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
Mm-mm-mm!
Whose idea was this?
All right, Chef. What's going on?
I'm gonna do an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert.
You're gonna do an entire three course dinner in 45 minutes.
I'm trying.
So I've blitzed the chicken liver parfait.
It's in the fridge setting.
This is the hamachi collar braised with a carrot top chimichurri,
with roasted stems from the mushroom.
How you gonna make a dessert with scraps?
So, beetroots can be caramelized into a dessert,
so it's a salty caramel.
- Have you tested these yet? Yeah. - The chimichurri? Yes.
Might need a little seasoning, a little salt there.
Thank you for that.
See this ingredient? It's the mystery ingredient today.
- It's called salt. - Come on, Joe.
Please, I'm busy.
Man!
Joe: Guys, just nine minutes left.
Aarón: We all gave out aprons.
Right now, currently, I have three out there.
Gordon has three aprons.
More salt.
I have one. I have Gerron as my last hope,
but his dish sounds amazing.
You know, I'm very, very impressed.
90 seconds left.
Final push.
All right, come on, Gerron, you got this.
Aarón: Start thinking about plating.
Let's go, Cesar. Come on!
Joe: Put it in the plate, guys.
We want beautiful dishes.
Aarón: Here we go.
Aarón and Joe: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three, two, one.
- Joe: Stop. - Aarón: That's it. Hands in the air.
That was a very difficult mystery box challenge
using kitchen waste.
Chef Ramsay, please bring your appetizer, entrée and dessert
so we can taste them.
- Mm-hmm! - Wow!
Unbelievable. Look at that.
- Whoa! - Wow!
Please, Chef, tell us what you've made.
For appetizer this evening,
we have chicken liver mousse parfait,
topped with a rendered fat finished with the caramelized citrus salt,
next to a chive blini.
Entrée tonight, we've got that whole hamachi collar braised
in the roasted vegetable pulp,
topped with a carrot top chimichurri,
finished with a salad of pickled stems of broccoli and cauliflower.
And then our dessert this evening
is a salted caramel beetroot stem,
sandwiched in between vanilla shortbread.
- Very nice. - Ashley: Gordon, my mentor.
He did three dishes in 45 minutes with scraps.
- Mmm. - That texture is silky.
- It's smooth. - And the mushroom stems have this umami flavor,
that just completes the dish.
You wouldn't have even expected
that these would be the throwaway ingredients,
and that's what makes him such an inspiration.
That beetroot has a savoriness to it that's beautiful.
- Fantastic. Good job. - Yeah. Really great.
Now, while you worked at your stations,
Aarón and I watched your every move,
and we've tasted elements of every single dish.
We will now take a closer look at three dishes
that made excellent use of those wasted ingredients.
The first dish was made using the chicken skin.
Please step forward, Samantha.
Samantha: I am just blown away that as a college student
learning to stretch my budget and stretch every ingredient
would get me in the top three for the challenge.
I really think this was the perfect mystery box for me.
Okay, Samantha.
What's the dish?
Chicken bone broth
infused with that beautiful juice pulp
and some thinly sliced cauliflower stems,
and crispy chicken skin on top.
So it's basically like a green chicken soup.
Yeah. Exactly. I incorporated a lot
of that juice pulp to really enrich this broth.
I wanted to show that you can make a healthy dish out of those scraps.
Considering 45 minutes, it has an incredible depth of flavor.
- You taste certainly the ginger and the kale. - Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Great use of the pulp.
And I really think combining the chicken broth
with that green pulp was probably one
of the smartest things anyone did out there.
- Thank you. - Because it doesn't taste like leftover
- or waste to me at all. - Mm-mm.
This tastes like a dish that you would pay money for in a restaurant.
- Really, really good, Samantha. - Thank you.
Wow!
- Excuse me, look away. - ( laughs )
Mmm. I mean, it's delicious.
Hearty, packed with flavor. What would I change?
Maybe flash-fry some of those livers.
- Okay. - Chop them up and run the liver through,
so you got sort of that Vietnamese style.
- Sure. - But if this is what you can do
with bits that are unwanted,
heaven knows what you can do
- with a box full of magical perfect ingredients. - Okay.
Great job.
- Nice job, Sam. - Thanks.
The second dish that we would like to examine
is from a home cook that used the staple box and made a pasta.
Please, bring your dish forward, Miss Ashley.
I couldn't be more excited!
Top three!
And I am just glad that with these ingredients
I was able to honor my grandmother's favorite meal.
Describe the dish, please.
Juice pulp herb agnolotti
stuffed with chicken livers, some crispy chicken skin,
and sautéed mushroom brown butter sauce.
So, you're a personal grocery shopper.
This theme of utilizing waste, did it speak to you?
It absolutely spoke to me.
When I get to tell the client how to stretch their dollar
and use every aspect of an ingredient that they buy,
it just gets me excited. It makes me happy.
What I really love about the taste
is you brought the best elements of chicken liver out for me.
- Awesome. - Which is iron-y, creamy, rich,
and the herbs in that juice pulp
really help lift up the actual pasta itself.
Yes.
And then of course the chicken skin
is a little bit of a respite from the richness of the pasta
- and it's a textural note. - Mm-hmm.
If I were to do this differently,
I would just give me a bit little more mushrooms.
- I think they're a little dainty. - Okay.
But this is a real showstopper of a dish.
- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.
This dish respects the traditions of the pasta norm.
The agnolotti are great.
The texture of the pasta is spot-on.
If I had to change one thing, you know what it would be?
- See that pin. - Mm-hmm.
It'd say "JB."
Yes! I gotcha, Joe.
Thank you.
Good job!
The third and final dish we'd like to examine
made expert use of both the fish and the meat.
Please, bring up your dish, Cesar.
- Yes. - Let's go, young man.
It's been a long time since I've been part of the top three in a mystery box,
and although I've never worked with scraps before,
I just made a beautiful dish with them.
Cesar, describe the dish, please.
Today I made grilled chicken liver skewers
with braised beet tops, roasted mushrooms stems,
and underneath it, pickled broccoli and cauliflower stems.
It looks breathtaking.
What was going through your thoughts when you unveiled that box?
I thought about the conversation my dad had with me,
how when he first came to this country,
it was difficult for him to find a job
and he would go dumpster diving
behind grocery stores and eat with that.
And because of all those sacrifices he made,
I could stand here and cook with scraps.
- So, it was an inspiration. - What an amazing story to bring that on the plate.
Who would've thought ten years ago you'd be standing here
and evolving a dish based on what Dad stood for?
I just wish he was here right now to taste that, because it was cooked with heart.
- Let's get that right. - Yeah.
Liver's cooked beautifully.
But then you got that pickling.
That just lifts it to restaurant quality.
And underneath it, you got the mushroom sauce finessed beyond belief.
It's delicious.
I'm so happy that something can taste so beautiful
from a box of leftovers.
- Great job. - Thank you.
It's rich, it's homey.
It's well-seasoned.
And I just love that you chose the mushroom stems as the base of it,
'cause they are meaty and they stand up to the chicken livers.
It gives me a lot of joy to see you grow,
'cause not only do you have my pin,
you're a great representative for our culture and our food.
- Great job. - Thank you.
- Three amazing dishes. - Yeah.
Yeah, I agree.
( Indistinct chatter )
Three incredible dishes, but as always,
only one of you is the winner.
The person who won tonight's mystery box challenge,
the home cook that will take a big advantage
into the next round of this competition--
Congratulations...
The person who won tonight's mystery box challenge,
and the home cook that will take a big advantage
into the next round of this competition...
- ...Cesar. - ( whispers ) Yes.
You made a fantastic dish. Congratulations.
- Thank you, Joe. - And you made Aarón very proud.
Please head to the balcony. Enjoy your success.
Cesar: I win again! Second mystery box.
I'm so proud of my dish,
and it's amazing and rewarding
to have the judges validate that feeling.
There's no other place in the MasterChef kitchen
that I'd rather be than watching from that beautiful view
up in the balcony.
Cesar, congratulations.
- Thank you. - Your first advantage is
that you are now safe and you will not be cooking
in tonight's tough elimination challenge.
You'll learn about your next advantage a little later tonight.
- All right. - As for the rest of you,
all of you will be cooking in the elimination challenge.
And at least one of you will be cooking in here for the very last time.
Please, come to the front.
This next challenge is quite a departure
from your first earlier this evening.
- These are the complete, whole, untouched ingredients - Oh, wow!
You cooked with earlier.
So we've gone from the unwanted scraps
to the Rolls-Royce ingredients.
Wow!
Here we have an amazing whole chicken,
rib eye steak, hamachi fillet,
beautiful beets, fresh kale,
broccoli, whole cauliflower, fresh ginger.
Top seven. There are no excuses.
All of you please head to your stations.
There's so much more pressure when you have a perfect ingredient
and you have to elevate it.
But I have no idea what I'm cooking tonight.
Along with these incredible ingredients, once again,
you will have access to the incredible MasterChef staple box.
You'll have 45 minutes
to make us the best dish of your lives.
Your time starts...
...now.
- Aarón: Come on, guys, let's go. - Go, go, go!
Coming from Kentucky, you know, I love those Southern flavors.
So I'm making braised chicken thighs with sautéed kale.
I feel the pressure being the only person with Joe's pin.
I don't wanna let Joe down, you know.
Tunnel vision, baby. I'm going to the finale.
I'm feeling a little bit nervous.
I was in the top three with the scraps of all of these ingredients,
so I think there's a lot of pressure on me tonight
to really create an amazing dish.
So I'm making a pan-seared rib eye
with a mushroom cream sauce
on a bed of a carrot vinaigrette slaw.
I really want to do all these ingredients justice
and get a great dish out tonight.
All right, guys, when you do like a perfect shop like this
and bring home the best ingredients you can find,
your expectation level both as a cook
and us as judges goes to the roof.
What are we looking for tonight?
For the six now cooking, we're looking for great finesse,
- great flavor profile. - Season it.
And not just MasterChef quality, restaurant quality-plating.
Absolutely. I want a balance of color and texture.
I wanna make sure that there's flavors that are memorable.
Nice.
I'm looking to see the journey.
They entered here weeks and weeks ago.
They're the top seven now.
I wanna see a dish from them
that I could put on my restaurant menu tonight.
Come on, baby. I just need you to get a little bit more browner for me.
Smells really good, guys.
Coming up to 30 minutes to go.
Heard, Chef.
Hurry, hurry, guys.
( Sighs ) I don't know what I'm doing.
- Julia. - Yes, Joe.
So, is this kind of familiar turf for you, these ingredients?
The previous box was probably a little bit easier,
just because there was only so many things that you can do.
With something like this, it's confusing
because the options are just pretty endless.
What's the idea? What are you doing?
I'm gonna do a roasted chicken breast.
I have roasted beets and carrots in the oven.
I might turn it into a puree.
I'm thinking a sauce maybe with the mushrooms,
but I'm not exactly sure.
- You know someone's going home, Julia. - I do, Joe.
- Time to get sure. - I will.
- Who do you think might be going home today? - I'm thinking Bowen.
He's done a lot of the same cuisine,
- so he might just not have anything else to do. - All right.
Get everything done on time. Keep your eye on the clock.
- I will. - Ashley, what you doing?
A pan-seared hamachi with a cauliflower puree
- and pickled carrots. - There's somebody going home.
- Yes, Chef. - Who do you think's losing their edge right now?
I think Bowen started off really strong,
but I just think he's not learning anymore.
Well, you're wearing my apron.
- Don't let me down. - Yes, Chef.
- Okay? Good luck. - Yes, Chef. Thank you.
Cesar: Hurry, hurry, guys.
Less than 15.
- So, Farhan. - Chef.
All right, so talk to me a little bit about your dish.
I'm gonna try working with the hamachi today.
You know, I worked with it earlier.
To go along with it I'm gonna do a crispy kale fritter,
a carrot and cucumber slaw,
and then some sort of beet puree.
And for me, this has been a lifelong dream
to bring Indian food up just like how you brought Mexican food up.
You know, being able to work with you has been such a blessing.
Those beets, 'cause they're so bright in color,
looks like you have lipstick on right now.
- I'm just throwing that out there, okay? - Oh, does it? Okay.
- I love that color of lipstick on you. - Thank you.
- Thanks, Chef. - All right, come on. Let's go.
Bowen, how we doing?
- I'm doing great. - Give me an insight to the dish.
- What you cooking? - The dish is pan-seared hamachi
with kale salad and a cauliflower puree.
Top seven, top five around the corner.
Finale, where you sitting?
Do you feel you're getting stronger?
- Um-- - Everybody else thinks you're done,
- and it's time for you to go home. - I'm not going home.
I'm not base my destiny based on their opinions. I'm not.
That'll be a great upset for me to see you go home.
I'm not going home,
because I need "MasterChef" to change my life.
I want to have my own restaurant,
because everybody think I cannot be a really good chef.
Even my dad, even my mom.
Hey, come on.
( Crying )
I'm not going home,
because I need "MasterChef" to change my life.
I want to have my own restaurant,
because everybody think I cannot be a really good chef.
Even my dad, even my mom. They don't supporting me.
Hey, come on.
- You could do this. - Yes.
Come on, I don't want you getting upset like that.
- Hey, hey. I know you can. - ( crying ) I can do it.
- Yeah. - Yeah, come on. Hey. Let's not worry about Mum.
- Yes. Yes. - Let's not worry about Dad.
I'm here to support you, okay? I think you can do it.
Yes, thank you, Chef.
Just worry about staying in the competition.
- Okay, Chef. - Good man.
Nine minutes left to go.
What's happening with Bowen?
He looks like he's totally deflated.
I think the pressure is getting to him.
But also here's the thing:
His parents never wanted him to cook.
So this guy's on this journey and he feels he's on his own now.
Hustle, hustle, Bowen.
I'll try my best.
- Yes, sir, do it. - Thank you, Cesar.
Julia also seems like she's just in a daze.
She's not in a rhythm. She's kind of in a funk.
- Wow. - That is extremely surprising
considering she's wearing my apron.
I might be losing one of my strongest cooks.
90 seconds to go.
- Final push. - Heard, Chef. Thank you.
Home stretch. Y'all gotta hustle up.
Come on, you got this.
30 seconds remaining. Come on.
Come on, guys. Make sure you get everything on the plate.
Joe: Let's go, guys. Put it on the plate.
- Push! - Cesar: Looking good, Farhan.
- Very nice. - Judges: Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
- Gordon: And stop, hands in the air. - Aarón: That's it. Hands up.
( Applause )
Wow! Well done.
Now, it's time to see how you did.
But before we make any big decisions...
Cesar, you have one huge advantage
that you don't even know about yet.
Dying to know, Chef.
Tonight, you will get to save one person from elimination.
Whoa.
So I hope you were observing, paying attention,
and assessing their performances.
Joe: It is time to choose
who you will be saving from elimination.
I'm gonna save this home cook,
because we have common goals.
We have a same mission when it comes to our food and our cultures.
And I think that would be an ideal battle at the end.
So I'm gonna save Gerron.
Gerron, how you feeling, buddy?
To be saved right now is a complete blessing.
Like, I don't even know what's happening.
You saved my pin?
Saved your pin, Joe.
What'd I tell ya? Me and you.
Take the rest of these guys out.
Okay, Gerron, head up to the balcony.
- I just like you, buddy. - Yeah.
Gordon: Gerron, congratulations.
- Top six! - Thank you, Chef.
And now it's our turn to make some very important decisions.
First up, Bowen.
Tonight, is kind of really rough night for me.
I had to refocus, bring myself together,
and find my confident in the MasterChef kitchen.
I want to show the judges
that I didn't need Cesar to save me tonight.
Bowen, how would you describe this dish?
I made a pan-seared hamachi
with a sweet and sour kale salad,
with cauliflower puree for the garnish.
And what kind of seasoning do you have on the outside of that hamachi?
Salt and pepper, and then I don't want to my fish to be dry.
I drizzle a little bit lemon juice to give extra moist.
They look beautiful.
You can see it's glistening.
It has a beautiful opaque color to it.
It doesn't look dry or brittle.
- All right? - Thank you, Chef.
Mmm.
Thank you for paying respect to the noble hamachi.
- Thank you. - You did a great job.
First of all, you were aggressive with that seasoning.
Hamachi is a steak fish.
It needs a lot of aggressive seasoning.
And then your greens--
They're crunchy, they're not overcooked.
They have a beautiful bite and snap to them.
If I had to take you to task on one thing,
a little citrus vinaigrette.
If you had that right on top,
( snaps fingers ) home run.
But well done, young man.
Mmm.
This is delicious. I'm seriously impressed.
You know, hamachi's cooked beautifully.
Great finesse, lovely seasoning.
Puree, you know, it's soft, it's creamy.
What would I put in there?
I'd put shards of pickled ginger in
with those vegetables so it just lifts that.
- Hamachi, ginger, you know it's like tomato, basil. - Yes.
The irony of this dish is that everybody standing behind you
thinks that you're going home tonight.
I'm gonna guarantee you
that dish will not send you home.
Thank you, Chef.
Bowen: I feel great.
I feel like I'm back on track,
and I focus on Bowen in the finale.
Bowen is back.
Next up, Julia.
Nothing really went as I expected tonight.
I struggled to come up with a recipe.
It took me a while to get it,
but I've been in more pressure tests than anyone,
and I've always survived, I've always come on top,
and I intend to still do it today.
Okay, Julia, please, tell me what the dish is.
It is a roasted chicken breast,
sitting on top of cauliflower couscous with mushrooms,
a roasted beet and carrot puree,
and some crispy greens.
How did you cook the chicken breast?
I pan-seared it, finished it off in the oven,
and then I basted it with butter
that I infused with some garlic and sage.
All right, let's see how the chicken's cooked.
So it's got some decent color on the outside.
And inside...
Hmm.
All right, let's see how the chicken's cooked.
So it's got some decent color on the outside.
And inside...
Hmm.
- How's that look? - Looks perfect.
I will be the judge of that.
The chicken's actually cooked fine,
but there's very little seasoning.
Kind of bland.
And this puree's supposed to be like a silky puree?
No, it's a little bit more coarse.
I like the chunkiness of it.
I didn't wanna thin it out too much.
I thought purees were only smooth.
I think when you roast the vegetables,
- I think it's a nice texture. - Let me check with my colleagues.
Is there such a thing as a grainy puree?
It's called "puree" for a reason 'cause it's a smooth puree.
- That's what "puree" means. Yeah. - Right? By definition.
- So, calling a puree grainy - It's a mash.
Is like admitting there's a defect in your plate.
Okay. So it's a mash?
Chunky mash? I'm not sure.
- What's in the middle here? - It's a cauliflower couscous
- with some mushrooms. - Mmm.
This is good, this is terrible,
and the chicken's--
It's kinda like a chicken breast that you can get on an airline.
You know, just kinda seasoned, cooked okay.
Julia, I'm surprised.
You cooked dishes in the first few weeks that were way more sophisticated.
We're looking for top six.
Not sure.
Chicken breast is boring.
It needs butter, it needs fat, it needs herbs.
The puree's grainy.
It's visually off-putting.
The couscous is watery.
This looks like something that you would get
like on a buffet platter somewhere.
You know you're here for a reason, right?
- Mm-hmm. - You have my pin on.
But this dish is so bad that I can't make any guarantees,
and that's a shame.
I understand.
If I had some technical errors tonight,
I just don't think it's enough to send me home.
There really isn't anybody else in this competition
that has more passion than I do about cooking.
Next up, Ashley, please. Let's go.
Ashley: I have never cooked with hamachi before,
but I wanna show the judges
that even if I'm introduced to a new protein,
that I can handle it.
This is top seven.
You cannot be fearful.
Like, you have to be an A-plus student in that moment and bring it.
Ashley, describe the dish, please.
We have a pan-seared hamachi
with roasted beets,
a cauliflower puree, sautéed mushrooms,
and lemon Swiss chard.
How long did you cook it for?
I cooked it for about 40 seconds
on the flatter sides and then 20 on the shorter side.
Beautiful. Seared beautifully.
- What is the seasoning? - Salt and paprika.
And what have you done with the mushrooms?
I sautéed them with some chili flakes, salt, pepper,
and then there's lemon juice in the sautéed Swiss chard.
- You know, I'm gonna be honest with you. - Okay.
I said to you earlier
the tiniest mistakes tonight could send you home.
- Mm-hmm. - You've taken the most dangerous protein of the night
and elevated it.
Really, really delicious. Hamachi served beautifully
like a nice wedge of tuna.
Lovely seasoning, puree refined.
Smooth and looks beautiful like a coat of varnish on those black plates.
Great job, great finesse.
- Well done. - Yes, Chef. Thank you.
Beautiful sear and flavor on this hamachi.
Very difficult fish to cook. These vegetables are fantastic.
They're super crunchy.
All the flavors come through.
Very impressive.
Obviously this dish in the beginning of the competition
- is not something you could've made. - No.
- This is a result of your journey here in "MasterChef." - Absolutely.
Gordon certainly has himself an excellent student in you.
- Thank you. - Nice job, Ashley.
Thanks.
So the next home cook's dish that we'd like to taste, Farhan.
Farhan: I'm really proud of my dish tonight.
I think this is probably one of my most beautiful plates I've put together.
I've never cooked with hamachi,
but it's one of my favorite fishes.
I wanna show the judges
that I'm not gonna be intimidated by new ingredients.
Describe the dish, please.
So it's a spice-crusted pan-seared hamachi
with a beet puree, a kale fritter,
and then some sautéed mushrooms.
The hamachi, how do you think it should be cooked?
Like a tuna, rare to medium rare.
So you did crisp up the skin separately
or just kinda fell off on its own like that?
No, no, no. I crisped it up separately,
just so it gives that little bit of texture element.
So, you're confident it's gonna be rare when I cut this open?
Yes.
It's cooked okay.
The biggest thing that you have going for you on this is texture.
You have it here by way of this fritter,
and then you have it by way of the skin.
But here's the deal with the flaws.
That beet puree is so off-putting,
it's marring any of the other positive attributes that this dish has.
It's muddy.
It's earthy in a bad way.
It's just falling flat.
You have my pin and that right there is a disappointment.
I understand, Chef.
He said it was cooked okay.
I disagree. I think this is overcooked for me.
There are rules in the kitchen,
and there are standards that we all live by
as professionals in this business.
When we're down to seven cooks on "MasterChef,"
we expect you guys to be playing by those rules.
And there's a couple of cardinal rules that you broke.
Number one, 8 million different ways to make beets.
Pureeing them is not one.
It's fibrous, it will never be smooth.
It will never be pleasing on your palate.
Secondly, hamachi is to be treated exactly like tuna is.
Seasoned on the outside, seared, served rare.
When's the last time you got a medium
or medium-well-cooked tuna?
Never.
Man, I'm feeling really defeated right now.
I felt so confident about my dish when I finished,
and to be so far off the mark, it's disappointing.
Last up, Samantha.
The sear on my steak looks amazing,
but the temperature needs to be perfect.
We are the top seven,
and I'm up against some tough competition,
so if I screw this up,
- I could be going home tonight. - Describe the dish, please.
Today I have a pan-seared rib eye
with a mushroom cream sauce and a carrot vinaigrette slaw.
- Why rib eye? - I don't cook steak like this often,
because a college student-- I can't afford it.
So, I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone with the rib eye tonight.
- Temperature, what we got in there? - I'm hoping medium rare.
Let's get in there, shall we?
So you said medium rare.
I'm hoping.
And...
Oh, my Lord.
- Temperature, what we got in there? - I'm hoping medium rare.
Let's get in there, shall we?
And...
Oh, my Lord.
That is a perfect medium rare.
- ( Exhales ) - ( whistles )
- Samantha: It's beautiful. - Gerron, come on.
It's glistening. I can see it from here.
Great sear. What was the rub? What was the seasoning?
Just salt and pepper, and then I used the drippings from the rib eye,
heavy cream, and those beautiful mushrooms
to give that earthiness.
- Delicious. Let's get that right. - Thank you.
You absolutely nailed the temperature.
- Sauce is delicious. Just be careful. - Thank you.
- You got that amount of acidity with the cream. - Yeah.
It just separates immediately.
- Mm-hmm. Yes, Chef. - Now, will you just do me a favor?
- Flick your hair. So Joe and Aarón can see - Oh.
- Whose pin you're wearing. - ( laughs )
- Great job. Well done. Thank you. - Thank you.
I am bounding with joy right now.
I'm proving a lot even being in this competition,
but to make it to the top seven
and then perform that well under that much pressure.
Yeah, I'll be on that balcony tonight.
( Whispers ) Oh, wow!
This challenge was all about celebrating the beauty
of great ingredients.
And, unfortunately,
one of you will be going home this evening.
Let's get one thing clear.
Three of you tonight definitely made restaurant-worthy dishes.
Samantha,
- Bowen, and Ashley. - Thank you, Chef.
Join those two up on the balcony.
Thank you.
Whenever I'm fighting for my life
or it's a pressure filled challenge, I shine.
I feed off of it.
I am here in the top six.
- Ooh, goodness! - Julia and Farhan,
please, both of you, make your way down to the front.
Thank you.
Farhan, Julia,
you know, two home cooks from Chicago,
both mentored by Aarón.
- ( Julia exhales ) - I'm invested in both of you.
I'm trying to impart my sensibility, my experience,
my way of viewing ingredients and treating them with respect,
and the obvious is that this evening
was a rough ride for both of you.
Unfortunately, the time has come and somebody has to go home.
When I call your name, please, take a step forward.
Farhan.
You know that performance was not your finest hour.
- No, it wasn't. - Farhan...
...undo your apron.
And, Farhan, do it up tighter,
and get your act together.
Your time is not done here.
You, young man, were literally a millimeter
from leaving the competition.
Head upstairs.
I'm feeling so relieved.
I can't believe I'm staying.
I'm gonna really step it up and show the judges
that I can learn from my mistakes, adapt,
and be a better chef because of it.
Oh, Julia, your chicken looking bland
and uncared for was the big shock for me.
I've admired what you've done.
I loved the way you've stood out in team challenges,
but continue that journey.
Please do not stop.
Yes, Chef.
Promise.
Julia, I want you to know I do not regret giving you a pin.
You showed such courage through this process.
People look up to you.
So, please keep your head up high,
and go back to Chicago and kick ass.
- Okay. - Come on up.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Bye-bye.
Thank you.
Good luck, Julia.
Gordon: Thank you, my darling.
Please, place your apron on your bench,
and have a safe journey home.
Julia.
Farhan: Love you, Julia.
My MasterChef journey has been so amazing.
I found my voice in the MasterChef kitchen.
I mean, come on, I won five team challenges out of five.
This Italian girl from Chicago,
she's gonna be around for a really long time.
You think that just because I got eliminated, I'm gonna stop cooking?
Forget about it. You're crazy.
Take a look at each other.
There's only six of you left.
With Julia being eliminated,
Gordon has three, Aarón has two,
and Joe has one apron left.
It feels amazing to be in the final three
of Gordon's mentees.
We have got to stay strong,
because it could be all three of us in that finale.
Gordon: Get some sleep.
You're gonna need it.
Good night.
Home cooks: Good night, Chef.
Narrator: Next time on "MasterChef"...
Four covers, table one. Two New York strip, two duck.
Home cooks: Yes, Chef.
...the top six take over a world-class restaurant.
- Can you do these? I'm shaking too much. - Oh, dear.
- Home cooks... - Touch that scallop. It's ice cold!
...working a two Michelin-star restaurant.
The duck is overcooked. This is a joke!
- What could go wrong? - I got tables that are ready to walk out.
- I need plates. - I need the scallops!
- Speed it up, okay? - I'm speeding it up.
- Come on, season it! - Come on!
I need the food! Come on!
You've just taken a bite out of MasterChef.