Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"...
Pudding is delicious. I just got to get you
- a little bit more refined. Good job. - Thank you, Chef.
You should have your Indian mother-in-law taste this.
It'll turn her hair blonde.
Gordon: You're like this rough diamond
that's come to life in this competition.
Honestly, it looks like
it's just come out of a top restaurant.
Thank you.
Gordon: That puree's one of the best I've ever tasted.
It's really good.
It's got that good old Irish pub feel to it.
Delicious.
It's a sausage challenge and you're presenting it
like it's a pasta challenge. It's not.
Joe: The sausage... I don't know what to say.
- It's terrible. - Gordon: Damn.
Jamie, unfortunately, tonight your dish didn't hit the mark.
Thank y'all so much.
Tonight, it's a mystery box challenge...
- Aarón: Hey. - with a special guest judge...
- Daphne Oz. - Oh, my God!
and a season ten twist...
Tonight, every one of you will be facing elimination.
...as the top eight fight to keep their aprons.
Just one hour to make us one incredible dish.
Your timing is off on that bacon.
Joe: Come on!
She looks like she's in a total tailspin.
Hold up, guys! Stop the clock.
Gordon thinks he can do this...
in 30 minutes.
- This is just beautiful. - It's really good.
I said the challenge was hard enough,
but you screwed it up even more.
The home cook that is going home tonight is...
Just eight home cooks left, guys.
- ( sighs ) - Top eight.
- Here we go. - Whoo!
- Straight to our stations. - Welcome, guys.
Here we go. Here we go.
Ooh, mystery box.
- I love a good mystery box. - Oh, my goodness.
Top eight "MasterChef" is just an unbelievable feeling.
It makes me proud.
You sure that's it? Just eight?
- Yes, Chef. - Just eight.
There's no doubt that all of you guys have come a long way.
- Sarah? - Chef.
We saw you kind of blossom through this process
and really find your culinary voice.
Who is the driving force for you?
I have a daughter who's looking at me to be a strong role model.
Dorian, you can see it in your eyes
just how important every minute of this is.
- Yeah. - Who are you doing this for?
I have to do it for me.
Opportunities don't come often like this.
I think that you need to blossom
into the level of cuisine that you're creating,
and I could see you winning this.
Thank you.
Now, I know that you're thinking right now
that tonight you'll be fighting for immunity.
But you thought wrong.
Tonight, every one of you will be facing elimination.
- God. - ( laughs )
Dorian: Are you kidding me?
I can't believe someone is going home tonight.
Please put on your black aprons.
I'm just hoping that,
you know, I'm able to survive it.
You'll have to face tonight, a huge mystery box challenge
presented by an even bigger mystery guest.
She's a New York Times best-selling cookbook author.
She hosted "The Chew" for seven seasons.
Oh, God.
Please welcome Daphne Oz.
- Micah: Wow. - Hi.
- Welcome, my dear.
- Oh, my God. - Welcome, lovely.
- Good to see you. - Thank you.
- You look amazing. - Shari: I'm stoked.
Like, I've been following Daphne for years.
Not only is she young, she's a mother...
we have all that in common.
But she's also a great cook.
- Welcome to the MasterChef family. - Thank you.
First of all, congratulations. Number four on the way.
Number four on the way. Can you believe it?
Nick, Daphne was younger than you
- when she wrote her first cookbook. - That's amazing.
But I wasn't top eight. This is amazing. This is so cool.
Right, are you guys ready to find out what's under this mystery box?
All: Yes, Chef.
On the count of three, lift those boxes.
One, two, three!
- Lift! - Aarón: Hey.
That's right. A single cast-iron pan.
And in this challenge, you're going to have to create an incredible dish,
blow our minds, using this one pan.
Or as every working parent likes to call them,
one pot wonders.
Bri: I'm a little bit worried,
because the a cast-iron skillet,
I don't actually have one at home.
I don't cook in one pan.
And this is an elimination challenge,
and someone is going home.
Well, to help inspire you,
I'm gonna show you how I make
one of my favorite one pot meals,
because it's also incredibly challenging.
Everyone, please come up here.
Brilliant. Sounds amazing.
Micah: Having Daphne Oz here, it's really awesome.
I mean, she started out in college,
almost the same age as me, when she wrote her first cookbook.
So, I think it's cool to finally meet somebody
who is as passionate as I am at such a young age.
I'm gonna do a quick chicken thigh dinner.
We eat a lot of chicken in our family.
So, I'm gonna put together some nice spice blend.
So, I'm gonna use cracked coriander tonight.
Step one of what you can do with a cast-iron skillet, right?
Mrs. Oz crushing frickin' things with cast-iron?
She's my type of gal.
I'm also throwing fresh thyme into this,
really building that depth of flavor.
She is such a boss. And as I'm watching her cook,
I'm getting inspired by the way
that she's putting down these flavors.
I can't wait to see what happens.
I'm actually gonna just throw them right into the pan
and let the pan do the work. This is one of those meals
where the less you do, the better off you are going to be.
And then a nice handful of beautiful, fresh broccoli rabe.
I want char.
I want everything infusing this vegetable.
Now I'm gonna start with my biscuits.
This is all-purpose flour,
cornmeal, baking powder.
Now, the best part, the butter.
Okay, pop out two out of this guy.
These are gonna cook fast.
That's the other beauty of this whole dish.
It comes together in 20 minutes flat.
An actually critical step of this dish is adding
about eight cloves of unpeeled garlic.
You get an incredible roasted garlic, creamy sweet,
flavorful addition to this meal.
And then that pops right into the oven.
Watching Daphne definitely gives you an idea
of how you can make this one skillet meal.
But she's also been doing this for a really long time,
so I know this is gonna be a hard challenge,
because cast-iron, it is tricky.
- Nice. - See that? You have your sweet roasted garlic
and your beautifully cooked up biscuits right there.
But now, I promised you sweet roasted garlic.
Okay, look how beautifully these just pop right out of their shells.
And we're gonna pull up any bits of that
little bit of chicken at the bottom.
Lay it on top. Okay.
And then a little bit of the micro green
just to give it that colorful touch.
- Beautiful. - And that is how a MasterChef makes a one pot wonder.
- That's beautiful. - Awesome job.
- Gordon: That looks amazing. - Guys, tell me what you think.
- Amazing. - I love how you're reinforcing all the flavors
from that one pot. I love that.
- Shall we? - Thank you.
- You ready? - Beautiful.
So, you will have just one hour,
one pot, to make us one incredible dish.
And tonight, the very best dish
will receive something extremely special.
Their recipe will officially be published
on the Family Circle website.
- Wow. - Now check this out.
I love "Family Circle" magazine.
So, getting a recipe featured on the website
would be incredible.
I definitely need to nail this
and make sure that my head is 100% in this game.
This is America's best-selling food and family magazine,
reaching millions of readers each month.
- Right, let's have 60 minutes on the clock. - Whew!
All right, guys, your 60 minutes
starts... now!
Yes! Be careful.
Okay.
Yeah, I'm excited to cook in one pan.
It's something that I've done before.
So, for me, I'm going to be focusing
on that development of flavor.
I already know that I'm gonna knock this out of the park.
Thai chilis. Ooh! Sorry.
You dropped a potato.
Three minutes gone.
Who's still in there?
I'll try that. Okay, what else do I need?
Um...
I've made a meal in one pan many, many times,
so I feel confident.
My biggest worry is that plating has been my weakness,
and I also want to manage the time effectively.
I don't wanna be the usual Subha running around.
So, this is a tough one
because you really want to use that pan
and imply as much flavor as possible.
Daphne: Well, I think back to all the sort of most
classic uses of a cast-iron skillet,
you're thinking about stews and soups, the corn bread,
- and you can fry in them. - Right, what you don't do
with the cast-iron pan is sear a piece of fish,
sear a filet. You wanna build up flavor.
You wanna use the pot to its best benefit
- in creating a complete dish. - Sure.
Calm and collected today.
I'm gonna be making a clam chowder.
It's something that I've made since I was a little kid.
So we used to go out and just sort of dig
in the mud flats for hours and hours.
It's something that's easy to make at home,
but I need to knock it out of the park.
Come on.
I'm making a filet mignon
with a fondant sweet potato and broccolini.
I'm very comfortable cooking a steak.
Filet mignon is one of my husband's favorite dishes.
I'm Texas born and raised.
There's no way I'm going home on a cast-iron skillet.
Guys, ten minutes gone, just under 50 minutes to go.
- Bri, give us an insight. What are you doing? - Hi.
So I'm gonna do a salmon with a corn puree, bacon candied
to kind of make it a little more fun, and roasted baby carrots.
So the dish sounds simple. So make sure you've got
- that elevated comfort on there as well. - Exactly.
And how are you gonna make this corn puree stand out?
I started off by sweating some shallots,
and then I'm flavoring with salt.
Food dream, give us an insight. Remind us again.
I wanna work in a top-notch kitchen,
- and then eventually owning my own restaurant. - Wow.
Bri: I'm currently a cocktail server,
but that's not my dream. I really need MasterChef
to kind of help kickstart my culinary career.
- I love bacon and corn. That is yummy. - Wow. Absolutely.
- Thank you. - 15 minutes gone, 45 minutes to go.
- Señor Micah. What are you making? - What's going on, Chef?
Cracked pepper crusted filet mignon,
braised kale with cipollinis and bacon,
and then sautéed fingerling potatoes with a bourbon shallot sauce.
- So steak and potatoes? - No, sir.
- Steak, potatoes. - There's steak and there's potatoes.
Right. I just have to say something.
We were just talking before among the judges.
When they asked me what I wouldn't do,
the one thing I said is sear a filet in a cast-iron pan.
You're taking a big risk here, Micah, you know that?
Chef, I... the only way I can make it to the finale
is by taking risks, and I'm not here to be safe.
Micah: Joe doesn't understand my concept.
My flavors will speak for themselves.
A good chef doesn't need to always justify his food.
His food justifies itself.
Your timing is off on that bacon.
You're burn the bacon and the garlic
and the onions are gonna be raw.
Good luck.
Gordon: Just under 40 minutes to go.
Let's go, guys.
- Subha-doo, what's up, buddy? What are you making? - Joe.
I am making my very favorite... shrimp biryani.
It's one of the classic dish in India.
My sister taught me how to make this dish, so it's very special.
You will see me very calm today.
- Joe: You're very calm. - I'm not panicking.
- Today is your day, Subha. - Yes.
Good luck.
Beautiful.
- Wow, it smells good over here. - Wow. It does. What are you doing?
Okay, so what I'm gonna be doing is a Chinese frittata.
My girlfriend's Chinese.
I've gone to China, met her family,
her grandmas, I mean, everything.
So, I'm swinging for the fence
because I want to honor my girlfriend
- in this competition. - That's very sweet.
- But, I mean, frittata we eat for brunch. - Yeah, yes.
It seems a little bit simple, especially on a night like tonight.
This is gonna be elevated in a way you've never had a frittata.
The sauces, I'm gonna be doing a miso, anchovy,
black bean puree. I mean, there's gonna be
- a lot of bold flavors. - Thank goodness for that.
First of all, you need to get yourself
- in the top seven. - Yes, Chef.
Young man, 37 minutes to get there.
- Thank you. - Good luck.
- Good luck, Noah. - Thank you.
Subha, do you have bay leaf?
- Bay leaf, yes. - Can I take a couple from you?
I am going to do chole...
Indian chickpea curry,
with a garlic naan and a cucumber salad.
I returned to the Indian roots.
I've stayed away from them for awhile.
But this is who I am. This is what I cook at home.
My biggest worry is just timing.
I mean, when you're cooking everything in one dish,
timing is crucial.
- Oh, boy, Dorian. Good evening. - Hello.
How are you? Me and my daughter watch you all the time.
- Thank you so much. - So it's definitely a treat to have you here.
I am making peach chicken.
My family loves peach cobbler,
so I take those flavors and put them in a savory dish.
- Daphne: That's so smart. - Now, what would a quarter
million dollars do to Dorian?
It will just open up so many doors
that I haven't been able to open for myself
because I'm learning being here, I have to be first.
If I'm not first with myself, then I can't be anything to anybody else.
Daphne: I think all moms struggle with that.
You got 34 minutes. Get yourself into top seven.
- I am. - Thank you. Good luck.
- Sarah. - Hi, Chef.
- What are you making? - Fondant sweet potatoes,
and then I'm gonna make that beautiful filet with a pan sauce.
This dish seems pretty straight-up.
I just wanna make sure that I'm able to elevate it enough.
If you can whip up an incredible, evocative pan sauce
and really kind of make it pop, that could work.
I think the biggest part of this riddle is let us feel
- like it's cooked for two hours. - Okay.
- You know what I mean? - Yes, Chef.
Sarah: It's a lot trickier than it might seem
to come up with a comprehensive dish
in 60 minutes using one skillet.
And someone is going home,
but there's no way I'm not getting into the top seven.
- ( grunts ) - Gordon: Wow.
What a majestic array of dishes.
Bri, she's doing a take on a sort of corn and bacon puree
with a roasted salmon.
- Now it sounds a little bit dull. - Here's the problem.
A half hour has gone by, and there's nothing cooking in that cast-iron pan yet.
Daphne: Well, I wonder if that's why she likes salmon a lot.
- It's like a ten-minute cook. A twelve-minute cook. - Sure.
So, Micah and Sarah, they're going to be making steak and potatoes.
A lot of meat and potatoes happening.
I think just searing things in and out of a pan,
I don't know, is that defeating the purpose?
It's tricky to be able to do all this, one hour, one pan.
Are you kidding me? It's, like, really hard.
- Come on, I could do this in half the time. - If you could it, then do it.
Don't say that to me, because I'm going to go and do it.
Hey, hold up, guys. Stop the clock.
Get this. Gordon thinks he can do
a one pot wonder in 30 minutes.
- You're making a mistake. - Gordon, your time starts now!
- Whoo! - Aarón: Don't make us look bad.
Why is he doing this to himself?
- Where is he cooking? Behind us? - Oh, my God.
That's gonna be awesome.
It's just... it's literally not enough time to do anything really good.
Whoa, he's hustling. Oh!
No scrambled eggs, Gordon. Come on.
It'll be interesting to see what he pulls out.
It is a treat to watch him cook.
You got this, Chef.
Guys, time is flying. Control your heat.
Be mindful of your temperature, Bri.
You don't want to scorch that skin.
( bleep )
Oh, my gosh.
The skin stuck to the cast-iron skillet.
So now I have to make a whole 'nother salmon,
and I haven't even started my roasted baby carrots.
I'm freaking out.
This is gonna take so much extra time.
If I don't execute the salmon perfectly, I'm done.
Man, Bri. What is she doing?
It looks like Bri overcooked her first salmon.
Totally just went back to the pantry
- to get another piece of salmon. - Ooh.
She looks like she's in a total tailspin right now.
- I hope she can pull it off. - Let's go, Bri.
I definitely didn't want to serve the judges
that horrible-looking piece,
so this next piece of salmon has to work out.
Potatoes or rice?
I'm gonna go with the rice.
Let's go, Chef Ramsay.
Don't ruin that hair.
Micah: I'm scared to see what he's gonna do.
The dude only had 30 minutes. We had an hour.
But then again, he has, like, 17 Michelin stars,
so I'm sure he can pull something out.
My first time seeing it in the flesh.
- Joe: What are you making? - Gordon: So I'm gonna go for
a lemon pepper chicken pot pie.
So, it'll be a nice short crust on top,
but the problem is getting that pastry cooked
and the chicken cooked at the same time, as you know.
In the 19 minutes that are remaining, may I remind you.
- Yes. Defying the odds. - Good luck.
- Thank you very much. - Don't let us down.
Thank you, Daphne.
Aarón: There you go, Noah.
I'm feeling awesome, actually, now.
The flavors are coming together great.
My egg mixture is spot-on.
100%, this dish is gonna make me in the top seven.
All right, Nicholas, what do you got going on?
I'm making a clam chowder, Chef.
Okay, pretty straightforward.
What about yours is gonna be so compelling?
I want all the flavors from the ocean. I don't want to lose any.
- I'm gonna leave a couple whole ones on the plate. - Cool.
So, one thing that could potentially go wrong
is you can overcook them and they could be rubbery.
- Yes. - So you're gonna be very mindful of that.
- Absolutely, Chef. - Best of luck, young man.
Nick: This dish, despite sounding really simple,
I think is strangely ambitious,
just because typically with a clam chowder,
you wanna let it sit for awhile.
So, to actually marry all those flavors in an hour is tricky.
And I'm a little bit nervous, you know,
that time will be against me on this one.
- Joe: All right, Subha, what's going on? - Yes.
So, the biryani is already in.
I have my lovely apple and cucumber salad.
- My mouth is on fire. - Oh, my God, that is so hot.
Joe: You should really try and taste this to make sure.
Yeah, I'm gonna put some cream.
Subha, if you win MasterChef, what are you gonna do?
I'm gonna use the platform to help people.
I was extreme Type 2 diabetes five years ago.
- Oh, my goodness. - And by eating the good nutritious food
and food cooked well, people can actually heal many, many diseases.
Right now my sugar is perfectly controlled.
- That's amazing. - If you can try this piece.
- You think it's gonna be better? - Oh, my God.
- Yeah, definitely. - Joe: All right.
- Oh, sorry. - Joe: Yeah.
- It's just green apples and red apple. - Mmm. Yep.
- Thank you, Subha. - Thank you.
So, Chef Ramsay is making a chicken pot pie.
Problem is, how is he gonna get it reduced and caramelized?
If he can really get that developed flavor,
- I'd be really impressed. - Would you let him know that you were really impressed?
No. Not over my dead body
I'd let him know that I was impressed with anything he did.
Aarón: 15 minutes, everyone. 15 minutes.
Dorian, what do you got going on?
I got some peach chicken going on.
Just trying to get my rice done.
Okay, now just be mindful of how much you're opening
- and closing it. - I'll leave it closed.
Best of luck.
All right, Micah. So, you have your steak filet.
- Is that garlic or shallots in there? Are they burning? - Shallots.
Whatever it is, it's burning, you know that?
( groans ) Give me one moment.
Micah: My pan was too hot.
So, I throw my shallots into that hot fat,
and they burn almost instantly.
And, of course, it's right in front of Joe.
And he already thinks my dish is gonna be trash.
I just wanna smash my head into the table at this point,
because all I can hear is him saying I told you so.
Micah, no.
It's all burnt. You have to wipe out that pan
or whatever you put in there is gonna taste burnt now.
Let's leave him. Good luck.
I'm going to prove Joe wrong and really show
that I can bring that grace and elegance
and make steak and potatoes elevated.
Aarón: All right, guys.
Just over nine minutes, everyone.
Aarón: Let's go, Sarah!
The trickiest part of this dish is the sauce.
I have to use this skillet
so that all of the flavors come through,
and it has to be elevated enough
for the MasterChef kitchen.
There's not really a lot of time left,
- but I have to nail this. - Mmm. Okay, there we go.
Now we are cooking.
Come on, Mr. Rice.
Dorian: Elimination is on the line
and this rice will not cook.
I've never had rice do this before.
I can't go home just because of uncooked rice.
Aarón: All right, everyone, just over three minutes, yes?
- Come on, Mr. Rice. - Man, come on.
( groans )
- Under three minutes left. - Aarón: Let's go, Chef Ramsay!
Start thinking about your plating, everybody.
Come on, Mr. Rice. Come on.
- I'm never cooking rice again. - Let's go, Chef Ramsay!
We want to see MasterChef level food here.
And as elegant as possible.
- He's kissing the oven. - Aarón: Man!
Oh, thank gosh.
- Perfect. - There you go, Noah. Pick your best one.
Last minute. 60 seconds, come on!
Come on, Chef Ramsay! No excuses!
Let's go, Subha. You can do it, mijo.
Doesn't matter what you cook, just matters what gets on the plate.
15 seconds!
I mean, he is waiting till the last possible second.
- Joe: Come on! - Aarón: Let's go!
Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
three, two, one.
- Hands up. - ( Daphne cheers )
Joe: Hands in the air!
- Good job, Chef. - Seriously? Well done.
- I feel great about that. - Man, that was tight.
Pastry could've been a little bit thicker, but I was up against it time-wise.
Fingers crossed, this is the best
lemon chicken pot pie ever in 30 minutes.
I had a little bit of a panic there
with that first salmon.
But I grabbed a new piece, and it turned out beautifully.
Now it is time to see what magic you could create
in one pot in one hour.
The first cook whose dish we'd like to take a closer look at
actually only had 30 minutes.
- Yes. - Come on up here with you dish.
- Yeah, Chef! - Go get it, Chef.
- Ah! - Man.
I made a delicious
lemon scented chicken pot pie.
30 minutes? Like, he's such a show-off.
He put leaves on his pie.
Aarón: Man.
It kind of looks perfect.
- Wow. - Ooh!
Joe: Give it a try, guys.
- It's really good. - I mean, this is unreal.
Aside from the fact that it's very, very good,
I'm actually a little bit surprised
at how you were able to do that in that short of time.
- It feels like really it's been cooking for three hours. - Right.
- Good job. - Thank you.
Take your apron off. Let's get to some serious matters.
That cast-iron was a tough challenge,
because 60 minutes sounds a long time,
but you can't fast-track a beautiful slow cook.
So, I'm gonna take my hats off to all of you.
Give yourselves a round of applause, seriously.
Now, we need to taste all your dishes
and decide who's going home.
First up, let's start off with Bri.
Okay.
I'm excited. The salmon looks beautiful.
The skin is crispy, so I'm feeling good about my dish.
I have a crispy salmon with a corn puree,
candied bacon, roasted baby carrots,
and I pickled some shallots on top.
I could see a little bit of jeopardy.
- What happened? - The skin stuck the first time.
But I started over, and I'm glad I did.
- Are you confident it's cooked inside? - I am.
Shall we?
Bri, the salmon is raw.
Oh, shoot.
Oh, it's completely raw. Ooh-oh.
Dang it.
- The actual puree is delicious. - Thank you.
The bizarre thing on here are the carrots.
Listen to this.
( clacking )
The puree was delicious.
What I'm missing on this plate, honestly?
The cast-iron challenge itself.
- I wanna see more char. - Sure.
I wanna see the carrots themselves get this nice blackening.
Okay.
- Thanks, Bri. - Thank you.
This isn't just an immunity challenge.
Someone is going home.
And if your protein is raw,
it's pretty much an automatic out.
The next dish we would like to taste further
would be from Miss Sarah.
Let's go, Sarah.
Sarah, please describe your dish.
So, I have a medium rare filet mignon
with sautéed broccolini,
and a fondant sweet potato with cabernet pan sauce.
You're making meat, potatoes, and veg, which at this point,
I think we're looking for more sophistication.
So, for me, it's all about that sauce.
So, you want a medium rare in here?
Yes.
And that it is.
- Very nice. - Joe: Ooh, very nice.
- Aarón: Man, that is beautiful. - Daphne: Very nice.
It is kind of perfect in its simplicity.
The broccolini are both acidulated
and flavorful at the same time.
The pan sauce is rich and good. You nailed it.
- Thank you so much. - Yeah, considering you had one vessel
to cook everything, and I can taste
so many different techniques and so many different layers of flavor,
- I love everything about it. - Daphne: Yeah, I agree.
And I love the choice of sweet potato.
I thought that was really smart
because everything else on this plate is very salty.
I think the sweet really ties everything together.
- It was beautiful. - Thank you so much.
- Well done. - Great job, Sarah.
Making steak and potatoes was definitely risky,
but they all loved it!
I'm pretty sure I'm gonna be up on that balcony soon.
That looks awesome.
- Good job. - Thanks. Thank you.
- Okay, Mr. Subha. - All right, let's go, Subha.
and an apple, cucumber, saffron, date salad.
Subha, I think this is one of your best plating.
Thank you, Chef.
So, when did you fold in the shrimp? At what point?
Just before I put it in the oven
for about 15 minutes.
It's delicious.
Okay, you have this incredible
DNA of flavor profile
that lights up this kitchen every time.
So, that's what kind of power you deliver.
Coming from you, I'm very humbled.
- Thank you very much. - Daphne: I agree.
I love the addition of the textural plays
with the cashews and that shallot mix.
You should bag that, bottle that.
Whatever. It is so delicious.
- Thank you. - I think my comment is as much
for the rest of the eight of you left,
that Subha is one to watch right now.
Thank you, Subha.
- Good job, Subha. - Great job, Subha!
- Really good. - Everyone thinks that,
you know, I am the Willy Wonka
of "MasterChef" season ten.
But I'm as good as anyone else out here...
- Well done, Subha. - ...and today I proved it.
Next up, Noah, please. Let's go.
Noah: Looking down at my dish,
I did exactly what I wanted to do.
I mean, I'm feeling really good.
- ( exhales ) - Joe: Oh, boy.
Gordon: Noah, describe the dish, please.
All right, so what we have today is a Chinese frittata.
It's on top of a fermented and anchovy black bean paste,
and around the rim is a vinegar broccoli rabe yogurt sauce.
This plating is kind of horrendous.
- Um... - That wouldn't be served
in any restaurant anywhere.
This plating is kind of horrendous.
That wouldn't be served in any restaurant anywhere.
- What's the protein? - Pork two ways.
It's in the sauce and I put it into the frittata.
I respect the Chinese culture, but you just need to be careful
because a little knowledge is dangerous.
It's a bizarre combination
between the spice and the kick of the salad.
And then you've got the dense pork in the middle.
The unappetizing aesthetic is matched in the flavor.
It's unsophisticated. It's unevolved.
The sauces are out of balance with the protein.
I think the only way that this could've potentially been saved
is if you put this in a tortilla, to be honest.
- Yeah, make a taco. - Yeah, because you have the bean mixture,
you have eggs, and you have a red based chili salsa.
Tonight, somebody's going home,
and unfortunately, you've got one foot out the door
because the dish doesn't make sense.
I said the challenge was hard enough,
but you screwed up even more by being silly
with a Chinese frittata.
Thank you, Noah.
Damn. He's got so much more to him than that.
Noah: I'm embarrassed beyond my wildest dreams.
I feel like I disrespected my girlfriend's family.
I feel like a complete idiot.
All right, Miss Dorian, bring a little flavor
of the south down here, please.
Dorian: I'm not happy with my dish.
I'm still not sure if the rice is done,
and anything right now can send you home.
Miss Dorian, please describe your dish.
This is my smothered herb peach chicken with rice.
I love the char on the outside
and the roasting of the skin and all that.
I'm concerned about the cooking of the rice, to be very honest.
I see the white little specks in the middle of those granules,
- and it's concerning me. - Right.
- Shall we taste? - Yeah.
Sadly, the rice is undercooked
a little bit, but it tastes fantastic.
It's exotic. I love the vanilla.
- I love all the different spices. - Thank you.
It's interesting. Like he said, it's sweet. I love the taste of vanilla.
But I expect certain things from you, Dorian.
It's not true Dorian standard.
What I'm missing in this dish is the textural play.
I want the chicken, like, breaded in cornmeal.
I want something to give that a star standout quality
in a way that feels really authentic
- but elevated. - Gordon: Yeah.
It's one of your flattest dishes that you've done.
Okay.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
I think this just goes to show
that the cast-iron skillet was harder than I think
- anyone thought it would be. - Gordon: 100%. Without doubt.
Okay, next, Nick.
I thought I should show something that I grew up making.
So I made for you a clam chowder,
even though I know I like to usually go
with those kind of inventive creations.
I like the color contrast.
I like how smooth and creamy the soup looks,
but with those little textural pops on top with the clam shells.
I love it it. This is my favorite plating of the night, actually.
Thank you.
If that is as good-tasting as it is looking,
then, yeah, we're in for a treat.
Joe: Let's taste it.
- It's delicious. - Thank you.
Tastes like a beautiful New England clam chowder.
I think that the layers of flavor in here are amazing.
The clam flavor comes through really nicely.
The worst is when it just tastes like a pile of green.
- This tastes like seafood. - A little bit too thick for me.
I think you went a little bit too heavy on the flour,
but a smart utilization of that cast-iron pan.
You know your way around clams, kid. Nice chowder.
- It's great. - Thank you.
Good job, Nick. Good job.
- Really profound. - Joe: It was great.
Next up, Shari, please, let's go.
Shari: I'm so excited for Daphne to taste this curry.
And I think she's going to be really happy with my dish.
This is something that if you came to my house,
you might eat this.
Shari, describe the dish please.
I have an Indian style chole,
which is like a chickpea curry, a drier version,
with garlic naan.
Visually, it looks good.
And how do you cook chickpea in 60 minutes?
I'm very experienced.
This is like a Tuesday night dinner at my house.
The naan is delicious.
It's cooked all the way through.
I think the fresh herb on top is beautiful.
But I want a little yogurt,
something to cool it a little bit.
- That's the only thing that this dish is missing. - Okay.
So, this is Tuesday night.
What happens on Wednesday night?
- Biryani. - Because I'm coming Tuesday.
I'm staying Wednesday, too.
- Thursday, Friday, Joe? - Thursday, Friday, I'm going back to New York
because I can't stay in Minnesota more than a day and a half.
Thank you, Shari.
Thank you. So nice to meet you.
Next, we'd like to try Micah's dish. Come on down.
Okay, Micah, what did you make for us?
A pepper crusted filet mignon, sautéed fingerling potatoes
with braised kale and cipollini mushrooms
- with a bourbon shallot sauce. - Steak and potatoes.
I don't mind a classic presentation,
but I think you should've been thinking about the color play.
The potatoes plus steak plus kind of muted brown
feels one-dimensional to me.
- What temp have you gone for in the filet? - Medium rare, Chef.
It's definitely rare.
- Yeah. - It's kind of burnt on the outside.
All that pepper is burnt.
That sauce came together really nicely.
However, I'm just not getting the rich, fatty feeling,
a beautifully charred, salty, sizzled steak
that you have the opportunity to get in a cast-iron skillet.
- Thank you. - I've got this ragged
overcooked beef on the outside,
and slightly dense and unseasoned on the inside.
I've seen you cook better.
- Way better. - This dish for me,
it's a series of missteps and mistakes.
Thank you.
Micah: I let myself down.
I thought that my dish was gonna speak for itself.
But in all honesty, there was nothing being said by it.
So I could be going home tonight,
and that's a very upsetting thought.
That was a tough challenge this evening.
We now need a moment to discuss these dishes.
I believe that this is the first big mistake
that I've made in this competition.
Noah's dish, at this point, it's not cutting the mustard.
But for me to get sent home right now
would be devastating.
- Micah, the dish went wrong. - Oh, it was terrible.
- It was terrible. - Bri's dish, nothing...
nothing nailed it for me on that dish.
- It's a brutal night. - Ready?
- Yeah. Good. - Indeed.
Gordon: Let's go.
We're down to the last eight,
and sadly tonight for one of you,
you've cooked for the very last time
inside this incredible kitchen.
Well, in better news, one of you is gonna have
their recipe featured on the Family Circle website.
And that dish was cooked by...
Subha.
- Oh, my God. - Well done, Subha!
- Well done, well done. - For tonight's winning recipe,
you can visit FamilyCircle.com.
- Oh, thank you, sir. - Great job, Subha.
Aarón: Subha, your dish, it told a beautiful story.
In Spanish the word suba
means to go up... subir.
So why don't you subir up to the balcony, my friend?
- Okay? Good job. - Thank you, Chef.
- Great job, Subha. - Good job.
Subha: I am amazed.
This is the kind of news I want to tell my wife.
She is going to be so proud of me.
I'm on cloud nine.
Young man, you have now put shrimp biryani on the map.
Yeah, shrimp biryani in one pot.
Okay, guys, we were also impressed
by three more home cooks tonight.
Sarah, Nick, Shari,
your dishes were thoughtful and also very good.
Dorian, tonight was not your best performance.
But it was certainly enough to keep you from going home.
Please, go to the balcony and put on your white aprons.
- Well done. - Congratulations.
Noah: Good job, Dorian.
To be in the top seven, it feels amazing.
But it was way too close for me.
So under no circumstances am I gonna get comfortable,
because I'm here to win. I'm a fighter.
Gordon: At this stage of the competition,
we expected more from all three of you.
This challenge was all about utilizing the cast-iron pan.
Bri, the dish was lackluster, and it didn't strike us
that you maximized that input from that cast-iron pan.
Noah, tonight that little knowledge from China confused you,
because you didn't play to your strengths.
You had no control.
Micah, I'm not saying that you took it lightly,
but you took a big risk just cooking a filet.
It needed to be elevated, and honestly,
it wasn't even cooked properly.
Based on the dish alone,
the home cook that is going home tonight is...
this is a shock for us...
Bri.
Noah and Micah, head upstairs.
Micah: I'm definitely treading on thin ice tonight,
and I just wasn't the worst, and that's why I'm here.
Moving forward, I have to really step it up
because I definitely could've gone home tonight.
Gordon: Oh, Bri.
You left us with no option this evening
because the salmon was raw.
Your plating is incredible.
And one thing that is definitely confirmed,
- you have a future in food. Come on. - Thank you.
I can promise you that I won't stop cooking
and, um, I've learned a lot.
Noah: Awesome, Bri. Awesome.
Come and say good-bye, young lady.
Bri: It's really hard to walk away right now,
but I've really had some high points
throughout this journey.
Congratulations, Blue team!
( cheering )
Oh, my God! Oh, my God!
- You dress food beautifully. It's like your hair. - Thank you.
- There's not a hair out of place. - With that being said,
this competition is definitely
the hardest thing I've ever done.
The dessert for me is an insult to France.
But I think I've shown enough of my strengths
as the best plater of the competition.
The whole thing screams of umami.
- Very satisfying. - Thank you so much.
And I think I'm more ready now
to go into that culinary world,
and I think it's really just the beginning.
- Bye, Bri. - Bye, guys.
Gordon: Wow.
Now, you talented seven, you need to keep fighting
so you don't go home before your time.
Get some sleep. Good night.
Good night, Chefs. Good night, Joe. Good night, Daphne.
Shari: Nice to meet you, Daphne.
( music playing )
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