Announcer: Previously on "MasterChef."
The 40 best home cooks in America
faced off in the culinary challenges...
Watch very carefully.
I'm only doing this once.
...of their lives.
This is the battle of the tacos.
- Salmon... - Cupcakes.
Oh, lord.
- In the end... - That is remarkable.
- only the very best... - It's delicious.
...claim the coveted white apron
and a place in the MasterChef kitchen.
Tonight...
- Gordon: A grocery bag. - Christina: You couldn't level the playing field
anymore than we have tonight.
The top 20 take on their first mystery box challenge.
- This is pretty terrifying. - Steady hand, Sam.
- They've won their aprons... - Why kebab?
- Now they fight... - Heather, just do what I do and ignore them.
- ...to keep them. - Is this a joke for you?
Take it serious... or take your apron off.
( giggling )
( cheering )
Welcome, guys. Come on down, please. Let's go.
It is amazing to be in the top 20.
Just last week I was preaching in Detroit,
and today I'm in the MasterChef kitchen.
Yes! Let's go!
I'm here to change my life.
I'm 43 years old.
I've raised my children. I've been married before.
I'm ready to do me now. It's my turn.
Dino: I thought I had a nice kitchen back in Brooklyn.
But walking into this MasterChef kitchen,
it makes mine look like a hot dog stand.
It's beautiful, it's elaborate, it's detailed.
There's pretty much every piece of equipment you could ever need.
I want to go "Edward Scissorhands" on it
and go crazy with everything on my fingers.
There's just so much things I want to use in here.
Welcome to the one and only MasterChef kitchen.
You are the top 20 home cooks in all of America.
America's next master chef is standing in front of us right now.
And with that title comes incredible prizes.
For starters, a quarter of a million dollars.
- And a guaranteed spot on the next MasterChef cruise. - Yes!
And of course, there's the greatest prize of all--
the MasterChef trophy.
- Christina: Yes. - ( cheering )
Yachecia: Beautiful. Whoo!
All right, home cooks, there's only one way
to kick off this competition.
The iconic mystery box challenge.
All of you, at the count of three,
lift your boxes.
Whoo!
Gordon: One, two...
three. Lift.
- ( laughter ) - Grocery bag.
All right.
Gordon: A brown grocery bag.
Why don't you go ahead and see what's inside your bags?
- Ooh. - Ooh la la.
Broccoli...
I imagine everything looks pretty familiar.
Oh, yeah.
Christina: And that's because these are 12 of the most common items
found on any American home cook's shopping list.
Bananas...
Your ingredients include chicken breast, ground beef,
- Rice... - potatoes, canned tomatoes,
- Bacon. - Carrots, white cheddar cheese,
green apples, and chocolate.
You'll also have access to the standard MasterChef staple pantry box.
Tonight, you'll have just one hour
to take the most popular ingredients across all of America,
and make us a phenomenal dish.
Win this challenge, and you will get
a huge advantage moving forward.
Your 60 minutes starts now!
Go!
Larger measuring cups, larger measuring cups...
All right. Let's get it going here.
Right, tonight's first mystery box challenge.
A grocery bag. I mean, some of the most incredible products
anywhere in America that every home can recognize.
Christina: I mean, those are the basics.
You couldn't level the playing field any more than we have tonight.
This is so cool.
So I'm doing five things today.
I'm making the ultimate breakfast.
Chicken apple sausage, buttermilk biscuits and gravy,
soft scrambled egg, and a little hash browns.
My grandmother always made a really big breakfast
every single solitary time and so...
I like the extra elements so you're full.
Never know how long it's gonna be till lunch.
I am making a crispy-skin, oil-poached, bacon chicken breast
with broccoli and an apple slaw.
This is me paying homage to my parents.
They had this amazing ability to feed four kids within 20 minutes
because they're doctors and they got home very late.
And they used to make this all the time.
I'm gonna make something my kids love a lot.
I'm gonna do a curry chicken breast over a bed of rice,
and I'm gonna fry some banana down in some flour.
My husband's Indian, so this is something
that's traditional to him that I make all the time.
So I'm making this recipe with love.
Gordon: Just under 40 minutes to go, guys.
Okay, so, Brien, what is about your experience
that makes you such a competitor?
I grew up in Northern California, a town called Redding,
and we'd go fly fishing.
My father, he'd take me out fly fishing almost every weekend.
And we'd stop by the local deli
and get whatever we wanted.
So I'm gonna be making a deli-inspired broccoli and bacon slaw,
with a little fried chicken
and some fried potatoes we have back home called "jo jos."
So it's gonna be an ode to the fishing trip with my father.
I love it. Keep your eye on the prize.
- Keep your eye on that clock. Good luck. - Thank you so much, chefs.
- Right, Sam. - Yes.
Tell me about the dish. What are you doing?
I'm making meatloaf and mashed potatoes.
I'm a creative writing teacher,
and this is one of the things
that they're always serving in the lunch room, and--
- Yes. - The kids think it's sort of icky,
so I'm taking it up like three notches.
I'm also Jewish, and so we do a lot of fried chicken skin. We call it gribenes.
And so I'm doing some of that action too.
Where's the skin going?
I'm gonna use the skin to garnish the mashed potatoes.
- Very posh. - Well...
Yeah?
Can't wait to taste that crispy chicken skin. Good luck.
So, Heather, talk to me about your dish.
Uh, my mom's Peruvian, so I'm making some Peruvian rice
and, like, a Latin-inspired chimichurri sauce for my chicken.
And then I'm gonna fry it up.
- All right, I love it. - Great. So what do you think
about this idea of this grocery bag?
Well, we didn't have a lot of money growing up.
So my mom would try to make whatever she could
using the ingredients that she had.
And so it's gonna be an ode to my mother.
Outstanding. Keep your eye on the prize.
Absolutely. Thank you guys so much.
- Of course. - Good luck.
Thank you.
Right, Mark. Tell me about the dish. What are you doing?
So I'm a powerhouse guy, so I need to start
with a good breakfast in the morning.
- So it's gonna be pancakes, eggs, bacon. - Breakfast.
I'm gonna do a caramel sauce,
and then I'm gonna do a potato latke.
Right. Do you not get intimidated with all this talent around here?
I feel incredibly ready to win this whole thing.
- The whole competition, Mark? - I didn't come here to lose.
- Make this breakfast a breakfast to remember. - I will, sir.
- Good luck. - Thank you.
- Hey, Jennifer. - How's it going today?
Jennifer, Louisiana's in the house with you, right?
Yes, yes, it definitely it is today.
I'm actually doing a blackened chicken with étouffée sauce
with a vegetable medley.
So I'm kind of doing, like, something salty
and some sweet.
All right, so what makes you such a fierce competitor
that's gonna beat all these other 19 home cooks?
I think it has to do with since I was a kid
I learned from the best people,
and then the people in my family.
You can't make up soul, so...
- That's true. - Put it on a plate, girl.
Yeah, I will. I promise y'all.
Thank y'all.
Just over five minutes to go.
Let's get it on.
Baby doll.
Wow, I mean, first of all, this is incredible
because I've never seen such intensity
across the first mystery box challenge.
- Oops. - Mark is doing his take on an American breakfast,
but he wants to sort of elevate that take.
- Okay. - Ooh.
Yachecia, she is doing biscuits and gravy.
But hold on, she's gonna do
a cheddar scrambled eggs as well.
You know, she just keeps on giving and giving and giving just to finish it.
Jennifer is doing a roast chicken breast
- with a little Louisiana twist. - Love it.
Sam's attempting a meatloaf across 60 minutes.
Incredible.
60 seconds remaining.
Yeah. What?
- Christina: Come on, guys. - Come on guys, final minute.
You got this, you got this.
Gordon: You want to get your hands on that huge advantage.
- Ten... - Judges: Nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one.
- Gordon: And stop. Well done. - Christina: Hands in the air.
Yeah! Nailed that!
- Christina: All right. - Well done.
Now, tonight, you were all given
12 of the most popular items on everyone's shopping list.
As you know, we have studied and tasted
everything you've done across the 60 minutes.
Tonight, there were
three dishes that stood out.
- Sam, - Good job, Sam.
Heather and Mark.
Head on up here, let's go.
I'm in a complete loss for words.
I feel like Aladdin on the carpet
just floating by my competitors.
I've got this.
I'm gonna be getting the advantage.
Mark, Heather and Sam
tonight, you three stood out
for all the wrong reasons.
All three of us were hugely disappointed.
Because all three of your dishes were a mess.
Mark, Heather and Sam.
Tonight, you three
stood out for
all the wrong reasons.
Because all three of your dishes were a mess.
Mark, Heather, Sam,
you bottom three, please head into the wine room.
This is pretty terrifying.
I feel like I'm waiting in the chairs outside the principal's office.
My goose might be cooked. It might be over already.
They might just come, pull us out, chew us out,
and send us home.
All right, well now, on to better news.
Three home cooks in particular
really impressed us.
The first dish that really caught our eye,
this dish had great finesse around it.
Showcasing those ingredients, more importantly,
MasterChef-worthy.
Please come down...
Yachecia.
( laughs )
Yeah, mama. You go, Yachecia.
The first name called is Yachecia!
Yay! Hallelujah!
Thank you, Jesus.
I spent my childhood making biscuits with my grandmother,
so I know I am making Grammy proud.
Right, describe the dish, please.
It is biscuits and gravy,
with homemade chicken and apple sausage,
homemade buttermilk pepper biscuit,
crispy home fries underneath,
and a soft scrambled egg on top.
So you do all that and then three minutes to go
decide to make scrambled egg on the side.
Is this what you're like in general?
Absolutely, because sometimes I have to preach the sermons,
sing the songs and be the janitor.
So we got to put it all in there.
Let's talk about the biscuits.
We couldn't believe how light and exciting they were.
Well, cold butter is my key.
And then I didn't have buttermilk, so I had to make it.
And added buttermilk to it.
Really high temperature for a short amount of time.
- Wow, I mean, it's delicious. - Thank you, sir.
It tastes expensive, yet it was made with the staple ingredients.
The biscuits are incredible.
The potato underneath, cooked beautifully,
You know, but what would I change?
- Just a touch less cream in the sausage. - Okay.
It's very rich.
But the flavor's there.
And if that's what you do for breakfast,
God knows what you do for dinner.
- Great job. Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.
Hallelujah, right?
Well, well, done.
A lot of big flavor there but none of those spices are overpowering one another.
I think your idea of making buttermilk
and enriching that dough for the biscuits
is really exceptional.
If there's such a thing tasting like 60 minutes,
that's what it tastes like.
- Excellent job. - Thank you, Chef.
I mean, we didn't give you chicken apple sausage.
Talk me through that sausage.
I took the chicken breast
and ground it up with some spices,
fresh dill, apples,
and flavored it up with a little bit of cayenne,
give it a little kick, a little heat.
That dish is delicious.
The eggs add a great light, fluffy richness
to an otherwise rather dense sausage gravy there.
But you took the most basic grocery store ingredients
and you literally churched them up.
Yes.
You knocked it out of the park.
- Thank you, Chef. - Nice job.
Nice job, Yachecia.
Thank you. ( exhales )
The second dish that we would like to examine further
is from a home cook who really stayed true to their home roots.
This person made Louisiana proud,
come on down, Jennifer.
( cheering )
Who would ever think that a debt collector from Louisiana would be
part of the top three of the first mystery box challenge.
Really? ( giggles )
I'm so excited, it's just a dream come true for me.
Aarón: Jennifer, talk to me about your dish.
It's a blackened chicken breast,
with étouffée sauce, runny egg
with cinnamon potatoes.
Where do you learn to present food this way?
Make carrot ribbons and garnish with such sophistication.
Every day I come home and my husband and I,
I'll look at the refrigerator and I'll try to make something with what I have.
So I feel like that this is my art on a plate.
I'm able to express myself when I cook.
That is truly a blackened piece of chicken breast.
All the specks of the wonderful dried herbs
and the spices kind of just be part of that crust.
Look at that chicken cook. Like, that's perfect.
- Oh, that looks good. - It's cooked...
- Yeah, that looks good. - It does look good, right?
- That's what's up. - That's what's up, dude.
Like they say in Louisiana,
"That ain't nothing nice, baby."
All right? Yeah, you right.
The sauce is rich.
When it blends with the yolk of the egg
it's really something special.
The carrots, they have a little bit of the acidic vinegar to it.
Parsley, great choice of herb.
Man, keep cooking like that
- you're gonna go far. - Thank you, I appreciate that so much.
- That chicken's cooked beautifully. - Thank you.
- I appreciate that. - Crisp, fragrant.
All those wonderful herbs that you want from down south.
It's you on a plate.
And it's so nice to see that level of finesse
so early on in the competition which we're not used to.
- Great job. - Thank you.
Is this real? Thank you.
Good job, Jennifer.
- Good job. - Thank you.
The third dish that we want to taste
is from a home cook who kept it simple
but delicious.
So good, they named him twice.
Brien O'Brien, please step forward.
Good job, Brien.
This dish doesn't just represent Northern California,
it also represents my father,
my Irish heritage,
everything that I grew up with,
this is me on a plate.
My father would be proud,
and I know I got a winning dish.
All right, Brien O'Brien what did you make?
Well, today, I made a fried chicken
with a broccoli and bacon slaw,
and fried potatoes I like to call "jo jos."
What did you season that chicken with?
Um, the flour had salt, pepper.
There was some smoked paprika
and some cayenne for a little kick.
What did you do with the French fries--
- or the Jimmys, Johnnys. - Jo jos.
- ( laughs )
I also gave those a quick dredge
just to give them a a little crunch.
Threw those in the fryer as well
and ended it with a little salt.
Talk to me about that broccoli slaw.
Started off with the bacon, then I made my own aioli
turned that into a dressing with a little vinegar and some sugar
I threw some Granny Smith apples in there
and of course the broccoli.
I can't get over the crispiness
of that dredge.
The way that you perfectly have every bit
of that chicken breast covered.
It's crunchy, it's crispy, it's flavorful.
I think that your french fries, or your jo jos,
are smart, they're rustic.
The acidity from this broccoli slaw
is a really smart counterbalance.
Would have loved for you to slice those shallots down a little bit more.
Like show off the knife work
if you're going to keep it somewhat simple.
But all in all,
it's a pretty untouchable dish.
- Nice job. - Appreciate it.
Chicken's delicious. Got it evenly coated.
Got it evenly colored as well.
You sort of clogged my arteries up with the fried chicken
and then opened my veins up with the slaw.
I love what you've done with that rustic charm.
It needs a bit of color.
'Cause you've got that fried chicken, fries,
it's all the same sort of coat of paint.
But you delivered something that has got great flavor.
And you've shown great skill.
- Great job. - Thank you.
Good job, Brien.
- Bring it in, buddy. - Thanks guys.
Three outstanding dishes, let's get that right.
But tonight, there can only be one winner
of this first mystery box challenge.
The dish of the night...
Congratulations...
The dish of the night
was cooked by...
Congratulations...
Brien O'Brien. Well done.
Nice job, B.O.B.
Winning the first mystery box solidified
my number one ranking in this competition.
Nice job, Brien.
Those other competitors can throw a target on my back
'cause all I gotta say is,
"winner, winner, chicken dinner."
Uh, Brien, you're now safe from elimination.
- Great start. - Thank you.
All three of your dishes tonight
displayed some serious skills.
We're not ready to risk losing any of you three yet.
All three of you are safe from elimination.
- ( all cheering ) - Yes! Woo!
- Come here, guys. - ( giggling )
Oh ( bleep ).
Oh, thank you, Lord.
Actually, tonight, for the first time ever,
there was so much talent across all of those dishes
that all of you are safe.
( all cheering )
That's right, the entire kitchen, minus the wine cellar,
are safe from elimination.
That's not good for us.
All 17 of you, head on up to the balcony,
- let's go. - Yes!
I was on cloud nine just a few days ago.
when I found out I got that white apron.
Oh, no.
I've worked really hard to be here.
And it all might be taken away right now.
It's a pretty rough feeling down here.
All right, right now, it's time to learn the fate
of our bottom three home cooks.
Please come on out.
Let's go.
Okay. Mark, Heather, Sam.
Each of these dishes are way off.
60 minutes to come up with something
with ingredients that you know
on a daily basis.
Right now we're concerned.
These do not show us potential,
skill, technique.
You can't be happy with them, can you?
No.
( sighs ) Mark...
let's talk.
The pancake, it just, it has problems.
It's undercooked.
Seeing raw apple and raw banana just stuck on the plate
is like the finesse isn't there.
The hash brown, it almost looks like a piece of meat.
I know what you can do.
I watched you make the most beautiful, delicious ravioli
that won you that apron.
And it feels like a completely different home cook made this dish.
I feel like it was the fourth quarter with two minutes left
and I ran out on the field without my helmet
or my jockstrap.
And I left both my proteins my table.
It's underwhelming and disappointing to say the least.
Heather, I'm just, I'm baffled.
Describe to me what happened here.
Um, I tried to work with all the flavors
that my mother cooked with from Peru,
with a lot of the herbs and a lot of the spices.
It didn't turn out the way that I wanted.
I just think, for me,
it came down to the fundamentals.
You cooked it meat side down, instead of skin side down.
It's dry as a bone.
You have no sauce. You didn't peel the carrots.
So they're completely muddy and dirty.
You know, you mentioned your mom and you mentioned Peru,
and when you say that with such conviction,
then you serve me that,
it's a complete travesty
to all the great Peruvian cooks
that I call friends and colleagues.
- Sam, you look pissed. - I don't like the way my dish looks.
That doesn't look anywhere near like a meatloaf.
Just bland, horrible.
But the one issue I have with you is,
you need to pay attention.
A meatloaf needs time to cook, right?
That's an insipid burger.
But above all that,
that sauce was disgusting.
You're blowtorching a can of tomatoes.
Young man, you gotta stop getting carried away
with all of the frills.
I don't give a rat's ass
about the chicken skin on top of the mashed potatoes.
- What was the hero tonight? - It was supposed to be the meatloaf.
Well, it wasn't.
And you gotta start taking this seriously. Got me?
Yes, chef.
Uh, all three of you are now staring elimination in the face,
and all three of you need to prove
that you are good enough to stay in this competition,
because these three dishes have no place
in the MasterChef kitchen.
Now, if you were given the chance to start this challenge over,
you think you could do it better?
- Yes. - Without a doubt.
Gordon: Do those bags look familiar?
- Yes, they do. - Yes, Chef.
All three of you, pick up your bag
and head back to your station.
Let's go.
Yes.
You got it.
Oh, boy. Here we go.
All of a sudden the adrenaline starts pumping,
and it's like I'm back in high school
getting ready to, like, hit the wrestling mat,
and I'm ready to wrestle for my redemption.
Let's see what's inside those grocery bags, guys.
Gordon: That's right.
You have the exact same ingredients as you did earlier,
as well as a fresh staple pantry box.
We're giving you a chance for culinary redemption.
Christina: Elimination is on the line,
and you need to prove you listened
and that you can act on the feedback
that we just gave you.
It can be an entirely new dish
or a much, much better version
of the dish that landed you in this mess in the first place.
Because you've already had one attempt at this,
we're gonna ramp things up a little.
Last time, you had one hour.
This time you'll only have 45 minutes.
Let us down again and you will be going home.
That could mean one of you, two of you,
or all of you.
- Wow. - Wow.
In front of you, you have the exact same ingredients
as you did during tonight's mystery box challenge.
Let us down and you will be going home.
That could mean one of you, two of you,
or all of you.
- Wow. - Wow.
Ready?
- I'm ready. - Ready.
Born ready.
Your 45 minutes starts...
now.
- All right, guys. - Come on.
( sighs )
Guys, this is a "MasterChef" first.
We've never given home cooks
the same ingredients to work with again.
Whether they make the same dish
or whether they make a brand new dish,
what we're really testing here
is can they learn from their mistakes?
This is so nerve-racking.
- Way to go. - Yeah, keep it up.
Keep it up.
Being a nurse, I do well under pressure.
I'm showing the judges that I'm a fighter,
I don't give up easy, and that I really wanna win this competition.
If I were Heather,
maybe come back and attack that chicken breast in a different way.
The other element of Heather's dish
that was lacking was a sauce,
something to kind of bring it all together.
I would try to really show us
that I took complete notice
of what your comments had to bear.
Where is it, getting more-- ugh!
Come on, Mark. Pick it up.
Um, I've been in this position in my life before.
Pressure is my... middle name.
Mark's dish was just such a poor showing of 60 minutes.
A flabby pancake?
This is an elimination challenge.
If you aren't pushing yourself,
I'm not interested in having you
in this kitchen any longer.
Aarón: Agreed.
This is where I prove that I learn from my mistakes.
That's what separates good students from bad students.
I'm a creative writing teacher from Washington, DC,
and that's what I ask from my students in the classroom,
and that's what I need to give today.
Sam, big letdown for me.
I mean, anyone that starts a meatloaf
with 20 minutes to go,
having cooked the potatoes and the garnish, crazy.
If I was Sam, I would not be going back to meatloaf.
If he is, then it needs to be in the oven now.
Christina: All right, guys. Nearly 30 minutes to go.
Keep hustling.
( exhales ) Right.
Sam, tell me about the dish.
Um, I'm making the same dish,
but I'm trying to solve the problems that you asked me to do.
- Meatloaf in the oven? - Uh, not yet.
So you've started the sauce again.
- Well, that's the glaze. - But stop.
What takes the longest to cook?
Uh, the meatloaf, but the meatloaf and the glaze
go in at the same time, no?
But get the meatloaf in and glaze it as it cooks
so you kill two birds with one stone.
Yes, chef.
Are you okay?
I'm doing the best I can.
Then move your ass.
I'm working, Chef. I'm working.
- Heather. - Yes?
Here you are for redemption. Talk to me about your dish.
I'm making a chicken kabob
with a little vinaigrette
with broccoli slaw and carrot slaw,
and I'm gonna grill the chicken on little wooden skewers,
but I'm brining it first.
Okay, this is all or nothing for you, Heather.
Absolutely. I will not let you down, sir.
He moving in slo-mo.
He is moving slow-mo.
- All right, Mark. - Hello, Christina.
So what are you making?
Because I didn't execute the pancake properly,
basically totally boned it,
I'm gonna go back to the 28 sweep and nail that,
execute the pancake, put chocolate chips in it instead,
and I'm gonna do baked eggs in the oven this time.
If you don't execute the basic play first,
then why try to do the flea flicker?
What's with all these football analogies?
Uh, I was an athlete back in the day,
and that's how I deal with this.
All right. Keep your eye on the clock. You got this.
All right, thanks, Christina.
What in the hell is he doing?
Why would you do that?
15 minutes remaining. Come on.
( claps )
- Get it, girlfriend. - Thanks, guys.
Right. So Sam's gone for the meatloaf again.
First thing he started was the glaze.
I've got no idea how he's gonna pull this off.
( clattering )
Ooh.
I'm looking at Heather,
and, you know, if Heather really nails that chicken
by brining it
and that chimichurri really has a chance to bloom,
I think she has a chance to kind of get over that hump.
Mark is also remaking his dish.
He's making chocolate-chip pancake instead
of the pancake that he made earlier with the caramel sauce.
I don't know if you guys feel this way,
but for me, it looks like Mark doesn't care.
I might wanna switch up here...
I'm not saying he's checked out,
but I don't look at him and think that,
"Wow, this guy's desperate."
Oh, this is so hard to watch.
It is. Really, it is.
Just over ten minutes remaining.
Starting to smell good in here.
Right, Heather, how are we doing?
Doing all right, sir.
We brine chicken to impart flavor,
and it normally takes sort of 24 hours
to brine a chicken.
Why would you attempt to do it in 45 minutes?
Because I wanna try to get it nice and moist.
You're grilling it now with no fat on there.
It's gonna get even drier.
Brush the chimichurri onto the chicken
as you're cooking it,
therefore it stays a little bit moist.
- Okay, will do. - Yeah?
You still got eight minutes to go, and you can bring this back.
I'm trying. I'm trying.
You know what you can do, Heather?
Just do what I do and ignore them.
( gasps )
Somehow I don't think that's the best strategy, Mark.
- Young man, is this a joke for you? - No.
- Is this just a big show off for your mates? - No.
No, well, take it serious, or take your apron off.
I am taking it seriously.
Take it serious or take your apron off.
What is going on here?
What is Mark doing?
Brush the chimichurri onto the chicken
as you're cooking it.
Will do. I'm trying.
You know what you can do, Heather?
Just do what I do and ignore them.
( gasps )
Somehow I don't think that's the best strategy, Mark.
- Young man, is this a joke for you? - No.
- Is this just a big show off for your mates? - No.
No, well, take it serious, or take your apron off.
I am taking it seriously.
Take it serious or take your apron off.
What is going on here?
What is Mark doing?
This is embarrassing.
Eboni: Are you serious?
Mark does not care about this competition whatsoever.
Mark thinks the world stops for him.
Not today, baby. Hmm-mm.
Two minutes to go.
All of you, you need to have your dish completed
down on the front, under the two minutes.
Those fries look good.
Gordon: 75 seconds to go.
- Let's go, let's go. - Strong finish.
Gordon: Wow, Mark's down already.
Now he doesn't have anything to do.
Mark, you still got one minute.
- Mark. - I'm-- I'm working on it.
Christina: Come on, guys.
- Raw banana. - Oh, God, don't do the raw banana.
20 seconds remaining.
- Christina: Steady hand, Sam. - Come on, Sam.
Come on, now.
Aarón: Come on, Heather, let's go. Finishing touches.
Judges: Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,
five, four, three,
two, one, and stop.
- Well done. - All right!
Sam and Heather are phenomenal, top-notch chefs,
but I'm here to compete.
I'm here to win this, and I wanna prove
I have every right to be here.
Let's start with Sam.
So earlier you cooked a meatloaf.
You got a mashed potato topped with crispy skin
and then there was carrot slice.
- Yes. - Um, describe the dish, please.
Um, meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and carrots.
The meatloaf has ground bacon, smoked paprika,
and homemade ketchup.
Mashed potatoes have corn, bacon grease,
and some cheddar cheese in it,
and then carrots with sugar, apple cider vinegar,
then I finished it with some dill.
Visually, it's not the prettiest meatloaf.
I was running out of time,
and I figured having it on the plate a little messy
was better than not having it on the plate at all.
A meatloaf in 45 minutes
is virtually impossible to get it done correctly.
Did you not think about just completely changing the dish?
You know, like I ask of my students,
I wanna learn from what I did.
If I made something new,
I might make a whole bunch of brand new mistakes.
Okay, let's taste it.
You try some of the meatloaf off before you...
Yes, I did.
I thought it needed a little more salt,
and I thought it needed a little more pepper.
Um, so here's the thing.
A, does it taste better than the meatloaf earlier?
Yes.
B, the sides, does that taste better?
Yes.
I think with you it's about prioritizing.
Teach yourself a little bit of discipline
by pacing yourself.
- It needs some work, right? - Yes, chef.
Thank you.
All right, Sam,
so think about teaching creative writing,
you think about the formation of a story, right?
Yeah.
How do you think about composing that first dish,
and how did you think about composing this dish?
Um, with the first dish,
I think I had, like, middle, beginning, end
all mixed together,
so I knew that, if nothing else,
I wanted to get my beginning, my middle, and my end in there.
I think there might still be one or two spelling mistakes,
but I'm hoping that I, like,
went up at least one grade here.
So visually it doesn't look like a MasterChef-worthy
piece of meatloaf, but it tastes delicious.
You hit all the points.
That ground bacon in there is smart.
The mashed potatoes are a drastic improvement.
I don't know about the dill and the carrots
with the other flavors you brought in.
It's definitely a better-written story.
Is it good enough to keep you in this kitchen?
- We'll have to see. - Thank you.
All right.
Heather, remind me what was that first dish you made for us?
I initially made a pan-seared chicken breast
with chimichurri.
How did you change it?
Talk to me a little bit about the dish.
I made a chimichurri chicken kabob
with some cilantro, a vinaigrette,
and I made french fries to go with the kabob.
This, for me, looks more like that Peru
that you were talking about, the anticuchos.
and automatically it looks like it's a lot moister.
You can see some of that juice kinda running off.
Look. Night and day.
- This is delicious. - Thank you.
There's a great amount of crunch.
The vinaigrette is very well-balanced.
Your chimichurri, great flavor.
Next time you do it, don't throw your herbs in there.
Chop your herbs so you have bigger chunks
and more of the perfume of the herbs.
Okay.
But well done. Thank you.
Thank you.
All right, Heather.
Now you took some risks by choosing to take a chicken breast
and turn it into a kabob.
Most people leave it whole for a reason.
It's lean, it doesn't have a lot of fat,
and the kabob is sort of like,
you know, it's a cheaper way
to eat an off-cut of the chicken,
so why choose to skewer it?
Having it on the kabob with the sauce on the side
just seemed like an easier thing for you to eat.
There's heat, there's flavor.
Visually, the dish is far more appealing.
Flavor of the chicken is definitely an improvement.
Is it enough to keep you in this competition?
- We'll have to see. - Thank you.
Mark.
Big question, do you feel you've done better
than you did earlier?
Yes, in all aspects of it.
Right. Describe the dish please.
I've got a chocolate-chip pancake
dusted with powdered sugar.
I've got baked eggs with heavy cream on the bottom,
bacon, cheddar cheese,
parsley, and cilantro.
The combination of the chocolate pancake
with the coddled eggs with the bacon,
how does that work?
I've got sweet and savory,
so I've got salt from the bacon.
I've got the salt that I added to the baked egg.
It blends.
That is tough to look at.
No.
Mark, are you just going through the motions?
Is this the best breakfast you've ever cooked?
Yes.
I successfully completed the 28 sweep,
and I think I scored a touchdown.
Oh, no.
Mark...
That is tough to look at.
( inhales )
Are you just going through the motions?
Is this the best breakfast you've ever cooked?
Yes. I successfully completed the 28 sweep,
and I think I scored a touchdown.
What a douche.
Oh, no.
Here's the thing, Mark.
You know-- tastes quite nice.
They're cooked beautifully.
But my big question is did you maximize those 45 minutes?
Yes.
But with 90 seconds left,
you just waltzed up, put your plate down.
So are you hungry enough to become America's next MasterChef?
I'm starving.
( laughs )
All right, Mark, how long did you bake these eggs?
Uh, 15 minutes.
And then that bacon you put in uncooked.
Correct.
Why not sear the bacon off beforehand?
The amount of time that it's in there for
with the heavy cream,
it should cook the meat fully through
in that period of time.
The pancake is cooked properly,
which was a big point of contention previously.
You got rid of the poorly-made caramel sauce.
You got rid of the hash browns.
It's really just a matter
of whether a chocolate-chip pancake and baked eggs
is worthy of this competition.
Gordon: Mark, Heather, Sam,
all three of you, please come 'round to the front
and give us a moment to discuss those in more detail.
So, listen, I mean, there was a vast improvement.
You have Mark, you have Sam,
both chose to kinda go in a similar route
and make improvements to their dish.
- Gordon: Very smart. - Christina: All right, Sam.
It looked mediocre, but it was better.
He just needs more confidence.
Now, Mark, I just can't help but look and say,
"This dish for 45 minutes?"
Gordon: Heather, I'm slightly nervous about.
You don't put a breast on a kabob,
however the chicken did taste better.
- Aarón: Yes. - Chimichurri was delicious.
We can send one home, we can send two home,
or we can send all three home.
Christina: Now you all won those white aprons
and a place in this competition,
but not everyone can stay in this kitchen forever.
We're looking for one American MasterChef.
Gordon: Tonight, Mark, Heather, and Sam,
we wanted to see an improvement across those dishes.
Some of you stuck to your guns, some of you changed your ways.
So who's going home tonight?
Gordon: Sam.
And Heather.
Make your way to the balcony.
( cheers and applause )
Off you go.
You showed us enough.
- Good job, guys. - Yes, good job.
Congratulations.
What a relief.
I've been waiting to walk up those balcony stairs
for what feels like about seven semesters.
I'm gonna continue to improve,
and my next dish is gonna be better than my last one.
I've just gotten started.
I've got a lot of great food left to show everybody.
Mark, tonight's second attempt of your American breakfast
wasn't good enough.
We felt that you hadn't utilized the time properly.
We didn't feel that hunger.
And, more importantly,
I personally don't think you are quite ready
to become America's next MasterChef.
Thank you, all three of you.
I appreciate the time and energy
and the investment that you put in me,
and I'm sorry that the return wasn't there for you both.
Mark, please take your apron to your station and go home.
Good night.
- Good luck, Mark. - Good luck, Mark.
Mark: As a competitor, it totally sucks that I'm leaving,
but I'm not leaving something behind.
This has given me a whole new love and passion for cooking,
and I get to share it with my wife and my kids
and my loved ones, and that means a lot to me.
I'm so proud of myself right now
that if I had two arms attached to my back,
I'd be patting myself on the back.
I mean, I'd be hugging myself.
And that's truth. Straight up.
Announcer: Next week...
Whoo-hoo!
I think that may be David Hasselhoff.
The competition kicks into high gear...
Gordon: Our lifeguards are arriving.
Whoo!
And it's sink or swim...
Don't fall apart now.
As the top 19...
Gordon: Let's go. Red team, blue team.
...face their first team challenge of the season.
Beautiful.
- Who will save the day? - Yay!
We got the best fish over here!
And who will be lost at sea?
Gordon: What have they done? It's not even cooked.
You might as well take your aprons off
and go home now.
Congratulations, blue team.
Sync: Ajvngou Resync: MetalWarrior22 www.addic7ed.com