Who run the world? Girls! And not just any girls but the underdogs with a side of champion in this week’s episode of MasterChef.
It is down to the top 16 chefs (and yet I still cannot remember all of their names, maybe when we get to 12…) and we begin with the usual tradition of a mystery box challenge. Several chefs went into this challenge with high expectations of themselves to win in order to have the other contestants recognize them as competitors yet that all seemed to vanish when the chefs lifted their boxes to reveal… cans. Yes, tin cans, with no labels, all stacked before them. It was a game of 52 pick up (because naturally there were 52 cans) as the judges instructed them to create a restaurant quality dish from the can stuffed, processed foods. But they were not completely handicapped as they were given a tiny pantry of help in the form of eggs, milk and flour. From there, they were on their own.
Some were ambitious and opened several cans in hopes of finding something useful while others took it safe finding just what they needed and executed the challenge to remain safe. Because the thing about the mystery box challenge is that no one gets eliminated from doing poorly in this challenge, it is merely an opportunity to shine so the pressure of really messing up is not evident in the contestants.
Willie, who usually creates amazing dishes, took a step back and made eggs benedict using the canned ham and his eggs. Even the judges picked up on it and commented to themselves on how safe his decision was. Others, like Jaimee, struggled to find inspiration but eventually got something going and were able to plate. Sure, it was a soup but it came from the can and that is all that mattered.
{ new page }
Following the allotted time, the judges chose their top three dishes to taste and it was a girl take-over as first up was Elizabeth, her first time being called to the front, with a borscht soup made with ham and peas. The judges had little complaints on it and mainly were impressed by its presentation which was a dream come true for the cook as she hopes to start standing out in the kitchen. Second was another first timer in Victoria as she cooked up a potted meat fritter with artichoke and beef salad. Victoria noted that there were maybe “5 cans of meat” in her fritter and stood tall of her ability to think outside of the box for this challenge.
And then the star shone on Ahran, as she was the third lady brought to the front with her vanilla sponge cake made with fruit (from a fruit cocktail can) and whipped cream. Ramsey commented on her dish by noting she used only one can in her dish and it paid off. “You may be 18 but you have the biggest balls in this competition,” sent Ahran into a state of glee from Ramsey.
Yet Elizabeth is the winner of this mystery box and is whipped away to the pantry for her advantage and special surprise. And a surprise it was a two MasterChef celebrities walked through the door as Luca, the winner from last season and Alexander, the first winter of MasterChef Junior, arrived with one of their signature dishes prepared. What was refreshing about seeing the two was actually getting to learn how they are doing post-MasterChef. For Luca, he has opened his own catering company called, “Dinner with Luca.” In addition him and his wife are expecting a baby and his cookbook, “My Italian Kitchen” has recently hit stores and online. Plus his restaurant will be open by the end of the year in Brooklyn (which I plan on finding and attending because I lovedLuca last season).
For Alexander, his life is quite tamer considering the now 14 year old is still in school but hey, he has a pretty trophy to look at every day and he has also been teaching cooking classes to kids who are inspired by the show. I always liked that kid (I want to go to his future restaurant as well).
{ new page }
But for Elizabeth’s large advantage tonight starts with the usual – she is safe from elimination and does not have to cook. Next step is discovering she gets to assign which of the two champions signature dishes will be cooked by whom for their elimination test. Naturally she is excited and she does not even know what the dishes are yet until she is back up on the balcony and the meals are unveiled.
Luca presents his dish first and it is a stunning pancetta wrapped veal with radicchio and apples and Alexander has a gourmet, fifteen dollar worthy, passion fruit panna cotta with berry coulis and hazelnuts dessert. Some of the chefs tremble and some welcome the challenge as Elizabeth assigns Alexander’s dish to Cutter, Christian, Jaimee, Christine, Ahran, Francis B, Victoria and Tyler. And then everyone else is assigned to Luca’s (of the names I can remember there’s Willie, Courtney, Francis L, Leslie, Gordon, Elise and some other people).
After being assigned, the chefs are allowed to come taste the dish in order to re-create it perfectly and following that they are off with 60 minutes. There were not many highlights of this challenge but several lowlights as Willie cooks the veal in a different manner than Luca recommended, causing some interesting looks from the judges and Jaimee, the baker extraordinaire, failing miserably due to her panna cotta’s sinking in on themselves. Plus the first time for everything, one chef stole one of Jaimee’s dishes so she was only able to try twice for perfect plating.
During the tasting of the dishes, the only two highlights shown was Courtney, not surprisingly, nailing Luca’s dish perfectly. I have finally realized who she reminds me of and it is if Rachel Berry from Glee had quit Glee Club and instead gone to culinary school. Think about it.
{ new page }
The other shock came from Cutter, who has never made or tasted a panna cotta, creating a perfect replica of Alexander’s. I was proud of Cutter today, as were the judges. But in the case of Jaimee’s missing dessert, when Tyler presented his dish, Ramsey revealed that Tyler was not the baker of that dish. Cutting to a video feed, we see Tyler, in a rush, grab a cooling dessert but it was not his – but Jaimee’s. Chef Ramsey even went back into the kitchen and brought Tyler’s dishes to him. It was shocking and heartbreaking to watch as Tyler truly did not intentionally mess Jaimee up but unfortunately, “rules are rules” as Ramsey said, and Tyler was eliminated.
Due to the surprise elimination, there was no bottom three desserts and Courtney returned to her throne as the winner of the elimination test. She will be given a large advantage come next week where all the chefs should fear as now that Courtney is back on top, and she knows that everyone wants her out, who knows what she has up her sleeve.
Until next week, keep cooking. And if you do cook, don’t grab someone else’s dish by mistake. You just might be thrown out of the kitchen for iMt.