All language subtitles for MasterChef.US.S15E02.1080p.WEB

Previously on "MasterChef"...

Dynamic Duos."

This season, we'll be joined
by a new judge.

- Ooh!
- Please give a warm welcome

to the amazing Tiffany Derry!

Oh, yes!

...we began
our search for America's
best home cook duo...

You are now fighting for a spot
in the MasterChef kitchen.

...as the first pairs
battled it out
for a white apron.

Here we go.
This is all happening right now.

That's it. Yeah!

Get in there.
Pour it on there, come on.

Oh, my God.
I'm getting nervous.

Lamb's cooked beautifully.
That is a marriage
made in heaven.

Tasting this dish is like
coming to your house for dinner.
Good job.

When Gordon was cutting
into the chicken,

there was a moment
where my mouth watered.

I said,
"Ooh, that chicken look juicy!"

- These aprons go to...
- Tina and Aivan!

- Timothy and Athena.
- Zach and Michelle.

- Tonight...
- Welcome, welcome, welcome.

- the audition battles
continue...
- Whoo! Let's go.

...as more home cook duos
go head-to-head...

- Come on, Ash. Let's do it.
- We want that white apron.

- Nice flambe.
- We're here to win.

- Taking 'em down.
- ...to try and secure a pair

- of coveted white aprons.
- You guys know how
to make a fire, right?

- You're about
to get extinguished.
- Ooh, rawr!

I really see the dynamic duo
in the dish.

- And you're going to give us
an apron for it.
- It's a little messy.

- You really shot for the stars.
- Here we go.

- And you just missed.
- Oh, boy.

Oh, my God.

- I'm just still trying to take
in the fact that we're--
- We're here.

- Two is better than one.
- Two is better than one.

But you got to be
twice as good.

I can't wait to cook.
Just get in there.

It's so fun to see
these duos cook together.

I think it brings
a completely different dynamic

- to the competition.
- I agree.

Right,
the next duo to battle

is Darce and Courtney...

...versus Kayla
and Ryan Kate.

Standing between us
and the MasterChef white apron
is two adorable badass babes,

but we got to take them down.

- Aah!
- Oh, my God.
I'm stoked to be here.

We have some
big culinary dreams,
and this is not just

"Let's go have fun
on 'MasterChef.'"

- We want to
change our lives.
- Welcome. Welcome.

- Hello!
- How are you?

Let's start off with you both.
Give us an insight.

- Tell us your name.
- My name is Darce.

This is my work bestie Courtney.

We work together in emergency
veterinary hospital.

- Wow.
- And we are your resident
vet nurses.

We work in a very, very
intense emergency room.

- Sometimes it's big dogs.
Sometimes we've had a wolf.
Wolves.

- A wolf?
- A couple of snakes.

Seriously?
Wow. What about bears?

- Have you ever
sort of rescued bears?
- This one has seen all of it.

How did this bond with food
come together?

It's kind of our escape
from the difficulties
of the emergency room.

We kind of looked at ourselves
and said it kind of feels
weird to eat my patients.

So we bonded over turning
our favorite dishes vegan.

- Wow. Vegan.
- I'm vegan curious.

- You're vegan curious?
- Yes!

- I'm so happy for that.
- Okay, let's go!

- Ladies, welcome.
- Thank you.

Your names
and where are you from?

- I'm Ryan Kate.
- And I'm Kayla.

- And I'm from--
- Wait, wait.

Do we look a little familiar?

- Yes.
- Yes, you do.

- Do you see?
- Oh, my God.

- Let me see that.
- Stop it.

- Y'all were babies!
- Season 3. "MCJ"!

- Wow!
- A little bit taller.

A little bit prettier,
you know.

But you're still wearing
the same colors!

- Wait, are we actually?
Oh, my gosh, we are!
- You are!

- Oh, my God.
That's adorable.
- Amazing.

- Top five?
- Top six.

Top six,
and then I got top seven.

- Ryan Kate paired with Kayla.
- What are we doing?

We are making pork venison
sausage with sautéed vegetables
and polenta.

Wow, this dish is amazing.

It is like a classic Italian
trattoria dish.

What happened
after that competition?

Even though Kayla lives
in New York and I live in Texas,

- we stayed in touch and we just
kinda kept cooking together.
- Love that.

- And we're here
to win it this time.
Amazing.

- Great to see you both.
Welcome back.
- Thank you.

- Thank you so much.
We're excited to be here.
- Right.

Tonight, you've got 30 minutes
to put yourselves on a plate.

And convince us three
that you deserve that incredible
MasterChef apron,

and put your friendship bond
to the test.

- Oh, yeah.
- The very best of luck.

Your 30 minutes starts now.
Let's go.

- Let's go, baby.
Let's go, baby.
- Let's go, baby!

- Let's go!
- Here we go, Ryan Kate.
We freaking got this.

I got your onion here.
Thank you.

I'm gonna get the sauce started
for the beurre blanc.

Okay, you keep setting up.
I'll keep getting
the mushrooms rolling.

- You feel good with that? Okay.
- Yeah.

Right, Darce and Courtney,
give us an insight to the dish.

We are making a vegan
lomo saltado with lionsmane.

Typically this dish would
be made with a little bit
of strip sirloin,

but we're gonna sub out
that sirloin

for a lionsmane mushroom.

Wow, so a beautiful stir fry.

- Yup.
- Love that.

Kayla and Ryan Kate,
what are you cooking?

So we're making a pan-seared
sea bass over a bed
of lemon garlic spinach.

Wow, When you guys
finished the competition
first time round,

- what was it like
going back to school?
- Oh, I was a celebrity.

- I was the , honestly.
- I felt like I was the-- on the playground.

- It was so much fun.
- Later on in life,
the hype died down.

So this is to get it back up.
You know what I mean?

Rekindle the fire.

We had a lot of fun as kids
on "MasterChef Junior,"

but it means a lot more
to us this time.

Cooking is something
that we want to pursue
in the long run.

All right, heavy cream
is going in to reduce.

- You're gonna get rice on ASAP.
- Yup.

- Rice and water.
- Or as we like to say, stat.

- Stat.
So 15 minutes gone.
15 minutes remaining.

- Okay? So let's go.
Right, Courtney, Darce.
- Thank you.

- What are you doing there?
Pressing them down?
- Yeah, I'm grill-pressing

them down because lionsmanes,
they're big and fluffy.

Yeah, so it needs
a real firm sear.

- We need to get all
that liquid out.
- And a nice seasoning as well.

Yes? Now you two
clearly can handle pressure,

bringing these incredible
animals back to life.

- Oh, yeah.
- This is what we do in the E.R.

We talk about food
in between seeing cases.

We use this as therapy.
Like, still go to therapy,
but this is therapy.

Gotcha. Love that.
Keep it going.
Season everything.

- Thank you, Gordon.
- I'm sorry.
What is it seasoned with?

- Magic.
- Magic, baby.

- Kayla and Ryan Kate.
- Hello, Joe.

Let's think about it.
Season three,
you were little girls.

- I know.
- And now you're women

still pursuing
this dream of cooking.

- I wouldn't change anything.
- Has it intensified
over the years?

- It's definitely intensified.
- Oh, for sure. Definitely.

- All right, let's talk
about the dish.
- Yes.

- So pan-seared sea bass.
- Sea bass.

- Beurre blanc?
- Yes, white wine beurre blanc
with some shallots.

- Did you taste that?
- Not yet.

- Taste it.
- Yeah.

- What does that need?
- It needs salt.

Bingo! Taste everything before
you put it on the plate.
Good luck, ladies.

- Thank you so much.
- Ready? Open.

- Sorry.
- I think a little more salt.
A little more oil.

I have to keep whisking.

There's a clump in it.

- Perfect. Yeah.
- It's good now?

You girls are doing amazing.

- You guys got it.
- Yeah? Girl power!

Now that there's a female judge
back in the MasterChef arena.

- Yeah! Let's go.
- We needed a female baddie
up in here.

- A baddie, she says.
Duos, five minutes
left on the clock.

- Darce, look at these. Yeah.
- Mm-mmm!

Honestly, the color
on those mushrooms from Courtney
and Darcy is exceptional.

- It's gonna be good.
- Whoo!

They cooked those mushrooms
for 25 minutes.

I hope it's not
like eating leather.

- It's the texture of meat.
- How's it looking over there?

- It's looking good. Ooh!
- Ryan Kate and Kayla.

Very mature cooking.
It's a really grown-up dish.

- Should I add just
a splash of water?
- I don't think so.

- No?
- I wouldn't, but whatever
you feel comfortable with.

But my worry
is the beurre blanc.

They can't get that
beurre blanc too thick,

otherwise, it'd be
way too rich for that bass.

One minute remaining.
Come on!

- We got one minute.
- Ooh, it's a heavy boy.

You got it. You got it.
You've lifted wolves.

- I know! With two hands though.
- You can lift a freaking pan.
My God. Come on.

- Spinach in the middle.
- This fish is nice.

- I'm going in
with rice here, okay?
- We got this.

Bring it home.
Let's go.
- Yes, Chef.

- You want me to go?
- Yeah, go.

Salt. You need this. Here.
Get it get it on.

- Do you like the sauce
like this?
- Yeah. I think it's good.

- Five, four...
- You got it. You got it.

- ...three, two, one.
- Yeah!

And stop!
Hands in the air!
Hands up.

Let's go!

- Well done.
- Yes!

- Well done.
- Yeah!

- That looks great.
- Beautiful.

- Darce, Courtney,
how you feeling?
- Oh, my God.

- I'm feeling stoked.
I can go run a mile right now.
- I'm, like, high.

Pressure higher in
MasterChef kitchen or E.R.?

I mean,
they're pretty comparable.

I don't want to steal this
from you, Gordon, but...

- Kayla, Ryan Kate,
happy with the dish?
Very happy.

- I think all the components
come together cohesively.
- All the flavors are on point.

- Good.
- It's a slay.

Now for the exciting part
of tonight, the taste.

First up, Darce and Courtney,
bring your dish forward.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Today we made for you
a vegan lomo saltado

with lionsmane mushrooms,
a side of rice,

and a beautiful
aji amarillo paste.

I've never had anything like it.
So I can't wait to taste it.

- Thank you.
- Shall we?

- Yes, please.
- Please.

And is that the texture
you wanted?

Yeah. We wanted it to be
nice and meaty inside.

I'm, like,
living for this right now.

- This dish is delicious.
- Thank you.

It's got the warmth.
It's got the rustic charm.
It's very good.

- Thank you so much.
- I like a lot of what
you have going on.

And honestly the mushroom,
I was concerned

that it may be a little dry,
but it doesn't read dry at all.

I do need more salt
or more soy, or something
that's giving some salt,

but the flavor overall,
it's really nice.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, I love the dish because
it's unapologetically vegan.

It's simple.
The technique is good,
and I say it's the cat's meow.

Ooh, rawr! Thank you.

- I love that. Rawr!
- Thank you, ladies.

- Thank you, ladies.
- Thank you so much.

It's such a shame we didn't get
that balance with the seasoning
because that's what it misses.

- You guys did awesome.
It looked awesome.
- Thank you. You guys did, too.

- Good job. It looked amazing.
- Kayla and Ryan Kate, please.

Oh, that plate is stunning.
Stunning.

Today for you,
we have a pan-seared sea bass

over a bed of lemon garlic
spinach with sautéed
cherry tomatoes,

a white wine beurre blanc,
and toasted panko breadcrumbs.

- Visually it looks beautiful.
I love the finesse.
- Thank you.

- I can't wait to dig in.
Good job.
- Thank you.

How did you cook the fish?

I coated the fish
in a little bit of flour,
salt, and pepper,

just to get
a nice crisp on it.

- Yeah, it's glistening.
- Awesome.

- Ladies, fish
is cooked beautifully.
- Thank you.

It's soft. It's moist.
However, when you cook fish,

don't cover it
with the tomatoes.

- Otherwise it gets soggy, okay?
- Okay.

You've got crisp fish.
Show it off.

- Okay.
- The spinach itself is bright.

There's enough
lemon zest in there,

and I like that the beurre blanc
has enough butter.

We're not shy with
the butter over here,
so don't worry.

- She's not shy about anything.
- No.

I'm a fan of
the seasoned breadcrumbs.

I think they really add
a crunch and another aspect
of flavor to the dish,

and it makes me very proud
and happy to see two contestants
after ten years,

come back,
present such a mature
and well-executed dish.

- Gives me a lot of personal
satisfaction, so thank you.
- Thank you so much.

- The fish is just gorgeous.
- That's why I wanted them
to show it off.

- That was good.
- Good job.

Ladies, right now
we need a moment. Thank you.

Darce and Courtney,
yeah, exceptional dish.

Did the mushrooms work?
Yes, they did.

- They did!
- I'm nervous.

I'm gonna, like,
start crying
and throwing up.

Ryan Kate and Kayla's sea bass,
that was cooked beautifully.

- It was really good.
- Yeah.

- We did everything we could.
- Right.

Oh, my God.

- Here we go.
- Wow, what a battle.

Honestly, for Joe,
Tiffany and myself,

it was a really tough call.

But the three of us think that
the best dish was cooked by...

The three of us think that
the best dish was cooked by...

...Kayla and Ryan Kate.

- Congratulations.
- Oh, my gosh.

- We did a good job.
We did a good job.
- It's okay.

Come and get these aprons.
Second time around. Well done.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you so much.

- Continue to make us proud.
- Well done.

- Thank you.
- Thank you

- Congratulations.
- Thank you so much.

You're welcome. You did it.

Courtney and Darce,
keep your heads up.

What you delivered
was delicious.

You just needed
a little bit of salt

just to kind of
balance everything.

- Please head on out.
- Thank you guys so much.

Thank you.

- We're so excited!
- We're so excited.

It just feels so crazy
that we're back.

And this time,
it was all the more special

to even be here with you
in the first place.

Like, oh, my God.

There's a lot of tough
competition here

a lot of great home cooks,

but I'm confident in our duo.

- Sorry.
- Such a bummer.

It's totally
a bummer to not have gotten
those white aprons.

I woke up wanting it more
than I ever have this morning,

- and I'm a little bit sad,
but, um...
- It's okay.

- We did the best.
- Yeah, we did.

I just really thought we had it.

Ugh! So close.

- Good job.
- Good job.

Right,
next up, Javi and Luis...

- Whoa!
- Oh!

...versus Trey and Kevin.

- Whoo!
- Let's go, baby!

- Let's go!
- This is crazy.

- I don't even
know where I'm at.
- This is-- this is--

We do not like to lose,
so there's gonna be a lot of
talking.

- Whoa.
- Oops.

Wow.

We're gonna kick some butt.

We don't think we can win.
We know we can win.

And we're gonna go in
and we're gonna get our aprons

after we execute
this dish flawlessly.

- That's right.
- Gentlemen, welcome.

- Gents, let's start with you.
- My name is Kevin.

This is Trey.
We're from North Carolina.

We started this journey
15 years ago.

Met him at a football game
that I was working as a medic
and he was in the band.

I was a young college student.
This guy was my grandpa.
He's 20 years older than me.

So he took care of me,
cooked for me,

and I went under his wing
and started cooking with him,
and here we are.

We are an unlikely duo.

The age difference
and the height difference
and everything.

- Hair, no hair, uh...
- It's one of those things.

It works.
It works well, you know?

Amazing. Gentlemen, welcome.
Good to see you both.

- What's the connect?
- This is this is Luis.
I'm Javi.

We're crazy Cuban firefighters
representing Miami.

- We met 20 years ago
when I was in fire school...
Wow.

- ...and it's a been
a brotherhood ever since then.
- I love that.

Now some of the best food
I've ever had in Miami is from
some of those fire stations.

- Thank you.
- Thanks.

I think Luis and I
are definitely

one of the best
home cooks out there

because we cook in the kitchen

together at
the fire house constantly.

- He uses every pot and pan...
- It's called flavor.

...dish. Drives me nuts.
But the food is delicious.

Honestly, I can tell right now,
there's a lot of brotherly
love in this kitchen.

- Yeah, for sure.
- That's right.

- Yep.
- Right. You guys ready?

- Ready.
- Yes.

Your 30 minutes starts now.

- Whoo-whoo!
- Let's go, guys.

- Let's go, brother.
- All right, I'm gonna get

these steaks seasoned first,
brother.

- Yep.
- All right. You guys know
how to make a fire, right?

You're about
to get extinguished.

How those carrot's looking, man?
You like them?

Oh, yeah, I like them.

Hey, Kev,
you bring a stepstool?

No, I think I'll just use
my foot and give him a boost.

Height doesn't make a man.
I'll show you with my dish.
Don't worry.

Right, Trey, Kevin, give us
an insight into the dish.
What are you doing?

We are doing a lovely
filet mignon, some creamy
mashed potatoes,

roasted heirloom carrots,
and a brandy peppercorn sauce.

- It's gonna be delicious.
- Give us an insight to some

of the food you guys
cook together.

We're self-certified
grill masters.

We love anything
that's got open flames.

So we'll get outside and
we'll smoke a bunch of meats.

We'll cook big family meals.
Put it all on one big plate.

- Let everybody go at it.
- Nice.

- You have your own smokers?
- Oh, quite a few.

- How many smokers
you got, Kevin?
- I have a total 20 now.

I've only got five,
but, I mean, still.

All right,
about a minute on these.

Guys, we're 10 minutes down,
20 minutes remaining.

Got it brother. I'm here.

Ah, here we go.

Javi and Luis, give us
an insight to this dish tonight.

- What is it?
- So what we're doing

is a healthier option
of the Cuban frita,

which is a Cuban hamburger
that we make in Miami.

And it's gonna be topped
with an apricot bacon jam

- to balance out
the sweet and the spicy.
- Love that.

- And what's the blend?
- So the blend is
a lean ground turkey.

But we're infusing it
with chipotle adobo sauce
and Spanish style chorizo.

- Nice.
- Flavor bombs.

So I have to say,
turkey burger,

you're taking a big risk.
It's got to be really special.

We've done it for years
at the fire station.

They keep asking for it.
It can't be that bad.

- All right, you got
a lot of work to do.
- Yeah, I like it.

- Now we're cooking.
- Now we're cooking.

Oh, look at that, Kevin.
How you feel about that?

Yep, yep, yep.
Good, good, good.

So Trey and Kevin, filet mignon.
I mean, it's a big one.

It's got no fat in there,
so it needs that fat in there,

otherwise
it's gonna dry out on top.

- Absolutely.
- We've seen so many filets
over the years.

So when you say
you're gonna make a filet,

you raise the bar
for yourself automatically.

- Something has
to be amazing about it...
- Perfect.

....because we're in
the MasterChef kitchen.

Steaks are in the oven.
Two minutes in the oven.

- In they go.
- Put that right back in.

Our firefighters from Miami,
my big worry now is those
turkey burgers are in the oven.

Now they may have 20%
of that blend in chorizo,
I get that,

but it still needs
to be submerged and basted.

Have you ever had
a turkey burger that's not dry?

- No, I've never--
- Exactly. I'm not sure
it's the best strategy.

Five minutes to go.
Let's go. Come on!

Trey, don't keep on poking it.
Let it rest now because
it's just come out of the pan.

Every time you poke that thing,
you're just gonna let
that bleed out.

- Yes, Chef.
- Come on, come on.

There we go, come on.
Give me this right here.

- 60 seconds to go.
- Whoo! Let's go.

- Let's go, baby.
Let's go. Let's go.
- I know.

It's the final countdown,
fellas.

Make sure that mash
is nice and creamy.

All right, let's plate.
Let's plate.

Where's the salt?
Give me the salt.

Need the salt and a little bit--
no, pepper. Pepper, sorry.

- Not salt, pepper.
- I'm shaking.

- We got this.
We got this, bro.
- Yeah, put the croutons.

- Where are they? Oh.
- Five, four, three...

- Let's go.
- ...two...

- We got it.
- ...one, and stop.

- Well done.
- Goodness gracious, brother.

- Yeah, buddy.
Love you, brother.
- I love you, brother.

Well done.

Let's start off with
Trey and Kevin, please.

Bring your dish forward.

For you, Chef,
we have a filet mignon,
creamy mashed potatoes,

roasted heirloom carrots,
and a beautiful brandy
peppercorn sauce.

It's elegant. It looks good.

But it's all about
the temperature.

Temp, what we have gone for?

Headed for a medium rare, Chef.

Right, Kevin and Trey.
Temp, what have we gone for?

Headed for a medium rare, Chef.

Yeah, it's mid-rare.

- Filet's cooked beautifully.
- Thank you, Chef.

It's seasoned beautifully.
Sauce is a little bit
over-reduced.

It's salty.
But it's a really good dish.

- Thank you.
- The carrots are maybe

one of my favorite parts
of the plate.

They really have great texture.

They are well-seasoned.

- It really was
a really good dish.
- Thank you, Chef.

You guys paid a lot
of attention to the details,
the technique.

You can see it all on the plate.
It's spot-on.

- Thanks, gents.
- Thank you.

- Good job, boys.
- It was hot up there.

Javi and Luis, please
step forward with the dish.

Today we present to you
the Cuban frita burger,

a chipotle turkey burger
with bacon jam.

And a side
of baby gem Caesar salad
with homemade croutons.

I got a little bit nervous when
you mentioned turkey burger.
Turkey, we know, is bland.

It's an absolute nightmare
getting a turkey burger right
because they're always dry.

So I'm desperate
to get inside there.

Shall we?
How long did you cook it for?

- 18 minutes.
- 18 minutes?

That's a lot.

- Ooh.
- It's not dry.

- Ooh. Wow.
- Definitely not dry.

Burger's delicious, obviously.

- Thank you.
- I mean, it's spicy.

And the Caesar salad dressing
is delicious.

- Great job.
- Thank you.

I love the chorizo.
That was a very smart move.

But the Caesar salad,
the way it's plated feels
a little awkward.

- But I really like
all those flavors together.
Thank you.

A turkey burger in my life
is what I have to eat
when my wife cooks.

I've never met one I liked.

But this is the best
turkey burger

I've ever had in my life.

The problem is a little bit
the details.

You would really never serve
a head of iceberg

with a rusty knot
on the bottom of it on a dish,

especially
in the MasterChef kitchen.

But the flavors are on-point.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

What's atrocious is your bench.

I've never seen more
of a disaster zone than that.

You guys have to clean up after
yourselves in the firehouse.

- If we cook, you don't clean.
- You cook and don't clean.

It's evident.

Gents, thank you.

We need to talk this one out
because it is neck and neck.

Excuse us.

- Carrots were perfect.
- The filet mignon,

I mean,
it looked professional,
didn't it?

Yeah.
I mean, that whole plate...

Now, that burger
kind of blew my mind.

- We're here for a reason, bro.
- Yeah.

Okay, are we all in agreeance?

- Yeah.
- Yup.

We've come to a decision,

and the MasterChef apron
goes to...

Oh, oh!

Oh, wow.
What's happening?

Kick ass, boys.

Well, we lost to one
of our brothers

in the fire service.

Of course, I'm feeling
a little disappointed,

but we're not sore losers.

We know we took a risk
with our turkey burgers,
but you know what?

We were the underdog,
and we had a chance.

- We had a puncher's chance.
- We got our aprons, baby.

- Let's go! Whoo! Let's do it!
- Got of aprons.

- Whoo!
- It feels amazing.

Like a dream come true.

I absolutely think
we can win this thing.

And who better to do it
with than my best friend?

- Love you, brother.
Oh, man, it's so great.
- I love you, brother.

Seriously, the dishes
that these duos are putting up,

this is already one of
the most exciting seasons ever.

I can't wait to see
the next battle.

The audition rounds continue,
as four dynamic duos

battle it out
for a coveted white apron.

A married couple
from Pennsylvania

takes on a married couple
from Florida,

and the Glamorous Grandmas
duel a mother-daughter team.

- Look at these pretty peas!
- Milah and Lisa,
the Glamorous Grandmas.

We wear ponytails
and sweats during the week
and pearls on the weekend.

Ah, I like that.

We're not your average grandma.
We're your glam-mas.

We like to dress up
and put on our fancy pearls
and put on our lipstick.

We're not sitting
in rocking chairs on
the back porch,

- are we, Milah?
- Uh-uh. Never.

We are ready
to throw down

some good ol'
Southern cooking.

We want to win that apron.

We're going to bust
our tootsie to get there.

Tonna and Cait, what are you
preparing for us this evening?

We are going to bring a little
bit of South Dakota to you.

- Yes.
- So we are going to prepare
a bison steak

- with white sweet potato purée.
- Wow.

- Nice and lean.
Tricky to cook.
- It is.

If you've never had bison,
you're going to tonight,

and you're going to give us
an apron for it.

Is that what's going to happen?

Yeah!

We are very competitive.
There is no doubt about it.

- Absolutely.
- We've competed
together before.

We've done bodybuilding
competitions together.

I think all of that gives us
an edge in the kitchen.

- This is ours!
- It is.

- I love you.
- I love you.

Look up there.
Winner, season 15?

- That's us.
- That's us.

My name is Julio.
This is my beautiful wife
Rachel.

And we've been married
for two years.

We enjoy cooking
together because this is
a true passion.

This is what
we want to pursue in life.

And for us,
those aprons are everything.

We left our jobs.
We took a loan to be here.

- So this is all
or nothing for us.
- We got this, mi amor.

- I love you.
- I love you.

Thanks for doing this with me.

- I'm Spencer.
- I'm McKenna.

And we're the cozy couple

from Grass Flat, Pennsylvania,

and we've been happily
married for...

Three years.

We've never really
spent a day apart.

No. We don't do well separated,

which is why it's so great
that we're on this season.

Our food together
is comfort, cozy food.

- I've gained so much weight.
- We both have.

- We've gained a lot
of weight together.
- We're very happy.

It shouldn't burn you.
I think I cooled that.

- Oh! That's so good. Nice.
- Yeah, yeah.

- 60 seconds to go.
- Whoo!

Let's hurry. Let's hurry up.
We got one minute.

- Pretty one, pretty one.
- I think she's pretty pretty.

- Perfect.
- All right, which pieces
do you want me to use?

- These?
- Yup.

Bring it home. Let's go.

Hurry, hurry, hurry.

Sauce, sauce, sauce.

- Got it.
- Is that good?

- Yup.
- Let's go. A little oil.

Five, four, three, two, one.

And stop! Well done.

Let's go. We got it.

- We did it.
- Well done.

Let's start off with Spencer
and McKenna, please.

We hope you enjoy.

We have fried chicken
with Southern green beans,

mashed potatoes,
and herb gravy.

I love the color on the chicken.
Slightly nervous to get a really

good fried chicken
done in half an hour.

Big risk in front of
Tiffany Derry, let me tell you.

So hopefully
it's cooked properly.

- It's definitely cooked.
- Very nice.

I love the juiciness
on the chicken.

The green beans,
you can definitely tell
that they've properly cooked.

I know you said herb gravy,
but I'm not really tasting
much flavor really.

We made gambas al ajilo
over some creamy polenta

with some Spanish chorizo
and Parmesan crisps.

Visually, it looks beautiful.

I'm loving the color
of the shrimp.

The gambas are cooked
beautifully.

- Yes.
- But I think I'd get through

two or three tablespoons
of that polenta

and then I'd have to stop
because it's so rich.

But you've nailed the protein.

We have made you a bison steak

on top of a white
sweet potato purée,

green beans, and a red wine
reduction mushroom sauce.

It's very South Dakota.

- It is very South Dakota.
- It is.

That bison is nice.
It is nice!

The downside is
the grainy mashed potatoes.

The potatoes need
to be cooked more.

We're presenting
Carolina sea scallops

with puréed parsnips, peas,
hearts of palm, and plums.

It is definitely not
an old-fashioned dish.

This is modern.
This is hip.

The scallops
are cooked beautifully.

However, the parsnips are sweet,
the plums are sweet,

and so it does need
a touch of acid.

We've come to a decision

and the MasterChef apron
goes to...

Rachel and Julio...

Yeah!

...and Tonna and Cait.

We got an apron! An apron.

This has never felt so good!

Let's go! Thank you.

We put our soul and heart
into the dish,

and they could taste it.

Aww.

We are so gutted
to not receive an apron.

But we're gonna go home
and still cook for
our grandchildren.

You'll never keep
the glam-mas down.

I'm so disappointed.

- We practiced so long for this.
- So much.

And we put it all out there.

And not to get a white apron,

it's like a knife to the soul.

And for our final battle,

Ricky and Ashley...

...versus Adam and Joel.

- Hey!
- Yeah!

We want that white apron.

We want to prove
that we deserve to be
in this kitchen together.

Y'all are going down!

Oh, my God.

Ain't nobody got nothing
on brothers from the South.

We're coming here to get 250k.
We left jobs on hold.

We left kids at home
and our families.

There's nothing that's gonna
stand in the way of us

whooping up
on Ashley and Ricky,

as well as all
the other competition.

We're taking them down.

Welcome, guys.
How are we feeling?

- Excited.
- Love that.

Let's start over here first.

I'm Ricky.
I'm from New Jersey.

And this is my sister Ashley.

We come from
this big Italian family,

and that's how
we remember things,

with food and cooking it.

Who's the powerhouse
in this sibling duo?

- I think we both are.
- Yeah.

We kind of both bring something
special to the table,

so we're ready
to show you guys.

- We'll also argue about that.
- Yeah, too.

- Gentlemen, welcome.
- My name is Joel.

This is my big brother Adam.
We're from Athens, Georgia,

and we're here to offer you
a little bit of elevated
Southern hospitality.

Love that.
And this journey started when?

- 35 years ago...
- Pretty much.

...when we started cooking
when we were about this tall.

Could barely see over
the counter.

And an insight into
the dynamic duo as brothers.

We have a little bit
of a kind of clairvoyance
and ESP between us.

We're always kind of
on the same wavelength.

- You're in sync.
- Absolutely.

Right. You guys ready?

- Yes, Chef.
- Ready to go.

Your 30 minutes start now!

- Let's go!
- Let's go! Let's do it!

- You ready, Ash?
- Yep, I'm ready.

All right.
Getting the chicken going.

- Come on, Ash!
Let's do it. Come on!
- All right.

Ricky, are you already
sweating over there?

Yes, sir, I am.

Ashley, you see the
brother/sister duo
we're going against?

- Yep.
- Ha, ha, ha, ha!
He's got jokes.

- Got jokes.
- Once this is cut,
I'm gonna turn the pot on

and then go
straight from there.

Sorry, these guys
are hammering over there.

That's how we keep you
from communicating.

- Oh, my God!
- Come on. Sibling rivalry.

I have six,
so I know what that's like.

- You can push each other
harder as a sibling, right?
- Absolutely.

It's different even
than a marriage,

- and we hope to see
that genetic connection.
Sure.

Grandma, Mom, Dad,
everyone's going to be proud.

Let's do this.
Oops, sorry. Can't curse.

- But let's do this.
- But you're seeing
that right now.

They're all communicating.
They're talking.

It's loud in here.
I mean, they are ready.

All right,
seafood's about to go in.

Yep, yep, yep, yep.
Keep going. Keep going.

Ricky, Ashley,
what are y'all making?

We are currently
gonna be making some...

Kind of takes our play on
our Sunday night dinner,

and then we always do
a big seafood Seven Fishes
for Christmas Eve.

So this is our
little take on that.

So one person's making pasta,
the other person's making sauce?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Yes, ma'am.

Cooking fresh pasta for
Joe Bastianich in 30 minutes?

- Yes, sir.
- Wow.

- Well, I like the confidence.
- What do we think?

Uh, that's almost--
need a little more,
but it looks good.

This opportunity to get an apron
is so important for us

because our biggest
influence with cooking

is our grandmother
and our dad.

We've learned so much,
and we want to

just represent our family
here on a plate.

Oh, baby, let's go.
This is fun.

Adam and Joel, guys,
what are you making for us?

Chef, we got
a stuffed chicken thigh

with elevated green beans.

A stuffed chicken thigh?
Like a roulade?

Yes, sir.
- So what kind of flavors
are we looking for?

- Thanksgiving on a plate.
- A lot of sage, a lot of thyme,

- some cranberry sauce.
- Is that okra we see?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Aww, yeah!

But the dish sounds
intriguing, right?

- Right.
- Halfway, guys.

15 gone, 15 minutes remaining.

- Let's go.
- Yes, Chef!

Oh, we're rolling, baby.

These duos are fighting hard
for those aprons.

- It's gonna be tight.
- Yes, it absolutely is.

- What do we think?
What do you think?
- Looks good.

- Hello!
- Hey! How are you?

- What's happening?
I see y'all are working.
- Yes, we are.

- And pasta.
- Yes.

- How's it?
- It's getting there.

- It's a little soft right now.
- Okay.

I probably would put it
in the refrigerator.

- Yes. Yes, Chef. Thank you.
- All right.

Make sure-- diavolo means
a little bit spicy,

so make sure we get
a little bit of that spice.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Behind you, behind you.

I'm stressed about the dough

because we're cooking it
for three judges

and it's the main
component of the dish.

Without pasta,
you can't have pasta.

Ashley and Ricky,
the pasta's a little soft,

- like a little extra soft.
- Damn.

If I don't nail it,
I'm going to be letting
my sister down

and our family down
and I don't want to do that.

Ah,.

So we're 20 minutes down.
We have 10 minutes remaining.

- Last 10 minutes.
- You want to check
on the pasta?

We're going to let it
sit in there.

- Nice flambe.
- All right.

What you know about okra?

A lot about okra.
It's my favorite veggie.

It is actually
one of mine as well.

- I love your okra recipe.
- Thank you.

- Yup.
- You know, I mean,
I don't care.

- I eat okra every which way.
- 1,000%.

Now, Joe, I heard,
on the other hand,
he's not a big okra fan,

- so we got to turn him
around here.
- Yup.

Y'all got a lot
working right now.

- Y'all going to make it?
- Oh, yeah.

- Good luck, y'all.
- Thank you, ma'am.

Our dish is complex.
It shows technique.

It shows the love
that we have for our family

and food all on one plate,
but everything has
to be perfect.

I think it's good.
I say we slice it.
Stop poking it.

We're down to
our final five minutes.

- Five minutes to go.
- Pasta.

Oh, man, the extra herbs
did a thing!

Adam and Joel have
a lot going on.

I mean, I'm not sure
everything goes together,
but it's like,

"These are all
of the things we love,

and I'm gonna put it
on the plate."

- What do you think?
- I tasted it.

- I think it tastes great.
- But they are tasting

and they're
communicating together,

- which is really nice.
- All right, you got your

- lemon zest ready to go?
- Rock and roll.

I already have sauce
all over me.

- We're doing good.
- We are doing good, Ash.
Come on.

Wow, Ricky and Ashley,
they're on it.

- Dropping in the pasta, Ash.
- All right.

My only worry is that pasta

is so soft, and he's got
so much flour on it.

But you know what?
It's not a bad risk to take

considering you only had half
an hour to do it.

All right.
I put some sauce in.

- 60 seconds to go. Come on.
- Hold on.

We got one minute,
so it's going down.
It's going down.

Twirl it. In here.
Okay, that was the worst twirl
of my entire life.

Yeah, try to get it going.

- Sauce?
- Yup.

A little more sauce.
Put a little more sauce.

- Hold on. Hold on.
- Here. You can use this.

- I got it.
- Got to make sure
we got that going.

Five, four, three.

Touch it up. Touch it up.
Touch it up.

- ...one.
- And stop. Hands in the air.

- Well done.
- Whoo! Good job.

All right.

- It looks good, man.
- Yeah. I like it.

I like it.

The plating's disgusting.

Mm-mm.

Ricky, Ashley,

please bring
your dish forward.

Tonight, we made
a seafood fra diavolo

with a tagliatelle pasta
and anchovy breadcrumbs.

The plate itself,
it's a little messy.

- Yes, Chef.
- Especially around the corners
and the sides

considering you have two people
to be able to make sure

- every detail looks nice.
- Yes, Chef.

- All righty.
- This is surreal.

Yeah. Oh, goodness.

So, you seared all
the seafood separately?

Yes. Par-cooked them,
and then I slowly added them
back into the sauce.

Tried to let it
tenderize a little bit in
the sauce as well.

- What's your last name?
- Napoli.

- "Nopoli."
- "Nopoli," yes.

You want the bad news first
or the good news first?

- Bad news.
- Bad news is...

I just want more
of the sauce, though!

Like, it's almost sticking
a little bit

- just because it needs a little
bit more of that sauce.
- Definitely.

- Yes, Chef.
- Those are mistakes
that you just can't make.

- Definitely.
- It's two of y'all.

Good news,
sauce is goddarn good.

- I mean, the flavor is popping.
- Thank you.

Thank you, Chef.
- Pasta's delicious.
Seafood's cooked beautifully.

Thank you.
- The right amount
of heat is lovely.

But it needs more sauce
through there.

But in my opinion,
this dish is as good as 90% of
the restaurants in New Jersey.

- Thank you.
- Good job.

That's really awesome.
Thank you.

Well done.
Please step back in line.

- Good job, guys.
It was incredible.
- Nice.

Good job.

In Italy, that's how much sauce
they would put on it.

Even they know
it needs more sauce.

- Yeah.
- I don't agree.

Adam and Joel,
please bring us your dish.
Thank you.

The dish we made tonight
is stuffed chicken thigh

with a mushroom stuffing,
green bean casserole,

cranberry sauce,
and fried okra.

You can see the technique
and texture,

you know, the crispiness,
the caramelization,

but I am a lifelong okraphobic.

- Yeah.
- But I want to be converted.

- I hope so.
- We're going to try.

Chicken's delicious.
I mean, honestly,
it's exceptional.

I love the sweetness
from the purée.

Okra could be a touch crispier,
if I'm honest.

- Yes, sir.
- But honestly,
you've nailed it.

- Well done.
- Thank you, Chef.

Y'all know. I done said it.
I love me some okra.

- Yeah.
- It is not slimy.

It has lots of flavor.

So no matter what he says
over here--

- It's a little bit slimy.
- Ah, it's not slimy.

- It's a little bit slimy.
- It's in the nature of the
okra, like you'd like to say.

- We would have liked it
to be a little bit crispier.
- A little bit.

Yeah, in juxtaposition
to the pasta dish,

you guys took
a more challenging route

of having to do many
different techniques.

The flavors
really work together.

- This dish reeks of ambition.
- Thank you.

It's a complicated dish.

- Good job, guys.
- You, too.

- Good job.
- Wow. Two cracking dishes.

We've got a serious debate.
Excuse us, please.

Ricky and Ashley,
I mean, to get that done
in half an hour.

- Yeah.
- The depth of that flavor.

Adam and Joel.
- The green beans
are cooked well.

- Yeah.
- Juicy chicken.

- It was juicy.
- Is your heart like...

Yeah.

- Oh, wow.
- Oh, goodness.

You four have not made it
easy for us tonight,

let's get that
absolutely clear.

And on any other night,
those two dishes

are good enough to get aprons,
let me tell you.

The duo earning their aprons...

Congratulations...

Right. The duo earning
their aprons...

Congratulations...

...Ricky and Ashley.

Yeah! Whoo!

- Nice job, guys.
- Oh, my God.

- Oh!
- Thank you, sir.

Congratulations.
Really good job.

- Bold move.
- Thank you so much.

- Thank you so much.
- Adam and Joel,

that's one of the most
technical roulades

we've seen in a long time,
and the synergy was on point.

You can tell the love
and the respect you have.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you.

- All four of you, head on out.
- Thanks, guys.

- Well done.
- Thank you, Chefs.
Thank you.

- Congratulations.
- Come on. You crushed it.
It was awesome.

We were disappointed.

Ricky and Ashley just were
slightly better.

Yeah. They made pasta
in 30 minutes.

- How incredible is that?
- Which is an amazing feat.

We made okra
and It got soft.

- Yup.
- What a bummer.

I'm a little disappointed,
but just to make it

on the competition
has been amazing.

- Hey!
- Hey! Dad, Gram.

- We got aprons!
- We got the aprons!

Yes!

- You proud?
- You proud of us?

You know, we wear it all
on our sleeve

and we're so proud of you guys
representing all of us.

- It's awesome.
- Aww.

- Yeah.
- You're gonna make me cry.

We're proud of you guys
and we can't wait to see
what you guys do.

- We love you.
- We'll keep making you proud.

Wow.
What a night, honestly.

But they'll soon find out
that was only half
of the battle.

Indeed, my friend.

- Man.
- It's exciting.

Next time, it's a big night
for the white apron winners.

Congratulations
on earning your spot

in this incredible season
Dynamic Duos."

But there's a twist...

- Oh!
- Holy crap.

- We're back!
- ...as the eight
eliminated duos

make a surprise return
to the MasterChef kitchen.

We've decided
that such rare talent
deserves a second chance.

Let's go!

I'm crazy happy
that I got a second chance.

I want to see
if you guys are in sync
with your palates.

I'm praying
we don't up.

Definitely more of a teamwork
scene between them.

I feel like they've learned
their lesson from the auditions.

- Two tablespoons of...
- Of sugar.

Two tablespoons--
I put all salt.

It's weird, it's wonderful,

and it's exactly
like both of you.

A definite dynamic duo.

That's the formula
that we're looking for
in this competition.

It looks like somebody's grandma
was cooking all day!

Is that what you want
the sauce to look like?

Damn.