Original subtitles

This season on "MasterChef," we are making history...

- Oh, my God! - Because for the first time ever,

we'll have partners in the kitchen.

Husbands and wives, mothers and daughters,

- best friends, even divorced couples. - Give her a nice kiss.

- This is "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos." - We're here, baby!

This season we will crown two MasterChefs.

- We have the best chemistry. - We are here to take the title.

- And who's in charge? - We fight over that a little bit, but...

- Me! - Joe and myself will be joined by a brand new judge...

Tiffany Derry! Oh, yes!

This competition is going to be fierce.

To find out if two cooks really are better than one.

They are like synchronized swimmers.

- Come on. - The dynamic in this duo has disappeared.

Was not my call, Chef. It was his call.

You need you need to own your partner's decision.

I'm doing my best. Just calm down.

We are doubling the difficulty with new challenges...

This is only possible as a dynamic duo.

Ten minutes, ten minutes, ten minutes, ten minutes. Sold!

We're gonna play recipe telephone.

Me and Kayla are telepathic twins.

Come on! Sauce!

Time for the big swap. Are you ready?

Cait, the sauce!

- Lift! - And some familiar favorites.

The return of the dreaded pressure test.

- Get it, get it, get it. Where is it? - You grab it. Right there.

- Wow, the wall. - We want identical plates.

- Do you hear me? - I can't.

- Jess, two piece asparagus! - I can't hear you!

Oh, my God!

It'll take all they've got to stay on track...

- We have to start plating! - We got an overcooked duck.

- Oh, my God. - This is a freaking train wreck.

- Holy. - Whoo!

And weather every storm.

- This weather is crazy! - We're not around.

- I want to get off this ride. - You're going home.

Oh, hey, medic! Medic!

But the duo that proves they're dynamic enough...

- This is Michelin star chef's plating. - Yes!

- This is explosive. - Thank you so much.

I really see the dynamic duo.

You've got the marriage right here. A bit like you two.

Will share the ultimate culinary prize.

- Together you're cooking like pros. - Oh, my God.

- As a duo, this is the level you need to be at. - Thank you, Chef.

- This is better than some of my restaurants. - Oh, Joe!

You may kiss the bride.

This is "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos."

I don't like cooking without you.

MasterChef! Here we are!

- There it is! There it is! - Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Let's go!

Oh, my gosh.

- Oh, wow. - It's so pretty.

- We're here! Can you believe it? - I can't believe it.

- Let's go! - Come on!

- We're here. - Oh, my God!

- I feel so emotional. Can you believe it? - I know.

We love cooking together. So when we found out that this season

- we're gonna be together... - It was like the dream come true for us.

I can't believe that we're here.

This is my partner in life and in the kitchen.

- This is what we've been training for. - We're cooking all off.

And this is what we want to do for the rest of our lives.

- Dude, I'm just happy to be here doing this with you. - This is gonna be awesome.

- Yeah, man. You, too. - Inside those doors is our dream.

- Mm-hmm. - I'm like, where's Gordon?

Whoa.

Let's go.

I'm excited.

Oh, my goodness me.

Welcome, everybody,

to our incredible 15th season of "MasterChef."

Yeah!

- Oh, my God. - But listen up.

"MasterChef" has always been about finding

- America's best home cook. - Oh, yeah.

But this year we want to highlight the power of partners in the kitchen.

For the first time in "MasterChef" history,

we will crown not one, but two MasterChefs.

- How cool is that? - Baby, right here!

This is "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos."

- Yes! Yes! Yes! - Whoo!

We have brought the best duos from all across America

here to the amazing MasterChef kitchen.

And trust me, we have everything from husbands and wives.

- Yeah! - To mothers and daughters,

- aunts and nieces. Yes? - Yeah!

Best friends.

- Even co-workers. - Whoo!

Amazing!

We even have a divorced couple?

- Happily! Happily! - Amazing.

Look at the distance between you two still.

- Closer together. - Give a nice kiss.

It's gonna be interesting watching you two cook.

And, young lady, you are hyperventilating... in the yellow, yes?

- Yes, that's right. - Why now?

We've said forever that that once there was a partner season

that we would be there. So here we are.

Glad to hear it. And who's in charge?

- We fight over that a little bit. - Me, me!

- Wow. - Well, here's the thing, guys,

even though you're competing as a duo, we're not going to be judging as a duo.

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

- Wow. - Ooh!

Someone that is no stranger to the MasterChef kitchen.

- She... - Oh, it's a woman!

Is a decorated chef with nearly 30 years of culinary experience.

Oh, my God. Who's that?

And like us, she has her own culinary empire.

- Now, are you ready to meet her? - Yes!

- Here she comes. - Oh!

Wow!

Oh, my God.

- Who's it gonna be? - Please give a warm welcome

to the amazing...

Tiffany Derry!

Tiffany is an incredible, world-renowned, award-winning chef,

a celebrated restaurateur,

and a true culinary icon of the South.

We are so lucky to have her join the MasterChef family.

- Oh, man! Good to see you, darling. - How are you?

- Welcome. - Oh, my God!

Wow. How cool is this to have Tiffany Derry as our new judge?

- Come on, give it up. - Yeah!

Yeah!

- Tiffany, welcome to the MasterChef family. - Thank you.

What a pleasure and an honor to have you here.

Now tell us a little bit how you worked your way

through the culinary ranks.

Give us an insight to the beginning of that journey.

I started as a server. At 16, I was managing.

And now to be able to own your own,

I think is one of the most beautiful things about spreading love and great food.

Love that. Love that!

Right. On to the reason why you're all here.

Listen up because at the end of this competition,

the best duo will earn the title, the trophy,

and a quarter of a million dollars.

Right here! You've got the winners right here.

But you may think that competing as duos could be easier.

But trust me, this season is gonna be twice as tough.

Because tonight, to earn your spot in the competition,

you'll face off in a battle against another duo.

- Ooh. - It's a battle you need to win

to get your hands on two of these.

- Woohoo! - That's right.

The incredible MasterChef apron.

- Whoo! - Yeah!

My name on it.

In these audition battles, two duos will enter the MasterChef kitchen,

- but only one duo will leave with aprons. - Oh.

And you're gonna have just 30 minutes on the clock.

- Oh, man. - Right.

It's time for our first duos to battle it out

to get their hands on that coveted MasterChef apron.

All of you, the very best of luck.

- We'll see you in the kitchen. - Thank you.

Wow, this is gonna be so exciting.

- I cannot wait to cook. - Oh, my God.

- I need my apron, Javier. - Ah!

- If you don't give me my apron, Javier... - Yes. No, no, no.

- You got it. Don't worry. - Half of us are getting an apron.

- That's insane. - Right.

First up, Jesse and Jessica...

- Oh! - Oh!

Versus Michelle and Zach.

J-Squared!

Oh, my God.

- Oh, my God! - We don't want to live

that straightforward 9 to 5 life anymore.

Once we get the apron, we're not looking back.

We are here to be the next MasterChefs.

- Come on down. Come on down. - Hi!

Now tell us who you are and what the relationship is between this dynamic duo.

I'm Zach. This is Michelle.

We're from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

- We've been married for four years. - Yeah.

- Watching "MasterChef" for 15. - Yes.

Big, big, big fans of "MasterChef."

It essentially brought us together

and probably why we're married today.

- Love that. - And?

We're J-Squared. My name is Jesse.

This is my beautiful partner Jessica.

- And we are New England foodies. - Nice.

Okay, you are now fighting for a spot

in the MasterChef kitchen, guys.

- We're ready. Yeah. - Let's go.

Okay, your 30 minutes starts now.

- Whoo! - Let's go.

- Let's go, baby. - All right. Ingredients.

- All right, we're heating oil. - Yup.

- Doing it baby. We're doing it. - We're doing this.

What are we looking for in this season of duos?

I'm looking for the bond. I'm looking for the trust.

And more importantly, communication, right?

- I love you. - I love you, too.

- Two tablespoons of sugar, babe? Two tablespoons sugar? - Yes. Yep.

But also what they put on the plate should be exceptional because it's two phenomenal

- amateur chefs coming in as one. - Yeah.

All right, let's go. We got to get going on the chicken.

- Let's go. - Zach and Michelle.

Give us an insight to the dish, please.

Yeah, this is a chili spice

chicken leg quarter on top of a parmesan

- mascarpone polenta. - Love that.

And is this a dish you would cook for a dinner party?

We've got a one-year-old at home, so the dinner parties

have kind of taken a little bit of a dip lately.

- Congrats. How'd you meet? - We were friends first. Met through a friend group.

And eventually we realized, "Wait a second. I think I love you."

- "I think I love you, too." - You think?

- Really? Yeah. - Love that.

So we're coming up to 10 minutes down with 20 minutes to go.

- Whoo! - Jessica and Jesse, what are you cooking?

A crispy skin salmon served with an aji verde Peruvian green sauce and pickled fresnos.

- Oh, love that idea. - Wow!

- Yeah! - Love that. How'd you guys meet?

We actually used to bartend next to each other in Boston.

And there was a lot of dancing around each other,

and then that dancing ended up progressing,

- and here we are eight years later. - Wow.

Nice. Looks good, looks good.

- Nice, nice. All right. - So, Zack and Michelle's chicken,

- it sounds delicious. - Yeah, yeah.

Especially that lovely creamy polenta.

Also I love seeing the chicken thigh and...

- It's what I was about to say. - Yeah.

Is there jeopardy in a half hour of properly cooking

- a complete chicken leg and thigh? - There's... yeah. Absolutely.

- Yeah, you got your work cut out there. - Mm-hmm.

- All right oven open. - Yep. Chicken going in.

- Yep. It's going in. All right. - Love it.

Beautiful.

- You make this in your sleep. - Yep. Nice.

The salmon dish with Jesse and Jessica, it sounds intriguing.

Yeah, it sounds punchy, flavorful.

- I like the Peruvian accents. - And I love a crispy skin.

Any. I mean, salmon, love to see that technique.

But the technique about searing the salmon is very, very important.

- So they're kind of pushing it. - How does the skin look, baby?

- Tell me how it feels. - Yeah, that feels crispy.

- Okay, yep. - Looking good, looking good.

- Thanks. - Tell me what you think and taste the seasoning.

Both couples are non-stop talking, communicating, tasting.

- Yes. - Needs a little salt, I think.

- Needs a little salt? - Yep.

- 15 minutes gone. 15 minutes remaining. - Whoa.

Remember only two aprons up for grabs for one dynamic duo.

You do not want to go home empty-handed.

- Heard. - Heard.

- Let's go. - Need to get that sauce going, babycakes.

- Yep. I'm almost there. - Ooh, babycakes.

- Say nice things like that to me. - You got it, babycakes.

Where's that meat thermometer? Where's that meat thermometer?

- Jessica, Jesse! J-Squared! - How are you?

- How we doing? - How much longer?

Give it quick little temp, but I think we're looking pretty good.

- What did you season it with? - Salt and pepper.

Heavy on the salt and pepper. Baby, want to feel this for me?

- Yep. - Feel good.

- You know what I love about you guys working? - It feels great.

Everything, y'all double check with each other.

- Yes, yes. - Absolutely.

- Like a true team. - Yes, yes.

I seen you force fed him some broccolini.

I force feed him all the time. All the time.

- Right? - You know what to do. You opened up.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's natural, right?

To sit here and go through that? It's awesome.

Y'all looking good. Good job y'all.

- Beautiful. Thank you. - Hot open, hot open.

How we feeling about those tomatoes?

- Are they a little over? - No.

I am concerned about this polenta.

The water's not boiling yet. The stock's not boiling.

- No. - Come on, polenta. Come on.

Michelle, is that polenta on?

- It's not on yet. About to do that right now. - Please.

- I got it. I got it. - Please, please, please.

I would throw the polenta on in the beginning

- because waiting is not gonna make it any better. - No.

What's up?

The polenta. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.

- Get it going! - They're nervous.

- They're nervous for us? - Where's the polenta?

We just need to say some prayers.

Damn. It's gonna be hard to get flavor there now.

I hope it's boiling.

Let's go, let's go, let's go.

Come on.

- All right, we're almost boiling here. - Okay.

- Get it going. - I'm gonna need you for a taste.

- Polenta going in. - Okay. Polenta in.

- Lime... salt. - Delicious.

- Is it? - It's so good. It's so good.

Oh, that's so good.

Whew! All right, there we go.

10 minutes remaining. Right, how's that chicken, please?

- It's gonna be great. - Yeah? Crank up the oven, okay?

- Make sure they're on. - 450, 450.

How come that polenta went on late?

- I know. Time flies. - What are you doing time?

- Congratulations on that baby, by the way. - Thank you so much.

Normally someone's at home always looking after,

but both of you being here this far away,

- how're you coping? - It's been hard. Yeah. You know?

We're not gonna lie about that. But he's well cared for,

and we're showing him that you got to chase your dreams

- and this is what we're doing. - Good.

Make sure that chicken's good. Get flavor in that polenta.

- We will. Yep. You got it. Thank you. - Good luck.

- Looks great. - Beautiful. Nice and crispy.

- All right, chicken. - Looks good.

- All right, let's go! - How do you feel?

- Good? That good? - That's the sauce, babe.

Two minutes to go. Start plating.

Here we go. This is all happening right now.

Get in there. Pour it on there. Pour it on there. Come on.

Come on, guys. Finishing touches now. Come on.

Yeah, this is gonna be the prettiest part.

- Looking delicious, babe. - Thanks.

- Come on. This little chunk. - Oh.

- Woohoo-hoo-hoo! - Five, four, three, two, one.

- And stop. Hands in the air. - High-five, high-five.

Well done.

Okay, Zach and Michelle, please present your dish.

We have for you a chili-spiced chicken leg quarter

on top of creamy mascarpone parmesan polenta,

blistered tomatoes, and topped with an anchovy breadcrumb.

It looks beautiful. I love the color on the chicken.

I was nervous, the fact that it wasn't gonna be cooked in time,

but you've proved me wrong there.

Polenta still not on with 10 minutes to go,

that's that's quite a scary area, but it looks so inviting.

- Really well done. - Thank you.

How long was the chicken in there for?

About 20 minutes?

Chicken is cooked beautifully.

When Gordon was cutting into the chicken,

there was a moment where my mouth watered.

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

- That chicken is delicious. - Aah!

Gosh, you got the flavor on that chicken,

and you did it in such a small amount of time.

- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef. Thank you.

The polenta's creamy. Beautifully seasoned.

- Really good job. - Thank you. Thank you, Chef.

Chicken is juicy. Maybe almost too juicy somehow.

- What? Never! - A word no one has ever said.

- I'll take it. - Yeah, we'll take that.

But an excellent... an excellent dish.

- Thank you. - Thank you, Joe.

Good job, guys.

- Well, we did good. - Yeah.

The double J, Jessica and Jesse.

- J-Squared! - J-Squared!

What you have in front of you tonight

is a crispy skin salmon with roasted broccolini

served with the aji verde Peruvian green sauce and some pickled fresnos.

It's rare to have the courage to not put carbs or starches

on a plate because you have nothing to fall back on,

and it's really about the technique and the flavors.

Aside from that, it looks perfect.

- Thank you. - Thank you

Jesse, the temperature on the salmon, what were you looking for?

We're looking for a little bit of medium rare inside of there.

Mm. It's pink. It looks beautiful.

- The dish tastes as good as it looks. Exceptional. - Thank you.

What I love here is you got that powerful umami bomb underneath

- that just tantalizes the palate. Well done. - Thank you.

The salmon itself is unbelievable.

I do think you could have seared it just a little bit longer.

But, I mean, gosh, it is... it's good.

- Thank you. - Thank you. Thank you so much.

The dish has great points of acidity.

The broccolini is crunchy and soft at the same time. Excellent dish.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Appreciate it.

Now we're faced with the toughest decision

because nobody deserves to fly home.

- Excuse us. - Whew. Good job.

- Zach and Michelle's chicken. - Well-executed.

- Well-thought out dish. - Yeah.

I feel like I'm going to throw up.

The JJ salmon dish was also really good.

Halfway through that tasting across both dishes,

I had to remind myself they're amateurs.

We're talking to them like pros.

- We did everything in our power. - I know. I know.

So we're in agreement then?

- Yeah. - Good.

All four of you really showed us the love tonight.

But one of these duos just edged out the others.

These aprons go to...

One of these duos just edged out the others.

These aprons go to...

- Ah! - Here we go, here we go, here we go.

Yes! Yes!

It's hard to be here away from our son,

but he's gonna be so proud of us.

He's gonna see that he can do anything that he wants,

he can chase his dreams, because he saw us do it.

And it means so much to us to be here, to be together.

It's just a dream come true. We're so lucky to be here.

- Love you. - Love you, too.

We want this so badly.

So to have that snatched away from us was absolutely devastating.

We feel disappointed, not in our cook, by any means. Just the results.

We did everything that we possibly could.

I just hate losing talent like that. I hate it.

To send somebody home that cooked like that?

- Oh, my goodness me. - That was tough.

Right.

Next up, Aivan and Tina...

Hello!

Versus Asa and Shanda.

Oh, yeah! Let's go, baby!

- Let's go, baby! - I'm so excited

to showcase our culture, heritage,

flavors to the judges.

And, Gordon, you better give me an apron

- because I'm here for it! - She's gonna come take it.

- Oh, my God. Yay! - Welcome.

- Not getting an apron? - Not an option.

We came here to compete. We came here to win.

We got our entire family on our back.

So it's a lot of pressure, but we're here to do it.

- Hello, hello! - I love it.

All right, tell us who you are.

- Introduce yourself. - I'm Tina. I'm 63 years old.

I'm a retired fishing boat owner and this is my niece.

Yup. I'm Aivan, I'm 32 years old,

and I'm a general contractor.

All right, who we have over here?

My name is Shanda and this is my cousin Asa,

and we come from a family of chefs.

- Wow. So they run restaurants? - Well, so, my dad,

he was a chef for 35 years, and trained his brothers,

- who were also chefs. - Very nice.

All right, if you want an apron, now's the time to step up.

- Are you ready? - We're ready!

All right, let's see who's the best! Your time starts now!

- Thank you. - Yes!

- Let's go! - Let's go Aivan.

- I'm coming, I'm coming. - Let's cook.

- This is gonna be an exciting battle. - Yeah!

- Shanda, you need anything? - I'm good, baby.

- Let's go. - Extended family.

Sometimes that can get a little complicated.

But in the kitchen? Man, it's just fireworks, right?

I didn't really cook a whole lot with my family.

- We kind of cooked separate and brought things together. - Sure.

But then when we would get in the kitchen, there was a lot of, like,

"No, no, no. You don't make it this way, you make it that way."

- Careful with the knife, baby. - Will do.

Aivan and Tina, give us an insight into the dish you're making.

- We're making my grandma's steamed bass with... - Steamed?

- You need to speak up, honey. - Oh.

- We cannot hear nothing from you. - Can you hear me over there?

She's got the big mouth, not me.

We're making steamed bass with glass noodles

- and black bean sauce. - Love that.

- Whereabouts is grandma from? - From Vietnam.

In 1975, she immigrated to the United States with my aunt, uncle, and my mom.

So being here and representing her and sharing our culture

- and heritage is crazy. It's so special. - I love that.

Brilliant. And, Tina, now that you've retired,

- are you spending more time in the kitchen cooking? - Yes.

I spend a lot of time in my kitchen.

All day every day.

If you tell me to go cook, I mean, I glow.

If you tell me to go do laundry,

no, that can wait till tomorrow.

- You're funny, by the way. - She is the life of the party.

- I bet. - Whoo!

- Toasting. - Pistachios?

- Yep. Throw them in. - I got you.

B-b-b-b... that's it. Yeah!

Shanda and Asa, what are you preparing for us this evening?

We have a pistachio risotto with duck breast

We have four uncles that are chefs.

This is their spin on the classic risotto.

And I think it's important to note, Chef,

that our uncles, they weren't classically trained,

but they learned on the job, and they were trained by chefs

from France and northern Italy.

Working with great chefs

is really the road to becoming a great chef.

100%. We're from a huge family.

- Got it. - Cooking is our rite of passage.

So you're doubling down on the jeopardy,

because you're making risotto, which is very difficult enough.

Then you're gonna render and sear a duck breast.

That's a tall order in 30 minutes.

Well, we have a lot of confidence in ourselves, chef.

And I believe that we'll be able to get this done for you.

All right, we're looking forward to it.

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

- Let's go. - Fish is in.

With that Vietnamese steamed bass,

the cooking on the bass it is very hard because it's thick and dense.

But if they can pull that off, then that could be a great dish.

- Yeah. - It's good.

- Okay. - How's the duck ducking?

He ducking.

So Shanda and Asa are taking two of the most difficult things

that we see throughout the years here and putting them on one plate?

I mean, how do you make risotto within 30 minutes?

- That's tough. - Yeah.

Behind you. Behind you.

Right, how are we doing with this risotto?

It's coming along. It's coming along.

How have you got the pistachios in the risotto?

- What have you done? - I chopped them down

and then I used a little butter. How's that?

So you need a touch more stock in there

so the kernels can bloom and absorb that.

- Thank you, Chef. - Okay, 'cause it's just a little bit undercooked.

- Okay. Will do. - Make sure that rice is cooked.

Keep tasting. Six minutes to go guys. Yes?

- Okay. Thank you. - You want to check it?

- Just look at it real quick. - Excellent.

- You can turn it off. Mm. Smells good. - Okay.

Five minutes remaining. Let's go!

Oh, boy. Talk to me, Shanda. What you got?

I don't want to lift the lid anymore. I want it to cook.

Shanda and Asa, they've reduced the stock so much, it wasn't absorbing.

So the rice wasn't blooming, and so it is dry.

It needs more liquid.

If they don't fix this fast,

they're gonna run out of time.

I don't want to lift the lid anymore. I want it to cook.

How much more time do you have left on your risotto?

- About three minutes. - Hurry up and wait, baby. Hurry up and wait.

- That's right. - Okay, I'm gonna take the fish,

and then you're gonna season the noodles a little bit for me.

Final two minutes.

Start thinking about the plating.

How you feeling on that risotto?

All right, I'm ready to go. Let's start plating, baby.

- Come on! Finishing touches. Let's go! - Ooh, look at that.

- Come on, come on, come on. - We got it. We got it.

Five, four, three, two, one.

And stop. Hands in the air. Hands up.

- Well done. - Good job!

All right.

So, first up Aivan and Tina, please bring us your dish.

We made my grandma's steamed bass

with black bean sauce, glass noodles, and herb salad.

I love the elegance of this.

I'm dying to taste it because it's got "eat me" all over it.

Thank you.

It's glistening.

Fish is cooked beautifully.

And what you've done with that ginger, it's delicious.

- Thank you. - Thank you, Chef.

The noodles itself are perfect.

I will say though, I wish that it had a little acid.

Whether that's just a zest of the lime to kind of perk it up...

- Yes. - Tasting this dish

is like coming to your house for dinner.

Full flavor, delicious. Good job.

Welcome to my home. My door always open for you, Joe.

- Excellent. - Okay, Joe!

- Thank you. - Thank you very, very much.

The freshness of that, that was lovely. I love the idea of the lime.

All right, Shanda, Asa, please bring us your dish.

We present to you a pan seared duck with a pistachio risotto.

It's a dish that's very inviting.

There's a lot of technique that you put into this.

You're really doing two dishes in one

because a risotto would have been enough on its own.

- So I'm very eager to try it. - Thank you, chef.

Shall we?

The duck is juicy. It's seasoned beautifully.

But then you've got the richness of that risotto.

It's a little bit too rich and too heavy.

And the consistency, it's not giving the true risotto texture, but it's delicious.

- Okay. Thank you. - Yes, Chef.

The duck is beautiful.

So much flavor. Really well-seasoned.

You've allowed it to rest.

You've done all the right steps

to make the duck delicious.

- Thank you, Chef. - Look, the flavor is very rich and intense.

But the risotto was undercooked.

- Thank you both. - Thank you.

Thank you.

Good job.

Hold me tight.

Okay, the best dish in this battle was cooked by...

Tina and Aivan!

- What? - Congratulations.

- Run, run! - Thank you, Gordon.

- Congratulations. - Thank you so much.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you, Gordon.

- Well done. - Shanda, Asa, you should be really proud.

The the dish that you created had lots of flavor.

Do not let this keep you down.

- Thank you. - This was awesome.

Very disappointing.

It may not have been what the judges wanted.

There's a lot of things that we can improve on.

And we'll take everything that they said to heart.

Look what we got!

Brought us some good luck.

This is even better than my wedding dress. Trust me.

I'm gonna wear this to the day I die.

Next up, Timothy and Athena...

- versus Azu and Javier. - Aah!

We came here to win.

If I don't get that apron,

I'm gonna stop talking to him for the rest of my life.

- Please, God. - But we're gonna get it. I mean, it's for sure.

- Oh, my God. - Look at these!

This competition is fierce. It's cutthroat.

We know it's gonna be tough, but winning that prize money

would change our lives tremendously.

- It's about to be us right there. - Yeah?

We're coming to win that battle first,

- get that apron, and win the rest of the competition. - 100%.

Holy guacamole, baby!

Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm going to faint.

This is real. Oh, my God.

Good evening to all four of you.

- Thank you, Chefs. - Thank you.

- To my left, please introduce yourselves. - My name is Timothy.

This is my beautiful wife Athena.

We just got married and this is our honeymoon.

- Congratulations! - Thank you very much.

- Hope it's worth it! - It's definitely worth it.

- Definitely worth it. - And where did you propose?

I proposed in Huntington Beach in California.

I told her to face the ocean and put her hands up

And I turned around, and I was like, "Baby, what are you..."

- He was on one knee. - That is amazing.

All right, who we have over here?

- My name is Azucena. - My name is Javier.

We have been divorced 14 years.

We're ex-couples, but we have two things in common.

One is food, and our son Santiago, the love of our lives.

Since we divorced, we decided that we were gonna remain friends forever

for the well-being of our son.

And it's a promise that we made,

and thanks to that promise, we can be here today.

You want to remember why you got divorced? Is that why you're here?

So now...

- I mean, I like Javier very much. - Okay.

I know he can get on my nerves, but...

and I can get particularly on his nerves.

You two, put your fingers in your ears now.

Oh, my God. I'm so sorry.

Newlyweds and divorced.

- The two opposite ends of the extreme. - Yes, sir.

- Absolutely. - Listen, if you want to earn your white aprons,

we'd love to see food that really reflects your bond.

Get it on the plate, but put it on with love. Understood?

- Yes! - Your time starts now!

- Let's go! - Oh, my God!

- This way. This way. - Okay, this'll be fascinating.

- Yeah, it is. - And with only one duo going through,

it's definitely gonna end in heartbreak.

I cannot be nervous, but I'm a little nervous.

- You okay? - Yeah, I'm good.

So you have the newlyweds that are spending

- all their time together. - Yes.

You have the divorced couple

who have been separated for 14 years.

Obviously have a history of cooking together.

- Who's got the advantage? - Hmm. It's a tough one.

- I'd say the history. - I agree.

- I don't know. - No?

I think the fact that they've been doing it,

they're in rhythm right now.

History over here might repeat itself.

- True. - Oh, baby.

- Yeah? I'm getting the potato started. - Hell, yeah.

Timothy, Athena, what are y'all making?

We are making a rack of curried lamb,

some creamy mashed potatoes, and sweet asparagus.

Give me insight in to the curry.

My wife is a curry queen.

She's making the curry paste right now.

- In a half hour? - Yes, sir.

- Oh, absolutely. - Wow.

- You curry in a hurry. - Curry in a hurry.

- That's how we do. - These for you, right here.

- Okay, thank you so much. - Azu, Javier.

- Yes, Chef? - What are y'all making?

- Chicken roulade stew. - This is a chicken breast

with almonds and raisins...

that we prepare in weddings and funerals.

I have to say, considering your complicated situation,

the irony is not lost on us.

So it's the marriage and death dish.

Well, I think that you're gonna like it, chef.

Guys, we're coming up to halfway. 15 minutes gone.

- Ay, yi, yi. - 15 minutes to go.

Right.

Ah.

Chef, don't get too close. I don't want your jacket to get stained.

No, it's all good. Tell me about this sauce.

I want a texture that is similar to like a "molito."

- Yes. What's in there? - I'm working on it.

- No, Chef! No, Chef! One minute please! - Mmm.

And what's your sous chef doing?

The sous chef is doing the chicken.

- Okay, good. Where is the chicken? - It's the oven right now.

Right. Just over 10 minutes to go.

- Oh, my God. I'm getting nervous. - Lots of time.

You're fine. Talk to each other.

Timothy and Athena.

- Yes, sir. Yes, sir. - Hello, hello.

In love. Is Athena your goddess?

- Yes, she is. - Athena is the goddess of what?

- Wisdom and war. I'm here to fight. - Oh!

- Yes, ma'am. - Love it.

It looks really good, y'all.

- And make sure you season everything. - Yes, chef.

Mm. Mm! Mm!

- 25 gone. - Oh, my gosh.

We're down to our last five minutes.

Azu and Javier, it's funny

because they're not talking as much. I thought they would...

- Oh, my goodness. - But she's making an amazing

sauce with those almonds, tomatoes, and the raisins,

- and it tastes delicious. - How we looking on the curry?

- Salt. - Little bit?

- Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah. - It smells good.

What do we smell? The curry though?

Definitely smell the curry...

Yeah.

- This has to be right. - What's he doing now?

Is he gonna cook it twice?

Oh, no. He's cutting it and cooking it again?

I think that's a panic move.

That probably wasn't their original plan.

And at this point, if he's second-guessing

and gonna sear it in the pan,

there's a definite chance it's gonna come out dry.

- Yeah. - That might cost them

some real flavor points.

I'm not too sure if Javier has got this.

He seems a little bit distant right now.

- Yeah. - Is there an argument going on there?

Don't overcook the chicken, guys.

- Totally fine. - No, no. Not totally fine.

Not for me. No, no, no, no, no.

No, no.

We are coming down to our final 60 seconds.

One minute to go. Start plating. Come on.

- Lamb, babe. - Let's go!

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

- And stop. Well done. - Hands up.

- All right. - Well done.

All right, Timothy and Athena,

please bring us your dish.

We made curried lamb chops, creamy mashed potatoes,

candied asparagus, and a mint chutney.

- Visually, it looks good. - Thank you very much.

So the rack of lamb needs to be pink right?

- Yes, sir. - And...

Mmm! Wow!

Absolutely beautiful.

Been waiting to hear those words from you, Chef.

Lamb is cooked beautifully.

It's quite a rare technique there,

to cook the lamb that perfectly

and coat it in a curry sauce.

That is a marriage made in heaven.

That's harmony right there.

The finesse comes from her.

She's taught me everything I know.

Definitely newlyweds here.

I mean, look at this. It's very rare that people

can cook a rack of lamb that perfectly.

Asparagus itself is sort of where I feel like the plate is lacking.

I know you said sweet asparagus, but I'm not getting the sweetness there.

- But you got the meat down. - Thank you, Chef.

You know, I think that this dish really represents the unity

and the love that you guys share right now.

- Wow! Joe! - Joe!

You may kiss the bride.

- Thank you. - Good job, guys.

Azu, Javier, bring your plate forward please.

Oh. What's going on?

This is just to bring a little bit of the aroma of the cinnamon.

The dish we have made today is a chicken roulade stew.

Which is a chicken breast with almonds and raisins, sauce from Oaxaca.

Visually, listen, it's attractive.

Now I've been to Oaxaca, but I've never seen a stew that firm.

- Was that the intention? - Yes.

We decided to make it a little bit more condensed.

Let's taste it, shall we?

First off, the chicken's cooked beautifully.

It's seasoned well. The sauce is delicious.

But I would have preferred it to be a little bit more liquid.

Just a little bit more relaxed.

Overall, I think the flavors are really nice.

The sweetness with the saltiness of the plantains

works together really, really well.

And, Javi, the chicken itself is beautifully cooked.

I was very concerned because I saw it go back in the pan.

I'm like, "Oh, my God. It's chicken breast.

There's no skin. There's no fat."

But you did a really good job

of making sure that that was done right.

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you, Chef.

The dish actually comes together and eats really, really well.

An excellent effort. For two people who have been separated to come together

and to create something like this is really quite an accomplishment.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you, Chef.

Thank you.

Please give us a moment.

When we get that apron.

- Are we in agreeance? Yeah? - Yeah.

Hmm.

Okay, we felt the best dish

in this battle was cooked by...

Okay, we felt the best dish

in this battle was cooked by...

Timothy and Athena.

It looks like the honeymoon's gonna have to wait

a little bit longer, guys. Way to go!

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much.

- Oh, here you go. - Thank you.

Azu, Javier, there's something quite dynamic about you two

and the passion you bring to the kitchen. That's obvious.

Such a shame, because the chicken was delicious,

but the dish, it was just a little bit too stiff.

- But thank you. - Thank you.

I'm sad, of course, but listen.

It has been a great experience to share with Javier these days.

For me, it's already a great gift.

And it just didn't happen, but it's okay.

Aah!

- Oh, my God! - Yeah!

This has been an amazing year. We just got married.

We marked that off. MasterChef apron?

- Marked that off. - Next thing is the trophy.

Whoo!

So, that's three sets of aprons down, five remaining.

And honestly, so far, I am so impressed.

Next time on "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos"...

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

- The audition battles continue... - 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. We're taking 'em down.

To try to secure a pair of coveted white aprons.

You guys know how to make a fire, right?

- You're about to get extinguished. - Rawr!

We 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.