Original subtitles

Previously on "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos"...

Let's see who's the best.

The season kicked off with the battle rounds.

One of these duos just edged out the other.

Eight home duos emerged victorious...

- We got an apron. - Welcome to MasterChef.

Oh, my gosh.

Leaving the other eight pairs empty-handed.

You should be really proud. Do not let this keep you down.

- Thank you. - This was awesome.

Absolutely devastating.

We did everything that we possibly could.

Nobody deserves to fly home.

I just hate losing talent like that.

- I hate it. - It just didn't happen, but it's okay.

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

Congratulations on earning your spot

in this incredible season of "MasterChef: 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.

Milah Lynn 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 audition.

- It's two tablespoons of... - Sugar.

Two tables... 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.

This is gonna be exciting.

These duos will be shocked when they find out what's under this cloche.

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

Welcome, guys.

- Whoo! - Yes!

Walking into the kitchen feels amazing.

To even be wearing these aprons and having our names stitched into it,

it's just... not in our wildest dreams.

- Welcome. Line up, guys. - Well, hello!

This competition is so important to us.

We have sacrificed a lot to be here.

Our son is at home without us.

We came here to show him that we can follow the dreams

that we have of opening a restaurant,

and this is how we're gonna make it happen.

Congratulations on earning your spot in this incredible season

- of "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos." - Whoo!

We're actually here with white aprons competing.

- Pinching ourselves. Like, this is real! - I know. Is this even real?

In your audition battles, you showed us just how powerful you all are as duos.

And you could have a great future as partners in this competition.

- But this is a season of surprises. - Ooh!

So get ready because this first one tonight is gonna really turn up the heat.

And it's about to walk

through that door.

- Stop. - Uh-oh.

- What? - Let's go!

Oh!

- We're gunning for you, baby. - Oh, my God!

- Wow. - We're back!

- Holy crap. - Ryan Kate: It's everybody that just went home.

My jaw hits the floor.

Welcome back, guys. Thought they went home.

Thought they were long gone.

Now listen up. Joe, Tiffany, and myself thought

that those battle rounds were some of the most competitive

we've ever seen in the history of this competition,

and many of our decisions came down to the smallest of details, tiny critiques.

So we've decided that such rare talent

deserves a second chance of earning...

the elusive MasterChef white apron.

- Yeah, baby! - I'm crazy happy that I got a second chance.

Because this is something that we're doing for Santi, our son.

We want him to continue his education.

It means more than people can imagine,

and we are not going to miss this opportunity.

- Not at all. - Yes!

Tonight, guys, we have made room for four more duos

in this competition.

Which means, sadly, the four duos who make the worst dishes tonight

will be going home.

Now, if you've already earned your white apron, you won't be cooking tonight,

so please go ahead and take yourselves to the balcony.

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you.

- Good luck, y'all. - We had one in eight chances to be the winners.

- Now it's gone back to one in 12. - But we're here to win.

- We're gonna do it. It's game face on. - Now it's game face on.

Okay, guys, tonight you must make us a dish

that proves that you are fit for this competition.

Use this second chance wisely.

But you won't just be making one dish.

We want to see three identical dishes.

One for Joe, one for Tiffany, and one for myself.

- Oh. - All of you will have 45 minutes

to produce three stunning plates.

Okay, your 45 minutes start now.

Let's go, guys.

Yeah!

Let's do this! Let's do this!

- Let's go, guys! - Sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar.

- Do we have salt and pepper over on our stand? - Joel. Atta boy.

To have a second opportunity to come in and get an apron is a blessing.

We fell a little short in the audition round.

But I think you're gonna see us come out

and execute flawlessly.

We're here to win that 250k

so that we can start a street food pop-up

in some of the breweries around Atlanta.

We want to take it home. We want to win.

We want to show everybody what we can do.

- I'm gonna go start grabbing. - Yeah.

Get it, Court. Get it, Darse.

Darce and I are very grateful to have this second chance

- and we're not gonna let it pass by. - No.

We have this food dream of making cookbooks

and starting a cooking school.

So we are gonna seize this moment and give it everything we got.

- Here's your garlic. Aah! - How do you feel, honey?

- I feel great. How do you feel? - I feel confident.

All right, I'm gonna get started on this herb stuff.

Okay, you tear it up. And don't forget, I love you.

Exciting night. A second chance.

We've all had second chances, right?

I mean, second chances can change everything.

Just one more opportunity to get it right.

But on your second chance, you can't repeat the mistakes of the first chance.

We want to see teams that learn from their mistakes.

- Absolutely. - Okay, we're at 40 minutes.

- 40 minutes. - Let's go! Let's go!

- You got this! - Let's go, everybody!

- It's so loud! - Oh, my God.

Keep an eye on this thing. I'm gonna go grab the food processor.

- Yeah. - Well, we've got herb-crusted rack of lamb,

rainbow carrots, cauliflower purée, and a beautiful red wine demi-glace.

We know that the last time, we didn't have enough seasoning or flavor.

The scallops are cooked beautifully.

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

and so it does need a touch of acid.

And so this time, we're gonna put a lot of balance in our flavors.

- We cannot mess it up. - Just over 35 minutes to go.

- Looking good, guys. - Come on!

- It is chaos in here right now. - How you doing, baby?

- Getting these apples prepped. - All right.

It feels phenomenal to be back for a second chance.

The first time around, we thought we had an apron,

and we were really, really disappointed when we didn't get one.

This is our passion. This is what we've been training ourselves to do

since we met eight years ago.

- I'm doubling the recipe, remember. - For what?

- For the pickling liquid. - We don't have enough salt then.

- We're passionate. - We're driven.

Sometimes you might hear us in the kitchen spatting and going back and forth.

But at the end of the day, I think we're a really good balance together.

It's all out of love.

- How's that for thickness, right? - Yes, perfect.

Everything has to be perfect or else we're going home.

I need a tablespoon, please. Thank you.

I thought you were doing teaspoon.

- It's two tablespoons... - Of sugar.

Two tables... I put all salt. I put all salt.

- Do I have to redo that? - Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

- Ooh. - I that up.

- Perfect. How's it coming? - It's good. Spice is good.

Javi and Luis, you got this, boys.

- Whoo! - Let's go! Let's go!

Just let me do the pickling liquid. I got it.

- Come on, Jess and Jesse, pick it up. - You got this. Look at me.

- You got this. - I got this.

Watch your sleeves on these flames.

I don't want you to get caught on a flame.

- I will when I have a chance. - Here.

Good job, Milah! You got it, Lisa!

Right. Special one tonight. A very rare second chance.

These dynamic duos are back with a vengeance, let me tell you.

But this time around, they've got to listen to the notes from last time,

take all that experience, elevate those dishes,

and really maximize in that 45 minutes tonight.

Guys, 15 minutes gone. 30 minutes to go.

- I think we have put the steaks in now, love. - Perfect.

Azu! Javier! What are you making?

This is a dish that you're gonna love.

It's chiles en nogada...

I have cooked this dish so many times,

and it's a dish that we cook for Independence Day in Mexico.

The day that we signed our divorce,

Azu's mother called me.

- She made chiles en nogada for me. - When we sat at the table,

I go, "Viva México! I'm independent again."

Oh, my God. I love it, but this is about teamwork.

- So make sure both of you do your job here. - Yep.

- Absolutely, Chef. - Good luck.

I can't get off the peppers.

- Okay. - I need garlic.

All right, these are now ready.

- Courtney, Darce. How are we doing? - Hi, good. How are you?

- Where we going this time around? - Today, we are taking you,

believe it or not, to a vegan fish and chips.

- A vegan fish and chips? Wow. - Yeah, you heard me.

We're actually using a banana blossom.

It's the flower of a banana tree.

- It flakes just like a cod. - Gotcha.

- We're gonna use lemon zest, sea salt, and some seaweed. - Okay, nice.

- We're also making sure we really season properly. - Yup.

I think last time that was an issue.

Have you seasoned inside as well, so when we break through,

we got that really nice flavor?

I've squished it right in the middle as well.

Right! Come on, girl. You got this.

- Thank you. - Let's go. Let's go.

- Let's go. Let's go. - Let's go, Courtney and Darce.

There we go.

- Grits are looking good. - Perfect.

Do you see that? My man got the oil and the garlic in there

and Javi went over and threw the butter in the pan with him. That's teamwork, baby.

- Jesse and Jessica. - Hi, Chef.

Talk me through. What is this dish?

We are doing a berbere spiced lamb lollipop

- and cauliflower with a delicious whipped feta. - Mmm!

It's gonna be with some pickled apples, some pickled fresnos.

- Oh, I can't wait. - Yes.

What does this second chance mean to you?

- It means the world to us to be here. - It does.

This is our passion. We came here to win.

And to be given that chance again,

- we're gonna take it and run with it. - Absolutely.

- Get it going as quick as you can.- Yup.

But make sure you have everything the way you want it to taste.

- Absolutely. - Good luck, y'all.

Thank you!

- Watch out. Coming in hot. - Ah!

Halfway, guys!

- Come on! - Halfway, guys.

- Let's go! - Keep it up, guys!

Let's go!

Team Veggie in the house!

Courtney and Darce, they are doing, would you believe,

a vegan take on the classic fish and chips.

My one big worry about that is those banana blossoms

are very dense and soggy when wet.

If they don't squeeze all that that moisture out of there,

- it's never gonna get crispy. - Whew, your girl's sweating.

- I know. - How much mint do you think you need?

- Is that good? It's plenty, right? - Yeah. Plenty.

Jesse and Jessica are making lamb chops,

- and they're cutting them individually. - Wow.

When you go and sear the individual chops,

- how do you get a perfect medium-rare when it's so thin? - They're thin, yeah.

- That's gonna be very difficult. - You got it, babe. You got it.

Javier and Azu, they're making a stuffed poblano pepper with this nut sauce.

- You want me to try it on? - Please.

- More cheese? - Yeah.

- More of a teamwork scene between them today for sure. - Yeah.

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

20 minutes to go.

- All right. - Shanda and Asa, what are you guys making?

So we're gonna have pan-seared tuna with a coconut lime rice,

crème fraîche wasabi, and a mixed green salad.

So this is like the opposite. The first dish was that risotto.

- Yes. Yes. - Heavy cream. Butter.

The flavor is very rich and intense,

but the risotto was undercooked.

What are you doing different today?

- The strategy is light, cohesive, balanced. - Where's the rice?

- This is coconut lime. Of course, you can. - Can I taste this?

- What's gonna make it special? - It looks like white rice, but it has that lime,

and that little pop of crunch of coconut in there.

- Did you taste it? - I did.

- What do you think it's missing? - I don't think it's...

- What do you think it's missing? - I don't think...

- Did you taste it? - I did taste it.

The rice is missing something. What do you think that is?

They forgot something.

- What's the... - What's it missing? What's the rice missing?

- I don't... I thought that it was good. - Taste it.

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

It is so risky cooking rice again

after the rice did not meet the mark the last time.

Maybe we just shouldn't cook rice anymore around Joe.

What's it missing?

The rice is missing something. What do you think that is?

- Taste it. - They forgot something.

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

What's it missing?

I think it's missing sugar. I don't think it's missing salt.

- Let me taste one more time. - Go ahead.

- I hope you're right. - I think what he really wanted

was to understand that were our palates in sync?

- It needs a little, little, little. - For next time...

If there's the next time, we're not cooking rice.

That's what's happening. I'ma tell you that right now.

We're cooking something else.

- I think that's better. You like it? - Yeah. Good.

30 minutes down.

We're at our final 15 minutes to go.

- Let's go! - 15, let's go, guys!

- You guys got this! - Come on!

- Pick up, guys! Pick it up! - Taste everything!

- Take a bite. Let's see. - Oh.

Look at you feeding Darce. How sweet.

Did we get our lambs good? This one feels a little over.

All right, then take it out.

- McKenna, that is awesome. - Love that idea. I love that idea.

- They're like cupcakes. - Really cool.

- That is so good. Yes. - All right, let's do it.

We can do this. 15 minutes.

- Adam, Joel! - Hey, Miss Tiffany!

- How are you? - Good to see you.

Tell me what you're making.

We've got a homage to shrimp and grits,

a New Orleans-style barbecue shrimp.

It's gonna have a coffee and Coca-Cola sauce.

Wow! I've never had cola on shrimp before.

- Yeah. - Is the sauce gonna be sweet?

- It's got a bite. There's a little bit of sweet. - It's a flavor bomb.

All right. Smelling good, looking good.

Let's make sure at the end when it's time to plate,

it's gonna require that teamwork,

- and that's what we're looking for today. - Yes, ma'am.

- Yes, ma'am. We got you. - Best of luck, y'all.

Thank you.

I'm gonna take this from you.

- Okay. - Very, very fine.

- Okay, I take care of this. - Whew, it's hot in here.

That's beautiful. Good job, honey.

- We're looking good, Javi. - All right, guys, so the firefighters are back.

So what do you have for us today?

We're doing something that's in every Cuban's house, picadillo, those tostones.

What are you gonna do that you didn't do last time to get you an apron this time?

Well, we're gonna portion better and we're gonna plate nicer.

This is all about precision. You know in your jobs, precision is everything.

- Means life. Life or death. - Means life or death.

- This dish means apron or no apron.- Correct.

We're focused today. We're ready.

Two aprons are on the line, guys. Bring it.

- Spencer and McKenna. - Hello.

- Hello. How are you? - Hi, Gordon. How are you?

Yes! We're back!

First of all, you were so close, right?

- Yeah. We were so close. - Okay?

I love fried chicken, okay? It just... it needed a little bit more oomph.

- Yeah. - Better gravy.

Right? What we doing the second time round?

We're doing a New York strip with a cognac sauce.

- Good. - And then sautéed spinach,

and then twice baked potatoes.

When you put that New York strip on the plate,

make sure you get rid of that fat there as, well, okay?

- Okay. - You don't need to serve all that fat on there.

- Just give it a little trim before you do it. - Right.

Keep it going. 10 minutes to go, yes?

- Look at that. - Beautiful.

- Looks good. - Are you done with these carrots?

- No, I need lemon. - Okay, Milah and Lisa, the glam-mas.

You guys have the usual mess in your station. Look at this!

- This is embarrassing. - I'm sorry.

Okay, so tell me the dish again. What are you making?

We're making an herb-crusted lamb,

rainbow carrots and asparagus, and a nice red wine glaze.

Do you have a backup lamb in case one's a little bit overcooked, undercooked?

I got a little extra on the fly if I need it.

Because as a grandma, you know have to have a backup plan for everything in life.

That's my life. God, if I had a nickel

for every time I had to have a backup plan,

- I'd be a rich woman. - All right, make sure that lamb is medium rare.

- Good luck. - Five minutes remaining.

- Five minutes, guys! Five minutes! - Come on, let's go!

- Let's go, guys. Let's go! - Get those aprons.

- Get those aprons. - Five minutes!

- Get it on a plate! - Watch out.

Let me get a knife to cut this.

I don't like that sauce. I'm not sure...

- You do? - I don't.

I'm not gonna use this. Nope. Not gonna use this.

- Are you okay, honey? - Whew!

- Very tight. - Don't knock the pan.

This is it. It's where it counts now.

- The pressure is immense. - It feels good to be up here.

- I know. - - Milah Lynn I'm praying we don't up.

Come on, sauce.

- There you go, Lisa. - All right.

It's not done. I got to finish that one more time.

Damn, look at that, Lisa and Milah.

There's a problem with that sauce.

He is damn right. We are messy.

- Oh, I need this now. - Hope they have time.

- Bind it with water. - Eww.

All right, Lisa, you guys got this.

Make it thicker.

Damn, look at that. There's a problem with that sauce.

- Bind it with water. - Eww.

All right, Lisa, you guys got this.

Make it thicker.

Mmm. Oh! That's all she needed.

- All right, now we're ready. - Final two minutes.

- Start plating, let's go! - Let's go.

- You got this! - Come on, come on! Plate up!

Beautiful cut, Asa.

- You going in? We're going in? - Looks great, you guys.

I need one more on that one. Let's do them all the same.

- Spinach down. Should I get steaks on? - Yup.

Come on, guys!

I need these to be perfect.

I'm gonna need veggies here. Veggies here, veggies here.

All right, lamb. Get the lamb on there. Gorgeous, baby.

- I'm going in with the fries. - Pretty plates. Pretty plates.

- What are we missing here? - Huh? Nothing.

Ten!

- One more, one more! - Nine, eight...

- Quick, quick, quick. - You got it, baby.

- Six, five, four... - Perfect.

- We got this. - Three, two, one.

And stop!

- Win or lose, we got it. - Ah!

- Good job, everybody! - Lord God in heaven, help us.

I was worried about the lamb, but it's cooked perfectly.

The only thing that had us worried was this sauce.

So we threw that sauce back in the pan and gave it a second chance.

Now tonight you all had to cook us a second chance dish.

Four teams will earn these white MasterChef aprons

and remain in the competition.

Four teams will make their journey home tonight.

Right, the first dish we'd like to taste

is from Darce and Courtney.

I have imagined serving Gordon Ramsay

a British fish and chips with banana blossom as the cod

- for the longest time. - Yes.

- Yeah. - It's gonna blow them away.

- Sometimes. - Shh.

"Shh," she says.

Right, ladies, describe your dish, please.

We've made a vegan fish and chips

with a beer-battered banana blossom,

a side of tarragon mushy peas,

and a caper and dill tartar sauce.

Visually, it looks good. Batter looks nice and crispy.

I'm dying to taste that banana blossom.

Shall we?

- Banana blossoms are delicious. - Thank you. Thank you.

The batter is really light and crispy.

One downside are the fries.

I got one crispy, one slightly firm.

But everything is seasoned beautifully.

There's lovely harmony in terms

of how endearing it is watching both of you work.

You're in sync. Well done.

The thing that I am loving about this plate

is the addition of the seaweed with the banana blossom

really gave across the flavor of

this is supposed to be fish and chips.

And the tartar, it's delicious,

and it is creamy, and it is flavorful.

- Thank you. - Let's get this out there.

I didn't want to like this dish.

It's not the kind of thing I like.

But I'm gonna tell you one thing, the real success in this dish

is that you captured the essence of pub fish and chips,

and that's to be commended.

- Good job. - Thank you.

Thank you, ladies.

- Whoo! Whoo! - Whoo!

It tasted way better than I expected.

And trust me, I serve 10,000 portions of fish and chips a day

- and that is a great fakery, right? - It really is.

A great swap out.

Okay, the next dish was cooked by Shanda and Asa.

- Let's go! - We come from a family of chefs,

and it is gravely important to us

that we can prove we're also chefs.

Hopefully, this second opportunity that we got

will earn us that white apron,

and we'll show what we can do a little bit more.

Okay, please describe your dish.

Today, we have prepared a pan-seared

sesame crusted ahi tuna,

with a coconut rice, mixed greens,

and crème fraîche wasabi.

It's vibrant. It's got the colors there.

Nice addition with a salad.

I'm desperate to taste it, because I think it needs

a sauce, or a vinaigrette, or a marinade, or something.

Shall we?

Listen, the rice is really, really good.

It's seasoned properly. It's super clean, super precise.

It's like a lean, mean, clean flavor machine.

Heard that.

I mean, this is kind of what I want to eat every day, really.

- Good job. - Thank you.

The salad itself, it is very bright,

a lot of lemon.

I think because we don't have another sauce

or more flavor on the tuna,

just, like, punch up that wasabi.

But really like all of the flavors together.

I saw you marinating the tuna as well.

- Where did the marinade go? - The marinade did not come out

- the way I wanted it to, so I tossed it. - Right.

Because the tuna tastes good.

It melts. Wasabi mayo, I love.

But that's the only thing missing,

just that little spoon of marinade over

- to bring it together. - Yeah.

Please step back.

Good job.

- Just needed dressing. - Yup.

It's okay. If it ain't good, don't serve it.

All right, please come forward, Milah and Lisa.

Let's go, glam-mas!

We're so confident today because this dish is complicated.

It is challenging. It shows our skills.

And I think this is exactly what we need to win that apron.

What we have here is herb crusted lamb

with rainbow carrots, asparagus, a beautiful cauliflower purée,

and a wine demi-glace.

Love the classiness of this dish.

You are just some classy ladies,

and it shows through in my lamb.

- This beautiful rosette, it looks great. - Thank you.

- Should we dig in? - What is the sauce?

Red wine demi-glace.

Oh.

Damn.

This sauce is broken.

Is that what you want the sauce to look like?

No.

Is that what you want the sauce to look like?

- No. - That's wrong.

Ladies, this dish has the makings of something quite unique.

Because the hardest thing, you've nailed,

and that's the lamb.

It's just everything else around it

looks better than it tastes.

The onions are delicious.

The carrots, and that caramelization as well,

there's so many really, really delicious things.

And then I see that sauce, and I'm like, dang.

Yeah, there's a lot of good cookery in this dish.

But a sauce like this is a fundamental aspect of the dish.

- Yeah, it's too bad. - Thank you, ladies.

Good job, ladies.

Next up, Javi and Luis, please.

We were built for "MasterChef."

So this time, we're definitely gonna get that apron

'cause this dish is 100% Cuban

and it represents our culinary friendship.

It's cute and cuddly, just like us.

Describe the dish, please.

We made a Cuban picadillo with white rice, tostones,

with a little Cuban salad and Peruvian green sauce.

Wow, this is like the type of food I like to eat.

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

- Thank you. - Shall we?

Listen, it's simple, it's charming, it's rustic.

You've got the seasoning absolutely spot-on.

The sauce is vibrant, delicious, everything that you want.

But I just need more flavor from the beef.

Your cilantro sauce here, it's pungent, it's yummy.

Though the tostones itself is absolutely delicious,

a little bit thinner would give us a little bit more crunch.

But, I mean, flavor-wise?

Everything together works really well.

The dish is excellent, and I think your strategy of bringing

really home-style Miami Cuban food, it's authentic.

- Thank you. - And I have never in my entire life

had a tostone that I've liked until tonight.

Yeah, boys!

- Thank you, gents. - All right, boys!

- Good job, boys. - All right, up next,

Azu and Javier.

I'm extremely happy.

I think that the dish looks beautiful.

I think that the flavor of the picadillo, I nailed it.

So I know that we have a second chance. We can make it.

- We are confident. - We're gonna get those aprons.

So the dish that we made is called chiles en nogada.

And it's a poblano pepper stuffed with picadillo and walnut sauce.

Pretty much we use it in Mexico to celebrate our independence

from the Spaniards, so...

Well, I think it looks great. And I was watching you two work,

and regardless of divorce or separation,

I really saw mature complicity to your partnership.

And I think that's the formula that we're looking for

in this competition of dynamic duos.

So I hope I can taste that in your dish.

- Thank you, Chef. - Shall we?

It's good. It's a very fast-track version

of something that takes a few hours.

And the inside, the filling is delicious.

It's weird, it's wonderful, and it's exactly like both of you.

- Thank you, Chef. - The pepper itself has more bite

than I thought it would, and I like it.

I love that you didn't rinse off that pepper and you left that kind of char.

And I love the pomegranate part. It needs the tartness.

Overall, I think the flavors are really nice.

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

I think that the walnut sauce is creamy and rich,

but I find the dish a little bit overall sweet.

The right salinity, it would have cut the sweetness,

created greater balance in the dish.

Aside from that, very good.

- Thank you. - Thank you both.

- Good job. - Good job, guys. Good job.

As a whole, the dish itself reads very well.

- And the use of spices, I think it was good. - Yeah?

- Yeah. - All right, up next, Adam and Joel.

So looking at some of the other dishes that were created,

I think we have put such a phenomenal dish on the plate,

the judges can't help but give us an apron.

Please describe your dish.

We made shrimp and grits.

It's shrimp cooked in coffee and Coke sauce,

creamy cheddar grits with a rainbow chard slaw,

and toast points.

I think that the plate looks really nice,

and I feel like this is an elevated shrimp and grits.

The lemon, on the other hand,

you know, it's just kind of clunky.

- Sure. - And I'm hoping that the sauce has all the flavor

- and I really wouldn't need the lemon. - Right.

- Sure. - Shall we?

See, I mean, it's lemon, you know?

- It's in my sauce now. - Yeah, it's kind of useless.

Listen, the shrimps are cooked beautifully.

- Thank you, Chef. - Grits, creamy, heavy. Everything you need.

But the exciting thing here is what you've done with the rainbow chard

- because it cuts the richness. - Thank you, sir.

And it masks beautifully with the sweetness of those shrimp.

The sauce is intriguing, really intriguing.

I didn't want to like it, but I do because of the coffee and the sweetness.

- Pretty good job. - Thank you, Chef.

I'll be honest, I judged you when you said it.

You were like, "Coca-Cola sauce."

I'm like, oh, buddy, here we go.

But this works.

Like, the flavor of the spice

that you have in the sauce cuts through that sweetness.

- Glad you like it. - Thank you.

Yeah, there's a lot of things that are really,

really good about this dish.

I mean, the shrimp are cooked perfectly.

The sauce has this nice kick to it.

The dish is very, very successful.

- Thank you. - Thank you, gents.

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you.

Here. Guys, take the lemon back.

Next up, please, Jessica and Jesse, make your way down.

I've never had so much butterflies

in my stomach in my life.

The only thing in my head looking down at this plate is...

is this lamb cooked medium rare? Is it perfect?

And we will not know until Gordon and the judges cut into it.

We want this apron so bad, and if it's me that caused us

to not get an apron, I'd be very upset.

- As would I. - Please describe the dish.

We made a berbere spiced lamb lollipop

with roasted cauliflower, with whipped feta,

and pickled apples and fresnos.

This dish represents our first date on a plate.

She said, "Excuse me," picked up the chop with her hands,

and it was that moment I knew I loved her.

Visually, it looks beautiful.

There's something quite unique about your finesse,

but it's a bold move on a night like tonight,

slicing those chops individually and cooking them.

- You said mid-rare, right? - Yes, that's what we're shooting for.

- You said mid-rare, right? - Yes, that's what we're shooting for.

Yeah. Beautifully done.

Jesse and Jessica, that lamb's cooked beautifully,

and it's got that really nice vibrant flavor of those spices.

Feta's a little bit liquid,

but I love the quick pickling of the apple and the fresno chilies.

It gives that light, sour, tart, heat.

- Everything you'd want. Well done. - Thank you.

The lamb itself is really beautifully cooked.

Love the way that the feta goes through with the lamb.

One of the surprise notes for me was the apple.

- Yes. Yes. - It's still sweet and tart, and because of that,

it makes the whole plate come together.

I do feel like if you would have had one more

of something else refreshing with that apple,

definitely would have come through even more.

For me, I think that the seasoning is aggressive.

But the dish is excellent, and I love the kind of

like playing in the Greek world of food.

- Good job. - Thank you so much.

- Thank you both. - Good job!

Here we go.

- Yeah, just needs something fresh on there. - Yeah.

Okay, the final dish was cooked by Spencer and McKenna.

Here you go, guys.

We have a second chance at redemption.

We're gonna get an apron.

Yeah, it's such a special dish for us,

because when Spence and I started dating,

he made steak for me all the time.

And so now, making it for the judges is just so exciting.

It's a little glimpse of what our kitchen looks like at home.

We made a New York strip steak with a Cognac peppercorn sauce,

sautéed spinach, and twice baked potatoes.

Visually, I am always concerned when you present a New York strip

and the back strip has got exposed fat.

You don't want to navigate your way around that.

That's your job to make sure that's not on there

- by the time we come to eat it. - Okay.

Shall we try?

First off, great sear on the steak.

My steak is cooked medium rare.

Sauce, delicious. Needs a touch more body.

- Okay. Okay. - Just another 90 seconds to reduce.

Spinach, seasoned beautifully. I just don't get the potatoes.

- It needs more flavor. - Call me crazy, but I like the potatoes.

They're cute!

- They are definitely! - I was gonna say,

the potatoes are the best thing on the plate.

Are we eating the same potatoes?

They're definitely different looking.

But the texture in the inside is really nice.

The sauce, you know, we talk about like "nappe,"

which means "to coat the back."

And here you're just a little thin.

Had you reduced it or even added a little bit of butter

to really kind of finish that out, I think would have been nice.

- Thank you. - So for me, this is a bit of a technical error,

putting the peppercorns in the sauce like that.

The flavor turns your whole palate white

and you can no longer eat anything else.

But listen, a little bit more reduction on the sauce,

steak's great,

you're going to give me the potato recipe later.

It's a good job, guys.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

- Whew! - Good job, guys.

I knew they were good potatoes.

Nope. I don't get those things. It's weird bits of bacon.

- I don't know. - I don't know.

Wow, eight extraordinary

second chance dishes from eight talented duos.

We've got ourselves an extremely tough decision.

Please, all of you, make your way down to the front

and give us a very, very valuable moment, please.

Good job, everyone. Those just sounded awesome.

- Nailed it. - Great job.

Ooh, stress.

- I love you. - Outstanding dishes.

I think that they took that second chance and they ran with it.

Tonight, they were really working together,

and it really showed in the dishes.

- This is a hard decision. - Yeah. It's so tough.

- I love you. - This is brutal.

- Are we in agreeance? - Yes.

- Yeah. - Yeah?

Tonight, you were all handed a second chance

in this incredible competition.

Now, unfortunately for us tonight,

there's just four sets of aprons to give out.

The first duo earning their aprons,

this dish really did wow all three judges.

Congratulations goes to...

Azu and Javier.

Yay!

- You're excited? No? - No.

- Here you are. - Thank you so much.

Oh, my God! We're back!

Congratulations.

Please make your way up to the balcony.

- Well done. - Thank you so much.

I'm crazy happy.

It's just like I feel like my heart is gonna explode.

I was very concerned because I think you were gonna fall down in any moment, no?

For Javier, it's harder to express his emotions and his feelings.

But for me, I don't care! I'm like, "Aah!"

- I'm so proud of you. - Oh, my God, I need a mezcal right now.

The next duo who we think deserves these white aprons tonight is...

- Adam and Joel. - Let's go!

Let's go!

Those shrimp and grits!

Wow.

- Thank you, everybody. - Well done.

- Thank you. - Excellent.

- Congratulations. - Thank you so much.

- You may go to the balcony. - Awesome. Thank you.

- My head's spinning a little bit. - I didn't expect that.

Being here with this apron now,

doing it with my brother is amazing.

- We're here to win this. - Absolutely.

Okay, the next pair to earn white aprons tonight is...

Darce and Courtney.

- Yeah! - Yeah!

- Ooh! - Voila. Put them on.

- Thank you. - This is a lot nicer than scrubs.

- Way nicer than scrubs. - Seriously.

- Oh, God. - Congratulations.

- Please, go to the balcony. - Thank you so much! Whoo!

Five duos remain.

The duo who have earned the final white aprons

is...

- Jessica and Jesse. - Yeah!

Yeah!

Aww, wow.

I love you so much. Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

- Oh, I'm sorry. - Congratulations.

- Thank you. - Well done. Oh, my goodness me.

- Oh, my God. Oh, thank you so much. - Congratulations.

- Thank you. - Great job.

- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.

Well done, well done.

Make your way up to the balcony. Well done.

- Yeah! - Whoo!

We got an apron! Ah! We got an apron! Ah!

This season is about duos, and we're here to show everybody

that we work seamlessly together,

and every dish that we put out is gonna be amazing.

- Together, we're stronger. - Absolutely.

- That's why we're gonna be the team to beat. - Absolutely.

Wow, all of you, exceptional job tonight.

The problem is, everyone brought their A-game.

We all hope it's not the end of your culinary journey.

The very best of luck. Good night.

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

There's some really, really talented chefs this season.

Yeah.

- And we... - Weren't one of them.

Weren't of them!

Not getting our apron is definitely a little heartbreaker for us.

But we're definitely looking forward to getting back to the firehouse.

We've missed those guys and girls.

And we're ready to get the beat down that we're gonna get

for losing in this competition.

Them knowing that we lost twice,

they're gonna be like, "Uh, we're ordering out."

- Which will be nice for us. We'll get a break. - Yeah.

What a night.

We have ladies and gentlemen, our top 12. Come on!

Yeah!

I wish I had my stethoscope. I'd be like, "Whoo!"

- I know. Seriously. - I would literally whip it around my head right now

and be like, "I don't need you anymore, sucker!"

"Just got a white apron on 'MasterChef.'"

They're gonna have to replace us in the E.R.

Well done.

I hope you all have a chance to celebrate tonight.

Because I promise you one thing,

it takes a lot to get invited to this extraordinary party.

Good night.

- Whoo! - Yeah, yeah, yeah!

I still cannot believe it! Aah!

Next time, the competition officially kicks off...

- We gotta prove that we're not a one-trick pony, okay? - Hell, naw.

As the top 12 duos compete together for the first time...

It's gonna get spicy over here.

And try to impress with their best dinner party dish.

- Ooh! - There ain't no party like a pasta party!

- Oh. - Medic!

Someone just screamed, "Medic."

Oh, my God, I'm so stupid.

That's a dinner party disaster.

It's authentic. It's charming. It's delicious.

I'm feeling that restaurant quality dish.

This dish is an epic fail. There's no teamwork here.

If you're gonna play it safe, you've got one foot out the door.