All language subtitles for MasterChef.US.S15E17.1080p.WEB.h264-EDITH[EZTVx.to]

Let's go.

- Amazing.
- Whoa!

Amazing. Come on!

Welcome back.

Wow. Thank you very much.
Welcome, everybody.

This is the "MasterChef:
Dynamic Duos" Grand Finale!

Now this season, for the first
time in "MasterChef" history,

we sought out America's
best culinary duos

from home cooks
across the nation.

And let me tell you something,
it's been quite the ride.

Let's take a look.

This year on "MasterChef,"
we made history...

This is "MasterChef:
Dynamic Duos."

as home cooks from all over
America competed in pairs.

Husbands and wives.

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

Mothers and daughters.
Siblings.

Nothing like cooking
bringing us together, right?

Best friends.
Even a divorced couple.

Relax. You're starting
to be very bossy.

To see if two cooks really
were better than one.

- It's gonna require that teamwork.
- Zest, zest, zest, zest.

- Two tablespoon of sugar, babe?
- Yes.

Everything, y'all
double check with each other.

- Yes. Yes.
- Absolutely.

You know, like a true team.

- Yes.
- We have a plan A to win, Chef.

- Game on.
- Challenges were twice as tough.

- We want to see a three course meal.
- No!

Get it. Where is it?

This was harder
than giving birth.

And relationships were tested
like never before.

- Jessica? Two piece asparagus.
- What?

- I can't hear you!
- They're on two different islands right now.

- Leave me alone.
- I'm not sure you actually communicated.

Duck into the oven. Put him in.
Just put him in, Tina.

But when the pressure of
the kitchen proved too much...

- I want to get off the fried.
- It's called the pressure test for a reason.

- Let me talk. Let me talk.
- You stop now!

- Who cooked the scallops?
- I did, Chef.

- Oh, boy.
- We're a team. All the way to the end, yeah?

The power of their
partnerships pulled them through.

- This is beautiful.
- Thank you, Chef.

What you did have
was a great synergy.

You are definitely in sync.

I don't like cooking
without you.

Now just three
dynamic duos remain.

Will it be Rachel and Julio,

Tina and Aivan,
or Jesse and Jessica?

Only one duo will win it all
on the first ever

"MasterChef: Dynamic Duos"
grand finale.

Now let's meet our incredible
MasterChef duo finalists.

Right, first up, an aunt and a niece
from Fountain Valley, California,

and Fairplay, Colorado.
Give it up for Tina and Aivan!

Come on!

I cannot believe it!

We're in the finale.

Cooking in
the MasterChef kitchen

in the finale
is beyond my wildest dreams.

It's so crazy.

I made it!

Oh, they're so cute!

Tina and Aivan, let's have a
look at this extraordinary journey.

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

- Welcome to my home.
- Our family comes from Vietnam,

And in 1975,
my grandma, aunt, uncle,

and my mom immigrated
to the United States.

So growing up, we all kind of
lived under the same roof.

And we're always in the kitchen,

always cooking,
always making food.

My mother passed down
her cooking skill to me,

and now we passed down to Aivan.

And we came here to
share our Vietnamese flavors

with the world.

It's authentic with profound
flavor and impact.

We made my grandma's
steamed bass.

We've made a barbecue short rib.

I love the beef.
This is delicious.

- Thank you, Tiffany.
- Aah!

"MasterChef" has brought us
so close together

and has strengthened our relationship
more than I've ever imagined.

- Thank you, baby!
- Tina, you ready?

We get ready to "pew!"

We come from a family
of resilient people,

so tonight we're gonna fight,
and we're gonna put it all out there.

- Put the meat in now. Go!
- Okay, I'm going! Whoo!

Look at that.
Both at the same time.

Three dishes stand between us
and winning "MasterChef,"

and I feel like if we trust
our instincts, I think we got it.

I want that trophy.
I can taste it.

We gonna make you proud.

Tina, Aivan, here to cheer
you on tonight,

we have Aivan's father Hoang
and Aivan's mother Christina,

who is also Tina's sister.

We also have Jessica,
who's Tina's daughter.

All right, so, Christina, we have heard
so much about grandma, your mom.

- Do you think that they have made her proud?
- Very proud.

My mom unfortunately can't be
here because she's in a nursing home,

but she's very, very proud.

And to carry on her tradition,
her recipe, it's amazing.

- She she would jump for joy.
- Don't make me cry.

All right,
next we have a husband

and wife duo
from Naples, Florida.

Please welcome Rachel and Julio!

We're in the finale of
"MasterChef." It feels amazing.

We went through
so much to be here,

and we're so proud
of our journey.

Good job, guys!

Rachel Julio,
let's take a look back

at what you've been through
in this competition.

Lookit. Up there.
Winner season 15? That's us.

We've been married for two
years, and since the moment we met,

food was the huge connection.

- Yes!
- Let's go!

We want to be
in the culinary industry.

And when "MasterChef"
opened its doors,

we saw an opportunity
to change our lives.

- Let's go!
- My goodness! This is a delicious plate of food.

You've got
the marriage right here.

A bit like you two.
Well done!

We are known
as the fiery Latino couple.

We immigrated
from Brazil and Cuba

and we brought the knowledge

of so many cultures
to our dishes.

Tonight's winning duo,
Rachel and Julio!

We have been one of the
best duos in the competition.

- Feeling confident?
- Yes.

Chicken, lovely.

All the flavors are great.

The cooking techniques
are great.

The winner is Rachel and Julio.

Yes! Let's go!

We've been so resilient. We
persevered through every challenge.

My arms are gonna fall off.

We've had our ups and downs.

The rice is undercooked.
Come on.

You got a blast that rice now.
Let's go.

But just like in our marriage,

supporting each other made us
stronger to climb back up.

Wow. Perfect risotto,
which is no small feat.

Thank you, Joe.
Come on, mi amor. We got this.

Our lives before "MasterChef"
was just work to pay the bills.

- Move, move, move, move, move.
- And when there is a chance that we get to do something

that we feel passionate about...

We're gonna fight to make sure
that our dream becomes a reality.

'Ey, 'ey, 'ey!

Okay, Rachel and Julio,
here to support you tonight,

we have Rachel's brother Michel
and Julio's brother Renan.

Tell us what Julio
was like as a little boy.

Was he always
a passionate foodie?

Yes. He born for this time.

This time is yours, and I'm
proud of you, my brother.

I... I didn't want to cry,

but, damn, it's... it's...

And finally, a couple
from Boston, Massachusetts,

Jessica and Jesse!

Cannot believe
we're in the finale.

It's unbelievable.

Go, Jess! Go, Jesse!

We got this. We got this.

- Whoo!
- Jessica and Jesse,

let's see how you got here
tonight. Take a look.

- The double J, Jessica and Jesse.
- We're doing it, baby.

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

Jesse and I met eight years ago

bartending together,
and food has been our bond.

One of these duos just edged
out the others. Zach and Michelle.

But we didn't get an apron
to start and it hurt us.

Let's go!

And then we got our second
chance to get a white apron.

- And we've clawed our way back.
- Get the lamb on there. Gorgeous, baby.

- Jessica and Jesse.
- Yeah! Yes!

And we knew ever since then
that we're gonna prove

that we are the best duo
in this competition.

- We do not want to let these aprons go.
- We do not want to let go

- of these aprons.
- We just got them.

We weren't gonna allow
ourselves to get this far

only to go back home
empty-handed.

- Do hard things.
- Do hard things.

You took this challenge
together as a duo. So good.

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

This competition has
strengthened our relationship.

We at times have been
full of self-doubt,

and we found confidence
in each other.

We're both strong cooks
in our own right.

But together I feel like
we've proven we're unstoppable.

- Pork is cooked beautifully.
- So good.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Next duo entering into the finale,

- Jessica and Jesse!
- Oh, my God!

Winning the MasterChef
title would be that validation

that me and Jessica
are meant to be

in this whole
culinary world together.

And I just know that
we're gonna win the trophy,

we're gonna win the $250,000,

and win the title of MasterChef.

- Thank you. Love you.
- Love you, too.

Jesse and Jessica,
here to support you tonight,

we have Jessica's parents
Richard and Laurie. Welcome.

Now, Dad, what do you think
it means for both them tonight

to be standing here
in the finale?

They've worked for this so hard.
They're dedicated, talented.

They've got everything
going for them.

I just wish them
the best of luck tonight.

Lovely.

Now, it's time to lock in.
Listen carefully.

Tonight, out of you
three dynamic duos,

just one of you will win
the grand prize,

that incredible
MasterChef trophy,

a quarter of a million dollars,

and the title
of America's MasterChefs.

Whoo!

Tonight, if you
want to win that prize,

you need to make us an
outstanding three course meal...

an appetizer, an entrée,
and a dessert.

Your food tonight should be
the best food you've served us

- in this entire competition.
- Yes, Chef.

Tina and Aivan, you first.

Give us an insight into the
themes behind your menus tonight.

Our menu is an ode
to my grandma.

So we're gonna highlight
Vietnamese heritage,

- specifically seafood.
- Love that.

Rachel, Julio?

Our menu's called
"Immigration."

We're gonna talk about the story
of our families that immigrated

from Italy to Brazil,
from Spain to Cuba,

and our story as immigrants
from our countries to America.

Love that.
Jesse and Jessica?

Our menu is a culinary
love letter to New England.

It's where we both grew up,

it's where we met
and fell in love,

and it's a true reflection
of the both of us.

Wow. Those sound great.

First up, you'll have
your delicious appetizers.

- You guys ready?
- Yes, Chef.

The very best of luck
to all six of you

because your
60 minutes start now!

Let's go!

Come on, come on,
come on, come on.

Get in there. Get in there.

- The pork belly.
- The basket.

- Rach, make sure to grab the pork.
- Grab the prawns.

- Scallops.
- Grab the pork, Rachel. I got the flour.

This finale is gonna be tough.

Julio and Rachel have
the advantage in this finale

because they're the most
unified in the kitchen.

- Apple.
- Yes, grab for the salad. I got the apples.

They are a very close
and strong duo.

- You got the onions?
- So we have the pork.

They move in this harmony.

That's why
I'm cheering for them.

Let's go, Tina.
Let's go. Let's go!

Let's go, go, go, go!
Come on! Go, go, go!

Come on, baby!

Let's go! Come on!

I think Jess and Jesse
have the advantage tonight.

They just don't make
critical mistakes,

and I think they have the best
finesse of anybody in the competition.

Their passion has just shown
through in everything that they do,

so our money
is on Jess and Jesse.

Get that sugar real fine,
okay, baby?

- Yep.
- We picked Aivan and Tina to win.

Everything they've cooked so far
in this competition

is something that I'd order
over and over again.

They've got massive flavors that
probably will put them over the top.

There's our Tina.

There's gonna be a lot of
fish sauce. Don't you worry.

Let's go, baby.

Babe, just get
the corn going. Okay?

- You got it, baby.
- This is it.

The beginning of the finale.
How exciting is this?

What an amazing triple duo
in the ring tonight.

The level of competition
this year is at an all-time high.

Yeah, it's added pressure
tonight for sure.

We're gonna see which of these
culinary duos is the best in America.

There is so much riding
on these three courses,

and I want to see
who's gonna prevail.

- Yeah, absolutely.
- If you have leeks, I'll take them over here.

- Heard? Heard?
- Heard.

Right? Every time...
we got to talk to each other.

Okay? "Heard, heard, heard."

- Heard, heard, heard.
- We're excited to be here,

but we have some tough
competition here

- so we can't make mistakes.
- Here. Do you need leeks?

You can put them right there.
Right there.

We need to make sure that
everything that we put on the dish

just beats them outright.

We are going into
this finale full force.

That is how we started, and
that is how we ended up here,

and that's how we're gonna end
this competition.

It's like a battle like no other
tonight. Come on, let's go!

15 minutes gone.

45 minutes to cook us
your amazing appetizers.

Come on.

Whoo!

- How you doing, babycakes?
- Doing good.

Make sure there's plenty
of stock in that corn.

Yep, it's ripping.

Go. Let's go. You can do it.

- Thank you.
- Thank you!

Hot behind.

Come on!

- All right.
- Let's go!

Beautiful, Rachel!

20 minutes down!
40 minutes to go!

Whoo! Yeah!

- Rachel!
- Hey, Chef.

- Julio!
- Yes, Chef.

All right, tell me
what we're making.

So today we're making a saffron
empanada filled with...

that is going to be
smoked a little bit.

And then we're gonna do a
beautiful apple and fennel salad

- in a creamy cilantro sauce.
- So why this dish?

This is a representation
of my culture.

You're gonna taste some Cuban
flavors with the pork and empanada.

- Okay.
- And so it's gonna be beautiful and super flavorful.

Are you going to bake it
or are you going to fry it?

- Fry it.
- Deep fry it, Chef.

And then this dough,
is this like butter? Lard?

- Lard.
- Ah! All right. Well, make sure it's crispy

and cooked
all the way through, okay?

- Yes, Chef.
- Good luck, y'all.

- Chef.
- Come on!

- Come on, Julio!
- Whoo! It's hot.

Hot?

- Okay, here we go.
- You got it! Whoo!

- Right, you two.
- Hello, Chef.

This is it.
How are we feeling?

- Feeling great, Chef.
- Tell me, what we doing?

So we are doing a seared scallop
with a pork belly.

- Nice.
- With a corn purée, an apple cider gastrique,

and some crispy
Brussels sprouts.

Where did this idea come from?

Corn is a huge part
of our New England culture

at the end of summer,
beginning of fall, so...

Yeah, it's a nostalgic
combination for us both.

A sort of love letter
from Massachusetts, right?

- Yeah. Yes.
- It sure is.

Pork belly, how do you
cook that within an hour?

- Where we going with that one?
- So we're gonna

pressure cook it
and then flash fry it

in the fryolator,
get it nice and crispy.

Then we have a little maple
glaze that's gonna go on top of it.

Love that.
And that corn purée,

are we getting
a fine corn purée?

- Yeah, it's gonna be super silky smooth.
- Wow.

You guys are working super fast.

- It's not a race, so pace yourselves.
- Yeah.

- Yep, absolutely.
- Okay. Yes, Chef.

- Good luck, good luck.
- Thank you.

- Teamwork, baby! Teamwork!
- Let's go, let's go!

We are 30 minutes gone,
30 minutes remaining.

- Halfway, guys! Come on.
- Thank you, Chef.

Okay, Tina and Aivan, please
tell us the dish that you're making.

Yeah, we're making a goi tom,

which is
a Vietnamese prawn salad.

This is one of the recipes
that at every get-together,

we would always have
some sort of variation.

- And I see this division of labor.
- Yes.

- Tina's on the vegetables.
- Yeah.

This is all the vegetable
that I chopped for the salad.

- And what's in here?
- That's our vinaigrette.

I need to refine the flavor, but
it's supposed to be garlicky, spicy.

- Right now, it's very sweet. Did you taste this?
- Yes.

Yeah, it's a little
on the sweet side.

I need to refine
the flavors in it.

And the prawns
are gonna be pan-seared?

- Yes, butter pan-seared.
- You don't want them overcooked because those overcooked

would be... immediately,
it'd be a disaster.

- Yes.
- All right, ladies. Good luck.

- Thank you.
- Whoo!

Hot behind you.
Hot behind you.

Hey-oh!

How's the sauce coming?

You want to taste this?

- Is it spicy enough?
- A little more, please.

- How are you doing, mi amor?
- I'm gonna take the pork out, cut it.

Let's do that, because I'm gonna
be ready to cut this in a minute.

Wow.
Incredible dishes, honestly.

I mean, Jesse and Jessica,
they're doing a pan-seared scallop

with some roasted pork belly,
corn purée, a little gastrique.

There's a lot going on there. And
that corn purée, it needs to be smooth.

Pull it off,
it could be a showstopper.

It's boiling.
Want to try the corn for me?

- It's good.
- Put it in the... yes.

So, Rachel and Julio
are doing an empanada.

- Wow.
- But, I mean, I think there's a lot of jeopardy here,

from the pork being cooked
properly to the dough being right.

The dough has to be cooked
all the way through.

So there's also the technique
of how you pinch it,

how you form it,
how you structure it.

The worst thing we could do
is cut into an empanada,

- and the dough is raw.
- Yeah, or there's not enough filling, you know?

- That's right.
- Balance.

Let's go, Tina.

Beautiful cutting.
Beautiful cutting.

Tina chops, chops,
chops, and chops.

She hasn't stopped chopping.

So Tina and Aivan are making
a Vietnamese prawn salad.

And the prawns themselves
are pan-seared in butter.

There seems to be a lot of
knife work with Tina and Aivan.

Incredible amount of knife work.

But is that
a little bit too basic?

Just a salad for an appetizer
in the finale?

Everyone's got so much jeopardy
across the other two duos.

If the flavor is right and it
sings like it should sing,

- then I'm not questioning.
- Sure.

But I definitely want
to see some skill

with all of the other elements
that they have on the plate.

- I know, I know, I know.
- Just a little quicker.

- I'm gonna grab the dough and start opening 'em.
- Yeah.

There we are.

We are down to
our final ten minutes to go.

Oh, look.

Jesse and Jessica,
that pork belly

is now coming out
of that pressure cooker.

- Okay.
- And now into the fryer.

- Okay, it's going.
- Meanwhile, Tina's still cutting vegetables.

That is a lot of chopping
for one salad.

- Are you almost done with the salad?
- Yeah, I'm done with the salad.

What are you doing
with the carrot?

- Oh.
- What are you doing with the carrot, Tina?

- No, no, no, no, no.
- You need rice paper, green onions.

- Okay.
- What are you doing?

- Ooh! Oh, my.
- Julio's empanadas.

Um, first of all,
they're not even cooked yet.

He only has nine minutes left
to fry and let them settle.

- I don't know. I'd be nervous.
- So they're very behind.

- Ooh, yeah, there are.
- Ugh, I can't watch this.

- Julio, there's no water in there.
- I did put water, mi amor.

The empanadas are not
closing properly. I put water in it.

I tried to press it down, but I
guess there's too much flour

and they're not
sticking together.

Come on. Let's go.

Julio, Rachel,
hurry up and get those in.

- Just be gentle with it.
- Yep.

- Get those in, guys.
- The empanada is the star.

And if this is not ready,
it's gonna be awful.

Come on. Come on.
It needs to go in.

- Hurry, Julio.
- Oh, boy.

Okay, let me go in there.
Let me go.

Julio, Rachel, hurry up
and get those in, yeah?

- You've got to get them in.
- You got it, Rach?

- Yep.
- Let's go, mi amor.

Six minutes to go, guys.

- Come on, let's go!
- Let's go. Let's go!

- Don't overcook them, okay?
- Okay, baby.

- These ones are done.
- Okay, okay.

Put them in the oven.
Don't forget about them.

- Baby, I know.
- Take a breath.

- Keep grinding, guys.
- Keep calm, cool. You got it. You got it.

Here we go. Jesse's getting
the pan ready for the scallops.

- And they need to be perfect.
- Okay, those look good.

- Here you go, baby.
- Okay, let's go.

Three minutes to go, guys.
Start plating. Let's go!

- Brussels in the oven?
- Yes.

- Yes, yes, yes.
- What temp? What temp? What temp?

- Watch out, watch out. Excuse me, excuse me.
- Sorry.

Brutally burnt.

- Jesse!
- It brutally burnt.

Damn, look at that.

Jesse's burnt
his Brussels sprouts.

Has he got time to start again?

Plate. Start plating.
Start plating. Go.

Go, go, go, go, go.
Go, go, go, go, go.

And I'm gonna need 30 more
seconds here on empanada, yeah?

- Okay.
- Julio and Rachel's empanadas,

- they're still in the fryer.
- Why are we not plating?

- Put this one in. Okay.
- No, Tina, don't lift things

- while I'm doing things.
- Okay?

Go, go. You got this.
You got this. You got this.

- Breath. Take a breath.
- Okay. Okay, okay, okay.

- There you go. All right.
- Yes!

- Go, Julio!
- 60 seconds to go.

Last minute. Come on!

- Watch out. Watch out.
- Come on, baby. Come on.

Let's go, let's go.
You can do this!

- Remember, bigger dots.
- Come on, Julio!

- You got this! You got this.
- Brussels, get them on.

What? Babe, no.
Brussels, get them on.

- Ten, nine, eight...
- Be careful, yeah.

- Nice, nice, nice.
- Six, five, four,

- three, two, one.
- Stop!

- I love you.
- Mm!

- Oh, baby!
- Looks beautiful.

Elevated empanada, yeah?

It got down to the wire.
I thought we were in control.

And then the Brussels sprouts
went up in flames.

But we pivoted real quick

and threw a couple more
leaves at the end,

and we got some on the plate,
so it looks great.

Well done, well done.

Cooking in front
of my family is a blessing.

I'm so happy
that we bring our flavor,

our culture to the world.

Now it's time to taste
those delicious appetizers.

Please, all of you, make
your way around to the front.

Thank you.

- Let's go, guys. Looks great.
- Come on!

Right, please step forward,
Tina and Aivan.

Whoo! Let's go, guys!

- Ladies first.
- Thank you.

- Please describe your dish.
- So we made a goi tom,

which is
a Vietnamese prawn salad

with crispy leeks and a chili
garlic vinaigrette.

Visually, it looks beautiful.

I love the colors.

The cook on the prawns
looks lovely.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Shall we?

Salad's delicious. It's
light, it's hot, it's spicy.

However, on a night
like tonight,

I was expecting something
a little bit more complicated.

But the cook on the shrimp is
beautiful. Who cooked the shrimp?

- Tina.
- I did.

Well done. Thank you.

Thank you, Chef.

I think the salad
is very refreshing.

You have some height
on the plate,

and the leeks are nicely crispy,
not too dark.

- Good job.
- Thank you.

Yeah, I agree with a lot of
the comments of my colleagues.

The shrimp were delicious.
The plating was beautiful.

I'd love to have more acid
on the plate,

but overall the whole thing really kind
of presented like a real restaurant dish.

- Good job.
- Thank you.

I don't see a full 60 minutes
times two on here.

It's a very simple beginning.

Please come forward,
Jessica and Jesse.

We're hoping that we nailed
most of our techniques,

and the judges are gonna see
that we put out a huge effort

for our first appetizer.

We have for you a pan-seared

scallop with pork belly,

with a corn purée,
pickled jalapeño,

an apple gastrique, and some
crispy Brussels sprout leaves.

I think the plate is beautiful
with the colors that you have

from the scallops to the corn

to the beautiful crispiness
of the pork.

- Very nice.
- Thank you, Chef.

The sear on the scallops
is beautiful,

and the scallops
are also well-seasoned

in a very delicate way.

Overall, a really solid effort.

Very, very complex.
Good dish.

- Thank you, Joe.
- I love the fact that

you went again and refried
the Brussels sprouts.

You did not stop with, you know,
the ones that burned.

And I feel like it's needed
on this dish.

It gives it a little bit
of crispiness as a whole.

But your corn purée
is too thick, though.

- Okay.
- It's a little bit of, um...

- Pudding.
- Yeah. You see?

But honestly, I think this
is a really nice dish.

With a couple little tweaks,
and it's a great dish.

Thank you, Chef.

It's delicious.
The combinations are exquisite.

Pork belly and scallops,
cooked beautifully.

- You came out the gate strong. Well done, both of you.
- Thank you, Chef.

Great job, guys.

All right. Please come
forward, Julio and Rachel.

We're nervous because
it was down to the wire.

We didn't have any extra second
to taste the empanada.

So we are praying and hoping
that it's cooked through.

If the empanada is not
crispy and cooked enough,

it's gonna be
a real problem for us.

Ooh. Fancy, huh?

All right, Julio and Rachel,
please describe your dish.

We've made a saffron empanada
filled with braised mojo pork.

We have apple fennel salad,
garlic, and paprika aioli

in a creamy cilantro sauce.

I mean, that has to be one
of the poshest empanadas

I've ever seen.
It looks spectacular.

I mean, taking something from the sort
of street food phenomenon, elevating it.

Yeah, I mean, if there was ever
a time to do it in this competition,

tonight's the bloody night.
Well done. It looks beautiful.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Please enjoy it.

Hmm. It's a little light
on the filling.

Yeah. You can see,

- I've got so much pastry, but hardly any filling.
- Yeah.

I think the dough texture
is great.

I love the flakiness,
the crispiness of it.

The pork inside is highly
seasoned. It is juicy.

And the aioli
and the sauces on top,

I like the brightness
of the flavor.

- Very nice.
- Thank you, Chef.

The fennel salad is delicious.
It's seasoned properly.

It's bright. It's crunchy.

And the dough,
it's flaking and crispy

like it's supposed to do,
so good job with that.

Thank you.

It tastes good.
There's no two ways about this.

However, these things
should be 90% full,

and I've got one here
that is literally 50% full.

But the pastry is delicious.

Smart move with the salad
to cut the richness.

- I just want to say well done.
- Thank you, Chef.

I feel like more time needed
to be done on the filling.

Right, it's time
to move on to the entrée.

The entrée you serve us tonight,

it's gonna carry
a lot of weight.

Because if you really shine
in this round,

you can become the front-runner
going into the dessert.

- And that's where you want to be.
- Yes, Chef.

Tina and Aivan,
please let us know

what you're making
for the entrée round.

Which is crispy skin salmon
with a lemongrass chili sauce.

We're making it with
garlic rice and bok choy.

Very nice.
Rachel and Julio?

The second dish
is gonna tell my story,

my Italian heritage
with my Brazilian culture.

It's gonna be a squid ink
tortellini

filled with lobster mascarpone,
lobster medallions,

moqueca sauce, and cilantro oil.

Wow. Jessica and Jesse.

We started in fall
in New England,

and now we're gonna take you
into the winter.

We're gonna be making you
a braised beef short rib

with cacio e pepe gnocchi,
sautéed mushrooms,

and veal demi-glace.

- Love that.
- Wow.

Right, the very best
of luck to you all.

Your 60 minutes starts now!

Grab a basket first.
I got you. I got you.

All right, we need some
double-oh zero flour, right?

- Right here.
- Let's get the lobster. Come here.

- Tina, grab the salmon.
- Okay, okay.

- We need to grab the short rib, babe.
- Get the short rib.

Coming out of the appetizer
round, we feel pretty good.

We felt like we might have had
an edge on the other two duos.

What short rib do you want? This
one? Those ones are a little big.

- But everybody is locked in.
- Yep.

And they're not messing around.
They're not here to play,

they're here to win,
just like us.

- We need cheese.
- Come on. Let's go. Let's go.

- Pecorino. Parmesan. Go!
- Let's go!

The biggest difficulty
of our entrée is

are we gonna get that
short rib cooked in time?

This is something that takes
two to three hours at home.

The first five minutes

of this cook
are super important.

We need to get
those short ribs seared

and into the pressure cooker,

so then we have
50 minutes remaining

- to get those short ribs tender.
- Here we go.

- The entrée, it's got to be a showstopper.
- I think this is where

you sort of
separate yourself, right?

Everyone could have had
a pretty good appetizer,

- but your entrée has to blow us out the water...
- Exactly.

So that you get yourself
ready for the dessert.

Salt needs to be on the middle. Salt
and pepper needs to go in the middle.

So does the oil.
We need the oil in the middle.

- Here you go.
- Thank you.

- Start on that lemongrass.
- Okay. I get them ready.

- Remember this?
- Yes. Comfort food from home.

- I miss Mommy doing this.
- Represent her.

- You need some salt in the water?
- Yes.

- You got this, yeah?
- Mm-hmm.

I'm working on that right now.

Okay. That's good.
I got it. I got it. I got it.

- Jessica and Jesse are moving at the speed of light.
- Yeah.

They've got to get that short
rib in the pressure cooker quickly.

I...
That was stupid.

Those short ribs need to get in.

That's stressing me out
a little bit.

- He looks stressed.
- It's stressing him out, too.

Watch out, watch out,
watch out, watch out.

I can smell the beef.

- Looking good, J Squared.
- Got it. Go.

Jesse and Jessica,
right on time.

Five minutes into the cook,

and they've got the short ribs
in the pressure cooker already.

Man, the speed of Jesse
and Jessica is extraordinary.

Why is it not going?
What's wrong?

It's just not pressurizing yet.

Oh, no! Is he having issues?

Why the is that not pressurized?

I am so stressed out.

We may have filled up
the pressure cooker

with too much stock,
because it's not coming to temp.

What the?
It's not pressurizing.

And all I can think of is we're
not gonna get this cooked in time.

- Did you put hot liquid into it?
- Yes, Jess.

- Oh, my God.
- I'm getting frantic.

If these short ribs
aren't tender,

then we don't have a dish.

All we have is gnocchi,
some vegetables, and a sauce.

That's not gonna be enough
for us to win the trophy.

Everything's riding on
that pressure cooker.

- Oh, God.
- Come on.

- All right, it's coming up. It's coming up.
- It's coming up?

It's coming up, it's coming up,
it's coming up.

I might need maybe a little

three minutes more on the dough.

One minute on the lobster
before I take it out.

- Fantastic. Yeah.
- I get the fish ready.

- You want to taste this?
- Okay.

- Tell me what you think.
- Beautiful.

Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.

We're 15 minutes down.

Just under 45 minutes
to go, guys, yes?

Right. How we feeling?

- Feeling good, Chef.
- This dish is tricky.

We've got that tortellini
going on. We've got the lobster.

- Who's doing what here?
- I'm working on the tortellini, Chef.

I'm working on the filling.
Rachel is working on the lobster.

- How we cooking this lobster?
- So I blanched it a little bit, just under.

- Good.
- And then I'm gonna baste it with some butter,

- lemon zest, lemon juice, and...
- Nice. Delicious.

How are we shaping these
tortellinis? Because they're very finicky.

You going round with your
little finger? Index finger?

- Where you going?
- Right here. Right in between.

- I read your book. You know, go around.
- Love that.

Nice. Tell me about the sauce,
because it smells delicious.

- What's the sauce?
- It's a moqueca sauce, Chef.

That's a tropical Brazilian
sauce that we have.

- We make it either as a fish stew or a seafood stew.
- Yes.

- Love that.
- You know, I want to make these people here proud.

They are definitely proud.

- Come on. Good luck. Let's go, let's go.
- Let's go, Chef.

Come on.

Come on, Julio!
Come on, Rachel!

- Remember to cut those thin.
- Okay. Yes, boss!

All right,
just over 35 minutes left.

Whoo!

- Hi, Tina, Aivan.
- Hi, Tiffany!

So how we looking? Is everything
coming along right now?

Everything's coming along.

We've got our garlic and
shallots ready for our rice.

Okay, so this is your marinade.
Marinade's done.

- Yes.
- And what are we looking for in temp for cooking the salmon?

- We're gonna do medium rare.
- Okay. Where is the tradition

and then where are you guys
kind of adding on?

The marinade on the fish is
exactly as my grandma would do it.

And we're modernizing it
by just using salmon,

because it's gonna
really help elevate the dish.

What would you have normally
used instead of salmon?

So my grandma would use,
like, small white fish.

Marinate them, freeze them, and
then we would fry them together.

- Ah, fried, okay. Nice.
- Yes, yes.

Don't have the pan too hot when
you're cooking the salmon, right?

You don't want that skin
to brown too quickly.

We have a lot of sugar in our marinade
as well, so we don't want that to burn.

- Okay, but you didn't put it on the top, though, right?
- No.

- Okay, good.
- Every part of the dish is important, right?

- Yes.
- Taste, taste, taste.

- Yes.
- All right? Good luck, y'all.

- How's that pasta looking?
- Yeah, it's looking beautiful.

It looks good.

Come on, cool off. Yep.

Whoo!

Okay, just under 25 minutes.

All right, guys, so you have
the beef short ribs in the braiser.

- Yep.
- And the gnocchi's meant to be eaten with the sauce

- of the beef braise, right?
- Yes.

Are you putting any cheese
on top to finish it?

We're gonna do a frico.

So frico is traditionally
a cheese tuile

that comes exactly
from where I'm from in Italy.

- Awesome, yeah. We're gonna bring...
- So these mushrooms are

- gonna be plated with the sauce?
- Yes.

The mushrooms are actually gonna
be mixed in with the gnocchi.

- Jesse, Jesse. Slow down. Slow down.
- I know.

Can you tell him to slow down
for one minute? Just take a brief...

I've tried so many times, Joe.
He just doesn't listen to me.

Jesse, you're in the finale
of "MasterChef."

You're celebrating New England,
the beautiful seasons.

It's all good in here, right?
It's all good.

- It certainly is.
- Enjoy the moment.

- You're doing great. Enjoy. Good luck.
- Thank you so much.

So we have the filling.
We have the oil.

We have the sauce cooking now.

Rachel and Julio,
they really work very clean.

- Very good-looking pasta.
- So, Rachel and Julio.

This is the first time that they have
cooked lobster in this competition.

So they're taking a big risk
in the finale cooking lobster.

As we know,
it's not an easy thing to do.

No. With 30 seconds under, we
don't get the true flavor of that lobster.

30 seconds over,
there's no going back.

They get rubbery very quickly.

I don't want to put my lobster in
until, like, the last seven minutes.

- It's okay. We can wait on that.
- And then that tortellini?

You know how difficult is,
that squid ink in there.

So the squid ink
is not always just about color,

- because squid ink actually
has a flavor. Mm-hmm.

It's very bitter and zinc-y,

which is gonna be an interesting
contrast next to the lobster.

Here, taste.

- Ah. Yes.
- Julio and Rachel doing this moqueca,

normally it is a sauce
that takes time.

- Six, eight, ten hours, right?
- My goodness.

- Slow and steady.
- And here it's what?

Gonna end up being probably
30 to 40 minutes total.

Jessica, you want to come
and try for Mommy?

I wish.
You're making me hungry.

So, Tina and Aivan's dish,

there are roots
from their grandmother,

but it is definitely modernized.

- Did you put lemon in there?
- Last thing.

- Okay.
- Traditionally,

their grandmother would take
and fry white fish

and let it marinate
with the chili garlic.

- But salmon has a lot
of oil, right? Mm-hmm.

And it doesn't take as well
as some other fish would.

But I think the fact
that they're using

that same flavor profile
to make the sauce,

- you will get a lot of that flavor on the plate.
- Sure.

But again, that salmon needs
to be cooked beautifully.

If you're gonna present
a salmon for your entrée,

then it needs to be
crispy on the top

- and nice and pink in the center, right?
- She said medium rare.

Medium rare. There we go.

This is an interesting way
of doing gnocchi.

Jesse and Jessica are making
braised beef short ribs

with gnocchi, with sautéed
mushrooms, roasted carrots.

I mean, it's like everything. They have so
many components, so many cooking techniques.

And you can see it
from their bench.

Is this gonna be okay
for your gnocchi

- or you want a bigger one?
- Yeah, I want that one.

This pan is hot.
This pan is hot. Handle's hot.

The big jeopardy there with
Jesse and Jessica is the short ribs.

When they turn
that pressure cooker off,

they need to be melting
in your mouth.

- Gnocchi going in.
- Gnocchi going in.

- That's hot.
- Whoo!

Oh, no. Oh, no.
Oh, no. Oh, no.

He doesn't want the flame.
The pan's too hot.

We are down to 15 minutes,
ladies and gentlemen. Come on!

Move this.

How come our fish
has scales on it?

- What you say, honey?
- I said our fish have scales on it.

- I know.
- Yeah, it still looks like

there's a lot of scales
on Tina and Aivan's salmon.

And it's taking Aivan a long
time to get those scales off.

She's got a lot of fish to cook.

Tina started off
seasoning the salmon,

making sure it was all
perfect and pretty.

But she didn't tell me
that it had scales.

- Did you see that it had scales?
- I did.

- Okay, and you didn't say anything?
- I thought...

At this point, they need
to start cooking the salmon.

Yeah, but we don't want scales.

Time is running out,
and if those salmon

are not cooked to perfection,
we might as well pack our bags

- now and head back home.
- Let's go!

That's not very much time.

Next time, it's the "MasterChef:
Dynamic Duos" finale.

- Come on, Aivan. Get that fish in.
- I will.

My big worry right now
is Julio and Rachel.

Make sure they're really
nice and close.

- Let me concentrate here, yeah?
- I really hope when

they hit the water,
those tortellini don't explode.

Jesse and Jessica are about
to open that pressure cooker.

Nothing else matters if
the short ribs are not tender.

- Knife, please.
- How's that knife going through?

- Smooth?
- Mm.

It's time for your final course.

- Go, go, go, go!
- There's no precedent

to a dessert like this
that I've ever seen.

That usually takes me
two to three days at home.

- There's a lot of risk here.
- It is a lot of risk, Chef.

- Aivan's got liquid nitrogen.
- This is a very unconventional technique.

We like to push our limits,
and this is the finale.

It looks stunning.
You're cooking like pros.

Kind of nervous
for everybody else right now.

- This is delicious.
- Top three! Yeah!

Only one duo will win the title

of America's first MasterChefs.

Winning "MasterChef"
would be life-changing.

All we want is to take
that trophy home.

We're one judgment away from
changing the rest of our lives.

Congratulations goes to...