Original subtitles

[Cheers and applause]

(Announcer) From the thousands that applied

only 18 homecooks have made it

into the MasterChef kitchen.

Yes, yes.

I am a property manager.

I am a style consultant.

I'm a 51-year-old truck driver.

I'm a realtor. I'm a freshman at Trinity College.

I just quit my job. I'm a manager for a stone company.

I'm an attorney. A real estate agent.

I'm a single mom. I build web sites.

I'm a stay-at-home dad. I'm a travel writer.

I'm an architect. I am a server.

I work for an electronics manufacturer.

I actually own my own P.R. firm. I'm a publicist.

I'm a neural engineer.

(Announcer) To be crowned MasterChef, they will face challenges

that push them to their breaking points.

Mom, you're scaring all of the guests.

(Announcer) I the heat of the battle,

team leaders will rise... and fall...

I'm losing it. (Announcer) Tempers will flare...

I hope she's not imagining my face on that cutting board.

(Announcer) And enemies will be made.

Max's arrogance is through the roof.

Suzy is pathetic.

(Announcer) Some will celebrate victory.

It's like fireworks on your palate.

(Announcer) And others will meet with defeat.

(Graham) Things like this give what I do a bad name.

I would send you home now. I feel like giving up.

(Announcer) And each step of the way, they'll have to face three

of the toughest figures in the culinary world.

I'm Graham Elliot.

At 27, I became America's youngest four-star chef.

My name is Joe Bastianich,

and I own 24 of the best Italian restaurants in the world

and three award-winning Italian wineries.

And then there's me, Gordon Ramsay.

I've got over 20 restaurants with 12 Michelin stars,

and there's nothing that I don't know about food.

(Announcer) 18 talented home cooks risk it all

to pursue their dream.

So many things could go wrong. Yes, chef.

(Announcer) One of them will win $1/4 million...

Why don't you cook like this all the time?

(Announcer) And the coveted title of...

That's inspired me. Good job.

(Announcer) MasterChef.

[Dramatic music]

MasterChef 2x05 Top 16 Revealed Original Air Date on June 20, 2011

== sync, corrected by elderman ==

(Announcer) After an exhaustive search

for America's next MasterChef,

the final 18 have been chosen.

Now, it's time for them to take their place

in the MasterChef kitchen.

♪ ♪

When I walked in that kitchen,

I was, like, holy [bleep]!

The idea that I get to use this incredible equipment

is just completely and utterly unreal.

It's spacious, it's big.

There are sections of it that look like a fancy restaurant.

I'm looking at the pantry-- this is amazing!

I'm just a small girl from sopchoppy.

I don't know what the hell I'm doing here.

I literally had goosebumps all over my body.

Beautiful.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have arrived!

[Cheers and applause]

Yeah!

Welcome...

to the phenomenal MasterChef kitchen.

This place will make or break you.

And for one of you, it's where you'll graduate

from a home cook to become a MasterChef,

and will be walking away with $1/4 million.

[Cheers and applause]

All right, don't just stand there.

Get to your stations. Let's go!

Quick! Come on!

MasterChef means the world to me.

I want this so bad I can't stand it.

I'm, like, shaking in my chef shoes.

(Gordon) Look at this.

You're cooking with the top of the line

Viking range.

Every piece of equipment you could ever dream of.

All right, now, we've seen what you can do

with all the options available to you.

But now it's really time

to test your creativity...

With your first mystery box challenge.

(Announcer) In this challenge, the contestants

have to prepare, cook, and present one stunning dish

using nothing more than the ingredients

hidden inside the box.

(Gordon) We are gonna select

only the top three dishes.

And the person with the best dish

will have a huge advantage in the next stage

of this competition.

(Joe) And that's important because the next test

is an elimination test.

And I'm sure none of you want your first day

in the MasterChef kitchen

to also be your last.

(Gordon) On the count of three,

I want you to lift those boxes.

One...

I'm thinking to myself, "Oh, what the hell

"is gonna be under there?

I hope it's not, like, veal brains."

Two...

What could it be inside? Meat? Fish? Rabbit? Frogs?

Three!

[Laughter and cheers]

(Gordon) You have the most amazing piece of salmon...

Strawberries, fennel, white asparagus,

ricotta cheese, fingerling potatoes, pistachios,

balsamic vinegar, fresh dill,

and the most amazing puff pastry.

The advantage for the winner is huge.

Remember, there's an elimination just around the corner.

Your 60 minutes starts now!

A box of ingredients like that

is gonna test any professional chef,

let alone an amateur chef.

Opening the mystery box is kind of like

opening your pantry the day before payday.

It's not necessarily the ingredients that you want,

but what are you gonna do with said ingredients?

The question is, will they feel like

they have to use the strawberries?

To me, the strawberries are really

what kind of put you off-balance.

Who has the balls

to leave the salmon on the table?

That's the thing. Are you going sweet

or are you going savory?

What would you do?

I would do a confit of salmon poached in olive oil

with a salad of shaved asparagus,

some fennel, and then a dill mustard vinaigrette.

All right, Christian,

talk to me about the dish. What are you doing?

Pistachio-crusted salmon

with a little balsamic strawberry reduction

going over that.

Ever use strawberries and salmon together?

Uh, no. Not exactly.

Why do you think that salmon needs the strawberries?

Uh, because you gave them to me.

Good luck. Thank you, chef.

Angel, what are you cooking?

Something I've never tried before.

I'm gonna use a little bit of the mustard that we got,

some of this cheese. I've got some salmon patties.

You put mustard and ricotta in the sauce? Yes.

You're doing a ricotta sauce? Yes.

Wow.

(Graham) All right, Suzy, talk to me. What have you got?

I'm doing salmon three ways.

I'm smoking salmon, I pickled salmon,

and now I'm gonna grill salmon.

One of the three are gonna get used,

or are you gonna do 'em all? I wanna use them all.

Yeah. So take a look at my smoker.

We don't have chips, but instead, I used the bread.

(Joe) You're smoking in the bread?

I'm smoking in the bread.

Do you think that you're clearly,

like, ahead of the pack here?

I think I'm playing smart, but I'm not cocky.

I have a lot of different techniques

that I just want to show you guys.

Suzy has a very high opinion of herself,

and it's a lot higher than the opinion

that I have of her.

Okay, guys, just over 40 minutes to go.

Start visualizing that dish on a plate.

I'm doing a strawberry balsamic seared salmon

with pistachio-crusted potato and fennel cakes on the side.

(Gordon) 35 minutes to go, guys. Yeah?

I wanted to use the egg in the noodles.

Just kind of add a little bit of color to the plate.

Kind of a bird's nest.

(Gordon) Just over 25 minutes to go, guys.

(Graham) Hey, Jennie, how we doing?

Great. I'm excited about this challenge.

(Joe) You making salmon cubes?

I have a savory tart

with a--the ricotta and mustard mixture.

(Graham) Puff pastry, right? Puff pastry.

Let me ask you a question.

Taking a beautiful, giant hunk of delicious salmon,

making very small cubes-- are you risking dry,

arid salmon by making it so small,

and taking away any chance of it

being moist and delicious?

I'm now afraid that you said it.

(Gordon) Tony.

Yes, chef? Smile a little bit.

Why are you so miserable? What's wrong?

Oh, I'm not miserable at all.

Just waiting. No? Waiting for what?

Actually, I'm poaching salmon over that liquid.

Okay. Be careful.

Your handle's on fire, and so is your basket.

Wow. Oh!

It wasn't on fire when I was watching it.

I'm not frazzled.

Just caught me by surprise a little bit.

It's kind of like the teacher catching you

when you don't have your homework done.

I think I see a lot of people who are cooking in advance.

And I'm not sure if they're just testing,

or is that the dishes we're going to eat?

Some of the portions of the salmon as well

are really thin, really small pieces

that are gonna overcook in a second.

(Joe) Dangerous. Dangerous.

There's a lot

of strawberries and salmon,

which I didn't expect to see.

It doesn't really play well. Right.

Pistachio and salmon could work, right?

(Joe) Yeah. Mm-hmm. The crunch and the textural contrast.

But isn't it too obvious?

Yeah, but these are home-cooked.

Suzy is doing a trio.

She's basically created her own smoker with foil.

I think she's on a high wire without a net.

12 minutes to go!

This is exactly when I'd start cooking my salmon.

Oh...

Taste, taste, taste.

Last five minutes.

(Ben) I'm trying to decide whether or not to plate

my balsamic reduced strawberry.

If I plate that strawberry,

you know who's gonna eat my soul.

[Laughs]

Last three minutes to go.

(Announcer) The home cooks must use these final moments

to make their dish stand out.

The judges will select only three dishes to taste,

so impeccable presentation is critical.

(Gordon) Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

And stop!

(Gordon) Here we go. Five, four,

three, two, one.

And stop! Stand back from the stove.

[Cheers and applause]

(Announcer) In our first mystery box challenge,

the judges select only three dishes to taste.

And the winner of the challenge will have a big advantage

going into the elimination round,

where at least one person will be sent home.

(Gordon) Trust me, we've been around.

We've scrutinized everything.

But before we announce the top three dishes,

I think it's important that we tell you about

the worst dish.

Because all three of us felt that it was embarrassing.

And we were quite shocked

because we thought that individual

was a serious contender.

And that dish belongs to...

Ben Starr.

The sauce was hideous. The salmon was way overcooked.

And whatever you were trying to do with that cake

was just embarrassing.

Here's me, incompetent Ben Starr,

biggest disappointment of the evening by far.

(Gordon) Okay, the first dish that stood out--

it was daring, it was bold--

belongs to...

Suzy.

Congratulations. Good job. [Applause]

(Suzy) I am a really great cook.

And my dishes are restaurant-quality dishes.

I am the best chef here.

Describe the dish.

(Suzy) I made salmon three ways.

I did a trio of pickled salmon,

smoked salmon, and grilled salmon.

Yeah, it's nice. It's got strong, contrasting flavors.

Three completely different tastes you've delivered.

And considering you only had 60 minutes...

The one issue I have is the strawberries.

It's very, very sweet.

It needs less of it

'cause it's very, very overpowering.

But good job. Really good job. Well done.

The salmon here with the balsamic...

That's probably the only thing that I'm not a huge fan of,

just because the balsamic itself

takes on that raw fish flavor.

Got it. But that's it.

Thank you. Thanks.

I think that there's a little hoc poc

that really doesn't translate.

I think the smoking doesn't really taste smoked.

Okay. It's well-cooked, and it's flavorful.

A little bit of smoke and mirrors, I think,

on some of the technique,

but the overall effect is positive. Thank you.

(Gordon) Good job.

So the next dish

is a dish that I think would certainly

win the award for being the most restaurant-ready.

And that dish belongs to...

Christian.

Me? [Applause]

(Gordon) Well done.

Good job.

So tell me about the dish.

(Christian) I made a pistachio-crusted salmon

with a strawberry balsamic reduction.

And I put that over some asparagus

with a little caramelized fennel

and some roasted fingerling potatoes.

So we see salmon that is perfectly cooked,

being crisp on the top,

and translucent and moist.

And the bonus for us

was the effective use of the strawberries.

Well done.

So we saw a lot of people

crusting the fish with the pistachio.

But this one was nice and even all the way across.

Yeah, really yummy. Really good job.

Thank you. Sure.

The actual combination of the fingerling,

the fennel, the asparagus, the salmon is done

absolutely on the money.

Good job. Well done. Thank you.

(Graham) All right, the third and final dish

that we're gonna taste is one that,

while walking around, I think

we were kind of nervous about.

The third and final person

who has the potential for a great advantage

in the next challenge

is Jennie Kelley.

(Gordon) Well done.

I'm in the top three, and I can't believe it.

I'm not as advanced as some of these other people.

I'm just a home cook from Dallas

with a lot of passion who's quit her job.

(Gordon) Describe the dish.

It's a savory salmon tart

with the ricotta and the mustard spread,

caramelized fennel, and the shaved asparagus.

The mustard gives it a little bit of zing.

The creamy ricotta underneath

gives it that nice, moist mouth feel.

All the components are really, really delicious.

Good job. Good job. Thank you, chef. Thank you.

You've kind of gone away from what everyone else did.

If you had to conceptualize a menu dish,

this is the kind of stuff people think about.

You basically invented a pizza out of what you had,

and that is super-smart and super-impressive

to someone like me. Thank you.

(Gordon) Bold move making the tart.

And the three ways? (Joe) Also good.

(Graham) Christian's was like a restaurant quality.

(Gordon) Very tough.

Okay, three remarkable dishes.

Sadly, there can only be one winner.

Are we going for salmon three ways?

I mean...So ambitious.

I am super proud of my dish. I deserve this title.

(Gordon) Or is it the restaurant dish

that looked like it had been sort of finished off

by a chef that's cooking in a four-star restaurant?

'Cause it had that wow factor.

I wanted this bad before,

but I really, really want it bad now.

(Gordon) Or is it the unorthodox salmon dish, the tart?

Really good job.

I'm not gonna be in the back anymore.

I can be up there with the best of them.

The advantage for the winner is huge.

Congratulations goes to...

(Gordon) Three remarkable dishes.

Are we going for Suzy, salmon three ways?

Or is it the restaurant dish

that was put on the plate with such finesse,

like a four-star restaurant?

Or is it the unorthodox salmon dish, the tart?

Looks simple, but my God!

Suzy, Christian, Jennie...

Congratulations...

Christian.

Whoo! Yes! [Applause]

The competition's just starting,

and I hit it out of the ball park.

I'm just gonna keep on taking 'em out one by one.

(Suzy) I think my dish was a lot better than Christian's dish.

I'm really disappointed, honestly,

just, like, with the judging for this challenge.

Okay, you have a huge advantage

in the next stage of this competition.

Come with us. Let's go.

(Announcer) As the winner of the mystery box,

Christian is now the first competitor

to enter the MasterChef pantry.

Here, Christian will be put in control

of the elimination test.

Each elimination test will see at least one person

leave the competition.

And now, Christian will be given a huge advantage

as he gets to pick the ingredient

or style of food that everyone else must cook with.

But the one thing he can't control

is the theme of the challenge.

That is in the hands of the judges.

Now, the theme of today's elimination test

is the cuisine of Europe.

Your first one-- el primero es...

Espana. Spain.

The essence of the mediterranean.

It's truly where the ocean kisses the mountains,

and the flavors combine into the most incredible

paella dishes, the most delicious sea mackerel,

the vivid colors of olives and tapenades.

It's truly the culinary mecca of Europe

at this point in time.

The second...

France.

French food is a world unto itself.

You have different regions--

from Normandy to the Riviera,

from Brittany to the fine dining of Paris.

The ingredients are impeccable.

This is where cuisine was created.

And, of course, the third cuisine.

Clearly the number one cuisine anywhere in the world...

British.

[Laughter]

Excuse me, we're frikkin' 26 miles away from France.

Yes? 26 long, culinary miles.

Excuse me. Do you mind? Oh, no, no. Go ahead.

That looks delicious.

When you think of British cuisine, you think of

the most amazing comfort food,

from fantastic Shepherd's pie

to the most amazing fish and chips,

and even a stunning trifle.

That's the kind of comfort food that I've grown up with.

Now, keep in mind, whichever cuisine you choose

will be the one that everyone will have to cook today.

So you can pick the one that you're most comfortable with,

or the cuisine that your competition will fear the most.

Which one are you gonna go for?

I think a lot of them do know Spanish.

I think a lot of them don't know French.

But British-- I love comfort food.

That's probably my strongest strength.

Ugh! I'm going with--

(Gordon) Christian, back to your station, please.

We gave Christian the choice to cook Spanish,

French, or British cuisine.

I have no idea what's in store for us

because it seems like Christian would pick something

that most of us don't know how to do.

(Gordon) So, Christian, what did you pick?

Vive la France!

Whoo!

[Applause]

I'm very excited because

if you know a little bit about cooking,

you know something French-- it's just a fact.

Whether or not you can execute it correctly,

that's another story.

French? I don't know jack [bleep] about French

except French fries and croissants...

And French kissing.

you get a major advantage.

And that is you don't have to cook anything.

You are safe from elimination.

Yah-ha!

(Christine) When the judges said that Christian didn't have to cook,

I think all of us were a little pissed off.

(Joe) So you will have

a glass of champagne. Thank you.

Proceed up to the gallery,

and sit and watch everything else happen.

(Gordon) Enjoy. So Christian's safe.

But for at least one of you,

it will be your final hour

cooking in the MasterChef kitchen.

Are you ready? (All) Yes, chef.

Your hour starts...

Now! Off you go!

(Announcer) While Christian enjoys the safety of the gallery,

the remaining 17 contestants now face the pressure

of their first elimination challenge.

They all have access to a pantry fully stocked

with every ingredient imaginable.

(Woman) Has anyone seen thyme?

I have no idea what I'm gonna cook,

and I have one hour to do it.

[Ticking]

Do you have any heavy cream I can borrow?

This is all I have left. Take that.

Thank you. You're welcome.

The stakes are so high,

you have to put out the best dish you possibly can.

And if you don't,

then you're gonna be one of those people

that are there in front of the judges,

waiting for them to decide whether or not

it's you that they're going to be sending home.

And I don't want to be that person.

(Max) Growing up in Manhattan,

I've experienced many different cuisines

and many different French restaurants.

I'm definitely at an advantage with this.

(Christian) I have the people that I'm rooting for,

and I have the people that I'm not.

I think Max's age and his ego gets in the way.

I think he's been given, like, a free ride

probably most of his life.

I'm watching you, Max.

(Gordon) Amazing challenge. (Graham) Yeah.

This is the heart of MasterChef.

Now they're out of cooking what they're familiar with.

They have to conceptualize a dish to win the contest,

and put the flavor on the plate, and then cook it.

All right, Erryn, what are you doing?

I'm getting ready to do some sweet potato pommes frites.

Okay, so sweet potato fries? Yeah.

Not very French Right.

Protein? I'm doing a carpaccio.

A carpaccio? Yes.

Which, you know-- carpaccio is Italian. Really?

I got it from Julia Child, so I assumed that it was...

Of course, but you know, hey--

it may be the best carpaccio ever.

Good luck. Thank you.

Hello, chef. How are you? Good. What are you making?

A peppercorn filet with a bearnaise sauce,

with whipped rosemary garlic potatoes.

Have you ever been to France? No.

French cookbooks?

French restaurants? No. No.

Okay. Okay. So you're kind of flying blind.

Yes. Okay.

Wine in the dish and wine in me,

and then we're all good to go.

I haven't even drank that much yet.

Yet. Key word.

Jennie, what are you cooking? Hi, chef.

I'm doing a French onion soup, a cream of mushroom soup,

and a cream of zucchini soup.

Why would you do three soups

and not just one stunning soup?

Um, I've been to Paris. I love to go to bistros

and see what the soup of the day is.

And these are three of my favorites. Right.

All right, Max, what are you cooking?

All right, I'm gonna be doing a Cod in a veloute sauce.

I'm gonna do some roasted potatoes with some mushrooms,

and some mussels in--

a Cod in a veloute? Mm-hmm.

Right. Have you been to France before?

Of course I have.

(Graham) Angel, what are you rocking on?

Trying to make a fruit tart.

How are you gonna stop the yolk from cooking

when you put it in the hot cream?

Gotta keep stirring.

You have to be very careful with that

'cause a scrambled egg strawberry tart

would be no bueno. No bueno.

(Gordon) All right, Derrick, what are you doing?

I'm making a savory gougere. It's like a French pastry.

It puffs up, and it's hollow inside,

and it's got gruyere cheese in it, some thyme.

And I'm gonna stuff that with a white wine poached egg.

Wow, this is ambitious. Yeah. It might be stupid.

Really ambitious. Good luck, good luck, good luck.

20 minutes to go.

A lot more desserts than I thought.

(Joe) Angel, I think, for her lack of experience

in French cuisine is doing a strawberry fruit tart.

We're seeing some classic things too.

Like, Mark's doing a beautiful au poivre filet

with some whipped potatoes

and some veggies. It could be good.

Absolutely. But you wouldn't serve

a steak au poivre with bearnaise.

No. Never.

I've got 15 minutes left.

I am running against the clock right now.

I feel like I'm about 1/4 of the way done.

(Gordon) Just under 10 minutes to go! Really focus now.

For the mystery box, I was in the top three,

and I don't want to lose that momentum.

My potatoes are a little liquidy,

so I'm gonna try and thicken 'em up.

I don't know if I'll have enough time.

I forgot to weigh my tart down,

so it's starting to bubble.

And five minutes left, I still gotta put my [bleep] in.

And then I have to bake it still.

Please, sweet Jesus, let me just get through this

because I really don't want to go home.

I cannot let the French win this war.

This is a [bleep] disaster!

(Announcer) Only a few minutes remain in the first elimination test...

Make sure you taste everything

that's going on that plate.

(Announcer) And many are struggling with the French theme.

At the end of the day, at least one

of these home cooks will be eliminated.

My eggs just broke, so I'm gonna have to redo this.

Okay, guys, last three minutes.

(Gordon) Start putting that dish together.

Finishing touches. Here we go.

Ten,

nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one. And stop!

Everybody stand back. Good job.

Christian, come back down, please. Stand by your station.

(Announcer) Because Christian won the mystery box challenge,

he did not have to prepare a dish

and is safe from elimination.

But that's not the case for the other 17 home cooks.

(Gordon) The theme of today's elimination challenge

was French cuisine.

Some of them look extraordinary,

and some of them look like a...

Une assiette [Bleep].

A plate of [bleep]!

(Announcer) The judges will taste everybody's dish,

then they will select the three worst dishes,

and at least one person will be eliminated today.

(Joe) Okay, Max.

I'm absolutely craving to be singled out as the best

in the competition.

I think I'm a little bit overdue.

I think my dishes have stood out.

I poached a Cod in a little cream veloute,

seared it, broiled some potatoes

with some rosemary and sage,

and also did some mussels.

So the Cod needs to be flaky and translucent.

Ooh. Very nice.

The fish is beautiful. The sauce is delicious.

When I was 18 years of age,

my parents didn't have the money

to eat out at those restaurants that you've eaten out in.

I had to go behind the scenes

and get my ass kicked in the kitchen.

And you sat at the other side,

from a customer's point of view.

But you've taken that seriously.

And today, for the first time in this competition,

it really shows

that you really do know how to cook.

You have just raised the bar even higher.

Congratulations. That is delicious.

Good job. Thank you.

(Gordon) Very good job, indeed.

If that's a sign of what's to come,

trust me, we're gonna be in a great mood.

(Joe) Uh, Giuseppe.

(Announcer) Can the next home cooks keep the judges smiling?

(Giuseppe) I made profiteroles with lemon vanilla cream.

The baking of the pastry itself is spot-on.

A petit success

for a big Italian like you. Thank you.

Okay, Suzy, come on up.

(Suzy) I did a duo of tarts--

a ganache with raspberry and meringue,

and then a lemon curd tart

with apple and meringue as well.

(Graham) The overachiever.

Amazing job getting both of these done,

you know, in 60 minutes.

You remind me of the girl in high school

I used to sit by that was, like,

"Teacher, you forgot to give us homework."

I was that girl in high school.

[Laughter]

(Gordon) Alejandra.

Right.

(Alejandra) I seared some Cod

and sat it over a crouton.

And I steamed some clams.

It should just flake.

It's cooked perfectly. Thank you so much.

Good job.

Jennie, let's go. Yes, chef.

(Announcer) Can Jennie repeat her earlier success

after being in the mystery box top three?

What have we got?

This is a cream of zucchini soup with fresh dill,

French onion, and mushroom with tarragon.

This one is a... Zucchini.

And this one? Mushroom.

And your onion soup?

The onions aren't cooked properly.

And also, you know, when you caramelize those onions,

you finish 'em off with some mustard in there first

so it really brings the heat up.

It's a little bit greasy as well.

I'm disappointed. You've gone backwards.

These really are not even soups, quite frankly.

These are like purees. These are like baby food.

Under-seasoned. Not very good at all.

I think this has strong contention for bottom three.

And you better hope there are some

really, really bad dishes out there.

It was really hard to hear all that.

It was sort of guttural.

I felt like I was punched in the stomach.

Well, highs and lows, highs and lows.

Mark, what do you have for us?

I have a filet crusted in peppercorn,

a creamy rosemary garlic mashed with a bearnaise sauce.

Do you normally put bearnaise sauce on your steak?

French.

Not many French people I know.

But this consistency look nice?

You like the thickness of it?

I would have liked them a little thicker.

Thicker than that? What's in here?

Shallots, rosemary, and garlic.

And flour?

I added a little bit of starch

because it was liquidy. Raw?

There's raw flour in here. What?

That is a severe technical error

to serve raw flour.

There are several things that you can never do in cooking.

And adding flour

to a liquid mashed potato is one of them.

(Mark) I was praying that someone else's dish

was worse than mine.

But adding flour to mashed potatoes like that

without cooking 'em down is a big no-no.

So even if someone's dish was worse than mine,

(Announcer) In the French elimination challenge,

after some great dishes...

An amazing job.

(Joe) The baking is spot-on.

You have just raised the bar even higher.

(Announcer) Mark has just committed a cardinal sin.

Raw? There's raw flour in here.

In the mashed potatoes?

I don't get it.

Such a shame.

Derrick, let's go.

Bring us some inspiration, please.

Let's get back to something French.

Something exciting, dangerous,

avant garde. What is it?

It is a gougere,

and it is stuffed with a white wine poached egg,

served with a creamy white wine sauce.

And the hope is that, when you cut into the egg,

the earthiness of the yolk kind of evens out

those two sharp textures.

Wow. That is fantastic.

Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks.

It's delicious. It really is delicious.

Thank you. Thank you. [Applause]

That's inspired me.

Good job. Well done. Thank you, chef.

Thank you.

[Cheers and applause]

(Graham) All right, Angel, come on down, please.

This looks like a mess.

A hot, heaping pile of mess.

You look angry. What happened?

French got the best of me.

What is it?

It was supposed to be a custard

to go inside my tart, but-- where's the tart?

Uh, back there. It didn't do well.

Obviously, the tart speaks for itself,

so I don't know what else to say.

Sorry, Angel.

Okay... I already know it's a disaster.

Yeah, well, you're not wrong.

It's like the kind of dessert

that gives you [bleep] for a month.

I'm more embarrassed for you

because I think deep down inside

you can do a lot better.

Next up...

Christine. Let's go.

A seared pork chop in a creamy dijon sauce.

(Gordon) [Bleep].

[Knife banging on plate]

[Bleep].

Any ounce of goodness, cooked out of it.

Okay, Erryn, let's go.

Okay, first of all, what is that thing?

This is a carpaccio.

Just stop there two seconds. We doing Italy?

Did we switch countries?

(Gordon) So it's a carpaccio of filet?

Yes. I also have a cream of zucchini soup

and a chive mayonnaise sauce

for some sweet potato pommes frites.

The beef, it needs the olive oil,

and it needs the parmesan.

It doesn't need the spinach,

and certainly not the sauteed mushroom.

The actual soup-- zucchini soup--not bad.

In comparison to Jennie's soup,

you know, it's in a different league.

It's got a really nice flavor to it.

And as for the sweet potato fries,

they should come with a government health warning

because they look dreadful. Rusty nails.

(Announcer) After tasting all of our home cooks' dishes,

the judges must select the bottom three.

From those, at least one person

will be going home.

(Gordon) Okay, we've tasted 17 dishes.

But for all three of us,

there were two that really

left their competition behind.

My dish was definitely one of the top dishes.

It's just a restaurant-quality dish, no doubt about it.

The first dish belongs to...

Derrick. Well done.

[Cheers and applause]

(Derrick) I'm in a very happy place right now.

It's a huge sigh of relief.

(Gordon) Great finesse. Great skill.

The next stand-out dish was a delight.

That dish belongs to...

Max. Well done.

Really good job.

(Gordon) Well done.

Great finesse. Great skill.

That means both of you will be team captains

in the next challenge.

And you are seriously safe from elimination.

But there's three of you that are not.

One of the three worst dishes was executed horrendously,

and an embarrassment to France.

That dish belongs to...

(Announcer) Following a grueling elimination challenge,

our home cooks await their fate.

And after tasting all their dishes,

the MasterChef judges will send at least one person home.

(Gordon) One of the three worst dishes

was executed horrendously,

and an embarrassment to France.

I think I'm going home for sure.

I'm just waiting for them to call my name.

(Gordon) That dish belongs to...

Angel.

You said French style of cooking was not your strength.

What you produced across 60 minutes proved that.

The next dish, the cook committed a cardinal sin.

Mark, can you come up here and join us?

The act of serving raw flour is beyond the point

of a technical mistake or flaw.

It's kind of an unforgivable mistake,

and one that we have to acknowledge in a very real way.

(Graham) The third dish was ill-conceived,

was not French...

And at the end of the day, it just wasn't good.

Erryn, please come forward.

The fact that it was a carpaccio...

It wasn't even sliced thinly.

Even if we were doing a different country

besides France,

all the components were jumbled,

and it didn't work.

Okay, the person leaving MasterChef...

Lord, please just let me get by by the skin of my teeth.

That's all I need. Just--just let me get by.

(Mark) It's eating me up inside.

The last thing I wanted to do was come out here

and make it this far, and go out this way.

(Erryn) Mark had a flaw in his dish,

Angel had a flaw in her dish, so right now it's a toss-up.

You know, I think that all three of us could go home.

Angel, your time is done inside the MasterChef kitchen.

Please take your apron off and leave.

Thank you.

I actually feel privileged, and I feel honored

that I had made it this far.

America, I cannot cook French food.

But if you want an egg roll, if you want some fried chicken,

if you want some collard greens,

call me--I got you.

Mark, Erryn,

the bad news is...

We're not done there.

One of you two will be leaving the MasterChef kitchen.

That person is...

Mark.

(Mark) I'm feeling disappointed. I made a stupid mistake.

I should have listened to my instinct

and done it the right way.

Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience,

and I wouldn't change it for anything.

Erryn, you dodged a bullet.

Right now,

you are walking on thin ice.

You're a smart guy.

And you can cook-- let me tell you that.

Get a grip.

(Erryn) I'm not feeling that great right now,

but I'm feeling fortunate,

and I'm feeling just determined to go out there

and not ever be in the bottom three again.

Tomorrow's gonna be a new day,

and I'm gonna have the opportunity to prove myself

all over again. I'm ready to roll.

(Gordon) Big day tomorrow.

Trust me, the pressure is gonna be even more intense.

And, my God, the stakes are even higher.

We have got one hell of a challenge tomorrow

that you cannot afford to fail on.

Good night.

(Announcer) Tomorrow night on MasterChef...

(Gordon) The doors are open!

(Announcer) With two home cooks already eliminated,

the remaining 16 will compete

in their first team challenge.

This is going to be a disaster.

(Announcer) Both teams will struggle with the massive scale...

There's no pizza. Have you ever cooked for 300 people?

Me either. (Announcer) And with each other.

Look out, Max. Max's arrogance is through the roof.

(Announcer) The losing team will face a pressure test...

It's all on the line right now. Three.

(Announcer) Where another amateur cook's MasterChef dreams

will come to an end. (Gordon) And stop!

== sync, corrected by elderman ==