All language subtitles for MasterChef.US.S13E19.720p.WEB.h264-EDITH

( music playing )

- ( crowd cheering )
- Gordon: Here we go.

- Yeah!
- Let's eat!

- Finale. Here we are.
- Wow. Wow.

( cheering continues )

Welcome, everyone,
to "MasterChef: United
Tastes Of America" finale!

Right. Thank you so much.

This has been one of the most
incredible seasons ever.

This season on "MasterChef"

we brought the nation together
like never before...

This is "MasterChef:
United Tastes Of America."
Come on!

...as the best home cooks
from four regions of America...

Everybody knows Westside's
the best side.

Hell, yeah,
the best cook's from the South.

- The Midwest is best.
- Northeast, baby!

...went head-to-head
in a regional rumble.

- Let's go!
- Come on, South.
Y'all got it.

- Rally, rally, rally!
- All: West, West, West!

Fight for your region.
Fight for your team.

- I plan to win it.
- I don't know about that,
Wayne.

South is talking trash already.

This will be
the most strategic season ever.

Oh, ( bleep ).

- ( all shouting )
- Who's baking which cake?

Kyle's a great chef, so
I'm gonna screw him over today.

I like people to be
a little bit afraid of me.

Everybody's out to get you.

It's not all fun
and games anymore.

I am choosing the Midwest.

- What the heck, Jen?
- You have a vendetta

against that part
of the country or what?

With a quarter of a million
bucks at stake?

- Yes, sir.
- It was a season of teamwork.

- Are you ready?
- Hell no.

- ( all shouting )
- ( sirens )

- Here they come, guys.
- It was completely raw.

- That's terrible.
I want them done perfectly.
- Okay.

- I don't know
if I like this sauce!
- Did you put it in already?

- No!
- What?

- Switch!
- No, it's an ice cream scoop.

- It's "DisasterChef."
- This is so terrible.

We're not
in the ass end of nowhere!
We're in the Dodger Stadium!

( bleep )
Does anyone care in here?

- Joe:
It's the restaurant takeover.
- Check the filet.

- Feels medium rare to me, Chef.
- Survey says, ( bleep ) raw.

Hey, hey, hey, hey!
Don't ever disrespect me
or my restaurant.

But ultimately, it was
every cook for themselves.

A very professional creation.

- You played the grill
like a piano.
- Thank you.

- It's perfect.
- Oh, my goodness.

- Man, you got a homerun there.
- Thank you, sir.

- It's spot-on.
- Very delicious.

- Thank you.
- Cake is absolutely spot-on.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Could've been cooked
by the chef de partie.

- Wow.
- Exceptional. Definitely
Michelin star worthy,

- let me tell you.
- Thank you, Chef.

And now just three
home cooks remain.

Will it be Jennifer
from the South,

Grant from the Midwest,

or Kennedy from the West?

Only one will be crowned
America's 13th MasterChef.

( cheering )

- Whoo!
- Woohoo!

Are we ready to meet
our three amazing finalists?

First up,
a 42-year-old mom of six

from Little Rock, Arkansas.

- It's Jennifer!
- Yeah!

( cheering continues )

Jennifer: I can't believe
I made it to the finale.

This has been
the most amazing journey.

I'm so blessed
and thankful for my family,

but being here has given me
so much independence,

and I have found
what I wanna do for
the rest of my life.

- Whoo!
- ( both laughing )

The last 13 years
I've been raising six babies.

It's been the joy of my life.

But at the age of 40,

I needed to follow
my culinary dreams.

- It's a big yes for me.
- I cannot believe it.

I was over the moon
to be a part of the top 20.

It was so surreal.

I'm gonna cry.
This is so hard.

But my goal was
to make my family proud

and represent my Southern
heritage on a plate.

For elevating a home dessert,
it's as good as it can be.

The best dish was cooked
by Jennifer.

- Oh. Thank you.
- Go on, Jen!

I started
this competition strong,

but I also faced
a lot of hurdles.

This doesn't taste like
the Jennifer that I know.

Flag goes to Jennifer.

Stop what you're doing.
Five minute time-out.

And it created such
an inner strength

that I honestly
didn't even know was there.

Aarón:
This is impressive considering

the adversity that you had
to face this evening,

But that's what
supermoms do, right?
You make it happen.

Gordon:
I think you've endeared
the word "grill"

100% across this plate.

I can do hard things.
I can do hard things.

I started to realize
that I do deserve to be here.
I do have the skill.

- Whoo!
- This journey is for me.

Visually,
it's just so beautiful.
Great job.

So I wanna show my six babies

that it's never too late
to chase your dreams.

I wanna be
the next MasterChef,

so I'm pulling out
all the stops.

Next up, we have
a 32-year-old beer salesman.

Representing the Midwest, please
give it up for Señor Grant!

( cheering )

Grant: It's the final three.
We are in the finale.

I look back to the beginning
of this competition
and back to auditions,

and how many people were there
vying just to get an apron.

And now to look and
it's just me and two others,

I mean,
never in my wildest dreams

would have assumed that
I would be in this position.

So I'm really proud of myself.

The initial reason I came
to "MasterChef" was validation.

Hi, Mom.
Are you proud of your son?

More than I could ever tell you.

Aww.

Growing up,
I generally hadn't had

a lot of great
self-confidence.

Over the last four
to five years,

I started taking
cooking seriously.

- Let's go!
- And when I walked out
with the apron,

that was just so special to me.

How's your pasta, Grant?
It looks beautiful.

Thank you.
That's what the Midwest
is all about, baby.

I love where I'm from.
I love being from Iowa.

To be able to represent
the Midwest was incredible.

Grant,
this dish screams the Midwest.

- Chicken is cooked beautifully.
- Thank you very much, Chef.

And throughout
this entire competition,
I really feel like

I showed that we can do more
than meat and potatoes.

I got out of my comfort zone,
and I pushed myself further

than I've ever gotten
in my dreams.

I have a crusted amberjack here
with some pan-roasted gnocchi.

The fish is flakey and smooth,

and that gnocchi
is out of this world.

Gordon:
Pork's cooked beautifully,
and I can taste

how desperate you are
to win this competition
in this dish.

- Great job.
- Thank you, Chef.

I came on "MasterChef" as a guy

that had a hard time
believing in himself,

and now I know
that I'm here for a reason.

Cooking is what my calling is,

and I have a new
air of confidence to me.

I'm here today to tell you
that nice guy's gone.

- Ooh!
- Gordon: Good.

I feel like tonight's
the night to change my life.

I want my photo up there
on the balcony.

I wanna be right next to
the other 12 that are up there.

I'm not gonna let it slip
through my fingers now.

I'm gonna be
the next "MasterChef."

Finally,
26-year-old festival vendor.

Representing the West,
please welcome Kennedy.

( cheering )

Kennedy:
Being in the top three
in this finale,

it's just overwhelming
in the best way possible.

But I've always
known my whole life
I wanted to be a chef,

and I just never really had
the tools or the understanding

of how to get to the level
that I wanted to.

And now that I'm here, I feel
like the world is my oyster,

and I have so much more
opportunity and it's amazing.

Hello.

Welcome to my home.

Before "MasterChef,"
I was just a small town girl

living in my tiny bus
and living little dreams.

Let's go, West!
Wild, wild West!

When I started
this competition,

I really wanted to prove
that I have the mentality

of a MasterChef
in the kitchen.

Gordon: I think the refreshing
thing for me is to taste food

this elegant so early on
in the competition.

- Thank you, Chef.
- You're at home here.
I can taste it.

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

I've learned
that I can handle pressure,

and I've learned that
I can go outside my little bus

and I can cook
in a big kitchen.

I kind of wanna be the one
that stands out from the crowd.

You are playing this game
at the highest level.

Congratulations.
You win the immunity pin.

Being challenged has turned me
into someone who craves success.

And winning made me feel like
I was doing everything right

and people were noticing.

Kennedy is definitely one

of the stronger cooks here.

I was definitely
targeted multiple times
throughout the competition.

There is one person
who has been putting out

top three level dishes.

- Are you looking at me?
- Kennedy.

Your target is getting bigger

than the "MasterChef" logo
on the doors there now.

Everybody's coming for me.

I kind of wanted to be a threat.

I mean, in this competition,

being a threat,
it's a compliment.

You're just making me
a stronger chef,
that's all you're doing.

And it made me
just wanna push myself
and stay in the top

for the rest
of the competition.

You took one of the most
challenging fish to cook,

- and it's beyond reproach.
- They're beautifully
put together,

and they look
like a plate of art.

No matter what
they throw at you,
you're gonna come back.

It's really delicious.
I'm really kind of blown away.

- Thank you.
- Gordon: Thanks, Kennedy.

And now getting
to the finale, I really
wanna go out with a bang.

I want this
more than anything I've ever
wanted in my entire life.

I'm just so ready
to win "MasterChef."

Gordon:
A hearty congratulations from
Joe, Aarón, and myself

for making into the
"MasterChef: United Tastes
Of America" finale.

- ( cheering )
- Yeah!

Jennifer,
here to support you tonight,

your husband Brian
and your six kids.

That's a lot of kids, Jennifer.

Brian,
who's been feeding the kids?

They are here. They survived.

- To say we missed her
is not enough.
- Sure.

And we are so proud
of where she is.

Well, thank you so much
for making the effort
to be here tonight.

Aarón: Grant, here
supporting you this evening

is your beautiful wife Emily,
your son,

and of course your parents
Laura and Matthew.

Thank you so much for being
with us this evening.

Grady, what's your favorite
thing to cook with your dad?

- Uh, mac and cheese.
- Gordon: Mac and cheese.

- Yes! Classic.
- Love that.

Emily, how proud are you of him?

He's overcome so much
and believed in himself,

and we both cry a lot.

We're so, so proud.
There aren't words for it.

Now, Kennedy,
here to cheer you on tonight

is your sister Mads
and your best friend Asana.

- Hey.
- Mads, how proud
are you right now?

That's an unfair question.
I mean, I watched her be born,

and I was proud of her
from her first word,

- which obviously
had to do with food.
- Crowd: Aww.

When we were kids,
we used to pretend to do this
little chef show

- against each other...
- Right.

...and obviously
she'd always win
since she was a kid.

I'm just so proud of her,
and I love you so much, baby.

Also cheering you on,
you have some of your former
competitors here.

Welcome back, all of you.
You look great.

- Thank you.
- Jennifer, how important
is tonight's finale?

I grew up in a small town
in Arkansas,

and I am so honored to be able
to represent the South.

I hope that I can bring home
that trophy and for the South.

- You will. You got it.
- Go, girl!

Gordon: Absolutely.
Grant, how hungry
are you for this?

Tonight's huge.
The Midwest is known
as the flyover states.

We're often overlooked,
and I'm excited to be able
to put not only Iowa,

but the entire Midwest on a map
through "MasterChef."

- Love that.
- Go, Dad!

- Kennedy.
- Hello.

You went from cooking
on your beautiful school bus...

I sure did.

...to the "MasterChef" finale.

This journey has been so insane.

I'm a small mountain town girl.

I grew up in Denver,

and representing
the West is amazing.

I mean, to represent
a whole region as one person

is an incredible honor.

Right, tonight
is your last chance

to demonstrate that you
are worthy of the grand prize

because only one of you can
go back to your home region

- with a quarter
of a million dollars...
- Ooh, baby!

...a complete state of the art
Viking Kitchen...

- Whoo!
- ...including an amazing
Viking refrigerator,

plus a complete set
of kitchen tools
and bakeware from OXO,

the amazing MasterChef trophy,

and the title of America's
next MasterChef.

Now if you want to prove
that you are the best cook

in this very special
"MasterChef: United Tastes
Of America,"

you must make a full
three-course meal.

An appetizer,
an entrée, and of course,
a spectacular dessert.

We wanna see dishes that show us
where you came from

and where you're headed next.

Now, Jennifer, give us
an insight to the menu.

I was born and raised
in the South,

so I'm gonna provide you
with delicious Southern food

and flavors, but with
French fine dining techniques.

- Ooh.
- Nice. Grant?

So my theme is Italian heritage
meets Midwest roots.

I'm gonna use a lot
of the Italian recipes
that I learned growing up,

and I'm gonna stick in
a lot of what makes
the Midwest the best.

- Love that. Kennedy?
- So my theme is self-acceptance
through the eyes of nature.

I really wanna
tell a story about who I am
but also where I'm from,

so I'm using just ingredients
that are indigenous to Colorado,

really bringing you
to fishing, hunting,

and really getting
a taste of who I am as well.

They all sound amazing.
Right, let's get started
with the appetizers.

- You three ready?
- Yes, Chef.

Your 60 minutes start now!
Let's go!

Come on. Let's go!

Let's go!

- All right, what do we need?
What do we need?
- All right, let's go.

- Let's see.
- Kolby: Even though
I'm from the South,

I definitely
want Kennedy to win.

She's somebody
who I look up to as a chef

because she's really creative,

she has a flavor palate
like none other,

and that's somebody
that I really could see

taking the MasterChef title
to the next level.

Where are my morels at?
Morels, morels, dried morels.

I wanna see Grant win
from the Midwest.

Everyone keeps
calling the Midwest, like,
flyover country.

And I get it,
but when it comes to food,

I think Grant's got
some really bold flavors

and he's gonna show
that the Midwest
is definitely here to play.

- Whoo!
- Yeah!

- Go, Dad!
- Whoo!

- Let's go, Jen!
- All right, Jennifer!

Jennifer's style is classic,
and she knows flavors.

And we all know the South's
got great flavors,

so she's about
to give us a show.
I am excited for her.

- Let's go, Mom!
- Go, Grant!

- Whoo!
- Yeah!

Come on, Ken.
You got this, Kennedy.

So this is it, the grand finale.

Three phenomenal chefs

from different corners
of the country,

but this is the moment these
three incredible amateurs

show us what they've got.

And tonight, once and for all,

we'll all learn where America's
best home cook comes from.

- Yes?
- Absolutely.

- ( cheering )
- Go, Mom!

- Yeah, she is.
- She was meant to do this.

- ( cheering )
- Kennedy: Tonight
could change my life.

I mean, a quarter
of a million dollars
is on the line

and the title of MasterChef,
and having that on your resume

can do
so many things for you.

It would really
kickstart my career.

So this has to be the best meal
I've ever cooked in my life.

- Let's go, baby.
- Pressure is on.

- You got this, Grant.
- Come on!

- Let's go!
- Come on, come on, come on!

- ( cheering )
- Yes!

Gordon: We've got
45 minutes remaining

to cook us
your amazing appetizers.

- Come on, guys.
- Grant: Let's go.

You got this, babe.

Kennedy: Smoked oysters.

Yeah, Kennedy.

Brian: All right, Jennifer!

- Go, Mom!
- Right, Jennifer.

- Hi, Chef.
- Come on, girl,
how you feeling?

This is exhilarating.
It is the dream of my life
to be on this stage right now.

- So...
- ( cheering )

Give us an insight
with your appetizer.

I'm doing a lobster succotash
with corn purée,

and then I'm going to
finish it off with a beautiful
champagne caviar vinaigrette

that will have also some
citrus notes in it as well.

Oh, so no beurre blanc
with the lobster?

No. You know what?
I think it's going to end up
being a beautiful dish.

Love that.
Love that. Love that.

Is this how your kids
get to eat every night?

- When dad's not cooking, yes.
- ( laughter )

- That is very true.
- This dish sounds tricky.

Good luck, and do not--
do not undercook
that lobster, yes?

- Yes, thank you, Chef.
- The very best of luck,
Jennifer.

- You got this!
- Whoo!

Looking good. Looking good.

- Yeah. Really hard.
- He's working hard,
isn't he, honey?

- You better score
them fish, girl.
- Whoo!

- Whoo!
- All right, Kennedy,
how are you?

- I'm great. How are you?
- Take me through the dish.
What are you making?

I'm making
a crispy skinned trout
over a truffle potato,

oyster mushroom, pea purée,

and a quenelle of trout roe
and smoked oyster aioli.

- So the peas and trout's
a pretty classic dish.
- Yeah.

How you kind of taking it
to the next level?

I really wanted to show myself
through my androgynous journey.

I've struggled a lot growing up
of whether I wanted to
masculine or feminine.

- Mm-hmm.
- So I decided when I grew up
that I accepted both sides

and that I'm androgynous, so--

Go, Ken!
Talk about it, Kennedy.

I totally appreciate that.
How does that
translate into food?

So I'm starting off with a more
feminine dish as my appetizer.

I want it to look like
a beautiful fish

swimming in a river
with wildflowers and really
get that feminine side.

And then you'll have to see
for the rest of the menu
what's going on.

- ( laughs )
- Come on now!

Well, listen, timing is pivotal,
especially on your fish.

- Good luck.
- Thank you.

Go, Ken! Whoo!

I got it, baby. Thank you.

- Let's go, Jen!
- Ah!

- Nice!
- Go, Dad!

We are now halfway!

30 minutes to go, guys.
Come on.

- Grant! How are we, señor?
- Wonderful, Aarón.
How are you today?

I'm doing great.
What do we got going on
here, señor?

So this'll be raviolo al uovo
with a morel cream sauce.

Right now I am rehydrating
some morel mushrooms
in some cream right here.

It's something
that really ties in Iowa.

Every spring we hunt morels
down by the creek.

- Down by the creek, huh?
- Yes.

- Or by the crick.
- By the crick. I got you.

I think that this is something
that's really gonna speak
to both Iowa and Italy.

You're talking about
a very technically complex dish.

- Not a lot of places
you can hide with this.
- Right.

You feel confident
with the pasta dough where
it stands right now?

Grant: I feel incredibly
confident with it.

Probably bring it out
in about another 10,
15 minutes maybe

so I start getting it
rolled out.

You feel you're gonna do
justice and put Iowa on the map
as a culinary destination?

- 100%, Aarón.
No doubt about it, baby.
- Orale!

- Oh, yeah!
- Yes!

All right! ( speaks Spanish )

Thank you.

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

20 minutes remaining.
Come on, guys, keep it going.

- Come on.
- ( cheering )

- Kennedy: Okay, let's get it.
Let's get it.
- How cool is this, honestly?

Three amazing finalists
all playing to their strengths.

- Jen: Mmm! Perfect.
- So, Jennifer's appetizer,

I mean, packed with jeopardy,
let me tell you.

She has to blanche it first
and then sauté

- the lobster tail in butter.
- Joe: So blanched lobster,

- difficult to do.
- Yeah, there's
a ten-second window

of being overcooked
or undercooked.

You're undercooked,
it's game over.

Overcooked,
it tastes like rubber.

Jennifer:
All right, let's do this.

And also she's doing
a caviar vinaigrette.

But doesn't lobster want
something fat and rich with it?

I know, I mean, if she's leaning
towards that French influence,

then it should be a butter sauce
like a beurre blanc,

- but she's not doing that.
- But you have to
applaud the fact

that she's going away
from the norm.

I think the acidity
is gonna be key

in the success
of Jennifer's dish.

Well, that's the jeopardy,
isn't it?

- Kennedy: All right.
- Joe: Kennedy, she's
making steelhead trout

with a pea purée
and oyster aioli.

- Gordon: Oyster?
- Both: Aioli?

And the trout
and the pea purée?

That is a lot going on there.

The big question is
does it all work together?

Fingers crossed.

- Oh, yeah.
- My boy Grant with the pasta.

- I know it's about to be good.
- So Grant is doing traditional
ravioli with an egg yolk.

The raviolo al uovo,
we all know the jeopardy.

We've seen it over the years.
There's a lot of technique here.

You gotta make the pasta,

you gotta know
how to extract the egg yolk,

put it in the center of
the ravioli, no air bubbles,

boil it, and have it
be perfectly runny.

- The construction is key.
- Looks so good.

- Thank you.
- Beautiful.

Gordon:
Last ten minutes, guys.
Keep it going, yes?

- Come on, Jennifer.
- Beautiful.

Kennedy:
All right, let's go!

( cheering )

Look at that pasta sheet.

Ooh, Grant, be careful.

- This is what he does.
- I know.

Come on.

Gordon: Oh, no.
Grant is in trouble.

- He's struggling. Wow.
- What is he doing?

Come on. This is insane.

The top piece of pasta's
a little bit too wet.

It's sticky.
It's very hard to work with.

What I'm worried about
in this technique,

- it's gonna have
too much air inside.
- Yeah.

Joe: Too much air in the filling
will also burst the ravioli.

Right now I am
really struggling in shaping

those really difficult
egg yolk raviolis,

but I'm a little worried
about time right now.

- Come on.
- When I put it in
that boiling water,

if this egg yolk breaks
in this raviolo, I'm done.

Grant is playing
a risky game right now

because his raviolis
could literally explode
in the boiling water.

- Oh!
- Be careful, Dad.

Oh, my Lord.

Joe: Grant is playing
a risky game right now

because his raviolis
could literally explode
in the boiling water.

- Oh, my Lord.
- Be careful, Dad.

- Okay. We're good.
- Five minutes to go!

- Come on, guys!
Finish up strong!
- Let's go!

- Y'all got it!
- Beautiful.

- Perfect!
- ( cheering )

- You good, Kennedy. You good.
- You good!

Kennedy's just
taken a steelhead trout
out of the oven.

- Look at the color of that
skin. It looks beautiful.
- Joe: Wow.

- But did it go
in the oven long enough?
- I don't know.

- Grant: Oh, yeah.
- There it is.

Grant's just taking his raviolis
out of the water now.

- Any of the egg yolks burst?
- Perfect so far.

- Wow.
- Grant, those are gorgeous.

- Mmm.
- That lobster looks good, Jen.

Go ahead, girl.

Gordon: 60 seconds to go!

- One minute, guys! Come on!
- Grady: Go, Dad!

You got it. Make it clean.

Madison:
You got it, Kennedy.

Show us your artistry,
baby girl.

Yeah! Team Kennedy!

Come on, Jennifer.
Get it on the plate, baby.

Go, Mom, go!
You got this, Mom!

Judges:
Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two, one.

- Hands in the air!
- ( cheering )

Everybody looks good!

Grant: I think I took
a really big risk doing
a technical dish.

I'm a little worried about
the sauce, but I'm hoping

when they break open
that egg yolk,
it mixes all in,

it's gonna be
that perfect texture,

exactly what
they're looking for.

There's a lot riding on this,
so I need it to be perfect.

Well done, Jennifer,
Grant, and Kennedy.

What an extraordinary
performance.

Please make your way around
to the front. Thank you.

Whoo!

Wow. Time to taste those
delicious looking appetizers.

First up, Jennifer,
please make your way down,
thank you.

I am feeling proud, nervous,

but this dish is the first
out of the competition

that represents me.

My French fine dining
with Southern fusion,

it's important to set the tone
right from the beginning,

so I hope this dish
does that for me.

I've made for you
a lobster succotash

with a sweet corn purée,
truffle oil,

and a champagne caviar
vinaigrette.

The lobster looks
like it's perfectly cooked.

It all looks very, very refined,

very much the kind
of restaurant dish
that we requested.

- Thank you.
- Yeah!

- Yeah, Jen!
- Yeah, so I love how generous
and abundant the lobster is.

It's definitely the star.
And I'm interested to taste
this vinaigrette.

Hopefully it's well-balanced.

Gordon:
Let's find out, shall we?

Jennifer, where's
the truffle oil, please?

- It's in the vinaigrette.
- Mm-hmm.

- Joe?
- The lobster is, uh...

...expertly cooked.

Good job, Mom! Whoo!

It's tender, it's firm.
It's not under, it's not over.

It's perfect. The dish to me
is generally lacking in salt.

That said, I love the contrast
between the acidulous nature

of the vinaigrette
the corn cream.

Caviar kind of gets lost
in the mix,

and I don't taste
the truffles at all,

but with a few
small adjustments,

this is a top-notch dish.

- Good job.
- Thank you. Thank you.

Whoo!

Yeah, I think for me
what's beautiful about this

is that you know what works
with lobster, right?

Tomato, corn, all of these
really familiar flavors

that I think only exacerbate
the beautiful sweetness
of lobster.

You cooked it perfectly,
but I almost wish

that that vinaigrette
wasn't there

'cause it's really big
with a lot of lemon.

And I think in this case
you needed the beurre blanc.

Other than that, great job.

Jennifer,
I absolutely love this dish.

It's delicious, it's fragrant,
it's powerful, it's you.

Lobster's cooked beautifully.
I think the lobster needs
that level of acidity,

so I quite like it.

It does wake it up
and brings it to life.

A beurre blanc
may have been better,

- but what a great start.
- Thank you. Thank you.

Great job, Mom!

- Yes, ma'am.
- All right, Jennifer!

- It needs salt.
- Yeah.

- I think salt would've
helped everything.
- Yeah.

I think she was thinking
that the caviar was
going to deliver that.

The hero as the lobster
was cooked beautifully.

- Perfect.
- Great start.

- All right.
- Next up, Grant.

Can you bring forward
your appetizer?

- Thank you.
- Yay, Grant!

- Let's go, honey.
- All right, big G.

Grant, can you please give us
some insight on what you made?

So this is a raviolo al uovo
with a morel cream sauce,

finished with truffle butter
and shaved black truffle.

Young man,
you took a risk tonight,
let me tell you.

Making that pasta
in the finale tonight,

that's a bold move,
let me tell you.

Pasta's transparent.
It looks super thin.

It looks great.

But that egg yolk
should be liquid.

How long did you poach them for?

- 75 seconds, Chef.
- Mm-hmm.

- Shall we?
- Yep.

Joe: Let's take a look.

The moment of truth.

Grant, that egg yolk
should be liquid.

Joe: Let's take a look.

The moment of truth.

- Sav: Oh, there it is!
- ( cheering )

Joe: Wow.
It looks nice and runny.

Good job, Grant.

Grant, it's delicious.
It's everything you want
from an egg yolk ravioli,

let's get that
absolutely clear.
Really beautifully done.

Mine could've done with
another 30 seconds cooked,

less runny,
a little bit more richer,

so you get a chance
for that protein to set.

Be careful with those morels.
It's a super strong flavor,

and it's sort of
slightly overpowering.

- Sure.
- But the technical ability

of putting that raviolo together
is a risk, and it's good.

- Really good, indeed.
Well done.
- Thank you, Chef.

I have to say,
I just love the seasoning

by way of the truffle
and the cheese.

It's earthy, and it's also
restrained at the same time,
which is not easy to do.

I agree with Chef Gordon.
Pull back a little bit of
that mushroom cream sauce.

- The pasta's the star,
not the sauce, right?
- Absolutely.

Joe: This is a delicious dish,
but if you told me you were
gonna boil the raviolis

for 75 seconds,
I would've told you
that's not enough time.

I think it could've
benefited by 45 seconds more
of boiling time,

- and it would've
been perfection.
- Thank you, Joe.

Thank you, Grant.

Awesome!

The flavors are all good.
Just a little bit of the cooking
time on the ravioli.

- Yeah, yeah.
- Okay, Kennedy, please bring us
your appetizer. Thank you.

- Let's go!
- Going into this tasting,

I'm feeling a little bit
of butterflies in my tummy.

I mean, having
the live crowd there just
hyping you up really--

it puts you
into a different gear,

and I hope the judges
see the vision
that I really planned.

Today I made
crispy skinned trout

over truffle potatoes,
oyster mushrooms,

a tarragon pea purée,
saffron tuile,

with a trout roe
and smoked oyster aioli
quenelle.

Kennedy, it looks
absolutely stunning.

I mean, seriously,
it looks like a cover

of a famous chef's cookbook

because it just looks
so appetizing.

Thank you, Chef.

Kolby, can you see that
from up there?

- Looks amazing.
- Mads?

- Yeah? Okay.
- Come over a minute,
will you please?

- Do you mind?
- I'm on my way.

Look at you.
Look at you, look at you!

- Hi. Oh, I will.
- Come and sit down.

- ( Kennedy laughs )
- This is my seat, thank you.

No, it's all good.
How does that look to you?

- How does it look?
- Oh, wow.

I just see her on the plate.

There's the rainbow aspect
of her queerness,

a little fish
swimming down the river,

and I see the foliage,
like the forest.

And I know your artistry,
so I see all the whimsical
things inside of it.

- Would you like a job?
- That's what
I was about to say.

- You're gonna take our jobs.
- Great job, girl.

Madison: Thank you,
thank you, thank you.

Thanks, Mads.
Seriously, stunning.

Now the big question is
does it all work together?

- Shall we?
- Joe: Yep.

- Trout is cooked deliciously.
- Thank you.

Gordon: I mean, seriously,
it's crispy on the outside.

The temperature
is absolutely spot-on.

There's a lot
going on underneath.

But be very careful with
that smoked oyster aioli.

Especially with a salty roe.
It's powerful.

And I don't know if the smoke
and the saltiness works.

I'm struggling to take
this dish to task.

Great job.

Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.

With a dish like this,
what's beautiful

is the freshness
of the pea purée

and how they help
have a beautiful respite

from the richness
of the steelhead trout.

This is a very challenging
fish to cook.

The flavor pairings
that you put together

create something
that's really magical.

Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.

- ( cheering )
- ( Sav muttering )

I think this dish for me
is a lot about clarity.

Clarity of ideas--
of your ideas.
Clarity of flavor.

The trout itself is perfectly
seasoned, perfectly cooked.

The trout roe
is a great amplifier of it,

and I didn't even wanna like
the saffron tuile.

And then I ate it,
and I was like, "You know what?
I'm wrong. She's right."

- So...
- Whoa!

You are to be commended
because there's nothing easy

about what you were trying to
communicate on a personal level,

on a culinary level,
and you nailed it.

- Yeah!
- Amazing.

- Great job.
- Hell, yeah!

That's my baby.

Great job.

- It's cooked beautifully.
- Yeah, I love this dish.

It's definitely
the strongest start by Kennedy.

- Yep.
- That was fantastic.

Wow, what a start.
Let's make that
absolutely clear.

Good job.

Now let's move on
to the next course--
the entrée round.

In a three-course meal,
your entrée should be proof

that you are bringing something
that is undeniably you
to the table.

Jennifer, tell us what you're
making for the entrée round.

I'm going to be making a rack
of venison persillade

with a roasted root vegetable,
a parsnip potato purée,

and a beautiful
bordelaise sauce.

Grant, what will you
be preparing?

I'll be making
pork loin medallions

with a salmoriglio sauce,
an agrodolce,

celery root purée,
and beer braised baby fennel.

- Wow.
- Aarón: Kennedy?

Today I'm making rabbit saddle,

seared rabbit liver,
beets, pickled cherries,

and a juniper berry sauce.

Sounds like we're in
for quite the entrées.

Well done.
They sound delicious.

- Right, are we ready?
- Yes, Chef!

Good. Then your
60 minutes starts now.

- Come on, guys.
- Let's do it.

- Let's go.
- Go!

- All right!
- Okay.

Rabbit, rabbit, rabbit!

I'm so glad the judges
saw the technical risk that
I took with my appetizer.

Fennel, fennel.
Oh, yeah, that's big fennel.

But I didn't quite execute it
to the level that I wanted to.

Bone marrow.

And just one little mistake
can ruin the entire chance at
winning the MasterChef trophy.

- Gordon: Here we go.
- Going into this
entrée round,

I know everything has to be
absolutely perfect.

I tried to really show

high technique and skill
with my appetizer,

but the caliber
of the competition is tough.

- Yeah, Jen!
- Yes!

This is my chance
to wow the judges.

This is my legacy and my future
on the line here.

So I'm going to
really give this my all.

Joe: Entrée round.
Very important.

Gordon: Yeah.
Three phenomenal chefs,

but three very tricky proteins.

Jennifer: Y'all ready
for some beautiful venison?

- That's some flavor
right there, Jennifer.
- It's coming.

Gordon: Jennifer's dish,
that rack of venison, come on.

- That is a showstopper
right there, isn't it?
- Aarón: Absolutely.

Gordon:
But the secret of that tonight
is the resting of that venison.

Two minutes over, then it's dry,
because there's no fat in there.

- So a big risk there.
- Beautiful right here.

Grant:
Let's get it in there, baby.

But with Grant's
pork tenderloin,

there's nowhere to hide, okay?

That thing's gotta be
roasted whole,

and then the cut and the slice

is actually trickier
than the venison,

because while
this is a tenderloin,

we can get away with it
being slightly mid rare,
but not rare.

- Very, very tricky.
- Totally.

- Rabbit time. Rabbit.
- Ooh!

- Oh, shoot!
- Rabbit!

Gordon: And then
the biggest risk-taker of all,

Kennedy, she's gonna be
attempting to cook a rabbit.

Joe:
A rabbit is an animal

that weighs about two to three,
four pounds.

So you're dealing with
little itty bits of meat

that are so easy to overcook,
over-season, under-season.

That is real precision,
restaurant-y type of protein.

Yeah. It has to be one
of the most unforgiving
proteins tonight.

Get that wrong, it's game over.

Pulling out the big boys.
All right.

Just pour it all in there.
Yeah, yeah.

There you go, big G.

- We're not skimping today,
baby.
- Yeah.

- Pretty!
- That's pretty colors
over there!

- Jennifer: Perfection.
- We're now 15 minutes down.
We've got 45 minutes left.

- Let's go, guys.
45 minutes left.
- Got this.

- Come on, Grant.
- Grant.

Come on.
Grant, how you feeling?

- Great. I'm feeling great.
- Yes.

Okay, loin of pork, right?
It's a tough one, this one.

So unforgiving.
Hardly any fat.

I'm from Iowa.
I'm from the Midwest.
This is what we do.

We're the number one
pork producer in the nation.

I gotta show everybody that
that's what we're all about.

I love that. Tell me about
this exciting agrodulce.

My great-grandparents were
from the island of Sicily,

and so I'm bringing in some
southern Italian ingredients.

So I have some golden raisins
that I have pumped up,

and then I am cooking down
with some champagne vinegar.

I have some toasted pistachios,
shallots,

- and parsley in there as well.
- I love that.

What are we doing
with the baby fennel?

Grant: I'm gonna sear them,

then I'm gonna braise them
in beer.

I sell beer for a living,

and so I really wanna be able
to show today

that it can be ingredient that
can be used in fine dining.

- You feeling good?
- Feeling great. Absolutely.

Having my family here,
having Grady right there
in front of me,

seeing what I've been
working for for so dang long,

this is really, really
special to me. I'm excited
to be able to do it.

- Good luck. Come on, Grant.
- Appreciate you. Thank you.

- Love you, bud.
- Y'all are gonna love it!
Whoo!

- You got it, Ken.
- Let's go!

- How are you, Kennedy?
- I'm great. How are you, Aarón?

- How do you feel
where you're at right now?
- I feel really great.

But honestly, I've never even
worked with rabbit before.

- Really?
- Wow.

Yeah, I studied a lot because
I wanted to take a risk.

I didn't wanna play it safe.

I feel like there's a difference

between a cook and a chef,

and a chef creates a menu,

and a cook follows a menu.

- So I really--
- Come on!

Ooh. Good line.

- Preach to the people! Yes!
- Tell them what's up.

Rabbit doesn't have
a lot of inherent fat,

That's a very tricky protein.

How are you gonna work with it

to kind of ensure
it doesn't dry out?

So I really just want it
to speak for itself.

I'm just gonna sear it,
baste it with butter,

rosemary, thyme, and just
let it rock on the plate.

I love that.
So beet root is gonna have
a big part of this, right?

It sure is. So I came up
with a feminine appetizer,

and I'm gonna have
a really masculine entrée.

It's called "Hunting Rabbits,"
and it's gonna look like

you just killed a rabbit
on a plate pretty much.

- But in an appetizing way.
- Very masculine! Ah!

Love that!
This could be a showstopper.

- So best of luck.
- Thank you. Thank you.

- Grant: Whew.
- Grant, how's that fennel?

Doing good.

Reagan: Come on, J.
That looks so good.

- Stay focused, baby.
- Hi.

- Jennifer, hello.
- Hi, Joe.

Okay, so you seared
the rack of venison.

- Yes.
- And it's in the oven now.

- You have the crust on it.
- Yes.

And the sauce is a...

It is a French bordelaise sauce.

You have reducing red wine,
you have some beef stock,

you have some garlic herbs.

So this is about as classic

- as French cuisine gets.
- I know.

And a very,
very difficult sauce to make.

Jennifer:
This is my baby here,

and I am so proud
of this sauce.

- You are?
- And I am batting
for the fences today

with this entire menu.

And you have also
some big jeopardy
with the venison

because if the venison
is too rare,

then it becomes too bloody.
It tastes like iron.

- Right.
- And if it becomes
slightly overcooked,

- it becomes mealy and liver-y.
- Right.

So you really have
no margin for error.

I'm gonna rely on sight,
on touch, and if I need to,

I'll temp it because I wanna
make sure that it's perfect.

My husband and sons
right there behind me
are big deer hunters,

so I wanted to honor them
and make them proud.

- That guy over there
shoots venison?
- Oh, yeah.

He looks like a clean cut
Italian-American guy

who works in an office somewhere
in a nice suit.

There's four deer
in the freezer right now.

Last question,
is he more Southern home style

- or more French
classic cuisine?
- You know what?

He loves everything
that I cook.

- That's right.
- Good luck, Jennifer.

- Thank you.
- Yeah!

Great job, Jennifer!

30 minutes gone.
30 minutes remaining.

Halfway, guys! Halfway!
Come on.

Kennedy: Beautiful!
Okay, let's get it.
Let's get it.

- There we go.
- Beautiful color, Grant.

- Grant: Thank you.
- Grant, you got meat that
ain't been in the oven yet.

- Uh-huh.
- You got 24 minutes left.

- I know.
- All right.

Gordon:
So Grant is taking a big risk
with this pork tenderloin.

Look, he hasn't even
started searing them yet,
and we're halfway.

And you know the resting is just
as important as the cooking,
so he's running out of time.

- He is holding on
to the very end now.
- He's stressing me out.

And the question with Grant,
is he being too ambitious?

There's a lot of jeopardy
in that.

( groans )

Gordon: Next time,
the grand finale continues...

You're one course away
from being crowned America's
next MasterChef.

...as the three finalists
finish their battle
for the title,

the trophy, and a quarter
of a million dollars.

- My snow's not working.
- I've never seen her
like this before.

- ( bleep )
- Jennifer is a little bit
in panic mode right now.

- Oh, my gosh.
- Uh-oh.

- It's getting intense.
- This kind of dish floats
around the dining room

in our restaurants
and it's a head-turner.

This is a full-flavored dish

that is the perfect ending
to your menu.

America's next MasterChef is...