Original subtitles

Previously on "MasterChef"...

Welcome to the United Tastes of America.

...home cooks from four regions across the nation began the battle

to become America's next MasterChef.

First up, the Northeast.

Please welcome Daphne Oz!

Whoo!

The Northeast is a melting pot.

- Whoo! - It's apron time, baby. It's apron time.

It's another level this year. I just don't think you're ready for MasterChef.

It's a no from me.

It was so delicious. I love the layering of flavors.

- Ha-ha! - You're cooking instinctually and with honesty.

That's a yes.

- I need to tell you a little bit of bad news. - Okay.

- You're not gonna see him for a few months. - Whoo!

- Yeah! - Yeah!

- Oh, Lord! - Tonight...

Welcome back, everybody, to the United Tastes of America.

The region competing tonight is the Midwest.

And we have another guest judge. Graham Elliot!

Do not let the Midwest down.

...the regional audition rounds continue...

- Pound it out, baby. - If this dish doesn't earn me an apron,

I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for on "MasterChef."

...as the Midwest cooks compete...

- That looks like home. - Whoo!

...for a coveted white apron.

It's symbolic of the Midwest and the heartland.

The passion's there. I can taste that passion.

This dish is a wow dish.

The sauce just tastes so bland.

Fingers crossed it tastes better than it looks.

- This is gonna be fun. - Whoo! I'm sweating.

- You are walking away with one of those aprons, okay? - Okay.

I hope the Midwest is going today.

I'm ready to show off my skills.

My dad's the best cook here, and he's gonna get an apron today.

- Yeah! - Represent. You gotta represent.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

- Whoo!

- Yeah! - Look at that, dude!

- Unreal! - Oh, my God.

Welcome back, everybody, to the season 13 auditions.

So far, we've seen some talented home cooks from the Northeast.

- Whoo! - Yeah.

We've already given out five aprons.

That means there's 15 left.

Tonight the best home cooks from another region

will show us their skills.

Only a select few of you will earn a MasterChef apron

and stay in the running

to earn the title, the trophy...

- Whoo!

...and the awesome grand prize

of a quarter of a million dollars.

Whoo!

So the region competing tonight

is truly the heart of American cuisine.

There you'll find fresh corn, delicious squash,

and enough casseroles to fill any table at a potluck, right?

That region is the Midwest.

Midwest!

- Heck yeah! - Yeah!

Yeah!

And we have yet another guest judge joining us tonight.

He's an absolute expert in Midwestern flavors and food.

- Yeah! - Whoo!

He has received two Michelin stars

and is one of the original members

of the MasterChef family.

Please welcome the amazing Graham Elliot.

Yeah!

Yay!

I've watched this man for half of my life almost on "MasterChef."

I've always wanted to go to his restaurant.

It's only four hours away, but it's really hard to get into.

And so for him to be here is exciting

and makes me want to try that much harder to impress him.

- Wow. - Welcome back, buddy. Good to see you.

- Thank you so much. - Now, you've become such

a phenomenon from the Midwest, but in your mind,

what's so special about the ingredients from the Midwest?

I mean, we call it the Mid-Best, right?

You're in the heartland.

You are working with ingredients

that are grown right around you,

and for me it's about bringing it back down to basics

- and making tasty food with that. - Sure.

You've been here before, you've pushed them to the extreme,

but what do you want to personally see tonight?

I want you guys to stand out but still stay true to you,

your family, your story, and especially that Midwest region.

- Whoo! - We got you. We got you.

Right, all of you, you'll have 45 minutes tonight

to make your signature dishes.

And don't forget, if you want to earn one of the Midwest aprons,

three of us need to say yes to you and your food.

Last words of advice, do not let the Midwest down.

- Hell no! - All right!

The very best of luck to you all.

See you shortly.

- Yeah! - Whoo!

How excited are we to have Graham Elliot back?

- Yes! - How you feeling?

I feel excited. You know, this is great.

The Midwest isn't just flyover country.

There's a lot of different cultures there.

- It's not just steak and potatoes. - Yeah.

And I feel like the food from the Midwest is misunderstood.

Absolutely. There's a lot of history.

- Mmm. - Yeah.

You are in the MasterChef kitchen, dude.

Pretty damn cool, huh?

My name is Grant. I'm 32 years old from Altoona, Iowa.

That looks fabulous, buddy. Love it, love it.

My love and my passion for cooking

comes from one of the darkest moments in my entire life.

I was going through a divorce at the time and I couldn't sleep.

I was 2, 3, 4 in the morning

just tossing and turning in that bed.

You know, I finally turned on my phone

and just watched videos all night of different chefs,

specifically Gordon Ramsay.

I would pick one of the videos that I watched.

The next day, I'd go downstairs and I'd make it.

Cooking is what kept me sane and kept me putting Grady,

my son, at the forefront of everything.

For my sous chef.

I'm here to show my son that if we work hard

and if we put our minds to something,

we can do big things.

Whoa!

Put your head down, learn, listen,

and this is what can come from it.

All right, buddy, let's go out.

Me and you.

- What up? What up? - Hey, hey!

- Hey there, big fella. Good. - How we doing?

What are you cooking for us now?

I'm gonna do a roasted sweet corn agnolotti

and a lemon chai butter sauce with that.

- You know, agnolotti is not an easy thing. - Of course.

It's a certain kind of a ravioli. There's a lot of technique.

You fresh pasta sitting, which looks good.

Pasta has the right texture. The water has to be salted.

- There's a lot of variables here. - Absolutely.

The corn and the agnolotti, is it in the filling or outside?

- It is gonna be in the filling. - What else is in the filling?

Right now I just have the roasted corn,

a little bit of salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.

- This looks really good to me. - Aarón: Yeah, I agree.

- And this lady is who? - This is my mother Laura.

- Hi, Mom. Are you proud of your son? -Very nice to meet you.

More than I could ever tell you.

- Aarón: That's awesome. - Aw.

- He's very humble. - Humble.

- He's very giving. - Giving.

He's very dedicated.

Okay, so he can be a priest. Is he a good cook though?

- Best of luck, señor. - Thank you, Joe. Thank you, Aarón.

- Nice, nice, nice. - Okay.

That's beautiful.

- Nice. - Come on, Grant!

It looks really good.

There you go.

Lemon butter, lemon butter.

Just under three.

- Oh, she's pretty! - Gorgeous.

Yeah!

Five, four, three, two, one!

Yeah!

I think it's finally sinking in now

that Gordon's gonna putting a fork in my agnolotti,

and I hope he doesn't say my food's crap.

- Welcome. - Look at me.

I'm a big old boy. I'm corn-fed. I'm from Iowa.

If I mess up a corn dish, I don't know if I can go back home.

My name is Grant. I'm from Altoona, Iowa.

Today I've presented for you

a roasted sweet corn agnolotti

with lemon butter and chives.

Corn is a quintessential Iowa product,

so what I wanted to do today is really recreate

what it was like to be in my mom's backyard shucking corn.

She'd throw it the boiling water.

We'd take it out, slather it in butter and salt.

So today I just wanted to elevate that a bit for you.

And what's the personal dream? Because obviously you've set your sights on an apron.

The dream for this is to be able

to open my own farm to table style restaurant

right in my hometown of Altoona.

- Shall we? - Yeah.

Wow, okay. So, visually, I mean, this thing's got finesse.

I love the shape of the agnolotti.

I love the caramelized corn. It looks beautiful.

I love it. It's definitely got Iowa written all over it.

Shall we?

I love the knife work on the chives.

- Thank you very much. - It's always the first thing I'm looking at.

Knife work is something I'm very proud of.

I'm tasting, like, acidity. Is it lemon?

- Absolutely-- - Juice or rind?

- Just lemon juice... - Where?

- ...cooked down with that butter. - With the butter?

- With the butter. Absolutely. - Okay. This is wrong.

Because you broke the butter with the acid.

So incorporating lemon the right way is take a microplaner,

very lightly dust the outside when the pasta's already cooked

- because acidity's gonna take your fat and break it. - Sure.

This puts me in a tough spot

because I'm a stickler for the techniques of cooking,

and someone who's gonna break a butter sauce in a pasta dish

because they didn't know or care

- is a very, very big technical error for me. - I'm gonna have to say no.

Well, hey, I'm here to learn just as much as present to you, so I appreciate that, Joe.

Aarón: Look, there's so much beautiful work done here, Grant.

I love the contrast of the filling versus the corn.

This little pool of sauce that broke,

I don't think it's that egregious to be honest.

I think you've done such superior work with other elements here

that it's compelling me to give you a yes.

Thank you, sir. I appreciate you.

Listen, the agnolotti are packed, which is lovely.

So, it's nonporous, nothing seeped through,

and that burst of flavor is there.

Technically it's beautiful, and so for me,

it's an absolute resounding yes.

So we have two yeses, one no.

- I guess it all comes down to Graham. - It's great flavor.

It's symbolic of the Midwest and the heartland.

At the same time, it is hard to kind of look past

the fact there's only a couple things going on on the plate.

One of them, the technique of making that sauce was--

- completely went pear-shaped. - Mm-hmm.

- That's fixable. - Yeah. These aprons are so hard to come by.

I'm absolutely teachable.

I'm worth taking a chance on, Graham.

- It all comes down to Graham.

It's great flavor. It's symbolic of the Midwest.

And at the same time, it is hard to kind of look past

the fact that there's only a couple things going on on the plate.

These aprons are so hard to come by.

I'm absolutely teachable. I'm worth taking a chance on, Graham.

- I'm a yes.

- I think you got this. - Thank you all.

- Congratulations. Well done. Good job. - Thank you so much.

Let's go!

Having my wife and my mother here supporting,

they are the two strongest women that I've ever met.

- We did it! - I'm so proud of you.

He deserves this moment, and he's worked so hard for it.

So we're gonna miss him, but you need to stay here for a really long time.

- We did it! - Oh, my God.

Great start.

I'm so proud of the Midwest right now.

- Midwest... - Stop it.

- ...is bringing it. - Oh, man!

- All right. - Love you.

- I love you. - Go get 'em.

I feel like people from the Midwest bring a lot of heart,

and I think this dish will earn me an apron.

It's very hometown.

My name is Sarah.

I am 32 years old from Springfield, Missouri.

I've been a stay at home mom for about five years.

I'm married to Jordan and we have a son, Warner, who's 5 1/2.

My son and my husband are biggest encouragers

- when it comes to cooking. - This is pretty insane.

They critique my food on a nightly basis,

so I think anything Gordon throws at me is gonna be easy, you know?

- You think one more garlic? - Yeah!

- Hi there. - Hi!

- How are you? - I'm Sarah. Nice to meet you.

- Nice to see you. - Hey, how are you?

- I'm Sarah. - Nice to meet you.

I saw your eyes light up

when the original OG walked through the door

- in amongst that mist. - I know! I'm excited.

Well, Midwest, I feel like you'll get--

so I'm making Springfield-style cashew chicken and fried rice.

- Have you had it? - Okay, Springfield. I know Springfield chicken.

It's a classic. When you think of the Midwest,

a lot of people are thinking casseroles, potlucks...

- Yeah. Which we also-- - ...those kind of foods.

But to be able to get inspired and say, "I'm gonna do something Chinese."

You know, it was brought over in the '60s and has become a staple.

- Okay, so you know the story. Yes! - Of course!

For you to come in and do that, I think it's really eye-opening

for the rest of the country and the rest of the cooks.

Sure. How are you cooking that chicken?

So I am going to double bread it, fry it,

and then cover it in the gravy.

The sauce is crucial here, right?

- Yes. - 'Cause you need the acidity.

What's the base of this? Where are you going?

We got chicken broth, oyster sauce,

soy sauce, some different spices, a lot of ginger.

- I'm a big ginger fan. - Mmm, likewise.

Okay, I was like, "I hope you are, too."

- Good luck, yes? Nice to meet you. Excellent. - Awesome.

Coming from Springfield, Missouri,

we don't have any Michelin star restaurants,

so I would love to learn those skills.

My style is more rustic in general,

but I feel good about it

because that's very me on a plate.

So I hope they feel that when they taste it.

Three, two, one!

Whoo!

The judge I'm looking to impress the most?

It's definitely Graham Elliot.

- How are you? - Hi!

I see a lot of the dishes he makes,

so I think it's gonna be a hit for him.

How are y'all doing?

Doing amazing.

I made Springfield style

cashew chicken and fried rice

with a brown gravy.

Does it taste like Chinese food?

It's kind of a fusion dish

on fried chicken and gravy.

So, it's kind of a mix.

I used soy sauce, I used ginger.

There's green onion.

Let's check it out.

All right!

Who goes first?

Visually, you know, the color on the fry is nice.

The fried rice, there's not a lot you can do

- to beautify it. - Yeah.

This is one of those that, you know, again,

hopefully what it might lack in visual excitement...

- Yeah. - ...the flavor can come through.

- Aarón: Thank you.

And what kind of oil do you fry the rice in?

- Sesame oil and butter. - Mmm.

- Why are you laughing? - Just love watching you.

It's just so interesting.

The fried rice has an awesome flavor.

I really enjoy it. It's interesting.

I make fried rice a ton,

and I've never done butter in it.

- Oh, really? Yeah. - So it gives it almost

like a different texture than I'm used to.

But what I think is awesome

is that the chicken itself is not oily and greasy,

and it's still crispy. It's a good interpretation

of a classic Midwestern Springfield dish,

and I wanna see what else you have, so I'm a yes.

Oh, my gosh. Thank you very much.

I agree with Chef Graham. The rice is well-seasoned.

I'm still trying to put my head around this sauce.

I feel like it could've benefited from more soy sauce.

- Okay. Yeah? - But based on the rice and the cooking of the chicken,

that gives me enough confidence to say a yes.

- Thank you! Thank you very much. -That's two yeses

with two more judges still to go. Gordon?

Yeah, the sauce just tastes so bland.

What have you got in there? Is it cornstarch?

Yeah, I do cornstarch to thicken it up, yeah.

But there's no acidity, there's no heat,

there's no glaze, there's no soy.

It's like bland chicken stock with cornstarch.

The one worry I've got is underneath this chicken

seems to be a pool of sauce that for every ounce of chicken

that you've tried to get nice and crispy has gotten really soggy.

So it-- oh, God.

I, uh-- I'm not a big fan of this unfortunately.

- Okay. Okay. - So I'm a no. Thank you.

-Thank you. - Joe?

- So it's up to you, big timer. - Shoot that dish down here.

- Here you go.

- Come on, come on, come on.

Whoo!

- You did--

- Oh, my gosh.

Springfield, this is for you! Whoo!

- I think it's good. - I mean, seriously?

- Come on! - You didn't love it?

- I love it. - Butter? The sauce is dreadful.

- Dreadful is not a word that applies to this dish. - Oh, please, Joe.

Five, four, three, two, one!

I love the Midwest a lot.

You know, born and raised in Detroit.

I keep Detroit on my back. Avocados.

The food scene in Detroit, contrary to what anybody will tell you,

is absolutely amazing. Detroit is a cultural hub.

People come to work in the factories and they bring that culture with them.

We have Mexicantown, and there's a huge Muslim population in Michigan.

We have so much culture and so much diversity.

There's a lot of people's heritage

in the food that comes out of the Midwest.

So I'm representing that with this dish today.

- Are we good, Kev? - Oh, we good, baby! We good!

- Tortilla time. - Tortilla time.

- Uh-oh. Here we go, Kev. - Here they come.

- You good? - Yeah!

- Holy crap. - Hi, bud. You good?

- Good to see you, man. First name? - Kevin.

You've got your entourage, young man.

Listen, this is my team right here.

Boy, oh, boy. What are we cooking?

Fried cauliflower taco and avocado crema,

fire roasted tomato romesco sauce,

- and a fresh tortilla. - Wow.

What's this dish say about you?

This dish is kinda like Detroit on a plate, right?

- Gotcha. - Detroit is a cultural mixing place.

And, you know, my grandmother over there,

she's vegan, but when she was vegetarian, I came up with this dish

so she didn't miss out on those taco nights with us.

Love that. So you're putting cauliflower in a taco to Aarón Sánchez.

- Yes. Yes. - The taco king.

Which is why I'm making my own tortilla, first of all.

FYI, if you're gonna put cauliflower in a taco,

- make sure it's the best taco we've ever tasted. - I sure will.

- Excellent. Good, no? - Love it. Yeah.

I'm in trouble with my dough.

- What's wrong with it? - Put too much water.

- You got 19 minutes. - I'm gonna start over.

When you make a homemade tortilla,

you have to have the right ingredients

and everything has to be in the right ratio.

- That's better. - Come on, okay.

- That's better already. - Okay.

Just like baking a cake,

only you're rolling it out.

And it has to be thin enough, but not too thin

where things just fall off the bottom.

You got 3:45. Check those cauliflower.

-Look at that. - Good.

Whoo! Let's get some noise over here!

Five, four, three, two, one.

- Whoo! - Yeah!

This dish will make not only the Midwest proud,

but it'll make Detroit proud

because there's love on the plate.

And as long as the judges are willing to be loved,

this food'll give me an apron.

Today I've made for you

fried cauliflower tacos

with a fresh tortilla,

an avocado crema, and a fire roasted romesco sauce.

- And what's the day job? - I've been an insurance clerk for almost three years now.

I've been in insurance for almost ten,

and it's time to pivot out.

I'm turning 30 soon,

and I gotta find a new direction.

You still look 20, young man. I love that.

Well, shall we get into those tacos? Let's go.

Aarón, this is in your wheelhouse.

I'm gonna start with you. Visually, what do you think?

Aarón: The tortilla's shape is very interesting.

It looks like more like a flatbread than a tortilla.

- How did you manipulate those? - I just wanted to make them kind of rustic, you know?

I don't wanna give them that perfect shape.

I wanted you feel that this is what you get at home.

- Right, shall we dig in? - Let's give it a try.

What's the spice and the dredge on the cauliflower?

- What'd you put in there? - Put a little cumin in there, some smoked paprika,

some cayenne, and some chili powder.

I love the adobo and the avocado crema.

Unfortunately, the size of the cauliflower itself,

I wish that they were a little smaller.

That way there's more surface area,

they, you know, get crispier. But I do like the flavor.

Unfortunately, the competition's so hard right now,

- I'm gonna have to be a no. - Okay, I can respect that.

I think you're really good at making flavors

'cause the sauces are delicious.

But I really am disappointed with the manufacturing

of the tortillas.

My mom had a restaurant for 30 years.

We had one lady that made the tortillas.

- It's that important. - I understand.

And tortilla sadly is taking away

from all the other good stuff you did.

So unfortunately, it's a no. I'm sorry.

- Come back next year, will you, please? - Okay, I will.

Because the energy is infectious,

and your attitude is absolutely spot on.

- Thank you. - And more importantly, the passion's there.

- I can taste that passion. - I appreciate that.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Oh, here he comes.

- Aww. - Oh.

- Oh. - Okay, okay.

You did so great. I love you.

I probably picked the wrong dish,

so I plan on coming back next year stronger and better,

and then I'll be able to give them the right dish,

and I'm gonna get me an apron.

Go, Yomira!

- Whoo! - Let's do this!

I feel awesome representing the Midwest

because I am a proud Cambodian-American.

O.H.!

Let's go, sister! Get them potatoes on.

So I'm Yomira, and I'm really proud to be here representing the Midwest.

I really know what I'm doing. This is not a fling.

The Midwest is the best region

because that's where the heart is.

You won't get better food anywhere else

because we make our food with love.

Let's go, Midwest.

My name is Charles, and I'm from Columbus, Ohio.

So, I'm a hair stylist, but cooking is what I love to do.

I am a Cambodian-American child,

and I'm here to represent my mom and dad

and our culture as well.

Growing up, I watched my mom cook

and I just copied her recipes.

And every week I would ask her,

"Hey, does this taste right?" And she would be like,

"I don't like it. Do again."

When she likes it, she won't say nothing to me,

but I take that as a compliment.

Mom and dad's not here right now

due to some health conditions, but that's okay.

They're cheering for me from afar,

and they're right here.

Home! Home.

Come on, pasta.

Is this pressure or what?

Smelling good, looking good, feeling good.

- You got this. - Just clean it up.

- That looks like home. - I mean, look at that.

Come on, Omaha!

- Welcome. - Hello. Welcome.

I am Yomira, and today I made homemade pasta

with fresh tomato sauce.

Um, okay, visually it looks simple.

There's no protein, just tomato sauce and handmade pasta.

- Handmade pasta. - Fingers crossed it tastes better than it looks.

You're going with the less is more approach,

and because of that, everything that you do have has to pop.

For it being so simple, there's a lot going on

- that's sadly wrong. - Okay.

It's a gallant effort. Thank you.

Thanks a lot, guys. I appreciate it.

Thank you.

My name is Marquela. I have my heart and my home on a plate.

I have a beautiful filet mignon, silky potatoes,

asparagus, and a creamy peppercorn sauce.

Shall we?

- Sorry. - You're gonna break your teeth with these things.

- It's dangerous. - Listen, the big issue,

- navigating your way around those whole peppercorns. - Yes.

When you make a peppercorn sauce, the secret there

is to lightly crush them prior,

that way it opens up those aromas

and really becomes a proper peppercorn sauce.

I cannot overlook what I consider

to be egregious mistakes in how you put a plate together.

So we can't give you an apron right now.

- Sorry. - Okay.

- Thank you so much. - Thank you.

- Thank you guys so much. - Bye.

It's been an honor. I appreciate you.

I hate to see people like her go on a technical mistake, but...

Yeah, but that's what's hard when you only have so many aprons.

Cooking is technical.

I think this dish is gonna earn me an apron

because it's very colorful, it's vibrant,

it represents my culture, my family.

Five, four, three, two, one!

Welcome.

I'm Charles, I'm from Columbus, Ohio,

and I made my family's recipe, amok,

which is a Cambodian style fish curry.

And it is filled with catfish,

lemongrass, curry, chilies, and kaffir lime leaf.

Amok. Awesome. So what do you do for a living outside of cooking?

I am a hair stylist, but I'm here today to change that.

If this show was flipped around, what would you be doing to us?

Gordon, I like your hair, so I'd keep the color the way it is.

- Thank you. - But I would tone it a little bit.

Right. And what about the gray bits at the side?

- The gray, it's fine. - You sure?

Everybody loves a silver fox, so...

- You have any advice for me? - Joe, you would be my easiest client.

- I agree. - I wanna taste your food, huh?

Visually, it looks beautiful.

I love the little package that you did.

You got the little toothpicks to kind of hold it all together.

Mom always taught me to build a bowl if you don't have one.

I just got back from Cambodia. I had fantastic food when I was there.

This dish is a wow dish. It's something you would see in a restaurant

- and you'd be like, "I want one of those." - Yes, thank you, Chef.

- Thank you, Chef. -Graham, shall we?

- Mm-hmm. - So the fish is what?

- Catfish. - Catfish.

Why catfish? Why not a saltwater fish?

It has fat in it,

and I feel like the taste is already there.

- Whoo, that's hot. - You like that heat?

I'm sorry. We're Cambodian. We like spice.

Holy smokes.

- Aw, it's not that bad. - No, it's not.

- It's beautiful. - It's great.

- Aarón, what do you think? - Aarón: Here's the deal.

I feel like we've all just got back from Southeast Asia.

I just got back myself from Thailand and Vietnam,

and these flavors, it's fresh in my mind.

The curry paste is fermented,

which is something so uniquely Cambodian.

- So it's a yes from me. - Thank you so much, Chef.

For me, it's really a flavor explosion.

The heat, the aroma that comes from those kaffir lime leaves,

and especially the catfish itself,

which, you know, it's nice and it's rich.

Yeah, I love this dish. I'm a yes.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Gordon, what do you think?

It's, uh...

It's a no.

Now it's two yeses.

One more yes, you've got an apron.

Gordon, what do you think?

It's, uh...

It's a no.

To letting you tone my hair.

And a yes to giving you an apron.

- Congratulations. Authentic, delicious. - Thank you so much.

- Great job. - Thank you, Chef.

I thought it was fantastic. It's a yes from me as well.

- Thank you so much. -Yeah.

Come on over here, man. Well done. Great job.

What a nod to Cambodia and a cuisine

that doesn't get the glory it deserves.

- It doesn't. - Congratulations.

- Take care. Delicious. - Mm-hmm.

Good job!

Charles! Yeah, brother!

I know my family's not here with me right now,

but I know they are proud of me,

and I cannot wait to share the news.

Thank you all so much.

All right, guys, we gave out three aprons.

Two left.

Having been here from episode one...

- Mm-hmm. - ...to now a decade later,

the caliber of contestant and home cook is amazing.

- We're living in the era of the foodie. - Yeah.

- And it's really evident with their ability. - Absolutely.

- Let's go!

Those are funny looking carrots.

- Those are not carrots, Mom. - I know!

They are some beautiful parsnips.

I'm making a venison filet,

and I'm here on "MasterChef" for two reasons.

Number one, I'm here to win.

And number two, I'm here to show that people my age,

51-- I know I don't look it, but, uh--

that, you know, we can have a second act in life,

and I'm ready to do mine.

I'm Wayne, I'm from Columbus, Ohio,

and I am a very passionate, competitive guy.

You know, you're either gonna love me or hate me, I think.

Bull's-eye.

But I put 100% into everything I do.

I own a media and publishing company,

and being a successful business guy,

I think when people look at me they see maybe the suit--

"Ah, he can't cook." But when they taste my food, it's lights out.

That's why I'm here, 'cause I think I can cook anything and I can win this.

- Good pace. - Yeah, you're looking good.

Done this dish many, many times.

- Hello. - How are you doing, señor?

- Great. How are you? - I'm doing well.

- I like the suit. -Thank you, thank you.

You look like an accomplished man.

Why "MasterChef?" Why now?

I've loved food for decades now.

I thought my skills got a little bit better,

and I kind of wanna trade in the suit for a white jacket.

Really? You would do it at this point in life?

Yes, my food dream is to open up bougie bed and breakfasts

in many places. I don't know, maybe partner with you guys.

- We'll see. I don't know. - First we got to taste your food.

I know, I know. Cart before the horse and all that.

One step at a time.

- You seem calm. What's going on over there? - I'm calm. I'm calm.

- How much time do I have? - 6:24.

That's (bleep) delicious.

- Yes! - Wow.

- Whoo! - Okay.

- Perfect! - There you go. That looks fantastic.

Make that plate look pretty.

- Come on. Come on. -Ten, nine, eight...

Come on, we gotta bring it home to Ohio. Let's go.

...five, four, three, two, one.

Whoo!

I feel I executed the dish pretty close to how I wanted to.

- Let's go, Wayne! - As a businessman,

I've been in some pretty tough meetings,

but when the judges taste my food, they're not gonna say a word.

They're just gonna hand me an apron.

My name's Wayne, I'm 51, from Columbus,

and I've prepared for you today a venison filet

with a blackberry and port wine reduction,

parsnip purée, curried carrots, and some mushrooms of the forest.

Believe it or not, I know I don't look like a hunter,

but I got into it a couple years ago,

and I just love being able to harvest it.

I learned how to butcher it, take it from the tip to the tail.

So, this is my favorite cut, the backstrap.

What's what the day job? Because you sound incredibly passionate about food.

- I do own a media company. - Okay.

So we publish magazines and websites and events,

and, you know, we've been writing about restaurants for years.

So I've been kind of on the outside looking in

on the food business for so long,

and at 51 I'm kind of ready for my second act in life,

and I want it to be in food.

Excellent. Shall we take a look?

- Yeah. - Let's do it.

Visually, it looks good. Very good.

I'm glad the venison's rested.

Nice even sear on that, because you can see

that beautiful pink circumference, which is nice.

I wouldn't drench it in the sauce the way you did.

When you've cooked something perfect like that, show it off.

- Yeah. Sure. - Shall we, Graham?

What was the spice mix on the outside, Wayne?

Espresso, chipotle powder, cumin, salt, pepper.

And what did you cook the purée in?

The purée had bay leaf and garlic.

I think that the cook on the venison and the rub

and the seasoning is very, very, very good.

The only comment is the purée.

It's totally underseasoned, it's just fat,

it's kind of annoying, and it really brings the dish down.

What scores high marks with me is the cooking of the venison.

You didn't scorch the spices on the outside, which is very easy to do.

The mushrooms are cooked well.

I mean, look, this is a very standard dish

you would find in a high end restaurant, so I'm gonna say yes.

I gotta say, I agree totally. It's a yes for me as well.

The dish as a whole, it's beautiful.

It is that walk in the woods, like we're out hunting for it and found it.

I love the sauce and that acidity,

that sweetness that comes from the port.

The carrots were cooked beautifully.

They just looked big and clunky,

and I thought they were gonna be under.

But they've got a great spice to it.

You definitely know how to cook,

and you know how to season, so I'm a yes.

- Congratulations, Wayne. -Thank you, Chef.

I'm just curious, Gordon, is it a yes from you?

- It is a definite yes without a doubt. - Oh, my God.

Listen, I think what you've proven so far is that you're meticulous.

More of that, please. A highlight from the Midwest.

- Thank you. -That was great.

-Great stuff, man. -Thank you, Chef.

- Impressed. - Don't let this go to your head, bro.

-Thank you. - Take it and run. Well done, good job.

Officially trading in my suit for this white apron.

Put it on, put it on, put it on!

I mean, getting four yeses from that panel of judges

really just makes me wanna go to work and prove them right.

- I love you.

- And I'm gonna win that trophy. There's no doubt. - He's gonna bring it home.

- Bringing it to Columbus, Ohio. - Yeah, absolutely.

- That's what we're gonna do. - Yay, Midwest.

- That there is one to watch. - Yeah.

I think he knows how to cook.

- Let's see if he really has the passion. - Exactly.

All right, guys, that's four aprons down, one to go.

The level talent here is off the charts.

- Aarón: Yeah. - Wow.

Five, four, three, two, one!

- You got this, Dad. - You got this, Kyle!

- You got this. - Pull that hair back.

- Whoo! - Look at them locks.

- All right, look at that pork chop. - Pound it out, baby.

I'm Midwest born and raised.

I'm really excited to get a chance to rep the Midwest.

So being from the Midwest, I think of fresh vegetables,

fresh herbs, great meats, chicken, beef, all of it.

I'm a cicerone, so that means I've studied beer and I'm a beer professional.

So I'm a liquor sales rep by trade. I have a great time.

I have so much booze at home, and I love cooking with it.

That browning on that pork chop. It's beautiful.

Do you smell that? It smells so good.

This dish is gonna earn me an apron,

and I'm gonna become the next MasterChef.

If this dish doesn't earn me an apron,

I'm not sure I understand what you're looking for on "MasterChef."

Yes!

Let's go. Right.

- How's it going? Trevor. - Trevor, good to see you.

- Very nice to meet you. - You seem in control.

Tell us about the dish. What are you doing?

I am making a chicken roulade with an Armagnac supreme.

- So what part of the Midwest-- - What the hell is that? Hold on a minute.

- So I'm a liquor sales rep, so I just take... -Right.

Gotcha.

It sorta brings those really nice, like,

plum caramely notes into that sauce.

- Sounds really ambitious. - That's good.

- Yeah. - Whoo!

I'm a little shaky just because it's so intense.

15 minutes. Homestretch. You got this.

Hello. What's your name?

- I'm Kyle. - Hi, Kyle, I'm Joe.

- Nice to meet you. - This is my associate, Aarón Sánchez.

- How's it going, guys? - What are you making?

I'm making a double cut pork chop

and I'm doing a horsefeather applesauce here.

So the horsefeather is the cocktail of Kansas City.

Kansas City? Are you from Kansas City?

I'm from K. C.! When we got married about ten years ago,

we had a whole hog, and we served horsefeathers.

So this plate is really a love letter to my wife.

- Aw. Good luck. - That's lovely.

- Thanks, guys. - Okay.

You're doing great, Dada!

- Thanks, dude! - He is, isn't he? Mm-hmm.

You've got it, baby. You've got 1:50.

That pork chop is perfection.

Make it beautiful, baby.

59 seconds, babe.

That's a $100 plate right there.

- It looks (bleep) great. - Yeah.

Five, four, three, two, one.

- Beautiful job!

- You did it. Amazing. - Finished at the last second!

- I did it, dude. I did it. - You did it.

- All right. - Let's go.

Welcome.

I'm Kyle. I'm from Kansas City.

I'm a certified cicerone,

which is a beer professional, and I sell beer for a living.

I'm Trevor, I'm from Omaha, Nebraska,

and I'm the number one on premise liquor sales rep for my state.

I made a double cut pork chop with a horsefeather applesauce.

There's a sweet potato mash underneath,

a balsamic reduction around the outside.

So I brought you the elevation of basically a casserole.

So this is a chicken roulade, accompanied by trumpet mushrooms and Armagnac supreme.

- Shall we take a look? - Absolutely. Thank you.

Visuals, listen, it looks fancy.

A lot of work's gone into that.

Was it poached and then fried

or poached and sliced and served?

So I poached and then sliced and then I have seared.

When you do these big cuts of meat, you have a lot of flesh

to the ratio of rub or salt.

So I'm worried about, is there enough seasoning?

Where's the rest of the chicken?

So I just prepared one single serving.

This is something that I would eat, right?

No, I appreciate that, but you got four big boys here.

All right, so let's talk about the cook.

So what should it look like in the middle?

I think it should be nice and pink.

Pink? This is a little more white than pink, wouldn't you say?

A little more white than pink, but I don't think it's overcooked,

and I think it's gonna be plenty juicy.

I'm glad you think that.

And the base of the sauce, Trevor, is what?

The base of the sauce is a chicken velouté,

and then finished with a reduced heavy cream

and then an introduction of Armagnac.

Uh, Trevor, you know, you've got some great technical skills.

There's no two ways about that.

The pork chop's properly seasoned, but it's overcooked for me.

You know, it's a little bit mealy on the inside.

This horsefeather garnish that you have there. It's loaded with flavor.

The apples are not overcooked. They're tart.

The leeks have that butteriness to it.

I love that. I love the mash as well.

The big issue I've got inside is the chicken is actually quite dry.

Yeah, I think you would've benefited not searing it that second time.

It doesn't need to be cooked twice.

But the spinach is done beautifully.

The sauce is flavored and balanced.

There's a tough crowd behind you out there.

- You're right. - And the stakes are high.

Um...

Aww.

- You did your best. - It's all good. We had fun.

- Aah!

- Daddy! - I did it. I did it.

So, when Teddy started kindergarten,

I actually wrote, "You can do hard things" on a notecard,

and I told him that it had special powers,

and if he ever got scared at school,

that he would keep him strong and safe.

- Aww! - What do you think?

And so then the night before I left,

he gave me a card that he wrote that said,

"You can do hard things."

- So awesome. - I'm so proud of you.

The apron's awesome. This is awesomer.

Yeah!

Next time on "MasterChef"...

Please welcome Susan Feniger.

...the regional auditions continue...

Everybody knows West Side's the best side.

I like that, that sass.

...as the best from the West

battle it out for a white apron.

I am here to fight for that apron!

You're exactly what we're looking for.

Absolute resounding yes.

This just very much speaks California.

I think everyone in the West, we're just a little weirder.

Wow.

Pretty obvious that it's a big no.

I promise you I can do this.

I just don't think you're ready.