Original subtitles

It's the "MasterChef: Back to Win" grand finale.

So far, in the appetizer round,

all three finalists have shown they are hungry for the title.

Tonight is your last chance to prove that you deserve the grand prize.

Let's go, let's go!

It's stunning. It's got that glamour.

It looks like something that I would serve at a table in a restaurant.

Christian, I think this dish screams you.

The magic is in the breading. It's classic.

Delicious stuff.

Young lady, tough start, you got frazzled,

but fish is cooked beautifully.

- And it's delicious. - Thank you.

And the entrée round kicked off

with a very special guest judge.

Graham Elliot!

- Yes! - Everyone's really playing it risky.

- The level is sky high. - Absolutely.

Let's go, guys. You got this!

Let's go, baby, let's go.

This is gonna be down to the final minute.

Tonight, the "Back to Win" finale continues.

It's the finale now. Everything you've done

so far in this competition, you're not blowing it now.

Less than five minutes, and Dara's short ribs are still in the pot.

We are judging you on what you serve.

Big, deep breath, compose yourself.

And with another guest judge to impress...

Give a big warm welcome. Christina Tosi!

...it's a fierce fight to the finish line.

This dessert is a triumph.

You're pushing the boundaries. You're testing our palates.

It's clear that you know great flavor.

It's a gorgeous dessert.

America's next MasterChef is...

- Ten minutes to go! - Here we go!

This entrée round is gonna be so down to the final minute.

Everyone's really playing it risky.

- Let's go Mike! Go, Michael! - Go, Mike!

Michael's doing this chili rub loin of lamb.

He's doing a double corn,

a corn fritter and a corn cream,

which could be interesting with lamb.

Oh, my gosh. Breathe, breathe, breathe.

- Michael's way behind. - He's behind, and, I mean,

it literally looks like he's making five dishes.

I'm concerned that Michael's ambition might take him down today.

I work clean, I look clean, my plate will be clean.

The jeopardy for Dara-- when she serves me that short rib

and I can put my fingers in it and squeeze it apart,

- it'll be perfect. - Yeah, yeah.

This is gonna be make or break.

When that lid comes off, it could go either way.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Keep pushing.

Christian's now starting to sear his beef.

Some are that size, some are that size. They're not all the same size.

That's a major point of jeopardy.

Four filets, medium rare, there's nowhere for him to hide.

Oh, boy.

I don't have time for this.

What is Michael doing?

Did they set hard enough?

Oh, [ bleep ].

- This is not how it's ever been before. - No.

- Oh, my God. - Look at me, okay?

What you're doing now is creating a mess, so slow down.

Everything you've done so far in this competition,

you're not blowing it now.

- Composure. - Okay.

- If it's not good, you don't serve it. - Yes, Chef.

'Cause we are judging you on what you serve.

Big, deep breath. Compose yourself.

- Okay. - Wow.

Five minutes to go! Come on, guys!

Emily, right now, who's in jeopardy?

It's less than five minutes, and Dara's short ribs are still in the pot.

So I am, like, having a heart attack for her right now.

Yep. Michael's grit cakes have gone all soft.

They're nowhere near crispy like he said they would be.

What should he be doing?

I mean, you don't want to start over,

so maybe crisp them up in a pan or something?

- Uh-huh. - And how's Christian looking?

I mean, he's really taking that time with his plating,

so the steaks are resting.

Hopefully he can pull it through in these last four minutes.

Amazing. Amazing.

Come on, come on.

Dara, you're doing great. Take a deep breath.

I'm nervous about your short ribs, Dara.

90 seconds to go! Come on!

Yeah, it's time for her to open that thing.

Open that thing up, Dara. Dara, open it up.

- There you go. Open it up. - She's going to open it up.

- Carefully. - Careful. Be careful.

- Oh!

- Those are beautiful. - Those look amazing.

- They look beautiful. - Yes, Chef.

- Keep it going, girl. - Yes, Chef.

Taste everything, you guys. You got this.

- Michael, that's cooked perfectly.

- Ooh, I'm shaking. - Go, Christian!

Yeah, Dara!

Okay, Dara, you've got to get it on the plate.

- All right, come on. - Get it on the plate!

- Get that meat on that plate. - 30 seconds!

Now the sauce!

Oh, my God.

Ten, nine, eight...

seven, six, five...

four, three, two, one.

- Aarón: That's it! - And stop!

- Good job. - Wow.

What an incredible entrée round.

Please make your way around to the front.

Michael, let's start with you please.

Bring your entrées down, thank you.

- Go, Mike! - Go, Mike!

After the appetizer round, I felt like I was smack-dab

in the center of this competition.

Whoo! Come on, Michael!

But with the entrée round, I'm getting concerned

that I bit off more than I can chew.

But I believe in pushing myself to my limit,

and that's what I did tonight.

Right, please describe your dish.

This is a chili rubbed loin of lamb

with a roasted poblano grit cake,

corn purée, and birria jus.

You literally worked your ass off

there across those last 60 minutes.

And you look at the final product, it looks good.

The dish looks really tasty and the colors are vibrant.

Unfortunately, with the cook on the lamb,

it looks like it wasn't evenly seared all the way around.

Shall we?

Is that the consistency you're looking for in the sauce?

I did want it thick. I wanted it to be able to kind of soak up the heartiness.

Wow. Michael, the crispy corn cake

needs to be a little bit more crispy, as you know.

That's not delivering what it should in terms of the texture.

But I love the corn purée. It's delicious.

Mushrooms, beautiful.

- But the lamb is slightly overcooked. - Heard.

I like all the components. There's a lot going on.

But I think the cooking of the lamb,

it's more going towards medium than medium rare.

I like the way that you embraced some of those Mesoamerican ingredients

with the corn purée and the mushrooms. It just makes sense.

- The overall flavor is something that's pleasant. - Okay. Thank you, Chef.

I think the flavors are all there.

You've got the poblanos that are in the grit cake,

which provide a lot of that earthy flavor, too.

So it's a flavor bomb.

Really delicious, and I think you did a good job.

Aarón: Thank you, Michael.

I actually enjoyed the corn cake more than the lamb.

- I thought it was quite good. - The grit cake was nice, yeah.

Dara, please bring your dish forward.

Dara! Yeah! Whoo!

A few different things went wrong in my appetizer round,

but I feel really good about my entrée.

I was definitely calmer, cleaner.

That definitely is reflected in my plates.

Dara, please describe what you've made.

For my entrée, I made Chinese-style short ribs

with a whipped Japanese sweet potato,

spiced carrots, caramelized pearl onions,

with a carrot top gremolata.

- Visually, young lady, it looks beautiful. - Thank you, Chef.

Yeah, aesthetically very interesting.

I love this kind of decorative wreath effect.

Now the moment of truth. I'm gonna do the pinch test.

- Are you ready? - Yes, Chef.

Let's see if this works.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, Dara!

Dara, you took a big risk in that pressure cooker,

and, young lady, it paid off. It's delicious.

A dark rich, sticky, beautiful short rib

with that light, fluffy mash.

You're 20 years of age,

but it tastes like there's 20 years of cooking in here,

and I think that's the exciting thing for me.

Aarón: It's spicy, it's intriguingly reduced and rich.

It's just really thought-provoking food.

- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.

If anything, it is that the sauce is a little over-reduced,

so it's almost on the verge of saltiness.

Luckily, the sweet potato and the carrot

add that sweetness to kind of balance.

- Great job. - Thank you.

Yeah, um, look.

I would serve this in my restaurant.

I would eat it at his restaurant.

And I would eat it at his restaurant.

- Great job. - Thank you, Joe.

Thank you so much.

- Yeah, Dara! - Come on, Dara!

Yeah, it's very good. Very good, indeed.

Okay, Christian, please bring us down your dish.

I feel like this is the best plating I've ever done throughout this competition.

- Let's go, Chris. - Let's go, baby.

I'm just hoping and praying

that these steaks are cooked right.

Okay, Christian, please describe the dish to us.

Tonight I've prepared for you a Cajun rubbed filet mignon

with a shrimp and crab cake, with sautéed turnip greens,

parsnip purée, and a tomato Cajun cream sauce.

Christian, visually, it looks beautiful.

The filet looks like it's sat in an unctuous pool

- of absolute wonderful purée. - Thank you, Chef.

Question is, you've got four filets here.

A lot of variation, 'cause they're different in size as well.

You're telling us that they're all medium rare.

I feel that they are all medium rare, sir.

Let's find out.

Come on, Dad. Come on, now. Come on, come on, come on.

You've got four filets here.

A lot of variation, 'cause they're different in size as well.

You're telling us that they're all medium rare.

I feel that they are all medium rare, sir.

Let's find out.

All right.

It's perfect medium rare.

Yes.

Mine is beautifully done.

- Aarón: Little under. - Mm.

One left.

It's a little under.

Christian, I think you took a really bold move

'cause we've got four different sized filets, and mine's cooked beautifully.

But two of the steaks are medium rare

and two are rare, so there's a technical problem.

But, flavor-wise, it is absolutely delicious.

Thank you, Chef.

I love the purée. It's just silky smooth

- and very creamy. - Thank you, Chef.

For me, it's a little underdone, which is a disappointment.

But overall, the choices that you made here resulted in big, beautiful flavor.

Thank you, Chef. Thank you, Chef.

I love that the sweetness that comes with the glazed turnip

pairs so well with the crab, which is gorgeous and golden.

You added just enough binding to hold it together.

Christian, you kind of created

a bit of an existential crisis for me,

because I really like this dish.

But if these four dishes

were dropped in my restaurant tonight,

two of them are going back to the kitchen.

Mm.

- Too bad. Thank you. - Thank you.

Yeah, good point.

- But the flavors, I mean, are delicious. - Yeah.

- Happy? - Let's do it.

Wow, well done.

Michael, Dara, Christian, two rounds down, one to go.

- This is it. - Okay, guys,

we all know that desserts are notoriously difficult

to execute and master.

But pull them off right tonight

and you will leave a lasting and sweet impression.

And just so we know you're putting forth your best dishes,

we have yet another special guest joining us this evening.

Not only is she one of the most prominent pastry chefs on the planet,

she's also beloved family of the MasterChef team.

Oh, my goodness.

Give a big warm welcome to the Milk Bar maven,

- Christina Tosi! - Whoo!

Yay!

Aah! My head is just like rainbows and butterflies.

Wow.

She's the dessert queen,

and to know that she's gonna be tasting

my dessert tonight is exciting.

She is MasterChef legendary.

Thank you so much for coming back here tonight.

It feels like a homecoming.

Please welcome Christina Tosi.

Christina is truly one of the most revered pastry chefs anywhere in the world.

Derrick, it's gorgeous.

The bright red from the raspberry sauce,

and just that paper thin layer of tempered chocolate.

Really nice decision.

That sumac seasoning really brings out both

the potatoes and the lamb.

Shayne the Train, that ribeye steak

is cooked beautifully. It's got a kick.

Brandi, this dessert is stunning.

Incredibly proud of you. Dream big, everyone.

You never know where your food dreams might take you.

Shayne, have you missed Christina?

It's safe to say I've missed you very much, Christina.

- Dude. - I'm a grown man now.

- A lot has changed. - I mean--

Aarón: Are you asking her on a date or what?

Can you behave yourself, please?

Dara, your face lit up.

You nervous?

A little bit more now.

You're such an inspiration to me,

so being able to cook for you tonight is gonna be incredible.

- Thank you. - Amazing.

How important is that level of perfection across this dessert tonight?

I mean, you remember the highlight of your meal

and you remember the tail end of your meal.

That dessert is crucial,

and in this competition, we've seen things change.

As far as I'm concerned,

it's for any of you three to take.

Absolutely.

Graham, you've got a bird's eye view

from up in the balcony.

You're safe in the arms of Big Willie.

- He's waiting for you. - Whoo!

- Thank you, Graham. - All right. Thanks, guys.

We'll catch up with you a bit later.

This is it, everybody. Your desserts.

Michael, we'll start with you.

Today, I'm gonna be making deep fried milk

with a mango ice cream

and a cajeta goat's milk dulce de leche

with tropical fruit salsa.

- Wow. - Mmm.

Dara?

For dessert, I will be making a vanilla ile flottante.

So that's a floating island.

A floating island, yes,

which is like a pavlova--

the crispy meringue, the marshmallowy center,

with a passionfruit crème anglaise,

tropical fruit, and a caramelized forbidden rice.

- Mm. - Christian, please.

Tonight, I'll be preparing for you

Dorothy's Southern banana pudding,

topped with salted pecans and a lemon cookie.

Wow.

So, who is Dorothy?

Dorothy is my late grandmother.

I'm gonna go ahead and elevate this dessert

and it's gonna pop.

- They all sound delicious. - Wow.

The final dish. That's all that remains before we crown

our "Back to Win" MasterChef champion.

- Are you all ready? - Yes, Chef.

Give it all you've got.

Your 60 minutes start...

- Now! - Let's go!

Oh, my God. Let's go!

I'm going into the dessert round with a lot of confidence,

but I do feel a little extra pressure

because everyone knows that pastry desserts are my thing.

- Okay. - Well done. Let's go, Michael.

Let's go. Good.

Well done, Christian. Let's go!

I'm nervous because this last cook means so much to me.

You know, it's a tribute to my grandmother.

My focus right now is to finish strong

and to make my family proud.

- Here we go again. - Going into the dessert round,

I know my entrée wasn't the best,

which puts me in a very precarious situation.

- You got it, Mike. - This dessert is ultimately the deciding factor

in who wins this season of "MasterChef."

Oh, my God.

This is it. For me, the dessert,

as you know, is one of the most important ones.

And the dishes need to be at the level

that we would serve at any of our restaurants.

- Yeah. - So that's the gauntlet.

We have great themes to the menus.

So, Michael's is modern Tex Mex.

- Dara...

Let's go, you guys!

- Come on, Christian! - Come on, Chris.

- Come on, Dad! - Whip it, Dara!

Whip like a queen.

Oh, yeah, come on. There we go.

15 minutes gone, 45 minutes to go.

Come on, guys.

Looking good, Mike.

- Right, young man, how are you feeling? - I'm feeling good.

I got to get this into the freezer as soon as humanly possible.

So, Michael, give me a little insight. What's in this pot?

This is is my coconut milk corn starch slurry

that's gonna be formed into these fried milk balls.

- So it's a coconut fried milk. - That's right.

- Why coconut? - I just love the tropical flavors.

There's gonna be a lot of tropical fruit with this,

and it's just gonna be special.

It's gonna be something that's never been done before.

- Tex Mex, tropical fruit. - Yeah.

This is not a tres leches cake,

but it is my complete version of tres leches.

So I've got goat's milk, coconut milk,

and cream with my own homemade mango ice cream.

- Your three milks. - My three milks.

But the star of the dessert is what?

The fried milk and that ice cream.

Wait, the fried milk or the-- you can't have two stars.

I really want this ice cream to shine.

It's my favorite part of the dish.

How're you gonna plate this thing?

I'm gonna plate it very contemporary, as I tend to do.

It's gonna look like art on a plate.

Young man, the very best of luck.

Thank you both so much.

Christian, my main man. What's going on? Talk to me about your dish.

So I'm making my grandmother's traditional banana pudding.

Okay, banana pudding might seem pretty straight forward. But you're gonna elevate it.

Yeah, my grandmother and my uncle was very close...

- Yes. - ...and he used to eat a lot of lemon cookies.

- Okay. - And it used to be my favorite cookie,

so I just decided to add a little lemon zest to my wafer.

- Yes. - And then also I'm gonna salt some pecans.

My grandmother used to grow pecans on her land,

- so it's straight home, you know? - Yeah.

I'm putting them in some nice glasses,

and it's gonna be a lot of layers of flavor, brother.

I love it. This banana pudding has a lot riding on it.

It does. I have to make my mom proud because this is what she does.

- Do us proud. - Mom, how do you think he's doing?

- He's doing good. - Handle your business, all right, brother?

- Thank you, Chef. Thank you. - All right.

Keep it up, baby. Keep it up.

Take a deep breath, Dara.

Meringue's going.

All right, Dara, let's talk about the floating island.

Yes, with a passionfruit crème anglaise,

some tropical fruit, and a caramelized crispy rice.

- So, a reinterpretation of a pavlova. - Essentially.

Tell me about the forbidden rice. How do you do that?

I just deep fried it at 400 degrees.

It's gonna make almost like a Rice Krispy treat.

So, this whole menu is a journey into your childhood.

Yeah, this dessert really represents my past and my present.

So, I had a pavlova at my first birthday.

The present is one of the most influential

chef instructors I had showed me this dessert.

I have grown so much as a person

and as a culinarian,

and I feel like I've been able to show you guys that.

- Totally. - And today's just a new start

as an adult in this industry, so...

So these, at the end of the day,

have to be light, crispy, and chewy.

- Yes, yes, yes, yes. - Okay, can't wait. Thanks, Dara.

Thank you. - Yeah, Dara!

Come on, Dara!

We are coming down to the last 20 minutes.

Come on, guys.

Oh.

He's making his ice cream with liquid nitrogen.

When you make ice cream like this,

if you pour too much, if you go too fast,

you're freezing it quickly,

you're crystallizing the ice cream, making it less smooth.

- Sure. He seems to be putting a lot of liquid nitrogen. - Yeah, it's a lot.

- Mad scientist! - He's going back.

- Oh, God, he's going for more. - He's going for more.

No, no, no. Aah, aah, what is he doing?

Michael is taking that blow torch and he's using it

to warm up the pieces of mango ice cream

that have frozen up the walls of his mixing bowl

- to make one continuous ice cream mixture. - Oh, no.

- What is he doing? He's still going? - There he goes again.

Michael seems to just be adding liquid nitrogen

with reckless abandon.

That's not a great recipe for a great dessert.

- No. - Nope.

Oh, dear.

Michael seems to just be adding liquid nitrogen with reckless abandon.

That's not a great recipe for a great dessert.

- No. - Nope.

Okay, here he-- oh, my goodness. It's chunky.

- Wow. - He about to caramelize some bananas.

Aarón: Christian right now is conjuring up the memory

of his beloved grandmother who, sadly, recently passed.

He's gonna make banana pudding.

I have to say, you don't often see pudding as the star...

- No. - ...of a three-course meal.

It seems a little too simple for me. I don't know.

Let's go, baby.

So, Dara's presented a floating island meringue.

But she's really delivering a deconstructed pavlova.

A pavlova is essentially a large meringue

with a passionfruit curd, and then you surround with fresh fruit.

I think that Dara's trying to make this a final send-off.

Exactly. As always with Dara, she's a great technician.

Yes, but her plating skills are phenomenal.

But the thing about a floating island

is it's egg whites and sugar, maybe vanilla.

I'm hoping it's not too sweet.

Dang, Michael, look at you with the pink pineapple.

Oh, beautiful.

So, Michael's got a lot going on in his dessert, right?

He sure does. He's doing that fried milk,

that needs to be sort of like warm and oozy and gooey,

and he's playing that off of the sharp coldness of a mango ice cream.

Aarón: I just hope he hasn't taken a bunch of different elements

and pray that they work together.

Sure. It sounds a little bit like that.

That was hot. I'm all right.

Five minutes remaining. Come on, guys.

Graham, bird's eye view from the top.

How's it looking from up there?

It's looking great. Everyone's clearly in their element.

You have Christian plating,

you have Dara looking calm, composed,

and then Michael, kind of a recreation of the entrée.

- Running around. I'm getting nervous. - Yes.

But, again, pulling it off. Fried milk. Amazing.

Look at Michael's station compared to Dara's station right now.

It's clear who's in control and who is aflutter.

- He is sweating out there. - That's when you try to do too much.

- Go, Michael, go! - Go, Christian!

Don't forget your pecans.

60 seconds to go! Last minute. Come on, guys!

Look at that. Michael's ice cream looks delicious.

- Oh, my God, she's removing the-- - There you go.

- They're beautiful! - They are beautiful.

- Wow. - Michael!

Oh, my God.

- Come on, Mike.

Come on, baby. Come on, baby.

Remember, this is for your grandmother.

20 seconds! Oh, my God.

- Come on, Dara! - Come on, Dara!

Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

- three, two, one! - And stop!

- Well done! - Oh, my God.

I've been saying from the beginning,

I came here to prove to myself,

my family, the judges, how much I've grown,

and I'm feeling extremely proud of myself.

These are happy tears now.

I made it. The most important day of my life.

It was the hardest thing I've ever done,

but I'm still standing.

I'm feeling good. I'm feeling content.

At this point, this can go either way,

'cause these are some amazing chefs.

They put out some amazing desserts.

It's an honor to be back here

and I feel like I made my family proud,

'cause I wanted to stay true to myself.

And staying true to myself got me this far,

so I'm very proud of myself.

This is it, everyone,

the dish that will seal somebody's fate

as the champion of season 12,

"MasterChef: Back to Win."

Please make your way around to the front.

Dara, can you please bring your dessert forward?

Yeah, Dara!

What's she gonna do with those meringues?

I'm feeling really confident with this dessert

because it combines textures

and a ton of traditional French techniques.

But also I'm dipping my meringue domes in nitrogen

to create this beautiful crust of crispy meringue

as well as that pillowy inside.

- She's basting them in liquid nitrogen. - Oh, wow.

I'm extremely proud of this dessert.

I think it's gonna be the perfect end to my whole menu,

and I feel like it could get me that win.

Dara, please describe your dessert.

I prepared a vanilla ile flottante

with a passionfruit crème anglaise,

tropical fruit, and a caramelized forbidden rice.

- Mm. - Visually, it looks beautiful.

I just love the colors. Smart choice on the plateware.

I just think it's well thought out.

- You smash the top? - Yes, please smash the top.

- Aarón: A-ha! - Mine's not smashing.

Is it supposed to crack?

Gotta-- hard. Crush it.

- Yeah. - Harder?

- Oh, no! - Okay.

I love a dessert that looks like something

I know and I've tasted before, but is full of surprises.

I like that you brought big flavor to the table,

and it's clear that you thought about texture. It's a gorgeous dessert.

Dara, it's got that wow factor.

It's a little too sweet, but I love the crème anglaise.

The fruit, it's refreshing.

This is a very well-seasoned dessert.

I don't think people talk about seasoning with dessert enough.

I think when you have that passionfruit,

those seeds give you a pepper-ness to it that I think is very pleasant.

- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.

Dara, I love the use of the savory herbs or greens.

- What did you put in here? - Micro-cilantro.

Really smart, because it gives complexity to the fruit.

The forbidden rice, it's a good textural contrast.

- Very good. - Thank you.

- Good job, Dara. - Yeah, Dara!

I like the passionfruit in that crème anglaise.

It's a really thoughtful dessert.

- Yeah. - Oh, my God.

Michael, please step forward with your dessert.

Yes, Chef.

I am feeling a sense of relief that it's over,

that whatever happens next is out of my hands.

I can only hope that I've done enough

to take home the trophy today.

Please describe your dessert.

Tonight, I've made for you a play on tres leches.

It's a homemade mango ice cream with deep fried milk,

salted cajeta goat's milk caramel,

and a tropical fruit salsa.

Visually, Michael, it's intriguing.

The colors are great, and it's the kind of dessert

that whizzes across the dining room floor,

and it's a bit of an eye catcher.

What do you think is wrong with my plate, Michael?

Yeah, you are missing one of your fried milk squares.

And you chose to short Aarón.

Um...

What do you think is wrong with my plate, Michael?

Yeah, you are missing one of your fried milk squares.

And you chose to short Aarón.

Um...

I was hoping that Aarón would be the most forgiving.

- Oh! - Oh.

Here's a secret.

Just take one off everyone's plate

and then no one's missed anything.

- Yeah. - Shall we?

Michael, the ice cream is delicious, young man.

It's smooth, it's beautiful.

I think your fried milk could be a little less dense,

but you're pushing the boundaries,

you're testing our palates.

Michael, I think, conceptually, it's a beautiful dessert.

You clearly have an eye for putting food on a plate.

The mango ice cream is the star.

I think your goat's milk caramel is really interesting.

It's edgy. It's clear that you know great flavor.

It's clear that you have a point of view and perspective.

Thank you. I really appreciate that feedback.

Yeah, Michael, when I have the ice cream, the crumble,

and the tropical fruit salsa, it's a beautiful bite.

But I think that the cajeta caramel is some completely different concept.

It's hard to marry the cajeta with tropical fruit. It's just difficult to do.

And also, I'm short one of those fried milk portions,

and consistency is such a big part of our industry

and you just got to be very mindful of that, Michael.

- Yeah. - Michael, I want to compliment you on this dessert,

because we asked you to cook us dishes

that we would serve in our restaurant. I think you did that.

- This dessert is a triumph. - Thank you all.

Okay, Christian, please come forward.

I put so much passion,

so much love into this dessert.

I just hope that the judges see that,

because this dessert is standing between me

and a quarter million dollars.

Okay, Christian, what did you make for us?

Tonight, I made for you

Dorothy's Southern banana pudding,

with a bourbon caramel sauce,

topped with salted pecans and a lemon cookie.

Christian, I think the fascinating thing about your plating tonight,

looking across all three courses,

is that you're holding on to the heritage,

and it is clearly for a reason.

You know, my grandmother is not here to witness me on this stage,

but I just wanted to give her a tribute.

And if Grandma Dorothy was sat next to Mom, what would she say right now?

The same thing that she been saying when I left season five,

that I'm proud of you.

"I'm proud of you."

Thank you, Christian.

Thank you.

Shall we?

Young man, you know, one thing is clearly evident.

Your banana pudding is delicious.

It's not too sweet, which is important.

But when you look at the elevation

of the two dishes behind you,

it's like this is from a unique buffet

off a floating super yacht.

I think you could have elevated it a touch more

coming outside the glass

and getting away from that comfort zone.

Yes, Chef.

So, Christian, I have this rule,

always start with a flavor story

that you believe in with all of your might.

And you have that in this banana pudding. It's Grandma's.

But I don't know that I know enough about you, Christian, in this dish.

But with that said, I mean, good dessert's good dessert,

and this is a really delicious dessert.

Aarón: It's complex, at the same time very simplistic.

It's straightforward. It's honest.

It's just like you.

Yes, Chef, thank you.

Christian, there's a bit of missed opportunities in this dish.

You could caramelize the bananas

in a little bit of butter and brandy.

So there's things you could do to make it better.

But, look, I have to commend you

on being true to yourself in everything you do.

You brought your grandmother's dessert to the table.

It's a beautiful thing. Good job.

Thank you.

It's a delicious banana pudding.

- Oh, man. - We all had some goods and bads.

- Yeah. It's gonna-- - Let's be honest.

- It's gonna come down to the smallest details. - It really is.

That was an extraordinary finish.

All three of you should be really proud

of yourselves, honestly.

And now that we've tasted all of your dishes,

we need to judge you across your entire meal.

Graham, please come down here to join us in the restaurant.

Right now, we have got some very serious decisions to be made.

Please give us a moment.

Okay, that was really incredible.

So, now down to the balance of the overall menu.

- Yeah. - Shall we start with Michael?

He wanted to go for a modern Tex Mex approach with his menu.

He went out the gate with a spicy aguachile.

And it was acidic and spicy, what an aguachile should be.

Visually, it had that impact. It needed more salt, didn't it?

It did, it did. But definitely restaurant quality.

- Sure. - With Michael, I'm more critical of his entrée.

He really didn't pay enough attention to that lamb loin.

The unfortunate thing is that lamb being so delicate,

- it was over-seasoned and it was over-- yeah. - It was overcooked.

- Ay. - Corn purée though, was exceptional.

- Yes. - Come on.

But I don't know about that dessert.

It was just a disconnect for me.

There were parts about Michael's dessert that I really loved.

I thought visually it was stunning.

It held gravitas for the MasterChef kitchen,

which I highly respected.

I have to commend him 'cause he didn't play it safe.

He didn't. He was the one who went out there the most.

So, Dara, she started off with that crispy seared snapper.

- And it was good. - It was good. Fish were cooked beautifully.

Then for the entrée, it was that amazing braised short rib,

and then this beautiful sweet potato purée.

- It was delicious. - If we had that tonight in a restaurant,

we all would leave and be like, "That short rib was great, huh?"

Absolutely.

Dara's dessert,

a very dense, sweet meringue.

But everything else around it was acidic, was bright.

That meringue, I think it's something that's memorable.

Her instinct, from a flavor standpoint,

I think is the most impressive of the three.

I totally agree with that.

So, Christian came out of the gate strong

with that fried green tomato and the remoulade.

The flavor profile was deep down South, and it was absolutely spot-on.

- It was good. - Then his entrée was that Cajun-spiced filet.

Unfortunately, half the filets were cooked at different temperatures.

But it was delicious.

And he took just as much care in the turnips

as he did with the main star, which was that filet.

The flavors were awesome.

That dessert at the end was a classic take

on his Grandma Dorothy's pudding.

He was so stuck on the emotion of it,

and a great dessert is emotional,

but it was Christian's grandma's banana pudding,

not Christian's banana pudding.

The biggest ingredient missing across his dessert

- was the risk factor. - I agree 100%.

But his currency is not risk. His currency is honesty.

- Sure.

- Proud of you guys. - Proud of you.

There can only be one winner of "MasterChef: Back to Win."

So how do we decide between the three of them?

- My heart is beating out of my chest right now. - Pounding.

Winning "MasterChef" would mean the world to me.

I feel that I gave everything

throughout this whole competition.

I came back to prove myself

and not just come back and be in the finale.

I came back to win.

It's a difficult decision, but it's the right decision.

- Shall we? - Are we happy?

- Got it. - Let's do it.

Wow.

I see that MasterChef trophy, and I want it.

I'm young, but wise beyond my years.

And I feel like I've proven time after time

that I deserve this win.

Well done. You three showed us week after week

that you had the fire and the spirit

that brought you back to win.

This has been the most competitive year

in the history of this competition.

Only one of you will win

the quarter of a million dollars.

- Ooh-hoo. - Whoo.

And only one of you will be able

to proudly place this trophy in your future restaurant.

The truth is that I gave this finale everything that I have.

Nothing has pushed me to these extremes before.

But I never gave up in the kitchen

and I never gave up on myself.

And that's why I'm gonna win it.

Will it be Michael,

Dara...

or Christian?

America's next MasterChef is...

Congratulations...

Dara!

She won! She won!

Dara, you did it!

- You did it! - Come on, girl!

- You did it. - You did it!

Dara, come here! Come on!

Yes! You've-- you've done it!

- Thank you so much. - You've done it! Amazing.

- Here you go. - Thank you so much.

- Congratulations. - You deserve it, young lady!

- Thank you so much. - And this is for you.

Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for Dara!

I am overwhelmed and speechless.

- This has been the most

incredible journey of my life,

and all my hard work and determination paid off.

I'm so grateful to be surrounded by my loved ones.

My father isn't here,

but I know that he's been looking over me

this whole competition,

and I know I made him proud tonight.

- Yes! - Yeah.

Dara! Dara! Dara!

That photo looks pretty good up there.

- Yeah!

Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for Christian and Michael, please!

Dara was unbelievable at any age.

But at 20 years old, it's ridiculous.

So proud of you, Dara.

She deserves this, and I had a blast cooking beside her.

- Don't you dare stop now. - I'm not.

- Do you have any idea what you achieved tonight? - Yeah.

Even though I didn't win tonight, I still feel like a winner.

To come back to "MasterChef" the second time

and just to come so close to winning?

I can't be upset at myself.

- That was a blast. - I was 12 years old

the last time I was on this show,

and now I am the season 12 MasterChef winner.

I came back to win and that's exactly what I did.

We are looking for talented home cooks nationwide.

If you think you have what it takes to become,

just like Dara, America's next MasterChef,

then please apply now to MasterChefCasting.com.

Good night and God bless.

Amazing.