Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef: Generations"...
Welcome to Ramsay's Rooftop.
It is time for the infamous restaurant takeover.
I'm gonna have a panic attack.
On order, one scallop, three lobster.
Adam, what's our ETA on the scallops?
All right, stop. Young man, you are out of control.
- Lobster. - Rebecka, it's still raw.
( bleep )
The winning team is...
The red team!
Red team wins. We're onto the semifinals.
Blue team, there's one individual tonight
that is responsible for your team's loss,
and that person is Adam.
- Tonight the top five cooks battle it out... - Yes!
...in the "MasterChef: Generations" semifinal.
Tonight you have to survive two challenges,
and one person will be leaving the competition after each challenge.
- Oh, gosh. - We describe a dish with all the flavors.
They have to recreate it.
Gordon: The sweetness, the smokiness, umami.
It's time for keeping up with me.
- I want the yolk only. - Oh, ( bleep ).
Stand back and flambé. Stay with me, guys. Let's go, Becca.
- Becca, not in the salmon. Oh, my God. - Shoot!
- Boomers never cook this fast. - Damn it.
We take our time. This is not normal.
( music playing )
- Semifinal night. I'm so excited for this one. - Mm-hmm!
- Yes, indeed. - Come on, huh? This is it.
It's not going to be easy.
- Yes! We're cooking today! Let's go, baby! - Let's go!
- Whoo! - Let's go!
All right! Top five, top five!
Walking into the MasterChef kitchen
as one of the top five is just the most incredible experience.
How did a 63-year-old home cook make it to the semifinal?
Mind-blowing.
Tonight is the semifinal of "MasterChef: Generations."
- Wild. - The finale is just around the corner,
and if you'd like to get there, you have to survive two challenges tonight.
And one person will be leaving the competition after each challenge.
- Okay. - Now if you can make it through tonight's two challenges,
next time you'll be cooking for the title, the trophy,
- and a quarter of a million dollars. - Let's go.
Right, it's time to face your final mystery box of the competition.
All of you, head to your stations.
As I go further in this competition, there's a lot more pressure,
because the further you make it, the further you wanna make it.
So now it just feels as though I have to perform higher than I ever have before.
- Right. You guys ready? - Yes.
On the count of three, lift your boxes.
- Murt: Oh, boy. - Judges: One.
- Oh, my gosh. - Two, three, lift.
- ( laughter ) - Interesting.
Smoky flavors. Citrus, umami.
Sides sweet and spicy.
So that in front of you is from a restaurant review.
Let me read it for you.
"The hero of the dish had a smoky flavor.
Punches of both citrus and umami
were tasted throughout the sides,
and the sauce was sweet and spicy."
- Okay. - It's the kind of review
that any of us may receive in the press,
but this is an incomplete review.
It's missing one key ingredient. Your imaginations.
So to survive this first part of the semifinal,
you'll have to use those imaginations to answer the question,
what is the dish?
Think of it almost like a culinary Mad Libs,
as you make the best version
of what your imagination conjures up.
Okay.
So you'll have just 45 minutes
to make a MasterChef-worthy dish
inspired by this review.
We'll be judging you on how well
you hit all the details of that review.
But, guys, your dish needs to be delicious
and perfectly plated as well.
- Right. Is everybody ready? - Yes, Chef.
- Then your 45 minutes start now.
- Off you go. - What?
Everybody always runs so much faster than me.
What have we got?
All right, I need mushrooms as my umami.
You. You're spicy. I choose you.
- Ooh. Oh, blood orange. - Oh, man.
We're in the gutter right now.
Don't know what the ( bleep ) I'm doing.
This is such a difficult challenge
because we had to work backwards,
while we usually work forwards from a dish.
Dude, I am so lost. What are we doing?
I am drawing absolute blanks.
There's crickets in my head,
and I don't know what I'm gonna make.
Maybe. We'll try one of these. Nah.
It's about to be a long, stressful, hard day to get to this finale.
- Go, go, go, go, go! - Let's go, guys.
- Let's go. - Let's get organized here.
- I have so many ingredients. - Gotta really use your imagination for this challenge
because it's so easy to undercomplicate
and overcomplicate at the same time.
Pressure's on today.
Semifinal night. Two huge challenges.
But this one, it's the first time ever inside the MasterChef kitchen.
Joe: We you describe a dish with all the flavors.
They have to recreate it. No small task.
They've gotta tick every box on that card.
What's the smoky element? What's the citrus umami flavor?
What's the sweet and spicy?
- And how does that balance across that dish? - Becca: Come on, y'all.
What's interesting about this challenge is we're looking
to test how willing they are to be creative,
because there's really no right answer for this.
But there are so many ways that they can go wrong.
We'll use two types of mushrooms 'cause why the hell not?
Guys, we're 10 minutes down, 35 minutes remaining.
All right, let's get you marinated.
- Right, Kamay. - Yes, Chef?
Gordon: So the hero has a smoky flavor. What's the protein?
Kamay: Protein is chicken thighs.
I'm smoking them with turmeric and coriander.
The sides are citrus fish sauce and Swiss chard...
- Right. - ...with a saffron lemon jasmine rice.
The rice is gonna have umami
from some anchovy paste in there.
And then finally, the sweet and spicy sauce.
I'm making a sweet and spicy zhug cilantro sauce.
Okay. So ever been faced with a task like this before?
- No, Chef, but I am up for the task. - Love that.
- Thank you, Chef. Yes, heard. - Right, young lady, 30 minutes. 15 minutes gone.
- Good luck. - Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
Boom.
Good. Yep.
- What's going on, Becca? - Hi, Chefs.
- What is the dish? - Yeah, so I am making a smoke rubbed ribeye.
It's got smoked paprika, a smoky salt,
and I'm gonna baste it with some liquid smoke and butter.
The umami side is lemon herb orzo
with a glazed soy sauce asparagus
- and a sweet and spicy sauce. - So steak and pasta?
I don't think I've ever had steak and orzo together in my life.
But you feel there's gonna be enough element of your dish
- that's gonna say, "Wow!" You know what I mean? Okay. - Yes, yes.
Do remember that asparagus doesn't need that long to cook.
- Yes, yes. Thank you. - Just throwing that out there.
- Good luck, Becca. - Thank you.
Gordon: 20 minutes down, 25 minutes to go.
- Okay, some smashed garlic. - I need to get something else.
This challenge has me feeling real unsteady.
Okay, okay, okay, okay, okay.
I am most creative when I have clear guidelines and boundaries,
but if you hand me a blank canvas
or a vague piece of paper, it's a little harder.
Breathe, Becks. Breathe, Becks, breathe.
Joe's absolutely making me second-guess my dish choices,
but it's really too late for me to pivot.
- Oh, gosh. - I just hope that I'm not about
to be taken out by a piece of paper.
Oh, shoot. Okay, breathe,
breathe, breathe, breathe.
Gordon: 22 1/2 minutes remaining.
Halfway, guys! Come on!
Becca: Go, go, go!
Come on, girl. Let's go.
- Right, Murt. - What's going on, Gordon?
Oh, boy. So the hero of the dish has to have a smoky flavor
- with a sweet and spicy sauce. - Yeah.
Protein is some chicken thighs.
I don't want the smokiness to be too crazy.
- Gotcha. - Now I'm about to make bourbon cream honey sauce.
How are you gonna get this thing spicy?
I'm gonna use Calabrian chili right here.
- Right. - And then for the citrus,
I think I'm gonna do
a grilled cinnamon pineapple,
some arugula, and goat cheese.
You've got a lot of interesting,
uh, ingredients here, but this is a dish
that doesn't sound like it goes together.
- Just make sure we get that balance right. - Yep.
The sweetness, the smokiness, umami.
The biggest thing I'm worried about is the umami.
- Does these mushrooms count? - Yeah. Beautiful cooked, of course, they do.
Umami would be a porcini powder, a soy sauce, a fish sauce.
- A savory, earthy, meaty flavor. - Okay, heard.
Remember, taste, taste, taste.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Chef.
Citrus come through?
- I love the smoke in there. - Michael.
- Michael: Hello. - What is the dish?
I'm making a pan-seared smoky striped bass,
and I'm putting it on top of jasmine rice.
I got a coconut broth that's sweet and spicy
that's going with it, some blistered tomatoes
with bok choy, like a warm salad kind of thing.
And what are you using for umami?
So I'm using the fish sauce inside this,
and then there's gonna be a chili peanut topping.
So aside from having to listen
to all those very specific demands,
you know, we're in the semifinals.
So it needs to be a top level dish.
Does this dish have what it takes
- to make it to that level? - Absolutely, yeah.
So I'm just trying to keep it elevated
and make sure that all the flavors are there.
Okay. It's a big risk, Southeast Asian dish, Michael.
- Good luck. - Thank you, Joe.
- Right, Rebecka. - Yes, Chef?
- So the smoky element to this dish is what? - I smoked a pork loin.
- I've always used the smoked paprika. - Gotcha.
- My sweet and spicy sauce is my famous tomato jam. - Okay.
I'm just gonna pop a little bit more heat into it.
And then umami with the mushroom.
And then the citrus note?
- The couscous with lemon juice. - Right.
It has toasted pine nut.
Don't slice than pork too early. And taste it first, yeah?
- Thank you. - 40 minutes gone.
We're now down to our final five minutes remaining.
- Taste everything, guys, okay? - Oh, gosh.
Okay, breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe, breathe.
Becca's is a very strange dish.
The protagonist is a smoked New York strip,
but she's doing it with an orzo.
And then also she has asparagus that's being cooked
in garlic and soy. So that's where she's gonna get her umami from.
Wow, I'm not too sure if that's a fully composed dish there.
She could be in trouble tonight.
Murt, he's got a chicken thigh, and then he's doing mushrooms,
but in a cream honey sauce,
and a ground pineapple and cinnamon salad.
Murt: Don't know how I'm feeling about this.
I think he's creating aspects of the dish,
but will it ever make sense all together in a dish?
Keep it together, keep it together, keep it together.
It's interesting to see the Gen Zers a bit out of their depth.
- Maybe they're not used to following the rules as much. - Yeah.
- Two minutes! - Aarón: Think about the plate. Think about the elements.
- Looks perfect. - Oh, my gosh.
- Aarón: Let's go, Kamay. - Come on, come on!
- Okay, okay, okay, okay. - All right.
- Gordon: 60 seconds to go! - Oh, man.
Aarón: Go, Murt. Check your seasoning, Michael.
- Finishing touches. Let's go! - Garnishing, yes.
Joe: Let's go, guys! Come on! Pull it together.
- Ten... - Aarón: Let's go.
Judges: Nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four,
- three, two, one. - That's it. Hands up.
And stop. Well done.
Michael: This was a hectic cook.
I was surprised I was able to get everything done
because there was a lot of elements to this dish,
and I just hope it all worked out.
I feel like I hit all the elements,
but it looks really simple compared to what
I felt like I just did in those past 45 minutes,
and it's just not semifinal-worthy.
I am flustered. That was a tough challenge.
Um, umami, citrus, smoky, sweet, spicy...
I think I got all the elements on the plate,
but my main concern is I don't know
- if they all go together. - Whatever happens, happens.
I'm trying to get into the finale,
but the answer to the riddle
was the dish that we put in front of us,
and I just don't know if I solved it correctly.
I don't know, man.
I'm up in the air.
I'm up in the air right now.
Right. Well done, all of you.
Now we're about to taste all five of your dishes,
after which, sadly, one of you will be leaving the competition.
Right, let's start with Kamay, please.
Rebecka: Go, Kamay!
I'm feeling pretty confident
in the way that this dish represents the review,
and I think the judges will appreciate that.
What you have in front of you
is a smoky turmeric garlic chicken,
a saffron jasmine rice with lemon zest,
and anchovy paste for umami and citrus.
A blood orange and fish sauce Swiss chard,
and a sweet and spicy zhug sauce.
Visually, it looks beautiful.
Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Shall we?
( music playing )
Kamay, chicken's delicious.
It's smoky. It's fragrant.
And that sauce at the end? Yeah, delicious.
- Really good, indeed. - Thank you, Chef.
I just love the choices you made as far as the sauce.
Talking about sweet and spicy agave.
You really nailed that part of the riddle.
And I think that sort of aromatic punch from the orange,
- it's just a wonderful touch. - Thank you, Chef.
Kamay, I taste smoky, I taste citrus,
I taste umami, I taste sweet,
and the interpretation of the review is perfect.
- Thank you, Joe. - Good job. Thank you, Kamay.
Rebecka: Good job, Kamay.
The next dish we'd like to taste is from Murt.
Looking at this dish, you know, I'm proud of it.
It has color, it has bold flavors.
But I'm a Gen Zer.
I'm all about breaking the rules.
And this challenge is about following them,
and I'm not good at that.
I have a smoky salt chicken thigh
with a spicy creamy mushroom sauce.
The umami's coming from the mushrooms
and then a parsnip purée.
Citrus is coming from the grilled pineapple arugula salad.
Gordon: Murt, the bit that's slightly odd for me
is the grilled pineapple salad,
especially with a parsnip purée.
It doesn't look cohesive. Shall we?
Listen, the chicken thigh is cooked beautifully.
- Thank you. - After that, it gets confusing.
We've got the spicy notes, but then they're clashing
with the sweet notes from the pineapple.
Aarón: You have creamy sauce
with creamy parsnips,
and then you have this grilled salad on the side.
I just think these are big mistakes, Murt.
Understandable.
The actual chicken and purée and mushroom and sauce is good,
but if I eliminate the spicy fruit salad,
- then I'm missing half of the task. - Thanks, Murt.
Murt: It's tough up there.
Rebecka, please bring your dish down.
Rebecka: I'm confident all the flavor is gonna work together,
and I hope the judges see that my jam and my pork are the star.
I made a smoky pork loin with a spicy tomato jam,
citrus couscous,
and my umami is sautéed mushrooms.
I love the idea of the color of those spices in that rub.
- Thank you. - Shall we?
So the hero has a smoky flavor. Beautifully done.
The jam lifts up that pork, and actually,
with that combination, absolutely bang on.
- Good job. - Thank you.
I think what you were able to do exceptionally
is make sure that some spice was added to that jam.
- Just a beautiful marriage. - Thank you.
The pork loin is actually quite moist
and flavorful on the inside, and smoky all at the same time.
You hit all the elements,
and you still made a really good dish.
- Thank you, guys. - Thank you.
( no audible dialogue )
Right. Next up, Michael, please.
It was definitely a chaotic challenge today,
and I want this so bad, to be in the finale.
So I'm really hoping that I did enough with this dish to get me there.
So it's a smoky striped sea bass with a chili peanut topping.
The jasmine rice with a coconut broth sauce.
The citrus is in the blistered tomato and bok choy.
The umami is with the red pepper and the shrimp.
So visually, there's a lot going on here.
I just love the energy you put into these things.
- But will it come together? - Yes, Chef.
Michael, the hero is delicious.
You smoked that sea bass beautiful.
It's glistening, it's crisp, and it's everything you want.
But the one big ingredient missing from this plate
- is self-edit. - Yes, Chef.
Aarón: Yeah, for me, that sauce is truly delicious.
There's so many great things about this dish,
but just a lot going on there that's difficult to distinguish
- all the flavors. - Thank you, Chef.
This is a good dish. It just lacks the real edit of a restaurant dish.
- But you performed the task at hand. - Thank you.
- So complex. Yeah. - It's like half a menu.
Okay, so next up, Becca.
Looking at my dish, I see everything wrong with it.
It's too simple. It's too basic.
I don't think the flavors go together.
Why in the world did I use orzo?
So I'm thinking someone will have to have messed up
way more than I did for me to stay in this competition.
So I have made a smoky seared ribeye,
a lemon butter orzo,
soy glazed asparagus,
and a sweet and spicy soy sauce.
Yeah, this looks a little bit odd
as far as the choices you've made.
That asparagus looks completely hammered.
I just really hope that the flavor makes up for it.
Gordon: Shall we?
( music playing )
Uh, Becca, the smokiness is there on the ribeye.
It's got a great sear on there.
There is the citrus notes on the sides, which is lovely.
But the sweet, spicy dressing,
- it doesn't make sense in the dish. - Yes, Chef.
You know, there's so many different directions you could've gone here.
- Orzo was definitely not one of them. - Yes, Chef.
I don't know what penalized you more tonight,
being able to stay within strict guidelines
or the lack of reference for global cuisine.
I think that probably a bit of both had to come into play
with your limitations on this dish.
- Yeah. - Thanks, Becca.
Thank you.
It's not a fully composed, cohesive dish.
Now Joe, Aarón, and myself need to take a very serious moment.
Please make your way down to the front.
Excuse us.
So tonight they had to use the review to inspire a dish.
A lot of them overthought it, right?
I don't know what I was thinking.
I just-- I just, like, did everything.
And others that didn't do enough of it.
- Yeah. - We're all in agreeance?
- Yep. - Yeah?
Right, there were three individuals tonight
that really did stand out.
- Kamay... - Thank you.
Rebecka, and...
Michael.
You three, congratulations. Make your way to the balcony.
I am thrilled. I'm top four in "MasterChef."
If I survive the next challenge,
I will be cooking in the finale.
I can't even wrap my brain around it.
Murt and Becca, the final person
that will be cooking in the next challenge is...
Becca.
Oh.
Please say goodbye to Murt
and join everybody else on the balcony.
You're so amazing.
- Good job, Becca. - Gordon: Murt, sadly,
tonight the dish missed the mark.
But, young man, you've really lit up this kitchen,
and I think you've grown substantially
into a phenomenal chef. Seriously, well done.
I appreciate it. Thank you so much.
- Gordon: Come and say goodbye. - ( sighing )
- Take care, bud. - Bring it in here.
- Well done, bud.
- Good job. - Murt: You know, coming into this competition,
I think I came in here like a little frat boy.
- Yeah! Let's go. - Bottoms up.
But I've learned a lot about myself.
I have an inner confidence
that I never knew I had.
Come on, Gen Z. We got it.
Cook, cook, cook, cook.
I had an overall good time.
- Sheesh, man! - "Sheesh, man!"
I've never seen anyone whisk like that.
It looks like Murt's starting a fire.
Oh, man. I just ripped the hell out of my pants.
Was that that noise? You just ripped your pants?
- I just ripped my-- - You'll be fine. We've had worse.
I feel like I was the underdog,
but I think I've really shown how well I can cook
and outperform what I thought I could do.
- Murt. - ( cheering )
If there's ever a time to shine with the clever use of those spices,
- it's tonight. Well done. - Thank you, Chef.
( applause )
It's not the last you're gonna see of me.
I'm definitely too pretty of a face to ignore, so...
I'm excited what the future holds.
- ( grunts ) - ( cheering )
Now there are four remaining.
One challenge away from making it into the finale.
But to get there, you'll have to face your toughest challenge yet.
- Give me just a moment. - Where is he going?
Okay, final four, please come back down.
I've watched this show for years.
I know what that means.
It's keeping up with Gordon.
This is your toughest challenge to date.
You have to make it past the big man himself.
- Oh, my gosh. - Now, to make it into the finale,
I have to survive Chef Gordon, and I'm honestly terrified.
Right, it's time for keeping up with me.
I'm waiting for nobody.
Kamay: Oh, my gosh.
Now your challenge tonight is to cook right alongside me.
And your dish not only has to look like mine,
but it's gotta taste exactly the same as mine as well.
Miss a step or an ingredient, and you could be going home.
- Is that clear? - All: Yes, Chef.
Let's do this. Come on.
Right, all of you, tonight you'll be keeping up with me
as I cook...
- Whoa. - ...a delicious pan-seared salmon
with truffle gnocchi, sautéed asparagus,
a fennel and Pernod beurre blanc,
finished with crispy leeks and seaweed.
One show-stopping, incredibly challenging dish.
Everyone, Gordon is gonna show you how it's done step by step.
If you miss something, that will definitely hurt your chances
of making it through to the grand finale.
Now once I'm done, you'll have an additional 30 seconds
- to finish off your dish. - Only 30 seconds.
- Right! Head to your stations. Let's go. - Thank you.
This challenge is gonna be like the tortoise and the hare.
Gordon is the hare up there going crazy,
and I'm hoping I'm not the tortoise.
I'm terrified.
Right, our time starts now.
First off, let's go, guys, sharpen those knives.
From there, we're gonna go for the gnocchi.
Cut the potato in half into your ricer.
Look at me and squeeze gently.
- All: Yes, Chef. - Now, salt generously.
- Touch of pepper. Heard? - Heard, Chef.
Gordon: A little drizzle of olive oil.
From there your black truffle. Grate in.
- Kamay: Go, baby, go. - Get your parmesan into that potato.
Stay with me, guys. Stay with me.
- Rebecka: Come on, baby. - Rebecka, your parmesan.
- Don't forget it, please. - Pardon me?
Gordon: Stay with me.
From there, take your egg, open it up.
- I want the yolk only. - Oh, ( bleep ).
Right now, keeping up with Gordon,
it's like trying to keep up with a tornado.
It's absolutely insane. I know I'm fast in the kitchen,
but I don't know if I'm as fast as Gordon.
Lightly sprinkle half the flour in.
- Let's go, Michael! - Michael: Oh, come on.
I'm mentally just trying to lock in right now
because I know that one little mistake can be the detriment
to me getting in the finale.
Now flour your hands and start working that dough.
- Seasonings in, yes? - Yes, Chef.
- Gordon: Truffle. - Yes, Chef.
- Parmesan, yes? - Yes, Chef.
- You sure? - No, parmesan is not--
Gordon: Let's go. Grate it in. Let's go.
Rebecka: Ay-yi-yi.
It should be a nice, soft, pliable dough.
Onto your board!
Now we're gonna work that dough. Two hands.
Kamay: Keep going.
I'm actually really scared
'cause I've never made gnocchi before.
Now we're gonna go almost like a cigar shape.
- See mine? - All: Yes, Chef.
Kamay looks like she's falling behind, no?
Kamay: Okay, focus.
But I think my skill set as an attorney
is really coming into play here.
Every day at work
I am listening carefully
and processing information.
So I am keeping stock of exactly what I've missed,
because if you make an assumption and it's wrong,
it could cost you everything.
Now the exciting part. Two inches long.
We want six on the plate, but we're gonna start with eight.
- Heard. - Now take your thumb,
place it onto the board, and fold over.
And the idea here is the grooves get really nice and crispy.
Becca: Good, good, good, good, good.
Let the thumb do the work. Push it into the board.
- Gently now. - Yes, Chef. Holy moly.
Now from there, get your salmon.
- Lightly oil your pan. - Yes, Chef.
And hold that down to get that skin nice and crispy.
- Heard. - Now get your rosemary and thyme, get your garlic,
and now the salmon is working. So far, so good?
- All: Yes, Chef. - From there, the fennel beurre blanc.
- Heard. - Take the fennel, slice lengthways,
cut across with your knife, back over.
This is a beautiful, fine dice.
Rebecka: Come on, baby. You can do this.
Same thing for the shallot.
Along, back under, and then just let that go.
Right, pan number two, crank up the heat.
- All: Yes, Chef. - Olive oil in.
Fennel and shallot into your pan,
and to soften that up, a little knob of butter.
- Butter, Chef? - Butter!
- One knob into the salmon? - No.
- Gordon: To your sauce. - Thank you.
Sweat them off without any color, yes?
- All: Yes, Chef. - Turn that salmon back over.
See how crispy that is?
Once you've colored the salmon, sear underneath it,
and now we just lock in all that flavor.
And then from there, once we got the color on that,
turn it back over,
and let it cook skin side down.
So the cook on the salmon is crucial.
You have to have the crispy skin.
Gordon: Right. Go back to the sauce now.
And now we're gonna go for our Pernod.
Please be careful.
In, stand back, and flambé.
Really important, you have to burn off all that alcohol.
Stay with me, guys. Well done, Kamay.
Let's go, Becca.
So Gordon says put the Pernod in the pan and flambé.
Becca, not in the salmon. She put it in the salmon.
- Oh, my God. - Turns out there are two pans,
and I put the Pernod in the wrong pan.
- Ugh. Crap! - To make into the finale,
first and foremost, don't light the fish on fire.
Oh, my gosh.
Shoot!
And flambé. Really important. Stay with me, guys.
Aarón: Becca, not in the salmon. She put it in the salmon.
- Oh, my God. - Shoot!
That's salmon, and it should not be flambéing.
- ( gasps ) - Joe: So is Rebecka and Michael.
All of three of them have made the mistake
of flambéing the salmon instead of the sauce.
We've all flambéed our beurre blanc and not the salmon.
- Yes? - ( bleep )
I put the alcohol in the wrong pan,
and my heart just sinks 'cause I know I just made
a crucial mistake that could cost me this competition.
- Listen to me, guys. - Oh, jeez.
I am so frustrated right now,
but I don't really have time to think about it.
I just have to edit and get this dish out.
Pan number three, asparagus in.
- We're gonna blister those asparagus. - All: Yes, Chef.
Now the sauce, once that's reduced down to a syrup, we add our cream.
This stops the beurre blanc from breaking, understood?
- All: Yes, Chef. - Heard.
Now put four nice little knobs
of butter into that sauce and whisk it in. Heard?
- All: Heard! - Yes, Chef.
- Gordon: Good. Stay with me. - Joe: Oh, God.
Rebecka just poured the cream into the salmon. Listen to me, guys.
The cream goes in the beurre blanc.
Oh, not in the fish. Ah, sheesh.
- Damn it. - What a crazy mistake.
My fish and that beautiful crispy skin is destroyed.
- Dear Lord. - This is a disaster.
We gotta move now. Let's go.
Rebecka: What a freaking mess.
Get your aged balsamic vinegar
- and go over the asparagus. - Boomers never cook this fast.
We take our time. We're having a little wine.
- This is not normal. - Right, check the salmon.
It should be nice and pink inside.
Kamay: Getting close, getting close.
( Michael groans )
( bleep )
Oh, God. This is ( bleep ) done.
- Oh, come on. - Gordon: Let's go, Michael.
Get your pan on now for your gnocchi.
- All: Yes, Chef. - Stay with me, guys.
Very carefully in. Groove side down.
Becca: Heard. Come on. Go, go, go.
They have to be very careful not to burn that gnocchi.
- Gordon: Let's go, Rebecka. - Rebecka: Cook, cook, cook, please.
Turn them over once you got the color.
Beautiful crispy pillows on the outside.
Nice, light, fluffy in the center.
- Becca: Good. - Out onto a tray and drain.
Right, recap. Salmon nice and pink.
Asparagus blistered. Sauce beautifully done.
Gnocchi resting. Now for the garnish.
Rebecka: These are not quite ready.
Get your leek. These need to be super thin,
otherwise they're never gonna get crispy.
- Becca: Good, good, good, good, good. - Heard?
- All: Heard, Chef. - Good. Now pan on the back,
crisping up these leeks nice and golden brown.
Kamay: Come on, come on, come on.
Once you're happy with the crispiness,
straight in to the seared blanc.
All: Yes, Chef.
Becca: Go, go, go, go, go.
Gordon: Togarashi spice,
and then mix it with the seaweed.
- All: Yes, Chef. - Right.
Crispy, crispy.
Now for the plating.
( bleep )
First off, get your asparagus,
and then your six beautiful gnocchi.
Okay. Easy.
From there, get your truffle, and just grate over the gnocchi.
And then a little touch of parmesan cheese.
From there, sit the salmon nicely on top of the asparagus.
- Yes, Chef. - Two nice spoons of sauce in the middle of the plate.
- Okay. - Your leeks, sit them on top, and there we go.
Our beautiful pan-seared salmon with truffle gnocchi.
Your 30 seconds start now. Let's go, guys.
- Come on, Michael. - Joe: Let's go, guys. Come on.
- Let's go. You can do it. - Gordon: Let's go.
- Okay, focus. - Michael: Oh, come on, come on.
- ( sighs ) - Judges: Ten, nine, eight,
- seven, six... - Hurry, hurry.
- ...five, four, three... - Kamay: Come on.
- ...two, one. - Gordon: And stop! Well done!
- ( bleep ) - ( sighs )
- I started flambéing my salmon. - I did, too.
- Oh, my God. - I did the same exact thing,
so my sauce doesn't have the Pernod.
This isn't my best performance.
My gnocchi looks good, my sauce is held together,
but my salmon is burnt.
To go home right before the finale,
I just feel like I'd be letting everybody down.
So I'm just praying somebody
maybe made a bigger mistake than me.
Now, Gordon's dish looks amazing.
But the question is, did you four meet his standards?
Right, Kamay, please bring your dish up.
- Becca: Go, Kamay. - Kamay: This was by far
the most difficult challenge so far.
This dish has to be
as close to Chef Gordon's dish as possible.
But to my excitement, they look pretty similar,
so I'm feeling pretty good right now.
Gordon: So, visually, you look at these two dishes,
and you did a really good job.
I love the shape of the gnocchi.
And the salmon, the sauce, beautifully done.
- Thank you. - Shall we?
Kamay, salmon's seasoned beautifully. The skin is crispy.
Gnocchi just misses that little bit of cheese and truffle at the end,
but what I love here is the sauce.
Yeah, the star is that beurre blanc.
It's redolent with the anise flavor 'cause of the Pernod.
And I just love the subtle things
- like the char on the asparagus. - Thank you.
The gnocchi are delicious, and the beurre blanc
is really, like, fantastic.
- Thank you, Joe. - Well done.
Good job, Kamay. You rocked it.
It's good. It's very good.
Next up, Becca.
Becca: I am extremely proud of myself.
I gave this challenge everything I have,
and I know I did the best I could
to keep up with Gordon Ramsay.
Gordon: So, salmon, it's slightly cremated on top.
The gnocchi's nicely colored.
A couple of times you struggled,
but tonight you did not give up.
I love that. Shall we?
So, salmon's cooked beautifully inside,
- but it's got that charcoal flavor on the outside. - Yeah.
- The actual beurre blanc is delicious. - Thank you.
Yeah, I really enjoyed the flavor of the beurre blanc.
It's really redolent with tons of fennel, which I really enjoy.
- Thank you. - The asparagus were spot-on,
and the gnocchi could've been lighter and fluffier.
But, look, eating this dish all together, it's pretty good.
- Thank you. - Thanks, Becca.
Good job, Becca.
Michael: You did good.
Michael, please bring your dish up. Thank you.
- Michael. - This is the first time in this competition
that I've really messed up a protein.
I'm just really praying that my other elements on this dish are strong
and enough to get me into the finale.
Gordon: Okay, salmon does look burned on top.
But the good news is, I look at the grains of the gnocchi,
they're beautifully pressed into that board.
Halfway in, you looked a little bit out of control.
Yeah, I poured the flambé into the wrong pan,
- and my skin got way too crispy. - Right. Shall we?
So, sadly, the salmon's overcooked.
The gnocchi, a little bit longer than mine,
and they could do with a little bit more searing underneath
so they're nice, light, fluffy.
- But you bounced back and made a really good sauce. - Yes, Chef.
Yeah, it's a shame about the skin on the salmon.
But I think for me,
the magic here is in your sauce and your gnocchi.
So when you have that little bite in some of the interior
of the salmon itself, that's a really magical bite.
Michael, you got caught in that moment with the double flambé.
And it's unfortunate, because the dish has some redeeming qualities to it.
- Thank you, Joe. - Thank you.
But the flavor's there, right?
All right, Rebecka, please bring your dish down. Thank you.
I'm feeling relieved because I'm done with this crazy challenge,
but I'm really concerned about the sauce.
I know it doesn't have the Pernod, so this could be
the one part of my dish that sends me home.
Gordon: So, gnocchi, a little bit too thin.
Salmon, super crispy. Sadly, the sauce is broken
- because you didn't add enough cream. - Right.
- And is there any Pernod in the beurre blanc at all? No. - Not at all.
- Joe: Oof. - Mm.
Rebecka, is there any Pernod in the beurre blanc at all?
- Not at all. - No.
- Ooh. - Right. Shall we?
So, Rebecka, salmon's cooked beautifully.
I'm amazed you got that skin crispy after being doused in cream.
What's missing is that Pernod in that beurre blanc.
- Yes. - Which is a shame.
I think, for me, the gnocchi are great. They're browned nicely.
But you can't get around the fact that your sauce is broken.
- Yeah. - I think the biggest error here is this is not a sauce.
- Rebecka: No, no. - This is technically a salad dressing,
- and that's a problem. - Yeah.
Thank you, Rebecka.
- Salmon's pink. - Yeah, no, the salmon's cooked well.
Gordon: Now, all of you,
Joe, Aarón, and myself need a very important moment.
Make your ways round to the front, please. Thank you. Excuse us.
( music playing )
There was an outstanding dish tonight.
- Kamay's got this. - Thank you, guys.
- Becca. The sauce was incredible for Becca. - Aarón: Yeah.
- The cook on Michael's fish wasn't that great. - Yeah.
And then there was one dish that was not complete.
- I torched my salmon. - But you made a beautiful sauce.
- All in agreement? - Yes, Chef.
Gordon: What a night.
Now, three of you are about to head into the grand finale,
whilst one of you will be leaving the MasterChef kitchen.
Joe, Aarón, and myself felt that one home cook really stood out.
Congratulations goes to...
- Kamay. - Well done.
- Good job, Kamay. - Head up onto the balcony.
- Thank you. - Top three! Whoo!
This is the moment I've been waiting for.
It feels like such a relief.
The next individual joining Kamay in the grand finale,
congratulations goes to...
Becca.
Head on up to the balcony.
- Good job, Becca. - Gosh.
- Congratulations. - Good job.
I'm proud of you.
Now, Rebecka and Michael,
you both had faults in your dishes this evening,
and this has been a really tough decision.
But the final individual heading into the finale,
congratulations goes to...
- Michael. - ( sighs )
- Good job, bud. - Congratulations.
Please say goodbye to Rebecka.
You deserve it.
- Michael: Thank you. - Well done.
I don't even know how I'm here right now.
But to actually be in the final three
is completely surreal.
Rebecka, salmon was cooked beautifully.
But unfortunately your dish was incomplete,
because the sauce was missing the Pernod.
But honestly, I think you were always the one to beat in this kitchen.
- You know that? - Thank you. Appreciate that very much.
Who thought that a 63-year-old grandma
would be standing in "MasterChef" in the top four?
Thank you so much for everything.
Come and say goodbye, my darling.
- Please. - Good job!
Gordon: I love you, girl.
- I love you, too. - I love you more.
- Awesome. Oh, my gosh. - I love you more.
I am leaving here so proud, so happy, so thankful.
- You move quick, don't you? - They think I'm slow. They think I'm old.
- I'm coming for 'em. - I think I proved to these other generations
that the Baby Boomers have not stopped living.
- Don't mess this up. - Oh, ( bleep ).
- Exactly. - You and I are alphas, right?
- We would butt heads. - Yes, we are. We would probably kill each other, yeah.
- We probably would. - Big shout-out to Rebecka.
- Rebecka. - Good job. Good job.
This experience has really just fulfilled me in a way
that I guess I've been yearning for.
I never thought in my career I'd say I love the plating
of a ( bleep ) meatloaf, but this one looks so good.
Fish is nailed. Clams delicious.
This tastes like my mother's fish brodetto.
- This dish is amazing. - It's a joy to taste.
You're gonna make me cry.
I'm not leaving sad. Leaving happy, guys.
I feel like I've just touched the surface
of what it means to be an excellent cook.
- Bye, Rebecka. Love you. - Rebecka: Love you guys.
I'd like to say to all the other Boomers out there,
it's never too late to accomplish your dream.
- Gordon: Bye, darling. - Bye-bye, guys.
- What a queen. - Oh, my gosh.
Well, well, well. We have our three finalists! Well done! Come on!
Kamay, Becca, and Michael.
Rest up, and get ready for the culinary fight of your lives. Good night.
- Y'all. - This is wild.
- Oh! - Gordon: Next time,
it's the "MasterChef: Generations" grand finale.
- Welcome! - The top three,
Michael, Becca, and Kamay go head to head
- to become America's next MasterChef. - Yeah!
Tonight, once and for all, we'll find out which generation does have the best cooks.
- Sizzley! - Looking great, Mike.
- Come on, guys! - Oh, gosh. Okay.
- Come on, come on. - She's up against it in a major way.
That didn't turn out good.
There's a lot of components to this dish.
The worst thing he could do is rush too much.
- Oh, God. It's more rare. - Deep breath, Mike. Deep breath.
Only one cook will win the title, the trophy,
and a quarter of a million dollars.
This shows technical flair beyond belief. Well bloody done.
I think the magic lies in that soup. It's so developed.
- Everything is an excellent. It is quite magical. - Thank you.
America's next MasterChef is...