- Previously on - Back to Win"...
Welcome, top 15!
...the cooks have to replicate the perfect dessert.
- Go fast. - One thousand layers.
- Maybe he sees me as a threat. - You're making me nervous.
- Get over it and get cooking. - And while some bake to win...
- Absolutely exceptional. - It's really perfection.
- Congratulations, Dara. - I got the immunity pin!
- ...others fell apart.
- Please get it cooked! - Her parchment's on fire.
- It's totally raw. - You can't be happy with this dish.
This is your worst performance in the competition so far.
The person leaving is Tommy.
Tonight, the top 14 face a team challenge in the American West.
You'll be feeding 101 cowboys and cowgirls.
And we're cranking up the heat.
We're talking like 1,500 degrees.
We're one minute away. Come on!
- You okay? Gabe?
- Who will rise from the ashes...
- This is phenomenal. The steak was great. - Amazing.
- This is country. - And who will ride...
- Dara, I need yams. - ...into the sunset?
- Ice cold. . - That was personal.
Check the temp, Christian.
I cooked a million steaks.
- This is not good enough. - This one is completely raw.
She made the biggest mistake of her life.
Hand me your apron.
Horsetown, USA.
Park your horse while you grocery shop?
Not very many towns that have a horse sidewalk.
- Oh! - This is amazing.
I love it. We're here for a rodeo.
- The MasterChef rodeo. - That's cool, right?
I wonder who we're cooking for?
I am so excited to be here in the top 14.
After being in the bottom three twice,
I said that there would be a new Bri in the kitchen this week,
and that's exactly what I plan to show.
I'm ready to prove myself.
- I've never been to a rodeo. - Me either.
- Oh! - Whoa!
- Oh! - Oh, my God.
- Ride that horse, girl.
This is so exciting. I've never seen
a real live rodeo in my life.
Whoo! We see you!
And all I got to say is, "Yee-haw!"
Whoo!
Oh, that's a blue MasterChef flag.
- And then red. - Oh, team challenge!
- Oh.
Look, the big carriage is coming.
- Oh, I see it. - Yeah!
That looks so pretty.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Gordon's looking like Woody. - He does.
- Whoo!
Oh, my God. Aarón looking like a vaquero.
Howdy, y'all! Come on, guys.
Make your way down here. Let's go.
- Let's go. - Oh, my God.
Come on, it's only horse .
Welcome, everybody, to Horsetown,
America's biggest community of horse owners.
- How cool was that rodeo show? - That was cool.
- Very cool. - Amazing.
Those amazing cowboys and cowgirls
have definitely worked up a phenomenal appetite, let me tell you.
And today you'll be feeding all of them
and the hardworking people of this town.
Trust me, this cook-off is gonna take you right out
of your culinary comfort zone.
- Ooh. - Now, Dara, you've won immunity.
You're cleared from elimination tonight,
but what I do want to see is your performance,
and I'd like to hear your voice as well.
- Yes, Chef. - Good.
Bri and Shelly,
after being in the bottom last week,
we'd like to give you a chance today for redemption,
so both of you will be team captains.
Bri, you're gonna be running the red team.
Shelly, you're gonna be running the blue team.
- Let's go! - I have a lot to prove right now,
and I just want to come out shining and not toppling over,
like I did at the last challenge.
Now, as far as picking the teams,
both of you are gonna pick them yourselves today.
- Ooh. - Oh, lucky.
Shelly, you'll have first pick.
If there's one stern message,
forget anything to do with friendship.
Just think about winning.
My first pick...
- Brandi. - Brandi, wow.
Mm.
- Right, Bri? - I think it's an obvious one. Fred.
Let's do this.
- Next pick, Christian. - Apron on, buddy.
- Thank you. - Bri, second pick?
- Dara. - Dara, wow.
- We got this. - Amanda, let's get it.
- Well done. - I know personalities and I know talent.
My strategy going into this, with team selection,
is to pick the same people that I just won the last team challenge with.
Congratulations goes to the blue team.
Well done!
We've already worked together and we won together,
so let's get another W.
- Michael. - Michael, wow.
I think that the number one thing that you need in a team is cohesion.
So my strategy is to choose people
that can work really, really well together.
- My next pick is Willie. - Blue team, let's get the second W.
Right, fourth pick, Bri.
- Gabe. - Gabe, wow. Welcome to the red team, Gabe.
Derrick, do you ever get the feeling you'd be last man standing?
Yeah. Just a reminder, season six,
I cooked 101 New York strips on a charcoal grill and we won that challenge.
Shelly knows I'm extremely capable for this challenge.
Back in season six, she has seen me do this.
A couple Italian boys on the grill, huh?
If Shelly puts her ego aside, she might do well.
I'ma trust my gut on this one. I'm gonna go with Emily.
- Ooh, Emily. - Let's go.
- Yes. - Welcome to the winning side.
You convinced me with what you just said.
- Derrick. - Oh!
Damn, why we got picked last?
Smart choice.
- Was Derrick your next pick? - Mm-mm.
- No. Okay. - Bri, you really made the right decision
and I'm about to show you why.
Now, Shelly, your last pick.
- I'm gonna go with Shanika. - Shanika, wow.
- Blue team it is. - Bowen, you are on the red team.
Captains, please go join your teams.
- We got this, okay? - Let's go. Let's get it.
- We're gonna crush it, okay? - Yeah.
Okay, let's talk about today's menu.
You've got a beautiful selection of bone-in steaks.
Plus, each dish has to have a starch,
two vegetables, and one fantastic sauce.
We need to see 101 dishes in total.
The winning team today, chosen by our wonderful diners,
will be safe from elimination.
One cook from the losing team will be eliminated tonight.
Now, as you plan your dishes, think about the crowd that you're feeding tonight.
And, believe me, the patrons of this town know a good steak dinner when they see one.
- Understood? Good. - Yes, Chef.
And to keep you on your culinary toes,
you'll have access to some of the most state-of-the-art grills,
so you can cook all over a beautiful open fire just like the cowboys do.
Joe, Aarón, and myself will sample those dishes in about 30 minutes,
and that's to make sure that the quality is on point.
- Yes, Chef. - Your time starts...
- Now! Let's go. - Let's do this, guys.
- We got this. - All right.
- Ooh. - Careful.
- Yeah. Oh, oh. - Ooh, it's really hot.
- That is really hot. - Okay, guys, all right, everybody, listen up.
So, for the protein, these are cowboys and cowgirls.
- They need a rib-eye. - Derrick, I know you have experience.
- Yep. Yep. - So you can take the lead on that.
What if we did, like, a honey bourbon barbecue sauce?
- Yes, yes! - And spicy.
- Yes. - Perfect!
After being in the bottom three twice,
I need to step it up.
People may not think
that I would be the best captain,
but I've been a team captain before
on season 10, and my team won.
How is the reduction?
Subha's got the first batch of sauce.
- Great. - Do you like that?
It needs to show a little more on the edges.
Congratulations, blue team!
I'm gonna make sure that everybody on my team is on the same page
so that we're ready for any bumps that may happen.
What do you guys feel about starch-wise?
- Sweet potato. Let's do sweet potato. - Perfect.
We'll have our sweetness with the yams--
- Yes, love it. - What we got, captain?
- Steak is the protein. - I'm thinking New York strip.
Rib eye's good. You know, they like that fatty steak.
- We should definitely go with that strip. - All right.
- Yeah? - What starch are we doing?
We doing barbecue baked beans with the sweet and spicy.
- I can do that. - So beans with poblano?
Love that idea. We have to do two veg.
We know we want to lean towards, like, a Brussels sprouts,
- something hearty. - Cowboys like some smokey, salty bacon.
Okay, so that's in the Brussels sprouts.
And we have to have something fresh to lighten up the plate.
- You can make an apple slaw. - Most definitely.
- Okay. - I'm thinking compound butter
because it's fat, it'll moisten up that steak.
Only thing about the compound butter
is I serve these people every day.
They would pick up that compound butter
and stick it on the roll and ask for some barbecue or A1.
No, you put it on top of the steak
- and it melts down as it's going out, baby. - Okay, cool, cool.
I feel good about being a team captain, especially with this team.
I have a lot of talented chefs, some strong personalities,
but at the end of the day
we have one thing in common, that we all want to win.
- One, two, three. - Blue team!
Are you guys good with the slaw here, I'll work here?
- Yeah, okay. - Perfect.
Would you like these peeled?
- I think leave the skin on. - Okay.
- Right. - Here we are.
Second team challenge of the season, "Back to Win."
- 101 cowboys, cowgirls. - So many variables.
These people are used to eating big outdoor steaks.
You gotta get the sear right. You gotta have some bold flavors tonight.
And this is a huge reference point for the people
that we're serving 'cause they know this food inside and out,
so they're gonna have high expectations.
- Yeah, absolutely. - Please make sure we taste everything.
Blue team, captained by Shelly.
I thought she came out of the gate strong.
Her first pick, Brandi, what does that say?
I think last week, Shelly maybe had her down point.
And this is kind of her resurgence.
I think she picked strategically.
Can I get a small tray going in so I have that ready?
I've already got Brussels in the oven.
As soon as this gets in, we're gonna add the bacon fat
to it later so we can go on and get 'em going.
Brandi comes from this kind of a community,
and I think Brandi was a "know your customer first" pick.
- Yeah. - How's it going, everyone?
- Tasting slaw right now. - Good.
So, red team, captained by Bri.
"Don't pick your friends. Pick your strongest team."
First pick out of the gate? Fred.
I think Fred has a lot of strong suits,
but cooking in this environment is not one of them.
Do you think that we need to peel them or no?
- Of course, peel. - I don't know.
Now, Bri's soft-spoken, but as a team captain, she'll need to step up,
be assertive, and take control of her team.
- I want to hear her voice. - Yeah.
I think Bri's and the red team's best shot
of pulling this off is having Michael and Derrick at the grill.
We're definitely getting a better sear over here.
- It's a little lower. - Yeah.
They got two big grills there.
I'd use one for the meat and one for those beautiful
grilled vegetables.
Yeah, you have open flame carbon grills,
so the intensity of the heat is massive.
That is an advantage to cooking meat,
but it's a very severe cooking environment.
They're gonna have to drink a lot of water.
They're gonna have to stay focused.
It's gonna be hot back there.
Hot. Hot walking, hot walking.
Honestly, that parsley is not gonna give it no flavor.
No, but parsley is a nice, soft flavor.
One thing I know is compound butter.
Don't make all the compound butter
until we get feedback from the judges.
- That's what we're doing. - We're not making a whole batch.
- We're making one. We got this over here. - We got this.
- Worry about your station, baby. - She just made a suggestion.
Everybody has their task, and what I don't want to happen is there to become confusion
- because one person's yelling at someone, okay? - Right.
Overall, I'll be managing more personalities, but I feel good.
We've earned each other's respect and trust,
so I know I don't need to micromanage them.
If somebody's talking to you, don't take it
like they're attacking you or they're talking over you.
As long as nobody screams at me, I'm good.
Guys, as soon as you can get those yams going, let's--
I'm gonna get this pan in as soon as it's done.
- That's enough for one plate. Let's get it started. - Okay.
My biggest concern today
is Bri's just not being assertive enough.
Do you think there's a smarter way to get these cooked?
- Uh... - It's gotta start at room temperature water.
- Yeah. - So, look, we got these rondeaus,
and we just designate one side to cooking those yams right now.
- Yeah. - She's got a very soft voice.
If she doesn't communicate with our team
and tell us what she needs, this could be a disaster.
Oh, my gosh, this one is hard.
Bri, I need your advice.
Bri, do you want me to help with sweet potatoes?
- Bri? - Bri?
Gosh.
Red team, blue team, 18 minutes for the first look.
- Heard. - Yes, Chef.
We're cooking for 101 cowgirls and cowboys.
And then Gordon has got us
these amazing grills, and they're hot.
I mean, we're talking twelve, fifteen hundred degrees.
This is gonna be a challenge.
- Captain Bri? - Yes.
Right, give us an insight to the menu. What are you doing?
We are doing a grilled rib-eye
with some grilled corn basted in a chipotle butter,
some sweet yams, a nice, acidic coleslaw,
and then a spicy and sweet barbecue sauce.
Wow. Just be careful about that sweetness across that yam,
- especially with that slaw. - Right.
Who's manning the grills?
Derrick is taking the lead, as is Michael.
Gabe is doing the corn.
Fred and Bowen are working on the coleslaw,
and then Dara is working on the maple yams.
- Okay, I want to see a dish in 15 minutes, please, yes? - Thank you. Yes, Chef.
- Uh, Derrick. Are you grilling the steaks? - Yes, Chef? Yep.
- And they should be seasoned now, Michael... - Yep.
...so it starts to take out some of the moisture, yes?
- Heard. - Oh, my God.
Bri, FYI, Dara's on her own cutting up yams.
These two are messing around with slaws. They got electric machines.
- Get somebody else on there now cutting that. - Yes.
When you're standing down here needing help, you need to say something.
Bri, if I was running this team, I'd get supported here first.
- Open up. - Yes, Chef.
Hey, young man. Look at me.
If you're not gonna start prioritizing
and getting the most important jobs done first--
you have a checklist. Yams first.
Bri, I need you to divide and conquer, but prioritize.
- This poor girl's on her own. - Yes.
- Support her, okay? Don't sink her. - Got it.
Thank you. There is so much pressure on me.
I've already been in the bottom three twice.
I really want to crush this.
- How long on the corn? - The corn's a couple minutes away,
- that's it. - Perfect.
We're creeping up on 10 minutes for the judges' dish.
Y'all hear that? 10 minutes.
- Yes, yes. - Shelly?
- Yes, Chef? - Talk to us about your dish.
We're gonna be doing a New York strip steak,
and we have a garlic herb compound butter.
On top, we're gonna have bacon and Brussels sprouts,
an apple cider vinaigrette, an apple slaw,
along with some barbecue baked beans.
Right now, we got Brandi and Emily working on Brussels sprouts.
Me and Amanda, we're gonna be doing the slaw.
We got Shanika and Christian,
they're working on the compound butter and the steaks,
and then we got Big Willie over here doing his beans.
As we go into actually the cook part, Christian will be on the grill.
Cool, so make sure that you've got a portion ready to rock in five minutes, right?
- Yes, Chef. Okay. - All right?
- Are you scared of using the mandoline? - Yes. I'm gonna cut myself.
Just don't be afraid of it, you know what I mean?
It's not gonna hurt you. There's no way you can get cut on this now.
- Okay? - Thank you, Chef.
You got that season ready to go for that, and then--
I'll work on the vinaigrette after I get the judges' plate. Yes.
All right, guys, let's think about getting the steak on.
- What do you think? - I think this way, so that it's, like, laying on it.
Yeah, yeah. Thank you so much.
- Everyone good? Cool. - Yeah, yeah.
Right, young lady, describe the dish, please.
We have a grilled rib-eye with a honey bourbon barbecue sauce,
a coleslaw, yams, and then some chipotle grilled corn.
Great sear on that steak.
- That's a cowboy sear. - Thank you.
- So you wanted a medium rare? - We did.
Yeah. You're there.
- Steak's beautiful. Rustic, charming. - Okay.
There's a lot of great flavor in the sauce, I like it.
I want that spicier than sweeter,
just 'cause you've got a lot of sweetness coming from the yams.
Here's the issue-- I got no cabbage in that slaw.
- I got a massive clump of apple. - Oh.
It needs two thirds cabbage, one third apple and carrot.
- Heard. - I need another 101 plates like this.
- Really good effort. - Perfect, thank you so much.
Okay, everybody, can we gather in the middle real quick?
Steaks are great. He said sear is awesome.
Just keep doing what you're doing there.
I heard, "Great sear on the steak,"
and I didn't listen to anything else.
'Cause everything else is Bri's problem.
The slaw, it was a little too much apple. That's my fault. I told you to put more.
The corn was great. Really no feedback on the corn.
- It was good. Yeah. - yeah. All right, let's get it.
- I got a steak done. - Make sure you check the temp.
- It's up. It's ready. Let's go. - Check the temp, Christian, please.
That's a disrespect, to be poking meat.
But check it. It's right. It's there.
Shelly wants me to poke the steaks
to make sure that I have the right temperature.
Come on, now. I've cooked hundreds and hundreds of steaks.
I'm asking you 'cause you're gonna be manager,
- so if it's possible you could-- - Come on, let's go.
Out the gate, we start out strong,
but Christian's gonna have to calm it down just a touch,
because how he's speaking is disrespectful.
You think you're helping, but you're not.
You ready? You ready, Shelly?
- Ready now? Now? - Christian! Yes.
I got a steak up. It's up. It's ready. Let's go.
Check the temp, Christian.
That's a disrespect, to be poking meat.
- But check it. It's right. It's there. - Please?
Come on, come on. Grab your thermometer. Let's go.
I've cooked a million steaks.
What's the temp you going for?
- We going 120. - Medium rare, yeah.
- Is it there? - 125, yeah.
Let's go, come on. Work with me.
Christian's voice is starting to go up and rise,
and I know that's just coming from a place of passion.
I picked the exact team that I had
in the last challenge that I won.
But they also have very strong personalities,
and it's like my job right now as team captain
just to tone it down a touch to make sure we stay on track.
I respect you, just ease up with the swag, baby.
I feel that Shelly will succeed in this team challenge.
She just has to listen and be open to other people's opinion.
All right, come on, y'all. Let's get it.
- Right, describe the dish, please. - Hello, Chefs.
We have a bone-in New York strip
with a garlic herb compound butter
with a barbecue baked beans, Brussels sprouts and bacon,
and we have Napa slaw with carrots and apples.
- Visually, there should be a crust on this. - 100%.
- There should be a sear. - Yeah, this is not acceptable.
It's like it's been cooked in an air fryer.
These are cowboys and cowgirls. It needs to be a sear.
Just turn around and look at those grills for me.
Those grills are tailor-made for this challenge.
Okay, let's get one thing clear. Steak needs a crust.
Beans, delicious, but elevate that slaw.
Give it some spice and acidity there.
I don't see the compound butter.
I would want something much more punchier,
much more flavorful. For me, it's very neutral.
Yeah, kind of wake it up a little bit.
Sure. What we need now is a structure.
You take this back to your team
and you start dividing and conquering.
It needs minimum of two on those grills.
- Absolutely. - Get it together, please.
And look at me, this challenge for you is redemption.
And that is nowhere near your standards.
I want the Shelly back. Tell it to your team now.
- Let's go. Let's go. - Thank you guys for your feedback.
I was in the bottom three in our last challenge,
so I need to win and knock it out the park
because if we don't win, someone on the team has to go home.
Okay, guys, so, in terms of the steak, we gotta get a char.
Thing is, they want a little sear. They want a little texture.
With the beans, they think it's a great balance.
They just want us to kind of balance out this slaw
with a little bit of jalapeño, 'cause the heat--
they want more bolder flavors.
Compound butter, kind of like, they didn't love, so...
Put a little mint and rosemary. Just a little bit.
- Not too much, just a little bit. - Some paprika in there, too.
We're running with this compound butter, but we need some bold flavors,
'cause right now this is not a bold plate.
I want to redeem myself.
There's a few tweaks that need to be made,
but we're gonna get it together
and do what we need to do to win.
Guys, over 100 hungry cowboys
and cowgirls are on their way.
You've only got 15 minutes until service.
You think grilling steaks sounds easy.
But if you have to cook 100 steaks all at the same time, it is not easy.
The essence behind this challenge is taking all their steaks to rare
and then throwing them back on the grill to finish to medium rare.
And then you will get a great sear the second time around.
If that doesn't take place,
both teams are gonna fail miserably.
Am I gonna place Brussels sprouts?
- Like, who's placing what here? - Steak is last.
I know, who's doing what? Who is doing what?
Emily, take it down a notch. She's trying to explain to you.
I know, I just asked her the same question,
and she gave me not the answer I'm looking for, so who is plating what?
I gotta say, I'm looking at the blue team right now. It looks like chaos.
I don't think there's any organization, and it's not looking good.
- I don't know why you're mean about everything. - Who's doing the butter, then?
- Who's finishing the butter? - Take a breath, okay?
Red team seem to be a lot more organized.
Okay, I'm gonna start searing that.
Bri has really turned it around.
There's three manning the grills.
Gabe's on the corn, Michael and Derrick are on the steaks.
And so far it's looking a well-organized unit.
- Beautiful, look at that. - Christian?
- Yes, Chef. - Where's your help?
- Willie, Willie? - I'm gonna tell you now, we need a rhythm.
- He can't be on his own, okay? - These are not seasoned.
- I'm about to season them. - This guy can't run around on his own
- like a blue-ass fly. Let's go. - Yes, Chef.
I am not gonna be cooking 101 steaks by myself.
Willie's from Texas. All they do is barbecue, right?
So he's in his element.
Let's go. Please, let's go, let's go. Are the ovens on?
- Are they? Yes. - Are the ovens on?
- Yeah, those are almost done, Chef. - Yes.
Red team, two seconds, come here.
Visually, what's wrong with them?
- Not seasoned. - You don't season at the end.
- Yes, Chef. Yes, Chef. - You start with some love at the beginning.
It's harder to season it once they're cooked,
You gotta spot this. Bri, get them seasoned now.
- Let's go, guys. - That was my fault.
- It's fine. - As team captain,
it's my job to know each component in and out.
I need to stay on top of everything and keep it under control.
Let's have you finish the slaw,
- so there's just one person on slaw. - Okay.
The beans, we need them sweeter.
Make it taste like barbecue sauce. Barbecue baked beans.
Willie, you about to go to the front?
- Do you want her to finish it off? - Let her finish it.
I think Shelly is making a mistake.
You don't want to make the beans too sweet,
but she has Brandi go and add some stuff to it.
Careful, careful, careful, careful, careful.
- Taste. Taste, taste. - I did. I just did this one.
I didn't see you taste that one,
you're just dumping sugar in there.
- No, I finished this-- - Look, don't argue.
- Just listen to what I'm saying. - Okay. Yes, Chef.
Taste before you dump a kilo of sugar in, anyway, yes?
- Yes. - Shelly said, "You make these beans sweeter."
But of course I'm not going to argue with Chef Gordon,
so I just say, "Yes, Chef."
I gotta taste it, yep.
Whoo!
I gotta step out and grab water, bud.
- I'm worried about Gabe. - Hot?
You okay? Talk to me. If you're not okay, sit down.
These grills are so hot, and when you know
you have 45 seconds to step away, step away.
- Gabe, what's wrong? - Overheating, Chef.
- You okay? - I got too hot.
- Yeah? Drink lots of water, just swap out, yeah? - Yes, Chef.
- Gabe's gonna go cool down.
For now, we gotta get somebody else on that corn immediately.
- Who's on the corn now? - Bowen's coming up there.
Now, let's go. Bowen, season that corn.
- Okay, I'm seasoning the corn. - Brush and season the corn on the grill.
So you bring this over here and you put it on and season on the grill.
- Okay, sure, Chef. - , wow.
- Brandi? - Yes, Chef.
Just taste those beans. They're way too sweet.
Touch of salt in there.
I told y'all, the beans were fine.
I'll take the hit for it. It was my call.
I can't win right now. I'm trying to listen to Gordon.
I'm trying to listen to my captain.
They're telling me two different things.
I don't know who to listen to right now.
- We all tasted it. It was fine, cool? - Not really.
Uh-oh, look. There's some cowboys coming.
- Here we go. - Our guests have arrived.
We are now two minutes away from service.
Oh, snap, guys. The cowboys are coming in. Let's keep it moving!
- Bowen! - Yes, Chef?
- Just focus. Now. - Okay, Chef.
We have enough to go with our first service, correct?
Right, yes, but we will not have enough after the first few tables.
Shelly, tell everyone standing static, "Come on!"
Gotcha. Emily, go to-- stop. Emily, head to the front.
Yeah, but nobody's taking this over when I'm done.
- We're going to, sweetie. Trust your team, baby. - Okay.
Where's our structure? We're one minute away.
Emily, I need you to trust me. I need you to put it all together.
This is your first six going out. Let's do it, let's do it.
All right, guys, here we go. I need steaks.
Steaks up! Welcome.
- Hello! There you go. Thank you so much. - Enjoy.
Listen to me really quickly. You guys are going to work together.
You need to check your tone and do it.
- Hey, guys. - How are ya?
Christian, I need those steaks on the grill.
I shouted two minutes. Where is the steaks?
- Come on, guys. - Yes, Chef.
- We need six. - We need six steaks, guys.
- I'm about to take off-- - Just look at me. Look. Stop.
The girls are standing there, already waiting.
So just give me six steaks, followed by six more steaks.
- Yes, Chef. - Come on, guys.
We're starting out rough, but I gotta make sure
that I get these steaks cooked,
because I don't want to serve raw steak,
especially for these cowboys and cowgirls.
- Are they done? - Six.
- Thank you, sir. - He already has his six.
There you are, sir. Enjoy.
- Six more steaks, please. - Here we go.
Ice cold. Just touch that there.
She just served you stone cold corn.
- Bowen, come here. - Yes, Chef.
How is that even possible to have ice-cold corn
when we have these 1,200 degree grills?
Bowen seems completely flustered,
and all you have to do is cook corn.
He owns his own restaurant. I'm very confused right now.
Touch them. Ice cold. I'd like hot grilled corn now.
Bowen, move, let's go.
I'd like hot grilled corn now.
Hot grilled corn, times six, now.
- Okay. - Let's go, let's go, let's go.
If Gordon is throwing food
during a team challenge, that's not good.
We have to correct this mistake fast.
Please make sure it's hot.
- Just FYI, Bri. - Yes?
His grill is so high, there's no heat getting on there now.
And if he had any sense, he'd put the corn on that side of Derrick.
Bowen, if this isn't hot enough,
you can share the grill with Derrick.
Derrick, he gets them on there for you.
You don't do his corn.
Right here. Piping hot.
- Thank you. - He needs to know his mistake.
- This is not good enough. - Yes, absolutely.
- Come on, Bowen.
- Here we go. - I hope I only have to tell Bowen one time
to make sure that that doesn't happen again.
Because I don't want this to spark our team falling apart.
- It's hot. - It's hot? Okay, get it up.
There you go.
Now it's piping hot, okay?
- Uh-huh. - Oh, my God.
The sweet potatoes are really good.
Hello. How y'all doing? Any first impressions?
- The red team. - Yeah. Oh, 100%.
Any expert grill cooks in this table?
You look like a grill guy. Which one has the good sear?
The blue team's?
That's a vote for the blue. Okay.
Well, enjoy your dinner, folks. Thanks very much.
Welcome, y'all. How you doing?
So you're tasting the steaks of the red team
and the blue team. Any first impressions?
Ah.
- Gabe, are you okay? - Yeah, I'm back on this.
- I'ma take coleslaw, okay? - Heard, thank you.
Trust me, you don't want to miss the compound butter.
Brandi, what are you doing?
I'm back to the job I started with.
I gotta get these Brussels cut real quick.
They pulled me off to finish Willie's beans.
- We're out of Brussels? - No, we're not out of them.
- I just have to get 'em in the oven, Chef.
I swear to God, if she cry today, I'ma die. I'ma just die if she cry.
Every time I turn my head,
Brandi is whining about these Brussels sprouts.
It doesn't take anything to chop Brussels sprouts.
, girl, whine too damn much.
You're doing great, Brandi, okay? Take a breath.
Can we go ahead and crank that oven up, though?
- Hey, blue team? - Yes, Chef?
- Who's cutting this? - I cut that, Chef.
It looks like a horse has chewed it. Look at this.
Come on, guys. Back to Win."
- Come on, please. Please. - Push it out, you guys.
Things are getting real in this kitchen right now.
I'm trying to make sure I balance
what the judges are looking for
with the consistency of the sides,
make sure food is coming out rapid-fire
so no tables are waiting.
I'm stressed out.
I'm really stressed out right now.
- It's a lot. - Fudge.
You gotta think about more yams, guys.
Yes, I will. I already told--
These are too small. You gotta fix them.
- Okay, okay. - Dara, I need yams.
It's coming, Chef. Right now, Chef.
I got steaks here with no yams.
I know, I'm sorry.
Tell me when you're halfway through that pot.
Dara, you should have pots already up here
covered with foil so they're already hot.
I'm getting them. Yes, Chef.
We need slaw walking, please.
- Coleslaw walking? - Coleslaw walking!
Oh, my goodness.
- Slaw walking, please. - Slaw.
How do we have the steak ready and no slaw now?
- It's coming. - Shelly, please.
- Come on you, guys. - Coming!
How long's it take to make a slaw, roughly?
- Maybe two minutes? - Two minutes, you're right.
- Slaw! - Slaw is coming. Give me one second.
I just need to toss it and check it, make sure it's perfect.
- Come on, guys. - Slaw walking, immediately, please.
We're held up now by a freaking cabbage.
Take it. I don't want it wet.
We should not be doing this in front of our guests.
Thank you, guys. Thank you for waiting.
- Sorry about this. - Thank you.
Thank you. Thank you so much. Sorry for the wait. Enjoy.
- Do I have hot corn? - Hot corn is ready.
- Yeah, it's hot. Pass it forward. - Thank you.
Get ready to glaze. Let's glaze.
Doing it, baby. Let's go.
We're back on rhythm.
Bowen's dropping the corn when I'm dropping steaks.
We got our timing back.
Michael's basting when I'm asking him to baste.
Red team is a well-oiled machine right now.
- You guys are crushing it. - I will finish strong.
- Don't worry, okay? - No, you are finishing strong.
- Everyone is. - Great sear on those steaks, by the way.
grill, man.
You're hungry today, I can see it.
Shelly made a huge mistake not picking me.
Her choice was personal, and that pissed me off.
I'm really focused when I'm pissed off.
I'm gonna show her today that she made the biggest mistake of her life.
Great job, guys.
All right, how are y'all doing? Enjoying those steaks?
- What's wrong? - This one is completely raw.
- Blue team, raw. Moo. - Completely, on the inside.
Okay, you know what I'm gonna do?
I'm gonna take it back and have 'em fix another.
This looks great, guys.
All right, Chef, we got a totally raw steak.
Oh, man.
I'm about to lose my .
We are in the weeds, as they say in the restaurant business.
Medium rare, Christian. Right to the very end.
- Quality control. - Yes, Chef.
You can't just throw food out like we don't care.
- Yes, Chef. - Christian, please.
I want to redeem myself,
and I cannot have a steak come back right now.
Christian, get it together right now.
Come on.
Damn.
All right, Chef, we got a totally raw steak.
Oh, man.
I'm about to lose my .
I cannot have a steak come back right now.
- Come on. - We need another steak.
- Got another one? - Quick, quick, quick.
Take one of these, please. A little butter. Let's go.
We have raw steak coming back?
Christian is a grill master.
Like, that guy knows how to cook some protein.
It's not good.
If we lose, one of us is being eliminated today.
Medium rare, Christian. Right to the very end.
- Every steak. - Yes, Chef.
It was a mis-cook,
but at the end of the day, this is on me.
I need to focus on these steaks,
because I'm not trying to go home.
Let's go!
Okay, let's see if this one's better.
Take a cut into it, make sure you're happy.
Very good. It will never happen again.
All right, only a few tables left.
Okay? Let's go. Come on, guys.
Hello, everyone. Gimme those steaks, let's go.
- Here you go. - Thank you, enjoy.
- Please enjoy. - Thank you so much, enjoy.
If you see a steak, please feel free to grab.
- Here you go. - Enjoy. Thank you.
- Beautiful, thank you. - Beautiful, thanks.
- You good?
No, I'm good. I'm pumped.
Keep it up with that energy, Derrick.
Let's go, red team.
- Bowen, I need six more. - Yes. Yes, Chef. Heard.
The yams are amazing.
So you have two steaks tonight.
You have the red team, they cooked a rib-eye.
And you have the blue team that cooked a bone-in New York strip.
How are the steaks cooked, first of all?
- Great? - I do like the sprouts. They're good.
So you're kinda leaning towards the blue team.
The Brussels sprouts, yeah?
The red team? The rib-eye? Why?
Is Brandi still cutting sprouts?
- Have we got enough sprouts done? - Yes, Chef.
We're good on Brussels sprouts, Brandi.
- We're good. - Beautiful sear.
- Nice job on the steaks, guys. Keep it up. - Yes, Chef.
The red team's was the best plate.
I ended up eating, devouring, the blue team dish.
Beans were great, the coleslaw was perfect, the steak was great.
Last table, blue team. Come on, let's go.
- Eight more. - Last eight, please.
- Yes, Chef. - Yes, Chef.
We're knocking it out up here.
- We are. - We're doing good.
Hello, everybody, cowboys and cowgirls.
Voting is near. This is a very big, important decision.
After you've finish tasting the steaks
of the red team and the blue team,
to vote, you will take a horseshoe
and toss it either around the post of the red team or the blue team post.
- Is that clear? Excellent. - Yes.
I think that the Brussels sprouts were not quite done.
Ooh, the Brussels sprouts are raw from the blue team.
- Red, you like the red? - I think there's more flavor.
- It was more tender. - All right, guys, last couple plates.
Table walking. Eight top.
Bo, you're gonna give me eight pieces of beautiful corn.
- Yes. - Thank you.
Yep, we picked the eight most beautiful.
Run it around this way. Go!
Whoo, look at you ride!
- Hi! - I love y'all's outfits.
- Yes. - Thank you very much.
- Thank you. - You're welcome so much.
Our last eight, let's go.
Thanks, ladies. You look amazing.
All right, that's it.
Captain, good to see you. Thank you.
Now you guys can clear down.
Yes.
Drink some water and clear down, please.
- Thank you, Chef. - Yes, Chef.
I think you guys killed it on the steaks.
Dara crushed on the sweet potatoes.
And Bowen, thank you for being adaptable...
- No, that's okay. - ...and changing around.
I'm wherever you need me.
Okay, first and foremost,
we know we had some bumps in the road,
but you guys crushed it.
I wasn't a big fan of the butter.
The beans are pretty good though,
and the slaw was pretty good.
- Mm-hmm.
I feel so good about what my team did,
but I don't want to speak too soon
because it comes down to the vote
of the cowboys and cowgirls.
I'm tapped. It wasn't completely perfect.
We had one steak come back. Super disappointed about that.
Then it was a few inconsistencies.
But here's hoping that these cowboys
and cowgirls voted for us.
If we don't win today, that would suck.
I would hate to go home.
Shelly not picking me for her team, that was personal.
She made me look like an idiot and I just served it back to her.
Shelly will see it when Gordon tallies up. They'll see.
Please give a huge warm welcome
for the red team and the blue team.
Okay, Norco.
- Thank you. - Here we go.
Whoo!
Now, ladies and gentlemen, one of these teams
will be crowned the winners from today's challenge
and will be safe from elimination.
Sadly, one person from the losing team
will be leaving Back to Win."
Now, it's time for the moment of truth.
Open the gates!
The winning team...
is...
The red team!
- Oh, my gosh! - Come on!
That's right. Good job, guys.
The red team won!
After being in the bottom three twice,
I'm so glad that I was able to use my voice,
redeem myself, and show that I know
how to lead a team to victory.
Well done, red team.
Derrick, you absolutely manned those grills.
- Congratulations. How do you feel? - I feel good.
We've all had an opportunity to watch each other's seasons.
If you didn't watch and know that I can man a grill
and cook 101 steaks, then you missed out.
I think everyone in the kitchen now knows that I am a force.
And if I'm on your team, it's good.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much
for giving us the opportunity to cook for you.
Happy trails to you all.
- Thanks. - Hey, we were outcooked today,
but all-in-all, I'm proud of myself as a leader.
I trusted my team so whole-heartedly,
and I felt like I didn't need to micromanage them.
I don't know if I'm gonna get dinged for that or not.
Blue team were all over the place.
I wish you had eyes on the red team, 'cause it was structured.
Now, somebody is going home from the blue team.
Right now, we need a very important few minutes.
Excuse us.
- Yeah, me, too. - This is tough.
So let's break down that dish.
The biggest complaint was the whole concept of the dish.
- The concept. - Yeah.
I mean, look, the compound butter was a decision.
They all approved it, but it didn't work.
It was a risk. We wanted to give them something different.
At the end of the day, the red team had a better dish,
but I believe that our captain should take responsibility
for the dish that we put out.
For Shelly as the captain, there was no voice there.
- No. - Brandi was, uh, all over the place.
Nonexistent. Should've been front and center on the grill.
I think that's your first pick.
It's implicit that you're gonna take
a responsible role on your team,
and she really didn't do it.
They're just getting ready to send me home.
Amanda was the one on the slaw.
And how about the chunks of grated carrot?
- Are we agreed? - Yep.
Yeah?
Blue team, we've talked it out at length,
and we've decided that the person going home tonight
based on their performance is...
Shelly.
Shelly, we asked for redemption. The captaincy wasn't present.
Leadership starts from the top. You have to have accountability.
That's how it works in our business.
It was a difficult challenge, and I think you weren't able
to strategize on choosing the right dish,
and then you didn't assemble and execute the team when you needed to.
Please say goodbye to your team and hand me your apron.
- Back to Win" journey is over.
- So proud of y'all. - And the reason why I'm going home today
is 'cause I didn't prevail as a leader.
Thank y'all so much. It was a pleasure
working with each and every one of y'all.
Thank y'all. Y'all crushed this competition.
Thank y'all, judges, so much. Appreciate it.
I'm walking off into the sunset a little bittersweet,
but blessed with this amazing opportunity.
Everyone doesn't get a second chance,
and I think this has opened up another door.
I don't know what it is,
but I'm excited to see what it's gonna be.
Next time, it's a mystery box challenge
curated by a MasterChef superstar.
- Christine Ha! - And she's bringing big stakes.
To make a Vietnamese dish,
you must use all of those ingredients.
- Holy hell! - Someone's gonna win immunity
and someone's gonna be eliminated.
What's gonna happen to you?
They'll need to keep their cool...
There's something exciting and dangerous
- about the way you cook. - It's very elevated.
to avoid cracking under the pressure...
This is something I would not choose to do.
- I'm back to win. - Oh,
- Have you made this dish before? - No.
- It's completely missing the mark.
It's kind of boring.
It's like eating suntan lotion.
You're out of it, big time.