\h\h\h\hGordon: Previously on "MasterChef: Back to Win"...
- Switch! - ...the cooks faced off
\h\hin the infamous tag-team challenge.
- Let’s go. - Tell me, tell me!
- It’s going on the long side! - There we go.
- I’ll do it, I’ll do it. - Drop that damn Wellington!
- No, I won’t! - Switch!
\hFor some, teamwork made the dream work.
This is the best risotto \h\h\h\h\hof the evening.
I’d serve this in my flagship \h\h\h\h\hrestaurant tonight.
\hCongratulations, Shanika and Bowen.
- But for others... - What are you-- no, no, no.
They don’t seem like a team \hthat should be together.
...it spelled disaster.
Risotto just feels ignored.
\h\h\hThis pastry on the top here is raw.
\h\h\hThe person leaving "MasterChef: Back to Win" \h\h\h\h\h\h\his Gabriel.
- Tonight... - ( engines revving )
- You hear that? \h- What is that?
- ( honking ) - What?
- the top 11 kicks off... - Come on, man.
\h...and we’re bringing take-out for everyone.
- You know I’m always hungry. - But there’s a catch.
\h\h\hYou have to cook \h\h\ha gourmet version of that take-out dish.
Ooh-whee!
\hBut for a spot in the top 10...
This is gonna come down \h\h\h\h\hto the wire.
- Why? - Your ass better cook.
- Come on. - Nobody’s safe.
...they’ll have to think \houtside the to-go box.
- It’s definitely elevated. - Award-winning stuff.
\h\h\hOr be taken out of the competition for good.
Instead of elevating it, \h\h\h\h\h\hyou sunk it.
\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Hand me your apron.
Here we go. Another day.
\h\h\h\hAnother day, another competition.
Willie: Coming into the top 11, I’ve experienced this before.
\h\hThe first time around, I made it to the top seven,
so I at least need to \h\h\hget past that.
- The door is locked. - What you mean it’s locked?
- Did you knock? - Yeah.
Brandi: So what are we \h\h\h\hsupposed to do?
We’re locked out.
- Where is Gordon? - Gordon! Aarón! Joe!
\h\h\hWhy are we locked out? Why are we standing outside?
This is bizarre, \hbut, of course,
there’s always a reason.
Gordon always has a reason.
- ( engines revving ) - Do you hear that?
- ( horn honks ) - What?
- What is that? - ( honking )
- Yeah! - Whoa!
- Oh! - Oh, my God!
- All right. - That was amazing.
Brandi: The judges roll up \h\hon their little mopeds.
I think it’s adorable, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hyou know?
\h\h\hEspecially Joe on his little moped. \hHe looked so cute.
\h\hI definitely think the judges have something up their sleeves.
- Come on, man. - Ooh-whee, GrubHub!
- Oh, my God. - What’d you guys bring us?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Right, as you can see,
\htoday’s challenge has been delivered
to you all by GrubHub.
- Mm! - Okay.
\hEach one of these bags contain some of the most requested delivery items
in the entire country based on the top food trends on GrubHub.
\h\h\h\h\hTonight, your challenge is to select one of these dishes
out of the GrubHub delivery bag
and cook a gourmet version \h\h\h\h\h\h\hof that dish.
\h- Ah, interesting. - Aarón: Understood?
- Yes, Chef. - Gordon: \hNow, listen carefully.
\h\h\h\h\h\hThe winner of tonight’s challenge
\h\h\h\h\h\hwill receive the coveted immunity pin
and secure their spot
in the top 10 alongside \h\hShanika and Bowen.
- You guys excited? - Yes, Chef.
\h\hOkay, all of you, please come follow us \h\h\hin the kitchen
\h\h\hso you can get to pick your dishes.
\h- Let’s go. - Yes, Chef.
Last challenge, Fred and I \h\hended up on the bottom,
\h\h\h\h\h\hand I feel like I haven’t shown the judges \h\h\hall I have to offer.
\h\h\h\h\h\hSo tonight I have a lot to prove.
Joe: Mm-hmm.
Now, dishes like the ones you’ll find in these bags
\h\h\h\hand many more \h\hwill be available at MasterChef Table,
\h\h\ha new restaurant exclusively on GrubHub.
- Oh. - Oh, wow.
Here’s how it’s gonna \h\h\h\hwork tonight.
In a moment, you’re all \h\hgonna come up here
and randomly grab a bag, \h\h\h\hany one you wish,
and take it back to your station.
- Got it? - Yes, Chef.
Good. Right, all of you, \h\h\h\h\hplease step up
- and grab a take-out bag. - Yes, Chef.
I’ll just grab this one.
\h\h\h\hThis is gonna be hard ’cause you can’t just create
\h\h\hthe literal dish that they present you.
\hYou have to find a way to elevate it
and use it as inspiration.
There’s a lot going on.
His bag is heavy. \h\h\hOh, my God.
\h\h\hRight, Big Willie, tell us what you’ve got.
\h\h\h\h\hI got fried rice and orange sesame chicken.
- Happy with that? - Most definitely.
\hGordon: Christian, tell us what you got.
- Ooh, tacos. - Mmm, that’s a good one.
- Amanda, open your bag. \h- I have lettuce wraps.
- Derrick? - Ooh. Empanadas.
- Brandi, let’s go. - Chicken and waffles.
- Emily? - Let’s check it out. \hHamburger.
- Dara? - Ooh, some butter chicken.
- Oh, come on. - Nice.
- Fred? - Spaghetti and meatballs.
They got some good stuff.
- And, finally, Michael. - Ramen.
- Oh. - Gordon: Nice.
\h\h\h\h\h\hMichael: Whoa. It is very hard \h\h\hto make ramen.
It takes hours or days \h\hto make the broth.
\hSo trying to figure out how I’m gonna elevate it
\h\hand put my twist on it, I’m feeling pretty stumped.
Joe: And we are upping the difficulty tonight.
\hFor the first time in this competition,
you will have 45 minutes
to cook us an upscale, \h\h\h\hgourmet version
of your chosen take-out dish.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFred: The fact that we only have \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h45 minutes,
that automatically makes me concerned,
because making pasta dough from scratch in 45 minutes
is gonna be a very, \hvery tough task.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNow, if you cook at the top of your game tonight,
\hyou will get that very much coveted, prized immunity pin.
But if you fall short, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hsadly,
\h\h\hyour take-out might take you out.
- Joe: Ooh. - Right, everybody ready?
- Yes, Chef. - Let’s have 45 minutes \hon the clock.
Your time starts now. \h\h\hCome on, guys.
- Come on, let’s go. - All right, guys. \h\hWillie, speed it up now!
- Right behind! Right behind! - Gordon: Let’s go!
Yeah, open the door.
All right. Heads up, heads up.
Slow and steady wins the race.
- Dara: \hI need basmati rice. - Corn, corn, corn.
- Dara: Here we go. - Lobster tails.
What am I gonna pickle? What am I gonna pickle?
\h\h\h\hI’m kinda disappointed that I got chicken and waffles.
You know, it’s a delicious dish, people probably thought
\h\h\hI was happy about it ’cause I’m from the South.
Garlic and onion.
\h\h\h\h\h\hThis is kind of \h\h\h\h\hin my wheelhouse, but I’m a little concerned,
\h\h\hwhether this can be elevated enough to get me \h\h\h\hinto the top 10.
And so I know I’ve gotta impress the judges with my flavors.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Right, three minutes gone. \h\h\h42 minutes remaining.
All right, let’s see.
- Bring this here. - I got a chicken lettuce wrap.
\hAnd I’m gonna kinda do the inverse and do \ha chicken roulade.
So, like, with the stuffing on \h\h\hthe inside of the chicken
instead of the chicken inside \h\h\h\h\h\h\hof the greens.
And I really want it to showcase a new technique and new skills.
\h\h\h\h\hThis is the challenge that can get you to the top 10.
It’s one of the milestones \hthat I hope to reach here \h\h\h\h\h\hat MasterChef.
Yes, yes, yes.
This is a big one tonight, \hbecause they are playing
\h\hfor a spot in the top 10 along with Shanika and Bowen.
- Aarón: Yeah. - I love this challenge
\h\h\h\hbecause these are the most popular \hdishes on GrubHub.
And our cooks have \hto transform them
into elevated or gourmet \h\hkind of experiences.
- Absolutely. - So we’re kind of eating
\h\h\h\hwhat America wants to eat tonight. \h\hThat’s fantastic.
\h\h\h\hAnd I love to see all the diversity that’s \h\h\hdemonstrated here.
We have food from India, \h\hMexico, we have stuff \hfrom the Mediterranean.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: I want to see some real \h\hcreativity on this,
but respect the base \h\h\h\hof that dish
from that to-go item
in a way that you can recognize an essence of the flavor
and give it a little bit \h\hof that personality.
That’s hard to pull off tonight.
45 minutes, come on, \h\h\h\his not long.
- No. - This is a tall order, \hthis one.
- I got this. - Dara’s working.
I got Indian cuisine,
so I’m making a spiced rice \h\h\hwith butter chicken.
\h\h\h\hI’ll be making a garlic butter chapati
and a cucumber mint raita.
\h\h\h\h\hThis is something that I cook and eat a ton.
It’s one of my favorite dishes,
so I’m running with it \hin a traditional way.
\h\h\h\h\hIndian cuisine doesn’t need reinventing.
\h\hIt’s just about making sure that all the flavors are there.
\h\h\h\h\hAnd if this is a dish that gets me in the top three,
I would be really, \h\h\hreally happy.
\h\hGordon: Seven minutes gone, 38 minutes remaining. Let’s go.
Yes, Chef.
You got this.
Perfect.
\h\h\h\hI am making a take on spaghetti and meatballs.
I’m gonna go and try and bring some Mediterranean flair to it
with a homemade tomato harissa.
And I’m gonna take the spaghetti and meatball inspiration
and turn it into a potsticker.
\h\h\h\h\hIt think this is a make or break dish for me
\h\h\h\h\h\hbecause I was in the bottom last week.
\h\h\hI want to go and show the judges
that I can continue to fight \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hand push,
\h\h\h\h\h\hand I can make really good savory dishes.
Man, I gotta get this going.
I don’t really know how
I’m gonna transform this dish.
I feel like it has to be
a piece of chicken and a waffle,
so I’m gonna have to find \h\ha way to elevate this
and just make the flavors \h\h\h\hbigger and better
than they start with.
I’m gonna do a savory waffle
with a Cajun chicken wing.
And then I’m gonna do a spicy honey sauce,
\h\h\ha Cajun butter, and some pickled bell pepper and onion.
I think it’ll give this dish \h\hthe punch that it needs,
but I got a lot of work to do.
45 minutes.
This is the shortest amount \h\h\h\hof time we’ve had.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hCome on. This is taking forever.
\hI know that I have to use my time wisely
\hto even be able to pull this off.
You know, a lot of times \h\hin this competition,
\h\h\h\hwhen someone works \hwithin their wheelhouse, that’s where they mess up.
\h\h\hRight there. Burnt garlic. Man!
I can’t let a Southern staple \h\hlike chicken and waffles \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hsend me home.
I can do this. I can do this.
( groans )
\h\h\h\hWe have 45 minutes. This is the shortest amount \h\h\h\hof time we’ve had.
\hThere’s stress. There’s anxiety.
But I want to make \h\h\h\hthe top 10.
I got this, I got this.
\h\h\h\hI’ve gotta get out of my head.
I’ve gotta strategize \h\h\h\hreally quick
\hand find a way to elevate this.
\h\h\h\h\h( sighs ) Everything’s okay.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: So, 10 minutes gone.
35 minutes remaining.
- You got this. - Let’s go, baby.
\h\h\h\h\hSo, 45 minutes for three dishes tonight,
\h\helevated from that to-go order.
\h\h\h\hJoe: Remember, this is "Back to Win."
Gotta make it more difficult,
\h\hraise the level of the challenges.
- Mm-hmm. - I got this.
- Derrick, Derrick, Derrick. - What did you get?
What’s your take-out order? \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hLet’s see.
- I got empanadas. - Ooh-la-la.
- You’re gonna \h\hwrap it with what? - Puff pastry.
I’m doing a cumin spiced \hlobster tail en croûte,
\hand then it’s gonna sit on a sautéed bed of vegetables,
and then aji amarillo \hhollandaise sauce.
Aarón: The word "aji"
is the South American word \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor chili.
\h\h\hEn croûte is pretty ambitious in 45 minutes.
- Not a lot of time. - Yep.
\h\hYou need to leave yourself enough time to cook your lobster
- and the pastry \h\hall the way through. - Why don’t you wrap that first?
You can always do that \h\h\h\hlater, Derrick.
You have to prioritize that, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hmy brother.
\h\h\hWrap that thing, and then you can always \h\hcome back to that.
- Heard. - That’s your star \h\hright there, young man.
- Right, right, right. - Hey, Derrick, last week \hyou were so close to a pin.
\h\h\h\hVery close. Emotionally close.
\hI’m really struggling with the immunity pin.
\h\hMaybe it’s just ’cause I haven’t won the damn thing yet,
but I’ve been consistently \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hat the top,
and I’m ready to win.
- Well, look, \hyou have a lot to do. - Yeah.
\h\h\h\hYou’re here to impress. You’re here to elevate, right?
That’s what I’m trying \h\hto showcase today.
- All right, good luck. - You keep going at it.
- All day. Thank you, Chefs. - Got this.
I need my baking powder.
- Emily. \h- Chef.
- Tell me about the dish, \h\hwhat did you get? - I got a burger and fries.
\h- Okay, what’s your dish? - So, I’m taking all \h\h\h\hof those components,
but creating something \hcompletely different.
So it’s not gonna be a burger.
It’s gonna be a steak tartar \h\hwith glass potato chips.
\h\h\h\hA steak tartar, wow. And how are you gonna elevate \h\h\h\h\hthat steak tartar?
- The cut is important, right? - Cut is important.
- I’m using fillet. \hIt’s gonna be nice and tender. - Smart. Good.
It’s in the freezer right now chilling,
so that I get nice cubes on it.
Okay, gotcha.
Top ten just around the corner. How are you feeling?
My first goal is to make it \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hto top 10,
and then past top 10.
\h\h\hI was the first one out of top 10 last time.
- How does that look? - Not as great as it could look.
- What happened? - My cake fell over.
\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: The person leaving
the MasterChef kitchen \h\h\h\h\h\h\his Emily.
\hI still play it back in my mind in terms of that dreadful night.
- So do I. - Use this to bring it \hout of you.
You’ll surprise yourself, \h\h\hbut it’ll give you \h\h\h\hsuch a position.
- Heard, Chef. Thank you. - Good luck.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hJoe: All right. Big Willie, what do you got?
So, my take-out order \h\h\hwas fried rice \hand orange chicken.
- Aarón: Ooh. - Joe: I love that.
So, what I’m gonna do
\h\h\h\h\his I’m gonna make a chicken and rice meatball
\h\hwith the flavors of the orange chicken
with a garden of vegetables,
\h\h\h\hand I’m making a plum and apricot sauce instead of orange.
So this is the chicken, \h\hthe ground chicken \h\hfor the meatballs.
You put the rice in there already?
\hThe rice is coming off now, and then I’m gonna form ’em,
and then I’m gonna \h\h\hfry them up.
- You’re gonna fry them? \hDeep fry them? - Yes.
\hAre you gonna put any breading on them or no?
Yes, I’ma do a flour \h\h\hegg breadcrumb.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hJoe: I gotta say, Willie, this is \ha pretty extreme departure
from the take-out dish.
I hope you’ve thought this one \h\h\h\h\hall the way through.
You gotta be balanced
and you have to create harmony \h\h\h\hin your flavors, right?
\h\h\h\h\hMost definitely. We’re gonna make it happen.
It ain’t the time to play safe.
All right, Willie. This better be top.
I got you, I got you. \hTrust me, trust me.
- All right. - Come on, man.
- Dara? \h\hTell me, butter chicken. - Yes, Chef.
How are you gonna elevate it? \h\h\h\h\hWhat are you doing?
\h\hWell, to me, Chef, this is such a classic,
and I really don’t think it needs much elevating.
I’m just gonna make sure
\h\h\h\hI’m focusing on all of my flavors,
and developing, layering them.
I’m adding some spices \h\h\h\h\h\hto my rice,
and then I’m also making \h\h\h\h\h\h\ha chapati.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOh, wow, so you’re doing a really nice, \h\h\h\hbeautiful, thin bread.
- Yes. - Yes? The essence of a butter \h\hchicken is in that gravy,
- that beautiful, \hfragrant tomato gravy. - Yes, Chef.
So, the bread is important, \h\h\h\h\hbut the essence,
\h\hI promise you now, of butter chicken is in \h\hthat tomato gravy.
- Yes, Chef. - Don’t work upside down.
\hGet your gas on, get your pans hot,
and get that gravy on first and then the garnish, yes?
- Yes, Chef. - Shift up a gear now, okay?
’Cause we’re nearly halfway. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGood luck.
- Perfect. - Come on, come on, come on.
- Michael. \h\hWhat did you get? - Hello, hello.
- So I got in my GrubHub ramen. - Ramen.
\h\h\hI was lucky enough to spend a little time in \h\hKorea after college,
\h\h\hso I’m gonna do a Korean style ramen
\hwith pork belly and prawn today,
\h\h\h\h\hseasoning it with a some gochugjang, \h\h\ha little kimchi,
like a kimchi-based broth.
I like the idea of prawns \h\h\h\h\hand pork belly.
\hMichael, how important is for to you personally \hto get into the top 10?
- This is everything. - You went home 15.
\hYeah, I didn’t get to it the first time, and it was \h\hsort of a goal of mine,
and so I think to be here and not get to that goal
that I had the first time \h\his really important.
- Good luck, Michael. - Thank you so much.
- Emily, you’re still \hon that tartar? - Yes, ma’am.
- All right, now. \h\h\hMake it good. \h\h- Beautiful fillet.
- Some exciting \h\hdishes out there. - Unbelievable.
Dara, she picked out that butter chicken.
\h\hShe’s gonna make a tomato curry sauce,
\h\hand on top of that, she’s making a chapati,
- a beautiful bread. - Wow.
\h\hI’m slightly concerned \h\habout the actual gravy not going on early enough.
\h\hShe started the bread. I said, "Get the gravy on. \hLet the gravy cook out."
So she’s taking, like, an Indian take-out dish
\h\h\h\h\hand evolved it into a starred restaurant \h\h\h\h\h\hIndian dish.
- Absolutely. - Ooh, yeah.
- Emily, she got the hamburger \hin her to-go bag. - Those look nice.
She said, "I’m gonna do the most amazing fillet of beef steak tartar."
\h\h- What? That takes \h\ha lot of courage. - Hand cut?
- Gordon: Yeah. - Joe: Tartar is high stakes
\h\hbecause everyone has their preference \hon how you like it,
so it’ll be interesting to see
\h\h\hif her taste matches our taste.
- Yeah. - Derrick got \hthe chicken empanadas
\h\hand is transforming that into lobster tails en croûte.
\h\h\hAarón: And he’s gonna have these kind of sautéed \h\hvegetables underneath,
\h\hall within 45 minutes, which I think is ambitious.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThat’s right. Cooking lobster’s hard enough,
\h\h\h\h\hbut wrapping it in pastry’s even harder.
Willie: That’s good.
Willie got sweet orange chicken and fried rice.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAarón: But here’s what he’s gonna do.
He’s gonna use apricot and plum
as the basis for his sauce.
He’s gonna make chicken \h\hand rice meatballs.
He’s gonna take the premise \h\hof the orange chicken, \h\h\h\hmix the fried rice,
- and use that inside \hhis mixture. - Wow.
\hHalfway, guys. 23 minutes gone.
22 minute remaining.
It’s gonna come down \h\h\h\hto the wire.
\h\hWe’re halfway through, and I am not halfway done.
If I don’t get the lobster \h\hwrapped in the pastry, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hegg washed,
and in the oven in enough time \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hfor it to cook,
it’s gonna be raw.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hShanika: How’s it going, Derrick?
What do I do? What do I do?
He can’t even hear us. \h\h\hHe’s in the zone.
- ( groans ) - I am freaking out.
I have probably 30 seconds
to get this lobster \h\h\hinto the oven
\hbecause it takes 20 minutes to cook.
This dish is all-in or bust.
He just has to wrap them things and get him in there
- so that he has the time. - Come on, I need you.
\h\h\h\hIf I wrap this lobster and nail it, that’s a big win.
\h\h\h\h\h\hIf it’s raw, I’m probably going home.
Uh, uh-oh.
- Come on. - Damn it.
( groans )
Uh, uh-oh.
- Come on. - Damn it.
( groans )
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDerrick: I have probably 30 seconds
to get this lobster \h\hinto the oven,
\hbecause it takes 20 minutes to cook
and there’s 21 minutes \h\h\h\h\hon the clock.
I can do this. I’m right here.
I have no choice but to push this
\h\h\h\hall the way to the last second.
- Damn it. - He nervous.
I’m taking a big risk,
because I’ve never gotten \h\h\h\hthat immunity pin
\hand I definitely want to get my hands on it.
Man.
\h\h\h\h\hI’m just hoping that he got enough time.
Okay, now we’ve caught up.
\h\h\h\h\hGordon: 20 minutes to go.
\hThree stunning portions of elevated to-go dishes.
Ooh, I’m shaking.
Fred: Come on!
Has to rest.
\h- Fred, remind me \h\habout the dish. - Yes?
- What did you get in that bag? - I got spaghetti and meatballs and--
\hSpaghetti and meatballs. Now tell me about the dish.
- What are you doing? - I’m gonna do potstickers
- with an Italian \h\hmeatball filling. - What?
- A potsticker? - Yeah, an Italian--
How is that related \h\hto a meatball?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hI’m gonna do an Italian meatball stuffing.
- Okay. - And then I’m gonna fold in
some tomato paste and some chilies,
\h\h\h\h\hand I’m gonna do a charred vegetable harissa \h\h\hand a parmesan crisp.
\h- You making your dough? - Yes. Made dough already.
Gotcha. What’s the protein? \hYou using pork and beef?
Pork, veal, and beef.
Shouldn’t you get that on now \h\h\hin that cast iron pan?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGet that at least nice and hot,
or are you putting \h\h\hthat in raw?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hOh, so, I’m putting it in raw.
But I have the timing down, \h\h\hChef, so we’re good.
\h\hGotcha. I love the ambitiousness,
but is that a little bit \h\h\h\h\htoo difficult?
You gotta roll that dough, \h\h\hlet that dough rest, \h\h\hand then shape them.
Why take on something \h\h\h\hso difficult,
\h\h\hespecially on a night like tonight when you know
these challenges are formidable and nobody’s safe?
Well, I came back \hto push myself.
\h\h\h\h\hI don’t want to take it safe, ever.
Okay, young man, \h\h\hgood luck.
Thank you, Chef.
Looks great.
Oh, so beautiful. \h\hSo beautiful.
Gotta make this tighter, gotta make this tighter.
\h\h\h\hAll right, Christian, what was your take-out order?
- Some type of-- - Ooh, look at that.
- Birria tacos. - Birria taco.
\h\h\h\h\h\hBirria’s a style that you make these tacos in.
\h\h\hTraditionally, it’s done with goat,
\h\h\hbut any sort of braised cut of steer
\hor beef could be utilized for this.
It really is that beautiful \h\hmélange of dry chilies
that make this so special.
\h\hWhat are you doing with that inspiration?
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYou know, I’ma about to change it up.
\h\hI’m gonna go with a little enchiladas,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\ha little Creole-Cajun enchiladas.
- Ooh-la-la. - Same ingredients.
\h\hAnd I’ma top it off with a charred corn pico de gallo.
- Ooh. - Nice! There you go.
\hHe is not afraid to spice things up.
- You let the spices flow, huh? - Yes, sir.
\h\h\hKeep that fierce attitude up, Christian.
- Thank you. - Put that back in there \hjust a second
to heat it up and salt it.
- Right. Young man, \hhow are you feeling? \h- Pretty good, Chef.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Those vegetables are still raw, so just be careful there.
- You gotta move. - Yes, Chef.
- You gotta move, okay? - Heard.
There we go. Come on, baby.
\h\h30 minutes done, 15 minutes remaining.
15 minutes. Oh, God.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hSo, Fred’s got the spaghetti and meatballs.
He’s gonna do a meatball flavor but inside a potsticker.
- Okay. - Wow.
\h\hAnd then a beautiful roasted vegetable harissa \h\h\h\hsauce with that.
- But, like, Italian flavors \h\hor Asian flavors? - No. Italian flavors.
\h\h\h\h\hHe’s gonna do sort of a light breadcrumb mix inside.
\h\h\h\h\hLike parmigiano and breadcrumbs and that?
Breadcrumbs. Exactly that. \hHe’s made his own dough.
\h\h\h\h\h\hBut I just worry he’s venturing a bit too far \h\h\hfrom his take-out dish.
\h\h\hIt’ll either land him in the top or in the bottom
depending on how all those \h\hflavors come together.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
We’re down to the last \h10 minutes remaining.
- Come on, guys. - Ah!
Beautiful. Beautiful.
\hIs he supposed to be still kneading that dough like that
when he makes dumplings?
Oh, gosh.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFred: My dough is coming out \h\h\h\h\hreally gummy.
That could be very problematic.
\h\h\hHe is so nervous. His hands are shaking.
Externally, I’m just trying \h\h\hto keep it together.
I think he knows \hwhat he doing.
Internally, I’m freaking out
\hand I’m screaming and I want to cry.
I’m definitely gonna be \h\hpushing it on time.
( sighs )
Top 10 is around the corner,
and if I have any shot \hat getting in there,
I have to save this.
( bleep )
Holy...
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFred: I’m struggling to finish
making Italian meatball \hstuffed potstickers.
- ( groans ) - He is so nervous. \hHis hands are shaking.
- Oh, gosh. - Top 10 is around the corner,
and if I have any shot \hat getting in there,
I have to save this.
Go in.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Five minutes remaining.
Last five.
Brandi, put more garnish.
I’m going to, I’m going to. That’s what I’m working on.
Where’s my other butter? There’s my other butter.
Gotta add that butter.
- Right, young man, \h\hhow are you feeling? - Oh, a little nervous.
- Nervous about what? - Just time.
I got my lobster en croûte in.
Good. Cooking lobster \h\h\his hard enough,
\h\hbut to wrap it in pastry on a night like tonight, why?
\h\hGo big or go home. \hAnd it’s an empanada. I mean, I gotta do it.
\h\hYou’ve also gotta dodge those bullets.
- Where is that lobster? - It’s right here, Chef.
- You got three tails? - Yeah.
- Man, how you serving them? - I’m keeping it whole for you,
with a little bit of hollandaise and a little caviar.
Caviar, hollandaise, lobster. \h\h\hWe said elevated, yes?
- Yeah, that’s what that is. - Luxuriously elevated.
Right, plates out, get them laid out, \h\hand get going.
- Let’s go. - Thank you, Chef.
Okay.
Let’s go, baby.
Big worry right now is Derrick.
- Aarón: Really? \h- The three lobster tails \h\h\hare still in the oven.
- Wow. \h\h- And he’s not even \h\hgonna slice them.
He’s gonna serve them whole.
\h\h\hSo it will be impossible to tell
if they’re cooked properly \h\h\hwhen he plates them.
- Oh, my Lord. - Joe: Now that’s a mistake.
- Come on, I need you. - Uh-oh.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBowen: \h\h\hHe doesn’t even use the water to steam that.
You have to use the water, \h\h\h\hsteam all the way.
- I did. - But it’s not enough.
It will be dry on the edge.
- Okay. - Cover it.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hNo, I did. I literally put water in and--
Okay. Whatever.
I will leave you alone, okay?
Thank you, Bowen.
Gordon: Last minute. \h\h60 seconds to go.
Come on, guys.
Come on, Fred. Focus.
( muttering )
- Almost there. - I’m shaking.
- Aarón: Let’s go, Willie. - He is miles behind.
Come on, come on, come on.
\h\h\h\h\hGordon: 30 seconds to go!
- Come on. Let’s go. - Aarón: Here we go.
- Oh, my God. - Yeah.
Derrick’s lobster’s out. \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAmazing.
\h\h\h\h\h\hAll right, last few seconds here.
Almost finished.
Perfect.
Oh, gosh.
Ten, nine, eight,
seven, six, five,
four, three, two, one!
- Gordon: And stop! - Aarón: That’s it. \hHands in the air!
- Gordon: Well done. - Whoo!
( bleep ), that went fast.
Holy ( bleep ).
- That was insane. - It was.
Well done. Tonight, you had to \h\h\hcook us a gourmet version
\h\hof some of the most popular take-out dishes across America.
And dishes like the ones \h\h\h\h\hyou’ve created
are currently available \h\hat MasterChef Table
exclusively on GrubHub.
Joe: Now, we’re gonna \htake a closer look
at all of your dishes.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hEmily, this is a tartar, right?
It is, yes.
So, this makes you \h\hthink of that.
- It’s a different experience. - Mm-hmm.
All right, Brandi, \hwaffles, chicken.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYes, that’s a Cajun compound butter for the waffles,
- pickled peppers, and onions. - Thank you.
Okay, Amanda, what’s the dish?
So, we have chicken roulade \h\h\h\h\h\hwith bok choy.
- And what’s in here? \h- Miso, soy, a little bit \h\h\hof butter at the end.
- Mm. Is that on the plate? - Yes.
- Gordon: Thank you. \h- Thank you, Chef.
\h\hGetting past this part and making it to the top 10
will be a huge milestone \h\h\h\hnot for just me,
\h\h\h\hbut everybody in this competition.
- So, you got \hthe butter chicken, correct? - Dara: I did, Chef.
- Do you think you elevated it? - Yes, Chef.
Thank you.
\hThis is the point of the competition
\h\h\hthat separates the boys from the men
\hand the girls from the women.
Were you able to control \hsome of the sweetness?
I did. I think I did.
\h\h\h\hI can’t be that one to go home
when I’m this close \h\hto the top 10.
All right, Michael, this is your soup.
\h\h\hYeah, I made a broth with shrimp heads, kimchi,
fermented chili paste.
- A little bit spicy. - Wow.
\hDerrick, you selected the empanadas, but made \h\hlobster en croûte?
\h\hMm-hmm. And then I did the vegetables on the side.
- Wow. - Interesting.
- Aarón: Yeah. - Gordon: Thank you.
- Thank you. - Fred: Week after week,
\h\hsome of the best cooks in MasterChef history have \h\hbeen getting sent home,
so the competition’s only getting tougher \h\hfrom here on out,
\hand smaller mistakes will send people home.
\h\hSo, from spaghetti and meatballs to this. \h\h\hIt’s a long trip.
\h\h\h\h\hYeah, I mean, \hit went through Asia and the Mediterranean.
Hmm.
Thank you.
This ’bout to get \h\hreal serious.
- Some really good dishes. - Yeah.
The intriguing one is Derrick
\h\h\h\h\hbecause we don’t know whether that lobster’s cooked.
I think we have to take a closer look at that.
- For the first time. - Yeah.
We can decide where he stands \h\h\h\honce we cut it open.
He’ll either rise to the top \h\h\hor sink to the bottom.
\h\hOkay, we have a few dishes that we are dying to dive into.
\h\hThe first top dish featured bolder flavors
\h\h\hthat took it to that next level.
Please come forward, Michael.
( sighs )
\hBeing in the top feels really good,
and I’ve worked so hard \h\h\h\hfor this spot.
\h\hMy only concern right now is if my broth is too spicy,
it may put me in jeopardy \h\h\h\h\hwith the judges
\h\h\h\h\hand hurt my chance of getting that immunity pin
for the second time.
\h\h\h\h\h\hMichael, tell us what you got \h\hin that to-go bag
and describe your dish please.
\h\h\hI got a classic Japanese-style ramen.
So I did a Korean-style ramyun
with grilled Korean \hbarbecue shrimp.
Everything looks \hsuper elevated.
- Mm. - The presentation is clever.
\hYou’re using the crispy \h\h\hlittle rice noodles as a textural component.
Looking forward to trying it.
\h\h\h\h\h\hOf course, I like my ramen spicy.
- ( coughs ) - ( laughs )
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hMichael, the dish is delicious.
\h\h\h\h\h\hLove the take on that Korean influence, especially with the heat.
\h\h\h\h\h\hThat broth is award-winning stuff.
Wow. Thank you, Chef.
\h\h\h\hYeah, I like the intensity of it.
I don’t know if you could eat \h\h\h\h\ha whole bowl of it,
but all the components in the dish make sense.
- It’s very strong. - It’s hard to believe
\h\h\h\h\hyou got that flavor extracted within 45 minutes.
- Well done. - Thank you.
\h\h\h\h\hThe next dish in the winner’s circle tonight
featured a bold usage of spice.
Hmm.
Please come forward...
- Dara. - ( murmuring )
Good job, Dara.
Dara: Last challenge, I was in the bottom,
so it’s a huge deal for me,
and hopefully I elevated \h\h\h\hthis dish enough.
Okay, Dara, what did you get \h\h\h\hin your take-out bag?
So, I had butter chicken,
\h\h\h\h\hand I made Indian butter chicken
with spiced Basmati rice, \hgarlic butter chapati,
and cucumber mint raita.
\h\h\hSo you basically took almost the same exact dish \hand just upped the level.
\hI did. I wanted to honor the tradition of this dish.
I wanted to elevate some \h\h\h\h\hof the flavors,
- but keep it \h\hin its traditional form. \h- The dish looks inviting.
\hButter chicken, it’s that beautiful tomato gravy that’s the hero.
\h\h\hI just hope it delivers in that flavor that you expect.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hYoung lady, it’s absolutely delicious.
There’s something quite magical about that sauce.
But what I do love more than \hanything is the spicy rice, \h\h\h\h\h\hwhich is lovely.
\h\h\hSo that lifts the heat even more.
\h\h\h\hI’m not used to those small bits.
\h\h\h\hYou lose the texture of that beautiful brown meat
when you cut them up so small, \h\h\h\h\h\hbut it’s delicious.
Thank you, Chef.
The boldness in your approach, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hI just love that.
The spices in the rice \h\h\h\hecho the spices
inside the actual gravy. \h\h\hI appreciate that.
I go to Indian food once a week and this could be served
at any one of my favorite \h\h\hIndian restaurants.
Well done.
- Aarón: Thank you. - Thank you, Joe.
We keep being up here together.
You’re such a rock star.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hThe next dish that we’re dying to taste,
\h\h\h\hwe considered it to be the biggest risk of the night.
But because of the way \h\h\hit was prepared,
\h\hwe need to take a much closer look
\h\h\h\hto decide whether it’s actually in the top \h\h\h\h\hor the bottom.
\hBecause if it’s cooked perfectly,
\h\hthen it will definitely be in the top dishes of the night.
But if it’s undercooked, it will be at the bottom.
- ( bleep ) - Ooh.
Please step forward...
- Derrick. - No pressure.
\h\h\h\h\hHe better hope that damn lobster cooked.
\h\h\h\h\hDerrick: I took a huge risk \h\hwith this dish.
Now we’re gonna find out \h\hif this risk paid off
or if I’m just gonna \h\hembarrass myself.
It’s a really scary place \h\h\h\hto be right now.
Describe your dish, please.
I got chicken tinga empanadas.
\h\h\h\hI took those flavors and made a lobster en croûte
with a aji amarillo hollandaise sauce.
Gordon: I’m gonna be honest \h\h\hwith you, young man.
\hI’ve always loved your determination,
but only the most skilled chefs in the world
\hwould attempt a lobster en croûte in 45 minutes.
If this is overcooked \h\h\hor undercooked,
you’re going directly \h\hinto the bottom.
The suspense.
\h\h\h\hDerrick, if this is overcooked or undercooked,
you’re going directly \h\hinto the bottom.
It’d better be cooked right.
It’s gonna be cooked right?
\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: Oh, my goodness me.
The lobster is cooked \h\h\h\hbeautifully.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBowen, Shanika, can you see that from up there?
- Yes. - Yes, Chef. \h\hIt’s glistening.
- Gordon: \h\hGlistening? Wow. - Mm-hmm.
Young man, it’s definitely \h\h\h\h\hin the top three,
\hlet’s get that absolutely clear.
( no audible dialogue )
Take a deep breath.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hGordon: The hollandaise is impeccable. \h\h\hIt’s a really good dish.
I think what I’m surprised at \h\h\h\h\hmore than anything
is what you’ve got done \h\h\h\hin 45 minutes.
\h- That’s the exciting bit \h\h\hfor me tonight. - Thank you.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hAll I gotta say is aji amarillo hollandaise.
\h\h\hThat’s so clever and smart. I might even take that from you.
It’s a dish that swings \h\h\h\hfor the fences.
\h\hWhen you make a dish like this,
\h\h\h\h\hyou’re really \hputting it out there what your ambition is,
which is to win.
\h\h\hWhat is it with you that every time you cook
\h\h\h\hyou cook like you’re in the finale?
You’re just so hungry to win.
\h\h\h\h\h\hThat’s just the competitive nature.
\h\h\h\hI want to be in the finale every time.
I don’t know any other way.
\h- I admire that. - Thank you, Chef.
( sighs )
- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.
- Thank you. - Thank you.
Let’s go, dude.
Michael, Dara, Derrick,
right now we need a moment, please.
\h- So, uh, Michael’s broth, \h\h\hexceptional, yeah? - Yep.
Dara’s is not quite as flashy as Michael’s, but very good.
\hLike, I felt I was eating in an authentic Indian restaurant.
And then Derrick’s lobster en croûte?
- Yeah. Very good. - Good luck, guys.
So, the good news is that all three of you are safe \h\h\h\hfrom elimination.
But as far as the best dish \h\h\h\h\h\h\hof the night,
it gives us great pleasure \h\h\h\hto hand this to...
Derrick.
Exceptional.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hDerrick: This is the first time
I’ve gotten the immunity pin
- this whole season. - Well done.
- Thank you. - Joe: Good job.
Now is the time to really show
\h\h\hwhat you can do, what you’re capable of.
Please make your way \hup to the balcony.
I’ve got a fire lit right now,
and putting it all on the line
- and winning immunity \hwith it... - Well, well deserved.
...that shows everyone \h\h\hI’m back to win.
\h\h\hRight, now for the not so good news.
Someone is going home tonight,
\h\h\h\h\hand since Derrick ended up in the top three,
we’re only going to look at the bottom two dishes \h\h\h\h\hof the evening.
- Wow. - So, the first dish
\h\h\hwe want to take a much deeper look at
just did not make sense.
Please step forward...
Fred.
( Fred groans )
Being in the bottom two weeks in a row,
it’s frustrating.
The more I look at my dish,
the more I’m realizing that stuffing meatballs
into dumpling wrappers might \hnot have been a good idea,
but I’m hoping that me making \h\hthe wrappers from scratch \h\h\h\his enough to save me.
\h\h\hSo, young man, describe what you got \h\hin your to-go bag
and what is your dish?
I got the spaghetti \h\hand meatballs,
so I did an Italian meatball potsticker
with a charred tomato relish \hand parmesan crisp on top.
What are you calling this sauce?
Fred: It was intended \h\hto be a harissa,
\h\hbut it came out more like a relish.
\hJoe: Well, obviously it broke on the plate.
\h\h\h\h\hI’m just having a hard time understanding
what I’m gonna taste here.
\h\hI mean, spaghetti and meatballs to here
is a long way to travel.
\h\h\hFred, could you just step forward a little bit.
\hIt looks dry, young man, and that’s before I eat it.
\h\h\hYou took what could be good spaghetti and meatballs take-out
and made some sort of version \h\h\h\hof bad Chinese food.
\h\h\hThis is wrong on so many levels,
I’m having a hard time \h\h\h\hprocessing it.
\h\h\h\hYou were going down a great direction \h\h\hwith the harissa,
and it’s actually well-seasoned.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hBut that filling, there’s, like, zero seasoning.
Almost like we took the salt \h\h\h\h\h\h\haway from you.
That’s bad.
I don’t see this as an elevated spaghetti and meatball.
It just doesn’t make sense. \h\hIt doesn’t taste good.
- Thank you, Fred. - Thank you.
\h\h\h\h\hSo the final dish that we must taste tonight
was certainly a creative \h\h\h\h\hinterpretation
of a take-out dish,
\h\h\h\hbut it lacked the proper substance
\h\h\h\h\h\hthat we were desperately looking for.
Please come forward...
\h\h\h\hSo, the final dish that we must taste tonight,
please come forward...
- Willie. - Mm.
- What? - No.
Wow.
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hI’m shocked that I am in the bottom two.
\h\hIt’s like a 50-50 chance that I’m gonna be the one going home.
\h\h\hI just hope that something is in my dish
that’s gonna keep me around.
Willie, can you please \h\hdescribe your dish?
So, I got orange chicken \h\h\hand the fried rice.
And so I did a chicken \h\h\hand rice meatball
with an apricot and plum sauce
with charred vegetables.
I’m completely perplexed \h\h\h\h\h\hby this dish.
I hope that those meatballs \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hhave flavor
\h\h\h\h\hand I hope that they’re not dry.
All right, Willie, I’m gonna \h\hgive it to you straight.
You know what this tastes like?
You know when you have leftover Chinese food,
two or three days passes, \h\h\hand you take it out
and it’s all dry and oxidized?
It’s like you took that, you put it in a blender,
bound it with egg, \h\h\hand fried it.
And then you took a jar \h\h\h\h\hof marmalade
and put a spoon underneath it.
Instead of elevating it, \h\h\h\h\h\hyou sunk it.
\hAarón: The one thing that is saving you here
is that the meatballs \hare well-seasoned.
Seasoning is on point. \hIt does taste savory.
\h\h\h\h\hBut I’m trying to identify where we sit with this elevated idea.
\h\h\hWhat’s the benchmark? Yeah, it’s-- it’s bizarre.
- Thank you. - Thank you, Willie.
\h\h\h\h\h\hBoth of you, please give us a moment, \h\h\h\h\h\h\hthank you.
\hUh, Fred’s first. What was that dish, \h\h\h\hby the way?
- I-- - A meatball potsticker? \hIt just doesn’t work.
- Going in the opposite direction than what we asked. - Yeah.
\h\hWillie’s dish tasted like Chinese leftover food to me.
- Yeah. - Hey.
- Yeah. - I think we’re in \hagreeance on that one.
- Yep. - Absolutely.
- Let’s do it. - Yeah?
Fred and Willie,
the individual that’s cooked \h\h\hfor the very last time
in the "MasterChef: Back to Win" kitchen is...
Fred.
Love you, Willie.
Willie, say good-bye to Fred,
head back to your station, \h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hplease.
Fred, we’ve absolutely loved
\h\h\h\h\hyour baking in this competition.
\hTonight, the savory edge just got the better of you.
Throughout this competition,
you showed grace, you showed \h\h\ha lot of sportsmanship.
I have an enormous amount \h\h\hof respect for you.
The evolution you’ve had in your style of cooking \h\h\h\his really unique,
and it’s a special gift \h\h\h\h\h\h\hyou have,
\h\h\hand go out to the world and give it to other people.
- They deserve to see it. - Thank you, Joe.
Come and say good-bye, \h\hyoung man, please.
Well done.
Thank you again for just \htaking a chance on me.
( muted chatter )
\h\h\h\h\h\h\hFred: You know, it sucks
to not make top 10,
\h\h\h\h\h\hbut I’m proud of everything I’ve done.
Fred, please place your apron
\h\hon your bench and say good-bye.
Despite getting sent home,
\h\h\h\h\h\h\h\hI feel happy to have just even done this.
- Oh, my-- - ( laughing )
I love you, Fred.
Being invited back \h\hfrom season 10,
\h\hit warms my heart and it makes me feel \hloved and accepted.
- Love you, Willie. - Love you, too.
While I’m sad that I didn’t do \h\has well as I did last time,
I had a winning dessert,
I was able to stay true \h\h\h\h\h\hto myself,
and the fact that the judges \h\h\h\h\hacknowledged that,
it means the world.
Congratulations, top 10!
\h- Gordon: Next time... - Welcome to the top 10.
...the "Back to Win" cooks \h\hare making a pit stop.
You have to elevate gas station snacks
- into gourmet dishes. - Whoa.
\hThat’s the secret of any great chef-- \helevation, right?
- It’s about to go down. - Get it!
I melted gummy bears down. I poured the beer in there.
- What? - That sounds disgusting.
I want that immunity pin back.
It’s the biggest risk taken so far in this competition.
And while some create \h\h\hsnack magic...
It’s ( bleep ) delicious. \hI couldn’t be happier.
An absolute showstopper.
- ...others will be left behi - ( bleep )
It tastes like chocolate \h\h\h\h\hscrambled eggs.
- It’s gross. - You took a big risk today \h\hand you failed.