Masterchef (2010–…): Season 10, Episode 17 - Box in a Box in a Box - full transcript

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Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"...

Welcome to the MasterChef speedway.

- Joe: It's raining.
- ( bleep )

Shari: This is just dangerous.

- We gotta start plating soon.
- Go the other way, Subha.

- Look. That's raw.
- The salmon is raw, you guys.

We are absolutely broken down.

Get your ( bleep ) together.

Oh, my God.

The winning team is the red team.

Micah, as the winning team captain,



you get to pick any
home cook from your team

who will also have to participate

in tonight's elimination.

Tonight, someone's fate
hangs in the balance...

Maybe this decision will
come back to haunt you, Micah.

I'm not scared.

...In an elimination challenge

that's more than just a mystery box.

- One, two, three.
- Oh, my gosh.

And an exit that shocks everyone.

Put some hustle in your muscle.

Six talented home cooks.

Sadly, one of you has cooked
for the very last time.

- Joe: It's raw.
- Ooh.



( music playing )

Micah, as the winning team captain,

you get to pick any
home cook from your team

who will also have to participate

in tonight's elimination.

Now, we're in the top ten.

You need to think about
who is your competition

and who do you need
to get out of the way.

The moment to decide
your future is now, Micah.

I think that some of
this is gonna be strategy.

Micah, along with other competitors,

they feel like I am
indeed a strong cook.

So, I'm nervous. I'm very, very nervous.

I'm not gonna be the type of person

to punish somebody because
they excel in this competition.

If you can't take direction

and if you can't step up to the plate

and be part of a team,

then I can't count you as safe.

So, I'm gonna say Subha.

- Okay.
- Again, Subha,

you find yourself in this situation.

I've been there before, Joe.

Micah makes a decision that's
really contrarian to strategy.

Who knows? Maybe this decision

will come back to haunt you, Micah.

I'm not scared.

The rest of you are all safe.

Please head up to the
balcony. Subha, stay put.

- You got this.
- Yes.

Subha, every obstacle is an opportunity.

- Remember that.
- Absolutely, Chef.

This is an opportunity
for me to cook again

and show you guys what my
palate can bring to you.

I've never looked at a glass half empty.

It's always half full.

So I am gonna survive,
I'm gonna stay here,

and I'm gonna show
Micah that I belong here.

We need to see all of you take control.

Shari: This is a big loss for me.

I've let my teammates
and my friends down,

and now we're gonna have
to cook against one another.

Today, I need to prove
that I'm better than this.

Tonight, one of you will be eliminated.

Please go to your stations
and put on those black aprons.

Fred: I'm feeling
very somber right now.

We chose that team because me, bri,
and Nick, we're the undefeated trio.

However, if you get sent
into the elimination,

that means that your team
becomes literally the lion's den,

and you guys are gonna have
to go at it gladiator style.

Guys, it is time for our
next elimination challenge

and your next mystery box.

Gordon: But this mystery box is
gonna work out a little differently.

On the count of three, lift your boxes.

One, two, three, lift.

- Oh.
- Now, there you have the most amazing,

fresh langoustine...
lobster's fancy little cousin.

Well, isn't that some son of a gun?

Noah: Shellfish again.

I'm deathly allergic to shellfish,

so I'm feeling like someone's
jerking my chain right now.

Anaphylactic shock's not fun.

Happened before, don't
want it to happen again.

You see what else is in there, right?

It's another box.

It's a box within a box. Are you ready?

One, two, three, lift.

What you have there is a beautiful cut

of filet mignon, my friends.

I see a little surf and turf action

happening here in this mystery box.

As you can see, you
have a third little box.

I think we all need to
find out what's hiding

under that little box. Shall we?

One, two, three.

Wow!

That ugly little flavor
ball is a truffle.

$500 worth.

This has more monetary
value than my paycheck.

Nick: Black truffle, I've
worked with these before,

and it's not something that you
can just throw in some salad.

It's a luxurious, precious ingredient,

and so you have to know how to use it.

Subha, have you ever had fresh truffle?

- No, Chef.
- Bri, have you ever cooked with truffle before?

I haven't ever cooked with
an actual truffle like that,

but I'm familiar with
the flavor of truffle

and I'm excited for the
opportunity to work with one.

You have the best ingredients
anywhere in the world.

Very, very special.

So, before your challenge,

I'm gonna show you how I
would use these ingredients.

Please, all of you, step down here.

- Let's go.
- Absolutely, happily.

Learning from Gordon,
he's just so calm and cool.

And to be able to learn,
literally, first-hand experience...

Please, pay attention, okay?

...Beats the heck out of the internet.

Start off with the oil first, okay?

No butter until we got the color.

Once we got the color,
then we'll add the butter.

You're cooking a filet steak,

so the sear needs to be gentle.

Now, 30% of the seasoning, we lose,

so be smart and roll it
across, that seasoning.

From there, look at the top side.

Make sure it doesn't
stick. Roll that around.

I wanna cook it medium rare.

This is something that's
so far out of my wheelhouse.

I'm used to taking
humble asian street food,

and elevating it.

And then, of course, that
wonderful mushroom sauce.

Shallots go in,

lightly on the garlic,
and fresh truffle.

But in this case,

I have the most
expensive ingredients ever

and I don't necessarily know
what I can do to elevate that.

This is where the steak
goes up to a different level.

Got some beautiful thyme.

From there, I'm gonna get my garlic.

Now I'm gonna start
putting my butter in there.

Down. Bring the pan towards you.

We baste the steak.

The butter gets nice and frothy.

Got a nice nut brown flavor.

Watching Gordon work is like watching

a concert pianist playing the piano.

I got a light red wine jus here.

It's just really beautiful to watch.

Now, garnish.

Beautiful mushrooms sliced across.

The criss-cross side
down... goes into the pan.

Season both sides.

Now, langoustine. A
light seasoning on top.

Salt and pepper.

And they cook super quick.

These things take
literally 30 seconds, okay?

Once you got that color...

I don't want any of that overcooked.

Out and on.

Okay, so watch carefully.

When we come to plate,
right in the center.

My fennel puree, down.

And the langoustine.

And then top this steak with a wonderful

green and white asparagus
truffle à la crème.

And then wine reduction around.

Then finally, I take
my truffle, super thin,

because with $500 worth, I
want truffle on the white puree.

- A touch of micro basil.
- Love it.

- And there we go.
- Dorian: That's just so crazy.

That's how a true MasterChef
executes a delicious

surf and turf truffle dish.

- Awesome. Thank you, Chef.
- That's beautiful.

Bri: Everybody knows that
I'm all about the plating,

so I'm feeling inspired, and
I'm feeling really ambitious,

and I'm just hoping I can nail it.

This is an elimination challenge

and someone is going home.
I've been on the bottom before

and I do not want to go there again.

Surf, earth, and turf.

Make us a gourmet dish

featuring langoustine, filet mignon,

and of course, that incredibly
expensive black truffle.

Along with those beautiful ingredients,

you'll have access to the
entire MasterChef pantry.

We're giving you the good stuff,

and you better make
those ingredients sing.

I don't mind you taking
methods and techniques

from what I've done,
but just don't copy me.

You don't need to.

Right, let's have 45
minutes on the clock, please.

Three stunning ingredients.

Your 45 minutes start now.

- Let's go. Come on, let's go.
- Go get 'em, guys.

Has anyone seen the dried mushrooms?

Tomatoes.

Where is the spices? Ras el hanout.

Fennel, fennel, fennel.

Seafood stock. That's nice.

The issues with surf and turf

is that you have to cook
two proteins perfectly.

If one's nailed and the other isn't,

then the other becomes
a giant glaring error.

On top of that, I also have to go and
accent the whole dish with truffles.

I need paprika.

This is definitely one
of the hardest challenges

in MasterChef history.

( bleep )

Right, three minutes
gone, 42 minutes remaining.

- Dorian: There you go. There you go, Fred.
- Jamie: Attaboy, Fred.

- Go, Bri.
- Move with speed. Stay organized, guys.

Right, three of the finest
ingredients anywhere in the world.

- Joe, come on.
- Timing's of the essence here. 45 minutes.

If you wanna make a sauce,
you need to really think ahead.

Aar?n: If you're gonna infuse
a truffle into something,

do that now so you can really
capitalize on the flavor.

At this point in the competition,

these home cooks are
the best of the best,

but one of them will
be going home tonight.

- Nice knife skills, Noah.
- Look at that chop.

- Look at that chop.
- Nice knife skills.

Coming off that team
challenge, I felt embarrassed.

I felt like we defeated
ourselves. It was unacceptable.

So, today's the day of redemption.

- Jamie: Look at that flamb?. That's my man right there.
- Sarah: Yeah.

Noah's got it going on.

Fred: My mother, she used to prepare

this rice noodle dish
with shrimp and mushrooms.

And I know I can do
Taiwanese style noodles

and pair that with the
langoustine and the truffle.

It shows the judges who I am.

- Subha, stay organized, stay calm.
- Subha, you got this.

Dorian: Come on, Bri.
You got this, girl.

I'm feeling great about this challenge.

These ingredients are all up my alley.

Even though I've never cooked
langoustine, I've eaten it,

and so I'm familiar at
least with the flavor.

Jamie: Bri, looking good, darling.

You are. You're looking awesome, Bri.

Guys, we have 10 minutes
gone, 35 minutes remaining.

- Jamie: He just put asparagus in the pot with shrimp.
- Dorian: No, he didn't.

Is that what you saw, too, Jamie?

- Jamie: Or leeks.
- Both: Green beans.

Would you do that?

- Right, young man, tell me about the dish.
- Yes, Chef.

- What are you doing?
- I'm gonna do a play on a Taiwanese noodle dish.

So, I'm gonna do seared filet.
That's inspired by my dad,

because he taught me how to
make steak when I was young.

Wow. How are you gonna
incorporate that truffle?

I'm gonna go and do the truffle

infused into a langoustine broth almost.

I'm gonna serve the tails that
I'm gonna poach in that broth.

- Yes.
- But then I'm also gonna mince up some of the meat as well

and fold that through my noodles.

Confident you're heading
into the top nine?

I'm gonna try my best, Chef.

I have so many stories left to
tell you guys through my food.

- I love your stories.
- Thank you, Chef.

I just don't wanna see
you go home, young man.

Absolutely not, Chef. I
don't wanna go home either.

- Good luck.
- Thank you, Chef.

- Hi, Bri. What are you making?
- Hi.

I'm making a seared filet mignon,

a red wine and port and beef reduction,

a truffle infused pomme puree,
and butter poached langoustine.

If you can pull off
what you've described,

it seems like a pretty solid dish to me.

A black truffle pomme puree

- is always a really delicious thing.
- Yeah.

- So, I love it. Thanks.
- Thank you.

Jamie: Do it, Nick. You got it, buddy.

Making us jealous, Nick.
You making us jealous.

- Right, Nick, how you feeling?
- I'm feeling really good, Chef.

Tell me about this. What are you doing?

I'm doing a black truffle
crusted filet mignon.

The langoustines will be
up top with an emulsion

- and a brown butter dust.
- Good.

Okay, so make sure
that dust doesn't burn.

- Nice and pink on the filet. Good luck, young man.
- Thank you, Chef.

Nick: I wanna show that
I have what it takes

to go to that next level
in the MasterChef kitchen.

So, I still am here to take some risks,

and I'm gonna do a little
bit of molecular gastronomy.

- So, Nick made a powder.
- Yeah.

Jamie: It's like he went
to harvard for flavor.

- All right, Subha. What are you making?
- Yes, Chef.

I'm making a cilantro infused shrimp.

How are you gonna infuse
them with cilantro?

I'm wanna put some
cilantro in the butter,

and then I wanna put a
slight dash of ras el hanout.

I really love the spice.

- You have langoustines, filet, and black truffle.
- Yes, yes.

Do you know the only spice that
those ingredients really need?

- Yeah. Salt. Yeah, yeah.
- Salt. That's it.

- Absolutely.
- The last thing you wanna do is cover the delicate,

- umami, earthy flavor of this black truffle.
- Yes.

- Yes, Joe.
- All right. Let these ingredients speak, okay?

- Yes.
- All right. All right.

Good job, harvard.

Oh, my God. That's ( bleep ) tasty.

Look, look, look. Spices.

- What is that, Shari?
- Porcini mushrooms.

- There you go. That's a good way to incorporate it.
- Yes, ma'am.

Shari: I'm feeling
pretty defeated right now.

I was the captain, so obviously,

I'm gonna shoulder most
of the responsibility.

I know I screwed up. Now I
have to fight for my life.

I have to put that behind me

and just keep moving on.

- Did she?
- Yes.

- Hello, Chef.
- Right.

I think of filet of beef, I
don't think pressure cookers.

- Promise me the beef's not in there.
- I promise you

- the beef is not in there.
- Why are the two pressure cookers on for?

So, this one is gonna
cook some wild rice.

Wild rice, tough grain.

- Very hard to open up.
- I love it.

It's totally minnesota.

So I wanna put a little bit of my...

- my upbringing on the plate.
- Right. Beef, tell me,

it's something you cook often at home?

- No. My husband is hindu,
- why?

So my family does not eat beef.

Now, tell me about the dish.

I'm doing a caramelized carrot puree.

And then I am going to crust my
filet with porcini mushroom dust.

I'm making an herb butter right now,

so it's gonna be topped with the
herb butter... the filet will.

And I'm gonna also saut? the
langoustine in the herb butter.

- What about the truffle?
- They're in the herb butter.

- Yes, I'd do a truffle herb butter.
- Yes.

Make that truffle the
star, yeah? The hero.

Out of interest, I've
been dying to ask you,

why wouldn't you hand that captaincy
badge over to somebody else yesterday?

It doesn't show a sign of
weakness, you know that.

- That's smart.
- I know. I should have.

I've learned my lesson, Chef,

and, you know, it may cost me.

- I may go home.
- Shari, somebody's going home tonight.

I understand somebody's going home.

And you know what, Chef?
If it's me, I deserve it.

Shari: I've learned my lesson, Chef,

and, you know, it may cost me.

- I may go home.
- Shari, somebody's going home tonight.

I... I understand somebody's going home.

And you know what, Chef?
If it's me, I deserve it.

- Really?
- I don't want to leave.

I wanna stay here, Chef.

Everybody has got a
target on Subha's back.

Why is it always Subha?

I don't think Subha's the right target.

He'd be easy to take out later.

I would... I would've put either...

- Sarah? Yeah.
- Probably.

Shari: I think that Micah
made the wrong decision.

It was his chance to send somebody home

that could probably take him out.

26 minutes to go.

I don't know what I'm
doing with this truffle.

- Don't dry 'em out, buddy.
- Don't dry 'em out?

- Use the plastic ramekin.
- Put 'em in your ramekin.

All right, Noah, what are you making?

Right now I'm searing
off the filet beautifully.

As you can see, I've got a
beautiful crust on both sides of it.

- Well, have you cooked your langoustines yet?
- No, Chef.

No, I have not, Chef. I'm
so uncomfortable with them.

Well, we're here to help you. Come on.

What are you gonna do
with the langoustine?

So I'm doing a butter poach.
Sear 'em off, rip the tails off.

Let's do it. We're here to help you.

- Let's do it now.
- Drop 'em in and I'll help you.

All right, so what else
you got on your dish?

You're gonna butter
poach the langoustines

after their out of the
shell. What else you have?

I'm gonna be doing a porto
sauce and I'm gonna do a soubise.

- Go ahead. Take 'em out.
- All right, here you go.

I'm trying to keep a real clean station

and not waste the truffles at all.

- I've never seen a truffle.
- You've never even seen a truffle?

- No. Never.
- What does it look like to you?

It looks like a ball of coal.

- Did you taste it?
- No, I have not tasted it yet.

It tastes like a umami. It's
like a fifth category of flavor.

- Right.
- It's not salty, sour, or sweet.

- Let me just try one real quick.
- It's... just try it.

- It's earthy. Like, it's almost...
- it's like eating dirt.

These are very much like
Earth. You got limited time,

- so keep on cooking, buddy.
- Absolutely.

- That's a beautiful langoustine.
- Okay, perfect.

Thank you, brother. I appreciate it.

I'm gonna finish these up real quick.

What's in Nick's sauce up top?

- Jamie: A piece of fennel.
- So it's cream and pear?

- Interesting.
- Across these eliminations, we've seen the tendency

where they're over
elaborate on the dishes.

So, Nick, you know,
super qualified brainiac

in this competition.

I'm just hoping he
doesn't get over the top.

Otherwise, he'll trip himself up.

- Come on, Subha, you got this.
- You're doing great.

Subha's doing cilantro
infused langoustine.

He's also gonna put
a little bit of spice.

He's gonna be very conscious
to temper that down.

Joe: I think this will be
the first time in history

that anyone has paired ras
el hanout with black truffles.

- Has anyone ever done that?
- Not to my knowledge, no.

Come on, guys, you got
this. I can't wait to see

- what Fred comes up with with the pasta.
- Okay.

Gordon: Fred's doing
a Taiwanese style beef.

So he's gonna use some
of those langoustine,

incorporate them through the noodles

but he's making Taiwanese
noodles from fresh.

I mean, guys, honestly, in 45 minutes,

I think he's stabbed
himself in the foot there.

Jamie: Put that hustle, come on.

Dorian: Come on, Bri.

You got this, girl. This
is right up your alley.

Yeah.

Jamie: Looking good,
Shari. Stay focused.

- You got it, Noah.
- Feeling good.

And now Noah is gonna make
a port reduction sauce.

He has tons of onions caramelizing.

He's gonna go a very
classic route as well.

Let's see if Noah can pull it off.

Come on, big boy.

He is so flat...

guys, we're down to 12 minutes to go.

Oh, my gosh. Okay.

Remember, the filet mignon takes,

maximum, four to five minutes to cook.

Need to go and focus on my steak.

Bri better hurry up
because she's behind, too.

I am nervous that I might be in trouble,

and I'm a whole chaotic mess.

Everybody on my team

are the top in this competition so far.

Oh, my gosh.

Everything I just pureed was
on the bottom of this thing

and I threw it in my bus tub.

There's that added pressure
knowing in the back of your mind

that someone is going home after this.

I can't believe I just did that.

- My noodles are okay.
- That pan is not hot enough.

Guys, I don't know if you can see this,

but Fred is actually putting
his filet on a cold pan.

Fred: I'm worried that because

I spent so much time on my noodles

that my filet, which is supposed
to be the star of the dish,

got a little neglected.

If I get sent home, I
know it's not gonna be

over the Taiwanese
components of the dish,

but at the same time, I
still don't want to go home.

Power through, Nick. Power through.

How good do you feel right now
using these beautiful ingredients?

I haven't even ever cooked
with any of these before,

so it's definitely a very
interesting experience for me.

- Mm-hmm.
- But I just wanna go and try my best to go and put,

you know, an elevated version

of a chang family dinner on the plate.

Shari, looking great.

Shari: That's not great.

Oh, ( bleep ).

My carrots burned.

- Your carrots burned?
- My carrots burned.

- Why did they burn?
- I don't know. It worked at home.

So, you're not thrown off your
game that you had the carrots burn?

I'm not thrown off my game.

I have other veg I'm
working on right here.

- Is this your filet?
- That's my filet.

- Yeah, looking good.
- Looking good.

I hope it's good.

No, no. You gotta know it's good, okay?

I'm... okay, I know. It's great.

- Right, young man, how you feeling?
- I'm doing very, very well,

- chef, right now.
- Taste that quickly.

Yeah, I think it needs
a little bit salt.

Little bit? There's nothing in there.

Are you allergic to salt?
Where's your seasoning?

Come on, get it in there.
Beautifully cooked, by the way.

I stayed away from the spices.

- So, no ras el hanout?
- No, I did not put that in.

- Smell that.
- Very strong flavor.

- Smart move dropping the ras el hanout.
- Absolutely.

So, what's in here?

That is the cilantro sauce
with some yogurt in it.

I need to add a little
bit of sweetness to it.

That tastes delicious, and
that's cooked beautifully,

- so we're on target, yes?
- Yes, yeah.

Come on, Bri, hustle!
Can't not look at the clock.

We're down to three minutes to go.

For one of you, your last three minutes.

- Let's go!
- Let's start clearing off space.

Let's work like professionals.

Here's the breaking news,

- Subha has dropped the ras el hanout.
- Aar?n: Okay.

- Dropped. Took it out.
- He took it out? Good idea.

Bri's running a little bit behind.

Joe: She has a lot of
components on her dish.

Aar?n: I'm also worried about
Fred. He might be out of his depth

with these beautiful,
luxurious ingredients.

Let's see if Fred can pull it out.

Gordon: 90 seconds to go.

Think about your garnishes.

- Micah: What's Fred doing?
- Dorian: He's trying to twirl his pasta.

He wants his langoustines in the pasta.

Make sure all those ingredients
are present, everyone.

Gordon: Truffle, make
it elaborate, guys.

- Hurry up, Shari.
- Joe: One minute.

- One minute.
- Aar?n: Let's go, Bri.

Gordon: Subha, it's one dish, not two.

- Why's he plating two dishes?
- I have no idea.

Put some hustle in your muscle.

Wake up, Subha! Work with two hands.

25 seconds to go.

Come on, Subha, you gotta
get it on the plate, sweetie.

Gordon: Subha, you've got to plate.

Why does he do this to me every time?

- Jamie: Come on, Subha!
- Come on, man.

He's definitely going home tonight.

25 seconds to go.

Come on, Subha, you gotta
get it on the plate, sweetie.

Gordon: Subha, you've got to plate.

Why does he do this to me every time?

- Jamie: Come on, Subha.
- Come on, man.

He's definitely going home tonight.

Come on, Subha. Let's go, Bri.

Judges: Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five, four,

three, two, one.

- Stop. Hands in the air.
- Aar?n: Yeah.

- Dorian: Way to go, Subha!
- Yeah.

- Way to go, Subha!
- Good job.

Oh, Fred, that looks beautiful.

Thank you. I hope it's good.

I look at my plate, for the first time,

I feel that I belong here.

Well done, all of you.

Six talented home cooks,

three high end ingredients.

Sadly, one of you has cooked
for the very last time.

Right, first dish we'd like
to take a look at... Fred.

Make your way up, please. Let's go.

Fred: I'm definitely a little nervous.

I am proud of the fact

that I got all three
ingredients onto the plate,

but I'm worried about
the cook on my steak.

- Describe the dish, please.
- So, I have for you today

a ginger, butter basted filet mignon,

Taiwanese style noodle,

with a yuzu langoustine
truffle butter sauce.

It's a lot of disparity in flavor.

So, visually, I'm trying to get my head

around yuzu and truffles

and ginger and all these things,

but I'm optimistic.

- Gordon: The filet.
- Yes.

So when I turn that over,

unfortunately, it resembles
the steak looking boiled.

- Joe: Oh.
- So it's gone gray there.

- Did you sear both sides?
- I did sear both sides, Chef.

How long did you cook it for?

I cooked it for about five minutes.

There's no way that steak
stayed in a pan for five minutes.

It's just not possible. It's raw.

- Ooh.
- Oh, no.

I'm so sorry.

- Oh, Fred. Shall we, guys?
- Give it a try, yeah.

- Please.
- I'll get a piece on the edge here

where it's actually
cooked a little bit more.

It's seasoned well...

I mean, the crusty part
you can eat on the outside.

Gordon: I mean, the langoustine
and noodles on its own

without the beef is actually delicious.

The yuzu and the truffle are fragrant.

Got that freshness there.
The noodles are the star.

But what is the three
stars this evening?

Truffle, langoustine, and beef.

I gotta tell you, I just
feel there's one thing

that needs to bring it all together.

- Yes.
- And usually that's by way of a sauce.

- Yes.
- Oh.

- Thank you, Fred.
- Gordon: Thank you, Fred.

- It's okay. Head up, Fred.
- Sorry, Fred. Chin up, buddy.

Fred: I'm unhappy with my
performance in this challenge.

We're top ten in the most competitive
season of "MasterChef" ever.

There's no room for error at this point,

so I'm already just praying
that they don't send me home.

Next dish we'd like to taste is Shari.

- Let's go, Shari.
- Come on, Shari.

Shari: I'm feeling happy
with how my dish turned out.

The only thing that has
me feeling a bit nervous

is this filet might be over,
it might be under. I don't know.

I'm just hoping that it's
where they want it to be.

Please tell us what
you've cooked for us.

I have porcini crusted filet

with a wild rice pilaf

and langoustine cooked in
the herb truffle butter.

Why the long face today?

I haven't cooked beef in ten years,

so I'm actually really scared right now.

So, like I cooked this
when I was young at home,

but in my family,
they would never eat it

unless it was like a hockey puck.

- Joe: Hockey puck.
- Hockey puck.

You didn't make us a
hockey puck today, did you?

I hope not, no.

- Hmm.
- Visually, it looks nice.

I got nervous about
the pressure cookers.

- You burned the carrot puree.
- I did.

The most important move was
leaving that off the plate.

- Shall we?
- Joe: Let's take a look.

So, we're looking for medium rare, huh?

I really hope so.

- Joe: It's medium rare to rare.
- Gordon: Yeah.

There's no sauce in this dish, right?

No, I really wanted the butter

to kind of melt a little bit more.

- What's in the butter?
- There's truffle, a little bit of salt,

and there's chives and tarragon.

Mmm. Try the butter, guys.

- Interesting.
- Before I cooked the wild rice,

I put the langoustines in the water.

So the wild rice should maybe
have a little bit of that,

and I also cooked it
with the herb butter, too.

Gordon: Why wild rice
on a night like tonight?

I love wild rice. It's
something special to me.

It just reminds me of home,

and I just wanted to bring
a little bit of Minnesota.

It's so good.

You had a lot of guts in doing it.

The rice is perfectly done, I think.

Very unconventional, but smart,

and as you say, very minnesota.

I think you cooked the
langoustines beautifully.

Bold move tonight. You cook
with such humble attitude,

yet your gravitas towards
great flavor is something

that we very rarely see. You
can cook rice beautifully.

But tonight's challenge was
about the filet, the langoustine,

and, you know, that truffle.

And the star of this dish is the rice.

So, I'm not saying you missed the point,

but I wish everything else
tasted better than the rice.

Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Great job, Shari.

Aar?n: Please bring
your dish forward, Nick.

Let's go, brother. Let's go, brother.

- Get it, brother.
- Nick: Tonight, I've taken some risks

and I think to become a MasterChef,

you have to experiment. It
is a very ambitious dish.

If I'm wrong, then I could
be going home tonight.

Nick, please describe your dish.

I have filet mignon with langoustines

over a fennel braised in pear juice.

And then I have a brown butter
dust and langoustine emulsion.

What is this white stuff?

It's brown butter dust.

Have you made that before?

No.

In elimination challenge,

you're gonna go for molecular gastronomy

and you've never done it before?

Oh, no.

In elimination challenge,

you're gonna go for molecular gastronomy

and you've never done it before?

Oh, no.

I just thought it would taste good,

so I thought I'd give it a shot.

It's just a very adventurous
but dangerous way of plating

with elimination on the line.

Filet, langoustine, and truffle,

they were the three heroes, and
you've overindulged the plate

in a way that the powder's
taken center stage.

Let's try it.

Aar?n: And what should this
be right here in the middle?

Medium rare.

- Joe: Beautiful.
- Aar?n: Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Okay, beef, cooked beautifully.

The truffle sauce is delicious.

The powder is the thing that
doesn't need to go on that plate.

It's like an overdressed christmas tree.

It doesn't taste like anything.

Yeah, it just doesn't fit.

- Gordon and Joe: Thank you.
- Thanks.

Good job, Nick.

Great job.

The next dish that we'd like
to taste would be se?or Noah.

All right.

Noah: I'm feeling confident.

I know the flavors are gonna be great.

Now it just comes down

to did I nail the langoustine tails?

Noah, please describe the dish.

We have a butter crusted filet mignon.

Langoustines, I did a brown
butter and tarragon poach.

Then we did a truffle
soubise around the side.

- Shall we?
- Joe: Let's give it a try.

- Joe: Nice.
- Noah: Perfect.

- Gordon: There's pink in there.
- Aar?n: Yeah.

Joe: Well done.

You have a severe allergy to shellfish,

yet you're poaching
these things in butter.

It's very rare to get that on point

when you can't taste where you are.

I guess, if you could improve on
something, the addition of herbs,

a little bit of acid
into the langoustines.

It needed to be coaxed with
a little bit more flavor

- and something done to it.
- Okay.

A touch too hard a sear on
the outside of that filet.

I wanna see a bit more truffle in there.

Some nice raw slices of black truffle

on those langoustine as they
cooled down so it permeates.

- But, for me, it's delicious.
- Thank you. Thank you.

- Thank you, chefs.
- Thank you.

- Good job, Noah.
- Good job.

The next dish we'd like to try is Bri's.

Noah: Let's go, Bri.

Bri: I'm happy with my dish visually,

but, honestly, I'm terrified.

Because in the last few challenges,

I've had negative critique
after negative critique,

and it doesn't feel good.

Okay, Bri, tell us about this dish.

I have prepared a
pan-seared filet mignon,

a black truffle thyme and
garlic infused pomme puree,

a pea puree, butter poached langoustine,

and then I have a shallot
red wine reduction.

Question... where's the truffle?

It's infused into the cream.

So you didn't actually put
truffles in the pomme puree?

I minced it and put it into the cream.

You'll never have extract flavor

from just poaching them in cream.

You have to actually put the
black truffle in the potatoes.

- You didn't do that?
- There's a couple of specks,

but they're definitely could be more.

It's not a langoustine,
pea, and filet mignon.

It's truffle, langoustine, filet mignon.

- Anyway, it's about flavor, right?
- Let's take a look.

- Okay.
- Any truffle in the sauce?

- No, sir.
- No truffle.

What kind of a cook should
we be looking for in this?

- Hopefully, medium rare.
- Medium rare.

- Gordon: Beautiful.
- Aar?n: Yeah, it's gorgeous.

- Shall we?
- Yeah.

The filet, delicious.

- Thank you.
- Absolutely delicious.

Crust on the outside cooked beautifully.

The pea puree is a little bit bland,

the langoustine's delicious,

and the pomme puree

does not taste like
a truffle pomme puree.

So, the hero, you've got
absolutely one right with the filet,

but it's missing those truffles.

Yeah, I think that's a huge
missed opportunity here, Bri.

That's something that a chef dies for.

It is completely void in this dish.

Literally, all you would have to
do is chop up some black truffles,

heat them up in butter, and
whip them into the potatoes,

and you would've had
a 9.5 dish out of 10.

- Both: Thank you.
- Thank you.

Chin up.

Subha, please, let's go.

You got this, buddy. You got this.

Subha: I feel good.

I feel that I belong in
the top ten MasterChef.

I'm very proud of what I've done,

and I'm gonna come out on top.

Right, describe the dish, please.

I have a filet mignon cooked
with balsamic vinegar reduction

and a white asparagus and
cream with hydroplaned truffles,

and then langoustine with a
little bit of rosemary butter

and a jalapeno cilantro yogurt sauce.

Stop there two seconds.

Yes.

I want you to put your
right hand up to God.

- Yes.
- I do solemnly swear.

I do solemnly swear.

- That I, Subha,
- I, Subha,

did not ask Bri to plate my dish.

Gordon: It looks lovely.

- Shall we?
- Yeah, let's try it.

How long did you cook the filet for?

- About six and a half minutes.
- Joe: Ah, very nice.

- Gordon: That is cooked beautifully.
- Good job.

- Aar?n: Yeah.
- Subha: Thank you.

The green beans and the
white asparagus do not go.

Two different textures.

White asparagus is like the
royalty of the asparagus family.

Big mistake putting the
green beans in there.

The most important decision

you made this evening was
dropping the ras el hanout.

The filet is actually seasoned well.

I think you invested a lot
into that cilantro sauce

and there was no need to do that.

You could've put that forward
to a puree of some sort.

There needs to be something
velvety and rich to help out

with that very strong
flavor of that sauce.

Jalapeno, and I'm mexican, bro,

- is very strong here, okay?
- Yes.

But I do absolutely love
the way that you cooked

all of the other components,
because I can taste truffle,

langoustines, and I can taste the beef.

- Yes.
- This dish is spiced in a way

that makes me feel like it's
a little bit more exotic.

- It's quite interesting.
- Thank you, Chef.

- Gordon: Thank you, Subha.
- Micah: Good job, Subha.

- Mm-hmm.
- Now we have to make,

obviously, a very,
very difficult decision.

Please give us a moment.

Gordon: That's a tough one.

Who was really able to
allow the langoustines,

- the filet, and the truffle to be front and center?
- Noah.

- Noah and Subha.
- Joe: Yeah.

What do you do with someone
who makes a really nice dish,

but one-third of what we
asked put in it, not in it?

- Did you taste truffle in there?
- No.

Joe: I think that Fred's raw
filet... it was black and blue.

- It was cold as hell.
- I was way, way undercooked.

How about Nick?

He had all these great elements,

and then he put this overdosage

of this powder that tastes nothing.

Gordon: Just think of
the challenge. Oh, boy.

- Tough.
- Tough.

Gordon: Tonight was a
challenging elimination test

with three of the most prized
ingredients anywhere on the planet.

They needed to shine tonight
to keep you in this competition.

Some did. Unfortunately, some didn't.

- Subha...
- Yes, Chef.

Noah...

Shari...

And Nick...

Congratulations.

Please, all four of you,

make your way up to the balcony.

Thank you, Chef.

I belong here.

It feels great to redeem.

All I want to say is, Micah, watch out.

I'm going all the way.

Subaru is coming for you.

Thank you.

I'm safe, and I am
running up to that balcony.

But I feel a little guilty.

I was the team captain, and
obviously I'm responsible

for Bri and Fred being in danger.

Fred, Bri, please make your way
down to the front. Thank you.

It absolutely sucks to be
standing here in the bottom two

with my best friend in
this whole competition.

- Gordon: Okay.
- It's the worst possible scenario.

We both wanted to be
in the finale together,

and now one of us is going home.

I hate this.

Okay, tonight, both of
your dishes fell short

to take those three ingredients

and highlight all three ingredients.

Fred, the dish, it lacked

that excitement that you normally bring.

Bri, yours was missing
a fundamental ingredient,

and that's called the black truffle.

It's tough saying good-bye
to any of you at this stage.

One of you massively
undercooked the beef

and the other one forgot
the third vital ingredient.

Two talented young home cooks,

but, unfortunately, one
of you is about to leave.

Please take off your apron, Bri.

And head upstairs to the balcony

and put on a white one.

Thank you.

- Thank you.
- Kick ass in the finale.

( muttering )

today was definitely not my best,

so being on the balcony is bittersweet.

Not only was I in the bottom,

but I was in the bottom
with my best friend here,

my support system, and he's gone.

It feels horrible.

Um... sorry.

Fred, young man, you are
a super talented baker.

- Thank you.
- I love the energy.

I'm glad that you've evolved.

You have nothing to fear
going forward in this industry.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Okay?

And in fact, tonight, after we finish,

I'm gonna personally call christina tosi

and see if I can get you in
there to go and work with her.

- Oh, my God.
- To spend a week, a month,

however long she can give you

- inside her bakery.
- Thank you, Chef.

I guarantee you'll
continue this journey.

- That's incredible.
- Thank you, Chef.

Thank you so much, Chef.

It's been really great to see you,

not only show off your skills
in the pastry department,

but grow as a savory cook.

- Thank you, Chef.
- And I think your future is bright.

It's been a pleasure to know you,
Fred. I think they said it all.

- Good luck to you.
- Thank you so much, Joe.

Have you enjoyed this journey?

I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I'm really proud of myself
for getting this far.

It's further than I
honestly thought I'd ever get

as a baker boy, so...

- promise me you'll continue.
- Absolutely, Chef.

- Come and say good-bye.
- Absolutely. Can I hug you guys?

Of course, you can. We don't bite.

Started with a hug,
it'll end with a hug.

- Thank you.
- You did a great job, young man.

- I'm very proud of you, okay?
- Thank you.

- Thanks, buddy. Good luck.
- Thank you so much, Joe.

Place your apron on your bench.

- Thank you.
- Good night.

Love you, Fred!

- Love you, Fred.
- Love you so much, Fred.

Fred: My food dream
coming to "MasterChef"

was to open my own
bakery with my parents.

Is this your moment?

This is a dish that tells
my story to you guys.

That says it all right there.

Just because I got cut now,

it doesn't mean that I'm
gonna stop with my food dream.

I'm gonna go and continue
to bake my heart out.

I'm gonna continue to tell
stories through my desserts.

You know what I say about
your german chocolate cake?

- Das guten.
- Oh!

I had my moments of self-doubt.

I've had my moments where
my confidence was low,

but I had such incredible highs, too.

- It's one of your best dishes ever.
- Thank you.

I won five immunity challenges.

You're gonna have to walk
upstairs to that balcony.

- Thank you. Thank you!
- Yeah, Fred!

- Come on, Fred!
- I have a free seat

at any morimoto
restaurant of my choosing.

Congratulations goes to Fred.

- Well done!
- Oh, my God! Thank you so much.

Candace Nelson loved my macarons.

I would love to sell a box of
these macarons at one of my stores.

This is a professional
box, if I've ever seen one.

Thank you, Candace.

I'm happy for getting this far.

I don't need anything
more from this competition.

I've already won in my own way.

- Good-bye, Fred.
- Love you, Fred!

- Good luck. Good luck, Fred.
- Thank you, Fred.

- Bye, Fred.
- Good night, everyone.

- Love you, Fred.
- Love you, Fred.

Jamie: He's gonna do big stuff.

( music playing )