Masterchef (2010–…): Season 10, Episode 6 - Hot & Spicy - full transcript

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Gordon: Previously on
season ten of "MasterChef"...

Let's go, baby!

Gordon: This is the best
auditions in over a decade

- of this competition.
- Holy, dude.

- Gordon: That was exceptional.
- Thank you, Chef.

Drop the plate, man.
Let's go, Blue Team.

Joe: It looks out of,
like, a food magazine.

- Beautiful.
- Thank you so much.

This dish, Subha, is
"Subha-doobah" good.

I'm really sorry to
say, but you've cooked

for the last time in
the MasterChef kitchen.



- Tonight...
- Trust me when I say

it's the toughest night yet.

...the home cooks fight for immunity

in a mystery box challenge...

- Yes!
- ...with a big surprise.

Please welcome Victoria's Secret icon

Alessandra Ambrosio.

But that's not the only surprise.

Stop the clock. There's
an additional twist!

I feel like I'm going to start crying.

- Make your way down please.
- Let's go, guys.

- Yeah!

- Yes.
- Here we go.

I walk into the kitchen
today, and I'm feeling anxious



because I see the big mystery box.

And I'm just coming off
an elimination challenge.

I do not want to be back in another one.

I've been in them
all, but I've listened.

So I'm hoping to use
some of those little tips

that the chefs have told me

and just apply them to today's cook.

We are down to 17 home cooks,

fighting for the top prize
of a quarter-million dollars,

the gorgeous MasterChef trophy,

and the title of
America's next MasterChef.

Your path to winning this
incredible tenth season

continues with tonight's
top secret mystery box.

- Oh!
- All right.

Some of you have been
flying under the radar.

But you still have an opportunity
to show us what you can do

in tonight's immunity challenge.

Only three of you will be saved.

3 out of 17, definitely not
great math in your favor,

but I need to show the judges
that I'm just not all talk.

I've got knife skills, I've
got the technical chops,

and I should be guaranteed immunity.

Aarón: I'm sure all
of you are wondering

what secret ingredients are laying

- under those mystery boxes.
- Yes, Chef.

To introduce those ingredients,

someone who knows a thing
or two about secrets.

She's an actress, a loving mother,

and a former Victoria's
Secret runway icon.

Please give a warm welcome
to Alessandra Ambrosio.

- Hey, girl!

Whoo!

Hi, guys.

Noah: Seeing a super
model, I'm speechless.

You drop an angel literally from above

down in the kitchen. Get out of here.

Forget about it.

I mean, unbelievable.

Was not seeing that coming at all.

- Welcome to the MasterChef family.
- Thank you.

It's an absolute
pleasure having you here.

She won't be here to taste,
because she has to jet off.

But she's here to
inspire you as you cook.

Now, you're from Brazil,so
they're strong, bold flavors.

Coming from Brazil, we
love fresh food, fishing,

grabbing whatever we have,
using it that day to cook.

It's all about cooking and eating,

and having fun, listening to music,

spending quality time with your family.

Nice. Right, all of you,
it's time to find out

what secret ingredientsyou'll
be cooking with tonight.

Head to your stations. Let's go.

Micah: I've been in every
single elimination challenge.

Having the chance to get immunity

is going to be everything,

and I'm about to attack
this with full force.

I need to have immunity.

Now, tonight, Alessandra has curated

the incredible ingredients
under your mystery boxes.

Alessandra, please, do the honors.

On the count of three,
please lift those boxes.

- Oh, wow.
- Yes!

- Wow.
- There you have proteins

that are staples in
Latin American cuisine.

You have red snapper, prawns,

octopus, skirt steak, and swordfish.

Wow.

I'm having a panic attack.

Most of these proteins

I've never cooked before.

I'm feeling like I'm going to struggle.

I need to get it together,

so that way I can conceptualize my dish.

You have one hour to make us a dish

featuring at least one
ofAlessandra's chosen ingredients.

You will also have access to
the amazing MasterChef pantry,

which we've given a
little Latino spin to.

Ooh!

We want to see
Latin-inspired, elegant dishes

in honor of Alessandrajoining
us this evening.

- Understood?
- Yes, Chef!

Remember what's at stake,

three amazing places upstairs.

This is my first time actually
down in the kitchen cooking a dish.

A few months ago I
was just back at school

cooking on this smallinduction
burner in this little

illegal kitchen in my Harvard
dorm room that I built.

Now here I am in the
most amazing kitchen

in the entire country,
which is incredible.

Gordon: Right, let's have
60 minutes on the clock.

Focus.

Make it the best Latin-inspireddish
you've ever cooked.

Your 60 minutes start...

now. Let's go, guys.

- Excuse me.
- Okay.

- Starfish.
- Peppercorns.

Did anyone see the annatto?

Corn.

Bri: So far, I've been underestimated.

My competitors think that I'm
just a cocktail server from Dallas.

But this Latin-American inspired dish

is right up my alley.

We'll do a pepper, too.

I majored in Spanish and
I'm completely fluent,

so this is great chance for
me to really show the judges

that I'm truly a front-runner
in this competition.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

I have been to Buenos Aires,

eating, drinking, going to asados.

So I've got extensive experience

with these kind of Latin flavors.

60 minutes is decades of time

for me with these proteins,
so I'm totally feeling

like I'm going to nail this challenge.

Behind.

Yeah!Show those muscles, Fred!

Showing them off.

Of course. Great.

Right now I'm goingto be making

a seared red snapper

with a Mexicanvegetable confetti,

creamy yucca puree.

I'm completely outof
my comfort zone here,

but I'm trying to goand incorporate

fresh Californianflavors into it,

since I am from California.

- It's a warzone.
- It is a warzone.

Right now I'm workingon the salsa
for the searedswordfish I'm doing.

I saw the cactus,it was something
I've neverworked with before,

so I'm just cooking it down now

to try to get allthe
sliminess away from it.

Today's a very special day.It's
my son's first birthday.

I know we've all
sacrificeda lot to be here,

but hopefully this dishis going to
makethe sacrifice worth it today.

If I'm one of the threewho
gets immunity, that is.

Alessandra, you were so kind
by curating this mystery box

with all of those Latino
flavors and ingredients

that really speak to your background.

What would you do?Which
protein wouldyou go to first?

I'll go for the skirt steak right away.

- Mmm.
- A little bit of salt, put it in the grill.

- Easy.
- Joe, what would you do?

These red prawns look
really interesting.

A quick cook time so I can
concentrate on other things.

I mean, for me, I
would go to the octopus.

I'd cook that in the pressure cooker

with tons of aromatics.

And then I'd actually sear them

in a hot cast iron skillet,
and then a beautiful

- red chili vinaigrette.
- Nice.

- That sounds delicious.
- What would you do, Gordon?

Gordon:Joe, I'd take that red snapper.

I would get a beautiful light chili rub,

and I would absolutely pan-sear that.

Here you got to be really conscious
of using the spice, using the citrus.

I know that's one of your
favorite ingredients, Alessandra.

And then just making sure that
all those ingredients sing.

♪ Yes

- Unh!
- Guys, 10 minutes gone.

15 minutes remaining.Speed
up, multitask.

More importantly,get
creativewith your ingredients.

- Hello, gentlemen.
- Hello, Evan.

- What's the plan?
- I got chipotle spiced skirt steak

marinating right here.

I'm going to keepthe head on the prawns

because I'm a huge
fanof breaking that open,

sucking the juiceout of that head.

So we're going to havea
little surf and turf

with a roasted corn saladand
a little salsa verde.

How are you going to
cook the skirt steak?

- I'm going to sear it off.
- In what?

- Aquí.
- Why not a grill plate or a cast iron pan?

You want to make the best dish possible,

you got to use the
appropriate equipment.

They retain heat better and
they also give you a better char.

- This is a non-stick
pan. - The first steak

I cooked you gentlemen,which
won me my apron

was cooked in non-stick.

Well, we didn't say it was that good.

- We just...
- If it wasn't that good, I wouldn't be here.

- Okay. You know what, Evan?
- Oh, wow.

You don't have to bust our balls, okay?

I'm here to show youwhat I can do.

- I'm comfortable with these ingredients.
- Good.

I use these ingredientson
a regular basis.

I've cooked well over100
pounds of skirt steakin my day.

Remember something.

As in life, in the MasterChef kitchen,

the that you dole
outwill come back at you.

I definitely don't wantto eat .

Evan: I know what I'm doing.

I don't need the cast iron pan.

I'm looking forwardto knocking this out

and impressing the judges.

Nick: It is a little hard to concentrate

cooking in front of Alessandra.

I... you know, I, uh...

she's obviously this
beautiful super model,

and it's hard to focus on a radish

when there's a super
model standing there.

But my head is down and I'm
justnot looking up, so...

Here we go.

Being that I am a child of a diplomat,

I obviously have traveled extensively.

In total, I've lived
in about 16 countries,

eaten all these different cuisines.

I've actually realized that we're a
lot more similar than we are different.

- Keturah.
- Hi, Chef.

You have an amazing palate.
You've traveled the world.

You're very fortunate
with diplomat parents.

Where would you say has been
one of the most extravagant areas

that you've traveled around the world?

Should I say Brazilbecause
you're in front of me?

No, I did enjoy Brazil a lot.

I can say...

So this dish has to be exotic tonight.

I'm making swordfishand
plantain croquettes

with a corn and avocado salad

- beneath a caipirinha dressing.
- Nice.

- Have you done this before?
- I have not.

- Made it up on the fly.
- Sounds really good.

That's exotic. Good luck.

Shari: I cook curry almost
every day for my family.

Latino food? This is something

that I definitely do not cook often.

I'm feeling really nervous.

I love this. There's
a lot going on here.

- Tell us about the dish.
- There's a lot going on.

Right now I'm working
cactusfor the cactus salad.

I want to get ridof the spines.

And what's the protein?
What are you using?

I'm going to use the snapper,

and I'm going to do
somecilantro-lime rice.

- No curry.
- No curry. No curry.

This is the first
time in the competition

Shari hasn't made a curry.

It's so good to see you
out of your comfort zone.

- Well done and good luck.
- Yeah, good luck.

- Thank you.
- That's it, girl.

You've got this.

- Wuta.
- What's the dish?

Right now I'm doing a yucca

that I'm going to tosswith some color.

And then I'm going to doa
black bean and a swordfish.

You going to fry that? You
going to roast the yucca?

What are you going to do with it?

I'm going to boil it.

Here's the deal with yucca, okay?

Once it's cooked and it's parboiled,

it needs a little bit of love.

Whether you fry, whether you roast it,

boiled yucca has a very monotone
texture and flavor to it.

My mom and my sister
used to make me yucca,

and I hated cassava as a kid.

As a vegetarian, I changed my opinions

of all the flavors that I've tasted,

so this is my ode to what they love,

but adding some Latin flair to it.

- Yucca is "yuck-uh." -
Keep with it, all right?

I used to think the same thing.

Wow. What an arrayof dishes out there.

They're definitelytaking up
Alessandra'sLatin-inspired dishes.

Keturah, she's doing the
swordfish plantain croquettes.

She's going to be
grilling the swordfish.

It's been marinated inside tequilas.

- Tough one to pull off.
- On the flipside,

over here we have Wuta.
He's making more swordfish,

and he's going to make a yucca puree.

- I told him, test it...
- Has he done it before?

- He's never done it. That's the thing, Alessandra.
- Oh, no. That's like...

- that's tricky.
- And you know cassava farofa

is extremely challenging.

Because it's gummy.
It becomes like glue.

Never workedthis thing before.

I am struggling with this.

- Hi, Liz.
- Hi, Joe.

- What are you making?
- I'm making something

I've never made orI don't
think I've ever eaten.

A swordfishthat will be served

with a roastedsalsa roja sauce

with a pineapple mango salsa.

- Great.
- I'm going to bake it.

I'm going to haveall my seasonings...

All right, be careful,

because swordfish is pretty lean.

- It cooks really quickly.
- Yes.

- All right, Joe.
- So in an oven,

very little time. Be
careful not to cook it.

When swordfish is
overcooked, it's like sawdust.

Okay. The pressure is increasing.

But you know what? I'm a fighter.

I'm going to cook my heart out

and go up to the balcony tonight.

Oh!

Dorian: I can't afford to

get on a plane and travel,

but I study places.

I study flavors.

So I'm familiar with Latin flavors

and I'm feeling really confident

about this challenge.

- Gordon: Dorian?
- Yes.

- What are you doing?
- I'm doing a charred octopus.

I think I kind ofgot y'all to
realize thatI'm not just a baker.

But I still have some
stuffto prove to myself,

and I hope this dish keeps
mehere until the finale

when you're giving memy
check and my trophy.

I've never wona trophy before.

What better trophy to
winthan this one, right?

- Sounds amazing, right?
- Yeah, you're very determined.

- Good luck, my lady. That sounds amazing.
- Thank you so much.

- Thank you.
- 35 minutes to go!

Now we're cooking.

I have cooked for
this apron three times.

I need a break.

I mean, I love being down here,

I love cooking,

I love impressing the
judges every time I show up.

But I'm about tired of this.

I'm tired of that black apron.

I want to be up there, and
I want to be comfortable.

Behind you, Nick.

- Mm-hmm. -
Stop the clock!

All of you, look at me.

Stop what you're doing.

This is "MasterChef" season ten,

our season of surprises.

So there's an additional twist.

All four of us also

want to see a delicious,

Latin-inspired ceviche.

- Let's go!
- What?

I literally want to jump
off a bridge right now.

I'm sorry, what?

- Let's go!
- Oh, my God.

All of you, look at me.

Stop what you're doing.

All four of us also want to see

a delicious Latin-inspired ceviche.

- Let's go!
- What?

I'm such a planner, and I like
to really plan out my dishes.

And I thought I had the
perfect dish planned,

and now I just have this
twist,so I'm freaking out.

Gordon: Let's go, guys! Come on!

Don't hang around that pantry. Hurry up!

Aarón: Let's start making
good decisions, guys!

- Gordon: Let's go!
- I'm feeling a little bit of pressure,

but in the military,we
always have to adapt.

I have a mango salsa
componentthat I was planning

on putting on oneof my dishes anyways,

so I'm just going to adapt that

and turn that into my ceviche.

So we added in the twist of a ceviche.

- Yes.
- Alessandra, we do this sometimes

because we really want
to test these guys out.

Aarón: This is season ten, Alessandra.

We're really looking
for the best of the best.

Let's go, guys! Come on!

To see how they can adapt and overcome,

think quick on their feet.

That's what a great chef
does on a daily basis.

They want to be the best?
They have to think quick.

I was already short on time,

and I'm going to have to sacrifice

an element or two of my dish.

Gordon: 20 minutes remaining.

I'm so stressed.

A little overwhelmedabout the ceviche.

I've never made it before.

However,I used to work in Mexico,

so I'm familiar withthe
Latin-American flavors.

I'm here to learn,I'm here to grow,

so let's see what happens.

- Gordon: Let's go, guys.
- Oh, my God.

Aarón: Nick, you better start thinking
about what you're doing, young man. Okay?

Let's go. Use that Harvard education.

- Come on.
- Being out here,

it's not some small deal to me.

It's what I want to do with my life.

I've taken time off from school

and I've kind of put everything behind

and come here to chase my dream.

Nick, what's going on,
mijo? How do you feel

about the ceviche wrinkle
that we threw at you?

- I actually loved your ceviche wrinkle.
- Cool.

I cook ceviche a lotat
home in the summer.

- My brothers and I catch a lot of fish.
- Yeah?

- And so that's fun for me.
- What are you going to make?

Brazilian cheese bread
tacoswith a grilled corn salsa

and a prawn aioli.

All right, you got a lot going on, Nick.

- I'm very impressed.
- I want to see this batter hit the pan.

Because what's going to stop
it from coming out like a crepe?

Maybe he wants it like a crepe, though?

Well, you know,it's a unique taco.

I think it's gotthat nice kind of...

I want to see it. This is the moment.

This is a very bold and
big decision he's making.

- I like this, though.
- Let's see it.

Whatever you call it,
as long as it's a vehicle

for the actual shellfish or fish.

I need a little bit more
than that. A little more.

- Spread it out, mijo.
- Spread it out.

Spread it out a bunch, yeah.It
may not be hot enough yet.

- Good luck. Looks good.
- Thank you, Chefs.

I haven't been down in
this kitchen in awhile.

I do have a lot to prove to the judges,

but I'm going to prove
that tonight with my dishes.

- What's going on, Sam?
- I'm a little in the weeds, Joe, to be completely honest.

The grill isn't reallygoing
as well as I could.

You want to speed this
up. You need to steam this.

I also have to grill my fish.

Aww, man, the grill's just...

- Put some water on here.
- Yeah, yeah.

- Okay.
- Grill your fish now.

If you're having issues with the heat,

- let it do its thing.
- Either you steam and grill it...

Put it on top of the corn.
The steam will cook it.

- That's a great idea.
- Steam and grill it at the same time.

- Thank you, Joe. I need that.
- Aarón: Get with it.

Don't be discouraged at all.

Hi, guys.How are y'all doing today?

- Noah, we good?
- Hi, Noah.

I know it looks like a bomb,but we
got a lot of thingsgoing on right now.

I'm working right nowon a mesquite.

It's more Mexican.A
little homage to Aarón.

We've got an en papillote
in the oven right now.

Red snapper en papillote
that's about three minutes out.

And I have thisyucca cava puree.

It looks a little
gummy,but the flavor's...

I think it's getting there.

You want to try it,you can try it.

A lot of fresh herbs.You
got parsley, thyme.

It's very smooth,but
it's a little gummy.

I've never cooked with this.

I'm a little outside my comfort zone,

- but I tried it.
- It sounds super ambitious,

- but that's what we love about you, Noah.
- I'm trying, man.

- I'm giving it all.
- Yeah? You got this.

- Alessandra: Go for it.
- Let's roll.

- Good luck, Noah.
- Thank you so much.

- Good luck, Noah.
- All right. I'm an idiot.

Just flexed. What a moron.

Ooh, those tortillas look sad.

There's some sad-looking tortillas.

Oof. Oof!

You might want to give up on this one.

- Michael.
- Hey, Michael, are you going to give up on this?

- What are you doing?
- No, no. I'm going to be frying them

in little strips,

so I just did them freeform.

- Okay.
- Oh, I got you.

It doesn't matter right
nowwhat they look like.

- I understand.
- What's the dish?

I am doing a beautifulroadside
style grilled shrimp.

What are you doing about the
little wrinkle of the ceviche?

Ah! I already have
thatcooking right here.

I'm doing a beautiful
orangeand kumquat ceviche

- with snapper.
- Orange and kumquat ceviche with snapper.

- Yeah. I love traveling.
- I like that.

Me and my fiancée are
inMexico at least once a year.

- I've been all over the place.
- Wonderful.

There's a lot morethat I'd like to see.

It's a huge, beautiful country.

Actually, tomorrowI
was supposed to leave

for Puerto Vallarta.

But I gave up my tripto be here.

- Awesome.
- So I'm going to bring the beach here on this plate.

- There you go, Michael.
- Thank you so much, guys.

- Hi, Renee.
- What's happening?

- You are absolutely beautiful.
- Oh, thank you.

And I'm actually wearingone
of your signature items.

- You are?
- Ladies, please.

- I mean, come on.
- Tell us about the dish. What are you doing?

I am making a tequila
citrussnapper and prawn.

Gordon: And the little
twist with the ceviche,

where are you going with that?

I am making a pineapple salsa

with serranos, red onions,

shallots, garlic,tons
of lime and lemon juice,

and just salt and pepper.Just
make it really fresh.

- Alessandra: Wow. Sounds yummy.
- Sounds amazing.

- Good luck. Come on, you got this.
- I'm good. Thank you.

Whew!

Oh, boy.

Last four minutes.

And Noah's running for the pantry.

Thank you for that, Noah.

Wow, that was fast.

You ever seen a man
that big run that fast?

Let's go, guys.

Give these dishes some finesse.

Make sure that that ceviche
is separate from your entree.

Put some beauty on that plate.

Three and a half minutes
to go, guys. Come on.

- Come on, Nick.
- You should be putting food on the plate right away.

Fred: The plating for
this dish is very delicate,

and I'm not happy with the
consistency of my puree.

- It's very gluey.
- Fred, come on!

I know that my confidencein
this kitchen has been shaky.

I'm trying to get out
of this bad headspace.

But all the doubt and all of the anxiety

just comes back to me right away.

Now I'm just a bundle of nerves again.

Keep it going, guys.
90 seconds remaining.

We'll see if thiscomes together.

Not so confident.

You've got to start plating your entree.

- Ooh!
- I got to get these... something.

- I'm running out of time.
- Michael's still frying stuff.

- What is he doing?
- He has nothing on his plate.

- He's behind.
- One minute to go.

Michael: I literally waited
until the last minute.

I have to finish and get it on the plate

because I need to get up on that balcony

and get that immunity.

- 20 seconds!
- Let's go, guys. Come on!

Let's go, Michael. Move!

- Aarón: Come on!
- Joe: Time to put it on the plate, guys.

- This is it.
- Gordon: Come on, hurry up.

- Aarón: Come on, Sam.
- Let's go, guys. Come on.

Michael's still frying
stuff, guys, in the fryer.

- Let's go, Michael.
- Judges: 10, 9, 8,

7, 6, 5, 4,

- 3, 2, 1.
- Hands in the air!

- Gordon: Well done.
- Aarón: Wow!

Oh, my God.

I hate not getting what I imagined

in my head on the plate.

The ceviche was a big curveball,

and I just only hope, like,
14 other people do worse.

Extraordinary.Give yourselves
a roundof applause. Come on.

- Good job, Liz.
- Awesome.

Alessandra,you are one busy,busy lady.

Always on the move.Thank
you so much for being

part of the MasterChef family.

Your energy elevatedyou all, right?

- Noah: Absolutely.
- Yes, Chef.

- Gordon: Amazing.
- Thank you, guys.

I really think you
guys turned Latin flavor

into something very
special in your own way.

We can't wait to see you again
in this incredible kitchen.

- Yes!
- Keep up the good work.

- Thank you, Gordon.
- Lots of love.

Thank you, darling.Good to see you.

- Nice to see you, too.
- Likewise.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you.

Ladies and gentlemen,all of you,

give it up please for Alessandra.

- Let's go.
- Thank you.

Good luck, everyone.

Tonight we want to see
incredible craft on a plate

inspired by Latin-American ingredients.

Shall we, gents?

Jamie, wow, you used everything.

You guys threw some
greatingredients at us.

I think I gotthe grilled octopus flavor,

especially doing somethingthat
normally would take me

about two and a half hours.

All right, Liz, how did
you prepare the swordfish?

- I actually baked it.
- Is that the way you wanted it to look?

No.

- Wow.
- A little taco party, huh?

I was trying to dotacos three ways,

and got thrown a
littlecurveball by the ceviche.

- Super clean.
- Thank you.

- Dorian.
- Hey, how are you?

- Wow, that's a lot of food.
- It is a lot of food,

but I'm a big girl.

Are you happy with the amount of
citrus you put in your ceviche?

I just wish that hada
little bit more juice.

Wuta: This challenge was hard.

I'm looking around, and I think
we all struggled with our dishes.

How'd you cook the swordfish?

The swordfish I marinatedin
tequila and lime zest,

and then just grilled it
offwith about ten minutes left.

That's the way you
wanted to do the corn?

The corn didn't come
outthe way I wanted.

Have you worked with cactus pear before?

A little bit. I personallylike
the crunch of the seeds,

so I thought I couldadd
that into that mixture

to add some textureto
contrast withthe creamy puree.

Was this bleeding of the
saucesan aesthetic intention?

- Subha.
- Are you happy with your presentation?

- Uh, not at all, Chef.
- Why not?

Because last-minute,I ran out of time.

- Yep. Thank you, Subha.
- Thank you.

So, the ceviche,
you've left the skin on.

Have you ever had
ceviche with skin on it?

Nope, I have not.

I've eaten ceviche a lot.

I can't actually believe I
left the skin on the fish.

- Amazing array.
- It's unbelievable, huh?

I feel that theyall embraced the
ideaof using multiple proteins.

- Gordon: Yep.
- I think that the ceviche twist was good,

because I think a lot of
them really rose and excelled.

- And some fundamental flaws.
- Oh, yeah.

- Happy?
- Yeah.

- Happy.
- We got this.

There are three dishes tonight
that Joe, Aarón, and myself

really want to highlight.

Sam, Liz, and Fred.

You three have...

the worst dishes of the night.

- Oh.
- Okay.

You three are lucky

that tonight is not elimination.

Liz, we never, ever,
ever, bake swordfish.

- Yes, Chef.
- Sam,

that's how a 12-year-old
would plate corn.

Really? It's barely grilled.

That's not MasterChef-worthy.

Fred...

you did something
tonight with those cactus,

the seeds, the slime...
what were you doing?

I thought that the seeds
wouldadd a little bit of crunch.

- No.
- They're not edible.

- They're not edible.

Gordon: We don't serve the seeds.

I should've known better

than to put seeds that
are inedible into my dish.

I'm upset with myself,

and I just feel like
I'm in a bad headspace.

I know that I have to get
that self-belief back in

or else I'm the next one out that door,

and I can't let that happen.

Now, there are several dishes

we want to take a much deeper look at.

Remember, three of
you will be heading up

to the safety of the balcony.

- Evan, please bring your dish forward.
- Attaboy.

- Good job, Evan.
- Thank you, guys.

Evan: I'm comfortable
with these proteins.

I love Latin flavors.

This is the type of stuff I love to eat

and cook for my friends and family.

So, I'm feeling super confident.

So I had a chipotlemarinated skirt steak

on top of torched corn
saladwith cojita salsa verde,

with a shrimpmarinated in garlic,

and a snapper ceviche.

- Visually, it pops.
- It's a plate where the colors and visuals

speak of the flavor, so I feel like
I can taste it by looking at it.

Thank you so much.

We've got the acidity. We've got
the saltiness from the cheese.

And you got the cook absolutely nailed.

This ceviche is also... in its balance

and its sweetness is really,
really top notch, you know?

- Thank you.
- I absolutely love this dish.

There's so much attention to detail,

from the way that you
cut the cherry tomatoes

to make them uniform
to the corn kernels.

I love the acidity that just
permeates this whole dish.

If I had to take you
to task on something,

it's that you didn't
use a cast iron pan,

which would have gotten you

an even better sear on that steak.

Next time,do me a favor and listen.

But, well done.

Good work, E!

Michael, bring your dish forward.

Michael: I'm really proud of this dish,

because I feel like
this is the first time

I've been able to show,
you know, myself on a plate.

I'm starting to feel
like I can follow my dream

to make a career out of cooking.

And I'm hoping that
these flavor combinations

are something the
judges get excited about,

because I need this immunity.

Describe the dish, please.

Today I made a grilled prawn

with a passion fruitand
prickly pear salsa,

with an avocado mousseand
crispy tortilla strips.

- Congratulations. It looks beautiful.
- Thank you.

Flavor? Delicious.

It's vibrant. It's citrus-y.

What it needsis a touch more
heatin the salsa underneath,

- a touch more seasoning.
- Yeah.

- That salt is just missing everywhere.
- Sure.

Joe: It's a one-dimensional
dish without the salt.

So, it looks perfect, it
could have been perfect

- had you seasoned throughout.
- You got it. I hear you.

- Thank you.
- Aarón: Thank you.

- Good job.
- Thank you.

- Great job, Mike!
- Good job, Michael.

Shari, please bring your dish forward.

- Yay!
- Shari!

Good job, Shari.

Walking up there, I'm feeling amazing.

I showed that I can cook
more than Indian cuisine.

I know it's a big risk,

but I'm just hoping my dish

takes me up to the balcony.

Describe the dish, please.

So I did a pan-fried red snapper

with cilantro lime rice,

salsa verde, nopales salad,

and a shrimp ceviche.

Mother-in-law, the
curry is off the menu!

- Finally. You can do it!
- I can, I can.

It looks super clean and flavorful.

I think you took a big risk,

especially going away from Indian foods,

which are generally saucy.

So I hope that you have the
seasoning and the zing behind it,

because there's no sauce
to hide behind on this dish.

Gents.

How'd you cook the snapper?

I marinated itin a little lime juice.

I put some diced
shallots,some Mexican oregano,

and then I justpan-fried
it in some oil.

- Mmm.
- Wow. Mmm.

How'd you cook the snapper?

The snapper, I marinated
itin a little lime juice.

I put some diced shallotsand
then some Mexican oregano,

and then I justpan-fried
it in some oil.

- Mmm.
- Wow. Mmm.

Shari, it's super well-seasoned.

Great balance of salinity and
acidity in all the preparations.

The ceviche might be the
best part of the dish.

It's got my whole mouth
stimulated and ready to eat more.

- Almost makes the rest of the dish taste better.
- Thank you, Joe.

Your nopales, for someone who
doesn't use it quite often,

you did a great job with them.

They're still crunchy, they're acidic.

Gordon: If you turned around and told me

that you'd be cooking
cactus like this tonight

three weeks ago, I'd
never have believed you.

So here's the fascinating
thing about you.

You're out of your comfort zone,

but you're actually on top of your game.

Fish are cooked beautifully,

but the pop is the ceviche.

- It's just
mind-blowing. - Very good.

You can cook outside India,let
me tell you. Great job.

- Thank you.
- Thank you so much. Thank you.

- Nick, let's go.
- Attaboy, Nick.

- Come on, Nick.

Nick: I feel fantastic.

I've put a lot of thought into the dish.

It's beautiful, it's
colorful, it's bold.

I took a lot of risks in
making such a complex dish.

Nick, describe the dish, please.

Tonight, I made a
Braziliancheese bread taco

with a corn salsaand
a skirt steak on top

with prawn aioli.

You didn't play safe.

- A Brazilian cheese tortilla.
- Yeah.

How difficult are theyon
a scale of one to ten?

Oh, first of all, they're tempestuous.

You got to get in there.

The fact that you did
this is so bold, young man.

- Thank you, Chef.
- The ceviche presentation is the best of the evening.

It looks like a ceviche that
would come from a restaurant.

- What's in there?
- I have the snapper,

and then I havesome lime supremes,

a little bit of mango nectar,

shaved radish,and passion fruit.

The ceviche is good.

You went overboard on the Scotch bonnet.

You really need to tone
that down, young man.

What did you marinate the steak in?

I wrapped itaround some
cinnamonbefore I cooked it,

and then I also just
didthe classic salt, pepper,

a little bit of olive oil.

What you've done with that cheese
tortilla and marinated steak?

- Delicious.
- Nick, this is a cool, smart,

very intellectual
take on a surf and turf

with the prawn aioli.

I mean, really high-thinking,
great-tasting stuff.

- Thanks, Chef.
- Good job. Well done.

Thank you.

I tried to go above and beyond

what the judges were expecting.

And so, seeing them actually
love the dish was amazing.

It just sort of validates it more for me

that I deserve to be in
the MasterChef kitchen.

- Bri, please come forward.
- Yay!

Bri: I'm proud of my dish.

I took the curveball

and I executed that to perfection.

I really do think I'll
be in that top three.

Describe the dish, please.

I made a pan seared snapper

with cilantro and coconut
foamand roasted potatoes.

- You dress food beautifully.
- Thank you.

It's like your hair.There's
not a hair out of place.

But it's almost like you're
trying to send a message to us all

to put us on a diet.

We can eat whole portions,
by the way. Why so small?

Well, Chef, wheneverI've
personally traveled

to a superfine dining restaurant,

it's many, many
tastingsthat you're doing,

so it is meant to besmaller portions.

Shall we? That ceviche.

- What's the marinade?
- I did a mango syrup

and I also didplenty of lime juice,

lots of salt and pepper,

micro cilantro, and mango.

That ceviche is
delicious,let's get that right.

- Thank you.
- On point, seasoned,

fruity, exotic, everything you want.

- How'd you cook the potatoes?
- I roasted them in the oven,

and I tossed them witholive
oil, plenty of salt,

plenty of pepper,and smoked paprika.

Yeah, I think you cooked the fish
perfectly. I think there's no debating that.

I just feel like this doesn't really
represent your aesthetic very well.

I saw them on the Latin table,

and I wanted to incorporateas many
of those Latiningredients as I can.

But there's other ingredientsin
there that go way better.

A chipotle roasted corn
puree under that fish

would've been absolutely spot-on.

Creamy, rich, spicy.

But great finesse.

Joe: Ceviche, one of
the best of the night.

- Thank you.
- Good job.

- Awesome. Thank you.
- Thank you, Chefs.

It was extremely pertinent

to stand out at this
stage in the competition.

So it feels great to impress the judges

and show that I can be a
frontrunner in this competition.

The final dish.

- Wuta.
- Good job.

Wuta: Let's go.

Wuta: For the first time ever,

I feel really good about this dish.

I feel like I nailed the plating,

I feel like I nailed the flavors.

And most importantly,

I feel like I'm finally
showing the judges

I'm a strong competitor

and I can rise to the top.

Wuta, describe the dish, please.

I have a swordfish pan-seared

with a mango onionand pepper salsa,

with a spicy cilantroblack
beans and yucca.

For ceviche,there's the blood orange,

the lemon orange,tomatoes, basil,

and then I havethe swordfish in there.

There you have meon a plate.

- Fantastic.
- Here's the big surprise about you.

You're vegetarian.

So who's guiding you on this,
or is it just trial by error?

It's feeling...I know
when food's cooked,

and I put the fish in my moutha
little bit and spit it out.

It was really good.

Here's the deal, Wuta.

The ceviche...

is bright and super tasty.

Wuta, I just have to say
that if you had a restaurant,

I would become your regular customer

because I like your
style, and it just makes me

want to come back and
reserve at Wuta's place again.

- Good job.
- Thank you, Joe. Appreciate it.

That's really good.The yucca, next time,

to get them cooked properly,

smash them and then fry them,

so it's almost like huge
chips...crispy outside, crispy in.

But I just love the fact

that you've got unglamorous ingredients

and elevated them to the major league.

Were you nervous cooking
in front of Alessandra?

No, for the first time,I
wasn't actually nervous.

It was crazy.There was no
sweating.I felt very poised.

So to get the best out of you
going forward in this competition,

every night, we have to
bring in a super model.

That would be great, Chef.

- Well done. Good job.
- Thank you, Chef.

- Thank you, thank you, thank you.
- Good job.

Okay, thank you very much.

We need a moment to discuss.

- Tough. Six amazing dishes.
- Yeah.

They all embraced the idea of the spirit
of Latin America and those flavors,

the color, the citrus, the acid.

Who came out of their comfort
zone the most, as well?

- Yeah.
- No one played it safe out there.

No. Very good. Ceviches
were a great add.

Yeah, who conquered
thatlittle curveball we threw?

Absolutely. I think a lot of
them really rose and excelled.

Gordon: Happy?

- Yeah. I think so.
- Okay.

There were several great
dishes out here tonight.

But, unfortunately,
there are only three spots

available up on that balcony.

And in this case, we
each had our own favorite.

For me, this individual came
out of their comfort zone

and showed us that they
were capable of rising

in amongst that competition.

For me, that person is...

- Shari. Well done.
- Thank you. Thank you.

Amazing.

Shari: I'm one of the top three dishes

out of 17 home cooks.

I feel like I'm going to start crying.

This shows I can make anything.

This next home cook did an expert job

of celebrating
Latin-American ingredients.

My favorite dish of the night...

- is Nick. Great job, young man.
- Thank you, Chef.

Nick: It's an honor to have the judges

single my dish out as the best dish.

Let's go, young'n.

Getting my spot back up on
that balcony feels fantastic.

I didn't play it safe, and it paid off.

That leaves me.

This cook was able to put
bold flavors on the plate,

really great technique, consistency,

the kind of food that
really speaks to me.

That cook is...

- Wuta.
- Whoo!

Yeah!

Wuta, you have my vote!
Head up to the balcony.

- Let's go, Wu!
- Good job, buddy.

Thank you, guys.

For the first time in
the MasterChef kitchen,

I feel like I can pat
myself on the back.

I've never been in the top three,

so it feels really good to deliver.

Evan: Well, .

I definitely had one of the
bestdishes in this room today.

And I should be on the
balcony, but I don't care,

because I'm going to
continue to move forward

and kick ass and take
names in this operation.

All three of you are
now safe. Well done.

- Thank you.
- Joe: Good job.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Gordon: Good job.

Good job, guys.

But for those of you still down here...

you know what comes next.

That's right, an elimination
challenge tomorrow.

Trust me when I say it's definitely

the toughest one yet.

All of you,

sweet dreams.