Masterchef (2010–…): Season 12, Episode 5 - Winners Mystery Box: Spirit of Vegas - full transcript

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GORDON: Previously on
"MasterChef: Back to Win"...

There are 20 of you now.

- the top 20 kicked off...
- Roll the film.

...with a trip
down memory lane.

It looks dreadful.

Amanda, that's raw.

Let's go.
Your challenge is to use

the dish that sent you home
as inspiration for a new dish.

That is redemption in a bowl,
beyond belief.

But with the first
immunity pin on the line...

- Congratulations, Emily.
- Got my pin!



...some home cooks
couldn't escape their past.

- This is chocolate milk.
- [BLEEP]

- It's unedible.
- The person leaving

the competition tonight
is Stephen.

Tonight, it's the first
mystery box of the season.

- You feeling lucky tonight?
- And it's a big one.

- Oh, my God!
- What's up, guys?

But you've got
to place big bets...

No one's ever made homemade
phyllo from scratch.

- That is major.
- ...if you're back to win.

[BLEEP]
Oh, my God.

- GORDON: Someone's going home tonight.
- It's not gonna be me.

- What, is she crazy?
- [BLEEP]

- Oh, my God.
- Bri, you okay?



- Oh, no.
- Please place your apron

on your bench
and say good night.

Our first mystery box challenge.

[CHEERING]

- Let's go!
- Wait, what's with the big one?

FRED: There is a huge
mystery box behind the judges.

I'm just praying,
please don't be a live animal.

I already made a promise
to my mother

that I wasn't gonna kill animals
on national television.

- Oh, it's decorated.
- Oh, Vegas.

- Oh.
- Oh, my...

Hello, everybody.
It's so good to see you all.

And good to see you, Emily.

- Congratulations on winning immunity...
- Thank you.

...across that last challenge.

But, Emily, do not get
too comfortable up there

because next time,
you will be down here cooking.

That's right. The immunity
pin is up for grabs again tonight.

Let's go.

The flipside of that, sadly,
one of you will be going home.

Now, tonight is your first

big mystery box challenge.

But before we can see
what's under those boxes,

it's time to see
what's under this gigantic one.

- People! Oh, that's creepy.
- I knew it.

- Girls!
- Who is that? Who is that?

What's up, guys?

Good to see everybody.

- How's it going?
- Shaun!

You know, the last time I cooked
in this kitchen with Shaun,

he won and I didn't.

Shaun!

I came in second place.

But at the same time,
I am so proud of him.

He's traveled the world.
He's written his own cookbook.

He's living proof of what winning
"MasterChef" can do for a person.

- Amazing to see you.
- Goodness me.

Aarón! Chef, good to see you.

- How's it feel to be back?
- I mean, it always feels great

to step into
the MasterChef kitchen.

To be back in here and to see so
many familiar faces, it's heartwarming.

Shaun is proof
that winning this competition

can be used to propel
your career to new heights.

And he's finally returned to Las Vegas
to open up his very own restaurant.

- Um, first of all, congratulations.
- Thank you, Chef.

And also, let's be honest, Vegas
is one of the most competitive cities

- anywhere on the planet, right?
- I'm competing against you, so, yeah, absolutely.

GORDON: At your restaurant,
you've struck a chord

with cocktails across the menu.

- How big an influence have they been?
- I mean, it's Vegas.

Like, alcohol is built
into the fabric of Vegas.

At Shaun's restaurant,
the cocktails

share the limelight
with the food.

So, this evening, we want you all
to embrace the spirit of Las Vegas

and use spirits as ingredients

in the dishes
that you make this evening.

Under each
mystery box out there,

you will find one bottle
of alcohol that I've chosen.

You must use that
as a key ingredient

in the dish that
you're cooking tonight.

Each mystery box has a different
bottle of alcohol underneath it.

Whichever you get,
it's all up to Lady Luck.

- Wow.
- Throw that dice.

Dara, Shayne,
I know you're not legally

allowed to drink alcohol,

but you've cooked with it
before, right?

- Yes, Chef.
- Once or twice.

Right, shall we play
a little boozy roulette?

- Yes, Chef!
- Head to a station! Off you go!

Well done. Alejandro,
what are you hoping for?

Chef, I'm from the islands,
so I'm gonna go spiced rum.

Love that. Shayne the Train, what
do you think you'll be growing up?

Are you gonna be
a gin and tonic man?

I have no clue. Right now,
I'm a water kind of guy.

Okay, all of you,
on the count of three,

lift your mystery boxes.

One, two, three. Lift.

Ooh!

I've never even
seen this before.

Brandi, is that limoncello?

- It's not bourbon.
- Yeah.

- Fred, what is that?
- I have apple brandy.

Oh, my goodness me.
That is a dream.

Dara, what have you got?

- I have dark rum.
- I got anise liqueur.

I'm not too sure, to be honest,

but we got some
hazelnut liquor. Liqueur?

Yeah, who's got the tequila?
Michael.

- That's a good one.
- Tonight, you'll have one hour

to cook three identical dishes.

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

- Your time starts...
- Now.

- Whoo! Whoo!
- Let's go, let's go!

Please don't run me over.

Damn, Cate.

Green apples.

Where's the duck, baby?
Where's the duck?

It's okay.
I'm gonna grab some kumquats.

Prunes? Prunes.

I hit the jackpot.
I got bourbon.

You can literally
go anywhere with bourbon.

It offers sweet, smoky,
spicy notes.

Okay, hey, flambé.

Ay-yi-yi.

- I've gotta use scotch.
- What else do I need?

I like to drink a nice glass
of white wine or champagne.

I've never cooked with scotch.
I've never tasted scotch.

Does it go with something sweet,
something savory?

I have no idea.
But I know one thing.

I've gotta think
of something fast.

Today I was lucky enough
to get a raspberry liqueur,

and I'm going to make
a duck breast with that,

with a beautiful mashed potato,
some fennel, some apple.

Raspberries and duck
go together, you know?

I love wild game,
and I plan to deliver today.

Looks good, Alejandro.

Lots of duck
on the menu tonight.

The battle of the ducks.

- Battle of the ducks.
- She's doing duck, too, right?

- Yeah.
- We got three ducks in a row.

Let's rock and roll.

So, I have hazelnut liqueur,

and that is a bit
of a curveball.

I'm only 18 years old.
I can't even drink alcohol.

But I'm going to cook it down
and burn off all the alcohol.

I know hazelnut
has a real nutty flavor

so I'm gonna be doing
a pork tenderloin

with bacon
and green beans stir fry

with some mashed potatoes,
and then to top it off,

a hazelnut peppercorn sauce.

So I'm just gonna make sure
that hazelnut flavor

comes to play tonight
on my plate.

Mmm, yes. Yes.

I got gin.
Gin tastes like poison.

To me.

But once I let it settle,
I tasted more floral notes.

I tasted citrus.

And I figured
that I could work with this.

I decided to go ahead
and make some pork and peaches.

I'm doing pork tenderloin.

It's spiced
with some coriander, nutmeg,

cinnamon, cayenne pepper.

I'm just hoping
that the judges like it,

and that it gets me
either immunity or saved.

GORDON:
50 minutes remaining.

Come on, guys, let's go.

You got this.
Plenty of time.

First big mystery box challenge.

Shaun, you're gracing
the MasterChef floor once again.

Advice? Sweet, savory,
where would you go?

I use a lot of these different
things in the restaurant.

- Sure.
- Cognacs and stuff for charcuterie.

- But I kind of have my eye on the amaretto.
- Gotcha.

I do a great
butternut squash ravioli,

that I reduce down the amaretto
to where it's a syrup...

nice, thick, sweet... and it
really works with the earthiness...

- Love that.
- ...of the butternut squash.

Looking good.

Gordon, what's the secret
to cooking with spirits?

It's all about burning
off that alcohol.

Raw alcohol flavor
across any stage of dinner...

it's just...
it's not pleasant.

This is scary. I don't
want to burn my lashes off.

- You got it.
- Think of the jeopardy now. It's not just about one dish,

- but they're all back to win to win for a reason.
- Yeah.

For these guys to have
the courage

to step back
in the MasterChef kitchen...

you know,
anything can happen in here.

You can have a bad day
any given day.

This is gonna be
a really interesting tasting.

FRED: Looking at the apple
brandy, I know I can go

a couple different
routes with it.

But my heart is telling me,
go with a dessert.

And not just any dessert,

but something they haven't
seen before.

I am making a krempita,
which is a Montenegrin dessert.

Krempita is made with layers
of phyllo and custard,

and I'm serving it
with a caramel

and some flambéed apples.

There's a huge risk
with what I'm doing here

because making phyllo
from scratch

does take a lot of time,

but no one's ever made
homemade phyllo

in the MasterChef
kitchen before.

This is, like, getting there.
Probably three more minutes.

Okay.

However, my track record
with mystery boxes

is pretty horrible.

In fact, I got sent home

on the last mystery box
I cooked on.

JOE: It's raw.

So I just want to break
my mystery box curse

and finally get that redemption.

Nice, Fred.

Turn into something good.

I got limoncello.

It tastes like cleaner like you
would clean your countertops with.

Awful.

I feel completely deflated
right now.

[GROANS]

I have no idea
what I'm going to cook.

I definitely know Shaun's
looking at me right now.

I don't want to mess up
in front of him,

but I've got to get
out of my head

or, like, this is what's
going to send me home.

Oh, that limoncello is rough.

When I say rough, I mean rough.

Oh, that limoncello is rough.

When I say rough, I mean rough.

Brandi, season seven
would see this limoncello,

know it's a dessert drink,

try to haphazardly
pull out some dessert,

and it would probably
be a disaster.

But this Brandi is not gonna let
this limoncello get me down.

I really like cooking
with sweet and savory together,

so I'm actually going savory with
this super dessert drink tonight.

Shaun definitely knows what
I'm capable of,

but I think I'm doing
something tonight

that he's not gonna expect.

GORDON:
14 minutes gone.

Just over 45 minutes remaining.

So, Shaun, the level of competition
this year is at an all-time high.

And also they're battling
for immunity.

Smelling good in here, guys.

This is the best place
to be in the kitchen.

You know you're gonna be here
to fight another day.

Hi, Dara, what are you making?

So, I have dark rum today.

And I'm making
a tropical tiramisu.

I'm making an almond coconut jaconde sponge
that'll soak in a dark rum simple syrup.

I'm making a mascarpone cream with
a strawberry, pineapple, mango salsa.

Wait, wait a second. It sounds
like you said three desserts already.

Is it a tiramisu or no?

- Aspects of a tiramisu.
- You have time to do all this stuff?

I hold myself to a high
standard, especially with desserts.

- Right.
- And I believe in myself that I can get this done.

This spiced dark rum

- has a lot of different things going on.
- I love it.

And how is this gonna be
interwoven with your dish?

Um, it's gonna be
in a simple syrup.

That's what's what'll be
on the cake.

It will be in, um, a caramel.

I love it. So it's gonna
be very rum forward.

Very rum forward.
You got this.

- How's it going, Cate?
- Hey, Shaun.

- And we're using the bourbon, I see.
- The bourbon, yes.

GORDON: Tell me about the
dish. What are you doing?

I'm making a spiced
stonefruit cake

with a bourbon vanilla bean
caramel sauce,

a crème fresh Chantilly cream,
and then some macerated plums.

- This is the one everybody wanted, right?
- Yeah, absolutely.

I told you I was lucky.

And why sweet on a night
like tonight?

- 'Cause bourbon can go both ways, right?
- Yeah.

Right, I'm a savory chef.

That's what I know and love
and do the most.

But I thought it's not the time to
play it safe or stand in the shadow.

How are you gonna get this
cooked in 30 minutes?

It's going in... it's going in
in one second.

I just need to grab my fruit
from the blast chiller.

Taking risks, though.

That's what this kitchen's
all about.

I love risk,
but look at the time.

There's barely 30 minutes to go

and they're not
even in the oven yet.

They'll be there,
they'll be there.

- Cate, good luck.
- Thank you. Thank you both.

I have almond liqueur,

and I'm doing a profiterole

with an almond liqueur
pastry cream,

and then almond and orange
and cardamom cherries.

I haven't made this dish before,

but it's all flavors
I'm used to.

My grandparents are Italian,

so just trying to pull
from those childhood memories.

This isn't a time
to play it safe.

I'm here to go
that one step further

and take home that trophy.

This is gonna be interesting.
Lots of baking.

Ooh, baby.

Yes, freaking beautiful.

I got tequila, my favorite thing
to drink in the world.

I expect a lot of people today
to make dessert,

so I'm gonna go the opposite.

I have this amazing
tequila and tamarind sauce

that's, like, sour and sweet

and gives that punch
of the tequila.

So I'm not playing it safe,

I'm doing completely wacky
and crazy combinations.

I don't cook duck every day.
It's definitely a risky protein.

But if it pays off,
I think it'll give me

my best chance of getting
that immunity pin.

EMILY: 28 minutes,
guys. 28 minutes.

What is that, Christian?
Coconut shrimp?

- Yes, ma'am.
- Nice!

I love mystery boxes.
You know, season five,

I actually won a mystery box. I
had to fillet an Alaskan salmon.

I blackened it.
They loved it. I won.

- Christian.
- Get outta here. Wow.

So today I'm like,
mystery box, let's go.

- How you guys doing?
- How you doing, Christian?

- I'm good, Chef.
- So what do you got for us?

Today, I'm making a mezcal
tequila coconut bang shrimp.

Bang bang is what we call
kind of in New Orleans

when you kinda fry 'em up
and make 'em crispy.

Mezcal has, correct me if I'm
wrong, a smoky flavor, right?

Yes, so the difference
between mezcal and tequila...

you take the piña, or the root of
the actual cactus and you roast that.

So how do you plan
on burning it out?

Basically, what I'm gonna do,
I'ma burn it off first,

and then once
I've burned it off,

I'm gonna pour it into
the sauce that I'm making.

Alcohol is very strong.

So when you're
cooking it with food,

you don't want that alcohol
to overpower your food.

EMILY: Whoo!

Mezcal flambéed charred limes.
Love it.

Okay, let's see
what's going on so far.

- Okay.
- Miss Brandi.

Well, hello.
How are you doing?

Season seven alumni.

Tell me about
the liqueur that you got.

So I was given limoncello,

and I'm doing kind of
a fusion dish here.

I'm making a sesame soy
limoncello glaze for my salmon

that needs to come
out of the oven now,

with a spot prawn grapefruit
limoncello ceviche

and sautéed lemon
garlic bok choy.

Whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

Sounds like a lot
going on there.

- SHAUN: Yeah.
- A lot.

So, I feel tons
of pressure right now.

The last fish I cooked
in this kitchen

- was the dish that sent me home.
- Sure.

And today I'm cooking for
the person that sent me home.

It's very intimidating
having him here,

and I'm just trying
to pull out all the stops.

Would you put the raw prawns

- and the cooked salmon together?
- I personally wouldn't.

- Don't overcomplicate this dish.
- It's gonna be great.

- Someone's going home tonight.
- It's not gonna be me.

- Crush it!
- No pressure.

That's good enough.

TOMMY: With this dish, I'm
trying to prove that not only

can I have a good flavor
profile in a dessert,

but I want to put
fashion on a plate.

I was in the bottom
three last week,

so I've got to make sure

that I'm not in
the bottom three again.

- Tommy, all right.
- Well, hello.

So, what is the dish?

I'm gonna do sweet potato
butterscotch praline pie.

And where does the scotch
come into play?

The scotch is
in my candied pecans.

The scotch is also in my court-bouillon
poaching liquid for the sweet potatoes.

I really like the smell of it.

It smells smoky
and it smells very fall to me.

You're right. This is something
that you drink to warm the soul.

Tommy, we want to see
that eye for aesthetics.

You need to put on a show
on the plate today.

Is that gonna play out
in your dish?

- I hope so.
- Good luck.

GORDON: So, just over
15 minutes remaining.

Whisk, whisk,
whisk, whisk, whisk.

Cate's doing a stonefruit
bourbon cake.

My big worry is the cake wasn't in
the oven unlit just under 30 minutes.

I'm not too sure
it's gonna get cooked in time.

- AARÓN: Wow.
- That's... that's not crispy enough.

That's gotta go back on.

So, Brandi ended up
with the limoncello.

She's doing a cooked salmon
and a ceviche.

- With limoncello?
- Yeah.

Limoncello is literally
a sweet after-dinner liqueur.

What, is she crazy?

So, Dara, the liqueur
is dark rum

and her ambition is very high.

She mentioned tiramisu, and
then she's doing a sponge cake...

so many different things that I don't
think that she really understands it.

Yeah, she has a risk of
missing some of these elements

if she does all that
she says she's gonna do.

Including a rum caramel sauce,

which is fundamental
for pulling this together.

My caramel sauce,
it crystallized.

Dara, show it to me.
What's it look like?

- It's just, like, not...
- Then don't put it on the plate.

If it's not right,
don't put it on the plate.

- Okay.
- Just keep going.

DARA:
My caramel sauce crystallized.

This is a spirits challenge.

The majority of my rum
is in that caramel sauce.

Once it crystallizes
in a caramel,

it's not gonna uncrystallize.

Being in the MasterChef kitchen
with these adults

is completely different
than the juniors competition.

And this is all harder
than I expected.

[BLEEP]
Oh, my God.

My caramel sauce,
it crystallized.

Dara, show it to me.

- It's just, like, not...
- Then don't put it on the plate.

If it's not right,
don't put it on the plate.

- Okay.
- Just keep going.

This is a spirits challenge.

The majority of my rum
is in that caramel sauce.

[BLEEP]
Oh, my God.

I don't have time
to fix the mistake.

I can't put it on the plate.

Instead, I just brush
on the rum syrup

and now I just have to hope

that there's enough rum
soaked into that cake.

Oh, my God!

- Ooh, girl!
- Bri, you okay?

- Damn! That was a big one.
- We're good.

I got an herbal liqueur,
so I'm making a filet mignon

with a chimichurri sauce,

roasted red pepper purée,
and elote.

So I think the flavors will mesh
really well together.

My God.

MICHAEL: There are under
10 minutes left,

and two of my ducks
are overcooked.

Come on, come on, baby.
Come on, baby.

I'm definitely pretty
concerned right now,

and Gordon said
we need consistency,

consistency amongst
all three plates,

so I have to start over.

Okay, okay, okay.

All right, guys,
so Michael looks like

he just overcooked
his duck breast

- and he's starting it over.
- JOE: No way.

- That is major.
- Damn.

- Hi.
- Right, Fred, what did you get?

- This is...
- My apple brandy.

So, I'm making a take on a
Montenegrin dessert called krempita.

It's homemade phyllo
that I infused

with the apple brandy
with apple brandy pastry cream.

- Wait, you're making your own phyllo paste?
- Yes.

Have you stretched it
beautifully? Is it super crisp?

Yes. I got it as thin as I could
get it in this time constraint, Chef.

Then I also did, um, the alcohol
in a miso apple butterscotch.

- Wow.
- And then I'm just gonna finish some butter...

or some apples in that
brandy butter as well.

- Oh, wow. That is delicious.
- Thank you.

- Ooh. Wow, Fred.
- That is delicious.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Is that the flambé?

Yes, this is the flambé. Um, if
you guys value your eyebrows...

Tilt the pan.
Tilt it. That's it, yeah.

- There we go. Let it go.
- No, no.

It's fine.
No, it's fine, it's fine.

Once the alcohol burns off...

A glass bowl on top of a flame.

- Sorry. I don't do it frequently.
- That's what you want.

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

GORDON: Last five
minutes. Here we go.

Whoa.

Oh, my God.

GORDON:
I'm worried about Cate's cakes.

They're not even
out of the oven yet.

- Will she cook the cake in time?
- Yeah.

Would you believe Fred's
made his own phyllo pastry?

- Yes.
- Bravo.

If he pulls it off,
it could be immunity pin-worthy.

But I'm just worried
time is his issue now.

Emily, who's looking good?

Uh, a lot of the savory people
I think are looking good.

Christian's doing some coconut
shrimp, which looks really interesting.

- Think he has mezcal, so it's kind of a unique usage.
- Smart.

Shanika's pork looks phenomenal.

She just sliced into it.
Looks great.

But I think some people
went sweet tonight

in order to show their skills, and
maybe some things are not going right.

Well, you've got
a great view from up there.

Sadly, as you know,
somebody is going home.

Two and a half minutes
remaining. Let's go.

Let's go, Cate.

Oh, my God!

My cake is underbaked.

Oh, no.

But I'm very stressed for time,

so I have to reroute
and get something on the plate.

Coming up
to 60 seconds, everyone.

60 seconds!

This is not pretty.

I need three plates.

You have 45 seconds, young man.

- Yes, Chef.
- Let's go.

My hands aren't shaking,
your hands are shaking.

[BLEEP]

25 seconds to go.
Man, that's tight.

- Christian's got one plate done.
- Come on, Christian!

This is not what I wanted.

Oh, my God.

JUDGES: Ten, nine, eight,

seven, six, five,

four, three, two...

- One. That's it, hands up!
- Well done.

- Oh, boy.
- SHAUN: Good job, guys.

- How'd you do? Great job.
- Great.

- How's it look?
- Looks beautiful, little bro.

- I think I cooked it perfectly.
- You did.

I hold myself to such
a high standard for this.

- Me, too.
- I hate... like, I don't want to cry.

- You know?
- Yeah.

CATE:
My cake doesn't look good,

which reflects on me as a chef.

What happened, Cate?

And that makes me emotional,

but I got everything
on the plate

and I'm just hoping
the judges see my talent

and, uh, my potential.

I'm just, uh, definitely

not ready to leave.

Tonight, you had to cook
with not just the spirit of Vegas,

but the amazing spirits
under your mystery boxes.

Let's take a much closer look
at all your dishes.

Shayne, hazelnut liqueur.
You happy with this?

I feel like I accomplished
a lot in this cook.

- I think it looks good.
- Thanks, Chef.

Dara, do you feel that
your dish is complete?

There's one element
that went wrong,

so I decided to keep it
off the plate.

Okay. Thank you.

All right, Brandi.

Every time these judges come around,
you never know what they're thinking,

and you instantly start
to doubt yourself.

Are you happy
with the cook on the fish?

I think it's gonna be
cooked very well.

My skin's still really crispy.

I definitely think the standards
are higher than they've ever been.

- And did you marinate the shrimp in the mezcal?
- Yes, Chef.

BRANDI: People are putting
finale plates up to these judges.

So, I did a profiterole with
a almond liqueur pastry cream.

You like 'em this crunchy, huh?

They're not letting little things
slide that all of us should know.

- Are you happy with the plating?
- Yeah.

- Yeah?
- Are you sure?

If you mess up something simple,
it's just not gonna be pretty.

- What happened here?
- Is this raw?

Oh, definitely.

Is this a deconstructed dish

or did you just rip the top
off the muffins?

Uh, it's deconstructed,
but because it's undercooked.

I flipped it over and then I just
picked the best pieces I wanted.

Got it.

[SIGHS]

- Fred, apple brandy.
- Yes.

I know for a fact
that this is not a middle dish.

It's a matter of whether
or not it lands me

in the top three
or the bottom three,

just given the risk
that I took tonight.

What's in the, uh, cream?

So, the cream itself,
it's mascarpone vanilla bean.

I don't really know what's going
through, like, their heads right now.

Like, they could love the dish,
they could hate the dish...

you can't really read it
from their faces.

Thank you.

- So many good dishes there.
- Absolutely.

- AARÓN: Interesting mix of sweet and savory.
- SHAUN: Yeah.

- Confident?
- Yeah, I'm good. Ready?

Yeah.

Shaun, thank you so much
for curating

this incredible mystery box
with amazing spirits.

My pleasure, Chef.

Emily, you get to spend
some very special time now

with our season seven winner.

All of you, please give it up
for Shaun O'Neale.

- Congrats.
- Thank you, Chef.

Take a break up on that balcony.

SHAUN:
Good luck, guys.

Right, let's taste
the top dishes of the night.

This first dish featured
a very uncommon spirit.

It really did help
bring their seafood to life.

Please come forward...

Christian.

[BLEEP] I'm talking about.

Called it. Called it!

Remind us what you liqueur
you got this evening

and then describe
the dish, please.

I got the mezcal,
so the dish that I prepared

is a coconut bang shrimp

served with a mezcal
apricot sauce

topped with microgreens.

It looks crunchy, crispy, rich.

I'm really curious
about your sauce.

It looks like it has
a nice consistency.

Can't wait to try it.

The shrimp are delicious.

I mean, really cooked
impeccably.

The sauce is intriguing.

I think you've hit
the jackpot on there

with apricot, mezcal,
and what else?

- And little bit of that lime zest.
- Excellent.

Here's the thing,
it needs a slaw.

Just something else to give that
little crunch on there, that's all.

Yeah, Christian,
I mean, you understood

what we were asking you as far
as using the spirit in a clever way,

as well as capturing the fun and the
vibe in Vegas, and this is exactly that.

Thank you so much.

You're concentrating on flavors.

You have good technique.

You're just putting really
good food on the plate,

and I love the honesty in this.

- Good job.
- Thank you, Christian.

- Thank you, Christian.
- Good job, brother, good job.

Thank you.

Second dish we want to taste,

certainly one of the best
desserts of the night...

please come forward...

Fred.

- Good job, Fred!
- Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

JOE: All right, Fred,
tell us what you made for us.

FRED: I made a take on a
Montenegrin dessert called krempita,

which is made with layers
of homemade phyllo dough

with a mascarpone
and apple brandy cream,

flambéed apples, as well as a
miso apple brandy butterscotch.

Fred, it looks stunning.

You plate with
such beautiful finesse.

Thank you.

- Shall we?
- Yeah.

That, Fred, is exceptional.
I love it.

I do love the contrast
of the crunch,

the sweetness
with that miso caramel.

It's bloody exceptional,
young man.

Fred, I love the phyllo.

I can feel all
the different layers

kind of bursting in my palate.

It shows a lot of technique

- and understanding of ingredients.
- Thank you, Chef.

JOE:
I agree with their comments.

The phyllo dough gave us
a nice, neutral base,

and really exalts all the other
flavors on the dish.

The apples, which are
perfectly roasted

and infused with
that apple brandy flavor,

- very difficult to do. Bravo.
- Thank you.

- Well done.
- Thank you, Chef.

- [CHEERING]
- Go, Fred!

Good job.

So, the final dish
that we'd like to taste,

from a young lady who pulled out
an amazing dish

despite her self-doubt
and uncertainty.

Please come forward, Brandi.

Congrats, Brandi.

It feels great to be in
the top three with Shaun here.

You know, I'm the only one
from his season.

He's expecting a lot out of me.

I think he's probably
pretty proud

that I'm being called down
right now.

Brandi, can you remind us
of the spirit

that you had to work with?

I had limoncello,

and I made a cast iron
seared salmon

glazed with a soy sesame
limoncello sauce,

a spot prawn limoncello ceviche,

and sautéed lemon garlic
bok choy.

It looks excellent.

I love it when
you cook salmon in a way

that you can almost see
the medium rare.

- It looks spot on.
- Thank you, Chef.

AARÓN: Limoncello,
one of Joe's favorites.

'Cause I do order
limoncello back sometimes.

What's in a limoncello back?

No, it's like, you know,
you order a beer

and then a whiskey back.

So you just take a shot
of limoncello after your beer?

- Yeah.
- All right.

You should try it.

Look at that. Shaun,
can you see that up there?

Spot on. I had no doubts
with Brandi and salmon.

Thank you, Shaun.

GORDON: Uh, young lady,
salmon's cooked perfectly.

But the bok choy is exceptional.

But doesn't need the shrimp.

It just takes you down
a different route

when you're so excited
about that beautiful

earthiness from the bok choy.

I'm just surprised
with the balance of flavor

and harmony that you achieved

with soy, sesame oil,
and limoncello.

And you made it work,
young lady.

- Thank you.
- AARÓN: It's delicious.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

Good job, Brandi!

Good job, guys.

We need a minute to discuss
right now, please.

The bok choy and the salmon,
to mix that limoncello?

- That's pretty compelling.
- Yeah. Fred's?

- That's the most intellectual dish.
- Yeah.

Christian's dish, I just like
everything about that dish.

Good luck, guys.

The good news is that all three
of you are safe from elimination.

But most importantly,

one of you will receive
the beautiful immunity pin.

The person that we thought

executed the best dish tonight,

congratulations goes to...

The person that we thought

executed the best dish tonight

and deserves this immunity pin,

congratulations goes to...

Fred.

Thank you, Chef.
Thank you.

BOTH: Good job, Fred.

FRED:
I won immunity! Oh, my God.

I just took a risk
in the spirit of Vegas

and it paid off
in the form of this pin.

You three, congratulations
once again.

Please make your way up
to the balcony, well done.

It's "Back to Win,"
it's a new season, new Fred,

and it's indescribable
amounts of joy.

- Good job, buddy.
- Thank you.

- I know, I know!
- That was beautiful.

- FRED: Thank you.
- Now for the not so good news.

We now have to taste the
bottom three dishes of the evening,

and from that,
one of you will be going home.

The first dish we need to take
a much closer look at...

despite being plated well,

it really lacked in spirit of
flavor they wanted to highlight.

Please step down...

- Dara.
- Oh!

DARA:
I was a mess today.

My station was a mess,
my head was a mess,

this dish is a mess.
Really disappointing.

- So, Dara, describe the dish please.
- So, I had dark rum.

In front of you, I have a rum-soaked
cake with a mascarpone cream,

tropical fruit,
and a macadamia nut brittle.

I don't see the soaked
part of it. It looks dry to me.

It's definitely missing
a sauce component.

And it just looks like
an incomplete dessert.

Dara, the actual flavor
of the cake is good,

but I can't taste
that beautiful spiced rum.

JOE: I don't have to
tell you, Dara,

you know it's a little bit
heavy and greasy.

Fruit's okay, but it's not
what a cake looks like.

It looks like pancakes.

The nut brittle is just unedible
and the sponge is very plain.

I like the cream, but whipped
cream? Come on, big deal.

It's "Back to Win."
Thank you.

- It's okay, Dara.
- Head up, Dara. You still did so much.

- I can't taste the rum.
- She's better than that.

She's much better than that.
But when you get too clever,

you're gonna trip over.
What a shame.

The second dish that we want
to examine more closely

incorporated a very common
and rudimentary spirit,

but had shockingly poor
technique.

Please come forward, Cate.

CATE:
I'm definitely disappointed.

My presentation
is not where I want it to be.

But I'm extremely confident
in my flavors,

and hopefully
it's gonna keep me here.

AARÓN: Cate, can you remind us
of the spirit that you had to work with?

CATE: I got bourbon
underneath my mystery box.

And I made a stonefruit
spice cake

with a bourbon vanilla bean
caramel sauce

and crème fresh Chantilly cream.

Cate, I push you a lot
because I see greatness.

But this plate
reminds me of a dish

that's been sent back
to the kitchen

when someone's finished
their dessert.

Oh, Cate,
I could cry, young lady,

'cause on my plate
I've got crispy bits of cake,

raw bits of cake,
half-cooked bits of cake,

and so I'm just... I'm confused.

The caramel's the saving grace.
It's actually delicious.

But we're not doing a caramel
mystery box challenge.

I'm, uh... I'm disappointed.
I'm disappointed for you.

AARÓN: Cate, you had all the
makings of a wonderful dessert here.

There's just a lot of technical
flaws, and I think you know that.

But I liked the Chantilly cream.

I thought it was
gonna be grainy, it wasn't.

I'll just get
to the heart of the matter.

I mean, when you deconstruct
a dish to try and hide

that the components
are undercooked and raw,

it's kind of a disaster.

- Thank you, Cate.
- Thank you.

It's okay.

Okay, the final dish

we would like to taste
and dissect further,

despite having some
intriguing elements,

simply failed to meet

our level of expectation.

Please come forward...

Tommy.

TOMMY: I've been in the
bottom three two weeks in a row.

It's not a good feeling at all.

I just have to ask you,

is this really what
it's supposed to look like?

It just looks peculiar.

I just have to ask you,

is this really what
it's supposed to look like?

Well, when I do sweet potatoes,

sometimes I like
to melon ball them out

so that it doesn't look
so unattractive.

I gotta say, as a guy
who has an eye towards fashion,

makes his living in fashion,

these colors don't really

have any space on this runway.

Even the choice of the plate.

I mean, you couldn't have picked
a worse color, Tommy.

- Really?
- Really.

- What alcohol did you have?
- I used scotch.

Tell us about this dish.

This is a sweet potato
butterscotch praline tartelette.

- Should we try it?
- Let's hope it tastes better.

Uh, Tommy, dish looks a mess.

I think of what scotch does
to apples... mind-blowing.

It's one of the best liqueurs
to enhance a dessert,

and this is just
not very good at all.

The scoops look weird,
and it's unfinished.

JOE: Tommy, it tastes
better than it looks.

I have really nothing else
to say except for that. Sorry.

Thank you, Chef.

So who's going home?

Dara, Cate, and Tommy,
please give us a minute.

We've got some very, very heavy
discussions to have.

Excuse us.

- So, Dara.
- JOE: I think that what you saw tonight

was her youthfulness.

- Could you taste the rum though? No.
- No.

Cate, on my plate,
I had some raw,

half-cooked bits
of that cake on there.

It's a shame.

- GORDON: Tommy's?
- The execution was off.

There was a lot of errors in it.

It's very clear to me.

- Aarón?
- Yeah. 100%.

Oh, my goodness.

Dara, Cate, Tommy,
all three of you produced

three somewhat
lacklust dishes tonight.

And the person not moving
forward in the competition is...

Cate.

What the heck?

Tommy, Dara, head back
to your stations.

- Good job, you guys.
- I love you, Cate.

- Keep kicking ass.
- I love you.

CATE:
I'm gonna miss you guys.

Cate, I know how much this
"Back to Win" means to you.

But the actual cake
was raw and undercooked,

and in a panic, you assembled
bits and threw them on the plate.

Unfortunately,
it just didn't work.

Please place your apron on
your bench and say good night.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

Love you, Cate.

CATE: In season eight, I had
the best record of the season,

I kicked ass, and I was
expecting to be here until the end.

It's definitely showing how
fierce and cutthroat this season is.

The stakes were huge,
and the talent was insane.

I know I did everything I
could have in that 60 minutes.

Sometimes [BLEEP] hits the fan

and you just gotta,
you know, duck.

Bye, MasterChef!
I'm gonna miss you guys.

I warned you weeks ago, it's
the most competitive season yet.

Last challenge, we lost a
semifinalist from season six!

Tonight, we lose a semifinalist
from season eight in Cate.

So, if you can't tell by now

that the bloody slate is clean

coming "Back to Win,"
you'll never know.

Good night.

- GORDON: Next time...
- Ramsay to Coast Guard.

...the top 18 take on
their first

team challenge of the season.

You will be feeding
the women and men

- of the US Coast Guard.
- Uh-oh.

But with another cook
in the firing line...

Let's get some chow, men!

- How long are you blanching them?
- Don't holler at me.

- Don't jump ship.
- ...it won't be smooth sailin.

- Where's the potato?
- We're not ready.

- Say that again?
- It's stressing everybody out.

Hey, it's raw. [BLEEP]
How? [BLEEP]

On the [BLEEP] floor, and we've
just put them back on the grill.

- No!
- You're going down, young man.

[BLEEP]