Many were less than thrilled to see canned goods underneath their mystery boxes on the onset of last night’s challenge. It is what it is, but let’s be honest—many Americans depend on them every day. A good chef should have the ability to work with food of all ranges in quality—even the cheap and unglamorous—and as we learned last night, cheap and unglamorous can produce some pretty stunning results when placed in capable hands.
From Elisabeth’s beet and potato soup, to Francis’s fish stock and Victoria’s meat fritters with spicy ketchup, there was no shortage of clever, resourceful dishes featured. Getting rid of the canned taste and smell is tricky enough, but the crew managed to put forth many restaurant quality plates, especially Elisabeth and Ahran.
Welcoming back both Luca from season 4 and Alexander from MasterChef Junior to the MasterChef Kitchen was a proud moment for Gordon, Graham, and myself. Luca has really used the opportunity garnered from this show in a smart and hopefully lucrative way—his catering company is thriving, and the plans for a brick and mortar restaurant in Brooklyn are reality. His pancetta-wrapped veal with Grana Padano is also evidence that his cooking continues to evolve—it was not an easy dish for our home cooks to discern.
Alexander, now at the ripe old age of 14, is one of the most self-possessed home cooks I’ve encountered during my time on any of the MasterChef franchises. That kid is the real deal, and we could not be more thrilled for his bright future in the culinary world.
We really don’t know what Tyler’s intentions were in the MasterChef pantry, but he doesn’t exactly strike me as a cheater. Nevertheless, we can’t keep someone in the game who did not present us with a dish—it’s as simple as that. It’s kind of a shame that he went home over what was likely a huge lapse in concentration, but what were we going to do? No one gets a “do-over” on MasterChef. Jamie was quite upset that her third ramekin of panna cotta went missing, but it was actually her saving grace. She would have gone home otherwise. For me there was no doubt.
Every time someone pronounced panna cotta as panna cahhhtta I died just a little inside. It’s like nails on a chalkboard.
Episode six HERE!
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