Masterchef (2010) s04e24 Episode Script
Top 3 Compete
It began with a nationwide search for the best home cooks in America.
All chasing the same dream.
But only a handful made it into the MasterChef kitchen, where their culinary skills were challenged like never before.
Move your ass and make another plate! - Geez! - Go! Hands on deck! Speed up, everybody! I don't even know what the [bleep.]
I'm doing.
All with the dream of winning $1/4 million Oh, my god! their own cookbook, and the coveted title of MasterChef.
Now Only three home cooks remain in the biggest cooking competition in the world.
Natasha, a focused stay-at-home mom from San Diego.
It's just like me: Fiery, smoky, hot.
My passion is food.
It's in my blood.
Like, I can't not cook.
You could serve that in a restaurant any time.
Natasha has never been one to back down from a fight.
Should probably keep cooking and shut your mouth.
That's why you will never be on my team, ever.
Geez! Anything you want to say to Luca? I'm coming for you.
You're my next target.
And her talent has never been in doubt.
Great flavors.
Phenomenal.
- That was delicious.
- Thank you, chef.
Very elegant, very refined.
I wish you could all taste this.
Can Natasha win the MasterChef title for her and her family? My dream is to open up a restaurant where I live in San Diego.
and I have given up so much to be here.
I'm not going home without that title.
Luca, a 31-year-old restaurant manager from New York City.
I wanna be a restaurateur.
I wanna be a chef.
That's my only dream.
It's me! It's me! He came back this year for a second chance.
You're not going back to your job in New York.
Because you're in MasterChef.
Congratulations.
This is big redemption.
This moment is about achieving my dream.
His early days in the kitchen were difficult.
It's kind of embarrassing.
Like, I made a mistake on the presentation.
Red team! But when he hit his stride Let's go! Let's go, guys! Let's go! Luca, excellent.
Wow.
It looks beautiful.
Perfect.
It's a very good effort.
there was no looking back.
You got the color.
You delivered on the flavor.
Well done.
This is a great dish.
You should be really, really proud.
Good job.
You understood the protein better than anyone else.
You made me proud.
Bravo.
Can Luca's Italian-inspired cuisine claim MasterChef glory? I came to this great country to follow my dream of having my own restaurant in New York City.
Winning MasterChef is about achieving my dream.
There's nobody who wants it more than me.
And Jessie, a spirited 27-year-old from social circle, Georgia.
From day one, she instantly stood out in the crowd and proved she was a strong contender.
I just wonder if she's the real deal.
A challenge.
Six stunning fillets, please.
Once in the kitchen, her talent was obvious.
That for me is one of the best langoustines I've tasted.
Thank you.
That just explodes with flavor.
Thank you so much.
That is a real triumph.
Very smart, Jessie.
I think you are a front-runner.
You ready? And her desire to go all the way in the competition Medic! no matter the obstacles.
Is that gonna need a stitch? You okay, darling? Yeah, I'm about to hit the floor.
Now this Southern belle wants to bring home the MasterChef crown.
My dream is to travel the world, trying different cuisines and learn their techniques, immerse myself in their culture, come back to the States, start a restaurant back home in Georgia.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie, congratulations, you three.
You are the last three home cooks remaining in this competition.
It's time for your final mystery box challenge.
As you can see tonight, we all have our own boxes as well.
Underneath these boxes are probably the most important ingredients of your culinary journey here at MasterChef.
$1/4 million.
One of you will win this life-changing amount of money.
The money looks great.
But I think the biggest prize is what's under here - Wow.
- Holy cow.
- Your very own cookbook.
- That's awesome.
- So exciting.
- Nice.
Forget the money, forget the cookbook.
With what's under this box, trust me, you'll be able to shape up your own destiny.
The coveted MasterChef trophy.
Win this trophy, you can accomplish anything.
The sky's the limit.
But before you get a chance to win all of these amazing prizes, you need to reach the final to help us decide the two finalists, you will now compete in the final mystery box challenge.
Head to your stations.
Thank you.
As with every mystery box challenge, the contestants have to prepare, cook, and present one incredible dish using all or some of the ingredients inside the box.
On the count of three, I want you to lift your boxes.
One, two, three.
Lift.
That's right All of your ingredients are different.
Because tonight, you will be remaking the dish that started your culinary journey here at MasterChef.
But we don't want to see an exact replica of the dish that got you that apron.
We need to see an elevated version of that dish that shows just how far each and every one of you has traveled.
Natasha, do you have any recollection of what dish you prepared to get your apron? I do.
I made empanadas, as well as a skirt steak on the side.
Luca.
I made broccoli rabe ravioli with a pecorino cheese sauce.
That's right.
- Jessie.
- I cooked sea bass en croute.
I was thinking about it the other day, actually, and it looked like a football.
So we want to see the way you make it now.
you'll have 60 minutes to make those dishes, then we will rank your dishes first, second, and third.
Win this challenge, and for one of you, you get Let's say, a life-changing advantage.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
So with these reinterpretations, who do you think's gonna show us that they've grown the most? I mean, it's going to be very hard for Natasha to re-improve something that we all gave a yes on.
The first plate was very rustic.
Maybe she does something much more restaurant-y now.
I'm gonna work on my plating and work on the flavor profile, a little of every aspect.
I want to be in that finale bad.
I'm not stopping until I get there.
- I gave Jessie "no".
- Mm-hmm.
And it's amazing to see the journey that she's taken, because she has certainly convinced me.
Sea bass en croute Very difficult to make it look glamorous.
I still not have won any mystery boxes, but I'm elevating my plating with a whole bunch of different mushrooms.
It's gonna show a big difference from where I was at the beginning until now.
I'm gonna win this one.
I think that Luca has a lot to prove today.
The broccoli rabe dish was not perfect.
I think today he has to deliver the perfect dish.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, absolutely.
This is a dish that I create just for the judges.
And today I'm finally gonna have chef elliot say yes to my dish.
Right, Jessie, how are you feeling? Hey, feeling good.
What are you doing there now? I didn't like how I wrapped it last time.
It got too thick.
So I'm going to try a thinner version of it.
Make sure that pastry's not too thin.
Otherwise it's gonna split.
Before the sea bass is cooked, yeah? - Yes.
- Good luck.
- Natasha.
- Yes, chef.
We loved this dish, it was three big yeses.
How are you gonna make it better? I'm gonna try to enhance all the flavors in my empanada.
I'm infusing some saffron into it.
Let's fast-forward to the finale.
Who is your most fierce competitor? Who do you not want to compete against in the finale? Luca, because, you know what, he does have tricks up his sleeve.
He's a great chef.
- Thank you, Natasha.
- All right.
You're welcome, guys.
Oh, no, that doesn't look good.
What are you doing there? The sauce for the ravioli.
What happened to the sauce? It tastes a bit weird.
Why don't you start again? I need a new sauce.
The thing that I had to improve the most, I'm failing again.
I can't believe it! Are you okay? Tastes a bit weird.
Why don't you start again? Get two pans on, and start reducing down again, yes? - Yes, chef.
- And use some of the rind of the parmesan.
If you put the rind in there, it's not gonna break the sauce.
- If you get rind, that give you the flavor.
- Okay, yes, chef.
- You can pull this back together.
- Yeah, I got it.
Okay, think about it.
Good luck.
Less than ten minutes to go, and I need a new sauce.
Every time I have to make Italian food, something goes always wrong.
And I'm Italian.
What's happening with Luca's sauce? That sauce is completely gone.
Joe, why not make just a proper cream sauce and then finish it with cheese - the cheese in there? - Exactly.
This is not a time to make a mistake like that.
Last two minutes.
Come on.
Put it on the plate.
We want to see beautiful plates.
Look how late in the game Natasha's leaving this before she starts plating I mean, extraordinary.
Jessie's got her en croute carved.
She's starting to plate.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
We are so excited to be given a second opportunity to taste the dishes that you entered this competition with and show us everything you've learned and how much better you've become.
Okay, let's start off with Natasha.
Let's go, please.
Thinking about my audition dish Hi, guys.
It does seem like a long time ago, but it's absolutely amazing to be able to show the judges on a dish of how far you've actually come during this.
Wow.
This looks gorgeous.
Explain the dish, please.
You know, you go from the skirt steak with the chimichurri into the roasted corn puree with the fennel and the Swiss chard in there, and then you move your way into the traditional empanada.
And the filling inside the empanada? Hard-boiled eggs, beef, some chorizo, some raisins.
I love the vibrancy.
The steak is just superb.
The marinade has tenderized it in such a way that it just melts in your mouth, love it.
- Great job as always.
- Thank you so much.
The steak is incredible.
Even better than the first time.
The empanadas lo beautifully shiny.
They're a little different than the ones in the audition.
I actually used all butter in the first ones.
This one, I actually have a little bit of lard and butter.
I wanted a flakier crust.
I think that the actual dough, if it was a little thinner, then I think that filling would have exploded more.
Absolutely.
But, all around, great dish, and you did manage to improve on it, so good job.
Thanks so much.
Mmm, I love this dish because it really is a fun way to sample a lot of different flavors.
I think it was really smart.
Not only are you an excellent cook, but you bring a tenacity, and I think that you have the grit and the skill to maybe win the whole thing.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
I feel like I've evolved, and what the judges asked us to do, I definitely put on the plate.
Luca.
Back at the audition Buon appetito.
chef Elliot gave me a no.
He doesn't like the sauce.
It's almost overly salted, and I don't like the texture.
So many things changed from that time.
I really want to show them how much I improved.
It looks prettier than the original one.
Let's get that out of the way.
Walk me through what we have here.
Broccoli rabe ravioli in a parmesan cheese sauce with tomato concasse, toasted pine nuts, and microgreens.
Wow.
There's so much flavor.
- Way better.
- Thank you.
So, like, I was sure that you were gonna just, like, nail the sauce.
That's the only thing that's an issue for me.
But every other component is perfect.
Thank you.
Why cheese sauce? One thing you're gonna have to understand is that cheese doesn't boil.
So you fold cheese in at the last minute, literally seconds to go.
When you've got something that oozes that level of finesse with a wonderful filling, does it really need a cheese sauce? A simple brown butter sauce finished with the pine nuts? It's all going the right direction with your cheese in the center, but understand this: Everytime you get not back, you come back twice strong.
So I'm hoping that you do bounceack.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Butter and sage.
Now I know.
Easy.
Okay, Jessie.
Walking up to the judges, it's just shocking to think about what I put out for my audition plate.
Gordon said my signature dish looks like something from the '80s.
But it's my moment to show all that I've learned here and put it on a plate, and be like, hey, I do belong in the MasterChef final.
It's gorgeous.
I'm so impressed.
What did you do differently? I really wanted to show what you're eating instead of guessing.
So I sliced it so you could see all the different layers of the fish.
What did you do with the mushrooms? Put 'em in some screaming-hot oil.
Got some color on 'em.
Finished 'em with a little butter and veg stock.
- They're delicious.
- Good.
This is really spectacular.
The fish is moist.
Everything is seasoned perfectly.
Thank you.
From home cook to MasterChef.
Pretty remarkable.
Thank you.
One criticism.
When you slice like that opened up the bowl doesn't do it justice.
Taste is beautiful.
I mean, that is restaurant quality.
without a shadow of a doubt, you are a force to be reckoned with.
Continue cooking with that ability, you could confirm a spot in the final.
- Thank you.
- Really good.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie.
It's time to find out who's gonna have a huge advantage in the elimination test.
We've ranked the dishes, and that will determine who gets the biggest advantage in the upcoming elimination challenge.
The third-ranking dish tonight belongs to Luca.
Out of us three, I'm in the most trouble today.
But I'm not giving up.
I'm fighting my way to the finale.
Now we're down to Natasha and Jessie.
The home cook that cooked the best dish tonight was I need that first place.
I don't want it, I need it.
Having this advantage is gonna determine whether I'm walking outside of those doors or I am gonna be going face-to-face with someone in the final.
Well done.
The home cook that cooked the best dish tonight Well done - Jessie.
- My first mystery box.
Holy cow.
Better late than never.
Well done.
There's no better time to have won, because that comes with a huge advantage.
I came in second place, but I am so determined.
Nothing is gonna discourage me.
And I am so ready to make it to the finals.
Up next is the final elimination challenge.
All three of you, please, follow us.
Let's go.
In the final elimination challenge, all three home cooks will each make one dish with the best two moving into the grand finale.
Jessie, you're about to make the most important decision you've ever had to make in this entire competition.
This moment could change your life forever.
In front of us are three different ingredients.
Jessie, for your advantage, you will get to pick which ingredient you want to cook with tonight.
Once you've made that choice, that ingredient will be off the table for Natasha and Luca.
Natasha, you had the second best dish in the mystery box challenge.
You will get to choose from the remaining two ingredients.
That means, Luca, guess what.
- No choice.
- You get whatever's left.
Normally second place doesn't mean too much.
But at least being able to control Luca's situation makes it a worth it.
There's a very small handful of very special, unique ingredients that, in the food world, are considered to be the absolute best of the best.
And we have one, two, three of them.
Right in front of your eyes.
The first ingredient is what I consider to be the undisputed king of all cheeses.
An amazing wheel of grana padano, straight from central Italy.
Without doubt, grana padano is the king of all cheeses.
I have another king ingredient.
It is a type of beef.
This isn't just what I consider the king of beef.
Every chef in the world would kneel before this.
Authentic Kobe beef from Japan.
there is no better beef in the world.
You've seen the king of cheeses.
You've met the king of beef.
But what I have under here really is a king of the ocean.
The most amazing Alaskan king crab.
Luca is not strong with crab.
That's something he failed at miserably before.
I want him to have the crab so he fails.
Jessie, it's time to choose.
My goal is to have something that I can make shine and for Natasha to pick right.
So that Luca gets stuck with the crab.
That'll send Luca home.
I'm picking this ingredient because I'm hoping Natasha will be smart with her choice after me.
This is something I haven't worked with before.
I'm dying to work with the Kobe beef.
Kobe beef.
I've never touched Kobe beef.
I'm thinking it's like a filet mignon, but you don't need to do much to it.
- Kobe beef? - Yeah.
And you've never worked with it before? I take it as a filet mignon, just with more marbling.
And it's more dangerous.
Do you know why? Because it's so difficult to cook.
Unforgiving.
Be interesting to see if Natasha plays into your plan or not.
Luca, you look nervous.
Of course I am.
I'm in the bottom right now.
Which one are you scared of having to cook with? I think that making up something awesome with the cheese is not easy.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
I would love to cook with grana padano! And I'm praying, "God, you know me and crab don't have a great relationship.
But I would love the cheese.
" Now for the interesting part.
Natasha, there's only two options left.
So, obviously, you're not only picking your ingredient, but you're giving Luca his as well.
What are you thinking? Strategically, right now, I know what Jess wants me to pick.
But I'm not playing to her strategy.
I'm playing to my strategy at this point.
Natasha, what's it gonna be? Grana padano or Alaskan king crab? I've got to make it to that finale, so I wanna work with Now for the interesting part.
Natasha, there's only two options left.
So obviously you're not only picking your ingredient, but you're giving Luca his as well.
What are you thinking? Grana padano or Alaskan king crab? I've gotta make it to that finale, so I want to work with The challenging Alaskan king crab.
Luca has just lit up the pantry with his smile.
Maybe he actually wanted cheese all along.
All of you you've got five minutes in this stunning pantry to pick up any additional ingredient to complement your choices of your king ingredients.
Your five minutes in the pantry starts Now.
Of course I want the cheese.
I'm Italian.
I'm so close to the title.
There is no space for a mistake.
I think the most challenging aspect is gonna actually be taking the crab and making it into a stunning entree, because it is a hero in itself.
It doesn't need very much.
I've never touched Kobe beef, but it's something so simple that you don't have to do a lot to it.
you don't have to mask it.
So everything rides on this one dish.
Like, everything.
All of you, you each have 60 minutes to make one dish good enough to secure your spot in the finale.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
I'm sure hoping this dish gets me to the finals.
I'm trying.
So Jessie had the elimination challenge in her hands.
What surprises me is that she picked something that she'd never cooked with before, Kobe beef.
This is something that is terrorizing for even the best chefs in the world.
Yeah.
I kind of want to be outside of my comfort zone and do something that I've never done before, so I feel as though picking the crab is definitely gonna give me that edge.
I'm really worried about Natasha and the crab.
It's so sweet that if you have anything too spicy or too herbaceous, it's just gonna kill it, right? It takes it all away.
Without a doubt.
Now, Luca has the grana padano.
Now that's the most versatile ingredient.
To me, that's the hardest one to work with.
That's just a huge wheel of dried milk.
Taking that and making it the star That's very difficult.
The danger with grana is that it's salty.
Smells good, Jessie.
You had the first pick.
- Yes.
- You having any second thoughts? Yeah, it's probably not the wisest thing in the world, trying something I've never done, but I wanted to challenge myself with something I wasn't used to cooking.
So what's the dish? I am gonna saute up the bok choy with the ginger, red chilis, and garlic.
And I'm gonna do eggplant, bok choy, and mushrooms, and then glass noodles, and I'm gonna make a fish base - Asian.
- Raw, yeah.
Probably 30 % or 40 % fat running through there.
The minute you cook it, it's like cooking butter.
It's gonna start leeching out.
It's gonna start burning.
You got to know what temp to cook it on.
What are you doing with the green papaya? I was gonna make a papaya slaw on the side to see if I liked that idea with it, incorporate more techniques and more flavors.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, guys.
Right, Natasha, what are you doing with the crab? I'm basically gonna just steam it really quick over some ginger and caper lime over there.
What's the dish? So basically I'm gonna do a cold yakisoba noodle dish, just really concentrate on the flavor inside of it as well as bringing out the sweetness in that crab.
If you're gonna put a cold marinating soba noodle salad on a plate to get in the finale Natasha yeah? Yes, chef.
It has to be a [bleep.]
brilliant cold soba noodle salad.
- Yeah? - Hopefully.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Luca.
What's the dish? I'm gonna make this veal cutlet.
This is a stuffed veal cutlet? Yeah.
Filled with grana padano and Yeah, grana padano and sage.
What are you gonna serve with it? This is the frico.
Why don't you explain to Graham what frico is? Yeah.
Frico is the most typical dish of our region.
Our region is a country region, okay? - Very, very, poor.
- Sure, sure.
But something that was never missing in the house was cheese, potatoes, and onions.
You bake them together, almost like a tart.
And then you let it cool and you cut it, and that's what they eat.
- Awesome.
Thank you.
- Good luck.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Guys, 20 minutes left.
Right, Jessie, feeling more comfortable? - Feeling good.
- Good.
And how are you gonna cook the beef? Searing it off.
Gonna make a ponzu butter to finish right over the back.
- Mm-hmm.
- If someone lets me borrow their butter.
Say that again? If someone lets me borrow their butter.
What do you mean, borrow their butter? - Where's your butter? - I forgot butter.
Jessie, you forgot your butter? You just get caught in the moment, you think you're set up like a mystery box, and then you're like, "Oh, crap.
" What's the backup plan? Where are you getting the butter from? One of them, if they let me.
Natasha? Natasha.
Would you have one tablespoon of butter left over? Natasha.
Would you have one tablespoon of butter left over? Okay.
It could be the smallest thing that makes her dish much better than mine, so she's gonna have to ask Luca.
Thank you, Luca.
I appreciate that.
Even though Natasha has three sticks of butter at her station she's not touching.
Luca comes through because Luca is the nicer of the two.
Did Jessie ask Natasha if she could have some butter? - Yes.
- What'd she say? - No.
- No? - No.
- She's so hardcore.
And then Luca - Yeah? - Threw her a stick.
I saw.
So that's what he threw at her? That's what he threw at her.
Maybe he just threw away $1/4 million.
I don't think that a piece of butter is gonna make her dish stand out that much.
If it does, good for her.
I'm going home.
Tomorrow, I can still look at myself in the mirror.
Know what I mean? I'm a good guy.
Forget about it.
Coming up to your last five minutes.
Start visualizing those plates.
Make sure it's done with finesse.
Do those king ingredients with great flare.
I'm excited to see this Kobe beef.
You better do that thing justice.
Natasha, steely eyed, focused.
And in so much control.
I hope that Luca cut it like a pizza.
Wow.
That looks right.
Come on.
Commit to it, Jessie.
Just plate it.
Make sure you've got the best dish you've cooked so far in this competition.
Come on.
Let's go.
Five, four, three, two, one and stop.
Hands in the air.
- Good job.
- Well done.
It's time to taste your dishes and find out, out of the three of you, who is going into the finale.
First up, Luca.
I didn't get to choose what I was going to cook, but then, thank God, I get this Italian cheese, so I'm pretty sure I'll be fine.
Please, explain the dish to me.
It's a pancetta-wrapped veal cutlet filled with sage, grana padano, Served on a bed of braised radicchio with frico.
Mm-hmm.
The veal is perfectly cooked, like a pretty good medium rare.
The frico is very, very good, and it's very, very crispy and rich and exactly what it should be.
A lot of things going on in this dish.
I think that although the dish tastes very good, you have a lot of very rich things on this dish.
Um I would have put, like, a little raw, you know, red cabbage salad with some chilis and some vinegar, you know, to give some really bright acidity to cut through all the fat.
I did my best.
Luca, I love the attention to detail, especially when you were rolling those individual, like, little paupiettes.
Did you season inside the veal? No.
I had a lot of saltiness from the cheese inside.
So I love the way that you get knocked down and you bounce back, and this dish proved that.
Cheese slightly too thick in the center.
I want to taste the veal enhanced by the cheese, as opposed to the cheese over the veal.
And you would have nailed it.
But it's a very earnest, a very humble effort.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
It looks gorgeous.
Thank you.
I think the seasoning is perfect.
So I mean, this is a lot of technique, and it's nothing that we've seen you really do before.
I just thought, you know, - give it a try and play my roots.
- Mm-hmm.
I love that you did that.
Only thing is, is that visually, it does not look beautiful.
It doesn't do your dish justice.
You know what I mean? But flavor-wise on the palate, it tastes great.
- Thank you, chef.
- So good job.
Next up, Natasha, let's go, please.
I picked the Kobe beef.
Natasha picks the crab.
I don't know what Natasha was thinking, because that is so dang hard.
Right.
Wow.
What is that? It's a infused yakisoba salad, cold.
It's got some ginger.
It's got soy sauce.
Some rice wine vinegar.
It's got layers of crab in it and some pickled radishes alongside too.
Bold move to come up with a cold entree.
What's the dressing on the noodles? It's basically like a light ponzu sauce that I've kind of infused with a little bit of serrano chili.
It's It's phenomenal.
It's fragrant.
It's delicious.
The Alaskan king crab.
You know, to get a cold salad that incredible, that bursts with flavor, I didn't think it was gonna taste as good as it looked.
I'm wrong.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
I mean, I just want to continue eating it.
Sadly, Joe and Graham have got to taste it.
Otherwise, honestly, right now, I'd continue eating that from start to finish.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
I personally don't love all the raw peppers.
Mm-hmm.
Hm.
But, you know, it's got a really good balance between, like, acidity and heat.
I think that what this dish does is showcases the crab in a very, very intelligent way.
Putting it within the context of an Asian dish like this I think is is really, really smart.
I love that you used the serrano, not just because there's a difference in heat from a jalapeno, but there's such a Like a natural sweetness to the actual pepper itself.
It doesn't overpower the crab.
It's like this incredible harmony.
I think that you just keep delivering, and this is one of your best.
- So great job.
- Thank you.
Last up, Jessie.
So, Jessie You make it to the semifinal of the biggest cooking competition in America.
You win the mystery box, and you have the choice of three ingredients, and you pick the one that you've never cooked before.
Are you insane? So, Jessie, you have a choice of three ingredients, and you pick the one that you've never cooked before.
Are you insane? I've read about it a lot, so I thought I could do it.
I've read about flying planes.
That doesn't mean I can fly one.
Please explain the dish to me.
We have seared Kobe with ponzu butter, and then mixed asian vegetable noodles.
We've got oyster mushrooms, the Japanese eggplant, and bok choy.
I'm trying to figure out what your strategy could have been, because at this juncture, with so much on the line, picking an ingredient that you've never cooked is kind of like culinary suicide.
The meat's excellent.
I actually like the Japanese eggplant.
I thought you were gonna struggle with that.
It's very difficult to cook that properly.
It could be very bitter and tough, it's very good.
The glass noodles are good.
It's a good dish.
So explain to me what ponzu butter is.
I took butter, melted it down with the ponzu after searing the meat in it, and then drizzled over the top.
Great flavor.
So roasted mushrooms, bok choy Is that Japanese eggplant? Yes, and then the base is the ginger and lime kind of vinaigrette.
I've got red chilis in there as well.
Fish sauce, soy sauce.
The beef is what stands out.
The flavor's there.
I don't think it needs that ponzu butter.
Okay.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
Jessie.
Hello.
I like it, it's got the right kind of heat.
The beef is delicious.
Beautiful sear.
Rested beautifully.
And not sliced too thinly so you can get to enjoy the magic of what Kobe beef delivers.
The noodles here, slightly too greasy.
It doesn't really sit nicely.
I saw you making a salad.
I made the green papaya salad, and it just seemed confusing, and I didn't want to put it on there.
Where is the salad, please? I want to taste it.
I just want to see what you spent time doing.
Yeah, I wasted my time on something that didn't make it.
So I juiced lemon and lime, fish sauce, and a little bit of brown sugar and chilis to get some spice.
I wanted some heat.
It's absolutely delicious.
Have you tasted that? It's like a thai green papaya salad? Yeah.
You left the best part on the bench.
I mean, fresh, delicious.
Perfect.
Wow.
Seasoned beautifully.
It's got that tartness, the acidity, and it's got that lovely refreshing balance.
It's like some heat in there too.
Yeah, some heat in there.
But here's the downside.
That tastes better than the noodles, and had you put that papaya salad on that plate, quite honestly, I think it would have been the dish of the night.
You chose to leave it off.
I'm just hoping I'm hoping it's not your undoing.
Thank you.
It's the semifinals.
We are the strongest, and it'll just be whoever doesn't mess up.
And this is really close.
Jessie, Luca, Natasha, you've just now given us the most difficult decisions to make.
Three king ingredients turned into three stunning dishes.
Please, excuse us.
Even though they love my dish, I mean, there could also be them talking back there about Saying like, "Well, she put a cold salad out.
" I mean, Natasha nailed it.
Yeah, totally.
Honestly, 100 %.
Luca? Technical, loved the way he stuffed it.
It's filleted.
Love that all.
They showed a lot of different techniques.
We are down to the top three.
Someone is going home today, and these two girls are super tough.
It's gonna be very, very hard for me to get a spot in the finale.
So Jessie's dish, I think, was very good.
The thing is, though, the shining component on that dish was left in a bowl.
Yeah.
It's hard.
Whew.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie, please, make your way down to the front.
Thank you.
This is the semifinal of MasterChef.
Sadly, we can only take two into the MasterChef finale.
The first person doing incredible justice to the king of ingredients, congratulations Natasha.
Amazing job.
You will move on to the MasterChef finale.
Thank you, guys.
Thinking about everything that I've put into this, the fighting, the crying, leaving my family, everything that I have worked so hard to up until this point has finally paid off.
Which leaves Luca and Jessie, two very talented home cooks.
The person joining Natasha in the MasterChef finale is Luca.
Congratulations.
Great job.
The finale! I left Italy because everybody always talked about the American dream.
But coming to MasterChef and work myself up to the finale? This is beyond anything I ever imagined for my life.
Luca, absolutely brilliant.
You had everything on that plate that we wanted, and it was 100%.
Well done.
Jessie, one of the most exciting components you put together for that dish tonight, you left off.
And we are still kicking ourselves to why you felt that needed to stay off of your plate.
But the way you have grown in this competition over the last three months has been extraordinary.
We really want to see you out there, and I would send you a very genuine welcome to any of my restaurants, wherever you want, if you wanted to come work for us.
We would love to have you.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- We're gonna miss you.
Come and say good-bye.
Well done.
Good job.
We're so proud.
Great job.
Thank you for everything.
I didn't think I was going home tonight.
With only having to beat two more people, that really just sucks.
But I'm so proud of getting this far.
From thousands to three, so This has been the hardest thing ever.
But I'm so much stronger and, like, a different person from it.
You're in this competition because you cook good.
Never forget that.
I definitely belong in food.
Jessie, well done.
And now I've got a clear vision of what to do.
It's delicious.
Definitely restaurant quality, let me tell you.
Thank you, guys, for everything.
They truly believe in me.
It was the exact confirmation I needed, and now I know that food will be a part of my life forever.
Luca and Natasha, congratulations.
You now are in the final of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the world.
Ha-ha! You haven't won anything yet.
The finale's big, it's grueling, it's long.
We have huge expectations.
So game on.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Good night.
Good night.
Next time, it all comes down to this.
Let the MasterChef finale begin.
The world's biggest cooking competition comes to an end, as the two best home cooks in America go head to head It's not too late for you to go home.
for the most coveted crown in the culinary world.
Only one will walk away with $1/4 million This is not a joke.
This is my life.
Their own cookbook Go big or go home.
and the title of MasterChef.
The winner is sync: Ajvngou.
cz
All chasing the same dream.
But only a handful made it into the MasterChef kitchen, where their culinary skills were challenged like never before.
Move your ass and make another plate! - Geez! - Go! Hands on deck! Speed up, everybody! I don't even know what the [bleep.]
I'm doing.
All with the dream of winning $1/4 million Oh, my god! their own cookbook, and the coveted title of MasterChef.
Now Only three home cooks remain in the biggest cooking competition in the world.
Natasha, a focused stay-at-home mom from San Diego.
It's just like me: Fiery, smoky, hot.
My passion is food.
It's in my blood.
Like, I can't not cook.
You could serve that in a restaurant any time.
Natasha has never been one to back down from a fight.
Should probably keep cooking and shut your mouth.
That's why you will never be on my team, ever.
Geez! Anything you want to say to Luca? I'm coming for you.
You're my next target.
And her talent has never been in doubt.
Great flavors.
Phenomenal.
- That was delicious.
- Thank you, chef.
Very elegant, very refined.
I wish you could all taste this.
Can Natasha win the MasterChef title for her and her family? My dream is to open up a restaurant where I live in San Diego.
and I have given up so much to be here.
I'm not going home without that title.
Luca, a 31-year-old restaurant manager from New York City.
I wanna be a restaurateur.
I wanna be a chef.
That's my only dream.
It's me! It's me! He came back this year for a second chance.
You're not going back to your job in New York.
Because you're in MasterChef.
Congratulations.
This is big redemption.
This moment is about achieving my dream.
His early days in the kitchen were difficult.
It's kind of embarrassing.
Like, I made a mistake on the presentation.
Red team! But when he hit his stride Let's go! Let's go, guys! Let's go! Luca, excellent.
Wow.
It looks beautiful.
Perfect.
It's a very good effort.
there was no looking back.
You got the color.
You delivered on the flavor.
Well done.
This is a great dish.
You should be really, really proud.
Good job.
You understood the protein better than anyone else.
You made me proud.
Bravo.
Can Luca's Italian-inspired cuisine claim MasterChef glory? I came to this great country to follow my dream of having my own restaurant in New York City.
Winning MasterChef is about achieving my dream.
There's nobody who wants it more than me.
And Jessie, a spirited 27-year-old from social circle, Georgia.
From day one, she instantly stood out in the crowd and proved she was a strong contender.
I just wonder if she's the real deal.
A challenge.
Six stunning fillets, please.
Once in the kitchen, her talent was obvious.
That for me is one of the best langoustines I've tasted.
Thank you.
That just explodes with flavor.
Thank you so much.
That is a real triumph.
Very smart, Jessie.
I think you are a front-runner.
You ready? And her desire to go all the way in the competition Medic! no matter the obstacles.
Is that gonna need a stitch? You okay, darling? Yeah, I'm about to hit the floor.
Now this Southern belle wants to bring home the MasterChef crown.
My dream is to travel the world, trying different cuisines and learn their techniques, immerse myself in their culture, come back to the States, start a restaurant back home in Georgia.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie, congratulations, you three.
You are the last three home cooks remaining in this competition.
It's time for your final mystery box challenge.
As you can see tonight, we all have our own boxes as well.
Underneath these boxes are probably the most important ingredients of your culinary journey here at MasterChef.
$1/4 million.
One of you will win this life-changing amount of money.
The money looks great.
But I think the biggest prize is what's under here - Wow.
- Holy cow.
- Your very own cookbook.
- That's awesome.
- So exciting.
- Nice.
Forget the money, forget the cookbook.
With what's under this box, trust me, you'll be able to shape up your own destiny.
The coveted MasterChef trophy.
Win this trophy, you can accomplish anything.
The sky's the limit.
But before you get a chance to win all of these amazing prizes, you need to reach the final to help us decide the two finalists, you will now compete in the final mystery box challenge.
Head to your stations.
Thank you.
As with every mystery box challenge, the contestants have to prepare, cook, and present one incredible dish using all or some of the ingredients inside the box.
On the count of three, I want you to lift your boxes.
One, two, three.
Lift.
That's right All of your ingredients are different.
Because tonight, you will be remaking the dish that started your culinary journey here at MasterChef.
But we don't want to see an exact replica of the dish that got you that apron.
We need to see an elevated version of that dish that shows just how far each and every one of you has traveled.
Natasha, do you have any recollection of what dish you prepared to get your apron? I do.
I made empanadas, as well as a skirt steak on the side.
Luca.
I made broccoli rabe ravioli with a pecorino cheese sauce.
That's right.
- Jessie.
- I cooked sea bass en croute.
I was thinking about it the other day, actually, and it looked like a football.
So we want to see the way you make it now.
you'll have 60 minutes to make those dishes, then we will rank your dishes first, second, and third.
Win this challenge, and for one of you, you get Let's say, a life-changing advantage.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
So with these reinterpretations, who do you think's gonna show us that they've grown the most? I mean, it's going to be very hard for Natasha to re-improve something that we all gave a yes on.
The first plate was very rustic.
Maybe she does something much more restaurant-y now.
I'm gonna work on my plating and work on the flavor profile, a little of every aspect.
I want to be in that finale bad.
I'm not stopping until I get there.
- I gave Jessie "no".
- Mm-hmm.
And it's amazing to see the journey that she's taken, because she has certainly convinced me.
Sea bass en croute Very difficult to make it look glamorous.
I still not have won any mystery boxes, but I'm elevating my plating with a whole bunch of different mushrooms.
It's gonna show a big difference from where I was at the beginning until now.
I'm gonna win this one.
I think that Luca has a lot to prove today.
The broccoli rabe dish was not perfect.
I think today he has to deliver the perfect dish.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, absolutely.
This is a dish that I create just for the judges.
And today I'm finally gonna have chef elliot say yes to my dish.
Right, Jessie, how are you feeling? Hey, feeling good.
What are you doing there now? I didn't like how I wrapped it last time.
It got too thick.
So I'm going to try a thinner version of it.
Make sure that pastry's not too thin.
Otherwise it's gonna split.
Before the sea bass is cooked, yeah? - Yes.
- Good luck.
- Natasha.
- Yes, chef.
We loved this dish, it was three big yeses.
How are you gonna make it better? I'm gonna try to enhance all the flavors in my empanada.
I'm infusing some saffron into it.
Let's fast-forward to the finale.
Who is your most fierce competitor? Who do you not want to compete against in the finale? Luca, because, you know what, he does have tricks up his sleeve.
He's a great chef.
- Thank you, Natasha.
- All right.
You're welcome, guys.
Oh, no, that doesn't look good.
What are you doing there? The sauce for the ravioli.
What happened to the sauce? It tastes a bit weird.
Why don't you start again? I need a new sauce.
The thing that I had to improve the most, I'm failing again.
I can't believe it! Are you okay? Tastes a bit weird.
Why don't you start again? Get two pans on, and start reducing down again, yes? - Yes, chef.
- And use some of the rind of the parmesan.
If you put the rind in there, it's not gonna break the sauce.
- If you get rind, that give you the flavor.
- Okay, yes, chef.
- You can pull this back together.
- Yeah, I got it.
Okay, think about it.
Good luck.
Less than ten minutes to go, and I need a new sauce.
Every time I have to make Italian food, something goes always wrong.
And I'm Italian.
What's happening with Luca's sauce? That sauce is completely gone.
Joe, why not make just a proper cream sauce and then finish it with cheese - the cheese in there? - Exactly.
This is not a time to make a mistake like that.
Last two minutes.
Come on.
Put it on the plate.
We want to see beautiful plates.
Look how late in the game Natasha's leaving this before she starts plating I mean, extraordinary.
Jessie's got her en croute carved.
She's starting to plate.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Stop.
Hands in the air.
Well done.
We are so excited to be given a second opportunity to taste the dishes that you entered this competition with and show us everything you've learned and how much better you've become.
Okay, let's start off with Natasha.
Let's go, please.
Thinking about my audition dish Hi, guys.
It does seem like a long time ago, but it's absolutely amazing to be able to show the judges on a dish of how far you've actually come during this.
Wow.
This looks gorgeous.
Explain the dish, please.
You know, you go from the skirt steak with the chimichurri into the roasted corn puree with the fennel and the Swiss chard in there, and then you move your way into the traditional empanada.
And the filling inside the empanada? Hard-boiled eggs, beef, some chorizo, some raisins.
I love the vibrancy.
The steak is just superb.
The marinade has tenderized it in such a way that it just melts in your mouth, love it.
- Great job as always.
- Thank you so much.
The steak is incredible.
Even better than the first time.
The empanadas lo beautifully shiny.
They're a little different than the ones in the audition.
I actually used all butter in the first ones.
This one, I actually have a little bit of lard and butter.
I wanted a flakier crust.
I think that the actual dough, if it was a little thinner, then I think that filling would have exploded more.
Absolutely.
But, all around, great dish, and you did manage to improve on it, so good job.
Thanks so much.
Mmm, I love this dish because it really is a fun way to sample a lot of different flavors.
I think it was really smart.
Not only are you an excellent cook, but you bring a tenacity, and I think that you have the grit and the skill to maybe win the whole thing.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
I feel like I've evolved, and what the judges asked us to do, I definitely put on the plate.
Luca.
Back at the audition Buon appetito.
chef Elliot gave me a no.
He doesn't like the sauce.
It's almost overly salted, and I don't like the texture.
So many things changed from that time.
I really want to show them how much I improved.
It looks prettier than the original one.
Let's get that out of the way.
Walk me through what we have here.
Broccoli rabe ravioli in a parmesan cheese sauce with tomato concasse, toasted pine nuts, and microgreens.
Wow.
There's so much flavor.
- Way better.
- Thank you.
So, like, I was sure that you were gonna just, like, nail the sauce.
That's the only thing that's an issue for me.
But every other component is perfect.
Thank you.
Why cheese sauce? One thing you're gonna have to understand is that cheese doesn't boil.
So you fold cheese in at the last minute, literally seconds to go.
When you've got something that oozes that level of finesse with a wonderful filling, does it really need a cheese sauce? A simple brown butter sauce finished with the pine nuts? It's all going the right direction with your cheese in the center, but understand this: Everytime you get not back, you come back twice strong.
So I'm hoping that you do bounceack.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
Butter and sage.
Now I know.
Easy.
Okay, Jessie.
Walking up to the judges, it's just shocking to think about what I put out for my audition plate.
Gordon said my signature dish looks like something from the '80s.
But it's my moment to show all that I've learned here and put it on a plate, and be like, hey, I do belong in the MasterChef final.
It's gorgeous.
I'm so impressed.
What did you do differently? I really wanted to show what you're eating instead of guessing.
So I sliced it so you could see all the different layers of the fish.
What did you do with the mushrooms? Put 'em in some screaming-hot oil.
Got some color on 'em.
Finished 'em with a little butter and veg stock.
- They're delicious.
- Good.
This is really spectacular.
The fish is moist.
Everything is seasoned perfectly.
Thank you.
From home cook to MasterChef.
Pretty remarkable.
Thank you.
One criticism.
When you slice like that opened up the bowl doesn't do it justice.
Taste is beautiful.
I mean, that is restaurant quality.
without a shadow of a doubt, you are a force to be reckoned with.
Continue cooking with that ability, you could confirm a spot in the final.
- Thank you.
- Really good.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie.
It's time to find out who's gonna have a huge advantage in the elimination test.
We've ranked the dishes, and that will determine who gets the biggest advantage in the upcoming elimination challenge.
The third-ranking dish tonight belongs to Luca.
Out of us three, I'm in the most trouble today.
But I'm not giving up.
I'm fighting my way to the finale.
Now we're down to Natasha and Jessie.
The home cook that cooked the best dish tonight was I need that first place.
I don't want it, I need it.
Having this advantage is gonna determine whether I'm walking outside of those doors or I am gonna be going face-to-face with someone in the final.
Well done.
The home cook that cooked the best dish tonight Well done - Jessie.
- My first mystery box.
Holy cow.
Better late than never.
Well done.
There's no better time to have won, because that comes with a huge advantage.
I came in second place, but I am so determined.
Nothing is gonna discourage me.
And I am so ready to make it to the finals.
Up next is the final elimination challenge.
All three of you, please, follow us.
Let's go.
In the final elimination challenge, all three home cooks will each make one dish with the best two moving into the grand finale.
Jessie, you're about to make the most important decision you've ever had to make in this entire competition.
This moment could change your life forever.
In front of us are three different ingredients.
Jessie, for your advantage, you will get to pick which ingredient you want to cook with tonight.
Once you've made that choice, that ingredient will be off the table for Natasha and Luca.
Natasha, you had the second best dish in the mystery box challenge.
You will get to choose from the remaining two ingredients.
That means, Luca, guess what.
- No choice.
- You get whatever's left.
Normally second place doesn't mean too much.
But at least being able to control Luca's situation makes it a worth it.
There's a very small handful of very special, unique ingredients that, in the food world, are considered to be the absolute best of the best.
And we have one, two, three of them.
Right in front of your eyes.
The first ingredient is what I consider to be the undisputed king of all cheeses.
An amazing wheel of grana padano, straight from central Italy.
Without doubt, grana padano is the king of all cheeses.
I have another king ingredient.
It is a type of beef.
This isn't just what I consider the king of beef.
Every chef in the world would kneel before this.
Authentic Kobe beef from Japan.
there is no better beef in the world.
You've seen the king of cheeses.
You've met the king of beef.
But what I have under here really is a king of the ocean.
The most amazing Alaskan king crab.
Luca is not strong with crab.
That's something he failed at miserably before.
I want him to have the crab so he fails.
Jessie, it's time to choose.
My goal is to have something that I can make shine and for Natasha to pick right.
So that Luca gets stuck with the crab.
That'll send Luca home.
I'm picking this ingredient because I'm hoping Natasha will be smart with her choice after me.
This is something I haven't worked with before.
I'm dying to work with the Kobe beef.
Kobe beef.
I've never touched Kobe beef.
I'm thinking it's like a filet mignon, but you don't need to do much to it.
- Kobe beef? - Yeah.
And you've never worked with it before? I take it as a filet mignon, just with more marbling.
And it's more dangerous.
Do you know why? Because it's so difficult to cook.
Unforgiving.
Be interesting to see if Natasha plays into your plan or not.
Luca, you look nervous.
Of course I am.
I'm in the bottom right now.
Which one are you scared of having to cook with? I think that making up something awesome with the cheese is not easy.
- Really? - Mm-hmm.
I would love to cook with grana padano! And I'm praying, "God, you know me and crab don't have a great relationship.
But I would love the cheese.
" Now for the interesting part.
Natasha, there's only two options left.
So, obviously, you're not only picking your ingredient, but you're giving Luca his as well.
What are you thinking? Strategically, right now, I know what Jess wants me to pick.
But I'm not playing to her strategy.
I'm playing to my strategy at this point.
Natasha, what's it gonna be? Grana padano or Alaskan king crab? I've got to make it to that finale, so I wanna work with Now for the interesting part.
Natasha, there's only two options left.
So obviously you're not only picking your ingredient, but you're giving Luca his as well.
What are you thinking? Grana padano or Alaskan king crab? I've gotta make it to that finale, so I want to work with The challenging Alaskan king crab.
Luca has just lit up the pantry with his smile.
Maybe he actually wanted cheese all along.
All of you you've got five minutes in this stunning pantry to pick up any additional ingredient to complement your choices of your king ingredients.
Your five minutes in the pantry starts Now.
Of course I want the cheese.
I'm Italian.
I'm so close to the title.
There is no space for a mistake.
I think the most challenging aspect is gonna actually be taking the crab and making it into a stunning entree, because it is a hero in itself.
It doesn't need very much.
I've never touched Kobe beef, but it's something so simple that you don't have to do a lot to it.
you don't have to mask it.
So everything rides on this one dish.
Like, everything.
All of you, you each have 60 minutes to make one dish good enough to secure your spot in the finale.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
I'm sure hoping this dish gets me to the finals.
I'm trying.
So Jessie had the elimination challenge in her hands.
What surprises me is that she picked something that she'd never cooked with before, Kobe beef.
This is something that is terrorizing for even the best chefs in the world.
Yeah.
I kind of want to be outside of my comfort zone and do something that I've never done before, so I feel as though picking the crab is definitely gonna give me that edge.
I'm really worried about Natasha and the crab.
It's so sweet that if you have anything too spicy or too herbaceous, it's just gonna kill it, right? It takes it all away.
Without a doubt.
Now, Luca has the grana padano.
Now that's the most versatile ingredient.
To me, that's the hardest one to work with.
That's just a huge wheel of dried milk.
Taking that and making it the star That's very difficult.
The danger with grana is that it's salty.
Smells good, Jessie.
You had the first pick.
- Yes.
- You having any second thoughts? Yeah, it's probably not the wisest thing in the world, trying something I've never done, but I wanted to challenge myself with something I wasn't used to cooking.
So what's the dish? I am gonna saute up the bok choy with the ginger, red chilis, and garlic.
And I'm gonna do eggplant, bok choy, and mushrooms, and then glass noodles, and I'm gonna make a fish base - Asian.
- Raw, yeah.
Probably 30 % or 40 % fat running through there.
The minute you cook it, it's like cooking butter.
It's gonna start leeching out.
It's gonna start burning.
You got to know what temp to cook it on.
What are you doing with the green papaya? I was gonna make a papaya slaw on the side to see if I liked that idea with it, incorporate more techniques and more flavors.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, guys.
Right, Natasha, what are you doing with the crab? I'm basically gonna just steam it really quick over some ginger and caper lime over there.
What's the dish? So basically I'm gonna do a cold yakisoba noodle dish, just really concentrate on the flavor inside of it as well as bringing out the sweetness in that crab.
If you're gonna put a cold marinating soba noodle salad on a plate to get in the finale Natasha yeah? Yes, chef.
It has to be a [bleep.]
brilliant cold soba noodle salad.
- Yeah? - Hopefully.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Luca.
What's the dish? I'm gonna make this veal cutlet.
This is a stuffed veal cutlet? Yeah.
Filled with grana padano and Yeah, grana padano and sage.
What are you gonna serve with it? This is the frico.
Why don't you explain to Graham what frico is? Yeah.
Frico is the most typical dish of our region.
Our region is a country region, okay? - Very, very, poor.
- Sure, sure.
But something that was never missing in the house was cheese, potatoes, and onions.
You bake them together, almost like a tart.
And then you let it cool and you cut it, and that's what they eat.
- Awesome.
Thank you.
- Good luck.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Guys, 20 minutes left.
Right, Jessie, feeling more comfortable? - Feeling good.
- Good.
And how are you gonna cook the beef? Searing it off.
Gonna make a ponzu butter to finish right over the back.
- Mm-hmm.
- If someone lets me borrow their butter.
Say that again? If someone lets me borrow their butter.
What do you mean, borrow their butter? - Where's your butter? - I forgot butter.
Jessie, you forgot your butter? You just get caught in the moment, you think you're set up like a mystery box, and then you're like, "Oh, crap.
" What's the backup plan? Where are you getting the butter from? One of them, if they let me.
Natasha? Natasha.
Would you have one tablespoon of butter left over? Natasha.
Would you have one tablespoon of butter left over? Okay.
It could be the smallest thing that makes her dish much better than mine, so she's gonna have to ask Luca.
Thank you, Luca.
I appreciate that.
Even though Natasha has three sticks of butter at her station she's not touching.
Luca comes through because Luca is the nicer of the two.
Did Jessie ask Natasha if she could have some butter? - Yes.
- What'd she say? - No.
- No? - No.
- She's so hardcore.
And then Luca - Yeah? - Threw her a stick.
I saw.
So that's what he threw at her? That's what he threw at her.
Maybe he just threw away $1/4 million.
I don't think that a piece of butter is gonna make her dish stand out that much.
If it does, good for her.
I'm going home.
Tomorrow, I can still look at myself in the mirror.
Know what I mean? I'm a good guy.
Forget about it.
Coming up to your last five minutes.
Start visualizing those plates.
Make sure it's done with finesse.
Do those king ingredients with great flare.
I'm excited to see this Kobe beef.
You better do that thing justice.
Natasha, steely eyed, focused.
And in so much control.
I hope that Luca cut it like a pizza.
Wow.
That looks right.
Come on.
Commit to it, Jessie.
Just plate it.
Make sure you've got the best dish you've cooked so far in this competition.
Come on.
Let's go.
Five, four, three, two, one and stop.
Hands in the air.
- Good job.
- Well done.
It's time to taste your dishes and find out, out of the three of you, who is going into the finale.
First up, Luca.
I didn't get to choose what I was going to cook, but then, thank God, I get this Italian cheese, so I'm pretty sure I'll be fine.
Please, explain the dish to me.
It's a pancetta-wrapped veal cutlet filled with sage, grana padano, Served on a bed of braised radicchio with frico.
Mm-hmm.
The veal is perfectly cooked, like a pretty good medium rare.
The frico is very, very good, and it's very, very crispy and rich and exactly what it should be.
A lot of things going on in this dish.
I think that although the dish tastes very good, you have a lot of very rich things on this dish.
Um I would have put, like, a little raw, you know, red cabbage salad with some chilis and some vinegar, you know, to give some really bright acidity to cut through all the fat.
I did my best.
Luca, I love the attention to detail, especially when you were rolling those individual, like, little paupiettes.
Did you season inside the veal? No.
I had a lot of saltiness from the cheese inside.
So I love the way that you get knocked down and you bounce back, and this dish proved that.
Cheese slightly too thick in the center.
I want to taste the veal enhanced by the cheese, as opposed to the cheese over the veal.
And you would have nailed it.
But it's a very earnest, a very humble effort.
- Good job.
- Thank you, chef.
It looks gorgeous.
Thank you.
I think the seasoning is perfect.
So I mean, this is a lot of technique, and it's nothing that we've seen you really do before.
I just thought, you know, - give it a try and play my roots.
- Mm-hmm.
I love that you did that.
Only thing is, is that visually, it does not look beautiful.
It doesn't do your dish justice.
You know what I mean? But flavor-wise on the palate, it tastes great.
- Thank you, chef.
- So good job.
Next up, Natasha, let's go, please.
I picked the Kobe beef.
Natasha picks the crab.
I don't know what Natasha was thinking, because that is so dang hard.
Right.
Wow.
What is that? It's a infused yakisoba salad, cold.
It's got some ginger.
It's got soy sauce.
Some rice wine vinegar.
It's got layers of crab in it and some pickled radishes alongside too.
Bold move to come up with a cold entree.
What's the dressing on the noodles? It's basically like a light ponzu sauce that I've kind of infused with a little bit of serrano chili.
It's It's phenomenal.
It's fragrant.
It's delicious.
The Alaskan king crab.
You know, to get a cold salad that incredible, that bursts with flavor, I didn't think it was gonna taste as good as it looked.
I'm wrong.
It actually tastes better than it looks.
I mean, I just want to continue eating it.
Sadly, Joe and Graham have got to taste it.
Otherwise, honestly, right now, I'd continue eating that from start to finish.
- Great job.
- Thank you, chef.
I personally don't love all the raw peppers.
Mm-hmm.
Hm.
But, you know, it's got a really good balance between, like, acidity and heat.
I think that what this dish does is showcases the crab in a very, very intelligent way.
Putting it within the context of an Asian dish like this I think is is really, really smart.
I love that you used the serrano, not just because there's a difference in heat from a jalapeno, but there's such a Like a natural sweetness to the actual pepper itself.
It doesn't overpower the crab.
It's like this incredible harmony.
I think that you just keep delivering, and this is one of your best.
- So great job.
- Thank you.
Last up, Jessie.
So, Jessie You make it to the semifinal of the biggest cooking competition in America.
You win the mystery box, and you have the choice of three ingredients, and you pick the one that you've never cooked before.
Are you insane? So, Jessie, you have a choice of three ingredients, and you pick the one that you've never cooked before.
Are you insane? I've read about it a lot, so I thought I could do it.
I've read about flying planes.
That doesn't mean I can fly one.
Please explain the dish to me.
We have seared Kobe with ponzu butter, and then mixed asian vegetable noodles.
We've got oyster mushrooms, the Japanese eggplant, and bok choy.
I'm trying to figure out what your strategy could have been, because at this juncture, with so much on the line, picking an ingredient that you've never cooked is kind of like culinary suicide.
The meat's excellent.
I actually like the Japanese eggplant.
I thought you were gonna struggle with that.
It's very difficult to cook that properly.
It could be very bitter and tough, it's very good.
The glass noodles are good.
It's a good dish.
So explain to me what ponzu butter is.
I took butter, melted it down with the ponzu after searing the meat in it, and then drizzled over the top.
Great flavor.
So roasted mushrooms, bok choy Is that Japanese eggplant? Yes, and then the base is the ginger and lime kind of vinaigrette.
I've got red chilis in there as well.
Fish sauce, soy sauce.
The beef is what stands out.
The flavor's there.
I don't think it needs that ponzu butter.
Okay.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
Jessie.
Hello.
I like it, it's got the right kind of heat.
The beef is delicious.
Beautiful sear.
Rested beautifully.
And not sliced too thinly so you can get to enjoy the magic of what Kobe beef delivers.
The noodles here, slightly too greasy.
It doesn't really sit nicely.
I saw you making a salad.
I made the green papaya salad, and it just seemed confusing, and I didn't want to put it on there.
Where is the salad, please? I want to taste it.
I just want to see what you spent time doing.
Yeah, I wasted my time on something that didn't make it.
So I juiced lemon and lime, fish sauce, and a little bit of brown sugar and chilis to get some spice.
I wanted some heat.
It's absolutely delicious.
Have you tasted that? It's like a thai green papaya salad? Yeah.
You left the best part on the bench.
I mean, fresh, delicious.
Perfect.
Wow.
Seasoned beautifully.
It's got that tartness, the acidity, and it's got that lovely refreshing balance.
It's like some heat in there too.
Yeah, some heat in there.
But here's the downside.
That tastes better than the noodles, and had you put that papaya salad on that plate, quite honestly, I think it would have been the dish of the night.
You chose to leave it off.
I'm just hoping I'm hoping it's not your undoing.
Thank you.
It's the semifinals.
We are the strongest, and it'll just be whoever doesn't mess up.
And this is really close.
Jessie, Luca, Natasha, you've just now given us the most difficult decisions to make.
Three king ingredients turned into three stunning dishes.
Please, excuse us.
Even though they love my dish, I mean, there could also be them talking back there about Saying like, "Well, she put a cold salad out.
" I mean, Natasha nailed it.
Yeah, totally.
Honestly, 100 %.
Luca? Technical, loved the way he stuffed it.
It's filleted.
Love that all.
They showed a lot of different techniques.
We are down to the top three.
Someone is going home today, and these two girls are super tough.
It's gonna be very, very hard for me to get a spot in the finale.
So Jessie's dish, I think, was very good.
The thing is, though, the shining component on that dish was left in a bowl.
Yeah.
It's hard.
Whew.
Natasha, Luca, Jessie, please, make your way down to the front.
Thank you.
This is the semifinal of MasterChef.
Sadly, we can only take two into the MasterChef finale.
The first person doing incredible justice to the king of ingredients, congratulations Natasha.
Amazing job.
You will move on to the MasterChef finale.
Thank you, guys.
Thinking about everything that I've put into this, the fighting, the crying, leaving my family, everything that I have worked so hard to up until this point has finally paid off.
Which leaves Luca and Jessie, two very talented home cooks.
The person joining Natasha in the MasterChef finale is Luca.
Congratulations.
Great job.
The finale! I left Italy because everybody always talked about the American dream.
But coming to MasterChef and work myself up to the finale? This is beyond anything I ever imagined for my life.
Luca, absolutely brilliant.
You had everything on that plate that we wanted, and it was 100%.
Well done.
Jessie, one of the most exciting components you put together for that dish tonight, you left off.
And we are still kicking ourselves to why you felt that needed to stay off of your plate.
But the way you have grown in this competition over the last three months has been extraordinary.
We really want to see you out there, and I would send you a very genuine welcome to any of my restaurants, wherever you want, if you wanted to come work for us.
We would love to have you.
Well done.
- Thank you.
- We're gonna miss you.
Come and say good-bye.
Well done.
Good job.
We're so proud.
Great job.
Thank you for everything.
I didn't think I was going home tonight.
With only having to beat two more people, that really just sucks.
But I'm so proud of getting this far.
From thousands to three, so This has been the hardest thing ever.
But I'm so much stronger and, like, a different person from it.
You're in this competition because you cook good.
Never forget that.
I definitely belong in food.
Jessie, well done.
And now I've got a clear vision of what to do.
It's delicious.
Definitely restaurant quality, let me tell you.
Thank you, guys, for everything.
They truly believe in me.
It was the exact confirmation I needed, and now I know that food will be a part of my life forever.
Luca and Natasha, congratulations.
You now are in the final of the biggest culinary competition anywhere in the world.
Ha-ha! You haven't won anything yet.
The finale's big, it's grueling, it's long.
We have huge expectations.
So game on.
Congratulations.
Thank you.
Good night.
Good night.
Next time, it all comes down to this.
Let the MasterChef finale begin.
The world's biggest cooking competition comes to an end, as the two best home cooks in America go head to head It's not too late for you to go home.
for the most coveted crown in the culinary world.
Only one will walk away with $1/4 million This is not a joke.
This is my life.
Their own cookbook Go big or go home.
and the title of MasterChef.
The winner is sync: Ajvngou.
cz