Masterchef (2010) s05e18 Episode Script

This is the toughest decision that we've made so far.
as two big names Christian.
Cutter.
exited the MasterChef kitchen.
Tonight, it's a two-hour MasterChef with the ultimate culinary title at stake.
The three best home cooks in America take on the season's most intimidating challenge.
representing 50 states.
Wow.
But only two will make the finale.
The pressure is on.
- I loved it.
- I'd put that on my menu.
And the world's biggest cooking competition comes to an end Absolutely spot on.
- It's a knockout.
- It leaves me wanting more.
as this season five MasterChef is crowned.
America's next MasterChef is Welcome.
Oh, my god.
I'm in the semifinals.
This time last year I was cooking in my teeny little electric stove kitchen in Philadelphia with my cat, and now this is my chance to shine.
Courtney, Leslie, and Elizabeth, congratulations.
- Thank you, chef.
- Thank you.
You are the final three in the biggest culinary competition in the world.
This is the semifinal, so as well as winning $1/4 million and your very own cookbook, one of you is only a few dishes away from winning this The coveted MasterChef trophy.
I did a wonderful job taking care of my wife and my children.
My goal now is to do something for me.
That trophy will change my life forever.
For me, that trophy is my ticket to publish my own cookbook, which I've been dreaming of for years.
For this challenge, we want you to cook a special dish for some very special guests.
Each and every one of those guests is perfectly placed to judge your food because each of tonight's guests are all chefs.
- What? - Oy.
We have one amazing professional chef from each and every state in this country Tonight, you have to serve them in the MasterChef restaurant a composed MasterChef-worthy entree.
But prepping and cooking for 50 chefs Come on, it's impossible for you to do it alone.
So tonight we've brought you some help.
Ohh.
I see Willie, Daniel, Ahran, Victoria, Christian, and Jaimee to boot.
I was down in a pressure test with every one of them.
You counted me out.
The old man's still standing.
It's wonderful being back.
Getting the call to come back is totally, like, awesome.
With your future and fortune at stake, there's only really one fair way to decide who you will be working with Fortune cookies.
You'll each randomly take two fortune cookies, and whichever name is inside that fortune cookie will be your sous chefs tonight.
Please, all three of you, come up and take two cookies each.
Courtney, please open one of those cookies and tell us who you have.
- Daniel.
- Good job.
- Stand next to Courtney.
- Thank you.
Hey.
Leslie.
I got what I wished for, Ahran.
- Ahran.
- Wow.
Nice! For some reason, I knew this was gonna happen.
like, something about my fate is always in Leslie's hands.
Elizabeth, please open up one of those fortune cookies.
Jaimee.
- Oh.
- Wow.
- Wow.
- Wow.
Courtney, please open your final fortune cookie.
Big Willie.
Big Willie, wow.
Leslie.
All my dreams come true.
Christian.
Wow.
I know a chef when I see one.
How you doing, brother? Elizabeth, you have Victoria.
Yeah, what's up, yo? Hell yeah.
Get over here.
What are the odds? Now we want restaurant quality, elevated entrees good enough to be eaten by the best chefs in the country.
You will have just 90 minutes to conceive, prep, and plate your stunning dishes.
You are one step away from the finale.
It's all on the line tonight.
Your 90 minutes starts Now.
Christian, let's go down here.
There's gonna be 50 chefs from all over the country in the dining room critiquing our food.
I mean, that's crazy.
I'm doing a prime fillet.
I'm gonna make an herb gnocchi.
Lots of butter.
If you can just get the fish out, I'll meet you over there.
It's a dream come true, but it's also terrifying to cook for that many amazing chefs.
We're gonna make a skin-on pan-seared red snapper fillets with cauliflower three ways and a really awesome Mediterranean relish.
Daniel, have you seen lemon grass yet? If we think it's hard getting anything past Chef Ramsay, chef Elliot, and Joe, it's gonna be 50 times harder getting it past all of these chefs.
We're doing a ginger soy-glazed halibut with a beet dashi, golden beets.
Also doing a chile sauce.
- Get to it.
- Okay.
Let's do this.
I think that's it.
Let's go.
Wow, wow, wow.
- I need a bigger - Bigger pot? I'll go get it.
You need the Japanese turner so you can start this? - He's got it right there.
- Okay.
This is it.
What a big night.
I mean, it's as much pressure tonight as there is in the final.
Come on.
Even for a professional chef, it's a big ask.
No, not there yet.
So Courtney picked halibut with kind of an Asian twist.
If there's one thing chefs hate in the best of times, it's overcooked fish.
Yeah, literally, this fish hangs around - two minutes longer - It's like powder.
- Yeah, it goes to mush.
- Mm-hmm.
Elizabeth's dish, she's doing cauliflower.
It's a glazed pan-seared red snapper.
Very seasonal.
It's a dish that caught my attention.
Leslie picked meat.
He's going with a fillet with gnocchi.
I didn't know why he's put those two together.
- What are your herbs for? - Herb gnocchi.
I think he's looking at the fillet as being a star and then trying to come up with a creative side.
- All right, chives, done.
- Thank you.
This is just the wrong one.
You've now got one hour remaining.
Get organized.
Two minutes from now the chefs are arriving.
- Let's get all of this.
- No, this is more than enough.
Come on, guys, speed up, please.
The chefs are arriving.
Please welcome tonight's judges, some of the greatest chefs in America.
From Mississippi, Cat Cora.
- Oh, my god.
- Oh.
From Maryland, Michael Voltaggio.
From Ohio, Susan Feniger.
From Michigan, Duff Goldman.
Arizona, Suzanne Tracht.
It's like a never-ending parade of famous people that I'm obsessed with.
Representing California, Jet Tila.
Illinois, Mary Sue Milliken.
Oh, my god! From Nevada, Herb Wilson.
This is absurd.
From Missouri, Anthony Carron.
John Sedlar from New Mexico.
Casey Lane from Texas.
Tom Shields from West Virginia.
This is huge.
We're having some of the best chefs in America sitting down waiting to taste our food.
If I don't bring my "a" game today, man, I'm gonna be in trouble.
The pressure is on.
Please welcome tonight's judges, some of the greatest chefs in America.
Wow! It's so incredible.
We are serving 50 chefs from 50 different states.
It's like all of the cookbooks I've been studying from came to life and just walked into the kitchen right by me.
This is amazing.
Seeing my idols walk in oh, my god.
Time to step my game up.
It's like, these people don't even know I, like, worship them, and I'm about to cook for them.
It's amazing.
I just took a picture of you taking a picture.
- It's pretty awesome.
- Very exciting.
Okay, guys, just over 50 minutes until service begins.
- Courtney.
- Yes, chef? Wake up, now, yeah? Describe the dish.
I'm doing Asian ginger soy-glazed halibut with a beet dashi vermicelli.
Quite modern, very vibrant.
Why halibut? Halibut has a really nice, white, flaky meat that will complement my sweet sauce.
- Overcooks easily.
- I know that.
- It'll be very unforgiving.
- Yep.
And even when I get two chefs in my restaurants, you know, it's a big deal.
I've never had 50 chefs.
How're you feeling? The pressure is definitely on, but I'm feeling very confident because I've prepared well, and I know that with good preparation comes good execution.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Three, baby, only three.
We don't want to crowd you too much.
Here, take a bite.
Whoa, that's awesome.
So what's the dish, Elizabeth? Tell me.
This is a Mediterranean skin-on red snapper with a watercress puree, a pistachio puree, and cauliflower three ways.
It sounds very contemporary, sounds very restaurant-y.
Is that what you're going for? Absolutely.
Out of the three of us, I have the most restaurant-y, chef-y dish, and I think that's the perfect audience for what I'm cooking.
But is it a good strategy to propose such a chef-y dish to 50 chefs? - Yeah.
- Good luck.
- Leslie.
- Yes, sir.
Tell me what the dish is.
It's an 8-ounce fillet with summer vegetables, herb gnocchi with mushrooms and a demi-glace red wine sauce.
I've never in my life seen fillet and gnocchi mixed together though.
Listen, you told me to reach for the stars.
I'm reaching for the stars.
I'm throwing something down.
- It's very tasty.
- Thank you.
Looks beautiful.
Let's go.
I'm so excited to have these 50 chefs here.
- It's amazing.
- Amazing.
These chefs will decide who wins this challenge and goes straight to the finale of MasterChef.
To you.
I hope that the home cooks do us proud.
Elizabeth's team is amazing, very harmonious.
She's controlling it.
She's dictating the terms, and they are listening.
Jaimee, test that cauliflower for me.
It's really kind of impressive to watch.
Wow.
I turned off the burners.
They're definitely cooked.
Okay.
Daniel, can you get me a fish spatula? Thank you.
Courtney's on the other hand, halibut You don't really start recommending halibut for a large contingent, especially chefs.
It's not the fish you'd give them, is it? No, there's no fat in it.
It goes dry right away.
And then to do it in an Asian style for the first time ever in this competition One more minute.
I think she's playing without a net.
Get the vegetables squared away.
I need the mushrooms cut too.
Leslie is so confident about this dish.
They got to be almost stiff.
Taste them.
- Stiff? - You got it.
This is gonna be incredible.
Taste, taste, taste.
You want a nice texture.
He's just in the driver's seat right now.
They're soft enough for me.
- Way too hard.
Way too hard.
- Incredible.
Gnocchi's done.
What can I do for you? - Set plates up.
- Yeah? If I had to hire one of these three home cooks as a chef in my restaurant today, - it would be Leslie.
- Wow.
- He's on fire.
- Wow.
Watch it.
Ah Careful, careful, careful.
Come on, Leslie.
Watch out, man.
Take it off.
Take your foot off.
Take your foot off.
Take your foot off.
I've got it, Leslie.
I've got it.
Damn, damn, damn.
Sorry.
When it rains, it pours.
Got to start clearing down.
Get organized, lay out the plates.
Count the plates.
Let's go.
Letting down my culinary idols would be unthinkable, So plating is more critical than ever.
So just a little spoonful right in the middle.
let it kind of fall as it will.
Because you are serving it to people who look at every dish with the eyes of a chef.
Beautiful, Ahran, beautiful.
- All right, let's whack it.
- Whack it.
Couple more gnocchi on this plate.
You got it.
Thank you.
Leslie's plating, Elizabeth's plating.
Sauce at the end here.
I got the sauce.
Courtney's got nothing on the plate, bar her name.
Still the same game plan with the plating? - Daniel.
- Yes, chef? Is anyone gonna start plating? - I'm getting directions.
- Yes, sir, getting directions.
But is anybody gonna start plating? The noodles are ready.
You want them start going - Courtney! - Yes, chef.
Is anybody gonna start plating? I'm telling him to start plating right now.
We need to step up a gear, guys.
We're going right now.
Guys, don't forget, in the restaurant we have a chef from every state in America.
Let's go, guys.
Come on.
All of you, speed up.
Courtney's got no plates dressed.
We got 12 minutes to go.
All I need to hear is what goes in the vermicelli.
I keep telling you it's all of the noodles and the sauce.
Here, you do it yourself.
Willie and Daniel, do you have any idea what's going on? That's what I'm trying to get details on, chef.
I've said it more than enough times.
- Say it again.
- So let's do that right now.
- Oh, my god.
- Make it happen.
Make it happen.
- I did what you told me to do.
- Okay.
Eight minutes to go.
- Do it.
- You don't wanna toss it in the broth? Get going.
No, just get going.
- Put the noodles down.
- Come on.
We got to get it on the plate, okay? We've got to get it on the plate.
Okay, keep it cool.
This is my worst nightmare coming to life.
Finish all of them.
Oh, my goodness, me.
This is insane.
Eight minutes to go.
With time running out in tonight's semifinal challenge, the final three home cooks must conceive and cook a restaurant-quality dish for in the country.
We're looking for flavor.
We're looking for presentation.
This is MasterChef, and althou ty're home cooks, I'm looking for raw talent.
I'm expecting culinary magic, and I came here hungry.
Last two minutes.
Make it happen.
Make it happen.
- I did what you told me to do.
- Okay.
This is insane.
You don't wanna toss it in the broth? - Do it and get going.
- No, just get going.
- Put the noodles down.
- Come on.
We gotta get it on the plate, okay? - Don't start yelling now.
- We got to get it on the plate.
Okay, keep it cool.
My name is on the plate.
It doesn't say "Daniel" or "Big Willie.
" It says "Courtney.
" Sauce.
There's no sauce on that one.
We got to do sauces.
Willie, get the the red sauce is right in front of you.
Turn around.
There's no fish on this one.
And I'm not okay with how they look.
This looks like crap.
All right, let's push it out.
Looking good, you all.
Let's go, guys.
Come on! Ooh, watch out, watch out.
Ten, nine, eight - Let's go! - Seven, six Come on! - Five - Come on, you guys.
Four, three, two, one.
And stop.
Hands in the air.
Here come the servers.
Really careful, guys, 'cause they're stacked pretty tall.
Gentle, like a lover.
Gently.
Wow, wow, wow, wow, wow.
The fillet came out beautifully.
The gnocchi looks great.
Everything looks perfect.
Courtney, Leslie, and Elizabeth, Please say good-bye and thank you to your sous chefs.
Bye, you guys.
- I'm so sorry for - It's okay, honey.
- Bye.
- See you soon.
Love you.
Bye, you guys.
Having my dream team by my side was amazing, but at the end of the day, this is my plate.
I own it.
I'm proud of it, and I'm hyper-confident.
Okay, Elizabeth, Leslie, and Courtney, I'd like all three of you to come with us into the MasterChef restaurant and explain to our 50 chefs from 50 states what you've cooked for them tonight.
Let's go.
As an aerial dancer, I've been on a stage in front of huge audiences for most of my life, and I'm starting to feel scared right now.
Ladies and gents, chefs, first of all a great honor it is to have you all here.
First ever in the history of this competition that we can get such an elaborate array of talent in one room.
Courtney, describe your dish please.
Tonight I have prepared for you a pan-seared halibut that I've glazed with ginger and soy.
Beneath that is a beet dashi vermicelli and surrounding the plate is a guero chile sauce.
Looks good.
- Thank you.
- Leslie, please.
My plate tonight is a 8-ounce fillet that was pan roasted with a herb gnocchi, and some summer vegetables, and a wine reduction.
Elizabeth, please.
I've made for you a pan-seared skin-on red snapper with cauliflower three ways, harissa-roasted white cauliflower puree, and a purple cauliflower couscous, and a little pistachio puree.
Great.
Courtney, Leslie, Elizabeth, please head back in to the MasterChef kitchen while these amazing chefs taste your dishes.
Please, look at the dishes.
Break it down.
Reward creativity, flare, imagination, and of course, obviously, it's about the taste.
Enjoy, and a big thank you again for making the effort to be here.
Oh, my god, I want to know what they're saying in there.
Ugh.
They're probably loving the idea of your cauliflower couscous.
Being a seafood chef, my first and foremost is gonna be the fish, but she's also taken that same attention to the vegetables.
She really did do cauliflower three ways.
She's got three different textures, three different preparations, three different colors, three different flavors.
Every single component works separately, and it works together.
Could use a little bit of seasoning, but you can taste the cauliflower.
So you kind of went, like, an Asian flavor profile.
That's interesting.
Yeah, the judges kept saying to me, "What haven't you shown us?" So I was like, "I'll show you Asian.
" Courtney did a good job cooking the fish.
- The halibut's cooked nice.
- Mm-hmm.
I do like this flavor of the broth on the noodles.
Very sophisticated.
You could have this in an upscale restaurant.
She knocked it out of the park with that dish.
It could use more sauce.
When I heard you were doing gnocchi for that many people I was like, "This man has gone insane.
" Mine seemed fine.
Everything, the gnocchi held up.
It was tough though.
Although steak is safe, gnocchi's not safe.
It's a gamble to try to cook a gnocchi for not just chefs, but for anybody.
Flavor-wise, it's delicious.
It's seasoned.
The meat is cooked perfectly.
This would be a dish I'd order in a restaurant, like, beef and mushrooms and red wine, classic combination.
There were, like, good elements, but it's kind of it's a little disjointed.
I have to say, this is my choice right here.
Yeah, I would agree.
I-I definitely think Elizabeth stole the show, yeah.
I'd sell this dish in my restaurant.
I'm gonna go with Leslie.
Things are cliches for a reason.
Is it culinary genius? Maybe not.
I loved it.
Courtney look how beautiful this is.
Look at that.
Perfect.
- There you go.
- Thank you.
Thank you so much.
Perfect.
Wow.
When I walk in and I see the chorus line of amazing chefs, they are going to send someone right into the finale.
The home cook that we'd like to invite down here My dish should beat Leslie and Elizabeth's because it's original.
It's showing chef-like qualities.
The individual with the dish of the night I need to win.
I need to get up on that balcony and be number one, or otherwise I don't know.
Another pressure test, number seven? I mean, come on, really? Congratulations goes to Wow.
The individual with the dish of the night, Congratulations goes to Elizabeth.
Amazing.
I am so happy.
I get to walk through the hallway of chefs.
I'm in the finale, and I am thrilled beyond words.
Well done.
Please, head up to the balcony.
There's a very cool glass of champagne waiting for you.
Great job.
Leslie and Courtney, please make your way down.
On behalf of everybody here at MasterChef, I'd like to say a big special thank you to our talented chefs standing behind you.
Much appreciated.
Hope to see you again.
Thank you.
So now it's between me and Courtney.
I am psyched about this.
I'm not gonna let anything get in my way, and I'm gonna get this thing done.
All right, Courtney and Leslie, well done.
Tough challenge tonight.
Unfortunately, not in the same league as Elizabeth.
Now both of you will perhaps the most grueling and the most important pressure test you've ever done in this competition, where only one of you will join Elizabeth in the grand final of MasterChef.
Next time we see you, it's gonna be intense.
There have been seven other people who have tried to send Leslie home in the pressure test, and they've failed.
This is my chance to send him back to Malibu.
Today I'm going into the biggest battle of my life.
I can do this.
I can make this happen.
I will be in the finale.
Welcome.
Good to see you both.
Come on down, please.
Elizabeth is the first person to be catapulted into the MasterChef finale.
The task now is to find out which one of you two will be facing Elizabeth.
In a previous challenge, we had you make an incredibly complex composed entree.
Now it's time for dessert, but not just any dessert.
Three desserts that celebrate the greatness of America, the united cakes of America.
First up, you have something that I am very familiar with, a proud staple of my hometown New York cheesecake.
Ooh.
Tangy, rich, cheese filling.
Nestled in a crisp graham cracker crust, topped with a beautiful strawberry coulis.
Next up From the great state of Florida, we have key lime pie.
Tangy, smooth, bursting with fresh flavor, and it's all about balance, Sweet versus tart.
Next up, you have another great American regional dessert.
From the great state of Massachusetts, you have a delicious Boston cream pie.
Two gorgeous layers of sponge with a phenomenal cream filling between them, and then the whole thing is covered in a stunning chocolate ganache.
This is a tall order for anybody, and for someone who doesn't bake, this is a nightmare.
Courtney, Leslie, any last words for each other? If she wins fair and square, fine with me, but I'm not going down sleeping, that for damn sure.
Now it's time to head to your stations.
You have two hours to make us all three incredibly challenging desserts from different parts of this great country.
You all have everything that you need to make these three difficult desserts.
Bake better than you've ever baked before, because if you don't, it will be the last time you'll be making anything here in the MasterChef kitchen.
Your time starts Now.
So Leslie's seventh pressure test tonight.
Wouldn't that freak you out if you were Courtney? We've always known she's a baker, so she got the luck of the draw.
Yeah, but, I mean, Leslie's excelled too, so it's not like one-sided, like she was given an advantage with this.
No, but tonight's all about nerves of steel.
One mistake, and they're out.
You have to cook with composure.
I'm freaking losing time right now.
I'm gonna beat Leslie because I've been baking cakes forever.
I love baking cakes.
This is one of my favorite things to do.
I can see myself in the finale already.
Months ago, it would take them two hours to do one cake.
Tonight, we're asking them to do all three in two hours.
What cake has to go first? Get that cheesecake in the oven immediately because you haven't got time.
It's the longest cook time? - It's an hour to cook.
- An hour? An hour to cook.
and then cool.
I got to get moving, man.
After that, start tackling the Boston cream pie - 'cause that sponge - got to bake the sponge.
Oh, man, that is a difficult one.
Then from there, start on the easiest one I think, which is the key lime.
Right, you have to have that lime zest and you want that acidity to come through.
But the cheesecake is the big one that needs to go in the oven within the first 20 minutes.
- Oh! - Sorry.
Just keep this going, Courtney.
Keep it going.
Right, Courtney, how are you feeling? Oh, I'm feeling incredible.
Cheesecake's in? Cheesecake is in, chef.
Now, you look composed.
You look together.
Can you do this? Absolutely.
I can totally do this.
This is what I love to do.
I've never seen anyone so happy in a pressure test.
- I know.
- Are you okay? Yeah, I'm great.
I'm not just a girl wearing high heels.
I'm a girl that can cook.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
Spoons, spoons, spoons, spoons, spoons.
Gorgeous.
Let's keep this going.
I notice Courtney talking herself through the challenge.
You got to fold it gently.
Yes.
She's like, "It looks beautiful.
Now I just have to put the cream of tartar in.
" Beautiful.
Yes.
"Yes, it looks beautiful.
" Leslie talks to himself too, but he's like, Hey, what do I gotta put the Eh, I got the cream of tartar, and I got thethe gotta whip the lemon meringue.
" Mmm.
It's like you feel, like, seven separate voices talking to him in his own head.
Shh-shh-shh.
Leslie, how we doing? - Not doing so good.
Not doing so good.
- What's wrong? No, not doing so good, man.
- This is not my strength, man.
- Look, I know.
You just gotta slow down, take a breath.
which cake is that? This is the cheesecake.
Courtney's cheesecake is cooked already.
Yeah, because she's she's a baker, you know? She's done.
It's cooked.
Yes, I understand.
You want to know what? Why are you so far behind? 'Cause I don't do this.
This is not my forte.
The timing of the cheesecake leaves you no net.
No.
No net whatsoever.
And it might not even cool down in time.
I am so frazzled.
I got too many things going through my head.
Got to get this thing in the oven or otherwise I'm gonna be screwed.
Unless there's a miracle, this cheesecake is not gonna cook.
The party might be over.
Still to come tonight It's the MasterChef finale.
But which of these home cooks will battle Elizabeth for the MasterChef title? America's next MasterChef is Which cake is that? This is the cheesecake.
This is not my forte.
This is not one of my strengths.
It does set you behind a little bit.
Yes, it does.
Do you have any progress on the other cakes, here you just been doing this? Yes, I do.
No, I just gotta get - I got to get it first.
- Slow down, slow down, slow down.
You got to relax a little bit.
No, I can't.
You know, I'm always on the verge of a nervous breakdown, but I'm not going there.
Lady, who's your daddy? Leslie is a bit all over the place.
He just put the cheesecake in.
We're not even sure if there's enough time to cool it down.
Leslie has fallen behind on the cheesecake.
He may be trying to make up for the other two.
So key lime pie is the simplest, but also really there's a balancing act between sweet and sour.
How do you manage that? If it's too acidic, then you add more sugar.
If it's too sweet, then y you need to add a little bit more citrus.
So you've got to find that balance.
The Boston cream pie is a difficult one.
The secret in the sponge is the aeration, incorporating those eggs and the butter and the sugar.
What's a perfect Boston cream? That is the base of a great pastry cream, but again, too heavy in that, they can split the sponge.
Leslie's pulling his cheesecake out.
But the big question tonight is: is Leslie's New York cheesecake - cooked? - Right.
Let's go.
Okay, I need to get my cheesecake, and I can finish the cheesecake, and everything will all be good in the world.
Time's a ticking.
I'm taking a licking, but guess what.
These are done, so I'm happy about that.
Oh, my cheesecake is gorgeous.
Courtney, how we doing? I'm doing so good.
How does it feel to be in here now? I mean, the semifinal? This is how I want to do this, this is how I want to enter the finale.
This is just me versus Leslie in the kitchen.
This is how I want to win it.
Awesome.
Good luck.
Thank you, chef Elliot.
Look at Leslie go.
Come on, come on, come on, come on.
That looks good.
Oh, he's gonna drop it if he's not careful.
Palette knife.
Palette knife, Leslie.
It will fall off.
It'll slide off.
So tarts are both done.
Cheesecakes are both done.
Now it comes down to the Boston cream pie.
Courtney's just taken her sponge out.
But you can see Leslie right now.
He had these nice, beautiful ones.
It's not gonna be from a lack of trying, that's for freaking damn sure.
You can start to see the stress on Courtney's face.
Yeah.
It's really low right there.
Winning this pressure test is your ticket right to the finale, and Leslie probably has the upper hand just by virtue of the fact that he's been through so many pressure tests.
I mean, it's like his second job at this point, and he seems to be coming back.
Gentle, baby, gentle.
Gentle, gentle, gentle.
Less than 15 minutes to go.
Now is gonna be the most exciting, 'cause that's when they have to start assembling them.
And you just visually will know whether you're going home or going to join Elizabeth in the finale.
Leslie's about to start filling his Boston cream pie.
looks good.
Wow.
Yeah, pastry cream looks nice.
Oh, my god.
- That looks amazing.
- Oh, no.
Oh, my gosh, she's putting it in directly.
Just got to do it like this.
Oh, no.
Courtney's cakes look a little uneven.
Like, her pastry cream is oozing out from the middle.
Right now, Courtney is completely falling apart.
Last five minutes.
Son of a bitch.
He's a mad man.
Last minute, guys.
finishing touches, please.
Come on, place in the final for one of you.
Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
And stop.
Hands in the air.
Good job.
Courtney's cheesecake looks like you googled the perfect cheesecake.
It is completely flawless.
So the knife is going through very nicely.
It's nice and smooth.
Okay, here we go.
How does that look? I think it looks delicious.
The crust is crispy.
The cream cheese cake itself is light, airy, rich, smooth.
- Very good.
- Thank you.
- Okay, Leslie.
- Yes.
Less aesthetically appealing, but, as we say, it's all about the taste.
Ooh.
Yes, it looks a little See, that looks super creamy, super, like - Yes, right there.
- Raw.
Let's taste it though.
The graham cracker crust is a littleis burnt.
Tastes like burnt chocolate chips cookies.
You know that flavor? Yeah, yeah.
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
Given the circumstances, I would say you both did a pretty good job with those cheesecakes.
Thank you.
One looked much more like the cake we were asking for and tasted closer to what we were expecting.
The best cheesecake tonight belongs to Courtney.
- Congratulations.
- Thank you.
Courtney, what do you think? I was a little overexcited with the blow torch.
Yeah, looks like key lime s'mores.
- It's very sweet.
- Okay.
You know, with key lime pie, I love that sharp Tartness.
Acidic tang coming through, and this is it's almost obliterated.
The only lime I'm really getting is from the zest over the top.
Okay.
All right, so, Leslie, anything I should know about this? Uh, no, this one I kind of, uh, hit it on the mark.
The flavor's awesome.
It's got that zing to it.
The curd baked perfectly, great texture.
You nailed it.
Great job.
Thank you, chef.
Key lime pie, with everything, it comes down to the details.
The winning key lime pie belongs to Leslie.
Great job on that key lime pie.
Thank you, chef.
I definitely won the key lime.
Now we got to go to the Boston cream.
Whoever wins this is going into the finale.
I'm watching this pastry cream ooze out the sides, and I'm just seeing myself walking out of the MasterChef doors.
So it comes down to the Boston cream pie.
Courtney.
Courtney, Courtney, Courtney.
I know.
I'll just have a little look at that.
Mine's quite even on the top, at least I'm not talking about the unevenness.
I'm talking about the slurry and the sludge That's oozing out of yours.
That should be stuck together.
Thank you.
- Uh, Leslie.
- Yes, chef.
Lovely ratio.
Sponge slightly too thick, but nice density of pastry cream inside.
Wow.
Thank you.
Please, Courtney, Leslie, come around to the front, thank you.
We now have to work out which one of you moves on to the MasterChef grand finale.
Please, give us a minute.
Thank you.
- Courtney is a mess.
- Yeah.
There's no creamn the, is there? Boston cream pie is about the cream.
Yeah, it's like a liquid center cake.
Leslie's had a great pastry cream.
There's something really weird tasting at the bottom.
It's like a weird bread.
He needed a little more sugar or something? Yeah, I think that probably is what's wrong with it.
- Something major.
- Mm-hmm.
It all comes down to the Boston cream pie, and it seems like Leslie's has the edge.
All right, Courtney, You had highs and lows, insufficient pastry cream, pastry cream slightly liquid, top heavy, it terms of, good ganache, lovely sponge.
Leslie, visually incredible, great pastry cream, ganache delicious, but something very odd came to mind whilst tasting the sponge.
Why don't you just have a taste of that, please.
Do you know what's wrong with that sponge? You put the salt in place of the sugar.
I may have, yes.
The home cook who made the best Boston cream pie and the person who will now move into the MasterChef finale and face-off against Elizabeth, that person is Courtney.
Oh, my god.
Congratulations.
You did an amazing job.
I tried.
I made a simple mistake.
Not a problem.
Thank god.
I was certain that I was going home.
Wow.
I feel bad for Leslie.
It was such an honest mistake.
Seven pressure tests.
Finally one got you.
Yeah, and you know what? I figured my luck kind of ran out after six, but she just happened to knock me off my pedestal.
Everyone in America who's ever baked more than one cake, including myself, has made the same exact mistake that you made tonight.
Leslie, you have been phenomenal.
And for anybody out there that ever tells me again that cooking is a young man's game, you've turned that around on its head.
Thank you, chef.
Come and say good-bye, big man.
Thank you very much.
It was a pleasure meeting you guys.
You guys are my idols.
Right, two talented individuals.
Who is your money on? I'm sorry, Courtney, but I would definitely put my money on Elizabeth.
Thank you, Leslie.
- Thank you again, chef.
- Well done.
All right.
I'm the stay-at-home dad that came here to win, and I was doing a pretty damn good job up until the salt part.
This is a great looking pie.
You really nailed it.
Awesome dish.
You're up at the top right now.
All of you, right now, get your ass down here quickly.
That's what I call a box of donuts.
Wow.
I learned a lot.
I mean, I didn't expect to make it this far.
I met interesting people.
Some liked me.
Some didn't like me.
I can hear you.
I don't need to look at you.
I need you to look at me! You're not sorry at all! I did not expect to work out my differences with this young lady.
Not only are you becoming a better cook, you're also becoming more likable somehow.
You're my idol.
I love you, man.
I love you too, Leslie.
Outside of getting married and having my children being born, this has to be one of those great things in my life that I will remeer fever.
Right now It's the MasterChef finale.
The world's biggest cooking competition comes to an end Whoo! as Elizabeth and Courtney go head-to-head What do you think of Courtney's dessert? It looks like second place.
for the most coveted crown in the culinary world.
Only one will walk away with $1/4 million Give me my knife, baby.
It's on.
their own cookbook Winning would change everything.
and the MasterChef title.
America's next MasterChef is Welcome to the finale of the biggest culinary competition of the year.
Tonight, the best two home cooks in America will battle it out here in the MasterChef kitchen.
Only one will be crowned MasterChef.
In our search for the absolute best home cook in this country, we went to every corner of this great nation.
MasterChef! The best home cooks in America entered the MasterChef kitchen all united by their passion for food.
You are the top 22.
They were faced with ferocious challenges.
You got 60 guests, the bride and groom, and they're waiting! Hut! I need you on the grill! You're not sorry at all! I'm not gonna stand here and be abused.
Some wilted under intense pressure.
- I need a medic.
- Medic.
Quick! You brought us a dish that you didn't make.
- Others rose - Whoo! Growing stronger with every obstacle.
You're playing the game at a high level.
But to crown the best, we had to find the best.
The person leaving MasterChef tonight is Christian.
Cutter.
Leslie.
Now there are only two home cooks remaining.
Tonight, they will do battle head-to-head in the greatest kitchen in America, but only one will survive what they're about to endure.
Only one will become America's next MasterChef.
The first finalist is Elizabeth A 31-year-old advertise executive from Brooklyn, New York.
I grew up in the South, and I spent my entire life obsessing over moving to New York.
I work in advertising, and I enjoy my career, but I'm so ready to win MasterChef and change my life.
This is the last apron.
- After a quiet start - Congratulations.
Elizabeth soon rose to become one of the most consistent competitors in the MasterChef kitchen.
The winning mystery box dish Elizabeth.
From savory to sweet, comfort food to exotic global flavors - Whoo! - Elizabeth mastered them all.
Wow.
This is like taking a trip to Italy.
Elizabeth has made MasterChef history The blue team, ladies and gentlemen.
Having never lost a team challenge.
I'm going to turn this finale into the key that unlocks my culinary dreams.
This is the most important day of my life.
She hasn't cooked in a single pressure test.
Tonight, can Elizabeth handle the pressure of this finale? The only hurdle that stands in Elizabeth's way is Courtney A 25-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
It's very hard for me to talk about this.
I've done things that I'm not proud of.
Not being able to pay my rent, I make the difficult, embarrassing decision to work in a gentlemen's club.
But cooking is the start of a new beginning.
I'm gonna do something else that I love and have so much passion for.
I want to make my family so proud.
Courtney made her mark when she became the very first home cook to win a white apron.
- Beautifully done.
Great job.
- Thank you.
She impressed us with her sophisticated European flavors and techniques.
You could taste the love that went into that.
As the pressure intensified Courtney, I hope you're joking.
I did that.
She began to stumble.
They're salty.
Eh.
I'm sorry, chef.
But she always managed to step back up to the plate.
Amazing.
You definitely got mojo back.
I want to change my life around, and winning this title is what changes everything.
A win tonight would take Courtney's talents to a very different stage.
Elizabeth and Courtney, congratulations on making it here to the MasterChef finale.
And here to cheer you on are all of your past competitors that you beat to get into this finale.
It's been a long time that you've been on this journey with us.
You've sacrificed so much, especially leaving all of your loved ones back home.
Elizabeth, what do you think that they'd say about you right now being here in the finale? How proud they are of me.
Let's find out exactly what they would say.
Please welcome your family and friends from Brooklyn: Your husband Ross, your mom Melissa, your brother Seth, your friends Janine, Jess, and Sarah.
Oh, my god.
Melissa, Elizabeth's under immense pressure tonight.
Any words of encouragement? Cook your ass off.
Courtney, it's been a long time.
How much do you want to see your family? I want to see my family so bad.
They want to see you even more.
Here they are.
Hey.
Your mom Lisa, your dad Dennis, sister Collette, Connor, your brother, and your other brother Colby.
Oh, my goodness.
Look at you.
Is Cooper here? Now we're complete, right? Captain Cooper, any final words of encouragement you'd like to say to your big sister? Good luck.
Thanks, baby.
You guys are such an inspiration for these two amazing home cooks.
But now it's time to say good-bye and head up to the gallery.
Bye.
Love you.
Overcome adversity.
Love you, baby.
Hey, you are the best.
For tonight's challenge, we want one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert.
Three identical plates of each course, One for each of us.
After you're done cooking each course, you'll serve your dishes to us in the MasterChef restaurant where we'll taste your dishes and make some very critical decisions.
You'll each have ten minutes in the MasterChef pantry to get everything you need to cook us the best three-course meal of your entire lives.
Your ten minutes in the pantry starts Now.
I want Elizabeth to win.
She's an excellent cook.
Unless she screws up, I'm seeing her win the whole kit and caboodle.
You can't possibly count Courtney out.
Courtney works good under pressure.
Elizabeth is the terminator, and she's gonna shut Courtney down.
She has to.
It is her fate to stop Courtney.
Somebody has to stop Courtney.
If it was my money on the line, Courtney got it.
Wow.
Here we go.
First up, your appetizer course.
Elizabeth.
I'll be making a grilled octopus with a warm chorizo and chickpea salad.
And Courtney, what will you be making for your appetizer tonight? I will be making a crispy pig's ear with dandelion and fennel salad and a quail egg.
You'll both have one hour to make us those stunning appetizers.
Ladies, your time starts Now.
Come on, ladies! - Let's go, you guys.
- Whoo! - Yeah, Courtney! - Let's go, sis.
Elizabeth should definitely be worried.
I'm not afraid of Elizabeth.
This is my battle to win, and it's go big or go home.
Come on, Elizabeth! There are no heels in the kitchen anymore.
It's knives, and it's time to do battle.
Let's do this.
Come on, ladies! In this season's MasterChef finale, Elizabeth and Courtney are battling it out over a three-course dinner that they'll serve to the judges.
For their appetizers, Courtney's dish features a crispy pig ear salad with fennel and a quail egg, while Elizabeth has chosen to make grilled octopus with fennel, chorizo, and chickpeas.
Looking good.
All right.
This is it the battle we've all been waiting for.
Elizabeth's appetizer, for instance, tonight A delicious-sounding braised octopus.
She's cooking it in the pressure cooker.
If she's off by even five minutes, we could be eating rubber bands.
Courtney is going out of the box.
Courtney made a pig ear.
Seriously, pig's ear salad? Pig ears are, like, They used to be dog chews.
If you don't understand how that ear breaks down, you're gonna be left with a mouthful of cartilage.
But if you get that right, and you cook it beautifully, it's gonna be the dish of the night.
She's taking the biggest chances I've ever seen a finalist take.
- Yeah, Courtney.
- Whoo! How you doing, Courtney? Hey.
I'm doing really good.
We've been through so many seasons of MasterChef, we've never seen pigs' ears in a finale.
Are you taking too much of a risk here tonight? No, I'm sending a strong message.
Elizabeth should be very scared.
Good luck.
I'm excited to try that.
Thank you, chef.
I'm definitely interested in Courtney's menu.
I mean, the pig ear, I think it's a very awesome, Trendy way to go, but it's definitely a risk.
It's a very hard dish to elevate.
Go, Elizabeth.
- Right, how you feeling? - Good, chef.
Describe your appetizer.
I'm doing a grilled octopus with a warm chorizo and chickpea salad.
Why octopus? There's nothing more impressive than that, and I want to start you on a Mediterranean journey.
Pressure cooker.
How you feeling? - It's always a little bit of a hope and a prayer.
- I know.
You just got to wait for the last minute.
Quickly cleaning it, grilling it, getting it on the plate.
It's dangerous, but I'm gonna do it.
I'm just amazed that you're leaving this to the very last minute because literally The octopus is not cooked yet.
Courtney started to plate.
Are you running behind? No, chef, I'm gonna have everything plated and do the octopus at the very last minute.
You are so daring.
Good luck.
Thanks, chef.
I think Elizabeth has the better menu.
The octopus now, that's a challenge.
If you nail it, boom, she's a shoo-in.
Oh, god.
Last ten minutes.
Let's go, ladies.
Courtney's strategy is working.
She put the full-court press on Elizabeth, and I think Elizabeth is beginning to buckle under the pressure.
Elizabeth, you've got to move faster.
- Yes, chef.
- Please.
Okay.
Here's the octopus.
Looks good.
Let's go.
You've got to start plating, Elizabeth.
This food is very beautiful.
Exciting.
Oh, my god.
Yeah.
Let's go! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Hands in the air! Now, please bring your dishes down to the front.
Thank you.
Courtney, what do you think of Elizabeth's octopus salad? The plating's a little haphazard, but it's okay.
Elizabeth, what do you think of Courtney's pig's ear salad? The pig ear maybe looks a little beige.
Well, we will be the judges of that.
Both of you, please follow us into the MasterChef dining room.
Let's go.
It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks.
It's all in the judges' hands now.
Elizabeth, please present your appetizers, thank you.
I'm taking a huge risk with this octopus.
It's not something that I cook at home all the time, but today, in the finale, big risk, big reward.
Elizabeth, describe your dish, please.
This is a grilled octopus with a warm chickpea and chorizo salad with a piquillo pepper and heirloom tomato sauce.
So I was concerned with the octopus in the pressure cooker, but I have to say that this octopus Looks better than I would have ever imagined.
This is truly an octopus that I can eat with my eyes.
Thank you.
I very much like the grill portion of the octopus, but I think that you may have slightly overcooked the octopus.
But overall, very punchy, very Mediterranean, very, very strong dish.
- Thank you.
- The flavors are great.
I think that it's aggressively spiced and seasoned, which you've always done throughout the competition.
I think that that shows confidence in your cooking.
You know, if we received it in a restaurant, I think we'd all be pretty happy with it.
Thank you.
Well, visually the dish is so appealing.
When you're using all those spices with those chickpeas, then you got this perfect foundation for that octopus to sit on the top.
Great flavor on the char.
Love that flavor.
Amazed you got it done in that short period of time.
Bold move, difficult to pull off.
You did just that.
Good job.
Thank you, chef.
Courtney, it's time to taste your appetizer, please.
You've got a very high bar to reach.
Courtney, describe your appetizer, please.
A crispy pig's ear over a dandelion and fennel salad with a quail egg and a guajillo chili sauce.
Is a salad with some fried pig ears enough for an appetizer in the biggest cooking competition in the world, is the question that I'm asking myself.
I believe so.
I believe that the dish is well-balanced.
You might believe that.
I'm asking myself that.
- Oh, sorry.
I thought you were - I'm not sure.
Is a salad with some fried pig ears enough? I believe so.
I believe that the dish is well-balanced.
You might believe that.
I'm asking myself that.
- Oh, sorry, I thought you were - I'm not sure.
It's a typically Courtney plate.
It's meticulous, but just a little bit soulless.
Well, it's a really assertive, opinionated dish.
The pigs' ears were very good.
Crispy, salty, rich.
You have a great balance between acidity, heat, oil, and it's certainly one of the most well-dressed salads that I've eaten in recent history.
Thank you, sir.
I love the guajillo pepper sauce.
It's explosive, and it goes great with the rich quail egg.
Tastes great.
Thank you.
Visually it looks elegant.
Pig's ear cooked perfectly.
Shocked them, it sort of solidified all the fat.
The way you treated them was brilliant.
You deliver a punch with flavor.
Great job.
Thank you.
Ladies, you are clearly on another level, and we have some very important things to discuss.
Please prep for the entrees.
Thank you very much.
- Yes, sir.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
Thanks, guys.
Thank you.
Wow, I mean, Elizabeth, great octopus.
I mean, the flavor, delicious.
Yes, it was slightly overcooked, but technically, she pulled it off.
Courtney, out of nowhere, picks a pig ear.
It was a bold, bold statement.
- That's as gutsy as it gets.
- Brilliant.
Two more courses yet to come, so there is lots of culinary gamesmanship still to come to this table for us to taste.
Okay, it's time to get started on your entrees.
You will each have 60 minutes to make us the best main course that you have ever made in your entire life.
Your 60 minutes starts Now.
How do you follow those appetizers? Well, that's the thing is, sometimes after the appetizer you have a clear leader.
- Right now, it's neck and neck.
- Neck and neck.
They're at ground zero again.
Come on, Elizabeth.
For my entree, I'm making spiced lamb and quinoa saute with a carrot puree and a mint yogurt sauce.
Serving the judges an overcooked or undercooked rack of lamb is not gonna fly, so I just need to absolutely nail the cook.
- Come on, Courtney.
- Whoo! For my entree, I'm doing something that's very, very traditional.
I'm making a sumac duck breast with spring vegetables and farro.
- Whoo! - Elizabeth! - Right, how you feeling? - Feeling good, chef.
How you gonna cook the lamb? I'm gonna sear it off in a pan and then finish it in the oven until it's medium-rare.
Earlier tonight you left things right to the very last minute for the appetizer.
I mean, are you gonna cut yourself a little bit more time across this one? Yes, I have plenty of time.
This is not like a pressure cooker situation.
I'm in full control of the lamb.
- Good luck.
- Thank you.
- Hello, Courtney.
- Hey.
With this duck, do you think that ii gonna be strong enough to go against a lamb? 'Cause a lamb, a Rolls-Royce cut, restaurant But you know what? So are my duck breasts.
And I started with the pig's ear, and because it was so out there, I wanted to do something that was a little bit more familiar.
- Ah, all right.
- All right, good luck.
Hey, Coop, you want to see some fire? Yeah! I mean, I can flambe, but I don't need to.
Let's go.
Courtney's duck is out.
Both Courtney and Elizabeth tonight, with these proteins, have the risk of temperature.
If they don't nail that medium-rare, that will certainly sink their dishes.
Gorgeous.
Looks perfect.
Nice, Courtney.
I think the pressure's getting to Elizabeth.
Courtney's already plating, and Elizabeth's lamb is not even cooked yet.
It's still in the oven.
Tonight, I am struggling with timing more than I have any time previously cooking in the MasterChef kitchen, and I think that it's the added pressure of everyone watching and everything that's at stake.
The lamb's out.
All right, do or die.
Here we go.
Beautiful.
Elizabeth, that looks amazing.
That one looks really rare.
Last three minutes.
Unbelievable.
Elizabeth is leaving everything to the last minute Just like she did with the appetizer.
Come on.
Very cool, Courtney.
Very cool.
Thanks.
- Looks good, Elizabeth.
- Looks good.
- Come on.
Let's go.
- Let's go.
Let's go.
Push, push.
Come on! Come on, Courtney! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
Hands in the air! Way to go, Courtney! Please bring those stunning entrees down to the front.
Let's go.
Elizabeth, how are you feeling? Some of my plating was a little rushed at the end, but I think ultimately it looks beautiful.
Courtney, what do you think of Elizabeth's dish? I think that her lamb looks raw.
Ooh.
No, it's medium-rare.
Please, Elizabeth, Courtney, and the servers, bring those stunning entrees through to the MasterChef restaurant.
Let's go.
Thank you.
Courtney started something, and at this point, the gloves are off.
My dish is about to knock this bitch out.
It's on.
Let's begin tasting the entrees with Elizabeth.
It's a spiced lamb with red quinoa and rainbow chard, a carrot puree, and a mint yogurt tahini sauce.
I do feel, Joe, that you particularly got a dish where the lamb was a little bit under where I intended.
I wanted to serve it to yo a perfect medium-rare.
Well, if you were shooting for a perfect medium-rare, you didn't get there.
Mine's a rare to black and blue.
Gentlemen, shall we? Most people probably would want their lamb a little bit more cooked.
Mine was definitely rare.
If cooked properly, it could be fantastic, so a little bit of a letdown.
My lamb's cooked perfectly.
That rub on the lamb is absolutely spot-on.
And what you've nailed here was the quinoa.
Combined with the tahini and that yogurt sauce, delicious.
Puree, wonderful.
Good job.
Thank you.
Visually it's a beautiful dish.
I loved the pop of the carrot puree.
Couldn't have seasoned it any better.
I would absolutely order this again If I was in a restaurant and got it.
It's a knockout.
Really, really smart dish.
Thank you, chef.
Courtney, will you please present us with your entree? This is a sumac duck breast with spring vegetables and farro garnished with a pea tendril and a chive blossom pickle, and the sauce is a brandy pan sauce with the duck fat.
Visually gorgeous, and I think it tastes as good as it looks.
The duck breast is crispy and bacon-like and really amazing, and the sauce, buttery and rich, but ve concentrated in flavor, so you get a little bit melting on each bite.
Overall, one of the best dishes I think that you've put up.
- Very commendable.
- Thank you.
The farro is delicious.
It's very nutty.
It's concentrated.
The spring vegetables were cooked perfectly.
It has the shallots.
Everything is really spot-on.
You know, it looks like it came out of a restaurant.
I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to cooking duck, 'cause it's one of the most difficult proteins to nail.
The duck, beautifully done.
Elegance matched with fragrance, matched with great finesse.
Stunning, absolutely stunning.
- Thanks, Courtney.
- Yeah.
Both of you did amazing jobs.
A lot to discuss, so why don't you go ahead and get ready to do those desserts? Two phenomenal entrees.
Courtney's duck was ambitious and very chef-driven.
It was well-thought out, and execution was perfect.
Elizabeth's lamb tasted delicious.
The flavors that she was working with were great.
The seasoning was right there.
As always, we're looking at the entire menu as a whole, so nobody is gonna win this based on where we're at right now.
We got to see that dessert.
I think that I made some small technical errors, but I'm still here.
Everything is on the line for this dessert course for me.
I got to nail it.
Elizabeth and Courtney, this next course will seal the deal for one of you.
Elizabeth, please describe your final course tonight.
For dessert, I'm making a grapefruit and olive oil cake with a plum trio.
Wow.
Courtney, please.
I'm doing a cherry meringue with salted chocolate and spiced almonds.
Now, what happens during the next 60 minutes will change one of your lives.
Your one hour starts Now.
Come on, Courtney.
Courtney's strong.
She's very strong, and she's a baker, so with desserts, she's a force to be reckoned with.
Courtney! Courtney! Yeah, Courtney! Elizabeth is the real deal.
I've watched her.
I've cooked with her.
And her cake's gonna be a winner.
Elizabeth! So what's the dish, Elizabeth? It's an olive oil and grapefruit semolina cake, so it almost has, like, that delicious kind of cornbread texture.
Right, love it.
Courtney obviously has a lot to gain by winning this.
She wants this bad.
This is a game changer for her.
You want it as much as she does? I absolutely want this as much as she does.
Just because I work in an office and not a nightclub does not mean I don't deserve to win this.
Spot on! Good luck, Elizabeth.
Whoo! All right, Courtney.
So a meringue.
I mean, any professional chef tonight would be looking at the meringue and saying, "What, in 60 minutes?" They take literally hours to dry out.
How are you gonna fast-track these? They're a nice, small size, so they're not gonna need as much time in the oven.
What is it with you that refuses to play safe? No reason to play it safe, especially when it's something this big.
You just got to go for it.
- Good luck.
- Thank you, chef.
Let's go.
Come on, Courtney.
Come on.
- Yeah! Come on, Elizabeth.
- Go, Elizabeth! Here we go.
The cake's out.
My cake is slightly undercooked in the middle.
Oh, her cake looks like a mess over there.
But I have a plan.
to use the outer edge, so it's gonna be perfectly moist.
Not too dry or overbaked, but still cooked and edible.
Good.
I wanted to make sure that the salt content in my meringue is right, So I take a bite of it - How is that, Courtney? - It's good.
And then I realize I don't have any extra meringues.
I ate one of the judges' meringues.
Uh-oh, something happened.
I'm gonna look like I've given them an incomplete plate.
Oops.
I have just quite possibly eaten $1/4 million.
I ate one of the judges' meringues.
Uh-oh, something happened.
One, two, three.
One, two, three.
I have just possibly eaten $1/4 million.
Let's go, ladies.
Last two minutes.
Come on.
Let's go.
That is beautiful.
Whoo! Come on.
Let's go.
Come on, guys.
Come on.
Whoo! Looks beautiful! Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.
and stop.
Wow.
Well done.
Bring your delicious desserts to the front of the bench.
Elizabeth, what do you think of Courtney's dessert? I think it looks like second place.
Ooh.
After this tasting, one of you two will be crowned this year's MasterChef.
Let's get it on.
We're gonna bring those desserts into the restaurant.
Courtney, please bring us your dessert.
Thank you.
I made for you a cherry meringue with salted chocolate and spiced almonds.
Did we miss one? 'Cause it looks like three complete piles, and then we each got one empty one.
I was so concerned with how everything tasted together that I ate one of the meringues that needed to be the top to the third.
Let's hope it tastes better than it looks.
Is there salt in anything else other than the chocolate on this plate? - The cherries.
- Something tastes salty.
- The cherries taste salty? - Cherries maybe.
I put a little bit of salt into the black cherries just to bring out that flavor of it.
That's either really brilliant or really stupid.
But after eating it and processing it in my mind, I have to say that I think It's brilliant.
Thank you, sir.
It is really elevating the intellectual component of a dessert to another level and making me not only eat it with my palate in my mouth but also digest it with my brain.
It's very intellectually and physically satisfying.
Thank you, sir.
The presentation obviously not what you wanted, but the taste is delicious.
The pastry cream with the vanilla bean going through it and the salted chocolate, all those are great.
The cherries balanced against the sweetness of those almonds, it's like this perfect harmony.
Kind of eye-opening.
I disagree with Joe.
Don't like salty cherries.
They taste like they're in a brine.
Meringues taste delicious.
I'm amazed you got them crisp on the outside, gooey and just right in the center.
Cooked to perfection, nailed them.
Pastry cream delicious.
The flavors are there, the texture's there, but it's just, sadly, your clumsiest plate.
I don't agree.
I apologize for that, chef.
Well Thank you.
Elizabeth, please step forward.
This is a grapefruit and olive oil semolina cake soaked in a grapefruit syrup with poached plums and just a little ground pistachio.
The actual olive oil cake I think is delicious.
I love the flavor.
It's got a great texture.
The puree is great.
The spiced pistachio helps balance the sweetness.
A really delicious dish.
Smart choice with this.
Thank you, chef.
Yeah, I'm putting this within the context of being an Italian dessert because my grandmother makes olive oil cake like this.
It's spot-on.
It's delicious.
It's rustic.
The coulis, the poached plums, the cake, the yogurt on top, fantastic.
It's a top-notch dish.
It fires on all cylinders.
Thank you.
Elizabeth, you knew it was undercooked in the center, yet you did the smartest thing, and you cut from the outside of the cake in.
There are professional chefs tonight watching that wouldn't even have the intelligence or the integrity to stand back and readjust, so I just want to commend you on that.
Thank you.
The cake itself, really delicious.
What makes it for me is the pink grapefruit, because that gives it the tartness, cuts the richness, and just really lifts that citrusy indulgence.
- Lovely.
- Thank you.
We now have to make one of the most difficult decisions We've ever made in this entire competition, a decision that will affect both your lives.
We'll be crowning one of you the new American MasterChef.
Please give us a moment.
Elizabeth's, first off.
The cake was perfect.
- Her best dish of the night.
- Right.
I'm super proud of what I've done today.
It has more of a connective thread, and I believe my dessert showed the judges that I deserve to win.
But I think that Courtney's dessert really kind of showed her thinking on another level.
Courtney's dessert was the weakest performing dish of our entire finale.
I disagree, 'cause it takes the parameters of what is a dessert and pushes it to the limits, and if we're not here to do that, then I don't know what we're here to do.
I took risks.
I was daring.
I didn't play anything safe, and to me, that's what a MasterChef is.
We judge based on the entire spectrum of this menu.
App, entree, dessert Who has the best collection overall? So Elizabeth's menu.
For the first 2/3 of this competition tonight, her time management was deplorable except for the last 1/3 where she nailed it on the dessert 100%.
Courtney's menu was the opposite.
She did not go on an ethnic or a regional theme.
Her menu was more enlightened cooking and taking risks.
I've never seen two finalists that were in the zone as much as these two.
We are seeing home cooks come through this kitchen who can, will, and should have an impact on how the rest of the world will eat.
So we agree we have a winner? - Oh, yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah? - Definitely.
Elizabeth and Courtney, you came to this competition as home cooks with a burning passion for food.
Medic.
Oh, my god.
is he all right? Elizabeth and Courtney, you came with a burning passion for food.
Medic.
- Oh, my god.
- Is he all right? Find some water, please, quickly.
- Oh, my god.
- Some water.
Get a chair.
Here we go.
Ross, you okay, bud? - Here we go.
- Honey, are you okay? There you go.
There's a chair.
Honey, are you okay? There's a chair behind you.
- Some water, please.
- He went white.
Oh, my god.
I passed out.
It's okay.
It's okay.
It's okay.
Oh, I-I felt like that was gonna happen.
It's okay.
Have some water, sweetie.
We haven't announced the winner yet, okay? So thanks for staying with us, okay? - When I pass out, I really pass out.
- Wait for me, bud.
You got to wait for me.
I'm so sorry.
I am so sorry.
- Welcome back.
Good? - I'm fine.
My husband loves me so much he passed out.
- Take a little sip of water.
- Okay.
- Take your time.
- Oh, my god.
I'm gonna have a heart attack.
But Gordon Ramsay saves the day yet again.
He gives him some water and picks him up and makes sure he's okay.
- You okay? - I'm good.
Elizabeth and Courtney, we are so proud of the two of you.
This is my fate.
This is my future.
I think today I gave a really winning performance, and I do think I deserve to win.
It's clear that you have both elevated your skill.
I am the epitome of MasterChef.
You're here to change your life.
Yeah, I worked in a gentleman's club.
That's behind me, because now winning this title is what changes everything.
Tonight confirmed that you two are phenomenal chefs, and that's why we'd like you both to come up here and switch places with us.
Our decision wasn't easy.
It came down to the tiniest of details.
That's how close it was this evening.
But as you know, there can only be one winner.
One of you is about to win $1/4 million.
One of you will go on to publish your very own cookbook.
And one of you will claim this The most coveted title in the culinary world, The title of MasterChef.
America's next great MasterChef is Congratulations Courtney.
Well done.
Well done.
- Thank you! - Oh, my god.
I've never given up.
I've been through the wringer.
I've made so many sacrifices, and this validates all of them.
You said I was worthy, daddy.
You're darn right, honey.
This trophy means no more student loans.
My mom gets a kitchen, and I have a secure future in cooking.
Yeah! Sorry, guys.
Oh, don't say that.
Ugh, why didn't I put the lamb in sooner? I'd be $250,000 richer.
But you know what, Courtney deserves it.
But I did things that I didn't think I was ever capable of doing.
I'm really proud of myself.
Mwah! Who's America's next MasterChef? Courtney! Salud.
My mom looking at me winning this title means so much to me.
Louder! I've had highs and lows.
I've come so far, and I've made her and my father and my siblings so proud of me.
- Whoo! - Whoo! Wow, what a night.
Now, if you think you've got what it takes to become America's next MasterChef, then please visit fox.
Com/MasterChef for details.
I cannot wait to see you.
I am America's MasterChef! Yeah!