Hello and thanks for coming over to get the inside scoop of MasterChef. We are down to the final eleven!
MYSTERY BOX
For today’s Mystery Box the baking gloves come off and the smallest cakes get the big time treatment—cupcakes! The contestants lifted up the mystery box to find a muffin pan and basic cake ingredients—milk, eggs, flour, sugar, butter and vanilla; as well as a basic recipe for white cupcake batter and frosting. The judges told them to use the recipe as a jumping off point and their imagination to create their signature cupcake.
It took myself and the awesome culinary team (Michele and Alesha) four attempts to perfect the MasterChef cupcake recipe. The formula had to be adaptable enough to be morphed into anything from a chocolate-mocha cupcake to carrot-raisin. Baking is a tricky thing, very scientific, even for cupcakes. Many batches ended up in the trash.
Our job was then to create a Willy Wonka-style dream table with an array of ingredients and edible decorations for the contestants to play with and draw inspiration from. Alesha had a ton of fun shopping for this challenge! She sourced the coolest stuff, like edible gold leaf, rosewater, and an extract that tasted like clarified butter.
The following is a list of the cupcake ingredients on the table:
Powdered sugar, colored sprinkles, stars, hearts, confetti, nonpareil, sanding sugar & glitter, colored sprays, edible crystallized flowers, edible gold & silver leaves, white rolled fondant, decoratifs, walnuts, peanuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, peanut butter, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, oranges, lemons, key limes, bananas, pineapples, mangos, apples and apple sauce, carrots, raisins, chocolate of every variety (dark, milk, bittersweet, unsweetened, and white), cocoa powder, cayenne, coconut, butterscotch, graham crackers, marshmallow, Oreos, toffee, licorice, jelly beans, gum drops, Nutella, pumpkin purée, Kahlua, Grand Marnier, green tea, Chai latte, instant coffee, cream cheese, lavender, rosemary, mint, basil. LOTS of extracts, rosewater, orange water, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and food coloring.
WHAT CUPCAKE WOULD YOU MAKE?
Sharone admits, “I’ve never attempted to bake cupcakes in my life; that’s my wife’s specialty. I wanted to create a treat as an homage to Nutella, one of the most delicious things on the planet.” After tasting, Gordon praises Sharone for creating a unique batter and cream cheese frosting that is “absolutely phenomenal; light, delicious, dangerous, and bold.”
We were all feeling Tracy’s pain. So much was riding on this cupcake challenge for her personally, as it the Carrot Cake recipe her mother handed down to her. Time is one of the most crucial factors in cooking competitions and 45 minutes goes by in a flash, even when baking a seemingly simple cupcake.
In the end, Sharone earns his first Mystery Box win and is awarded the advantage of deciding the main ingredient everyone must cook with in the next challenge—the Invention Test.
INVENTION TEST/BEAT THE CHEF
As winner of the Mystery Box, Sharone holds the advantage for today’s Invention Test, but this one holds a special surprise. Gordon reveals, “Under these domes are three stunning dishes made by one of the best chefs in America today, say hello to Cat Cora.” Sharone was so cute and shouted, “She’s like one of my heroes, man!”
Cat and I have worked together for several years and honestly; she is one of my favorite people on the planet; not only as a chef but also as a humanitarian and friend. She is absolutely as competent, caring, and effervescent as she appears on television.
In this challenge, the skill lies in being able to see and taste a dish and then replicate it exactly in form, function, and flavor. Duplicating a dish over and over again is key for any cook in any restaurant. I loved working on this challenge because it had many layers; it was not just about technique but also about palate and presentation.
Gordon explains that Cat is going to demonstrate her signature dish of Halibut with Sweet Corn Zabaglione. “I suggest you all pay attention because then it’s your turn.”
Sharone must face-off against celebrity chef Cat Cora in an attempt to “beat the chef.” The judges will select the best dish in a blind taste test. If Sharone wins, he will skip weeks of eliminations and be catapulted into the finals of MasterChef. While the rest of the contestants are cooking as not to go home.
Unfortunately, Sharone missed the mark to recreate Cat’s signature dish. “Even though I didn’t win this challenge, it’s a dream to cook next to THE Cat Cora, an opportunity I’ll never forget, and trust me, I’m going to brag about this day for the rest of my life!”
The best rendition of Cat’s dish was seized by Jake; he now earns the advantage to pick his team for the upcoming field challenge. We had to say goodbye to family-man Faruq. This guy has a tremendous spirit and passion and is continuing to follow his dream of being a chef.
FIELD CHALLENGE
Today marked the second MasterChef team challenge and another tough audience. Last week, marines—this week, truckers!
We shot this challenge in front of an old authentic Route 66-style diner in the Palmdale desert, about 100 miles outside of Los Angeles.
The final 10 contestants gather around as judge Graham introduces the challenge. “Today you’re going to be cooking for 100 hungry-ass truck drivers! They drive over 400 billion miles per year and are looking for something hardy that’s going to feed their soul. You’ll be creating your own signature burger, but you’ll have to do more than put beef on a bun.
Setting up this challenge was a challenge for the production team as well. We had no refrigeration, running water, or stoves. We rented 2 refrigerated trucks and set dressed them exactly the same back in LA at the MC home base kitchen. Everything had to be locked and loaded for transport: ice chests, cooking tools, cleaning equipment, water tanks, and of course all of the food to feed 100 truckers. Michele and Alesha (pictured), Lauren, and the entire art department worked for about 16 hours setting up this bad-boy!
The following is a list of what the culinary department provided the contestants in each truck, to make their perfect burger:
Protein Beef, brisket, short rib, pork, chicken, lamb, turkey, buffalo, Italian sausage, chorizo, bacon, and prosciutto
Blue cheese, feta, gruyere, goat cheese, cheddar, jack, Parmesan, provolone, mozzarella, Brie, American, sour cream, yogurt, butter, and eggs
Produce Red & white onions, carrots, cucumber, mushrooms, ginger, garlic, lemon, potatoes, pineapple, apple, jalapenos, tomatoes, coleslaw mix, lettuce blend, mixed greens, arugula, sprouts, bell peppers, corn, mangoes, basil, parsley, cilantro, rosemary, and avocado
Condiments Oil, olives, sauerkraut, pickles, dried cranberries, chipotles, black beans, sundried tomatoes, and peanut butter
Hot sauce, mayo, mustard, honey, ketchup, horseradish, wing sauce, Worcestershire, steak sauce, soy, barbecue sauce, Teriyaki sauce, and Jerk sauce
Bread/Buns Wheat, sesame, honey, brioche, slider, English muffin, onion, baguette, and pita
Per team equipment: Plastic cutting boards, disposable hotel pans, deli cups, mixing bowls, Wooden spoons, tongs, turning spat, cast iron skillet, pots, peelers, graters, mortar and pestles, cutting boards, knife sets, bins to transport equipment & food, and sheet pans.
As I have written before, I’m a stickler for donating all leftover food from every show I am involved in. The food the contestants did not choose to use we donated to Angel Harvest Food Bank. Operating as a link between abundance and need, Angel Harvest reduces the waste of good food while helping feed the hungry men, women, and children of Los Angeles. They are a terrific organization.
Jake, the winner of the previous Invention Test picks Tracy, Whitney, Lee, and Tony to form the Blue Team. Joe advises, “Think about who your audience is. What’s it going take to win them over? Don’t underestimate the power of a burger.” Jakes explains, “We set out to create the everyman’s burger. Fancy-pants burgers exist, but they are contrary to the spirit of the sandwich and not meant for truckers; these guys are looking for full-throttle flavor.” The Blue Team creates a Slaw Burger is the all-American classic; a blend of two types of beef piled high with creamy-crunchy cabbage.
The Red Team unites Sharone, Mike, Dave, Sheetal, and Slim, and true to form Sharone assumes the position of captain. “We wanted to create a juicy burger that was unique and comfortably familiar at the same time. So we reinterpreted a classic meatloaf recipe and instead of forming it into a loaf, shaped the mix into burgers,” says Sharone. “Plus, I put a spicy spin on my barbecue sauce, with some chipotle chiles. Hell, it worked for the marines!” Once again, Sharone and his teammates are named the victors.
That leaves Jake and the rest of his Blue Team on the chopping block for elimination in the Pressure Test.
PRESSURE TEST
Today’s pressure test is about food knowledge. On the display table is an array of ingredients that span the globe. The losing red team must identify as many of these ingredients as they can in a row. Once they get one wrong, their turn is done. The player who identifies the fewest will be eliminated.
As a chef, ingredients are your best friend. Creating the list of 25 ingredients for the table was really fun! We came up with several lists, playing the game among the crew to see who could identify which ingredients. All of us in culinary as well as the judges got them all correct, of course. The trick was to find the balance between well-rounded food knowledge and geography.
HOW MANY DID YOU GET RIGHT?
The following is a list of the final ingredients we arranged on the table:
- Asia Pear
- Blackeyed Peas
- Blue Cheese
- Brie
- Butternut Squash
- Catfish
- Chayote
- Filet Mignon
- Golden Raisins
- Lemon Grass
- Lotus Root
- Macadamia Nuts
- Morel Mushrooms
- Nectarines
- Okra
- Papayas
- Plantains
- Pinto Beans/Cranberry Beans
- Prickly Pear/Cactus Pear
- Rhubarb
- Rosemary
- Smoked Salmon
- Star Fruit/Carambola
- Tomatillos
- Watercess
Ultimately it was Tony who was sent back to Boston, naming only nine of the ingredients correctly. He is a nice Italian guy from back east and continuing to cook and has since applied to culinary school!
TUNE IN NEXT WEDNESDAY at 8/7c FOR ANOTHER TWO-HOUR EPISODE OF INTENSE COOKING CHALLENGES, DIFFICULT DEADLINES, AND THE HEATED PRESSURE OF WORKING AGAINST THE CLOCK, ONLY ON FOX!
