It’s the real deal, folks! Last week, FOX pulled a fast one on us, airing a repeat episode that showcased last season’s winner Christine Ha, but tonight Masterchef is ALL NEW!
Eva Longoria stops by to help reveal the mystery box challenge, and the eleven remaining contestants duke it out to be a part of the top ten. Plus, surf’s up as the top ten compete on the sandy beaches of California.
Gordon, Joe and Graham stand in front of the largest mystery box to date. As the box raises, from the heels to the head, actress and restaurant owner Eva Longoria is revealed.
Mystery Box
Now for the ingredients that the contestants will be cooking with. Eva has handpicked them. So what do the real mystery boxes have to offer?
pork tenderloin
shrimp
avocado
fresh jalepeno
corn
and a good handful of other latin ingredients that sound a lot better when Eva pronounces them with a Spanish accent.
After 60 minutes of test tasting, Gordon calls Bri up to showcase her butter and cilantro shrimp. “You have let everything live on its own,” says Eva.
Next, Eddie presents a chili pork loin with roasted cream corn. “This is a dish you could keep eating and eating,” Graham says.
Rounding out the top three is Savannah with a spice crusted pork tenderloin. “We’ve been waiting for you to step up to something like this,” says Joe.
So who is the top of the top?
Mystery Box Winner: Bri
Now for Bri’s advantage. She is whisked away to the pantry to hear that she will NOT be competing in the elimination challenge. Although, she will be choosing one grocery basket from Walmart for ONE competitor and the others will use the ingredients from the leftover basket.
The dessert basket has less ingredients with more cook time while the entree basket has more ingredients with only half the amount of time to cook them. Who will be awarded with what? The pressure!
It’s no surprise that Bri and Natasha aren’t the best of friends, so she takes away her comfort with desserts by assigning her the task of cooking an entree in only half an hour. Everyone starts right away with an hour to put some sort of dessert together.
The most surprising dish of the night definitely goes to Lynn. His uneasiness while cooking gave the impression that the outcome would be anything but good and boy, is that assumption dead on. He calls it a baked meringue, but it looks like roadkill with strawberries tossed on top. Ramsay likens it to “cow [expletive] stepped on with strawberries your grandad left out before passing.” Yikes!
As for Natasha’s attempt at cooking steak properly in 30 minutes, she has bulldozed through Bri’s expectations. All three of the judges are wildly impressed with a steak set at the perfect temperature, sweet potato fries and three dipping sauces.
Elimination Challenge Winner and Next Team Captain: Jessie (again)
Now Bri and Jessi are the first two contestants admitted into the top ten. As for the bottom three, in danger of going home: Lynn, obviously, Krissi and James.
Eliminated: Lynn (WOW!)
“We have to judge you on the plate, on the night,” Gordon says.
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The second hour of Masterchef welcomes viewers to Surf City, USA! Gordon and Joe join the contestants on via waverunners while Graham uses raw sex appeal to float in clothed in a full bodysuit to give the illusion of being in nothing but a speedo.
Now Jessie, as team captain, is given the opportunity to choose her first team member and the second and the third and fourth! She is able to pick every single person on both her dream team and those they will be cooking against, as well as their captain!
Jessie’s Dream Team (Blue)
James
Natasha
Bethy
Eddie
Savannah’s Team (Red)
Lucca
Krissi
Bri
Jordan
Right off the bat, the Blue Team is under heat because of James’ heavily habanero-spiced sauce for their mahi mahi taco. The Red Team is looking better and better by the second, now that Krissi’s deep fried cod has been tossed off of the menu. Good thinking, Savannah!
The hungry surfers are called up to take their taco baskets from each team and vote for a favorite. The team who reaches 51 votes will win. Unfortunately for the Blue Team, there’s no chance of receiving votes if they’ve run out of sauce, tortillas AND fish!
Although, despite being unorganized, the surfers love the mahi mahi – pineapple mashup.
Team Challenge Winner: Blue Team
As a reward, Jessie’s all-star team is handed baseball jerseys from each of the contestants’ hometowns. Jessie, Eddie, Bethy and James will join Graham next week in New York City for the MLB All-Star Game.
The losers are sent to the wine room to collectively choose who will be safe from the pressure test. After a catfight between Krissi’s dirty mouth and Bri’s surprising ability to stand up for herself and her team, Jordan is chosen to head upstairs.
Pressure Test
Lucca, Savannah, Bri and Krissi are given the task of cooking chicken breast. Three chicken breasts to be exact. Sauteed chicken for Gordon, fried chicken for Graham and stuffed chicken for Joe. All in 40 minutes!
She may not be making many friends, but Krissi continues to impress the judges. She nearly aces all three of the chickens. Lucca follows her, leaving Bri and Savannah. Raw against raw. Who leaves the competition?
Eliminated: Savannah
Next week on Masterchef, the contestants have been sifted down to nine. Tune in to see what rivalries will emerge!
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Compete in Fantasy TV: Make your picks on who you think will be going home. Hurry, you have until July 17 at 12pm PST to cast your vote!
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
