Original subtitles

( music playing )

( cheers and applause )

- Yes! - Whoo!

- ( cheering continues ) - Let's go.

- Amazing! - Whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo!

Wow, they're excited!

- Wow, they are excited! - Yeah, baby!

- Thank you! - Whoo!

- ( cheering ) - Goodness me.

- Thank you very much! Wow! - Whoo!

Welcome to the grand finale of "MasterChef: Global Gauntlet."

- Whoo! - Yeah!

This season we celebrated the great American melting pot,

and it was a culinary tournament like no other.

Let's take a look.

This season on "MasterChef"...

- Oh, my God! - Welcome, everyone!

...we embarked on a global culinary tour...

This is "MasterChef: Global Gauntlet."

- Let's go! -...as America's best home cooks,

representing four territories around the world...

- Europe! - Asia-Pacific!

- Yay! America! - It's time for Africa!

...faced off in a competition inspired by the World Cup.

- Time to play. -Week after week, the cooks ran a gauntlet

-of grueling challenges. - Let's go. We got it. Come on. Focus up.

( vuvuzelas blaring )

You will be cooking dishes for a FIFA World Cup watch party.

Make something unique to your culture and to your territory.

I'm making a Jamaican beef patty.

Wheel of Fusion!

And as expectations grew sky-high...

Come on, guys. It's a wedding!

This is not "MasterChef" quality at all.

- Jaime, breathe. -...the home cooks

would have to overcome enormous pressure.

Please, Basia! We can't go home today!

- I got it! - Please!

That is not all you have to face tonight.

You gotta get through me, baby! You may not be able to catch up.

- My heart just sinks. Ooh! - I can't watch this part.

- ( cheering ) -But this season proved

the American melting pot is undefeated.

You have a way of making spices sing.

This makes me want to go to Morocco.

- It feels like an adventure. - The flavors are exquisite.

- Thank you, Chef. - You're cooking like a pro and shining like a star.

- Well done. -Now just three home cooks remain.

Will the Global Gauntlet champion be Heidi, representing Africa,

Jake, representing the Americas,

or Peter, also representing Africa?

Only one will be crowned America's 16th MasterChef.

- Woohoo! - Now let's welcome

our three amazing finalists.

First up, a pharmacy technician

from Alma, Michigan,

representing the Americas territory, Jake!

Jake:Oh, man. I'm in the finale now.

it's just so incredibly surreal to be here.

Every ounce of myself, every gram is going to be put into this finale.

- Yes! -And I just feel like I have to win.

So good to see all of you guys. Oh, my God.

- Feeling good? - Feeling incredible.

Loving the energy. Jake, let's take a look at your incredible journey.

Now, that looks beautiful right there.

I grew up in a very classic, strong Midwest family.

I found out when I was about six that I was adopted.

The Mexican culture wasn't really around me growing up

and food was sometimes the only way I was really able

to explore that side of myself.

So I taught myself Mexican cooking.

See how beautifully tender that is.

I'm a pharmacy technician,

but cooking is really the dream that I want to follow.

I have spent so long

exploring my Mexican heritage through food,

and to be cooking it for the biggest stage

for any home cook anywhere is incredible.

Tonight, I'm ready to go out there and be victorious.

All right, Americas! We're getting there!

Whoo!

- Amazing! - Jake, here to cheer you on

we have your parents Ernie and Kris,

and your girlfriend Emily!

- All right! - Okay, next up,

we have a yacht charter broker from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Representing the Africa territory,

please welcome Heidi!

- ( cheers and applause ) - Whoo!

Heidi:Oh, my gosh, I didn't think I would be standing here in the finale.

And here I am, little old me.

- My darling. - Hi!

I feel so, um-- just so blessed to be having this opportunity.

It's been one of the greatest experiences of my life.

( laughing )

Heidi, let's take it back to where it all began.

- Mmm. Delicious. -I was born in South Africa in Durban.

I grew up on a sailboat, and then I started working on super yachts when I was 22.

From working on the boats, I always had a big interest in food because these chefs

that would come and cook on the boats were incredible.

And from there, I always had this passion for food.

The best dish of the night, Heidi. Congratulations.

I feel "MasterChef" has awoken something in me.

I've got this, like, burning desire now to do more.

I'm excited that I'm here, and I feel that

all those years of working hard

and serving others, now it's my time, and it's my turn.

-I want to win. - Viva, Africa!

- Whoo! - Oh!

- Wow. - Whoo! Yes.

Heidi, in your corner,

your husband Casper

and your kids Jasmine and Tristan.

- You got a lot of support. - Whoo.

And finally, we have a former banking consultant from Dallas, Texas.

He's also representing the Africa territory.

Peter, come on down!

- Go, go, go! Let's go! - Yeah!

Peter:I'm in the finale?

I couldn't even dream of this moment

when I started cooking six years ago.

Let's go! Yeah, yeah, yeah!

It feels like I'm looking at the peak of a mountain,

and I just can't wait to climb it.

( cheering )

- Whoo-whoo! Pete! - Good job.

Peter, let's see what it took for you to get to this finale.

'Ey, yo! Wow. That's pretty good.

Before I came to "MasterChef," I used to work in banking,

but I had just gotten laid off from my job.

And it was tough, and it was scary,

but that really opened up a world of possibilities

and creativity in the kitchen for me.

- Oof. - I know. Breathe.

When I came to "MasterChef," this was all I had.

- Shine on, baby. - I needed that apron and I needed to succeed.

It's a no to you dressing like a banker.

- May I? - Yes, Chef.

Let's get you looking like a chef.

Tonight really marks the end of my banking career.

Chef is a renowned title in its own right.

MasterChef? I mean, what kind of title do you want more than that?

- We got this! Let's roll! - Yeah!

Wow. Peter, here to support you tonight,

your gorgeous mum Connie and brother Efrem.

- Welcome to this extraordinary night. - Both: Thank you.

Now, after an incredible competition,

just one of you will win the Global Gauntlet grand prize,

- the MasterChef trophy. - ( cheers and applause )

Plus a quarter of a million dollars,

a full set of kitchen appliances from Thor Kitchen,

so you can cook like a real pro from your home...

- Oh! - Yeah!

...and the title of America's next MasterChef.

Come on! How cool is that?

- Peter: Let's go. Let's go! - Jake: Yeah!

Jake, you're here representing the Americas,

and you worked really hard understanding your Mexican heritage.

How would it feel to see all that hard work pay off

by becoming America's next MasterChef?

I really love cooking,

but, you know, I've rarely traveled outside of Michigan,

never outside of the United States.

So, the title, the $250,000,

it gives me the opportunity to finally be able to travel

and, you know, go to Mexico,

experience the culture for what it is

and not just my own interpretation of it.

- Incredible. - Yeah. It's beautiful.

- Heidi, your roots lay in South Africa. - Yes.

And you brought that in abundance every time you cooked in this kitchen.

Where does that drive come from?

I think it comes from the fact that I had

a very good role model myself with my mom.

I saw how hard she worked, and I want to be good role model

for my daughter and my son, you know?

And I wanted to come and prove that it doesn't matter

where you are in your life, it's never too late to pursue your dreams.

- Gordon: Absolutely. - Absolutely.

Peter, young man, here tonight

representing Africa with your roots in Nigeria.

- Yes. - You've sacrificed a lot.

You're incredibly passionate. But what would it mean

to become America's next MasterChef?

Everything's on the line for me, Chef.

You know, I don't have anything to go home to.

I don't have a job to go home to.

This is what I want my future to be and this means the world to me.

So I want to leave it all out here.

- Gordon: Love it. - Tiffany: Okay.

Tonight, it all comes down to your menu,

featuring an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert.

Each dish should be inspired by your roots

and your journey through this Global Gauntlet.

- Yes, Chef. - And of course, we are looking

for Michelin star worthy plates.

- Yes. - Right. Shall we kick things off?

- Yes, Chef! - Let's do it! Let's go!

Let's start with the appetizer round.

You will have 60 minutes to create three stunning plates, one for each judge.

- Are you ready? - Yes, Chef.

Your time starts now! Let's go!

- ( Peter groans ) - Okay, I need fennel. Fennel.

Where's fennel? Okay, fennel.

Global Gauntlet finale. This is insane.

Everything comes down to this. It's Africa and the Americas.

They've shown that they're the top, and now it's just a matter

- of who's gonna be the best. - Finger limes.

The final three competitors all have their own strengths.

- Over here. I need sugar. -But I'm really, really rooting for Heidi.

She executes everything perfectly.

She's never been in the bottom. There's a reason for that.

I'm just so excited to see what she can do.

It's gonna be really incredible.

- Well done, Heidi! - Good job, Heidi!

- Whoo! - ( indistinct chatter )

Let's go, Pete.

Africa and the Americas have been working together

the whole competition.

We've won pretty much every team challenge when we worked together.

I'm not surprised that it's these two territories here,

but I'm gonna go with Peter.

He knows what he wants, and he dominates the kitchen.

- Those knife skills, Peter. - Oh, yeah.

- Yes, look at that. - Yeah, all right.

- Oh! - That's it, Jakey.

I think Jake might take it home tonight

because he goes out of the comfort zone,

he shows us new things that we've never seen before,

and he has such a unique take on his Mexican cuisine.

- You guys seen one of these lately? - Crowd: Ooh!

- Yeah! - Let's go!

This finale is like the final game

of a world championship sporting event.

They are competing at the highest level.

But there's no overtime in the MasterChef kitchen,

so the anticipation and the tension in this room is so intense.

Oh, my gosh!

Guys, 15 minutes gone,

45 minutes remaining in the appetizer round.

- Let's go! - Whoo!

- ( cheering ) - Go, Heidi!

- Let's go, let's go, let's go. - Let's go. Cook, cook, cook.

Here we are in the grand finale. How cool is this?

- Yeah. - So tonight we want to see

three unique individual menu concepts.

But more importantly, play to their strengths,

their heritage, and where they came from.

- Tiffany: Absolutely. - Jake: Okay.

I think he's getting all of the spices ready to pressure cook it.

Yeah.

Here we go. Nice.

- Let's go, Jake! Come on, Jake! - Let's go!

- Come on, Jake. - Let's go!

Okay. Young man, how you doing?

- Hello, Chef. - Tell me about this dish.

I'm going to be doing octopus tacos with some nice ruby prawns...

- Love it. Right. - ...and aguachile rojo sauce,

fresh avocado crema, and tortilla made from scratch.

- Mm-hmm. - This dish, the flavor base is in my culture,

but I think the inspiration for it really comes from my childhood, my upbringing.

- Right. - You know, growing up in Michigan,

we didn't have access to a lot of fresh seafood,

so if we were having it, it was definitely a special occasion.

Love that. There's a lot going on here.

You've got the cook on the octopus.

So you're going to braise that first in the pressure cooker.

- Yes. - And then you're gonna grill it?

Yeah, yeah. I'm just gonna dress it down with some oil.

- Smart. I love that. - Grill it in the pan

and make sure it gets a nice char.

And then brush on the sauce after to finish.

And cooking in front of mom and dad and girlfriend Emily,

does that make you feel a bit more nervous than normal?

I don't know about nervous. They've been seeing me cook for a long time.

If anything, I'm feeling really good right now

because they don't have to clean up after this one.

Yeah!

I'm so happy you got that octopus in the pressure cooker early.

- But make sure you do not overcook it, right? - Yes.

- Will not do, Chef. - Sounds delicious. Good luck, my man.

- Come on. - Thank you, Chef.

- Whoo! Let's go, Jake! - Come on, Jake!

- That's spot-on. - ( indistinct chatter )

Oh, he's got the fish skin.

All right.

- Hello, Heidi. How are you? - Hello, Chef. I'm good.

How's it coming along? What are you making?

We've got a chili glazed black cod

with a peri peri glaze.

I've got a fennel and mango salad.

And then I have a chili and peri peri cream sauce

that I'm gonna serve on the side.

And then the glaze, is it spicy? Sweet?

It's spicy. We've got chilies. We have garlic.

- We have chives. - Ooh, I love spices.

Smoked paprika, cumin, coriander.

- Okay. - A little bit of rooibos tea.

I just wanted to do a fish with lots of South African flavors.

Basically, you have a little creaminess.

- You have some crunch. You have the fish. - Yes.

The fish is gonna be cooked in the oven or--

It's gonna be in a pan and then finished in the oven.

Okay. Timing here is so crucial.

- It's going to be quick. - It's going to be quick 'cause you don't want to overcook.

- Exactly. Exactly. - All right? Remember, that fish is the star,

so you've got to nail it. Good luck.

- Thank you. - And it's so good to see your family here.

- Thank you. Thank you. - Way to go, Heidi!

Come on, Mommy. You've got it.

Guys, we are halfway. 30 down, 30 minutes to go.

Whoo! Let's go!

- Good job, Peter. Let's go! - Make it spicy.

- Yeah! - All right. Peter, Peter.

- What's up, Joe? How's it going? - All right.

Take me through the dish. What are you making?

Today, I'm making a steamed red snapper,

pepper soup broth, and yam dumplings.

Steaming is very delicate and very neutral,

so that everything else is gonna become much more a protagonist.

- Of course. - So talk to me about the pepper soup.

So traditionally in Nembe, which is in south Nigeria,

pepper soup is eaten with fish a lot.

It's just gonna be a nice airy delicacy for the fish.

So you've done a dish that's very, very, very subtle,

sophisticated, tying in a lot of these Nigerian flavors.

I think that you're really playing the finesse card here.

Is that right? Is that what you were going for?

I am, Joe. I want to show off my technique,

and I want to keep the appetizer nice and light for you all.

- What's this here? - That's gonna be a glaze

that's gonna go on top of the fish.

- Red pepper. What else? - It's a red pepper glaze.

A little spicy. Watch it.

- Ooh. - ( laughter )

- ( laughing ) - I'll get it balanced. I'll get it balanced.

You should put a warning label on that.

And you know what you should put in there? A little salt.

I'll give you a little free advice. Good luck, Peter.

- Thanks, Joe. I appreciate you. - Looks good.

- Peter: Thank you. - Go, Pete!

All right, let's rock and roll.

Ooh-whee!

( air hissing )

Pressure is releasing. Not on me, though.

Gordon: Wow. What an amazing start to the finale.

Three cooks shoulder to shoulder.

Three very different dishes,

each that relate to their territories.

- The pressure couldn't be higher. - Absolutely.

- Whoo! She's pretty. - ( all gasping )

- Oh, yeah. - Let her dry off a little bit now.

So Jake tonight is gonna make a delicious

prawn and octopus taco with a fresh tortilla.

The big question is, that octopus,

if it's slightly overcooked, there's no going back from that.

You can't save that. So he's making some big bold moves tonight.

Joe: The tortilla has to be a correct size and thickness.

He's making it from scratch. You have a lot of variables in this cook.

But we know that his weakness has always been that time managing and editing.

Joe: It's been part of his journey, right, in "MasterChef"?

He started with too many ideas. He often failed

because he couldn't get his ideas on the plate.

I'm gonna be doing an elevated play on a queso birria taco.

Just over five minutes to go. Are you running behind?

( bleep )

Oh, man. Absolutely charred.

The next dish in the bottom, Jake.

Gordon: I think your biggest problem tonight is you're overthinking it,

running too fast. And tonight you've just tripped up.

Understood. Here I've got what's gonna be a black-eyed pea curry.

I got some cassava in here. I'm making stuffed fufu

stuffed with collards, chorizo.

There's a lot going on, so I want you to really think

about what's necessary to really bring those flavors together

instead of just more things on a plate.

- Are you hearing me? Okay. - Yes, Chef.

Where are the black-eyed peas at in this dish?

They are stuffed into the fufu balls.

The big thing here is can he stay focused

and really execute the ideas that he has in his head to the plate?

Okay. All right.

So, Heidi is making a black cod with salad

in a peri peri cream sauce.

- Crunchy, fresh. - Yes.

Oh, yeah, Heidi. That looks good.

Thank you.

Gordon: My one big worry is that cod can go overcooked.

And so you've got to be very careful,

- otherwise you can dry that fish out. - Yeah.

Okay. Two minutes on that. Okay.

And that's Heidi's fish there.

She put it in the oven too early.

Oof. Heidi, don't cook too fast.

- No. - 15.

- 15 minutes. Come on. - 15 minutes.

Come on, come on, come on.

Peter, his appetizer is a steamed red snapper

with pepper soup and yam dumplings.

Come on, Peter.

Joe: Red snapper, it's the most delicate fish.

You can easily overcook it. And he went the route of super simplicity and sophistication.

That's a tricky game. You guys know, when you do those minimal steamed poached fish,

- you've got to nail it. - Tiffany: Yeah.

Okay, good.

- Oh! Yeah, that's good. - Are you on time?

- She looks so stressed. - There.

- ( grunts ) - Oh, Jake's making the tortillas now.

Tiffany: Has he cut anything else? The octopus?

And has he cooked the shrimp and peeled the shrimp yet?

No, he's taking it right down to the line.

He's got a lot of stuff to do.

- Jake. - Dang it.

- He doesn't like that tortilla. - Too dry.

- It looked dry. It looked dry. - Yeah. Wow.

It's gonna come down to the wire with Jake. He has so much to do.

Let's just go ahead and get one more go on that

because that did not work out so well.

Jake: I'm worried for myself.

I've got 10 or 11 different elements going on these tacos.

I have to grill the octopus and the prawn.

- ( indistinct chatter ) - Time to speed up, Jake!

- ( groans ) - Pull it together!

Why are these so irregular?

I am starting to panic a little bit.

- ( groans ) -If I do not get all these elements

for my dish finished, I can kiss the trophy goodbye.

( grunts )

( grunting )

Dang it.

Tiffany: He doesn't like that tortilla.

- Too dry. Yeah. - It looked dry. It looked dry.

Why are these so irregular?

He needs to speed up. Now's the time to speed up, Jake!

- Pull it together! - You got it.

- Yep. - Like it. All right.

- Yeah! - Good job!

- All right. Good. - Pete, how's the skin?

- Oh, crunchy, my boy. - Hell, yeah.

- Nice. - Oh, yes, sir!

Guys, six minutes to go. Come on.

Okay. Looks good.

- Whoo! Look at that cod! - Nice.

Ah, there it is.

- Oh, perfect. We good. - Yes.

Yes. Come on, Peter. Let's go.

- Good job, Jake. Keep it up. - Make it nice and crisp.

- Beautiful. All right. - Let's go!

Gordon: Starting plating. Let's go! Three minutes, guys.

Three minutes! Come on, everybody.

- Let's go. - Whoo!

Lovely.

- Okay. - Oh!

- Let's go, Heidi! - Yeah, Heidi!

Sexy, Heidi! Whoo-whoo!

- It's gonna come down to the wire now for Jake. Look. - Yeah, yeah.

Gordon: Heidi's got everything laid out. Peter's starting to lay things out.

- And Jake is still cooking. - Here we go.

He's behind for sure.

- ( crowd gasping ) - Whoa!

- Whoa! The fire! - Whoa!

Gordon: We are coming down to our final 60 seconds, guys.

- Come on! One minute to go. - Come on!

( crowd shouting, cheering )

- Come on. - One minute! Whoo!

Okay.

- Make it happen. - You got that, Heids.

- You got that! - Make it happen, Heidi.

Come on!

That's good. That's good. That's good.

- Nice plating, Peter. - Go, go, go!

- Okay. - Salt later.

- Heidi, you got this! - Let's go, Heidi!

- Good job, Peter! - Whoo!

- Come on, Jake! - Tiffany: Come on!

Shaking so bad right now.

- Come on, let's go, let's go! - Let's go, Jake!

All: Ten, nine, eight, seven,

six, five, four,

three, two, one.

- Whoo! - Go!

All right!

- Good job! Good job. - Oh, my God.

Beautiful.

- Wow. - Oh, my God, huh?

- Yeah, Heidi! Yeah! - She killed it!

- So good. You did amazing. - Heidi: It was intense.

A little nerve-wracking when you're under pressure.

There's lots at stake, obviously, with this dish,

and I just hope that the judges can taste my love for my country

and for my family through this dish.

Jake: My hands were shaking at the end there.

Time slipped away from me,

and I'm a little bit sloppy on my garnishes.

I'm just hoping that the flavors that I put forward

are gonna be enough to carry me through.

Now for the most exciting time--

to taste those incredible appetizers.

Please, all of you, make your way round to the front.

Right, let's start with Peter.

This appetizer really announces my roots

and my culture and heritage right from the get-go.

And the first plate sets the tone for everything that follows,

so it's got to be perfect.

- Thank you, Peter. - Let's go, Peter.

Today I've made for you a steamed red snapper with a crispy skin,

a pepper soup broth, a red pepper glaze, and yam dumplings.

Young man, it looks refined. I love the textures.

I like the color on the dumplings.

But for me, it's all about the flavor.

That broth needs to punch through.

But you brought your A-game.

- Well done. - Thank you, Chef.

- Shall we taste? - All right, let's try it.

I know. We know, we know.

Yeah. It's glistening.

( crackling )

Peter, the fish is really nicely cooked.

- Whoo! - Let's go, Pete!

The dumpling itself, you got that crispiness on the outside,

you know, having it with the broth to kind of soak it up, which is really nice.

And love the crispy skin. Good job on the fish.

The poach on the fish is very elegant.

This is a refined version of a very humble Nigerian dish.

- Good job. - Thank you, Joe.

Yeah, I just love the effort you put in.

The fish is cooked beautifully.

But slightly concerned about that broth.

Mine's a touch salty. Apart from that, it's good.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

Thank you.

You got it. You good.

- Delicious. - Nice.

All right, Heidi, please bring your dish forward.

I'm nervous because the fish is the main feature on my plate.

The rest of my plate is salad and some sauces.

So I really have to nail this fish.

For my appetizer tonight, I made for you

a chili marinated black cod with a mango salsa

and fennel salad, and a peri peri cream sauce.

Visually, it looks beautiful. I love the colors. It pops.

I'm concerned about how the fish is cooked.

That went on early, right? Black cod, as you know,

it doesn't take that long to cook.

- All right, shall we? - Shall we?

Oh, wow.

Heidi, I'm concerned about how the fish is cooked. That went on early.

Black cod, as you know, it doesn't take that long to cook.

- Tiffany: All right, shall we? - Shall we?

Fish is cooked beautifully.

The black cod's the hero, right?

- Yes. - But it's lost with

the julienne of the carrot and the slaw.

- It's too much. - Okay.

It just distracts 'cause it's just constantly crunching.

- Okay. - I have to agree with Gordon.

It feels like a salad with fish, right?

And I know that wasn't the intention fully.

What I would have liked to have seen is a little more

of that cream sauce underneath, because unfortunately,

all the vegetable is soaking up that flavor.

It's a strange strategy to take on a finale of "MasterChef,"

because it's basically a very well-dressed salad.

So I'm curious to see where we go from here.

- Good job. Thank you. - Good job, Heidi.

There you go. Way to go.

Joe: Okay, finally, Jake.

With this first dish, I want to loudly declare I am here.

- So he's smoking the taco. - That's ambitious.

I've got 10 different elements on that taco.

And if the flavors aren't right,

that could be a real make or break moment for me.

Ready, guys?

- ( gasping ) - Ooh, ooh!

Today, for my appetizer, I prepared a dish I call Kraken.

It is a ruby prawn and octopus taco

with a fresh avocado crema and an aguachile rojo sauce.

Jake, I think you've really tapped into very modern Mexican cuisine.

( broad Scottish accent ) Plus, as an old crusty sailor, I've sailed and fished

the oceans of the sea, and I fear the Kraken!

- Aye! As we all should. - Aye!

- Oh, my! - Oh, boy.

( with accent ) Let's eat, mates.

Jake, it's absolutely delicious.

One of the poshest, one of the most incredible tacos I've ever eaten.

Trust me, I've eaten a lot of tacos.

- Woohoo! - There's so much work that's gone into this.

You took a big risk tonight, cooking that octopus.

It's tender. I love the lightness of the avocado crema.

- It's good, young man. - Thank you, Chef.

You know, where I think you could have concentrated

a bit more was in the tortilla.

It got a little dry on you.

But what I think you did really well,

the char on the octopus is very nice.

And I think the salsa roja here is truly one of the stars.

- Overall, I think every bite was truly an adventure. - Thank you, Chef.

( normal voice ) This is a great story about beauty

and the bounty of Mexican cuisine.

And that's because of the refinement of the cooking technique,

the complexity of the ingredients.

( with accent ) You done good, matey. You done good.

- Thanks, Jake. - Let's go, Jake!

- You got it. You got it. - Go, Jake!

Incredible. Incredible.

Right, all three of you, well done.

Now it is time for the entrée round.

This entrée is the most important part of the menu.

You're taking us on a culinary tour of your culture.

So this dish needs to be your north star.

All of you, please tell us what you're making for the entrée round.

- Jake? - I will be making a dish I call Holy Mole.

It is a pan-roasted duck breast with a mole poblano,

Mexican red rice, truffles, and a cilantro lime sauce.

- Wow. Heidi? - Coming from South Africa, wild meat is a big thing there.

So I will be making this evening a venison tenderloin

with a Madagascar green peppercorn sauce, a parsnip purée,

and a stuffed zucchini blossom with goat cheese.

- Mmm. - Wow.

- Peter? - My dish is a suya spiced beef filet,

a tamarind reduction sauce, plantain purée,

plantain chips, and a scotch bonnet relish.

- Mmm. - Wow.

- Wow, wow! - Yes!

Those sound amazing!

- Right, you guys ready? - Yes, Chef.

Good, because your 60 minutes starts now!

- Let's go, guys. - Go!

- Come on, guys! - Whoo!

All right, all right, all right. Here.

- Here you go. - I'm happy with the feedback that I got

in the appetizer round, but it wasn't perfect.

Suya spice, I'm good.

I've got to be locked in for this entrée round,

-so I'm not slowing down. - Ooh, plantain.

Venison tenderloin.

After that appetizer, I'm definitely not feeling

full of confidence, that's for sure.

I'm feeling that I've really got to step up my game.

- Some shallots. -Because there's definitely

no room for error when you have such strong competition,

and especially when you've fallen behind like I have.

The pressure has never felt any higher in here.

I know this is the main event.

- Let's go, Heidi! -Everyone's watching us.

My family's watching. And if this dish

- doesn't cut it... - Come on, come on, come on.

...my dreams of winning "MasterChef" are over.

- We're not playing today. - No, we're not, Heidi.

- You got it. - You got it, Mommy. Stay focused.

Okay.

We are 15 minutes down,

45 minutes to go on the entrée round! Come on, guys!

- Wow. - Let's keep going, guys.

- Whoo! - Go, Peter!

Just got to make sure these are all deseeded.

After there, it's a roll!

Okay, you got this.

Get 'em hot, get 'em blackened.

This is it, the course we've been dying for, right?

I mean, what an incredible start across those appetizers.

But this is where you leave it all on that plate.

- All right. - You got it, Heidi. Focus.

Wanna get this rolling.

Basia: Peter, what seasoning are you adding to the filet right now?

- This is a suya spice! - Ooh!

That's it! That's what we were talking about.

- Simmer is going down. - You got it.

( cheering, whooping )

Whoo!

- Hey, Jake! - Hey, Chef Tiffany.

- How are you doing today? - I'm doing good. How about yourself?

- What have we got going right now? - I'm feeling fantastic.

I got my mole simmering right now.

It's gonna get blended in a second.

Let's talk about this mole, 'cause making a mole

in such a short period of time is incredibly difficult.

- Yes, Chef. - So what are you doing to get the flavor?

I am going to be making sure I get everything down at once.

That was the goal, get everything in right away.

And my strategy with this one is to cut no corners,

- to have just a standard mole going. - Oh, look at that!

Let me see. Love that you've blackened that bread.

- That's great. - Exactly.

A lot of flavor, a lot of color.

- That's what it's all about. - How we looking?

- There we go. Look at that. That's beautiful. - Okay. All right, looks good.

And I'm gonna blend this up and then let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.

You have to make sure you get that texture right, too, right?

- Yes. - All of those nuts have a lot of oil,

so you want to make sure it blends well,

so it doesn't come across kind of grainy.

- You know? With all the nuts and seeds. - Yeah, of course.

I let it simmer for a while longer, do its thing.

And then to serve, I re-blend it,

a little bit more stock, just to bring it to smooth level.

All right, what's the protein here again?

I am doing a pan-roasted duck breast.

- Where is the duck? - The duck is in the fridge right now.

All right. You know, one other thing is making sure it comes to temp, right?

- Yes. - Making sure you put that out. And scoring.

- Have you already scored it? - Nope, I have not scored it yet, Chef.

Wait a minute. What have you done already?

I have done 25 ingredients for the mole.

So the mole took all the time. So you still got to make rice.

- You still have to make the duck. - Yes. Yeah.

Well, Jake, you got a lot of work to do.

- This is the finale. - That's it.

You have to take risks if you want to take that trophy home.

Because if you don't, you're not gonna get noticed.

- Whoo! - Make sure that duck breast is cooked perfectly.

- Yes, Chef. I know. - Make your mom and dad proud.

- They're keeping me on track. They're my coaches. - Good, good. Good luck, Jake.

- Thank you, Chef. - Yeah.

Gotta keep it sharp. All right. Duck? Gorgeous.

Gordon: Guys, we're 30 minutes in and only 30 minutes left!

Halfway, guys! Come on!

- Oh, yeah. First filet going on, Pete. - Wow!

- Second filet going on. - Yeah, man!

- Third filet going on! - Come on, Pete!

- Fourth filet going on! - Come on, Peter!

You feel me? You feel me? Let's go.

- What is that, Heids? - Uh, batter.

Is that for the zucchini blossoms, Heidi?

- Yeah. - It looks amazing.

- Let's go, Heidi. - Yeah, come on, Heidi.

Ooh.

- All right, Heidi. - Hi, Joe.

Tell me about the zucchini flowers. You're filling them up with?

With a goat cheese mascarpone and lemon--

um, and lemon zest and some chives.

Okay. Obviously, venison is a very restaurant-y type of protein.

- Yes. - What are you doing to make it, like, pop tonight?

I'm making a beautiful Madagascar green peppercorn brandy sauce.

You know, South Africa, they drink a lot of brandewyn and Coke.

- Both: Brandy and Coke. - When they're having a barbecue.

Casper drinks brandy and Coke? So the venison's gonna go in the pan.

- The venison's gonna go in the pan. - And then in the oven.

And what's the temperature gonna be?

- It's gonna be medium-rare. - So that's tricky

'cause these venison loins are not that big, right?

- No. - So you have a very precise cook time.

You're going to wait to the end to cook them, I assume?

- Yes, yes. - Got it. All right, good luck.

Whoo!

- Well done! - Okay.

- Come on. Let's go! - I got this.

- Go, Peter! - Right. Young man.

- Chef Ramsay. - What a start. What a start.

- How you feeling? Good. - I'm feeling fantastic.

- I feel amazing. - Tell me about this filet.

Rubbed it in a suya spice, and then I had it

seared in the pan, and now it's in the oven getting finished.

Good. And don't forget, there's no fat on there.

So make sure you baste those things constantly.

- Of course. - And of course, before slicing, let them rest.

We've got the filet, we've got the spice. What's adjacent?

So we're gonna have a tamarind reduction sauce.

And I'm doing a plantain chip and purée as an honor to my mom.

It's still reducing. Just got in there.

Love that. Love that. Mama, come up here. Let's go.

- Oh! - You're asking me. Come here.

Come here. There we go.

- Mmm. Yeah? Yes? - Whoo!

- There you go! Yes! - Peter: Let's go!

- Yeah! Let's go! - Okay. Okay.

No more distractions. Sit down. Come on. Behave yourself.

Do you get nervous like that, cooking in front of your mom?

I don't get too nervous. My mom believes in me so much.

So I'm just trying to impress her and I want her to be proud of me.

Sure. 'Cause I get nervous every time I'm in the kitchen with my mum. Seriously.

- Do you? - She hands my ass on a plate, man, let me tell you.

Sounds delicious. But keep an eye on those filets.

- Very best of luck. Come on. Let's go. - Thank you, Chef.

- Let's go! Yes! - Yeah!

We are 40 minutes down. 20 minutes remaining.

Beautiful.

Tiffany: So Jake is really working on that mole.

He's spent about 20 minutes really just on the mole,

toasting all those spices.

He still has to cook the rice and the duck.

- Too many things to do. - There are so many components to the dish,

and I am concerned.

There is still a lot of work left,

- and he is falling behind. - All right. Duck's on.

Let's go, Jakey.

- Oh. - Look at that sear, Heidi!

Look at that sear. Beautiful!

Thank you. Thank you.

So, Heidi, she's got the venison loins.

They're searing in the pan. Then they're gonna go in the oven.

- Again, as you know-- - They don't need much time in the oven.

Not much time. Venison, very lean meat.

It's gonna need time to rest.

I would say, what, five minutes in the oven at this point?

- Tiffany: Not even. It's so thin. - Not even.

The thing is with Heidi, she's got to bounce back

after that appetizer. My big worry is we've seen her

get flustered under pressure in the past.

And did you get the egg yolks in the mash?

- Heidi: I forgot the egg. - Why are you rushing?

- Gently, gently. Heidi. - Sorry, my--

- For ( bleep ) sake, it's getting in the jug. - It was a bit hot. Sorry.

Everything's hot. It's a kitchen.

Heidi: You need a bit of salt, Jake. A little salt. A little salt.

Look at me. Last time I want to see you doing that.

- Yes, Chef. - I've asked you to season them where?

- In the pan. - Second time. I'm not telling you a third time.

- Sorry, Chef. - Get it under control.

Heidi is also the oldest cook ever

in our "MasterChef" finale, at 51 years old.

Which is not old by any standard,

but the oldest among these young gentlemen.

Will she have the physical stamina to cook course after course?

Gordon: Yeah, it's a good point.

Heidi: Come on, come on, come on.

- Okay, good. - So, Peter has gone all out with a suya spiced filet.

The cook on that steak needs to be a perfect mid-rare.

- Tiffany: Yep. - Checking my filets. Ay-yi-yi.

Put it in that oven! Nice job, Heidi.

Okay, we're getting there.

He's got it! You got it, Jake!

- ( cheering, gasping ) - Oh!

Let's go, Jake! Yeah!

15 minutes to go. 15, guys.

Oh, no.

Oh, no. Come on.

So, that filet, nowhere near cooked.

- Oh, man. - Peter:I'm worried.

The steaks aren't at the proper temperature yet.

- ( bleep ) - Careful, careful, careful.

It's got to have time to rest, and I've gotta get it

sliced and presented on the plate.

If there was ever a time to have the perfect cook

on my steak, it's right now.

You know, I can't mess up. It's got to be perfect.

So, it's a lot of pressure.

Oh, my gosh.

Gordon: Next time,

-the entrée round continues. - They still need a second.

Those filets are still in the oven.

It's gonna come down to the wire.

Come on, Jake! Keep it moving!

- ( cheering, shouting ) - It is tender.

It is seasoned beautifully. It's your best course of the competition so far.

Followed by dessert.

Who's ready for dessert and a show?

- $250,000. Right now! - Oh, yeah.

- All you gotta do is reach for it! - Go over there and grab it.

There she goes with the glaze.

( bleep )

- Oh, no. ( bleep ) - Is Peter gonna make it?

- Jake's now starting to pipe. - It's gonna come out like a milkshake.

- I am a mess. - The texture is incredible.

- Well bloody done, okay? - You took a big risk.

Did some professional pastry techniques. You did a great job.

And finally, a winner is crowned.

America's next MasterChef is...