All language subtitles for MasterChef.US.S09E16.WEB.x264-TBS

Tonight on MasterChef...

The Thomas Fire ravage Ventura county.

Today you are going to be cooking

for 25 amazing men and
women who fought that fire.

When the top eight
serve America's finest...

These are some of the
most important guests,

that we have ever served.

This is a joke and looks disgusting.

...things backfire.

You can't expect us to taste this.

It is still raw.

Get a grip or i will
cut this lunch on my own

and send you four home.

( music playing )

Gerron: I know we're gonna be cooking

with some fresh ingredients today.

( laughter )

What I'm looking at
right now is beautiful!

Back home in Louisville,
Kentucky, I'm a teacher.

It's not every day I get to
see palm trees everywhere.

There are large mountains,
there are animals,

there are lemon trees and orange trees.

I'm loving every minute of it.

I think the kitchen's on the
top of the mountain, y'all.

- Wow!
- Look at this view!

If this is what it's like
to be in the top eight,

I cannot wait to get to the top five.

I'm the king of the world!

Right now Team Aar�n has three aprons,

Gordon is finally down to three,

but Team Joe, we're down to two.

We cannot afford to lose
anybody else, period.

( horn blaring )

Oh, my gosh, y'all,
look at the fire truck!

- Appreciate it, sir.
- Thank you, sir.

Oh, my God!

The judges have come out of a plane,

they've come out of forklifts.

The fire truck... I'm not surprised
they have one in their garage,

but what does this mean?

Are you just anticipating
we're gonna create a fire

and you wanna be sure that you
have the capabilities to put it out?

Welcome to Peterson Ranch
and your next team challenge.

- Wow.
- Come on, guys.

Tell me this is not the most
beautiful place you've ever seen.

- It is beautiful!
- Outstanding.

But all of this was threatened
when the Thomas fires broke out

this past December.

Wow!

Joe: The Thomas fire
burned over 281,000 acres

over five weeks.

The smoke produced was so massive,

it could be seen from outer space.

And today you are going to be cooking

for 25 amazing men and
women who fought that fire.

Samantha: I am incredibly honored.

I lived in Southern
California for a while.

When we lived here
there was a big wildfire

and we had to evacuate from our homes,

but because of
firefighting men and women,

like those that we're serving
today, our house was saved.

Now, Bowen and Cesar, you guys won

that incredible tag team challenge.

Both of you will be team captains today.

Bowen: This is amazing.

Being a team captain.

Let's go, Cesar, Bowen.

I've been captain once in
the first team challenge,

and I lead my team to be success.

My strategy is simple.

Just kick his ass.

All right, I want you six

to break yourselves
into two teams of three.

Right now.

Y'all really gonna huddle up like that?

I'm good.

I'm going with Farhan and Julia.

I don't even have to move.

Farhan is spice boy.

He knows his spices,

he knows how to cook.

Julia, she has never
lost a team challenge.

This is dream team. We got this.

Eventually, each of you captains
will pair up with one of those teams.

But first, let's see what
you will be cooking today.

Your choice of protein today
is between two of my favorites

for special occasions.

The first happens to be
the stunning rack of lamb.

I mean, that's a
chef's Rolls-Royce cut.

Today we're looking for a
perfect medium rare temperature.

Captains, for your other
protein... sea bass!

A sweet, tasty white fish

that lets you know when it's
cooked by turning bright white.

One of the captains will get to choose

between picking their protein
first or picking their team.

- Oh.
- Ah.

But first we need to flip a coin.

Heads it's Bowen, tails it's Cesar.

Bowen and Cesar: Got it.

Heads. Bowen.

Are you choosing your protein
first or your team first?

I wanna choose my protein.

- Okay.
- Bowen: We are top eight.

Everybody can cook.

So, the protein is more
important than the team.

Which one are you going to pick?

- Sea bass.
- You're gonna pick the sea bass.

Joe: Ooh.

Cesar, which of these two teams
will you be working with today?

I'll go with Julia, Farhan, and Gerron.

Joe: Okay.

Captains, team aprons.

Cesar: For me, this is an easy choice.

You got Farhan, amazing
with spices and seasoning.

You got Gerron, fellow educator
who works from the heart.

It matches my shirt.

And Julia and I have been
in two other team challenges.

We won them both.

We're not a team to be taken lightly.

Gordon: Aprons on, please.

Ashley: I'm looking at our red team.

Shanika and Samantha can cook,

but I have been on a team
with Bowen as my captain.

He gets frazzled and loses his mind.

Hopefully, we don't go down in flames.

Okay, red team, blue team,
you will have just 60 minutes

to conceive, prep, cook,
and serve 25 perfect plates

for these elite firefighters.

Every one of these firefighters
will vote at the end of lunch

by ringing a team colored fire bell.

The team with the most votes
will win this challenge.

- Yes.
- These are some of the most important guests

that we have ever cooked
for in "MasterChef."

- Absolutely.
- So after 30 minutes,

we are gonna taste your dish
and give you some feedback.

Home cooks: Yes, Chef.

Okay, teams, are you ready?

Home cooks: Yes.

Your time starts...

...now!

- Come on, come on, come on!
- Go, go, go, go!

- Cesar: Hustle, hustle.
- Samantha: Come on, we got this, guys.

All right, guys, I think what we
should do roasted rack of lamb.

- Okay.
- With couscous and a pea puree.

- Yeah.
- What are you thinking for the lamb?

I know you're an expert on lamb.

How you gonna handle the fat cap?

Render it in the pan.

I eat lamb all the time.

My dad's a halal butcher.

He slaughters 200 lambs a week.

I've never had to cook
25 lamb racks in an hour,

but it's a challenge
I'm willing to take on.

- All right, blue team.
- Let's go.

- One, two, three.
- All: Blue team!

I'm thinking about to
make a pan-seared sea bass

- with roast baby carrots...
- Okay.

- ...cauliflower puree. -
White or purple? Which one...

- Purple. And
the... - Okay.

- I really like the carrots.
- Okay.

Go, go, go, go, go!

Ashley: I'm pleasantly
surprised by Bowen right now.

Shanika, use salt and pepper.

- Okay.
- Just really simple.

He seems confident,

and that makes me
confident for our team.

As long as we stay focused
we can pull it together,

and this will be a beautiful dish.

Come on, guys.

Guys, we're down to the top eight.

There's four on each team. Come on.

I'm expecting great things today.

Bowen won the coin toss
and he chose the sea bass.

How many portions do we have total?

- We're prepping 26.
- I think it was a foolish, foolish decision

to go with choosing a protein first.

You have to choose your team first,

because those are the people who are
gonna affect the quality of the dish.

I disagree, Joe. It depends on
how strong a captain you are.

- I want you do this way.
- Gotcha.

Gordon: If you delegate strong
enough, your team will follow.

- Bowen: Shanika, you all right?
- Yes, sir.

Cesar was relegated to the rack of lamb.

It's a showstopper. You can do
so many different things with it.

A crust would be ideal.

I'm toasting almonds for the crust.

Sounds good, dude. These
lamb racks are amazing.

- Farhan is rendering the fat.
- He's rendering 'em.

That is so unforgiving.

Farhan, be a little more
aggressive with the salt.

I'm gonna add it right now.

I'm rendering out all the fat currently.

The difficulty about cooking rack
of lamb is handling the fat cap.

So, you know, there's
two methods you can do it.

You can either slice the fat
off, make sure they cook faster,

or render the fat down
and hope it melts all away,

which is how I love to cook it.

Work as fast as possible,
but work precise.

The big risk here is it's gonna
take me a little bit of time,

but I think it's gonna be worth it.

We gotta get the lamb in the oven.

First batch.

- Samantha: They're here for tasting, guys.
- We gotta move, y'all.

Bowen: Cooking the sea
bass is really hard.

So I'm nervous, but as a
pilot, a little bit nervousness

can cause you get good performance.

Ready, Bowen? All four of you, let's go.

Explain the dish, please.

Pan-seared sea bass with carrots
roasted and cauliflower puree.

- Who cooked the fish?
- I did.

Aar�n: Skin needs more time.

- Skin needs more time.
- Okay, sure.

I'm nervous a little bit.

The cooking, wrong side.

Skin side down for 90% of the way.

- You flip it with two minutes to go.
- Okay.

Carrots, beautifully
done and puree nice.

A bit more of it so it makes
the dish more wholesome.

Joe: The components of it are right.

You need to amplify it. It
needs to be this times two.

- Let's get back here.
- It's my fault.

Shanika: I think the
judges criticizing Bowen

just put a dent in his
freaking confidence.

We can't afford this today.

Everything has to be perfect.

Bowen: Shanika, do the sea bass.

You got this, just calm down.

Gordon: Ready, Cesar?

Yes, Chef, cutting lamb right now.

- Come on, please, blue team.
- Cesar: Come on, guys.

All four of you, let's go.
Line up, please. Thank you.

Explain the dish, please.

Roasted rack of lamb, minted mushy peas,

couscous with mushrooms
and roasted root vegetables,

and then we have the red wine demi.

It looks disgusting.

Guys, that's raw fat.
That's just a visual, okay?

You're not even close. This
lamb is ten minutes away

in an oven at 350 being
anything near to being done.

We have half an hour to
get this out. Come on, guys.

Joe: You can't expect us to taste this.

Gordon: There's no freaking way!

- Come on, guys.
- Joe: You can't expect us to taste this.

Gordon: There's no freaking way!

Figure this out now.

This is not a dish you would
present to anyone important.

Let's go, let's go, let's go!

Julia: I can't believe our lamb is raw.

Like seriously, Farhan,

that's the main star of the dish.

We're getting rid of the fat caps.

That's gonna take more time, guys.

No, it's gonna cut our sear time down.

But we're adding another step
is what I'm saying, though.

Yeah, but it's faster
than rendering it down.

Julia: Farhan says that
he knows how to do it.

I don't think that he'd lie about it,

because he knows how serious it is,

but I'm not just gonna
take his word for it.

I'm definitely gonna check
up on Farhan with this lamb.

Speed it up. It looked horrible.

- Gordon: Speed up, red team.
- Ashley and Samantha: Heard, Chef.

I need somebody like to
clean the station for me.

I'm trying to clean, Bowen.

I said get the pans hot and
then who filled them up with oil?

( bleep ) no.

- When do you put the oil in?
- When you're ready to cook.

Thank you. Can you tell him, please?

- Yes. Yeah.
- Don't put the oil until you're ready to put the fish on.

Oh, dear, oh, dear.

Is there any oil in these pans?

Oh, guys, come on.

We have 26 minutes

- to get 25 plates on there.
- Heard, Chef.

Three minutes from now, bus in.

Two minutes before the bus comes
out, you flip it, cook the other side.

Butter in. Don't put the butter in too
early, 'cause you'll burn the butter.

- As a captain, get a grip!
- Okay, sure, Chef.

I love Bowen, but he's
getting a little frazzled.

Somebody has to step in and
help put this fire out right now.

- I'm gonna help cook in the back. We got this.
- Okay.

- ( horn honking )
- Red team, blue team.

- Julia and Farhan: Yes, Chef.
- Our esteemed guests are arriving.

Let's go.

Cesar: All right, guys,
we really gotta hustle now.

Farhan: Let's do this.

Get your pans hot, Bowen.

Get ready to sear that fish.

Yes, yes, Chef.

I'm Alison Hesterly, fire captain.

I am so excited to see what
the chefs have prepared for us.

I think we're all looking forward to it.

Bowen, we got the skin side
down for 90% of the time.

- Got it.
- I'm Mike Dubron.

I'm with the Los Angeles
County Fire Department.

I've been a firefighter for 27 years,

and we're expecting a
really nice dinner tonight.

Hopefully we're able to enjoy a meal

versus the chaotic scene we
saw just a few months ago.

Hot plates going in.
First batch is in the oven.

- Okay. Come on, guys.
- These ( bleep ) are hot.

Hey, FYI, anyone complains about being
hot here, I'm gonna kick their ass.

Welcome, welcome, everyone.

Hi. I'm Joe. Nice to see everyone.

I just wanted to say
thank you for all you do,

and for what you did for California

during the Thomas fire.

Please enjoy some canap�s and
lunch will be served momentarily.

Thank you for coming.

- So, Farhan, all the lambs in the oven?
- No.

We still need to finish crusting.
We have half the lamb ready, Chef.

All right, so let's go, guys. Come on.

Is that the last of the 25
that you guys are crusting up?

- Yes.
- Gerron, do you have enough herbs in there?

- Yeah.
- I'll be honest, it looks a little skimpy on the herbs.

Just don't put something
on to put it on.

- Okay, Chef.
- Make sure it's consistent.

What do you need? Do you
need lemon zest? I got you.

- Cesar: You got herbs, you got thyme.
- I got the tarragon.

Cesar: Every component of the dish
has to be firing at all cylinders

just to meet the expectations.

This is fine dining.

It's a struggle and a daunting
task to be put up against.

There we go. That looks better.

Let's do this, you guys.

Bowen, stay focused.

Gordon: 15 minutes. We need to go.

- Let's go.
- Almost ready.

Check the color. Crispy
skin, beautifully done.

- See how crispy that is?
- Yeah.

Good girl. There you go.

Oh, Bowen.

Why'd you put the butter in?

I said two minutes before the
bass comes out, butter goes in,

and he's put the butter in already.

You're just not listening to anything.

Butter goes in last.

'cause it burns!

- Sorry, Chef.
- You can say sorry all you want.

- This is important for me.
- I know it's important.

- Give me your apron, I'll wear it.
- No.

- Shanika: Come on, Bowen.
- Honestly, this is a joke.

( bleep ) hell, man.

Gordon: Butter goes in last...

- Okay. I remember.
- ..'cause it burns.

- Sorry, Chef.
- Everybody here is trying to help you,

but you're just ignoring the help.

No, Chef, I will...
I will get help.

- Shanika.
- Yes, Chef.

Can you take over the bass?

- Gotcha, Chef.
- Gordon: Yes?

Pass all the bass to her
and you start plating now.

Now Gordon is relying on me
to get all of this fish done.

Take control, young lady.

We need resting racks for this fish.

Part of me is appreciating
that Gordon believes in me,

then a part of me is like I'm
in charge of the protein now.

If this ship goes down, I'm
gonna be like one of the heads

that's gonna get rolled because of this.

( clicks tongue ) This is not
what I signed up for today.

Farhan, let's go with that lamb.

- All right. Hey, we're slicing here.
- Yeah.

Farhan: Plating's starting
and my only thought process is,

if I didn't get this lamb right,

it's like I'm leading the
blue team to slaughter.

- Where's your tray to put the lamb on?
- ( bleep )!

Come on, Farhan.

Julia: The couscous is
done, pea puree is finished,

but the lamb is the star of the dish.

I wanna make sure that
this is cooked perfect.

Farhan, come on.

Show me what these look like.

Cesar, you just want it
down the middle, right?

Yup.

Nice, okay.

Julia: Pretty good.

- Cesar: Yeah, that's nice.
- Beautifully cooked.

- Gordon: Get ready to sauce, please.
- Gotcha, Chef.

Farhan: I nailed it. It's
a beautiful medium rare.

All my lamb drama finally paid off!

- Oh, perfect.
- Don't shout perfect now, young man.

We haven't ( bleep )
served anything yet.

- Let's celebrate when we got something to celebrate.
- Julia: Yes, Chef.

Samantha: Any fish ready?

Give it one minute. Okay?

- Okay!
- I'm just letting you know.

- All right.
- Calm down.

Everyone on the team is cracking
under pressure right now.

But if I get this sea bass right,

we still have a chance at winning.

I want the most beautiful
25 pieces of fish you have.

- Aar�n: Let's go.
- Julia: Hurry up, the servers are coming, guys.

- Okay.
- Hurry up.

Two minutes to get these plates out.

- How long for the bass, please, Shanika?
- One minute, Chef.

- One minute.
- One minute. Thank God you're here, you lady.

Shanika is busting out sea bass.

We got enough fish.

She is handling her
station like a freaking pro.

Gordon: 90 seconds we start serving.

Guys, one minute left. Let's go.

- We're good?
- Gerron: It's time to be picky now, y'all.

Make sure everything is good.

Get the bass on the plate,
guys, get the bass on the plate.

You, get the bass on the
plate. You're still missing two.

- Shanika: Less than 30 seconds.
- Bowen: Okay.

Put it on there, get these
microgreens on this damn plate. Move.

- It's 25. You are good.
- Gordon: Time up.

Serve. Cloches on.

Service, please, pick up.

Bowen: Today I was bad team leader

because I didn't cook the fish properly.

But the firefighters didn't see that.

Be gentle.

The only thing they see is our dish,

and we put everything
together on the plate.

Shanika: The dish looked good.

Cesar: They're ready to
grab just from the bottom.

Thank you, guys.

We're looking down at 25

perfectly cooked medium
rare racks of lamb.

We don't wanna celebrate too early,

but we're giving silent
fist bumps to each other,

and I'm proud of the dish

that we're sending to
our 25 esteemed guests.

Hello, everybody.

In front of you, you each
have a dish from the red team,

and a dish from the blue team.

The red team has served...

pan-seared sea bass

with roasted baby
carrots, cauliflower puree

and a citrus herb vinaigrette.

The blue team has served...

crusted rack of American lamb,

pea-mint puree, couscous,
and a red wine demi sauce.

Buon appetito. Enjoy.

It's judgment time.
We could've did better.

I don't think we worked well as a team,

but the flavors are there
and it looks beautiful.

- For you, sir?
- Both of them are really good.

I think the blue team
did a really nice job.

The rack of lamb is tender, but
I have to say that the red team

did probably the best
sea bass I've ever had.

- For you, sir?
- Red team.

I like the texture, I like the skin.

It's crunchy.

That food gonna come through, y'all.

It was flavorful.

- For you, sir?
- The blue team, rack of lamb.

- Rack of lamb.
- In all my 34 years of firefighting,

I've never had a rack of lamb this good.

- What do you think?
- My preference is the lamb.

Blue team. Every bite is
just filled with flavor,

and it goes really
well with the, um...

- With the minty peas.
- Minty peas, right.

Great job on that cook.

I think the pea puree is pretty good.

Yeah, it's awesome.

- And for you, sir?
- Well, they're both fantastic.

There's an invitation to both

the red and blue team
to come to my firehouse.

Nice. Okay.

Well, now it's time to vote.

- ( bell ringing )
- You guys hear them bells?

Oh, yeah. Hopefully that's for us.

- Gerron: I hope so.
- Julia: Oh, my God.

Ashley: Y'all hear that?

Samantha: Oh, gosh.

I got this instinct that tells
me blue bells are ringing.

I know it's blue. I'm
confident that it's blue.

I sure hope it's blue. ( laughs )

Ashley: There's another one, y'all.

It's another bell?

- Oh, I hope those are red team bells.
- Ashley: I know.

Shanika: Where the wood at? Right here.

Knock on wood.

Ladies and gentlemen, um, first of all,

thank you for giving us the opportunity

to spoil you for once.

Now, please, give a warm welcome
for our red team and our blue team.

- Thank you.
- ( applause )

As you know, there can
only be one winning team,

and the other team will face
the dreaded pressure test.

So, without further ado,

congratulations goes to...

( cheering )

They got it.

We did it! They loved my lamb!

I had so much pressure on my
shoulders today, but it paid off.

Blue team, congratulations.
Go and say hello

to our esteemed guests. Come on.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much for everything you do.

Red team, you're gonna have to
face the dreaded pressure test.

Finish up cleaning,

and I'll see you back in
the MasterChef kitchen.

Of course, we lost.

Bowen killed our team and I'm livid.

It sucks. All of us got
our ass rang out today.

Yeah, it sucks. I mean, Captain,
you're still not saying anything.

You were putting oil in pans,
you were putting butter in pans.

- And then you... - Because
Shanika... Shanika had to step up

and cook perfect sea
bass for the whole team.

Every ( bleep ) I made (
bleep ), and then you have...

You do everything correct.

So we will figure out tomorrow
pressure test. Let's go.

- Welcome back.
- Shanika: I'm disappointed.

We lost because we just
lacked communication.

- Bowen shut down.
- Gordon: Let's go.

But if there's anybody that can
handle the pressure test, it's me.

Joe, you won't lose another apron today.

I guarantee you that.

Yesterday, we challenged you
to make an exquisite lunch

for 25 brave men and women
who saved countless lives

in the recent California wildfires.

And, sadly, for you four,
the firefighters decided

that the blue team's dish
was better than yours.

They won with 72% of the vote.

- ( whispers ) Wow!
- ( whistles )

Red team, tonight you will
face an intense pressure test,

and after this pressure test,

at least one home cook
will be eliminated.

For your pressure test tonight,

you'll be making something
that I built my career around.

Tonight, to keep your
place in this competition,

you will have to make...

pasta.

Nice.

This specific pasta dish is a
perfect pappardelle Capricciosa.

Ribbons of pasta with a
sauce of San Marzano tomatoes,

prosciutto, and onions.

Doesn't get any better than that.

In fact, I love it so much,

- one pasta is just never enough.
- No.

Mezzelune filled with
a classic combination

of braised Swiss chard
and ricotta cheese

in a simple sauce of slightly
burnt butter with sage.

These are two of my
favorite pasta dishes.

The problem is I also really love...

a dish my grandmother taught me to make.

garganelli with funghi trifolati.

It's mixed saut�ed mushroom

with thyme, garlic, and olive oil.

And I expect you to replicate all three.

( exhales ) Of course.

And to complete all three,

you only get 60 minutes.

So, before all of you start cooking,

Joe is gonna show you how it's done.

Watch and learn.

Whoa! This is dope.

Joe Bastianich, you look up his name,

there's pasta sitting next to it.

This front row seat into
Joe Bastianich master class

is the best seat in the house.

So we start with the dough.

The dough should be
worked properly, rested.

And then the next thing we
have to do here is sheet it out.

You wanna get enough thinness to it

so that it's like very elastic.

So we can use the same sheet
for all three shapes of pasta.

First shape is pappardelle.

Pappardelle ribbon pasta's
generally like an inch wide

and about six to eight inches in length.

That's a perfect pappardelle.

You wanna flour it again a little bit

so it doesn't stick together.

About 10 to 12 pieces in a portion.

And that's our pappardelle.

Next we will make mezzelune.

With the stamp mold, you get
the perfect shape of pasta.

It's filled with ricotta, braised
Swiss chard, and Grana Padano.

You take a little bit of egg wash.

You go around the lower half perimeter.

Push it back and then you're
gonna pinch, pinch, pinch, pinch,

pinch, pinch, pinch.

Voilà.

So that's the mezzelune.

And last but not least,

we will make the garganelli.

So I'm gonna stamp out my squares.

And then carefully push just hard enough

so you get that beautiful
little shape on it.

Voilà.

- Wow!
- Joe: There you have it.

So, pappardelle are gonna
go with a Capricciosa sauce.

That's San Marzano tomatoes,
prosciutto, and onions,

mezzelune in a brown
butter and sage sauce,

garganelli with saut�ed
mushroom, garlic, thyme,

finished with Grana Padano cheese.

Three simple pastas,
delicious, but not so easy.

Cooking three different types of pastas,

three different
sauces in 60 minutes...

professional chefs with
decades of experience

would have trouble with that,

and I'm just happy I'm not down there.

At your stations, you have
everything that you need

to make those three
amazing pasta dishes.

Right, you four, when
the 60 minutes are up

you need to have all of
your three pasta dishes

placed down the front.

- Is everybody ready?
- Home cooks: Yes.

Your 60 minutes starts...

now.

Joe, you've asked them
to make three dishes.

What's the most difficult one to nail?

Probably the mezzelune,
because it's a stuffed pasta.

So you have the variable
of making the filling.

So you have to braise your Swiss chard,

olive oil, give it flavor.

You have to rinse out the water,

because if you put that Swiss
chard in wet with the ricotta,

- it's gonna be a pond.
- Game over.

- Whoa.
- Wow, stressing me out.

So, the garganelli.

The trick here is your funghi trifolati.

So, mushrooms have a
lot of moisture in them.

You have to saut� them with
thyme, whole garlic cloves,

and olive oil, so you
render the water out of them.

Make it come to life.

Aar�n: All right,
Joe, so the pappardelle.

What are some of the things that they have
to nail in order to get that pasta right?

So, pappardelle is perhaps the
most straightforward of the three.

They're just ribbon-shaped pasta.

You have to have the right thickness.

It has to be elastic.

You have to be able to see through it,

but it has to be able to hold its form.

Not so easy.

Come on.

- Looks really dry.
- It looks hella dry.

Guys, we've 34 minutes remaining.

- Heard, Chef.
- Sauces should be en route,

and you should be
starting to roll your pasta

within the next ten minutes.

Let's go, Sam. Come on, let's go.

- Right, Samantha.
- Yes, Chef.

How many times have
you made pasta before?

I make pasta all the time for
myself, my sorority sisters.

My dad loved pasta.

- But you never made three dishes in one go.
- No, I have not.

So that's gonna be a bit of a struggle.

- Are you gonna nail this?
- Yes, Chef, I will nail this.

The worst thing for me, I've
got three of my pins down here.

I'd be so upset if you
were to leave tonight.

- Don't let me down. Good luck.
- Yes, Chef. Thank you.

- Tomatoes.
- Ashley, how we doing?

I have one sauce that just kinda
needs a little finishing touch.

I have my mushrooms
going, my water is boiling,

and I'm about to roll out my pasta now,

and I have one of the
fillings already ready as well.

Do you feel that this pasta challenge
is too great to surmount or what?

Absolutely not. I feel
like for those who can't,

- you know, then it's just their time to go home.
- All right, good luck.

- Farhan: Looking good, Bowen.
- Keep hustlin'.

- Bowen.
- Yes, Chef.

- How you feeling?
- I'm feeling good.

Do me a favor. Turn around and look.

Look at the contestants.

- Yup.
- You're the only one that's got no sauce up.

This is empty. You're
making a filling for ravioli

that we don't even need yet.

- I will. I will.
- Young man.

- Are you going home?
- No, I'm not.

- I'm not going home.
- Come on, then prioritize!

- Get the sauces on. Come on.
- Okay, sure, Chef.

- Snap out of it.
- This is so stressful.

- Does Shanika have any pasta in the water?
- No.

Okay, Shanika.

This is the most stressed
I've seen you, quite frankly.

- Is it the challenge or... -
Well, it's pasta three times.

- It's not pasta once.
- Shanika, that's like a rock.

If you don't get this dough softer,

- you could be going home today.
- All right.

That's like a fossil.

- Gotcha.
- And there's no way you're gonna get that through there.

- Gotcha. Gotcha.
- You have a real problem right now.

Oh, man.

Joe: Guys, less than 20 minutes left.

So, Shanika's in a big mess.

- Come on.
- Gordon: The way that pasta's too dry,

you got no chance of making a ravioli.

Yeah. It's gonna open up on you.

- It won't stick together.
- Oh, my God!

Gordon: 45 minutes gone,
15 minutes remaining.

Whoa! Pasta needs 15 minutes to rest

before you could even
shape it or cut it.

Come on.

- Come on, Shanika. You could do it.
- Let's go, Shanika.

- Farhan: Come on, girl.
- There's no time

to start another batch of dough.

- Damn it!
- It's over. It can't be done.

It's gonna need a
freakin' miracle right now.

She has to be able to get that
pasta dough through that sheeter.

If she can't, she might as
well hand over her apron now.

Gordon: 15 minutes remaining.

It's gonna need a
freakin' miracle right now.

Shanika has to be able to get that
pasta dough through that sheeter.

If she can't, she might as
well hand over her apron now.

Oh, my God!

We only have about 15 minutes to go,

and there is not enough time
for me to restart this dough.

So I'm gonna try to fix it.

I'm gonna see if I can save it.

I'm gonna wet this a little bit,

I'm gonna knead it a little bit more.

Come on, come on.

I have to make this pasta work.

It's a little better.
I think I can do it.

- Cesar: Shanika's is looking better.
- Turn up, Shanika. Turn up.

Gordon: Look at Shanika.

She's worked her pasta back,
but the big worry is Bowen.

- Have no sauces on.
- Joe: What is he waiting for?

No idea. I think the
pressure's getting to him.

I will do best job I can.

Gordon: Right, the youngest
wearing my pin, Samantha.

She's made pasta hundreds of times

- and she is literally on it.
- There it is.

Gordon: Three minutes to go.

The one trick to all
three of these pastas,

is that in the sauce
pan, you need to add

some of the pasta boiling
water into the pan,

and the pasta needs to finish
cooking in the saut� pan.

'cause it releases starch,

and the pasta and the sauce become one.

- And that's the goal.
- Yup.

( screams )

- 60 seconds remaining.
- Let's go!

Joe: Wait, Bowen is not
saut�ing the pasta in the sauce.

Gordon: Samantha's got
her dish. Good girl.

Aar�n: Serve food, let's go.

- Come on, guys.
- Come on, guys, let's go.

Gordon: Ashley's got
her second plate down.

35 seconds to go!

Sam's got three plates down. Well done.

Shanika, come on!

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

And stop. Hands in the air.

I wasted so much time making
sure that my dough was right,

that I barely got my dishes out in time,

and this is my worst
performance in this kitchen.

Home cooks, I can't
tell you how nice it is

to smell home.

And at least one of you is going home.

Okay, Shanika, let's begin with
the pappardelle Capricciosa.

Your pasta isn't terrible,
but there's one piece of pasta.

I know. Not enough.

Okay, moving on.

So these are the mezzelune.

- Didn't we say burnt butter?
- Yeah.

You didn't have time to burn the butter.

No, I mean, I had the butter
on, but I had it melting.

And I didn't... I was running
around doing other stuff

and did not wanna take
my eye off of it too much.

So, it's melted butter.

How did you do with your filling?

I think I did pretty good.

Filling's not bad.

It's just that it's not the dish.

It's just raw butter.

It tastes like popcorn
in a movie theater.

And the garganelli
with funghi trifolati.

What happened here? You made
one, two, three garganelli.

- Yeah.
- I mean, like literally, these dishes look like

if I was a waiter in a restaurant

and I just cleared your table.

- And this is what you're presenting to us?
- I don't disagree with you.

I wanted to bring down something
so I brought down what I had.

Joe: Okay.

I'm not sure what to say, Shanika.

I'm disappointed in myself as well.

I know I could do better.

Um, you know, seasoning's on
point, let's get that right.

I just wish you had prioritized.

'cause you got all the skill.

It's just a bad finish. Thank you.

- Joe: Samantha.
- Joe.

Okay, so let's start with this,

pappardelle Capricciosa.

So the Capricciosa sauce,

- is there onions and prosciutto in here?
- There is.

Pappardelle Capricciosa, very nice.

Light, fluffy, your pasta
has a very good texture to it.

- Thank you.
- So these are the mezzelune.

- You happy with them?
- I am.

I wish I hadn't put
that sage leaf on top.

- Yeah, you have to fry it.
- Yeah.

It's a little bit thin in the filling,

but the pasta shape itself looks okay.

Let's see what it tastes like.

The brown butter's good,
taste of sage is right.

Very delicate, very light. Moving on.

This is the garganelli
with funghi trifolati.

- Mm-hmm. - How did
you cook the mushrooms?

Olive oil, saut�ed, and then threw
in some pasta water at the end.

You taste the garlic,
but not overpowering.

You can taste the thyme.

You can taste real
earthy mushroom flavor.

The garganelli rolled perfectly.

Sauced perfectly.

- This is kinda textbook.
- Thank you.

It screams more sauce.

And especially the pappardelle
'cause it's denser and longer.

It really can take
almost an over-saucing.

- Okay.
- But the actual pasta, the base is delicious.

- Great job.
- Thank you.

( whispers ) Nice.

All right, Ashley,

let's start with this
pappardelle Capricciosa.

This pappardelle Capricciosa,

the pasta itself is like a sheet

of pasta you would make for lasagna,

which is much thicker
and much more rough.

It's a completely
different take on the dish.

This is supposed to be mezzelune
in brown butter sage sauce.

- Yes.
- But you decided to put mushrooms in it.

It was a misstep.

( whispers ) Damn.

The filling portion and the actual
dimension of these look about right.

How did you saut� your Swiss chard?

I blanched them.

I didn't saut� them.

How are you gonna give it flavor?

Swiss chard is supposed to be
saut�ed in garlic and olive oil.

- I didn't know to do that.
- Mm.

I can't evaluate the sauce
because it isn't here,

and the filling is basically
boiled Swiss chard with ricotta.

Okay.

Okay, moving on.

This is the garganelli
with funghi trifolati.

How did you cook the mushrooms?

I saut�ed them in butter
and thyme and some salt.

The mushrooms are lightly saut�ed,

but they're still
crunchy. Very, very good.

The garganelli is actually
a pretty good example.

Not bad.

The salt is right on all the pastas.

I think the highlight of your three
pastas is the Capricciosa sauce.

I think it's delicious,

and I think for me, the star
over here is just the mushrooms.

I think 'cause you were
flustered, you messed up sauces.

They're incomplete,

and they're not talking
to me like a pasta should.

- Thank you.
- Thank you, Joe.

( whispers ) Oh, man.

Okay, Bowen.

Here we certainly have the most creative

interpretation of pasta.

Yeah.

You took the prosciutto and fried it

in, like, these lumps, which
is a little bit strange.

- And this is your pasta?
- Yes.

I never had pasta before,
so I definitely gonna try...

You never had pasta before?

- No.
- You never ate pasta once?

I never ate pasta.

So you come here to "MasterChef,"

to the biggest cooking
competition in the world,

- from China to win it...
- ( whispers ) Oh, geez.

...and you never, ever tried
pasta before coming here?

Mm.

Unfortunately, not.

You never tried pasta
before coming here?

Unfortunately, not.

It's like eating a tissue.

It just dissolves under your tongue.

But I think the flavor is good.

- You think the flavor is good? It's disappointing.
- Yes.

Joe: Okay.

What is this stuff here?

It's brown
butter with a...

- Chopped up sage?
- Yes.

You see, here you have the same problem.

The pasta is so thin it
can't even hold the ravioli.

It's just, like, disintegrating.

- What's inside?
- Swiss chard with ricotta cheese.

I saut�ed the Swiss
chard with salt and pepper.

Oh, the filling's very good.

Swiss chard tastes nice, taste garlic,

but again your pasta
doesn't hold the form.

( whispers ) Those are dumplings.

So these are garganelli,

but they're completely flat.

The ones I made were round.

How did you cook the mushrooms?

Saut�ed them with olive
oil, salt and pepper,

and a touch of butter.

They're excellent.

But Bowen, I mean, the
problem here is that

this is not really pasta.

You boiled noodles and then
put condiments on the side.

Pasta has to cook with
the sauce by definition.

This is really interesting,

'cause outside of the pasta,
everything else is really good.

Pasta too thin, but on-point seasoning.

You can cook and you're gifted,

but this was about
replicating what you got shown,

and you can't even bother to do that.

I'm disappointed in myself,

because Joe is the reason I'm here,

and I definitely think
I let him down today.

But I'm feeling a little bit optimistic

because Ashley and
Bowen both had mistakes.

It's three of us that
didn't do too good.

Which one is gonna be the worst?

And I'm hoping it's not me.

One home cook is going
home minutes from now.

But tonight, one home
cook really showed us

their skill under pressure.

Samantha, mentored by myself.

( whispers ) Nice!

You cook pasta like an old Italian lady.

( laughs )

- And that's good.
- Yes, thank you.

Now, head up to the safety
of the balcony, please.

- Congratulations.
- Thank you.

- Good job, Samantha.
- Gordon: Well done.

Samantha: I'm elated right now.

I came into this knowing that
I had to cook for my life,

and I did that and then some.

- Come here, nonna. Ciao.
- ( laughs ) Thank you.

There is another home cook
that did just enough to be safe.

There were enough compelling
elements on the plate

to show us they deserve
their place in this kitchen.

And this home cook also
has Gordon's pin on.

Ashley.

Up to the balcony.

Thank you.

That leaves Shanika and Bowen,

one with Joe's pin and one with my pin.

This is a really tough decision.

'cause you both had a bad night.

Bowen...

your time, my friend, in this kitchen...

is not quite over.

You are safe.

And I'm losing one of my home cooks.

Bowen, go to the balcony, please.

( sighs )

I can't believe I am going to be safe.

Moving forward, I will work my butt off

to be a really good listener

and to make Gordon proud
to give me that apron.

Shanika, this was a tough test for you.

It's unfortunate that pasta
should be able to take down

such a lioness like you.

So, I'm very, very sad that this
had to happen on my challenge.

Young lady, understand
what you have achieved,

and remember how strong you are.

We're sorry to see you go.

Come up here and say goodbye.

- Don't stop that determination.
- Oh, I won't.

- Gordon: Please. Thank you.
- Aar�n: Great job.

- Thank you.
- Oh, thank you, dear.

Seven remain up on the balcony.

Who is America's next MasterChef?

It's gonna be Bowen.
He's gonna get focused

and he's gonna win it.

- Shanika, please place your apron on your bench.
- Bye, guys.

- Bye, Shanika.
- Gordon: Have a safe trip home. Thank you.

Thank you, Chef. Thank you, guys.

I don't wanna go home,

but I'm super proud
of how far I've come.

Before this competition,

I didn't have any fancy schooling.

Everything that I knew I taught myself.

But MasterChef has
pushed me and tested me

like I've never even imagined before.

- Gerron: Bye, Shanika.
- It's some fire in me.

So, world, watch out.

Narrator: Next time...

Ladies and gentlemen...

...the one and only, Gordon Ramsay.

- I see you, Chef.
- Want a picture?

- ...a culinary legend...
- That's my mentor.

...joins the top seven as
they attempt to turn trash...

There's carcasses. What
am I gonna do with this?

- ...into treasure.
- This is a real showstopper.

- Excuse me, look away.
- Whoa!

- Wow.
- ( whistles )

Mmm.

That's America's next
MasterChef right there.

Competition over.

Sync: Ajvngou www.addic7ed.com