June 14, 2013 | Posted in EPISODE RECAPS, REALITY TV | By sockii
Bottom four elimination challenge
MasterChef Season 4 – episodes available to view at Amazon Instant Video.
Well, this is certainly a different twist on the MasterChef format, and I’m not sure I like it. We’re going to have a full hour devoted to the elimination test for the bottom four contestants from the Eggs Benedict test: Luca, Natasha, Beth and Kathy.
From Los Angeles to Las Vegas…they are in the “real culinary world” now, Gordon Ramsay’s BurGR at Planet Hollywood. They will be divided into two teams and have to serve a signature burger to a group of VIPs. In 60 minutes. They judges pair them up as Luca and Kathy, Beth and Natasha. Luca and Beth are team “leaders”. Gordon will be expediting plates.
Luca decides to do an all-beef patty with caramelized onions and no cheese. It sounds like it might be too simple? Beth and Natasha seem disorganized, unable to really solidify their idea. Beth says it’s going to be a “hangover” burger with mustard and egg…but at the last minute they still can’t decide if the eggs are really a good idea or not. Kathy is having problems with the caramelized onions. It’s hard to tell who is worst off and more likely to fail.
At the last minute, Natasha decides they’re going to ditch the eggs and go with cheese instead. Their Blue Team burger will feature prosciutto, goat cheese, arugula and aioli. Red Team will serve a burger with caramelized onions and arugula.
Blue seems to be getting votes for the savory flavor of their cheese and prosciutto combination. Red team is falling behind on having patties ready. Suddenly it seems as though we’re in Hell’s Kitchen, not MasterChef, as Gordon is screaming “It’s still moving!” and “Raw!” at the Red Team for their undercooked burgers. Blue Team is having problems as well as the high roller guests start casting their votes.
Now it turns out the “VIPS are in the house” – it’s the rest of the cheftestants! They don’t know who is cooking which burger but they’ll be casting the final votes. (I wonder, did they make special veggie burgers for Bri? How did she cast her vote if she’s vegetarian? I’ll have to re-watch to try to figure that out, I suppose…) It’s a rush to the finish and the last four diners don’t get burgers from the Blue Team because of burnt buns. That looks bad for them but the Red Team’s burgers may be overcooked. James thinks both teams missed the mark, Krissi says all she could taste was the goat cheese from Blue.
The votes are tallied and it’s down to the wire. The losing team? Turns out to be the Red Team, Kathy and Luca. They’ll need to face off in one final Vegas challenge and the losing cook will go home.
So, we’re up on what looks like a rooftop as the MasterChef pantry has been brought to Vegas to cook one very Vegas dish: butter-poached lobster with a stunning salad. They have 45 minutes to recreate the dish as it’s been presented to them for tasting and observation.
And so, back and forth we go with the judges making commentary on their cooking techniques and chances of doing it correctly. Luca seems to be doing best at first but the judges are worried he butchered the lobster wrong and losing some of the best meat. Kathy’s timing seems to be off but she removed the lobster meat from the shell well.
Time’s up and personally, Kathy’s plate looks terrible to me as compared to Luca’s. But how do they both taste? Gordon says Kathy’s lobster is cooked perfect for a dish she’s never made before. But Graham points out her plating issues and the salad is nowhere near as good as the lobster. Joe says it’s “so close” but she missed extracting all the lobster meat from the shell.
Luca is next. It’s a good looking dish, presentation-wise. But the lobster is slightly on the “anemic” side color-wise. For him it’s 30-seconds off. The salad, however, is delicious. It’s a good effort. Graham tastes and says it’s seasoned perfectly and the only thing he’d change is the temperature of the dish. Joe tastes and asks Luca what happens if he has to go home? Luca says that’s not in his plans.
And at the end of the night, it turns out Luca is right. By the narrowest of margins Luca wins and Kathy will be going home. It’s a tearful goodbye (for Kathy) and Gordon extends and offer to Kathy to come to his kitchen in New York to learn the ropes (but let’s be clear, he doesn’t make it sound like she has a job there, just an invitation!) Personally non of this is surprising to me; Kathy didn’t seem to be that strong of a competitor and I thought she should have gone home for those hideous cupcakes last time! But the weaker ones will start getting weeded out now and the competition should start getting more interesting. Why is Lynn being downplayed so much when the other chefs are quick to pick him for their teams? I definitely see him as a “sleeper” that may come on strong later on. Krissi is definitely proving her skills even as other people keep trying to put her down. Who will be the next to go? We’ll find out next week…
Looking for more on MasterChef Season 4? Then check out my season Hub Page:
MasterChef US 2013: Season 4
Who will be the next MasterChef? Find out in Season 4 of the intense cooking competition where talented “home cooks” compete for the ultimate title – and prize! Learn more about the contestants in my hub for the season, share your opinions in weekly polls, and check out video highlights as well.
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sockii
sockii is just your typical Jane-of-All-Trades who never has enough time in her day for all of her projects. She has written for many websites online including Squidoo, Zujava, Yahoo! Contributors Network, HubPages and Wizzley. She has been attending and vending at science fiction and media conventions for over 15 years, and for several years ran an art gallery and jewelry store in Philadelphia. Today she is happy to be living in South Jersey with her partner David and their 6 cats. Sockii is a member of several affiliate sales programs including Amazon Associates and Viglink. Products from these services may be advertised on her posts and pages to generate sales commissions.
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