"Last time on MasterChef..." "Three eliminated home cooks returned..." " Bemi!" " Lynn." "And Bri." "...and battled it out to win a spot back in the MasterChef kitchen." "Ow." "This one's raw." "And Lynn quickly got fried, leaving Bime and Bri to go head-to-head." "You don't get too many second chances." "Nothing's going to stand in my way of getting that white apron." "And after a blind taste test..." "Please welcome back..." "Bri." "Can I not get this girl out of my life?" "Did you guys miss me or what?" "Oh, my God." "Tonight the competition turns "fowl."" "Shut up." "Oh!" "There are birds all over the place." "Hold on to him!" "If I have to kill it, I'll kill it with my bare hands." "The home cooks spread their wings..." " Come on, guys." " I have no idea what I'm doing." "You're in big trouble." "...in a race for a place in the top six." "This is cutthroat right now." "And one of the biggest names of the season..." "This has been your worst performance." "...makes a grand exit." "Say good-bye." "Walking into the MasterChef kitchen again just feels so right." "I feel like my full potential hasn't even been reached yet." "I feel like there's so much more for me to give in this competition, and this time I'm not letting anything stand in my way." "You have all accomplished the almost impossible." "You have made it to the final seven of the biggest culinary competition in all of America." "Soon the seven of you will be down to six." "One of you will be walking out of this kitchen forever." "To make sure that's not you, win this upcoming mystery box challenge." "Now on the count of three, lift your mystery boxes." "When I lift up that box, I hope that there's something I'm comfortable with..." " One..." " Because I really need to step up my game to, like, a whole another level." "Two..." "Three." "That's right." "A 16-ounce T-bone steak." "I'm from Texas." "I'm also a man." "These two things will tell you that I probably eat steak once a week." "That's a fact." "Walmart has provided you with a choice premium T-bone steak." "Walmart sells the highest quality choice beef, which is inspected by the USDA for quality." "We want to see you make a composed dish featuring that T-bone steak as the star." "In just a moment, a truck from Walmart will be stopping right outside, packed full of a variety of fresh produce and groceries." "You have 45 minutes to make us a steak dish featuring that Walmart steak as the hero." "Your 45 minutes start..." "Now!" "Off you go." "It's kind of fun." "We've never done this before, so I'm excited to see what's in the truck." "Whoo!" "Bingo." "Everything I need is actually there." "I get some beautiful fingerling potatoes, a beautiful red onion, brussels sprouts that are gorgeous." "The produce is awesome, and the steak has flavor already, but adding more flavor" "I think is a key element in winning today." " T-bone steak." " A dream." "A chef's dream." "But tonight we want to see" " this T-bone steak elevated, right?" " Right." "You do not want us to see meat and potatoes." "No, exactly." "Something more substantial." "So what would you do, Graham?" "A simple rub." "Not too spicy." "And grill it." "And then with that maybe some potato salad, something cool." "Just again kind of screaming summertime." "Welcome back to me." "The mystery box is steak." "I'm trying always to remember my time management skills and how important that is." "I'm just trying to constantly remember all the things that I've learned, you know, and all the mistakes that I made, and I'm trying not to make them again." "James, how we doing?" "I'm doing great, chefs." "How are y'all?" "What is your plan for this T-bone?" "Here's the thing." "Every time we use these Walmart steaks," "I'm always blown away at the quality of them." "So when I get a good cut of meat," "I don't try and screw it up with crazy sauces or anything." "I try and cook it perfectly, serve it medium-rare." "I'm gonna cream some spinach and kale on the side and make it, like, a nice, rich kind of thing." "Good luck." "Luca, tell me about the dish." "I'm doing filet mignon grilled." "The sirloin on the pan." " Nice." " I'm doing classic haricots verts, roasted potatoes, and a parmesan crema for the filet." "So you're going classic." " A little bit more elegant." " A little more elegant." "Yeah." "Plus, you don't want to play it safe." "It sounds adventurous." "There's a lot going on there." "Yeah, yeah, I got it." "Jordan, how are we doing?" "Hey." "Doing good, chef." "We're doing a blue cheese and parsley and lemon zest compound butter." "To go on top of the seared steak, I did a nice, dry rub with it with some spice." " You're a creative guy." " Yeah." "Right?" "You always think out of the box." "You so some stuff." "Sometimes too much." " Yes." "Agreed." " But how come you've never won a mystery box?" "'Cause I over-think it, and I go a little too crazy." "And that's just not the right way to do it." "Good luck." "I think Jordan's is gonna be good." "Oh, really?" "What's he got?" "Yeah, he's got some squash that's been battered kind of, like, dusted in some parmesan, that are fried up." "So Luca's gonna do a T-bone steak two ways." "He's gonna quickly grill the filet and almost, like, braise the New York strip." " That's the wrong thing." " You would braise the filet and grill the sirloin." "The most complex dish he's ever done." "I think Bri looks a little bit lost quite frankly." " Oh, really?" " Yeah." " How's it going, Krissi?" " It's going great." " Wow, that's beautiful." " Thank you." "I call them Pommes de Krissi." "What are we in for here today?" "A nice, crusted steak" " with some sage and..." " What's this?" " Like a beet..." " That is a brussels sprout caramelized onion salad." "Very fancy, Krissi." "Thank you." "Where did all this inspiration come from?" "This is so not you." "It's me, but it's turned up a notch." " I'm so excited." " Thanks." "I'm excited too." "Last five minutes." "Oh, my gosh." "How did that happen?" "I went to Krissi's, and I was like, "Who is this cook?"" "a potato galette with, like, a warm vegetable salad" " and vinaigrette." " Really?" "Like, out of nowhere." "She's like a different person." "Wow." "Come on, guys." "You got to start finishing those plates." "Come on." "Last ten seconds." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop." "Five, four, three, two, one, and stop." "Hands in the air." "Well done, guys." "Throughout the mystery box challenge, the judges taste elements of all the home cooks' dishes as they come together." "They now take one last look to choose the top three standouts, and the winner of this challenge will receive a major advantage in the next round." "We gave you a Walmart choice premium T-bone steak and some groceries." "We asked you to make us a delicious steak dish." "The first dish that we want to bring forward..." "This person has yet to win a mystery box, and today could be the day this person changes all of that." "Please step forward..." "Jordan." " Finally." " Yeah." "Seriously." "What's the dish?" "I have a seared New York strip with a dry rub on it and a little spice on it, parsley and celery root puree." "The compound butter is parsley, blue cheese, and lemon zest, along with some caramelized onions and then parm-encrusted squash." "I like the dish." "Good balance between the puree and fried." "Looking for a perfect medium-rare." "What do you think?" "A little more rare." "I don't mind that." "I do like the seasoning on your steak." "These are caramelized onions?" "Yeah, I took..." "the bones and fat that I did remove" "I rendered down and then caramelized with those." " I like that." " Thank you." "Sweet, rich." "Definitely top three dish." " Really Good." " Thank you, Joe." "You didn't use the filet." "You just used the strip." "Just the strip." "Um, the onions and the protein together, delicious." "The seasoning, the balance, you've got absolutely spot-on." "Thank you, chef." "The flavor's there." "Sweet, sour, the spice on the steak." "All of those flavors are really nice." "This deserves to be in the top three for sure." " Good job." " Thank you, chefs." "Thank you." "I've only been in the top three one time, and it's been quite some time since then." "This is my chance to take people out and win this competition." "The second dish that we would like to examine further..." "The home cook that put it together is starting to hit this level." "Luca." "I don't know what the hell's been going on with Luca, but all of a sudden that dude has been on fire." "I'd really like that to stop." "As we say, Luca, it's not how you start," "It's how you finish." "What's the dish?" "I make a grilled filet mignon served with haricots verts and roasted potatoes." "Very classic..." "With a parmesan crema." "The sirloin steak is actually pan-seared with caramelized onions." "And I made beef sauce." "So why did you wait till now to start creating these kind of dishes?" "Like, in the beginning, were you just fluffing it?" " Were you not paying attention?" " No." "You almost went home in Vegas." "I mean, come on." "I think it's really, like, a learning process." "This is, like a steak you would expect to have, like, in a really good Parisian bistro or maybe in the West Village in New York." "Really good." " Bravo." " Thank you." "Luca, why two different ways?" "Because I didn't want to grill the T-bone steak just like that." "It would have been, I think, way too simple." "Delicious." "It's seasoned beautifully." "You're taking this competition very seriously now." "Because the amount of effort you put into that dish over the last 45 minutes was extraordinary." "You're the real deal." "Good job." "Thank you." "Two times in a row" " in the top three." " Nice job, dude." "I work so hard to get to this point." "I got this extra push of confidence, and I just start cooking in a completely different way." "The third and final dish that we are so excited to taste." "This individual, they have come out of their comfort zone, really pushed themselves, but elevated their execution sort of better than we could have hoped for." "Krissi." " How you doing, Krissi?" " Hey, Graham." "What is the dish?" "Just a pan-seared steak with a compound butter," "I call them Pommes de Krissi, and a caramelized onion and brussels sprout salad." "I'm looking right here at this sear." "Were you cooking this in butter, or what did you do?" "Nope." "Just a cast-iron skillet." "My grandfather always made steak in a cast-iron skillet, and I always thought it was the best 'cause it gave it such a good caramelization on there and a crust." "The steak on its own is delicious, but when you rub that compound butter on, that lemon zest comes through, those herbs, incredible complement to the minerality of that steak." "We saw a lot of variations of fingerling potatoes... fried, crispy, cut up like home fries." "These surpass 'em all." "I think you found your voice in cooking, so great job." "Thanks." "The cook on the cut..." "Medium-rare." "The sear on the steak is done professionally." "Even though I've never been to a fancy steakhouse." " Never?" " No." "First of all, the ingredients aren't unusual for you, but what you've managed to do is elevate it." "I mean, it's just, again, like, something out of a stunning steakhouse." "The galette is delicious." "Absolutely blown away by that because of the crispiness and the seasoning on there." " Good job." " Thanks." "Thanks, Luca." "Seriously, great job." "This is where it gets more difficult for us." "But there was one dish that was just outsmarting its competition." "The person who cooked the best steak dish tonight who will now receive a huge advantage in the up-and-coming elimination challenge..." "Congratulations..." "In this mystery box challenge, the home cooks had just 45 minutes to prepare an amazing dish with a Walmart T-bone steak." "Only one of you three can be the winner and join us in the pantry for this huge advantage." "The person who cooked the best steak dish tonight..." "Congratulations..." "Krissi." "Finally." "I won." "I'm feeling really proud." "I kicked ass today." "And my kid would be proud of me." "Krissi, are you ready to go into the pantry and find out your huge advantage?" " Oh, yeah." " Let's go." "Good job." "Well done." "Well done, well done, well done." "What just happened?" "I'm so pissed right now." "She's cooked with brussels sprouts before." "She's done potatoes before." "I thought I got it." "I thought you had it too." "Krissi is now in control of the elimination test, where at least one person will leave the competition." "Welcome, Krissi, to the MasterChef pantry." "Please come in." "The one thing she can't control is the theme of the challenge." "As always, that is in the hands of the judges." "Krissi, welcome to the MasterChef pantry." "Whoo-Hoo!" "Finally." "Yeah." " How does it feel?" " It feels awesome." "I'm not gonna lie." "I got, like, this evilness going in me." "You got to use that to your advantage." "Absolutely." "I'm gonna take some people out today." "Your first advantage is that you don't have to cook in the upcoming challenge." "Congratulations, you are now in the top six." "The theme of this challenge is fresh food." "I hear something." "Really fresh food." "Any idea what's under here?" "It sounds like a frog or a cricket." "Well, under here" "I have... a quail." "Weighing only half a pound, this tiny bird can easily be overcooked." "Under here I have... a pigeon." "Ew." "Its meat is dark, tender, moist, but it can be gamey." "I have a beautiful midwestern pheasant..." "Which is probably the bird that people are least likely" " to have worked with." " Mm-hmm." "If you don't know what you're doing with this bird, it's impossible to nail it." "Okay, they just keep getting bigger." "What do you think's under here?" "I don't know, but I'm just so excited, 'cause Bri's gonna freak out." "A chicken." "Look at you." "Easily the most familiar bird in this country." "In my first cage," "I have a gorgeous... duck." "Very difficult to get right." "Laced with a lot of fat, and by the time you've rendered the fat down, you're hoping you haven't overcooked the protein." "And then finally the most amazing," " incredible..." " Turkey." "It's very cumbersome to work with." "It can be very easily dried out." "You now get to choose what bird each home cook uses in this elimination challenge." "This is gonna be so awesome!" "I totally have a plan of attack, and I am gonna make a devastating strategic blow to these peeps, and they're gonna be like, "Wow, we just got hit with a Krissi missile."" "Hey, peeps." "Because Krissi won the last mystery box challenge, she is safe from elimination and is now guaranteed a spot in the top six of MasterChef." "At the end of tonight, at least one of you will be leavingthe MasterChef kitchen." "There were six different proteins in the pantry." "Krissi assigned one protein for each of you." "You guys will have five minutes to collect your assigned protein from the pantry." "Be smart." "Be fast." "More importantly, be very, very careful." "Your horrific five minutes in the pantry starts now." "A paralegal..." "Their job is to gather information." "That is my thing." "I listen to everything you say," "I put it right here, and I use it for later." "So I got a lot of ammo to take out a key player." "Uh-Oh." "Oh, my gosh, it's loose." "Shut up." "There's a series of live avian creatures in this area." "Quite the "fowl" scenario." " That's a peacock, right?" " That's not a peacock." " What is this?" " That's a turkey." "Losers." "Do they have our names on it?" " That has Luca's face on it." " That has me!" "I'm a turkey?" " I don't get it." " You got to catch it." "I don't catch a turkey." "Each bird has a tag on it with the face of the cook that will have to cook that bird." "You should like me." "I'm a vegetarian." "Oh, god." "Ugh." "Natasha and Luca are my biggest competition, and third is Jordan." "I know that Natasha has never worked with nor even tasted a pheasant." "I think she might struggle in this today." "Hi, guy." "Stop, come here." "Luca's getting the turkey because they don't have thanksgiving in Italy." " Oh, it's so heavy." " You got him!" "Hold on to him!" "Hey, little quail guy." "I'm giving the quail to Jordan because the quail is very complicated, and Jordan is so complicated that if my plan with Natasha doesn't work out and Luca doesn't screw up like I feel like he's going to," "Jordan's bound to." "I'm holding a turkey." "Hello." "I've never killed an animal before, but I didn't come to MasterChef to be the one that doesn't do what I have to do." "If I have to kill it, I'll kill it." "If I have to kill it with my bare hands," "I'll kill it with my bare hands." "Whatever it takes." "All of you are holding a live bird in your hands... the kind of bird that you have to cook with this evening and produce a stunning dish." "Its heart is beating out of its chest, and I'm like, they're gonna make us kill the chicken?" "I can't do this." "But all of you, don't worry." "Those birds are safe." "Come with me." "Let's put them back in the cages, please." "Thank god." "I do not know what I would have done if I had to butcher the bird." " Nice, thank you." " Oh!" "Okay, great, right, all of you, please, head back to your stations where you'll find the same bird, but this time plucked and ready to cook with." "I am very relieved that I did not have to strangle a duck in front of other people." "It seems like more of a private thing." "You've got 60 minutes to create a stunning dish where the bird has to be the hero." "Your 60 minutes starts now." "I have no idea what I'm doing." "I don't know how to butcher this bird, so I might as well take my apron off." "This is a very tough elimination challenge." "We all know that Krissi can cook." "This is the first time I think that she's shown that intellect of understanding what every bird represents and brings to the table and how each contestant is gonna get screwed with it." "I don't know anything really about the pheasant." "I just know that it's a different taste than chicken or turkey, so I think" "I'm a little bit in trouble tonight." "Krissi gave Natasha what I consider to be probably the most difficult bird, the pheasant." "Dries out immediately." "You have to know how to cook it." "It has a very particular taste." "It could put Natasha in the bottom three, and it could quite possibly send her home." "Just trying to get this leg out of its joint." "I'm gonna use it to hopefully make a little stock." "I'm not as confident as I normally am going into all of these, so it kind of gets me a little worried." " You got me, Krissi." " You'll be fine." "I'm not really worried about you." " I am." " Nah, you'll be fine." "Obviously I want Natasha to go home because I don't like the fact that she can cook and bake, because, like, that's my thing." "There's only room for one Krissi in this competition." "In this elimination test, the home cooks have just 60 minutes to prepare a dish" " using a bird..." " Stop, come here." "That was selected for them by mystery box winner Krissi." "I've been waiting for this advantage for a long time." "Come on, guys." "The bird has to be the hero." "I've got three missiles out there focused on my biggest competition." "I'm targeting Luca, Jordan, and Natasha." "All right, Luca, how are you doing?" "I'm doing great, chef." "So how are you gonna cook the turkey?" "Well, I took the breast and put in the oven, just in case." " You're roasting the breast?" " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "60 minutes, not 6 hours." "I know, I know, but it's not that big." "This one, I'm gonna treat them like a chicken breast." "Why do you think she gave you the turkey?" "Because I believe she doesn't think I have experience with turkey because in Italy, we really don't eat turkey." "No, there's a shorter version than that." "She wants you out of here." "Yeah?" " Good luck." " Thank you, chef." "So, Jessie, what are you making?" "Pan-fried chicken?" "You got a pass today, huh?" "I wouldn't call it a pass." "I'm gonna go a little Southern today." "Doing a little succotash." "This looks like a very homey south dish." "I see bacon." "I see chicken..." "Yep, it's gonna be a homey south dish." "Don't make it too homey, though." "We're still looking for, like, nice plating," " elevated, restaurant dish." " Right." "Who do you think needs to leave now?" "I would love to see Natasha go home today." "And I kind of think that was part of the target plan of Krissi and something we all want." "Just coming up to 20 minutes to go." "Bri, what are you doing?" "I am stuffing my pigeon." "This was my stuffing." " What's in there?" " Beet greens, apples," " sage, chives, little bit of lemon juice." " Mm-hmm." "So you're bringing a vegetarian sort of blend" " into the pigeon's cavity, right?" " Yes, chef, exactly." "Okay, good." "Good luck." " Jordan, how you doing?" " Good." "Walk me through what you have with the quail." "Just salt and peppered it and let it sit." "What is in the sauce?" "Some chicken stock, and then I fortified it with some root veggies." "You know what the problem with this sauce?" "Tastes like premade chicken stock." "I just used half chicken stock, half water, and put more flavoring in it." "Dude, you did nothing with your quail." "It was on the bench till 40 minutes gone." "You didn't marinate it." "You didn't do anything to it." "If you don't figure out how to get some quail flavor into that sauce, you're in big trouble." "Fix it up." "Fix it up." "You got, like, ten minutes." "Krissi's been the distributor of a lot of pain in this elimination challenge." "Jessie is really underperforming for me." "She's got another corn relish on the side and then the chicken." "And she's got a leg in the pan that's nowhere near gonna be finished." "Jessie looks like she's cooking for a country fair, not MasterChef." " Yeah." " I'm impressed with Bri." "So she stuffed the pigeon, and she's left it whole." "She's being so creative with what she's doing." " This girl's a vegetarian, guys." " Right." "I'm really impressed with Natasha, thinking about making a stock with the pheasant, making a risotto." "It might not only save her, it might elevate her to the top." "It's that smart of a dish." " It could be really refined." " Mm-hmm." "Jordan took some premade chicken stock and reduced it to make a sauce." "and then he boiled the quail in it." "It's like flaccid just quail skin sitting in the pot." " Skin on?" " Yeah." "This is again Jordan reaching way beyond his ability, and this time he's gonna fall flat on his face, and it might take him home." "Last minute." "Do that bird justice, guys." "Come on, guys." "Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, and stop, guys." " Well done." " All right." "Who thinks they've got the best bird?" "Not all at the same time." "No one?" "Seriously?" "Krissi, please, would you be so kind to make your way to your station?" "Thank you." "Right." "Let's taste these incredible birds." "First up, Jessie, please." "I can't say I feel overly confident about my dish, but these flavors go together, so I should be fine." "I should be safe." "So what is it?" "We have a pan-seared chicken breast with a roasted garlic sauce, summer vegetable succotash, and smashed red potatoes." "Hmm." "This was a challenge where we were looking for sophisticated dishes." "You think that a pan-roasted chicken breast with mashed potatoes and corn succotash is, like, restaurant?" "My ideas of going super gourmet I haven't practiced, so I thought chicken breast would be the safe bet." "Hmm, safe." "Is that how you wanted to play it?" "Just didn't want to try something new that horribly went wrong." "Does that look juicy?" "It's cooked through." "It could be juicier." "It's really dry." "It seems like a dish that's not really in the game to play." "It's a disappointment, Jessie." "This looks like what we eat at the family reunion with Skynyrd playing in the background." "Look at that." "That's like frozen dinner." "This is not your best." "This is the kind of plate that we send people home on." "Jessie, so visually, it looks like you're just playing safe." "I think you could do that when there's 20 left in this competition." "We're down to the final seven." "Safe doesn't get you anywhere." "The sweet corn, you know, is pale." "The peppers are, you know, raw." "If that's your best, then maybe it's time to go back and have another dinner with your parents." "Dude, I gave you chicken." "If you go home, you kind of deserve it." "We're getting down to the wire now, and playing safe isn't gonna get you very far." "I don't want to see mashed potatoes anymore." "I don't want to see bland, boring succotash on the plate." "If that's your best, then maybe it's time to go back and have another dinner with your parents." "I completely agreed with everything the judges had to say." "There's only six of us cooking, and you can't get away with simple, and I have no excuse." "Next up, Natasha." "Walking up to the judges, I'm a little bit nervous." "This plate right now doesn't look like it's a winner dish." "So what is it?" "It's a risotto with a pheasant breast and some purple cauliflower and then some white asparagus." "Your risotto's excellent, and the pheasant is cooked, like, perfectly." "It's just still moist and really great." "Considering that Krissi really tried to give you a roadblock to stumble on, instead you took the pheasant and used it as a stepping stone and really kicked it up a notch." "Delicious, great, smart, intelligent, flavorful, very elegant, very refined." "I wish you could all taste this because it really is on another level." " Congratulations." " Thank you." "What's the seasoning on the pheasant?" "It's salt, some pepper, and I added a little bit of sumac on there." "The pheasant is delicious." "Pink, beautifully cooked." "The citrus flavor from the sumac is wonderful." "I mean, traditionally North African, Moroccan, sometimes French-inspired dishes are seasoned with that, but that really works." "Thank you." "I thought honestly you were gonna overcook that bird, but no, no, you've nailed it." "You're a force to be reckoned with." " Good job." " Thank you." "Krissi, I think your plans backfired." "Natasha keeps getting these passes." "I don't think she's as great as she thinks she is." "All right, next up, please, James." "My duck is rubbed with Togarashi and pan-seared with some quick kimchi, some ginger scallion rice, and some oyster mushrooms that were basted with the rendered duck fat." "When I see other people's knowledge of "Asian food,"" "it consists of, like, adding soy sauce or something else." "Here you're making your own kimchi, spicing the duck with Togarashi, which is a japanese chili pepper spice blend." "Duck's flavor and what you put together with what you had is as good as I think anything else you've put up." "Good job." "Thanks." "Okay, Luca." " The turkey." " Turkey." "So what did you do?" "Pancetta-wrapped turkey tender, served with braised swiss chard, sweet potatoes puree, sauteed mushroom, and red wine cranberry sauce." "Why did she give you a turkey?" "I think because she knew that, you know, in Italy, we don't eat that many turkeys, and the only time that I really eat turkey is for Thanksgiving, and I usually never cook it." "The turkey is actually delicious." "It's moist, seasoned very nicely." "The saltiness of the pancetta gives it a great flavor." "I like the puree." "I mean, you took a turkey breast and kind of turned it into, like, a restaurant-y kind of dish." " Good job, Luca." " Thank you." "Let's go, Bri." "Fly that pigeon down." "Bri apparently decided to leave the pigeon whole instead of butchering it because of her "animal views,"" "and I hope it's raw inside, 'cause I hate her." "This is a stuffed roast pigeon." "The stuffing is green apples, beet greens, sage, thyme, goat cheese, with a arugula and mushroom cauliflower couscous and red beets." "Visually, it looks like it's just been sent out to the restaurant to get carved." "It's got that wow factor because you've got color all around it." "What are you looking in terms of cook-wise?" "Well, I believe that it's supposed to be rare." "Yeah, rare, medium-rare." "And there already you can see you have a absolute perfectly-cooked pigeon." "Extraordinary." "How'd you know how to do that?" "I took your advice from last time, and I touched it." "It's delicious." "I mean, really good indeed." "The reason it's so moist is because you stuffed it." "So that is cooked absolutely on point, 100%." "Couscous is nice, the center is delicious." "Part of me is still worried that one day it's gonna come back and bite you on the butt that you are a vegetarian." "However, every challenge, you're nailing it." " Good job." "Really good job." " Thank you." "So, Bri, I went to your bench, I touched your pigeon, and I said, "You know, guys, it's gonna be bloody and raw at the bone."" "And Gordon said, "No, it's not." "It's gonna be perfectly cooked."" "And I was like, "No, it's not." "It's gonna be raw."" "And sure enough, and it happens once in a while," "Gordon's right." " You really nailed it." " Thank you." "Your original cook is very intuitive, very smart." "I think you are a frontrunner, and I think that more people in this room" "Should really look out for you, because you're strong." "All right, next up, please, Jordan." "Looking at Jordan's plate as he's walking by almost looks like he's kind of given up." "It looks like something that came out of a diner." "So describe the dish." "Pan-seared quail finished off in a braising liquid with some chicken stock and root vegetables fortified with some red wine." "So I mean, as a chef, instinctively, did you feel" " out of your element..." " Oh, yeah." "With the quail?" "Definitely felt out of my element." "I've never dealt with quail, didn't know if I should let it sing by itself and just treat it with some salt and pepper, pan-sear it, and that's what I ended up doing in the long run." "It's definitely under." "I didn't know if I was supposed to serve it raw or all the way cooked." "That's almost too under to eat, no?" " I mean..." " That's disgusting." "I didn't know how to cook it." "Dude, I expect so much more from you now." "Have you already checked out?" "Are you not psyched anymore, or what's..." "No, I didn't mean to check out." "It's..." "the quail got the best of me." "The olives, the burnt vegetables, and then the quail trying to be cooked in a cream sauce, which was so thick and so dense and just tasted of chicken." "Here's what you've got to start doing." "Something you're not familiar with, don't ignore it for 45 minutes of the 60 minutes." "Get used to it." "Whether it's a brine, a pickle, a marinade, quail needs help." "Okay." "I think this has been your worst performance." "I don't know what to do with this." "It's like fleshy, raw." "This is beyond any redemption." "If you get back on the delivery route, you'll have a lot of time to think about this quail." "Mm-hmm." "Krissi targeted me today, and she nailed it, hook, line, sinker." "I have been sunk." "This is a fleshy, raw disappointment." "If you get back on the delivery route, you'll have a lot of time to think about this quail." "I'm not meant to be a delivery driver because food is where my heart lies." "My ultimate food dream is to build a five-star dive bar, so I'm not ready to go home yet." "For tonight's elimination challenge, we asked you to cook us a restaurant-quality stunning dish using the birds that Krissi selected for you." "Krissi, you definitely played a few ace cards there." "Good move." "There were two successes tonight." "The first home cook continues to excel, continues to surprise us." "Well done, Bri." "Thank you." "You will be one of the team captains in the next challenge." "Cool." "Winner, winner, pigeon dinner, because I get to be a team captain." "The greatest dish came from somebody that Krissi was really, really hoping would leave the competition tonight." "But the exact opposite happened." "The person that excelled once again..." " Natasha." " Thanks." "Well done." "That makes you a team captain in the next challenge." "Awesome." "I'm on cloud nine." "I'm happy." "Krissi came at me, and it didn't work." "I'm not gonna take it easy on anyone anymore." "I have to sit back, have a glass of wine, and go through my hit list." "The vast majority of you did a great job tonight." "However, there were two dishes that just didn't work." "The first dish, nowhere near ambitious enough, but maybe this individual has peaked." "Jessie, make your way down here." "The second disastrous dish tonight, this individual had no idea how to execute this small, delicate bird." "Jordan, make your way down." "Yeah, I mean, I sent out three missiles today." "And Jordan was a direct hit, but Jessie?" "Like, dude, I gave you chicken." "How easy could I make it for you?" "Jessie, that was boring and uninspiring." "Protein itself was overcooked, lackluster in flavor, but the garnish was even worse, bland." "Jordan, that was underwhelming and just..." "You're out of your depth." "Two home cooks that all three of us were marking for the top five." "We'd like to keep you both in the competition." "But we can't." "Someone is going to leave." "Jessie, step forward." "It was really seriously close." "But you are on your way... into the top six." "Please, say good-bye to Jordan." "Jessie, playing safe is not an option." "It won't happen again." "Jordan, I think that you have a tremendous ability to cook, and you're very hardworking." "Minneapolis, Chicago, they're pretty close, so if you ever want to take that trip and come work in the restaurant, door to the kitchen's open." "Thank you, Graham." "You got all the technical attributes." "What I want is the foundation, and that would be an amazing opportunity to go and spend three months in a kitchen, because you've got it." "And that's what hurts sending you home tonight." "You've got it, and you know you've got it," " but you've got too much of it." " Thank you, yeah." "Do not fall out of love with cooking." "I know the dream." "And you got to continue that." "Come and say good-bye to me, man." "Ah." "Look out there, the top six, who is gonna win MasterChef?" "I don't think there's a question in my mind." "That lady right there, miss Natasha, she can be a bitch because she's knows what she's doing, and you can get away with being a bitch if you can back it up, and she can back it up." "Thank you, guys." "Thank you." "Peace, man." "It's been a fun journey." "I've worked my ass off to get to here, and I love food." "And this is what I want to do with the rest of my life." "Good-bye, Jordan." "I'm gonna continue taking risks." "I'm gonna continue being confident, but there's gonna be another humble side of me." "And without this experience, I wouldn't have learned that." "You are the one to watch, my friend." "It would make your mom really proud." "I got to meet three genius individuals, and I got to be tutored under them." "That's a lifetime experience that not many people get." "You're a delivery driver, yet you cook like a pastry chef because you've got that kind of magic in you." "Thank you, chef." "Whoo!" "I have learned to keep kicking, keep treading, keep giving it your all." "It's perfect." "It's a restaurant dish." "My mother instilled in me at a young age that, if you don't cook with the emotion that you carry yourself in the world, then you're not cooking with your heart." "Thank you, mom." "I came, and I wanted to do my mom proud." "And I think I did my mom proud." "Next time on MasterChef..." "A team challenge takes the contestants to new heights..." "Welcome to the top of Los Angeles." "At one of L.A.'s finest restaurants." "Keep it up, guys." "But it isn't long..." " Luca!" " Before the meltdowns begin." "Now it's burning." "Bri, there's nothing coming out!" "Let's go, guys!" "Let's go!" "If you put cold water in the steamer, what happens?" "The shrimp are raw." " Start again." " Yes, chef!" "And another pressure test..." "It's time to take your apron off." "Eliminates one, making way for the top five."