Tonight on FOX Gordon Ramsay’s Masterchef continues with an all-new Wednesday, September 5, 2018, season 9 episode 18 & 19 called “Restaurant Takeover – Cooking With Heart,” and we have your weekly Masterchef recap below.
On tonight’s Masterchef episode as per the FOX synopsis, “The Top Six face the Restaurant Takeover Challenge at Providence in Los Angeles. The home cooks split into two teams and must feed a dining room filled with 48 guests. Then, the remaining five receive a heart-warming mystery box challenge in which contestants will create a dish inspired by their loved-one.”
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The remaining home cooks left the kitchen for the Restaurant Takeover Challenge on tonight’s all-new episode of “MasterChef”.
The restaurant the contestants had used happened to be a Michelin Star restaurant. It had a great reputation and so the home cooks couldn’t afford to let any of their performances fall below par but that wasn’t easy to do. Especially as this particular challenge was a Team Challenge. The captains tonight were chosen because of their steady influence in the kitchen and they were Ashley and Gerron.
Both had proven how well they could work with others and the judges had wanted to see how well could they lead their teams. Ashley became the captain of the Red Team and she had both Bowen and Cesar. Meanwhile, Gerron became the captain for the Blue Team and he had Samantha and Farhan.
Each team had their strengths and weaknesses, which they showed at various points. The Red Team were very precise and in their need to get every little thing right they managed to drag out their dinner service. But the Blue Team had one chef was just too frazzled. They had Samantha and Samantha had been put on the scallops station.
It was her job just to get those scallops right and she kept making mistakes in the kitchen. She had gotten a talking to from Ramsay who was expediting for everyone and she had gotten a reprimand from Gerron. Gerron had wanted her to cook the scallops more thoroughly and he also wanted her to move faster than she was. Samantha was being too slow in the kitchen and she had gotten touchy when that was pointed out to her.
Samantha told Gerron not to yell at her and it hadn’t been yelling. He had been trying to motivate her and it hadn’t been what she was needed. Even if she did continue to cause problems in the kitchen! Gerron had his hands full with her and on his other side, he was also dealing with Farhan. Farhan had been resting the main protein when nothing else was finished and when he wasn’t making mistakes like drying out the food there was also the problem of him moving too slowly. The Blue Team began collapsing under the pressure and Gerron hadn’t known what to do. He tried running around to do it all and he couldn’t do it because it was impossible for one man to run a kitchen. He needed help.
Ramsay tried to step in to tell Gerron what was happening and what he needed to focus on however Gerron had ended up snapping at him because he had already known that his kitchen was putting out any dishes. He got mad because he wasn’t going to get any actual help from his “team” and they were crashing before his very eyes, so the only hope for him had been Bowen. Bowen had been on the Red Team and he tends to collapse under the pressure as well.
He did begin to crack as the night went on and his team stepped in to stop the damage. They each made sure to keep Bowen focused on the important things and Ashley had Bowen attached to her side at all times just to make sure the night went off without a hitch.
Ultimately, both teams were able to recuperate afterward and so both captains had done well. They tried to keep on top of things and the diners got their food in the end. Whether it was enough or not was something both teams had had to wait on. The customers were somewhat split on what they liked and so the judges had had to make a decision. They waited until the next day to inform the teams and they revealed that the Red Team won the challenge. The judges had found them to be the stronger team and they praised Ashley as the Red Team was sent to the balcony. The Blue Team in the meantime were given their aprons for their Pressure Test. The Pressure Test was not one dish, not two dishes, but three dishes.
The contestants had to cook three different desserts based on the judges’ preferences. The judges decided on a White Chocolate Panna Cotta, a Milk Chocolate Whipped Mousse, and a Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cake. Each of these deserts had complex instructions and they all had to be cooked within a short time period. So the contestants each had strict restrictions. They all tried to adhere to those restrictions and naturally, mistakes were made along the way. There was Samantha who hadn’t properly whisked her mousse and so it came out more like a soup. Then there were the others who hadn’t been as strong bakers as Samantha was. She had been leading the way until that chocolate soup thing and her mistake allowed the others to catch up. And so the judges weren’t sure of anything until the very last moment.
The home cooks all got their three dishes in front in time and so the first part was over but then came the tasting. Ramsay found out not everyone tasted their dishes before serving it and the first thing to be judged was the Molten Lava Cake. Ramsay loved both Samantha’s and Gerron’s. He hadn’t been able to taste Farhan’s because it hadn’t been cooked in the slightest and that meant Farhan was initially behind everyone. Then came the Mousse. Both Gerron’s and Farhan’s had been perfect for Chef Sanchez. The judge hadn’t been able to properly judge Samantha’s because he hadn’t really been mousse. And so finally, the judges tasted the pannacotta. Joe had liked all of the Panna cottas though he did find a problem with both Samantha’s and Farhan’s.
The only one that had cooked each three of the desserts perfectly was Gerron. The other two had each made mistakes and so the judges chose between Samantha and Farhan. They looked at their performances in the Pressure Test and they all felt Samantha had been stronger, so they chose to eliminate Farhan.
Only “MasterChef” hadn’t been over. It was a two-hour episode and going into the second hour there had been a Mystery Box Challenge waiting for the home cooks. They had all been excited to find out what was underneath the boxes though none had been prepared for what they found. There hadn’t been any of the ingredients in the Mystery Box and instead, the contestants found letters. The letters had all been from home and reading them had moved quite a few of them to tears. They had all been separated from their families for weeks now and so they had missed them. They had a couple of moments to just reminisce and then they were told about the real challenge. The contestants had a chance to freestyle for their first challenge and there had later been another surprise.
The home cooks had grabbed their ingredients and had even figured out what they wanted to make to wow the judges but then they left the pantry and they each found a family member waiting for them. The parents and the spouses had all come out to support the home cooks and so there was a special audience tonight. The families watched as each contestant cooked something from home and then they found their favorites. The first dish they called was Gerron’s. He created a Potato Soup with Herb-Infused Oil, Bacon, Sour Cream, Croutons, and Chives. It looked delicious and it was special to Gerron because it was the first thing he had ever made for his fiancée. And so it was perhaps one of his greatest dishes in the kitchen.
The next dish the judges called was Bowen’s. Bowen created a Pan-Seared Pork Chop with Sautéed Peppers, Pepper Sauce, Beets, and Cauliflower Puree. He said it was his husband’s favorite dish and again it was one of his best dishes in the kitchen. The last dish they called was Samantha’s. She created a Farfalle with Vodka Cream Sauce, Mushrooms, and Fried Basil. Now the judges usually would have just called the top three dishes and tonight they chose to call down all five. The next dish they tasted was Cesar’s. He created Pork and Potato Tacos with Homemade Flour Tortilla and Pineapple-Habanero Salsa. The homemade tortillas really did elevate the dish and so the judges were confident that Cesar was a strong contender for the last challenge.
As for the last person they called, Ashley had created a Brined and Grilled Pork Chop with Sweet Potato Puree and Buttermilk Biscuits. The judges said that maybe some acidity could be thrown in next time and other than that they had really enjoyed it. So each home cook had elevated a homestyle dish and the judges had had a tough time choosing which was their favorite. They had actually needed some time to deliberate and when they came back they announced the winner. The winner of tonight’s Mystery Box Challenge was Bowen. Bowen was glad he won this challenge in front of his husband because he got to tell his husband how much he misses him and so saying goodbye to the families again had been hard on everyone, not just Bowen.
The difference was that Bowen also received an advantage with his win. He still had to cook in the Elimination Challenge and so his advantage was in protein. He got to choose which protein his competitors got to cook with and tonight all of the protein were variants of the same thing. They were all hearts. They were duck heart, tuna heart, lamb heart, artichoke heart, and beef heart. Bowen nearly gave himself the vegetable because he thought it would be the easiest to cook and so he hadn’t known about the secret trap. The artichoke was apparently better off if it was served in a Mediterranean dish and that meant it couldn’t be placed into an Asian Fusion dish. And that’s what the judges believed Bowen was going to make.
Bowen, as it turns out, went into a different direction. He created a perfect dish and hadn’t added the artichoke hearts by the time the judges were looking around, so they tried to warn him that he had to include the protein in time or he ran the risk of not having enough. He listened and he tried to add enough artichoke except it hadn’t been enough. He created an Artichoke Salad with Quail Egg, Cabbage Roll, and Shrimp which was delicious and would have been better if there had been more artichoke. But Bowen had chosen the protein for everyone else and so there were other dishes to judge. Cesar had created some Tuna Heart Kebabs with Sesame Rice and Roasted Mushrooms and, despite the most challenging heart, he had gotten all the flavors right.
Samantha had been given duck heart. She created a Grilled Duck Heart with Brown Rice, Cranberry Compote, and Cabbage Slaw. It hadn’t looked that great on the plate only the flavor had been there and the judges had enjoyed it. Afterward, Ashley went up. She created a Moroccan inspired Fried Lamb Heart with Couscous, Roasted Vegetables, and Tomato Ragu and it had been another great dish from her. The last dish that was called was Gerron’s. He created a Beef Heart spin on Beef and Onions. It was called Beef Heart and Onions with Herb-Potato Mash, Sautéed Cabbage, and Stewed Tomatoes. It hadn’t looked that great on the plate and so its saving grace had been the taste. It tasted amazing and it was up there with the best in flavor. And so the problem was that by this stage, everything should have been great.
Both Gerron and Samantha had ended up in the bottom two because of their plating but the judges couldn’t send anyone home.
They loved every dish too much to eliminate anyone for this last Elimination Challenge.
THE END!
