MasterChef Season 5 – Week 1 Recap Blog

Welcome to my first blog for Your Reality Recaps covering MasterChef!  I apologize for the lack of photos, next week I will be all over them!   Check out my bio page to learn more about me and that said… Here we are with another wonderful season of MasterChef in the making. Between Graham Elliot losing 150lbs and all the things we get just in this first episode, I’m very excited to see one of these home cooks move on to the finale and become America’s next MasterChef.

As the episode starts, we get the usual introduction— “All across America we’ve put on the largest search ever conducted in MC history, yada, yada.” Then we see the helicopters and I think to myself, is this really how we’re going to open the show? Is this MasterChef or Survivor? As the narration goes on, we realize that not only are they foregoing the auditions altogether this season, but they’ve already narrowed it down to a Top 30.

Out of this top 30, we have what appear to be some really interesting hopefuls, whom all share different backgrounds fro the typical stay-at-home mom/dad to an aerial dancer and a church music director. For the sake of keeping things simple, lets ignore all that for a minute. Fact is— we all know where you’re from and what you do does not dictate what you can put on a plate.

Willie; this guy, who looks like Majin Buu ate Will-I-Am immediately becomes one of my favorite contestants with his Houston drawl and his bright colors. However, we all know how Southern flare and inspiration can go very “south” in the kitchen, haha. Lets see if he isn’t a one trick pony that only fries chicken and boils crawfish.

Courtney; she seems to be this season’s overachieving female. She has a lot of confidence and is full of energy. Lets see if she can back it up, hm?

Gordon; Uh-Oh. I wonder if Ramsay will like that there’s another Gordon in the kitchen? I highly doubt Lil Gordo’ will be showing up Chef Ramsay anytime soon, but I wouldn’t be surprised if name similarities spark a bit of tension in the kitchen. After all, Ramsay is loved by all for his temper and his arrogance.

Victoria; In her quick introduction, my honest to God thought was, “If the closed caption on my TV didn’t just read a female name, I would have pegged her for a rugged, male truck driver. Can she cook?”

After these first few introductions, we’re brought into the MasterChef kitchen where the hopefuls all take their stations and wait for the Chefs to enter the room. Which they eventually do, to great applause. Are you happy to be on MC, guys? Excited to see Graham skinnier than skim milk? Okay. Let’s see how you all feel once this first challenge is underway. Usually, at this stage of the game, we’re peeling potatoes, or slicing onions or apples for hours. Judges look for cutting techniques or consistency, wastefulness, etc etc. Not this time.

First Challenge:

So, the hopefuls are all told to turn over their cutting boards and on the other side? Surprise! It’s a mirror. The judges request signature dishes, but not just anything that you can make and make very well— they want to see you on a plate.

The contestants are given a few short minutes to collect their thoughts on their dishes and you can see everybody rushing to the beautiful (as always) MC pantry for ingredients. At this time, we’re given a few more introductions before the actual cooking begins.

Gavin; This guy looks like he’d be uncomfortable no matter where he went. Is he really trying out for MasterChef? And top 30? We’ll see.

Christian; Ah! He’s cracking jokes off the rip. Is this a defense mechanism or is he really that comfortable? I don’t know, but at least he’s funny.

Astrid; I think…. everyone has that one person on every different reality show that they just can’t stand. Or rather, that they love to loathe. Astrid is already driving me nuts and she talked for like, half a second. Maybe it’s her voice? She say’s she’s going to be doing a Coriander Crusted Shrimp. Sound’s interesting and she is from Louisiana, so maybe she’s in her comfort zone. Personally? She should have been cut already.

Tyler; the good old country boy. There’s not much to be said about Tyler. He’s a good guy, it seems; but we all know good guys finish last. Venison on your first challenge, Tyler? Live up to yourself and lets not let it dry out. We all know how easy it is to overcook Venison.

Everybody is back at their stations and the clock and the cooking begins almost immediately. But of course, not before one more announcement— Cuts during the hour. Apparantly, not everyone is going to present their signature dishes! A little while into the hour, the chefs begin making rounds and doing their inspections, tastes, and of course– judging. We get one more contestant introduction.

Dan; Okay. Can anyone say MasterChef Woo? Maybe mixed with a little Cao-Boi from Survivor: Cook Islands? I love this guy already.

Then the chefs walk over to Big Willie and what is he doing? White wine apricot chicken. Are you serious? That sounds like some supreme chef-ery. Maybe Majin Buu ate whatever weight Graham lost and it rubbed off on ol’ Willie. After, we’re shown some new people once again,

Francis; This guy loves his chemicals, as he said to Willie in the pantry. Wonder if that refers to extra curricular activities outside of the kitchen?

Elizabeth; Signature dish: Peanut Butter pudding with a mixed berry compote and chocolate covered pretzels. Does nobody ever learn from past MasterChef seasons? I don’t care if you’re Miss Informed or Gordon Ramsay. Baking is the toughest type of cooking. Everything has to be perfect from measurements to cook time. Nobody want’s a runny pie, do they?

Back to the judges doing their rounds and Gavin is talking about his chicken liver pâté filled raviolis. Fresh pasta is an undertaking in it’s own. And you’re going to fill it with blended chicken livers? Ew. The judges move on to:

Elise; This is our first contestant to get a really big intro. They show her at home and go into why she wants to be on MasterChef. Considering the introduction skips, I assume we’re going for a long run with this one. Seems to me that like all reality shows, they only highlight the contestants that do something.

The Chef’s then come to Dan, who is working on something that seems right up his alley, a ramen stock, which gets great reviews on flavor just upon tasting. Right after Dan, we see Tyler working on the chimichurri for his venison. The judges give it a taste and wonder if he should give it a second look. Lets hope he uses the encouragement and time to his advantage. Next up on the docket is Gavin, who once again looks utterly uncomfortable and yet, is boasting his technical skills and finesse in the kitchen, claiming that is why he deserves to be in the MC kitchen. Graham Elliot questions these skills and tastes his pâté and wonders aloud what the one thing it needs is. Gavin responds with “salt.”

Suddenly, we cut back to Francis who seems to be having a tough go of something. He broke his… syringe. Time to improvise, I guess. Then? All of a sudden:

‘EVERYBODY STOP!”

“KNIFE’S DOWN!”

Uh-Oh. First cut time. Who is going home, I wonder? We’ll, I guess we’ll have to find out in a minute because in true MC fashion, we get a commercial break.

When we come back, there is 25 minutes left to cook and my prediction is right: Gavin is too uncomfortable in the MC kitchen and is forgetting the most important rule: From the minute you start cooking, taste EVERYTHING.

Back to the rounds and Gordon is checking in on Francis. Francis explains that he had a bit of a rough start and that his syringe broke. “What the hell are you doing f****** around with a syringe at such a critical stage?”, Ramsay asks. Francis does what I figured he would do and improvises something to apparently inject his spaghetti? Strange.

Next up is Courtney, who is making a ricotta gnocchi with a brown butter sauce and peas. She is then given our second heavy introduction, where we find out that she was once an 18-credit taking, 5 job working student that could barely hold her life together— then turned stripper. I mean, “entertainer” at a “gentleman’s club”. After that, we’re treated to a new contestant introduction:

Natanya; Not much is given away from this first look, but she is making a lemon butter caper sauce. The judges question if the wine in it is still raw. She says that it is and they show a bit of concern, but say nothing.

Gordon Ramsay moves onto Elizabeth and questions why she is using such a deep dish for her pudding. “Will it cook in time?”; “Why not use a flat pan? Like you’re making a brownie.”, he questions and suggests before moving back to the Chef’s podium where they go into a “huddle”. Lots of potential, they claim.. Dan is praised heavily for his ramen stock. Willie is also mentioned for his technical skills in pan dripping and the flavor in his sauce. Apparently, though— they’re not entirely impressed. With ten minutes left, they yell for the knifes to be put down once again and Natanya is suddenly cut from the competition. “Turn off your gas,” they say. “Your sauce is broken, too many technical errors, just not at the level we expect.” I guess this is why we didn’t hear much from her, but the good news is that she is the last cut before the timer goes off.

Judges go into the tasting and then get together to decide who will get their aprons and who wont. After everything is said and done, Courtney is the first to receive her apron. The judges praise her for her authentic, brave and tenacious cooking style and agree that they definitely see her on that plate. Big Willie is next to get his apron, and he’s happy to receive it because he was “hungry for it.”

After the first two aprons, lots of names are called out— so many in fact, that I couldn’t keep track. (I rewatched and rewatched.. not every person that received an apron had their name aired for the showing.

This is the list I compiled:

Dan, Tyler, Victoria, Christine, Kira, Christian, Aran, Connor, Jordan, Daniel, Whitney and Elizabeth.

A few of those people weren’t even showcased prior to this moment. Kira? Aran? Maybe they’re also early cuts? Next episode, perhaps.

Anyway— 9 people remain of the 28 standing. Naturally, they all assume they’re going home. Elise is devastated. However, in true MC fashion, this isn’t the case. They’re given one last chance to show that they have what it takes. These final 9 hopefuls are thrown into a mystery—- fridge competition? In the fridge, there is a wide variety of stuff, ranging from bacon and bell peppers to carrots, shrimp and chicken. They’re also given access to a staple pantry box, in which there is eggs, flour, sugar–etc. Then comes the next big surprise. They won’t just be cooking alongside their eight competitors, but that a judge will be cooking alongside them. Astrid immediately calls out Ramsay, to which he pleasurably accepts the challenge. Joe, Graham and Ramsay are then shown huddled while everyone else begins cooking. Joe suggest that everyone at home could cook along and that everyone has bacon and chicken. Mmmm.. Bacon. Gordon, wasting away his time, comments that he hopes that the contestants use their imagination and break out of their boxes.

Finally, ten minutes into the hour, Ramsay decides to start cooking. Astrid is immediately overly bold and decides to pique her interest by asking what he’ll be making. “Wait and see”, he replies. Ouch.

Now that we’re down to the final 9 hopefuls, we finally get some more new introductions:

Corey; who is doing a potato and parmesan soufflé with corn fried chicken in the deep fryer. Again, I ask myself if these contestants are nuts! Nobody every intentionally makes a soufflé.

Leslie; The stay at home dad is making a stuffed chicken breast, filled with spinach, mushrooms and bacon. He also doesn’t mind allowing his wife to make more money than he would ever have hoped for. Good for him.

All eyes are suddenly brought onto Astrid. Her station is a mess and the apron-wearers upstairs are appalled. Joe strolls over and tells her that she better clean up her mess because if he saw it in one of his restaurants, she’d be taking a cab home. “I thought they had cleaning people,” she comments.

Chandis; a newly-introduced contestant is making Rosti stacks, which apparently are potato pancakes. She gets praise from above and is given the next big intro. She’s from Iowa and can hunt!

Suddenly, people from above are concerned with Leslies’s carrots burning. “I got this.”, he claims. Christian asks if he wants to earn an apron. “Maybe yours.”

…. How?

Anyway, he gets cocky just before final plating begins. Ramsay runs to the back last second for some chopsticks. Hands up! Presentation time.

PRESENTATIONS:

G. Ramsay; do I need to even say anything? Its an immaculate minted shrimp dumpling with a sweet and sour Asian style broth. Naturally, it gets raving reviews. Joe asks where the heat comes from and Ramsay explains that it stems from ginger, chili flakes and caramelized garlic. Graham Elliot exclaims to all contestants, “this is the level you should all aspire to reach.”

As the presentations continue, the 9 are broken into groups of three:

Corey, Leslie, and “Little” Gordon are first up. Gordon gets decent reviews on his pan seared chicken breast that was marinated in soy sauce with ginger and mustard and topped with a soft boiled egg, coupled with a potato puree. Graham makes the connection between there being two Gordon’s plating, saying that just by looks he could tell who did which dish.(knew it!) Gordon (contestant) claims that Ramsay is MLB and that he’s just hoping to play little league, but is told that the dish has great flavor and is overall tasty.

Leslie is next to present. Joe says the portion of his stuffed breast is ridiculous but that the skin is crisp and the seasoning well done, as well as complimenting him on his technique.

Last of the first three to present is Corey. He made a potato soufflé and Gordon quotes a “Golden rule of soufflé.” and that is that you don’t play with them. He literally breaks the plate trying to get the soufflé out of the ramekin. This isn’t a good sign, and sure enough— he is the only one of the three not to receive an apron.

SECOND GROUP

Astrid, Amy and Michael make their way to the judges and present their dishes. Astrid is first with her pan seared chicken breast, potato hash and butter stock sauce. The reviews aren’t great, but Ramsay says it has flavor and is well cooked, but that the lemon is unnecessary.

Amy presents her two tacos, hehe— shrimp and chicken with chimichurri and Graham likes the shrimp, but claims the chicken is dry; whereas Micheal’s pan roasted chicken and corn maque choux topped with a poached egg is given bad reviews. Joe has him taste it and its too salty.

Astrid unfortunately, is the only to receive an apron.

FINAL GROUP

Francis, Chandis and Elise are our final potentials. Francis’ “runaway” shrimp in a spicy sous vide sauce is given great reviews. Looks terrible, tastes great. Pasta “done well.”

CHANDIS! Here’s the only girl from Idaho that can’t fully cook potatoes. That doesn’t go over well. Dumb blonde’s, eh? Elise brings up her pot pie and is chastised by Ramsay for making another pie. WHY BAKE?? However, it freaks him out because it’s “delicious”. He says that he wants her out of her comfort zone and she begs for a chance to prove herself.

In the end, Chandis’ tacos aren’t juicy enough for an apron and she is sent packing. Elise is ecstatic to be saved and we’re down to 22 contestants.

Who goes home next week? How many are cut this time? I can’t wait to find out and I’ll be sure to let you all know about the drama boiling over in the kitchen!

So what did you think of my first blog?  Be sure to comment below and let me know!  I can’t wait to interact with all of you!

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