Tuesday, August 21, 2012

MasterChef Recap Episode 17

MASTERCHEF
Episode 17

There's always a place for Monti Carlo here at Greg's Gourmet

Top 5!  But no David Martinez. Who's Joe gonna be a douche to without David around??? 

Mystery Box: Good twist here.  Initially it was pick up to 15 ingredients for a dish that represents you (meaning them).  But then that box went to someone else and each contestant had to cook with someone else's ingredients.  Pretty cool.  Josh, Monti, and Christine finished in the top 3. 

Bitchin' Becky: "We're given this gift of getting to go into the pantry, we can choose up to 15 items to create, essentially our perfect signature dish. Like, ourselves on a plate!"  In your case the dish would probably be roasted boar's head, right, Becky?

Monti: "I'm in the top 3 of the Mystery Box! First time! BAM!" Monti, I'm happy for you and I'm rooting for you and you're really, really hot but...ah, screw it.  She's hot so it's okay.

Elimination Test: The assignment is to recreate one of Graham's signature dishes, each one of which has been cooked for someone famous (Oprah, Jay-Z, President Obama). 

Why fine dining sometimes bugs me: The term "fine dining" should not translate to "eat as if you're anorexic." Seriously, look at this crap:




Ok, so, the guy who normally uploads Ramsay shows hasn't done tonight's MasterChef, so these were taken from someone who, like, bootlegged it and uploaded. Why they did that, I don't know.  But whatever.  Look, I'm sure these all taste delicious but if I'm going to drop over 50 bucks on a fine dining meal I'd want a little more than a couple corn niblets and a pitcher of banana yogurt. 

Elimination Test II: So Josh picked the most colorful of the dishes (picture 3, white tuna) to recreate and probably also the one that would be most filling for a late morning snack.  I'm not sure if it's the most complex of the three, but he was given a basket of all the ingredients he'd need.  Graham invited the chefs to try and make it better and naturally Josh took the bait.

Christine, total baller: There's no point in being surprised anymore.  This chick is a total baller in the kitchen and has one of the most powerful pallets ever seen in any of Ramsay's cooking shows.  Her ability to recreate these complex dishes without her eyes is remarkable.  I've wondered how far she'd go in this competition, but I think she's legit to take the whole thing. 

Bitchin' Becky: "It's annoying, like people expect more of me so then God forbid something's not perfect every single time I get raped for it."  The problem is that Becky's been a pro up until now and when you start showing signs of weakness down the stretch then you're gonna get called out for it.  LeBron James got canned for years for his inability to be clutch in the fourth quarter of games. Who cares if he was winning scoring titles - if he couldn't win it when it mattered then they're all for naught. I've poked a lot of fun at Becky this season but it's not like she's an idiot like Douchebag Tali or an airhead like Christian from last season.  But at this point of the season she should be in it to win it every time and if she falters then she better be ready to expect a lashing.

Josh, fourth quarter collapse: Yeah, not surprised at all that he cooked one of the worst dishes even with his advantage.  The first problem was that he tried to improve the dish (as accurately predicted by Frank).  The second problem I just don't see him as a MasterChef.  He has his moments but he's too inconsistent. 

Elimination: Monti's going home and wrongfully so.  It's weird - when David Martinez royally fudged up his advantage a few episodes back he also got to stay and Felix was sent home.  Now Josh fudges up his advantage and Monti goes.  I just think if you're given that big of a helping hand you should cook up some really good shit.  If you can't take advantage of that then sorry buddy.  Monti was strong all the way up until this episode so I think it's bogus that she's going home.  But that's okay - she's still really, really hot.  You're always a winner here at Greg's Gourmet, Monti!

Final Four: Josh should be the next to go.  After that it's a tossup between Becky, Christine, and Frank. I think either of them can take the crown and honestly I think all three deserve it.  Becky's a pro at what she does, Christine is amazing, and Frank is a terrific chef in addition to playing a good game (i.e. saving other people on his team early in the season and then saving himself last episode, both as team captain).  I'm still thinking Becky will take it. 

Good episode!