‘MasterChef’ season 14 episode 10 and 11 recap: Who was eliminated in ‘Beer Necessities/Quarry Field Challenge’? [LIVE BLOG]
Tonight on “MasterChef,” reigning MasterChef Champion Grant Gillon joins as Guest Judge while the chefs must incorporate the iconic beer, Blue Moon, into their dishes and ensure that the bright flavors are at the forefront of their creations. Later on, the chefs take on another field challenge as they are tasked with cooking a hearty lunch for over 100 workers in the all-new “Beer Necessities / Quarry Field Challenge” two-part episode of “MasterChef: Generations” airing Wednesday, August 21 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX.
Season 14 of “MasterChef” brings together amateur cooks from four generations – Millennials, Baby Boomers, Gen Z and Gen X – to prove that age does not matter in the kitchen. Judges Gordon Ramsay, Aarón Sánchez, Joe Bastianich eliminated contestants each week until one winner is crowned with the title of MasterChef and the $250,000 grand prize.
8:00 p.m. — Previously on “MasterChef”! In Episodes 8 and 9, the home cooks turned to their baking skills when tasked with making a celebratory birthday cake. Later, the chefs worked in teams to create a dish using a mystery box filled with different food items from their generation. Following birthday cake disasters, both Geags and Anna were sent home. Following the Mystery Box challenge, Christopher was shown the door as well. Who will go home tonight?
8:05 p.m. — The home cooks arrive in the MasterChef kitchen and see Blue Moon beer everywhere. Gordon explains they’ll be using beer in each of their dishes tonight. They have just 45 minutes to make their Blue Moon-infused dish. Next, Gordon introduces a beer expert who happens to be the reigning “MasterChef” champ, Grant Gillon. He’ll be serving as a guest judge for this challenge. For the record, he happens to be a Millennial! His advice? Taste it. Know exactly what you’re working with so the ingredients make sense. As the winner of the last challenge, Michael will sit this one out. But he does have an advantage: He gets to choose one home cook, from any generation besides his own Millennials, who will also have immunity tonight. He will save them two-thirds of the way through tonight’s cook. That should be interesting. Will he save someone he views as weak and easy to beat in the future? Or will he save someone who is nailing this dish and potentially sabotage an entire generation? We’ll find out soon! But for now, let’s get this challenge started!
8:10 p.m. — For religious reasons, Becca has never had beer before and doesn’t plan to start now. Even though she won’t be tasting the beer tonight, Becca hopes she can still prove she’s a strong competitor. Gordon says this challenge SCREAMS fish and chips. Aarón says he’d go with a Jamaican curry. Joe says he just wants to see who successfully cooks the alcohol out of the beer, but holds onto the flavor. Hallie loves beer and loves this challenge, saying if she could just play corn hole and drink beer all day, it would be the best day of her life. We learn Fatima is another contestant who has never drank beer. Gordon suggests she asks a teammate to taste her dish for her. Meanwhile, Arthur is hoping to avoid his third straight appearance in the bottom three. It’s not going great, as Joe tells him to completely change course in his cooking method.
8:30 p.m. — As the judges continue to circulate the kitchen, Gordon looks impressed with Adam‘s beer bread. Daniela is poaching shrimp in beer, which Joe says can go wrong real quick. Hopefully she doesn’t overcook them. Kamay is feeling nervous because there are only three Millennials left in the competition. Since Michael has immunity, that means either Kamay or Jeet will automatically be in the bottom three. Jeet is looking more confident, thrilled that a fellow Midwesterner is today’s guest judge. Meanwhile, Rebecka looks solid as usual, continuing to be the most consistent Baby Boomer. With 15 minutes left to cook, the clock stops. It’s time for Michael to take someone out of the competition and give them immunity. Believing Adam has a winning dish, Michael pulls him off the floor so he can’t save all of Gen Z. Over the next 15 minutes everyone finishes up their dishes. Time for judgement!
8:45 p.m. — It’s time to call forward the top four dishes of the night. Representing Gen Z is Murt‘s Beer-Battered Fish Tacos with Mango Beer Slaw and Mango Guacamole. It’s visually beautiful and Gordon is impressed by the crispiness of the batter. Grant loves the dish, but thinks it could use more acidity. Representing the Millennials is Kamay’s Spice-Rubbed Pork Chop with Corn & Poblano Succotash and Beer & Blackberry Sauce. Gordon says the dish “pops” visually. The pork is cooked perfectly Aarón complimented her succotash. Representing Gen X is Arthur’s Pan-Seared Cod with Beer Braised Rainbow Kale. Gordon calls it “elegant.” Grant calls the rainbow chard “out of this world” and Joe says, “perfection and simplicity wins.” The top dish from the Baby Boomers is Rebecka’s Snapper Puttanesca with Steamed Clams and Mango Beer Polenta. It’s “rustic with charm.” Gordon says the fish is “nailed” and the “clams are delicious.” It’s a “joy to taste.” Grant calls it a “rockstar dish,” Aarón says she’s “firing on all cylinders” and Joe adds, it’s “amazing.” After a brief deliberation, the judges declare Rebecka the winner. She takes the immunity pin and saves the Baby Boomers from elimination.
9:00 p.m. — Now it’s time to taste the three most disappointing dishes of the night. Representing Gen Z is Fatima’s BBQ Chicken with Mango Beer BBQ Sauce, Smashed Potatoes and Salad. The chicken is nicely charred, but Aarón says the sauce “looks like a paste.” Gordon says the potatoes are slightly undercooked and he doesn’t understand how she incorporated beer into the dish. Aarón says the chicken lacks salt and the salad is “lackluster.” Representing the Millennials is Jeet’s Beer-Battered Fish with Smashed Potatoes and Beer & Tomato Chutney. Gordon likes the intention of the dish, but the plating is “uninspiring.” The fish is cooked beautifully and the chutney is delicious. Joe says it tastes better than it looks. Grant loves the fish. Representing Gen X is Daniela’s Beer-Poached Shrimp with Beer & Chipotle Sauce and Beer-Infused Jasmine Rice. Gordon likes the idea of this dish, but says the shrimp is undercooked. Joe says it “lacks gravitas” and the judges think it’s okay, but overall “lackluster.” After a tough deliberation, the judges decide they will eliminate Fatima. She becomes the first contestant from Gen Z to go home this season. Just as a reminder, Fatima is a doctor. She’ll be okay in life. She promises we’ll be seeing plenty of her cooking on our timelines in the future.
9:05 p.m. — The second episode tonight is another field challenge. The home cooks walk through the dessert and arrive at a rock quarry where they produce sand and gravel. For this challenge, the home cooks will help celebrate the 60th anniversary of the business. They’ll make over 100 lunches for the hard-working men and women in the quarry. The winning team will be safe from elimination, but someone from the losing team will go home. Gen Z pairs with the Baby Boomers to form the Blue Team, while the Millennials and Gen X form the Red Team. The team captains today are Arthur for the Red and Rebecka for the Blue. As the winner of the last challenge, Rebecka gets to choose the Blue team’s protein. She chooses chicken thigh sandwiches, leaving the Red Team with hamburgers. Each team will have to create a sandwich, a side and a beautiful sauce. They’ll have to show the judges a sample plate in 30 minutes. Let’s go!
9:15 p.m. — The teams start cooking their dishes and these elements aren’t ideal. It’s windy, dusty and sand is blowing everywhere. As the judges look on, Gordon thinks Rebecka handed the Red Team a gift by letting them cook burgers. He says workers will be much more interested in woofing down a burger than a grilled chicken sandwich. Rebecka runs a tight ship and she quickly learns Horacio is the most difficult to manage. He’s putting chicken on the grill sooner than she’d like him to, and doesn’t really seem to listen to her commands. In her confessional, Rebecka calls Horacio a “ball of fire” and says he could “derail us.” Over on the Red Team, Kamay says Arthur is not a confident leader and his indecisive attitude trickles down.
9:25 p.m. — Joe notices that Horacio is cutting all the skin off their chicken thighs, and let’s the Boomer know he’s removing an essential part of that protein’s taste. Horacio insists he’s got this recipe under control and he knows what he’s doing. Meanwhile on the Red Team, Kamay continues to be frustrated by Arthur and he can feel her questioning his leadership ability. He says she’s “chomping at the bit” to take over. All the judges are disappointed that the Red Team opted not to serve fries with their burgers. Time for the taste test! The Blue Team is serving a Grilled Chicken Thigh Sandwich with Southwestern Corn and Macaroni Salad. Gordon calls the chicken “dry” and Joe says it needs the skin. Rebecka admits there is tension between herself and Horacio. Rebecka goes back to the team, commanding them to keep the skin on the chicken and put corn salsa in the macaroni salad.
9:30 p.m. — The Red Team is serving a Chipotle Bacon & Swiss Burger with Cabbage Slaw. Aarón likes the slaw and Gordon says the burger is “spot on.” Joe says the burger is “close to perfect.” This competition is the Red Team’s to lose at this point. The Blue Team continues to struggle with Horacio on the meat station. Now his marinade is too salty and Gordon is losing patience. Rebecka decides to take over the marinade. Over on the Red Team, Michael is concerned they’re going to get behind on burgers. Someone has to be making 100 beef patties. Back on the Blue Team, Rebecka has lost her patience with Horacio and finally pulls him off the chicken station, replacing him with Murt. Murt is not happy to be cooking chicken either. Hallie volunteers to help Murt with the chicken.
9:45 p.m. — The workers have arrived for lunch and it’s time to start serving up plates. Arthur begins to panic about burger production and pulls Kimberly over to the grill. She informs him that they don’t have enough slaw, but he doesn’t really seem to be worried about that right now. Gordon screams at the Red Team for running out of slaw and then discovers a raw burger. He’s furious. Meanwhile on the Blue Team, Murt and Hallie are killing it on the grill and things have calmed down over there. Joe asks the diners what they prefer and early votes favor the Blue Team’s chicken sandwich. The Red Team continues to struggle, now putting out soggy bacon and getting behind on buns. Gordon is gobsmacked when he realizes Jeet has been deep-frying the bacon. As Joe continues to survey diners, more votes are pouring in for the Blue Team’s chicken sandwiches. This could be a landslide.
10:00 p.m. — The final portions have been served and it’s time to vote. Gordon yells at the Red Team for having the better dish, but a complete lack of organization derailed everything. Aarón tells the Blue Team they should be proud of themselves and he likes how they took control of the grill. But do the votes match the efforts in the kitchen? Yes! The Blue Team has won. As team captain, Rebecka has earned a huge advantage in the next challenge. Someone from the Red Team must go home and the bottom three are Arthur, Daniela and Jeet. The person going home is Arthur. Gordon says Arthur had the winning dish in his hands, but he couldn’t orchestrate it.