MasterChef Season 16, Episode 11

After another great episode last week with The Wheel Of Fusion, it was time for the next Team Challenge! I’m going to be honest with you all right now, I’m not the biggest fan of Team Challenges, and how they are done in the show currently. In the older seasons, Team Challenges would take up the first half of an episode, and the second half would be The Pressure Test, so the show would move at a brisk pace. These days, Team Challenges take up the entire episode, and we only get to see a handful of creative dishes being made.

But that being said, something has changed for me this season. Maybe it’s the fact that I watch the episodes in real time with my uncle, and we text back and forth what is happening on the show, or maybe it’s the fact that I am sharing it with all of you reading. In any case, I am now looking forward to talking about this episode.

With all that out of the way, let’s get into the episode!

This Team Challenge took place at Casa Loma, which is a Gothic Revival style mansion and garden in Toronto. To say that they went out of their way to make a standard challenge seem way bigger than it actually was would be a huge understatement.

Also, this season was clearly filmed in January or February, as it was very much winter outside during the challenge.

The challenge this time was that the home cooks would be cooking for a wedding. But this wasn’t just any wedding. This was the wedding of last season’s winners of MasterChef: Dynamic Duos: Jesse & Jessica. Also, for reasons that I’m assuming are just because they were at a mansion, Chef Ramsay said this was a “Royal Wedding.” Also, because I had paused the episode before Chef Ramsay said this, he specified that he meant they were “MasterChef Royalty.” Again, they are making this challenge seem way bigger than it really was.

The way the challenge was going to work is that the home cooks were split up into two teams of six, and each team needed to make an Appetizer and an Entree. Jesse & Jessica then said that what they wanted to see on the menu was an Appetizer with Scallops, and an entree with Duck Breast. 

Since she had won the challenge in the previous episode, Maria got to pick the teams for that day. What I mean is that she got to pick which territory The Americas would be pairing up with, and then the other two territories would make up the other team. After a brief conversation with Tkaiya and Jake, she said that they would be pairing up with Africa, leaving Europe and Asia-Pacific as the other team. 

Julia then said in an interview segment that she was hesitant to work with Asia-Pacific because it was “absolutely brutal” the last time they worked together on the last Team Challenge, but she was still hopeful that they would come out on top. 

From there, Team Captains had to be picked. 

Since Maria had Immunity, she couldn’t be the Team Captain, so the other home cooks that landed in the top of the previous challenge would be the Team Captains. This meant that Peter was now the Captain of The Blue Team, and for The Red Team, either Aishu or Aghata would be Team Captain. After seeing that Aghata really didn’t want to do it, Aishu stepped up as Captain for The Red Team.

Chef Ramsay then explained that each team would be cooking for half of the wedding guests, and Jesse and Jessica. Okay, but how does this work? I mean, shouldn’t everybody get both dishes? If only half gets one dish and and the other half gets the other dish, won’t that lead to a very uneven result at the end of the challenge? And what if the guest hates the dish they get? Those are points that are just completely wasted. And again, I paused the episode way too soon, as Joe would be collecting feedback from the guests, and a winner would be picked from there. So, not a point-based system. 

The teams had to have sample dishes ready for the judges after the ceremony, and from there, the cook time had started. 

The field kitchen for the challenge was in a greenhouse, and I am saying this here because I don’t know where else to say it, so here’s some completely useless information.

The Blue Team decided on what to do with their Scallop Appetizer and Duck Entree fairly quickly, and so did The Red Team, even though Aishu admitted in an interview that she was really hoping that her teammates knew what to do, as she wasn’t comfortable with cooking some of the foods they suggested.

Much like always, the cook time for the teams was very stressful. It started when Maria salted the Scallops way too early, and Peter clearly was feeling very stressed, which Heidi clearly had a problem with.

Things then got worse for The Blue Team, as Chef Ramsay saw that the Scallops had been salted way too early, and for those of you wondering when Scallops should be seasoned, according to Chef Ramsay, it’s when they hit the pan. This meant that they now had to dry the Scallops. 

Over on The Red Team, Julia was trying to help out too much, as she was cooking the Scallops, and two Garnishes. Aishu then decided to move some teammates around to take the pressure off on Julia, and put Aghata on Polenta, which stressed her, as she had never even cooked it. 

Things did not get much better at this time for The Blue Team, as Maria then cooked more than three Scallops, which is how many was going to be in one portion. To make matters worse, the Scallops were overcooked, which meant that they had to be thrown away.

From there, it was time for the teams to present sample dishes. 

The Appetizer for The Red Team was Seared Scallops with Crispy Pancetta and Creamy Polenta, which is a dish that I would be willing to try. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

The Entree that The Red Team made was Duck A L’Orange with Roasted Asparagus and Cauliflower Puree, which is a dish that I might consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Chef Ramsay said that the Scallops were bland, Chef Tiffany said that the Polenta was bland, and also that it tasted like someone took Cream Of Wheat and stuck it on a plate. 

Chef Ramsay then said that if they were going to serve Duck A L’Orange, they needed Orange on the plate, and the Sauce was terrible, and even though the Duck was cooked nicely, it had no seasoning. Chef Tiffany went even further and said that it was not MasterChef quality at all. 

Aishu then relayed this information to her team, but was also feeling very stressed.

The judges then went to sample the dishes from The Blue Team.

The Appetizer The Blue Team made was Seared Scallops with Crispy Pancetta, Golden Beet Frisee Salad, and Citrus Beurre Blanc, which is another dish that I might consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

The Entree The Blue Team made was a Pan Seared Duck Breast with Parsnip Puree, Sautéed Mushrooms, Green Beans, and Cherry Reduction, which is another dish that I would consider trying. Here’s an image of what the dish looked like.

Chef Ramsay immediately called out the fact that the Scallops were visually raw, and Peter responded by saying that Maria was responsible for them, to which Chef Ramsay told him that he should have noticed it in the first place, and also called him out for keeping her on Scallops after she had already overcooked them.

Chef Tiffany then said that she wanted crispier skin on the Duck, and she liked the sweetness of the Puree, but it needed a little more Salt.

Peter then relayed this information to his team, and also made adjustments where they were needed. 

After that, it was ten minutes until the guests sat down for Service. 

The Red Team still had a lot of problems, as the Polenta was still bland and tasted like Milk.

Chef Ramsay then said that he wanted both teams to have their Scallop Appetizers ready to serve for the bride and groom at the same time. Unfortunately, the Polenta from The Red Team was still under seasoned, so The Blue Team’s Appetizer got to Jesse and Jessica well before The Red Team’s Appetizer did. 

Then, Chef Ramsay tasted The Red Team’s Polenta again, and now it tasted good, but it was still very thick. 

Julia then found herself having trouble cooking Scallops, as she burned them and had to throw them away. Then, Chef Ramsay channeled his inner Gene Wilder and said “Oh, now you’re on fire” in the most unenthusiastic voice imaginable. I’m going to give a million points to anyone who knows what movie I’m talking about, and what scene I am talking about.

Chef Ramsay then threw the pan out into the snow. And believe it or not, that’s not the last time this episode that something or someone will go out that door and into the snow.

As all this was happening, Joe was walking around the dining room getting opinions on the dishes. Jesse and Jessica said that they loved The Blue Team’s Appetizer, while they felt that The Red Team’s Appetizer was incomplete, as it needed a Sauce, and the Polenta was under seasoned.

After that, Appetizer Service was over, and while Chef Tiffany didn’t have any criticisms for The Blue Team, Chef Ramsay told The Red Team he was embarrassed, and described their performance as a ____________ Show. You all know what word goes there.

He also asked The Red Team if they wanted to lose, and he is just so compassionate, am I right?

Joe then asked some Red Team diners what they thought of the Appetizers, and one of them said that they were unevenly seared.

The Red Team then got started with Entree Service, and everyone was assigned their roles, and Aghata was tasked with scoring the Duck, which she had never done before.

A few seconds later, Chef Ramsay saw how she had done with scoring the Duck, and in his words, she had slashed them. He then explained the reason why you score the skin on a Duck is to render the fat, and when you score past the fat and go into the flesh, the Duck dries out. He was so annoyed by this mistake that he walked out the door and into the area where the pan that caught fire was thrown. I am just going to say this right now, I don’t think there has ever been another moment on the show where Chef Ramsay walked away out of annoyance at one team that was failing horribly. 

From there, The Red Team tried cooking the Duck Breasts, so that they had something to serve. Unfortunately, Jaime then found herself really struggling with her Sauce, as she burned it, and she was really panicking. It got so bad that Chef Ramsay kicked her out of the kitchen to calm down, which he did by literally kicking the door open, and he sent her to the place where he threw the burning pan, and he also told her to “Wake the __________ up.” Yeah, you all know what he said, but I think it’s incredible that even when it seems like he’s trying to help the home cooks, he is also criticizing them in the most aggressive way.

While both teams were sending out their Entrees, Joe asked Jesse and Jessica what they thought of them, and they felt that The Blue Team’s Duck Breast was overcooked and did not have any crispy skin, but they thought that The Red Team’s Duck Breast was better, the skin was rendered properly, and the Sauce was nicely balanced.

The other guests did not share this sentiment, as some of them enjoyed the Duck Breast from The Blue Team, while an entire table that got the Duck Breast from The Red Team did not enjoy it at all. 

From there, service was over, and Chef Ramsay told The Blue Team they had a slow start, but a strong finish, while Chef Tiffany told The Red Team that they did not do well in this challenge. 

Then, it was time for the judges to announce who had won the challenge, and the winners were revealed to be The Blue Team, which did not surprise me in the slightest. 

This meant that it was now time for someone from The Red Team to be eliminated. 

Chef Ramsay did not hold back when it came to explaining how and why they lost, as he told them that their Scallops barely made it on the plate, and the ones that did make it out into the dining room were a mess, and even though Jesse and Jessica preferred their Duck Breast over The Blue Team’s, everybody else’s Duck Breast was inconsistent. 

Aishu then explained that what happened was she listened to her team and what they wanted to make, and she trusted them to make it the right way, and it didn’t pay out. 

Chef Ramsay then called out the two weakest performers on the team, who were Jaime and Aghata. 

Jaime then explained that what happened was she lost focus during the challenge, and it felt like she forgot how to cook. 

Aghata then explained that she was very overwhelmed, and many of the elements of the dinner, and the dish that night, she had never made before, so she was trying to learn as she went. 

Chef Tiffany then jumped in and asked Jaime that she wanted to do an Orange Sauce, and told Aghata that she made Polenta, but none of the judges told them to make either of them, they chose to make it on their own, and now they were saying that they didn’t know how, which she said felt really suspect to her. Okay, I know that they lost, and they made some very big mistakes in the challenge, but I feel that comment was really unnecessary. 

From there, the judges were all in agreeance and decided to eliminate Aghata, which did not surprise me.

Overall, this was another enjoyable episode, and I’ll see you all next week, when the home cooks have to make viral dishes for guest judge Nick DiGiovanni!