MasterChef(4Sep2013)-Top Four Becomes Top Three, and then Top Two

*Walmart Mentions: 0

*Another two-parter!

*And now we are down to just four: Jessie, Krissi, Luca and Natasha. Quite remarkable when you consider the opponents they faced during the competition: Lynn, Jordan, James to name a few.

*Another team challenge opens this two parter and ends with the final three going head to head.

*Nerves were a problem in the first challenge. Blue Team (Luca/Natasha) and Red Team (Jessie/Krissi) were feeling the pressure. While Blue Team did work together, Red was a disaster since neither like the other. Worse Krissi had a temper tantrum and walked off leaving Jessie to do all the work. And that spelled doom for her team which ended up in the pressure test. Personally the minute she gave up and walked away her apron should have been forfeit right there. Gordon noted that Krissi often allows people to tell her what to do and then when things go wrong, throw them under the bus.

*Last year the three souffle challenge was perhaps one of the toughest. This year one upped it. Krissi and Jessie had to make one stunning chocolate mousse for Graham, one stunning lava cake for Joe, and one stunning chocolate souffle for Gordon. Krissi’s mousse is excellent while Jessie’s souffle is better. That leaves it up to Joe and the not-so-stunning lava cakes.

witch hat*And so finally, at long last, Krissi leaves the competition. As a consolation, she gets invited to dinner (with her son)at his upscale Del Posto in New York. She is a talented cook and baker but has many issues that frankly ought to have sent her home long before this. Her bullying and constant bad manners are not welcome in most places. MasterChef has seen its share of villains over the years, but Krissi truly is number one in that category. To make it worse, it seems they wanted to keep her around long enough for the drama and possibly to shake up the other cheftestants. So long Krissi. I will not say the words but if you have seen the Wizard of Oz, you know what song to sing here.

*Top three-Jessie, Luca, and Natasha-entry dishes are back but they now have to show how far they have come since those early days. All three put forth good dishes but Luca, once again, plays wrong with a cheese sauce. Jessie wins and is ranked number 1 allowing to select one of the three foods presented by the judges.  Mario Batalli likes to say parmigiano reggiano is the undisputed king of all cheeses but it turns out it is really a high nobleman in the court of great Italian cheeses. Grana Padano, says Joe, is the king. Graham unveils Kobe beef, the best beef in the world. And finally Gordon has an Alaskan king crab. Jessie gets first pick and chooses Kobe beef even though she has never worked with it before. Natasha gets second pick and chooses the crab for herself leaving Luca with the Grana Padana. And off they go to cook their dishes.

*Natasha’s dish gets rave reviews and complements on the risk taken. Luca gets praise as well. Jessie’s Kobe beef also gets praised but not her noodles. Gordon asks to taste the papaya salad she had also done. After tasting, Gordon raves at how good it is. The others taste it and also think it is good. Gordon points out it is a better than the noodles and would have made a big difference. And probably it would have as both Luca and Natasha are the final two. Sadly Jessie, one of my personal favorites, ends up leaving. Joe though offers her to come work for him. She has style and finesse and will make a terrific chef one day running her own restaurant. And Joe will give her the experience she needs to become one.

Tune in next week for what will be a great match: Luca vs. Natasha. If Luca wins, all of Italy will cheer (but cry if he loses).  Who do you think should win and was Krissi exit right or wrong?