It’s MasterChef, not MasterBait!

This week’s episode of MasterChef had an exotic feel to it – certainly more so than in weeks past in which the contestants created stunning dishes out of commonplace desserts or concoctions prepared with a pizza stone. The Mystery Box Challenge tonight required the top 9 contestants to use their creativity working with none other than the spiky sea urchin, also referred to as uni.

Because the sea urchin has poisonous spines, it must be handled with care. Chef Gordon Ramsay gave a quick demonstration on how to remove the edible part of the sea urchin (which seemed rather icky in my opinion) in a process very much like what I would anticipate brain surgery must be like for a surgeon. I was extremely nervous for Christine because she couldn’t watch the demonstration, but she seemed relatively at ease after she felt the incision hole with her hands. She never ceases to amaze me with her natural talents and extraordinary cooking instincts.

Many interesting dishes were created using the sea urchin, with the top three being Felix’s uni and pea risotto, Josh’s handmade pasta and Stacey’s rock shrimp sushi with uni aioli. What I especially liked this week was that this challenge proved it really is still anyone’s competition to win. Felix hadn’t been in the top three of a Mystery Box Challenge since the early weeks of the competition, and neither Josh or Stacey had ever been up there to my recollection.

Joe called Stacey the “dark horse of this competition,” praising her for her expertise with her sushi-rolling, while Josh was praised for his instincts to roll a lighter form of pasta with the uni instead of a heartier fettuccine. However, it was Felix who took the Mystery Box Challenge title and therefore got to hand-select which fresh fish everyone would be working with in the Elimination Test that followed.

Felix made a bold move when she decided she wanted a challenge, giving herself a medium-to-difficult fish to work with when she chose the halibut. It was apparent she has no respect for Monti, saying she clearly memorizes recipes and doesn’t have as much passion in the kitchen as the rest of the contestants. She gave Monti one of the harder fishes to cook, the really ugly John Dory. She also gave Frank and Becky difficult fish to fry – catfish and rockfish respectively – in an effort to take out whom she perceived to be her biggest competition. She gave Tali, Christine and Josh much easier fish in comparison – arctic char, salmon and sardines.

However, Felix’s calculated moves ended up backfiring on her when Monti and Becky both rose to the challenge and cooked their dreadful-looking fish to perfection. Frank proved once again why he is one of my favorites in the competition, as he prepared an Indian fried catfish that looked and apparently tasted delicious. Felix struggled with her poached halibut, which the chefs called “overcooked” and “dry.” But Felix was not in the bottom three dishes, which ended up being David’s deviled yellowtail, Tali’s arctic char with green lentils and Christine’s “pedestrian” baked salmon with rice and vegetables.

I felt really bad for Christine. Her dish didn’t look or sound all that bad to me. I guess I understood what the chefs were saying, that it lacked that certain finesse her dishes usually have but it was definitely not the worst dish of the night and the judges agreed, sending her quickly back to her station. I’m really over David’s fumbling excuses – he always seems to be whining about something. In my opinion, he barely skates by week after week and I don’t anticipate him lasting in this competition much longer.

I was happy to see Tali finally go home, although I will miss his comic relief. When he compared himself to a frustrated Picasso who was constantly being interrupted in his creative process by Gordon Ramsay, I about fell off the couch. Did he really just compare himself to the Picasso of the culinary world? Apparently they just failed to recognize Tali’s creative genius by being “too old school.” The judges said his dish utilized the wrong technique, the wrong flavors and the wrong ingredients. I’m clearly no expert, but that sounded like an awful lot of wrongness to me. I did think his uni shooters seemed very colorful and creative looking when plated, but I’m not sure how they tasted.

Maybe Tali was a misunderstood genius. The world may never know. But one thing I’m over in this competition is Becky. I really hope she doesn’t win because I can’t stand her “it’s all about me” attitude. And I really don’t understand why they all give Monti so much crap when she consistently out-performs them all with her rustic comfort foods. I hope Monti makes Becky and Felix eat crow before the competition is over, but then again, I like rooting for the underdog.

Memorable Quotes:

“It’s MasterChef, not MasterBait!” – Gordon Ramsay

“Why don’t they see the genius that’s in front of them?” – Tali

Clacked by Kim Tibbs
on Jul 10, 2012 @ 02:38 EST5EDT