MasterChef

Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"...

The final pressure test of the season.

Tonight, you'll have to replicate our three course menu.

- (bleep) - Divide and conquer

is the essence of tonight's pressure test.

Zach and Michelle, how are we doing?

- Cake is in the oven. - I'm on the pasta.

- Let's go. - All right. We got this.

- This is exactly what we're looking for. - Oh, my God.

Nailing two out of three dishes,

congratulations, Zach and Michelle.

There is only one spot left in the top five duos.

Julio's already rolling his pasta.

I'm a little bit confused on the thickness.

Pasta is a little bit too thick.

Do not overcook those scallops!

- Good on the scallops? - Scallops are overcooked.

It's so raw.

It is one of the most technical desserts and you've nailed it.

The duo leaving "MasterChef" tonight is Adam and Joel.

- Tonight... - Oh!

- There it is. - It's the wall.

...the duos take on a gigantic challenge.

The fearsome "MasterChef" wall.

You will have to cook two dishes

that look and taste identical.

However, you cannot see each other.

This is my worst nightmare.

Verbal communication will be the key to your success tonight.

- What is our first step here? - What?

- Half a cup! - What?

- I can't hear you! - (bleep)

They'll need to be in total sync...

- Jessica! - What?

- The purée's at the top! - Jesse, wait for me!

They are on two different islands right now.

- I have no onion! - ...to earn their spot in the semifinal.

- They're definitely the same. - It's just miles apart.

- What a shame. - Boy, that's brutal.

Tonight is one of my favorite challenges.

- Look at that. Honestly. - Tiffany: Wow.

- This is gonna be epic. - Oh!

- Oh, no. - There it is.

It's the wall.

Ooh! The wall.

- Can you hear me? - Here we go.

- Tina! - It's enormous.

Oh, my God. It's the wall.

I mean, you can't see anything.

- It's a wall. - It's a wall.

It's a gargantuan wall.

- Yeah. - Both: Wow.

The wall has taken down some amazing competitors.

Many of competitors that you thought...

Top runners that you thought would be in the finale,

the wall has defeated.

- So it's very, very scary. - This is gonna be chaos.

Oh, boy.

Whew!

Welcome back, everybody.

All: Thank you, Chef.

All right, well, tonight, just in case it wasn't obvious,

you all are facing down the fearsome "MasterChef" wall.

- Whoo! - Wow.

Joe: Tonight, you will not be cooking side by side

because you will be split up by the behemoth wall behind you,

which obviously means that you cannot see each other.

However, tonight we need you to make two identical dishes.

So verbal communication will be the key to your success here tonight.

We're looking for dishes tonight that are impeccable.

And more importantly, we want to see how well you know each other in the kitchen

even when you can't see what the other is doing.

Prove that you've got what it takes to make it into the semifinal.

Yes, Chef.

Okay, please turn around and put on your colored aprons.

- Oh, this is gonna be chaotic. - Oh, boy.

Azu: The wall for me is not scary.

I think that we have an advantage among the other couples

because 15 years we have been divorced.

We're so used to yelling at each other, you know?

It's normal communication for us.

Javier: Exactly. The thing that I like

is that gives me the excuse to yell at Azu for free.

Okay, guys, you will have one hour

to cook two dishes that look and taste identical.

Each duo will have five minutes in the pantry to plan their dish

and to gather all the ingredients they will need to pull it off.

You will not get any more time in the pantry after those five minutes.

And to make things even more challenging,

the pantry is stocked with a limited range of proteins.

So that protein is first come, first serve.

- Right, everybody ready? - Yes, Chef.

Good. Your time starts now. Off you go.

Oh, my God.

No, no, no, no.

- So we got the filet. - Go, go.

- Grab your basket. - Ooh!

- (muted chatter) - Where is it?

- Yep, we got that. We got that. - Tina, talk.

- Okay. - We got to talk.

- Okay. - Yeah?

There is a rush to grab the protein,

and we wanted the filet mignon.

But we're left with venison loin.

Rachel: Venison is something

that I've never done before,

and it's a little bit concerning.

If we were cooking this dish side by side, we can nail it easily.

But because we're gonna be shouting over the wall, it can be tricky.

We're gonna do a potato leek crusted snapper.

Let's go for a nice macha sauce. This goes with everything.

Maybe some mushrooms

- and some spinach. - Pancetta.

- Pancetta. Okay. - Three potatoes?

- Okay, three potatoes. Okay. - Stay together right now.

- Okay. - Three minutes until the pantry door closes.

- Shop for your ingredients, guys. - Okay, so we got the filet.

- Yeah. Okay. - Yeah?

Okay.

We're making a Vietnamese shaken beef.

This dish was passed down from my grandma

to my aunt and then now me.

Tina's got an idea on how to elevate it.

Traditionally, we serve it with rice,

but I think we're gonna do a fried noodle nest.

We have the noodles? We have everything for the sauce?

- Salad, salad! - Carrots, right here.

- Rachel: Okay. - 60 seconds to go.

Please make sure you get all your ingredients.

Where's the spinach? Oh, right in front of my face.

- Pancetta. - Oh, beautiful. Or bacon.

- Pancetta. - Or bacon.

- Ten, nine... - Go, go, go!

- Let's go! - Tina, go. Go, go, go.

- eight, seven, six... - Let's go.

- Zach! - five, four...

- ...three, two, one. Out! - Come on, come on, come on.

Let's go! The pantry is closed, guys.

- We got this, mi amor. - Yes.

Okay, let's start with the potatoes.

- Okay! - Zach, are you there?

- Yeah! - I can't hear you very well at all.

- You need to be louder. - Zach: Yeah, I'm here!

- Okay. - Tina: Do your sauce! You hear me?

- I hear you! - Jessica?

I can't hear you! Hold on. I'm coming back.

- Azu, boiling water? - Yes, I'm peeling the potatoes. I'm cutting the potatoes!

- Jeez, it's loud. - Do the sauce, please!

What? What did you say?

- Jess, I need you to speak up over the wall. - What's that?

- Speak up over the wall! - Okay.

I can't hear anything. Like, you're loud, but it's muffled.

I knew it was gonna be loud. I didn't know it was gonna be this loud.

- Aivan: Can we cut the onion now? - Not yet. Not yet.

- Okay. Heard. - I'm working on the vinegar.

I know you guys said, you know, today was gonna be great.

This is my first wall. But this is crazy.

The energy, the screaming.

I've never quite experienced anything like this before.

This is the loudest I've ever known it to be.

Yeah, this is louder than usual.

Oh, is it? Oh, my goodness.

- I'm gonna toss you the carrots, Rachel. - Okay.

- Carrots incoming. There's more. - Yeah.

- One at a time. - (bleep)

- Julio, no, I lost them. - Coming your way.

- Slowly! Julio, it's going too far. - Sorry.

- Jessica? Jess? - What?

I think bacon's a better choice, not the pancetta.

- It's too thin. - What?

I'm throwing the bacon over.

Oh, Jesse's throwing bacon over to Jessica.

- I'm throwing it over right now. - Just throw it.

Ready?

- Oh! - (laughing)

Jessica: One bacon.

- Jesse and Jessica, they cook together at home. - Sure.

I think they have a point of reference on what a plate should look like

- that will really help them tonight. - Right.

They may not be married, but they definitely have a history

- of eight years of cooking together every night. - Sure.

So I think there is a little bit of in sync that happens

- for them naturally. - Absolutely.

Zach, what is our first step here?

- What, babe? - Oh, my God, I literally cannot hear anything.

- So this should be fun. - Zach and Michelle,

they've been married for four years.

They do this seven nights a week together.

I think that their home life is a big advantage.

If they can pull a reference dish from their repertoire

and elevate it, they can win it.

But I feel like we've seen them struggle

with some of their emotions and confidence.

So hopefully they don't let that come between them right now.

- Sure. - Oh, my (bleep) God.

- You got it, Aivan? - I hear you!

Tina and Aivan have a history of plates that run in their family.

They could refer to one of those and execute it tonight. They could win.

Sure, but sometimes Tina's difficult to get through to, right?

What's in the second sauce, Tina?