MasterChef

- Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"... - Welcome, everybody.

This is the "MasterChef: Dynamic Duos" grand finale!

...the top three duos began the epic battle for the title of MasterChef.

Tonight you need to make us an outstanding three course meal.

- First up appetizers. - Come on, baby.

- Don't overcook them, okay? - Julio, Rachel.

Hurry up. Get those in. Come on, let's go!

- Let's go, mi amor. - Start plating.

Go, go, go, go, go. Brussels. Get 'em on.

We've made a saffron empanada.

It's a street food phenomenon and you've elevated it into the premier league tonight.

- Thank you, Chef. - Visually, it looks beautiful.

The shrimp were delicious. The whole thing really kind of presented like

- a real restaurant dish. - Thank you, Joe.

Jesse, Jessica, it's delicious. The combinations are exquisite.

You've come out the gate strong. Well done, both of you.

- Thank you, Chef. - Next up, the entrée.

- You need some salt in the water? - Mm-hmm.

They're taking a big risk in the finale cooking lobster.

30 seconds over, there is no going back.

How come our fish has scales on it? Did you see that?

At this point, they need to start cooking the salmon.

Jesse and Jessica are making braised beef short ribs.

The big jeopardy there, when they turn that pressure cooker off,

they need to be melting in your mouth.

- ( bleep ) - Is it not gonna cook?

Tonight, the grand finale continues as the three finalists

conclude the entrée and dessert rounds.

Come on, Aivan. Get that fish in.

Make sure they're really nice and closed.

Let me concentrate here, yeah?

I really hope when they hit the water,

those tortellini don't explode.

Jesse and Jessica about to open that pressure cooker.

Nothing else matters if the short ribs are not tender.

- Knife, please. - How's that knife going through?

- Smooth? - Mm.

- It's time for your final course. - Go, go, go!

There's no precedent to a dessert like this that I've ever seen.

That usually takes me two to three days at home.

- So there's a lot of risk here. - It is a lot of risk, Chef.

- Aivan's got liquid nitrogen. - This is a very unconventional technique.

We like to push our limits and this is the finale.

It looks stunning. You're cooking like pros.

I'm kind of nervous for everybody else right now. This is delicious.

Only one duo will win the title

as America's first MasterChefs.

Congratulations goes to...

- Come on, Aivan. Get that fish in. - I will.

She's got a lot of fish to cook.

Okay, I got the scales off.

Tina: Come on, come on. Come on, come on.

- Get moving. - Okay.

Get that skin crispy, baby.

Salmon's going in the pan for Tina and Aivan.

- Yeah. - Just over 12 minutes remaining.

Start closing them. Make sure that really nice and closed.

- Let me concentrate here, yeah? - Sure. Yeah, go ahead.

My big worry right now is Julio and Rachel. Their tortellinis aren't done.

They need to sort of rest a little bit before they go into that water.

I really hope those tortellini, when they hit the water, don't explode.

- Gordon: Yeah. - I cut some extra just in case if something happens.

Let's go with the bigger ones first.

- Julio: The lobster looks beautiful. - Okay, I'm going into the oven.

- Tina: Okay. - Where's my timer?

The timer's right here, baby. Right here. Okay.

- Gnocchis look beautiful, Jess. - Thank you!

- Get them off, get them off, get them off, get them off. - Off? What?

Yeah, right? They're finishing. Just let them finish off the heat.

- Okay, okay, okay. - Yeah, you're good. You're good. You're good.

Hold on. Let me check the bottom. Okay, they look beautiful.

Gordon: We've got five minutes remaining.

- Come on! - Here we go!

They're about to open that pressure cooker.

This is it. It all comes down to this.

That protein inside could be worth a quarter million dollars.

So you have a lot of great things all over their bench, right?

The carrots, the gnocchi, the mushrooms, the sauce.

Nothing else matters if the short ribs are not tender.

- They look good. - Knife, please. I got it. I got it.

- You all right? - Under five. Yep. Yep.

- How's that knife going through? - Jessica: How we looking?

- They're all right. They're all right. - Smooth? Soft?

We've got three minutes to go! Start to plate!

When I put the rice on, I need you to pour the yellow sauce on.

- Tina: Okay. - Jess, starting plating.

- Time to go? - Go! Yes! What do you mean?

Man, Jesse and Jessica have left it for the very last minute.

They gotta move. There's so much going on.

You worry about the gnocchi. I'll do the veg.

Get it on the plate!

Make sure that sauce goes all the way around, okay?

Tina: Yeah, yeah. Yes, yeah.

- Okay, go behind me. - Going around you.

Final minute, guys! One minute to go. Come on!

We got one minute. We got one minute.

- Whoa, my God. - Help me with the flowers.

Ten, nine, eight, seven...

- Come on. Clean it! - I'm cleaning it. I'm cleaning it.

- ...three, two, one! - Stop!

- ( cheering ) - Come on, guys!

Whew. Again to the last minute.

That's the only way we can do it,

and we have a pretty good-looking plate in front of us.

Our biggest concerns is how tender is a short rib?

This is a three to four-hour braise on a Sunday

in New England, and we didn't have that time today,

so we'll see how tender they are.

We're happy, but we're nervous. It's the finale.

I am nervous, but I'm super happy

that I represented my culture and my family that is here.

It's me in this plate and I'm so happy about it.

Let's go, guys. Whoo!

All right, Tina and Aivan, please come forward.

I feel like our dish is packed full of flavor,

but the salmon is the hero of our dish.

So if the cook is not right, that's gonna put us in trouble.

So we made co'm ca sa ot, which is a crispy skin salmon

with lemongrass chili sauce, a garlic rice, and bok choy.

Visually, ladies, it looks beautiful.

The contrast is exceptional.

And you guys plate beautifully,

and yet again tonight, it looks stunning. Great job.

- Thank you. Chef. Thank you. - Whoo!

All right, what can I expect when I cut open this salmon?

- We're going for a medium rare. - Okay.

A little medium here.

Mine's perfectly medium rare.

Mine's nice and mid-rare.

- Yeah, yours is good. - ( cheers and applause )

Very pink.

This is a beautiful medley of flavors.

The sauce that you made, that you did

from your grandmother and your mother

has this incredible flavor.

It is smooth, it is luscious,

- and you definitely taste Vietnam in this dish. - Thank you, Chef.

Ladies, the salmon is cooked to absolute utter perfection.

It's crispy on top, it's pink in the middle, and it's beautiful.

But be very careful about pressing that rice down.

When you compress it, it overcooks, its steams,

and then it loses its fluffiness, which is such a shame.

But, God, on a night like tonight,

I think the only one thing that's missing for me

is that grandma can't taste how good you've become.

- Aww. - It's exceptional,

and I think it's your strongest dish so far.

- Thank you, Chef. - Thank you, Chef. Thank you. Thank you.

Look, you took a big risk taking a Vietnamese tradition

and your story and evolving it so fearlessly.

But you've succeeded in evolving your tradition into a world-class dish

- Good job. - Both: Thank you, Joe.

- Thank you. - Thank you. Thank you, ladies.

- The cook on the salmon here is just-- yeah. - I know!

It just was perfect. What a shame yours is not.

- Right, next up, Jesse and Jessica. - Whoo!

Cooking short ribs in 60 minutes is a ballsy move.

But that's why we're in the finale, because we're not afraid to push the limits.

We prepared for you a braised beef short rib

with the cacio e pepe gnocchi, baby carrots and baby fennel,

sautéed mushrooms, a parmesan frico, and veal demi-glace.

Wow. Visually, it looks beautiful. It looks unctuous.

It looks autumnal. For me it's all about that short rib.

We'll know when we cut into that thing

because it's got to be soft, more-ish.

- Shall we? - Let's do it.

So this should be-- slice like butter, right?

It's a bold move tonight. It's gonna come down to this.

Jesse and Jessica, for me it's all about that short rib.

I just hope it's cooked perfectly.

And it's slicing through like butter. Beautiful.

Beautiful!

- Flavor-wise, it's delicious. - Thank you.

Mine is soft, unctuous, and everything you want.

You were under pressure tonight.

Very few professional chefs

can get short ribs cooked in six hours,

let alone in tonight's finale in 60 minutes.

- Great job. Well done. - Thank you, Chef.

The gnocchi is delicious.

It's still light, but yet there's still that caramelization on the outside.

It's my favorite thing on the plate.

But my short rib is not as tender as Gordon's.

Unfortunately, there is a layer here from where the bone meets

that needed about ten more minutes of cooking.

So it's just a little difficult

to get through and it feels very chewy.

Look this dish has a lot of things going on.

So many variables, so many techniques,

and it showed during the cook.

You guys were really running frantically.

It's really all done very, very well.

Even the frico is perfectly done, which is not easy to do.

This is a nice, salty, crisp surprise.

The carrots are cooked perfectly.

- Good job. - Thank you, Joe.

Well done. Thank you, Jesse, Jessica.

- Oh, I see it. I mean, yeah, that's tender. - That's soft.

- Mine's completely different to yours. Wow. - I know.

- What a shame. Yours is soft and tender, Joe? - Absolutely.