MasterChef

- Gordon: Previously... - Welcome to the tenth anniversary season

- of "MasterChef!" - Today I get the opportunity

- to make my dream come true. - Let's go, baby!

...America's most talented home cooks put their best dish forward.

I can't stop eating this, personally.

Holy .

Mum, do you think he's done enough to deserve an apron?

You're going to give him.

And a few battle it out for a spot in the competition.

The person earning that final apron...

...Micah.

This is the best auditionsin over a decadeof this competition.

Tonight on "MasterChef"...

You are the top 20.

the competition kicks off...

Welcome to culinary boot camp.

- I'm gonna be your drill sergeant. - Oh.

...as the top 20 face their first big challenge.

First chance to prove myself andI do not wanna go home today.

Their skills are put to the test for a chance at immunity.

Gordon: What a way to separate the cooks from the chefs.

You're making stupid mistakes and I'm losing my patience.

You shouldn't even be hereif you don't have these skills.

And it's the first mystery box elimination challenge.

- Oh! What? - Aarón: Make us a dish

that screams Chef Gordon.

Just put something on the plate!

There's one more thing that we do need to tell you.

What the hell is happening here?

Gordon: Welcome, guys.

Please make your way down to the front.

- Whoo! - Let's get it! Let's get it!

- Let's get it! - Gordon: Let's go, guys.

This is it.

- Wow. - Awesome.

I'm top 20 in "MasterChef" season ten.

This is insane.

Coming from Texas and travelingaround with the military,

never did I thinkI was gonna be in this position,

and it's incredible.

Gordon: This is it,

the top most talented 20 home cooks

from all across America.

The kitchen is the heartbeat of an Italian family.

So to be here in this incredible kitchen,

I'm living my dream.

Here's the deal.

One of you will be America's next MasterChef!

What's up with that?

Yes.

A lot of cooks have walked through those very doors

over the last ten seasons.

For you 20,

your story in this kitchen starts right now.

How about this incredible MasterChef kitchen?

Just by being in this competition alone

you get to cook with the world's best ingredients

alongside the world's best kitchen,

including a chef's dream,the most amazing Viking ranges.

We've set you all up

with the perfect toolsthat you need to succeed

across this competition.

But know that just one of you

is gonna win some life-changing prizes.

For the first time ever

in the history of this competition,

training in Joe, Aarón, and my restaurant.

Thank you, Chef.

And you will get a quarter of a million dollars.

- Wow! - Yeah!

Now, are you guys ready to get started?

- All: Yes, Chef! - Yes!

Do you know the secret to any great dish?

Preparation.

It's 90% of the battle.

So, we need to make sure

that you guys are truly prepared.

You have to show us

that you can work under extreme pressure.

In front of you,you've got six essential skills

that any talented chef must master.

All of you, welcome to your culinary boot camp.

Tonight, I'm gonna be your drill sergeant.

Oh, great.

- Yes. - Oh, my gosh.

All of you, watch very carefully.

Does it get better than Gordon Ramsay

four feet in front of you

showing you how to break something down?

I mean people pay thousands of dollars for a lesson like that.

A beautiful fine dice of onion.

One finger in front, two fingers behind.

Let the knife do the work.

Don't worry about the speed. Focus first on the technique.

Slice through, then from there,

chop down right down to the very edge.

In. Now, peppers.

Slice it nice and thinly.

Once you're confident with a knife,

maybe two slices at at time under.

Gordon Ramsay is like a ninja in that kitchen.

Supreming grapefruit.

Into the segments we come down,

and we-- we squeeze out.

Now I can go in with not one ounce of pith on there.

He is making all of that prep work look so easy,

and I already know that a good amount of us are gonna struggle with this.

So you take a nice plush of basil.

Once we've got the little leaves,

we sort of form a little stack.

And then from there, roll them nice and tightly

without bruising them, almost like a cigar.

And thinly slice.

The secret of chiffonading any herb

is making sure the goodness stays in the herb

and not on the board.

There's a bunch of ingredients that I like,

but staring me right in the eyes

is the stupid fish.

Filleting a fish.

The secret here is the flexibility of the knife.

Pull up a fish. Semi round, come in around the head.

Over, in, nice broad strokes.

Let the knife do the work.

Over the bone into that ribcage.

Come down, 'cause it's flexible in those bones.

Lay that back down and off.

Okay, back around.

Back through the gill, tilt the tail,

over the ribcage.

Make sure you go all the way to the head.

Come up, and again, down, off.

Okay, I wanna see the transparent bone on there.

- Okay? No waste. - Wow.

And then finally, eggs.

Hand nice and clean, egg cracked.

And you're sort of nipping with your fingers

without breaking the yolk, very carefully.

Keep an eye on making sure there is no shell.

And more important, there's no yolk in my white

that could destroy the texture of a soufflé

or completely screw a sauce.

And that is how you separate an egg.

Now, this challenge is about skill.

And if you can't master the basics,

you cannot call yourselves a MasterChef.

This here is your first

immunity challenge.

That was four minutes and 55 seconds

to do all six skills.

Tonight, you've all got ten minutes.

Oh, .

Tonight, you're lucky 'cause I'm feeling nice.

You'll dice three onions, fillet a fish,

- and separate two dozen eggs. - Okay.

- Thank you, Jesus. - Wow.

- Gordon: Understood? - All: Yes, Chef!

I flip houses, so I know pressure.

I know what it means to be under time.

Ten minutes to do three ingredients,

this is definitely something I can handle.

Your preparation has to look professional.

If it's not good enough to use in one of my restaurants,

then I have no use for you in this competition.

- Is that clear? - All: Yes, Chef.

- You guys ready? - All: Yes, Chef!

Now, listen carefully.

Your first chance for immunity is on the line right now.

And if you do well here, and you excel,

you will be safe from elimination.

Please, all of you, head to your stations.

- Yes, Chef. - Yes, Chef.

- Let's go. - Liz: Immunity is here,

and it's serious, and I do not wanna go home today.

First chance to prove myself, and I'm going on that balcony.

Your ten minutes start...

...now! Let's go.

- Come on. - Come on, guys.

- That's the noise I want to hear. - Exactly.

Chop, chop, chop, chop, chop.

Joe: You know, guys, this is a tall order.

You're gonna be judged on the quality of the cut...

- Damn it. - ...the speed,

and you have that time clock that's ticking.

Kimberly: I'm not doing it fast enough.

I'm already behind.

I'm just praying at this point

that there's somebody doing worse than me.

Guys, I have to say, I'm very impressed

- with the level of dexterity out there. - Gordon: Yeah.

Gordon: Absolutely. Jamie, great job.

Renee, well done.

What a way to separate the cooks from the chefs.

And it's a first chance for all of us

to absolutely understand what we've got to work with

on a skill level.

Noah, is already on to his fish, onions done.

First three minutes. Brilliant.

Michael's also doing a really good job.

He's got great technique.