MasterChef

Gordon: Previously on "masterchef"...

It's your first dessert challenge.

Your futures in this kitchen are at stake right now.

Do not crumble under pressure.

Considering I'd never done this before,

I'm pretty confident that I've nailed this right now.

- Well done, all of you. - Yes!

Make your way up to the balcony.

One of you have cooked for your very last time

inside this incredible kitchen.

Evan, please place your apron on your bench.

Noah: Let's go, evan!

Tonight...

We are now down to the top 16.

The home cooks fight for immunity...

- Let's go! - ...In an epic team challenge.

- Blue team! - Joe: Two captains will teach the entire team

how to execute a three-course italian meal.

Your future in this competition depends on these people.

- Ah, you burned me. - Oh!

- I know exactly what I'm doing. Trust me. - Okay.

Joe: We've never done a challenge this difficult

this early on, with this many home cooks in the kitchen.

- ( bleep ) hell. - But, season 10, this is the time to do it.

- yeah! - Whoo!

- Welcome, guys. - Awesome.

- Top 16, baby. - Let's go.

Let's get it, let's get it, let's get it.

There we go!

- Uh-oh. I knew it. - Oh, boy.

Fred: Oh, it is a team challenge.

I hate team challenges.

A team challenge,

you have to give up some control.

I'm used to being by myself.

I like cooking alone.

I hate putting my fate in the hands of other people.

We are now down to the top 16 home cooks

to the extraordinary 10th season of "masterchef."

- come on! - Yeah!

Wicked! Yeah!

Tonight, you have a team challenge,

and the challenge you face tonight--

the biggest risk that I personally

have ever taken in this competition.

but first, let's divide up into teams.

From bri to the right, you're the red team.

From michael to the left, you're the blue team. Please put on your aprons.

Jamie: It's a team challenge, and you better get your team on point

or you're not gonna have immunity. That's the bottom line.

I was on the losing team the first time.

I'm not used to losing, so at this point,

I'm just hoping I'm on the right team.

Red team redemption, right here. Let's go.

Now, all of you take a look around,

because your future in this competition depends on these people.

But there is one very important aspect

that is still up in the air-- your captains,

who today will have a lot riding on their shoulders.

Because those captains are heading to a restaurant.

And let me tell you something, it's one of the best in all of los angeles.

It's a restaurant that I happen to know very, very well,

because we will be going to my restaurant...

Osteria mozza.

- Wow. - Let's go, joe!

How awesome.

Two captains will have to learn

how to make a gourmet, authentic,

three-course italian meal.

- Oof. - So cool.

You will then have to come back here

and teach the entire team

how to execute that meal for us.

- Ooh. - Awesome.

- Let's do it. - I like it.

This is the 10th anniversary of "masterchef."

in none of those 10 years of "masterchef"

have I ever, ever brought amateur home cooks

into the kitchen of my restaurant.

Love that. Let's roll.

Now, if you think you have what it takes

to lead your team to victory,

and you want to be the captain, raise your hands.

right, hands down.

Convince us, and joe especially,

why you should be the captain.

To start, I'm italian.

Done deal. Sign him up.

- That's fair, right? - That already qualifies you for many things, but continue.

I have not lost any challenge in the masterchef kitchen yet.

- Mm. - I have also worked worked in several restaurants,

including in a 3 michelin star kitchen for a month this summer.

- Good stuff. - For starters, I'm literally a captain.

- You are a captain. - As long as we communicate,

I feel like I can run this team straight to victory.

- Interesting. - I'd love to get in your restaurant and learn.

I have leadership skills. I think I'm a great communicator.

I run a business. I have more employees than teammates right now,

which means, you know, I know how to do this.

Compelling, because running a business

is a big part of restaurants.

Subha, you're the only one who doesn't raise your hand?

You don't wanna hang out with me?

I thought me and you in my car, we could be pretty good.

Sexy subha and jazzy joe down highland boulevard.

- Sexy subha and jazzy joe. - No.

Leadership is all about leading when needed

and following when needed to be.

- That's admirable. - Appreciate that.

That said, from the blue team,

I've decided that I'd like michael to be the captain.

Well done, buddy. You got this. You got this, buddy.

From the red team, nick to be the captain.

- Let's go, baby. - All right.

- The nicks! - Hope you guys are ready

for what you've signed up for.

Let's go. The car awaits. Let's go to osteria mozza.

- Guys, you got this. Memory. - Take notes.

- Remember everything. - Good luck, man.

- All the little stuff. Pay attention. - We believe in you!

Drive carefully, joe.

Joe: All right, boys, let's go.

My strategy is essentially to take as many notes as I can.

I want to bring everything back to my team

so that we can perfectly replicate what I see at osteria mozza.

My overall strategy is to really take charge.

I have my own business.

When I build a house,

I don't actually lift a hammer.

I'm gonna be managing everything.

All right, boys, we're here.

- Here we go. - Welcome to osteria mozza.

Liz is the executive chef of the osteria.

This is michael, captain of the blue team,

and nick, captain of the red team.

- Hello, michael. - Nice to meet you.

How are you, chef? Nice to meet you.

So, today, liz will demonstrate

and teach you how to make three of the signature dishes

- of osteria mozza. - Awesome.

- Right, liz? - Yeah.

First is a pasta course,

the ricotta and egg raviolo

with brown butter and sage.

It's a very simple dish.

It is just a pasta stuffed with ricotta filling

and an egg yolk in the middle.

And when you cut into it, the egg just oozes right out.

It has to ooze, though.

So, we are going to start

by making the filling for the raviolos.

Joe: Start with the ricotta, which is dry.

Grana padano dried grating cheese.

- And then you have nutmeg. - We're gonna do just a few turns in there.

It can be very sharp and pungent,

so it's really a very small quantity.

Liz: Now we're gonna make the pasta dough.

Two cups of just regular all-purpose flour.

Isn't this how your grandma did it?

- My grandmother still does it this way. - Nona?

- She's 99. - Wow.

I think this is the most difficult challenge yet, but at the same time,

making an italian pasta dish from scratch,

is something that I did with my family growing up,

and that's something that joe and I share in common.

This is your make or break time, okay?

If you mess this up, you gotta start over.

Joe: The egg yolk, which is the star of this raviolo,

will nestle into the ricotta.

The ricotta gets warm, the yolk warms up a little bit,

but is still perfectly runny.

Michael: The pasta dish is very simple.

There's actually not very many ingredients.

It's all about technique.

Joe: What is the sauce for this pasta?

Literally, butter and sage.

We're browning the butter

and frying the sage in that butter.

So, as much as I feel confident

in my own abilities to cook,

can I communicate it to my team?

I mean, this is basically a game of telephone.

And see how bubbly it is, and foamy?

That's perfectly browned butter.

- Amazing. - And joe's gonna garnish with some grana padano.

- And this is ready to serve. - Michael: Beautiful.

Go ahead, cut it open.

- Wow. - Ooh, wow.

That's what you're looking for.

All right, second dish. This is...

Lamb rack in a tahini and dried persian lime marinade.

The marinade is very simple and straightforward.

So, I'm gonna start here with tahini, coriander, and smoked paprika,

and that gives it really good color.

You notice the quantity of the seasoning that she's using?

A lot of salt. Oh, my gosh.

I think if one of you two figured out

how to season it properly,

you could probably win the whole competition.

- It's that important. - Right.