MasterChef

Gordon: Previously on "MasterChef"...

It's the return of the dreaded pressure test.

Chocolate, one of the most difficult ingredients to work with on the planet.

There were two dynamic duos that really did stand out.

- Tonna and Cait and Kayla and Ryan Kate. - Yay!

Courtney: We made a traditional cannoli with cashew ricotta filling.

It looks like an over-fried egg roll.

The weird taste is the filling.

The duo leaving "MasterChef" tonight is Darce and Courtney.

Tonight, the top nine duos

face a brand new "MasterChef" challenge.

One of you is gonna leave the MasterChef kitchen

and the other will start a dish.

Then, at the 30-minute mark, duos will trade places

and the second cook will complete the dish.

He's gonna see this and know exactly what to do with it.

You've really got to set your partner up for success.

I honestly have no idea what I'm gonna walk out to.

All right, time for the big swap.

- Are you ready? - What the heck?

- Ryan Kate really left Kayla a mess. - (bleep)

He doesn't know my vision. Don't put it on the fish!

I'm doing the best I can with what I got here.

- Wow, look. - Cait, the sauce!

- (groans) - I'm feeling dizzy.

- Medic! - (whimpers)

This is gonna be an exciting one.

- Ooh, I can't wait. - Yes.

- Top nine duos. - Let's go.

Welcome back, guys. Come on!

Oh, my God.

Top nine feels so amazing.

Not only did we stay safe from the pressure test,

but we also got one of the top dishes.

So we want it to keep going.

We want to be here and we want to be competing for longer.

Welcome back to the amazing MasterChef kitchen.

- Whoo! - All right!

Now, guys, this season, since you're all duos,

one thing we've been keeping an eye on is communication.

Even before you stepped foot in the MasterChef kitchen,

you all knew how to communicate with each other.

Some of you could probably finish each other's sentences.

Well, in this challenge,

you're gonna be finishing each other's dishes.

- (murmuring) - (laughter)

That's right. To really test how in sync you are as a dynamic duo,

- we're gonna play a little game of... - (murmuring)

...recipe telephone.

- Recipe... - Oh!

- Okay. - What does that mean?

Gordon: Here's how it's gonna work.

One of you is gonna leave the MasterChef kitchen.

- Ay-yi-yi. - And the other will start a dish.

Oh, my God.

The person who starts the dish

will have 30 minutes to begin the cooking.

Then, at the 30-minute mark,

the first cook will leave the kitchen

and trade places with your partner from the holding room.

And the second cook will come in and complete the dish.

- Oh, my God. - What?

- (laughter) - Wow.

This sounds like one

of the most difficult

"MasterChef" challenges

there's ever been.

We're big communicators. We talk a lot.

And so the fact that we're just handing it off

without any communication is scary.

Now, if you're the first cook of the hour,

you have to set your partner up for success

by leaving culinary clues for them at the bench.

- Right. - If you're the second cook of the hour,

based on those clues, you have to complete the dish.

- Ay-yi-yi. - (murmuring)

Guys, at the end of the cook, we'll reunite the duos,

taste the top three dishes,

- and the bottom three dishes. - Okay.

The duo who cooks the best tasting dish

will win an incredible dinner at one of my restaurants.

- Wow. - And dinner at one of my restaurants.

And, of course, dinner in one of my restaurants.

Aww.

Unfortunately, the duo that cooks

the worst dishes of the night will be going home.

Gordon: Now who's gonna start and who's gonna finish?

Let's start with Adam and Joel.

- I'm going first. - Wow.

First and second.

- I'll go first, Chef. - I'll go first, Chef.

- I go first, Chef. - Wow. Love that.

- I'm going first. - First.

- I go first. - Second.

And finally, Jesse and Jessica, who's going first?

- I'm gonna go first. - Wow.

Back home, Jess's nickname is Jess the Mess.

And that's because when she cooks,

- it is all over the kitchen. - Oh, I earned that nickname.

And I knew if I walked into that kitchen

and it was a disaster, I wasn't gonna know what to do.

Right. If you're starting the cook tonight, stay where you are.

The remaining nine, please follow Joe to the holding room.

- Let's go. Come on. - Good luck, guys.

- Yes! - Bye!

- Joe: Come on. - Good luck.

Joe: Let's go, let's go, let's go.

- Figure it out. - Joe: All right. Welcome.

- Welcome, welcome to the holding room. - (sighing)

Rachel: This challenge is by far one of the hardest ones

because I'm a control freak.

So I want to know what's going on,

and I don't have that right now.

And not being able to talk to each other

is gonna be really hard.

We're so used to doing every challenge,

cooking things at the same time, you know?

It's like, what are they gonna get done within 30 minutes?

- Right. Everybody, ready? - Yes, Chef.

- Your 60 minutes start now. - Let's go.

Let's go!

Oh, my God!

Kayla: It's a lot of stuff to get done.

You think-- you have any predictions?

I have no idea.

- Okay. - Rice it is.

Adam: I think what's gonna separate us from the other couples

is that we grew up cooking together.

So I'm gonna go first because I'm the oldest and I am more organized.

When Joel cooks, he tends to get a little crazy

and messy and chaotic.

So I'm gonna set him up as best I can.

So we've got a Mediterranean grilled shrimp

with a beet salad and asparagus.

And I know that these are flavors that he loves,

so he's gonna see this and know exactly what to do with it.

Okay.

So, an exciting challenge.

This is the first time of the season the duos aren't cooking together.

This is a tough challenge. You have to be strategic

and hope that your partner will pick up

- on the clues and indications that you leave behind. - Sure.

All right.

We are going to do an elevated version of our wedding dish,

crispy skin grouper with fondant potatoes.

Timothy and I just got married only a month ago,

so this dish should be fresh in his mind.

And if it's not, oh, we're gonna have a conversation.

- Awesome. Cool, cool, cool. - Gordon: Five minutes gone.

You've got 25 minutes to go before we switch.

- You've got to move, guys. - Oh, my gosh.

Michelle: This is very difficult for me right now.

I don't like not having my other half here,

so I'm feeling overwhelmed at the moment.

How are you, Michelle?

- I'm a little-- - Frantic?

This 30 minutes is gonna go by really fast,

and I'm seeing that happen right now.

It's getting away from me a little bit.

Okay, tell me what you're thinking.

I'm doing a crispy skin salmon

with some roasted vegetables and Israeli couscous

that's gonna sit on some white wine broth

and an herb oil over the top.

- That's a lot. - Yeah, yeah.

All right. So what's important right now for you to get done?

Right now, I want to get the couscous going.

I don't think that's something Zach would have known to do himself,

so I want to make sure that he sees that that's what I'm envisioning.

- Okay. - As far as him executing that vision,

I'm crossing my fingers.

Biggest thing is just make it as convenient as you can

with what the steps are in your vision.

- So that Zach can pick up your ideas and complete them. - Right. Yeah. Okay.

- Okay. Good luck. - Thank you.

Jesse: You're doing good. You're doing good.

- Tonna. - Yes.

- How are you feeling? - This is stressful, Chef.

- Tell me about the dish. - We're going to do a New York strip

with fennel carrot salad

with a creamy mushroom peppercorn sauce.

- Right. - And a parsnip purée.

- They're not parsnips. They're white radish. - Oh.

- It looks like a parsnip. - That's white radish.

And you can't make a purée out of that.

It's too bitter. You'll need to start that over.

- Okay. - There's not a lot going on in here.

Anything you can get on in terms of reduction,

- sauces, purées, get them going, please. - Thank you.

Gordon: Yes? And leave some clues behind.

- Yes. - Give a little indication on what to do, right?

- Got it. Thank you. - Oh, my goodness me.

I'm so flustered

because I'm feeling extremely lost without Cait.

Cait's very calm, collected,

but I don't do well under pressure,

and I'm freaking out about that.

Gordon: Coming up to 10 minutes gone.

You've got 20 minutes remaining before we switch.

So these duos are separated