“ | It's Ahran! | ” |
Ahran Cho was a contestant on Season 5 of MasterChef. She ranked in 9th place.
Personality
Although she was the youngest competitor of the season, Ahran often showed maturity beyond her years, both personality-wise and in the kitchen. She was first noticed openly accusing the judges of showing favoritism towards Courtney, saying she dealt with fake bitches in high school. She also had a feud early-on with Leslie, as he continually mispronounced her name and failed as a team captain. Later on, she was able to mend fences with him, and the two would have a father-daughter-like relationship. She was shown to get along with most other competitors, especially Willie and Christine. She was one of the strongest cooks of the season, delivering stunning dishes and never landing in the bottom of a challenge. However, her age began to show in a pressure test, where live prawns led to her elimination.
Season 5
Episode 1
Ahran was one of 30 home cooks brought to the MasterChef Kitchen. She, along with 17 other contestants, received her apron after the first audition round.
Episode 2
Ahran was not called as one of the top or bottom 2 during the Dessert Mystery Box. Ahran was later one of the 10 home cooks that Courtney picked to not participate in the Meatloaf Elimination Challenge, and she hugged her on the balcony.
Episode 3
Episode 4
During the Live Seafood Mystery Box, Ahran told the judges that Willie was her biggest competitor, but Joe retorted saying they thought Courtney was the one to beat. Ahran said she felt there was favoritism towards Courtney. Her seafood stew with jasmine rice got her into the Top 3, along with Francis B. and Christian. She won the challenge due to her strong flavors and balance.
In the pantry, the judges revealed she had a choice between muffins, cookies, and donuts for the elimination test. Ahran told the judges she wanted to get Courtney out, and selected the dozen donuts, hoping to trip her up. During the challenge, she was happy when Courtney didn't have yeast after she had to restart her donuts, and called her stupid for forgetting such a necessary ingredient. Unfortunately for Ahran, Francis L. gave Courtney some extra yeast, and she sarcastically thanked him for ruining her plan.
After the 60 minutes were up, the judges revealed there was another advantage Ahran wasn’t aware of. She was able to examine everyone’s box of donuts and choose one person to be safe. She decided to save Francis B, as his donuts were more like munchkins, and the judges remarked that he dodged a bullet.
She was seen sadistically happy when Courtney's donuts were deemed disgusting for the amount of salt, saying she was about to go home. To her disappointment, Kira was eliminated, and she expressed shock at that.
Episode 5
The two best chefs from the last challenge had to pick teams for a MasterChef wedding. Ahran said she doesn't wanna be on Leslie's team and he doesn't want to be on hers. Leslie picked Ahran to be on his team pronouncing her name "Iran" which made her yell" It's Ahran!" Leslie said sorry. Leslie had poor leadership skills and Ahran yelled" You're not helping out our team at all!" Leslie yelled with Ahran. Daniel McGuffy appointed Francis Biondi to be the captain and Francis B had great leadership. The red team still lost the challenge. Leslie had a talk to the team apologizing for his poor leadership. Ahran yelled a comment and Leslie said, "Can I finish my sentence without you jumping in there every time I say something." Ahran yelled back. And Leslie stated because she's 18 and that's what teenagers do. Ahran cried and Christian told Leslie not to compare with her because he's 56 and she's 18. The red team had to face a pressure test. The chefs asked Leslie since he's the captain to pick three members to face the pressure test. Leslie picked Christian Green, Daniel McGuffey, and "Iran" for Ahran. He said Ahran and him don't see eye to eye. The judges told him he doesn't have to pick. The judges picked: Leslie, Jordan, and Francis B. Jordan went home.
Episode 6
Episode 7
The contestants were told the team challenge would be done in pairs. The judges asked Leslie the last person he would want to work with, saying he can't pick all 14, and he said Ahran. Ramsay then asked Ahran if he needs to ask for her answer, to which she replied no. As Courtney did the best in the last challenge, she was immune and got to choose all the pairs. Ahran said if she gets paired up with Leslie she might die in a hole. To her dismay, Courtney paired her with Leslie. In the pantry, Leslie said he was happy to do whatever she wanted to avoid as much drama as possible.
As Ramsay walked around, he noticed how well Ahran and Leslie were working together, even saying "Let's face it, Leslie's your bitch", making her laugh. The two presented their pork belly tostada with crab guacamole and a kimchi fried rice, and their dish was praised for its flavors. Courtney said they worked well together and had a nice dish. Ahran said she had a newfound respect for Leslie as a cook and person, and that this challenge was their stepping stone. She even remarked that she would be happy to work with him again. The two were one of five teams safe from the elimination challenge.
Episode 8
During the American Diner Challenge, Ahran was assigned to the red team as the teams were divided by gender. She was not seen during service, but the red team won the challenge and she was safe from the Pressure Test.
Episode 9
Episode 10
Episode 11
Episode 12
Episode 18
Episode 19
Competition History
Week 2 | In/Immune |
---|---|
Week 3 | Win |
Week 4 | Win/Immune |
Week 5 | No Pressure Test |
Week 6 | High/In |
Week 7 | In/Immune |
Week 8 | Win |
Week 9 | In/Win |
Week 10 | Pressure Test |
Week 11 | In/In |
Week 12 | Eliminated |
Season 6
Episode 8
Ahran made an appearance at the 100th Episode Celebration with Daniel and Leslie.
Season 10
Episode 4
Post MasterChef
- After her appearance, Ahran returned to her career as a Head Hostess at Sundance The Steakhouse before becoming a Programmatic Strategy Intern at an ad tech company. She returned to college in 2017 to study Mass communications and is currently a PR assistant. She regularly posts her home bakes on her Instagram account.
Trivia
- At 18, she is the youngest contestant of the season.
- She is the third contestant to reach the Top 10 to have never been on the bottom of any challenge, following David (Season 1) and Victoria.
- She is a UC Berkley alumna.
- She is one of a few contestants in her season to never have their Elimination Test dish aired in an episode unless they were in the top or the bottom of the challenge. The other contestants to have this status were Francis Biondi, Francis Legge, Elise, Dan, Elizabeth and Tyler.
Quotes
- "If you forget the most important ingredient for doughnuts, then you're kind of stupid and you should go home. I wanna get that girl out of here."
- (About Courtney) "Clearly her 'little miss perfect' streak has been broken because her doughnuts taste like shit."
- "I do not wanna be on Leslie's team because he does not know how to communicate with people."
- (To Leslie) "It's Ahran!"
- (To Leslie) "YOU'RE NOT SORRY AT ALL!"
- Gordon: "Have you been drinking, young lady?" Ahran: "No, I don't even know how to open the bottle."
- (After being eliminated) "I'm very proud of myself for coming this far and I think I'm definitely someone who gives hope to a lot of 18-year olds who have a dream, but are scared of really pushing towards it. I've never heard my parents tell me they're proud of me until I entered the competition, so it's a huge deal for me and nothing could give me that satisfaction. Nothing."
Gallery
Season 5
Season 6
External links
References
MasterChef U.S. Season 5 |
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Judges |
Gordon Ramsay • Graham Elliot • Joe Bastianich |
Contestants |
Francis Biondi • Whitney Bray • Cutter Brewer • Elizabeth Cauvel • Ahran Cho • Leslie Gilliams • Christian Green • Gordon Houston • Jordan Kaminski • Courtney Lapresi • Astrid Lavenia • Francis Legge • Elise Mayfield • Daniel McGuffey • Willie Mike • Kira Novak • Victoria Scroggins • Stephani Syfax-Shepherd • Christine Silverstein • Tyler Viars • Jaimee Vitolo • Dan Wu |