Amanda Saab was a contestant on Seasons 6 and 12 of MasterChef. On Season 6, she ranked in 13th place, and on Season 12, she ranked in 7th place with Derrick.
Personality
In Season 6, Amanda was the first Muslim woman in a hijab to ever compete on the show, and exuded pride of her Lebanese heritage. After a successful audition, she proved herself to be a strong chef with an early top entry in a Mystery Box, and was regarded as a strong baker. She was also viewed as a hard worker, being picked first by both Stephen and Nick due to her work ethic. She got along with all her fellow contestants due to her bubbly, friendly personality. Unfortunately, she was shockingly eliminated after serving a sloppily put-together birthday cake, as her cakes were raw.
Season 6
Episode 1
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Amanda was Nick's first pick for the 100th Episode Challenge, calling her the hardest worker in the kitchen. She said she felt honored and so good to be Nick's first pick, as she viewed him as the best contestant in the competition. She wasn't seen much during the challenge, except for saying they had no more carrots and had to start a new veg. The blue team ended up losing the challenge, and had to face the Birthday Cake Pressure Test. After the team decided to save Stephen, Christina revealed that two of them would go home.
After Amanda took her cakes out the oven, they started to collapse as she took them out too early. Although they were falling apart, she was unable to put them bake in the oven and started assembling her cake. Ramsay came by her station, and all the judges seemed heartbroken that her cakes were raw. Graham told Christina that they were witnessing the moment where they lost one of their favorites. Amanda said she decided to take her cakes out too early, and began to break down that she failed at a baking challenge. Ramsay told her to use her frosting to patch the cake up, and treat it like plastic surgery, pointing out his face and the fact that they were in LA.
Amanda was the second contestant to have her cake judged, and presented her vanilla sponge with Nutella buttercream and a strawberry filling, with buttercream on the outside. Graham said the center was clearly underdone, but said it tasted delicious. The frosting wasn't grainy, the filling was great, and the strawberries were done perfectly, but said it was a shame that the cake wasn't cooked. He told she wasn't out of it yet based off the flavor.
Amanda, Shelly, and Charlie were sent to the bottom three after Claudia, Nick, and Sara were deemed safe. After Charlie's elimination, Amanda hoped she did enough to the cake and her flavors were there so she wouldn't go home. The judges called Shelly forward and told her to take off her apron, but paused before telling her to head up to the balcony. Thus, Amanda was the second contestant eliminated due to her raw cake. Before she left, Ramsay told her she was a great cook and to not let this stop her. During her exit interview, she called her time in the competition incredible, was proud to break stereotypes, and had three of the best chef say great things about her food. She said she would continue cooking and baking, and couldn't wait to see who America's next MasterChef would be.
Competition History
| Week 3 | In/Immune |
|---|---|
| Week 4 | Win |
| Week 5 | High/In |
| Week 6 | Win |
| Week 7 | In/In |
| Week 8 | Lose/Eliminated |
Season 7
Episode 4
Amanda made an appearance at fellow Season 6 contestant, Nick Nappi's wedding.
Season 12
Episode 1
Competition History
| Week 4 | In |
|---|---|
| Week 5 | In |
| Week 6 | Win |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | Immune |
| Week 9 | High |
| Week 10 | Lose |
| Week 11 | In |
| Week 12 | In |
| Week 13 | In |
| Week 14 | In |
| Week 15 | High |
| Week 16 | Eliminated |
Post MasterChef
- After her first appearance, Amanda opened a bakery called Butter Bear Shop (closed in 2020), is a food blogger posting recipes at Amanda's Plate and she organizes Dinner With Your Muslim Neighbor dinner parties.
Trivia
- In both seasons, the only time she was in the bottom of a challenge was when she was subsequently eliminated.
Season 6
- She is the lowest ranking contestant to be in the top group of a Mystery Box, but not win.
Season 12
- She is the second contestant, and the first female contestant, who made it further in the competition during her second run, ranking 13th in Season 6, and ranking 7th in Season 12, following Michael.
- She is the only contestant in two seasons that is eliminated with a tied ranking with someone who also eliminated.
Quotes
Season 6
- (After being eliminated) "For me to be at MasterChef has been incredible. I'm absolutely proud of myself of breaking the stereotypes that are out there. I'm strong, I'm confident, I'm Muslim, I'm not suppressed, I have my own voice and I have 3 of the best chefs in the entire world eat my food and say great things. I'm gonna continue cooking, I'm gonna continue baking and I can't wait to see who the next MasterChef is."
Season 12
- (After the Vegan challenge) "I know some of my fellow contestants are really nervous about this being a vegan challenge because they love to eat meat. It's truly anyone's game, this competition is super fierce. I think some people are doing too much conceptually. You can do incredible things without having such elaborate food."
- "This time in the MasterChef Kitchen, it's so much bigger than just me. I have my daughter Hannah to think about. Baking is how we bond, so I want to make her proud."
- (After the Baking challenge) "I don't think most people understand how hard it is to bake these dishes in 90 minutes. Baking is a science. You really have to be precise and you have to be careful. I definitely think this is one of the hardest challenges we've had so far. Texture's gotta be right, your flavor's gotta be right. There is no room for error."
- "I definitely relate to Christine (Ha). Being a woman in a male-dominated industry where everything is an uphill battle, you are constantly trying to prove yourself. So it's really inspiring but also super intimidating to be cooking for her today."
- (After being eliminated) "So, my journey in the MasterChef kitchen is over too soon once again. But I’m really proud of myself. I came back to prove that I can absolutely bake. I cooked with integrity and love. I stayed true to my culture, to my roots. Sometimes you set a goal, you don’t reach it, you just have to find the alternative path, and that’s what I hope to teach Hannah."
Gallery
Season 6
Season 7
Season 12
.jpg "Amanda's Confessional (Season 12).jpg (54 KB)")
.jpg "Amanda's Audition Dish (Season 12).jpg (45 KB)")
.jpg "AmandaS BlueTeam (Season 12).jpg (55 KB)")
.jpg "AmandaS GreenTeam (Season 12).jpg (45 KB)")
External links
References
| MasterChef U.S. Season 6 |
|---|
| Judges |
| Gordon Ramsay • Graham Elliot • Christina Tosi |
| Contestants |
| Justin Banister • Darah Carattini • Charlie Chapman • Veronica Cili • Dan Collado • Olivia Crouppen • Ailsa Von Dobeneck • Shelly Flash • Katrina Kozar • Stephen Lee • Christopher Lu • Mateo McConnell • Nick Nappi • Derrick Peltz • Kerry Prince • Jesse Romero • Amanda Saab • Claudia Sandoval • Hetal Vasavada • Tommy Walton • Brianna Watson • Sara Zacek |
| MasterChef U.S. Season 12: Back to Win |
|---|
| Judges |
| Gordon Ramsay • Aarón Sánchez • Joe Bastianich |
| Contestants |
| Bri Baker • Fred Chang • Samantha Daily • Shelly Flash • Derrick Fox • Christian Green • Emily Hallock • Stephen Lee • Gabriel Lewis • Bowen Li • Cate Meade • Willie Mike • Brandi Mudd • Shanika Patterson • Amanda Saab • Michael Silverstein • Alejandro Valdivia • Tommy Walton • Shayne Wells • Dara Yu |