Derrick Fox

“

I've had a target on my back since I got here. I wear it like a cape. Batman has one, and mine will be red and black.

”

  

Hometown	Fort Myers, FL (Season 6) Los Angeles, CA (Season 12)
Age	28 (Season 6) 35 (Season 12)
Occupation	Drummer (Season 6) Private Chef (Season 12)
Statistics
Mystery Box(es) Won	1 (Season 6) 0 (Season 12)
Elimination Test(s) Won	1 (Season 6) 1 (Season 12)
Team Challenge(s) Won	4 (Season 6) 2 (Season 12)
Pressure Test(s) Survived	3 (Season 6)
Top Entries	3 (Season 6) 3 (Season 12)
Bottom Entries	3 (Season 6) 2 (Season 12)
Placement	Runner-Up (Season 6) 7th (Season 12)
Episode Eliminated	The Wall (Season 12)

Derrick Fox (né Peltz) was a contestant on Seasons 6 and 12 of MasterChef. On Season 6, he finished as the runner-up, and on Season 12, he ranked in 7th place with Amanda.

Personality

On season 6, Derrick was easily seen as a force to be reckoned with. In the kitchen, he proved to be a front-runner from the beginning, excelling the competition and creating dishes that wowed the judges. He was also a strong person to have in team challenges, as he got things organized and fixed problems whenever things were out of hand. However, he had this arrogant, "my way" attitude, a lot of the times going as far as taking over as the "team captain" when it wasn't his place (Katrina noticed this when she was the team captain for one of the challenges). He also appeared to have an annoyed, pissed off expression when he was not recognized as having the top dish every single time. He got along with some home cooks, but had a rivalry with Christopher and a long-living feud with Stephen for being top competition, and disliked Olivia and Shelly for their subpar leadership skills, and the latter's cutthroat attitude.

Competition History

Week 3	In/In
Week 4	No Pressure Test
Week 5	In/In
Week 6	Pressure Test
Week 7	Win/Immune
Week 8	Win
Week 9	Lose/Low
Week 10	In/In
Week 11	Win
Week 12	No Pressure Test
Week 13	In/In
Week 14	Lose/Low
Week 15	High/Win
Week 16	Pressure Test
Week 17	High/Low
Week 18	Win
Week 19	Win
Week 20	Runner-Up

Season 10

Episode 4

Derrick made an appearance as a guest at the Season 10 Pool Party.

Competition History

Week 4	In
Week 5	In
Week 6	Win
Week 7	High
Week 8	In
Week 9	In
Week 10	Win
Week 11	In
Week 12	High
Week 13	Win
Week 14	Immune
Week 15	Low
Week 16	Eliminated

Post MasterChef

• After his first appearance, Derrick got married and took his wife's surname and is now Derrick Fox. He helped open a restaurant in LA and has done a number of pop up dining events across the USA. He was in talks for a reality tv show, has a range of online merchandise and offers private chef services.

Trivia

Season 12

• He is the first (and currently only) contestant to be in a juxtaposition between the Top and Bottom groups as their dish got tasted in a challenge, due to the way they cooked it being risky in the sense of either well done or terrible, and the true result was unknown until it was tasted fully due to the dish he cooked.
  • Not only would he eventually be considered in the Top 3, but he’d win that challenge.

• He is the sixth contestant who received lesser bottom entries during their second run on the show, Following Samantha, Shayne, Bri, Gabriel and Bowen (All from Season 12)

Quotes

Season 6

• "Mom, thank you for coming to MasterChef. I'm so glad you're here, I'm just so bummed you picked the wrong dish."
• (After Christopher rolled his eyes) "Christopher does not get it. He has been chewed out multiple times by Christina. And here he is again. Dude, look who's standing in front of you."
• (About the pressure test) "Bring it on. I'll wear this black apron all the way to the end 'cause it's pretty rock n' roll. I like the black apron and that's where I send people home."
• "I've had a target on my back since I got here. I wear it like a cape. Batman has one, and mine will be red and black."
• (After being named Runner Up) "Claudia put up one hell of a fight. It was epic and it was a great battle and you know, making it this far, I know I made my mom proud."

Season 12

• "To lose in the finale was very hard. I was so close, and I've never been so close to something so life-changing and then, just, it, like, falls through your fingertips. It's been a heavy weight on my shoulders. Even though I didn't win, MasterChef changed my life and I remind myself that every day."
• "Before MasterChef, I was a struggling drummer living gig to gig. Now I've been running a private chef business, I've been doing pop-ups around the country. I'm back to show America that this is my one culinary dream, to be the next MasterChef."
• (About Christian's leadership) "Christian is just being loud to be loud. I know he can back up his cooking, but this is not how you manage a team."
• (During the Cowboy Barbeque Team Challenge) "I heard 'Great sear on the steak,' and I didn't listen to anything else 'cause everything else is Bri's problem."
• (After Shelly didn't pick him for her team) "Shelly made a huge mistake not picking me. Her choice was personal and that pissed me off. I'm really focused when I'm pissed off. I'm gonna show her today that she made the biggest mistake of her life."
• "Shelly not picking me for her team, that was personal. She made me look like an idiot and I just served it back to her. Shelly will see it when Gordon tallies up. They'll see."
• (After being eliminated) "It was not the way this was supposed to go. I was here to get that trophy, but the challenge beat us. I’m not gonna get a chance to come back and do this again, this is just the end of the road. When I walked in the MasterChef kitchen this season, I had a lot of new techniques that I’ve learned and mastered over the years. I think I showed the judges I’m more comfortable taking risks because I can back them up. But look, I’m disappointed ‘cause I had so much more to show. That’s the hard part. Season 6, I made it all the way to the finale, and I really wanted to come back and win MasterChef. And even though it’s leaving in a different way than I imagined, it’s not the end, and I’m not going to give up."

Gallery

Season 6

Derrick's Confessional

Derrick's Audition Dish

Derrick receiving his Apron

Derrick's Apple Pie

Derrick in the Blue Team

Derrick in the Red Team

Derrick in a Black Apron

Claudia, Derrick, Christopher, and Ailsa in the Steak Pressure Test

Derrick's Pressure Test New York Strip

Derrick's Breakfast Mystery Box Dish

Nick, Katrina, and Derrick in the Breakfast Mystery Box Top 3

Derrick's Beef Wellington Replication Dish

Derrick, Katrina, Nick, and Kerry in the Beef Wellington Replication Bottom 4

Derrick's Pressure Test Scallop Replication Dish

Derrick, Katrina, and Kerry in the Scallop Replication Pressure Test Bottom 3

Derrick with his Mother

Derrick's Chicken & Waffles Dish

Derrick's Pressure Test Animal Head Dish

Hetal, Derrick, and Olivia in the Animal Head Pressure Test Bottom 3

Derrick's Coffee Mystery Box Dessert

Derrick, Hetal, and Nick in the Coffee Mystery Box Top 3

Derrick and Stephen's Tag-Team Summer Party Platter

Derrick, Hetal, and Katrina in the Pasta Pressure Test

Derrick's Pressure Test Manicotti

Derrick's Pressure Test Squid Ink-Striped Farfalle

Derrick's Pressure Test Egg Yolk Ravioli

Derrick's Single Ingredient Mystery Box Dish

Stephen, Derrick, and Claudia in the Single Ingredient Mystery Box Top 3

Derrick's Winners' Basket Dish (Courtney's Basket)

Derrick and Katrina in the Winners' Basket Bottom 2

Derrick and Stephen's Judges Mystery Box Appetizer

Derrick and Stephen's Judges Mystery Box Entrée

Derrick's Final 3 Dish

Derrick in a Chef Smock

Derrick's Smock Confessional

Derrick and Claudia in the Finale

Derrick's Pork Appetizer

Derrick's Venison Entrée

Derrick's Lemon Dessert

Derrick after being named Runner Up

Season 10

Derrick as a Guest at the Season 10 Pool Party

Christopher, Olivia, and Derrick

Season 12

Derrick's Confessional

Derrick's Back to Win Audition Dish

Derrick Reinstated

Derrick in the Blue Team

Derrick in the Red Team

Derrick in the Grey Team

Derrick in the Green Team

Derrick’s Vegan Dish

Derrick, Amanda, and Bowen in the Vegan Top 3

Derrick and Michael's Tag-Team Trio Plater

Michael, Derrick, Shanika, and Bowen in the Tag-Team Trio Plater Top 4

Derrick’s Grubhub Dish

Michael, Dara, and Derrick in the Grubhub Top 3

Derrick's Gerron Mystery Box Dish

Bowen and Derrick in the Gerron Mystery Box Bottom 2

Derrick and Amanda's Communication Dishes

Shanika, Dara, Derrick, and Amanda in the Communication Team Challenge Bottom 4

Derrick Eliminated (2nd Time)