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American Heroes is the 16th episode of Season 9 of MasterChef. It was aired on August 29, 2018 on FOX and is also a double feature along with the 17th episode. On that episode, the Top 8 cooked for 25 firefighters, Pasta was the Theme of the Pressure Test, and a shocking elimination occurred.

Team Challenge[]

In this field Team Challenge, the home cooks were split into two teams of 4. The challenge would require them to prep and serve a dish to 25 Firefighters who participated in taking out the Infamous Thomas Fire of December 2017. As Cesar and Bowen were the winners of the previous challenge, they were selected as team captains for this challenge. Meanwhile, the other 6 were assigned to form their own teams whilst the judges had Bowen choose between picking his protein or picking his team; to which Bowen chose his protein 1st. That Protein in question being the Seabass, leaving Cesar with the Rack of Lamb by default. After which Cesar chooses the Team consisting of Gerron, Farhan, & Julia as the Blue Team, leaving Bowen with Ashley, Samantha, & Shanika, as the red team by default. During preparation, Ashley had concerns with Bowen's frazzled Ness, believing that it would be the cause of the Red Team's loss as it almost did last time Bowen was Captain in one of the Team Challenges. As such, both teams decided to go with the following dishes:

  • Pan Seared Seabass with roasted baby carrots, & purple cauliflower puree
  • Herb crusted Rack of Lamb with minted peas, couscous, mushrooms, and red wine demi sauce.

When Gordon came up to check on the red team, he chastised Bowen for placing olive oil in the pan, despite not being ready to cook the seabass yet. Afterwards, Shanika decides to assist Bowen in cooking the Seabass. Meanwhile, the 25 firefighters begin to arrive. On the other hand, the Blue Team was operating at a similar pace, with Aaron having some reservation over Gerron's lack of consistency with the herbs being placed on their Rack of Lamb Dish, on top of the fact that only half of the portions were in the oven. Eventually, both teams were able to present their dishes to the 25 firefighters. In the end, the blue team won by 72% of the vote, sending the red team to the pressure test, much to Ashley's frustration. As an immediate punishment for the red team, they must clean down both kitchens; during which tensions rose between Ashley and Bowen when the former begins to rant over the fact that the latter's lack of leadership was what costed them the win.

Pressure Test[]

With their crushing defeat, the Red team was sent to the pressure test. where they would have to make 3 types of Pasta:

  • Pappardelle pasta with sumersano tomatoes and prosciutto.
  • Mezzaluna Pasta with Swiss chard and ricotta cheese
  • Garganelle Pasta with Fungi Trifolati

Before the challenge started, Joe decided to do a demonstration on how to cook all 3 pasta dishes: much t Ashley's strong impression. As the challenge commenced, Gordon discovered that Bowen was working slow due to him being the only one who hasn't started making his sauces for the 3 pasta dishes: although Bowen reassures Gordon that he's not going home. Meanwhile Shanika also begins to fall behind as her pasta dough is still significantly more dry than soft; much to everyone's concern. This goes the same for Daniel as well. However, Jeff continues to fall behind with time; much to everyone's concern. When judging began, Shanika was the first to be judged. All 3 Pasta Dishes were instantly criticized for looking incomplete presentation wise. Samantha's 3 pasta dishes were nailed perfectly in both presentation and taste. Ashley's 3 Pasta dishes were decent despite having some issues presentation wise. Bowen's 3 Pasta Dishes had the worst presentation of the bunch due to the pasta itself being thin on all 3 dishes; with Joe being baffled over the fact that Bowen has never had Pasta before; much to everybody's surprise.

Elimination[]

In the end, the judges decide to send Shanika home because of how she failed to get all components of her dish. As she was leaving the MasterChef Kitchen, she then instantly places his bet on Bowen to win the competition.

Trivia[]

  • Title Reference: The Title Refers to the Firefighter Team Challenge.
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