MasterChef Wiki
Register
Advertisement
This page is move protected. This page is a part of MasterChef U.S. Winners
I'm a hot commodity. It's like I should be in high demand.

Courtney Lapresi was a contestant on Season 5 of MasterChef. She was the winner of that season and was awarded with the MasterChef trophy, the right to publish her own cookbook, and a salary of $250,000.

Personality

Courtney remains one of the most polarizing contestants in the history of the show. From the beginning, she established herself as one of the most consistent and creative cooks of the season, receiving the very first apron and winning the first Mystery Box of the season.

Despite her consistent performances in individual and team challenges, many of her competitors found disingenuous, stuck-up, and two-sided. Although she generally remained friendly to her competitors, rarely getting into drama with them, she had some disagreements and feuds with other contestants. She was first targeted by Ahran, who viewed her as fake and called out perceived favoritism towards her, was initially disliked by Christian for the same reasons until their success working as a pair, and later Elizabeth, who grew irritated by her towards the end of the competition. Daniel also held a dislike to her. She had dislikes to both Leslie (for his talkative nature) and Cutter (for his poor attitude, stubbornness, and inability to accept criticism). However, she got along with many other competitors, including Jaimee, Francis L., Christine, Willie, and Victoria.

Season 5

Episode 1

As the contestants entered the MasterChef Kitchen, Courtney said she didn't enter competitions she didn't plan on winning. She was confident she would get her apron, but was unsure of when. During the auditions, Courtney revealed she was making a ricotta gnocchi in a brown butter sage sauce with peas. She revealed she when she was in her senior of college, she was taking 18 credits and had 5 jobs, yet still couldn't pay her rent, so she made the decision to work in a gentlemen's club. She said she couldn't be an entertainer forever, but could be a cook forever. Courtney told the camera it was the most important dish of her life, she had to get her white apron, and be there every day until she got the MasterChef trophy.

After the 60 minutes ended, Ramsay asked Courtney why she chose to make gnocchi. She told him she was a third-generation Italian, and wanted to take something from home and make it her own. Ramsay told her it tasted better than it looked. Before the judges began giving out white aprons, Courtney said she cooked her soul out on the plate, and wanted them to put her out her misery and say her name. Luckily for her, she received the very first apron of the season. She told the camera she came there with a dream, and it was coming true. She believed MasterChef would give her the tools she needed to create a new profession, and said she was proud of herself.

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Ahran had told Joe Bastianich that she thinks the judges are favoring Courtney. Ahran chose the elimination round's dish which was a box of 12 doughnuts. Courtney forgot to add the eggs while making her first batch of dough, and had to restart it from scratch. She didn't have any extra yeast forcing her to ask around for more, and gave Francis L. a kiss on the cheek when he graciously gave her his extra package of yeast. During tasting, while her doughnuts looked beautiful, Gordon spat them out as she had mistakenly seasoned them with salt instead of sugar. She was one of the bottom two entries, and despite her donuts being considered the worst of the night, Kira Novak's lack of passion sent her home, sparing Courtney. 

Episode 5

The contestants were brought to a beach in southern California for a wedding party of 120 guests. Courtney joins the blue team chosen by Francis L. The teams had to cook a scallop starter and a sea bass entrée, which they had two hours to cook. The Blue Team were named the winners, and are safe from elimination.

Christine and Courtney were giving Francis Biondi advice to make a compound butter for his steak during a pressure test because they don't like Leslie's. Francis L. told them not to help the enemy.

Episode 6

Under the Mystery Box was 52 unlabeled aluminum cans containing various processed vegetables, fruit, meat and seafood. The cooks were tested on their ability to elevate cheap canned ingredients to restaurant-quality dishes. Elizabeth won the mystery box challenge.

Season four winner Luca Manfè and MasterChef Junior season one winner Alexander Weiss returned to the MasterChef kitchen, each bearing one of their signature dishes. Luca presents a veal dish, while Alexander had made a passion fruit panna cotta. For her advantages, Elizabeth selects who cooks which dish.Courtney was assigned Luca's veal. She has cooked the best meal and gains the advantage in the following episode.

Episode 7

Gordon Ramsay asked Christian Green who would be the last person you would wanna work with. The contestants had to work in pairs picked by Courtney because she did the best in the last challenge. The first person Courtney chose was Christian and paired him up with Francis B, another front runner, because Courtney believed that if you pair up two egos together, their personalities will clash and get away from the cooking. Christian thanked Courtney because Francis is a good cook. Their dish wasn't great and both of them had to face a pressure test with Dan Wu and Cutter Brewer who have also failed the challenge. Their cooking assignment was spring rolls. Francis B's were stringy on the inside. The judges decided to sent home Francis B.

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 16

Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Competition History

Week 2 Win/Immune
Week 3 Pressure Test
Week 4 In/Low
Week 5 Win
Week 6 In/Win
Week 7 Immune
Week 8 Win
Week 9 High/In
Week 10 Win
Week 11 In/Win
Week 12 No Pressure Test
Week 13 In/Immune
Week 14 Win/Immune
Week 15 Pressure Test
Week 16 High/Win
Week 17 Win
Week 18 In/Pressure Test
Week 19 Winner

Season 6

Episode 17

Courtney made an appearance, alongside Season 3 Winner Christine and Season 4 Winner Luca, to promote her new cookbook and to have her Dessert Ingredients used by one of the contestants in the Elimination Challenge. Her basket was given to Derrick by Claudia, who won the Mystery Box prior.

Season 10

Episode 4

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

Episode 24/25

Post MasterChef

  • After her appearance, Courtney released cookbook "Everyday Fancy: 65 Easy, Elegant Recipes for Meals, Snacks, Sweets, and Drinks" and she now works in sales for Tesla.

Trivia

  • She is the second Italian-American winner, following Luca (Season 4)
    • She is also tied with Luca for most challenge wins for a winner, with 10.
  • She is the second winner to receive the first apron of their season, following Jennifer (Season 2).
  • She is the second winner to win the first Mystery Box of their season, following Whitney (Season 1).
  • Prior to Dorian (Season 10) winning, she was in a four-way tie with Claudia (Season 6), Shaun (Season 7), and Dino (Season 8) for being the winner with the fewest finishes in the bottom, with 1 challenge each.

Quotes

  • "I came here with a dream. Now, it's really coming true. MasterChef is gonna give me the tools that I need to create a new profession for myself."
  • "I'm feeling like I'm walking a little taller, and it has nothing to do with how high my heels are."
  • (About the Men Vs. Women Team Challenge) "Boys versus girls is like the best idea ever because everybody knows that girls rule and boys drool."
  • (After Christian chose her to cook with only 30 minutes) "Christian didn't target me, he put a spotlight on me and that's where I perform the best is in the spotlight."
  • (After winning MasterChef) "I've never given up, I've been through the wringer, I've made so many sacrifices and this validates all of them. This trophy means no more student loans, my mom gets a kitchen, and I have a secure future in cooking. My mom looking at me, winning this title means so much to me. I've had highs and lows, I've come so far and I've made her and my father and my siblings so proud of me."
  • "I AM AMERICA'S MASTERCHEF!!!!!!!"

Gallery

Season 5

Season 6

Season 10

External links

References

MasterChef U.S. Season 5
Judges

Gordon RamsayGraham ElliotJoe Bastianich

Contestants

Francis BiondiWhitney BrayCutter BrewerElizabeth CauvelAhran ChoLeslie GilliamsChristian GreenGordon HoustonJordan KaminskiCourtney LapresiAstrid LaveniaFrancis LeggeElise MayfieldDaniel McGuffeyWillie MikeKira NovakVictoria ScrogginsStephani Syfax-ShepherdChristine SilversteinTyler ViarsJaimee VitoloDan Wu

Advertisement