Stacey Amagrande was a contestant on Season 3 of MasterChef. She ranked in 8th place.
Personality[]
Despite being a chill and supportive person, Stacey was known for her cunning personality and tenacity, using any advantage she was handed to set herself up to progress further in the competition. From there, she was seen as a dark horse of the season, however she also showed a strategic side, and would rely on clever tactics to get her to the top. Because of her competitive nature, she was seen butting heads with the likes of Becky and Monti, although she did not get into any major drama or conflict with any contestants. She developed a strong friendship with Christine.
Season 3[]
Episode 3[]
Stacey was the first contestant of the day to audition. She presented the judges with her New York Strip with an espresso crust and chimichurri sauce. When Joe asked where the inspiration for cooking came from, she said she dove in head-first after getting sober. After all three judges tasted her dish, she first received a no from Gordon, as the vegetables stood out more than the steak. Graham liked the focus that she put into the cauliflower and other ingredients, and gave her a yes. She begged Joe to give her a chance, but he told her he can't reward ambition, and was a no.
As she walked back to the main waiting area disappointed, Graham said he thought it was a bad call, mentioning the seasoning and acidity in her dish. Joe tried her dish again, and pondered for a moment, before walking to the waiting area. For the first time ever, he changed his mind after retasting her dish, and handed her an apron. She said she was crushed at first, and the judges allowed her another chance, before declaring herself the next MasterChef.
Stacey was not seen cooking during Boot Camp, but she was in the group of 12 that was immediately accepted into the MasterChef Kitchen. She immediately gave Felix a big hug.
Episode 4[]
Episode 5[]
Episode 6[]
Episode 7[]
Episode 8[]
Episode 9[]
As she won the previous elimination challenge, Stacey got to choose her team. She chose Tali first, as she knew she could beat him if they had to go into the pressure test. She then picked Frank and Becky as her other team members. Gordon then told her she would get to pick the other two teams she would compete against. She chose Monti first, as she viewed her as one of her strongest competitors, and then selected David, Anna, and Tanya. This left the final team as Mike, Josh, Felix, and Christine. Finally, she got to choose her team's color, and selected red, which turned out to be Mexican cuisine. She then chose yellow for Monti's team, which turned out to be American, leaving Josh's team with blue (Indian) by default.
During the challenge, Stacey wanted to make both a steak taco and a vegetarian option, but Gordon was confused as he thought making two would be too much work. Becky and Frank agreed, and the red team's dish ended up being beef tacos with guacamole. The red team had a smooth service, and Stacey was walking around, enticing people to come to her truck and try their tacos. The red team ended up winning the challenge after making the most money ($798), and were safe from the pressure test.
The team that was up for elimination was the yellow team, however her plan to eliminate Monti would later backfire, as her tortellini wasn't deemed the worst; the contestant eliminated was Anna despite being the leader of the yellow team.
Episode 10[]
Episode 11[]
At Top 9, she made produced one of the best three dishes of the night during the sea urchin Mystery Box. However, Felix ended up winning the challenge, and got to choose who cooks which of nine types of fish, and gave Stacey the striped bass. Stacey's striped bass dish was not called up by the judges.
Episode 12[]
At Top 8, she was on the winning team, led by Frank, ensuring her spot in the Top 7.
Episode 13[]
Frank, who won the Mystery Box Challenge, decided to pair Stacey with Christine for the first ever Tag Team Challenge. At the beginning of the challenge, Stacey was telling Christine was vegetables she saw on the sushi platter. Later, Christine told her to cut the yellowtail the same as the tuna (against the grain), but Stacey said she cut it like the salmon, and said her cuts weren't the prettiest. Towards the end of the challenge, Stacey started to get frantic as their team was behind. The judges remarked they had never seen her like this during the competition, and she was in a tailspin. With little time left, she was freaking out while trying to assemble the roll, even as Christine tried to motivate her. She wasn't able to get the last roll done, and broke down in tears after the challenge ended.
Stacey and Christine were the last team to be called up. Graham told her she was working like a semi was coming straight at her, before complimenting the tuna cuts. However, he acknowledged that they were missing the California roll and their vegetables had no batter on them. Gordon said the yellowtail cuts were dreadful, and that the shrimp were raw, before calling it the worst performance from both of them. Stacey said there was no doubt in her mind they lost, and one of them would be going home.
Due to their flustered performance and incomplete platter, Stacey and Christine were the losing team. While the judges deliberated, Stacey said she and Christine failed each other on multiple levels, and she "shoulda coulda woulda" all day. She whispered to Christine that with how much she loved sushi, she never thought it would beat her down the way it did. Eventually, Stacey was eliminated due to her frantic performance. She and Christine shared one of the most emotional moments in the show's history, as Christine broke down apologizing for her going home. Gordon told her it was the first time they saw her panic. Joe said the challenge got the better of her, but he had a special commitment to her after changing his mind during her audition, and said it was one of the best decisions he's made. She received a montage of her time during the competition. During her exit interview, she said a day didn't go by where she didn't think about Joe handing her the apron, and thanked the show for broadening her dream more than she could ever imagine.
Episode 14[]
The week following her elimination, the judges revealed a twist, which allowed Stacey, Josh, Tali, Tanya, Mike, Anna, Scott, and Ryan to come back for a second chance to enter the competition. She presented her re-entry dish, a mushroom ravioli which featured ricotta she made from scratch. Her dish was well received for the taste and the amount of effort she put into it. She was named one of the top 4 dishes, along with Ryan, Mike, and Josh. When it came down to her and Josh, his dish was deemed better, and she was eliminated once again.
Episode 19[]
Episode 20[]
Competition History[]
| Week 4 | In/In |
|---|---|
| Week 5 | No Pressure Test |
| Week 6 | In/In |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | In/Win |
| Week 9 | Win |
| Week 10 | In/In |
| Week 11 | High/In |
| Week 12 | Win |
| Week 13 | In/Eliminated |
Post MasterChef[]
- After her appearance, Stacey became Executive Chef at 7th Heaven Cafe, which closed in October 2015. She worked at a farmers market before becoming an Executive Chef at Desert Barn Brewery.
- Stacey is currently a chef for private chef company Rainbow Chef Services.
Trivia[]
- Stacey was the second contestant in the series to initially be rejected during her auditions, only for the judges to change their minds and give her an apron.
- The first was a contestant named Tamar in Season 1. Of the two of them, only Stacey would go on to compete in the MasterChef kitchen, as Tamar was eliminated in the Egg Bootcamp Challenge in her season.
- Stacey was the first contestant to ever be eliminated in a Tag Team cook-off.
- She is the fourth contestant to reach the Top 10 to be eliminated on their first bottom entry, following Jake (Season 1), and Giuseppe and Tracy (both Season 2).
- Stacey was the first contestant to have her placement retroactively drop with the re-entry of another contestant.
- Eddie (season 4) would be the only other contestant to have this happen to him.
- Unlike Stacey, Eddie was not given a chance to compete and return to the competition.
- Eddie (season 4) would be the only other contestant to have this happen to him.
- Stacey was the highest ranking contestant in her season to not compete in a Pressure Test.
Quotes[]
- (After choosing Tali as her first pick) "My reason for picking Tali, besides him being a great team member, is having him on my team means if I get put into that pressure test, I can beat Tali."
- (After being eliminated) "I can only be proud of how far I've come. I don't believe there's a day that goes by where I don't think about Joe coming out with the apron, changing his mind and giving me a chance. It's been a rollercoaster, it's been whirlwind, it's been extremely educational and enlightening and it has broadened my dream wider than I could ever think possible; so thank you MasterChef."
Gallery[]
Season 3[]
External links[]
Stacey Amagrande on Instagram: staceyamagrande
References[]
| MasterChef U.S. Season 3 |
|---|
| Judges |
| Contestants |
|
Stacey Amagrande • Monti Carlo • Michael Chen • Tali Clavijo • Felix Fang • Christine Hà • Mike Hill • Helene Leeds • Scott Little • Dave Mack • Josh Marks • David Martinez • Frank Mirando • Tanya Noble • Anna Rossi • Becky Reams • Samantha De Silva • Ryan Umane |