| “ | Babe, you abandoned me on the lobster so you got to pick something you can cook. | ” |
Jessica "Jessie" Lysiak was a contestant on Season 4 of MasterChef. She ranked in 3rd place.
Personality
Jessie was shown to be very calm and collected, remained generally pleasant, and was easily one of the most level-headed home cooks of the season. Because of this she got along well with most of her fellow competitors. Jessie proved to be a talented and technical cook who excelled in many challenges. However, at the midway point of the competition, she suffered from numerous poor performances in a row, but was able to bounce back. She showed great work ethic and leadership skills, leading her team to victory on 3 different occasions. She developed many friendships, with contestants such as Luca, Bri, Eddie, James, Lynn, and especially Bethy and Natasha. However, she had a long-lived running feud with Krissi due to her bullying nature and general toxicity.
Season 4
Episode 2
Jessie cooked Sea Bass En Croute for her dish, Gordon said it was a dish from the 80s, after the tasting she got a no from Joe but a yes from Graham, Jessie then said she'd prove it to them, Gordon then went outside and collected to fresh Sea Bass and Gordon asked how long it'd been since Jessie had filleted a fish to which she responded 'months' and Gordon proceeded to fillet one of the Bass, Jessie then followed suit and her knife skills were impressive enough to warrant an apron.
Episode 3
Jessie wasn’t seen much during boot camp, but she was one of 15 contestants automatically accepted into the MasterChef Kitchen.
Episode 4
Jessie wasn't seen in the Mystery Box Challenge, later on she was seen in the Langoustine elimination challenge where she cooked a Langoustine Tempura with Shitake Mushrooms and Rainbow Swiss Chard, after tasting it Gordon said it was one of the best Langoustine Dishes he'd ever tasted. Jessie's dish was the winner of the challenge and her reward was being one of the team captains in the next challenge, the other being Jordan.
Episode 5
Jessie was tasked to lead the Red Team while Jordan lead the Blue Team to cook for 300 students at Emperor Elementary School. For her team, she chose Lynn, Bethy, Beth, Bime, Natasha, Bri, Luca and Malcolm. Her team made a Chicken Teriyaki with Rice, Corn and a Strawberry Crumble. With 58% of the votes, her team won and were exempt from taking the pressure test.
Episode 6
Jessie appeared in the Japanese Mystery Box, her dish was not chosen.
In the cupcake elimination challenge, she made 2 types of cupcakes. One was a Vanilla Bean Cupcake with Hazelnuts and Cream Cheese Frosting and the other was a Chocolate Coffee Cupcake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Unfortunately, because she messed up on her flour ratio while making the cupcakes, the sizes of the cupcakes became inconsistent and she ended up being sent to the bottom 3 with Kathy and Malcolm. Luckily for her, it was Malcolm who had the worst cupcakes so he was eliminated and she was saved.
Episode 7
In this team challenge, the teams were tasked to prepare 101 New York strip steaks with a sauce and two sides of fresh produce for firemen. Jessie was chosen to join the blue team, led by Bethy. With 68 out of the 101 votes from the firemen. Her team won and were safe from the pressure test.
Episode 8
Jessie and the 11 other safe contestants went to Las Vegas to judge Natasha and Beth's and Luca and Kathy's burgers. Although she wasn’t a fan of Luca and Kathy’s burger, she was forced to vote for them as she was one of four contestants who didn’t receive a burger from Natasha and Beth.
Episode 9
Jessie's dish was not chosen in the Foreign Foods Mystery Box.
In the elimination challenge, Lidia Bastianich (Joe's mom) made a special appearance teaching her and the other home cooks how to make agnolotti, after mystery box winner Eddie chose the pasta. After the cook was over, Jessie made a Meat Agnolotti with a Basil Oil Reduction. Her dish was the best of the challenge making her a team captain again for the next team challenge, along with Krissi.
Episode 10
At the set of Glee, Jane Lynch separated the teams into beauties (Jessie’s red team) and beasts (Krissi’s blue team). Soon after the challenge started, Jessie cut herself on a mandolin and took her nail off, making her absent for a lot of the challenge. With about 15 minutes to go, she was back up and running and the team had a generally smooth service. They eventually won 90-37, and were safe from the pressure test.
Episode 11
In the pig head mystery box, Jessie made a Braised Cheek and Ear with Black Eyed Peas and Roasted Corn. Her dish was selected in the Top 3 but she didn't win this challenge, instead the win went to Lynn.
She later was not chosen to be tasted in the crab elimination challenge.
Episode 12
Episode 13
Eva Longoria made a special appearance in this episode and chose different Mexican themed ingredients for this episode's mystery box. Jessie's dish was not chosen in this mystery box.
In the $5 Walmart bake sale elimination challenge, she made a Shortbread Tart with Caramelized Banana. Her dish was the best in the elimination challenge, making her a team captain for the 3rd time for the next team challenge.
Episode 14
In this team challenge, Jessie chose James, Eddie, Bethy, and Natasha for her Blue Team to make fish tacos for 101 surfers in Huntington Beach, CA. She then chose Savannah to be the team captain for the Red Team comprising of herself, Jordan, Krissi, Luca, and Bri. Jessie and her team later won 51 to 25 and were exempt from the pressure test and gaining tickets to the 2013 MLB All-Star Game.
Episode 15
Episode 16
Episode 17
Episode 18
Episode 19
Episode 20
Episode 21
Episode 22
For Paula Deen’s Charity Challenge, Jessie made a Breaded Cajun Alligator with Andouille Max and Cheese and Green Beans. She and Luca had the most votes and were immune from the following elimination challenge.
Episode 23
Episode 24
Jessie, Natasha and Luca were all tasked with cooking the same dishes that they auditioned with, Jessie's dish was Sea Bass en Croute and she said it looked like a football.
Jessie's recreation dish was deemed the best, and she won the challenge. As her advantage, she got to choose which ingredient out of Alaskan King Crab, Kobe Beef, and Grana Padano cheese she wanted to cook with, She decided to challenge herself and choose the Kobe Beef, and hoped Natasha would be smart with her choice, hoping she would choose the cheese as Luca was unfamiliar with crab. Although Natasha understood her strategy, she chose what would propel her into the finale, and went with the King Crab.
During the challenge, Jessie said she was feeling comfortable and would put a ponzu butter with her Kobe beef, but only if someone let her borrow some. She forgot it in the pantry and decided to ask around if anyone would give her any. She asked Natasha if she could borrow some, and although Natasha had 3 untouched sticks of butter on her station, she said no. As she went back to her station, Luca tossed her a stick, and she called him the nicer of the two.
As she presented her dish, Joe asked her if she was insane for picking the ingredient she had never worked with to get into the finale. She presented her seared Kobe beef with a ponzu butter and noodles with oyster mushrooms, Japanese eggplant, and bok choy. Joe enjoyed the different components of her dish, but Graham said it didn't need the ponzu butter. Ramsay liked the beef but said her noodles were greasy, before mentioning her green papaya salad she decided to leave off the plate. After trying the salad, the judges raved about it, saying she left the best part on her bench, and her dish could have been the best of the night.
After Natasha was announced as the first finalist, it came down to Jessie and Luca. Soon after, Luca was announced as the second finalist, and Jessie was eliminated for leaving the best part of her dish off the plate. The judges raved about how she had grown over the competition, and Joe said he would welcome her into any of his restaurants.
Episode 25
Jessie was seen in the finale, cheering on for Luca and Natasha.
Competition History
| Week 4 | In/Win |
|---|---|
| Week 5 | Win |
| Week 6 | In/Low |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | Immune |
| Week 9 | In/Win |
| Week 10 | Win |
| Week 11 | High/In |
| Week 12 | No Pressure Test |
| Week 13 | In/Win |
| Week 14 | Win |
| Week 15 | In/In |
| Week 16 | Lose/Low |
| Week 17 | High/Low |
| Week 18 | Immune |
| Week 19 | In/Low |
| Week 20 | Win |
| Week 21 | High/High |
| Week 22 | Win/Immune |
| Week 23 | Low |
| Week 24 | Win/Eliminated |
Season 10
Episode 4
Jessie appeared as a guest at the Pool Party.
Post MasterChef
- After her appearance, Jessie returned to her previous career before becoming a private chef. She is married to professional hockey player Justin Braun, and they have two daughters.
Trivia
- She and Natasha are the only two contestants to be Team Captain 3 times, and win each time.
- They are also the second and third contestants to be a captain three times, following Tracy (Season 2).
- She and James were both on the bottom of exactly two Elimination Challenges and one Pressure Test.
- She is the first (and only, due to the changeup of the auditions format in Season 5) to have to do more than cook their signature dish to receive their apron.
- She was tasked by Gordon to filet a whole fish to convince him to give her an apron.
Quotes
- "There's a lack of cooking culture where I'm from. We don't have any huge grocery stores, or seafood markets, or farmers markets, I mean it's- it's rural. That's a little bit of a challenge, because I'm not used to working with some of the great things that other people may have had the opportunity to, but one of the biggest draws of being on this show was the learning factor, and being around such greatness."
- "I'll prove it to you."
- (About Krissi) "Krissi has a bad attitude, she's always threatening to beat people up and how she's gonna hurt them, and I'm sick of it. I just want to send her home."
- (To Krissi) "Babe, you abandoned me on the lobster so you got to pick something you can cook."
- "Even though Natasha has three sticks of butter at her station she's not touching, Luca comes through cause Luca is the nicer of the two."
- (After being eliminated) "I didn't think I was going home tonight with only having to beat 2 more people; that really just sucks. But, I'm so proud of getting this far, from thousands to 3, so. This has been THE hardest thing ever, but I'm so much stronger and like a different person from it. I definitely belong in food and now I've got a clear vision of what to do. They truly believe in me; it was the exact confirmation I needed and now I know that food will be a part of my life forever."
Gallery
Season 4
Season 10
External links
Jessie Lysiak on Instagram- Jessie Lysiak on Twitter
References
| MasterChef U.S. Season 4 |
|---|
| Judges |
| Gordon Ramsay • Graham Elliot • Joe Bastianich |
| Contestants |
| Krissi Biasiello • Jonny Blanchard • Lynn Chyi • Natasha Crnjac • Bime Cruz • Sasha Foxx • Malcolm Green • Adriana Guillen • Eddie Jackson • Beth Kirby • Bri Kozior • Jessie Lysiak • Luca Manfè • James Nelson • Kathy Prieto • Jordan Roots • Bethy Rossos • Howard Simpson • Savannah Sturges |