Lynn Chyi was a contestant on Season 4 of MasterChef. He ranked in 11th place.
Personality[]
Lynn was shown to be a soft but competent individual. He was noted by Eddie to be somebody who would ask questions frequently, indicating a diligent side. He was also easily one of the nicest cooks, always being polite to his fellow competitors. In the kitchen, he was a relatively strong competitor, had strong plating skills, and was shown to be a great team player. Because of this, he was seen as a threat by many contestants, including Jordan, James, and Eddie. However, he quickly went on a downward spiral, as he began making basic mistakes (wiping a plate with a sweat rag being the one of the most notable example), had major problems with handling pressure, and most notably known when he shocked everyone and the judges serving a raw Baked Meringue, which led to his elimination. He was seen getting along with Jessie, Bime, and Natasha, but he and Krissi shared a mutual dislike for each other.
Season 4[]
Episode 1[]
Lynn first appeared in this episode. What he exactly made for his audition was unknown but was comprised with scallops and a puree. His audition dish gave him an apron.
Episode 2[]
Did not appear in this episode.
Episode 3[]
In th lamb elimination challenge, Lynn made a Lamb Loin with a Pea Puree, Pea and Tomato Salad and Pickled Red Onions. He and 14 other home cooks were immediately accepted and advanced into the MasterChef kitchen.
Episode 4[]
Lynn's dish was not chosen in the Simple Ingredients Mystery Box challenge.
In the langoustine elimination challenge, he made a Poached Langoustine with a Lime Beurre Blanc, Roasted Beets and a Crispy Kale Chip. His dish was deemed good enough to advance to the next challenge.
Episode 5[]
Lynn was the first person to join the Red Team, led by Jessie to cook for 300 students at Emperor Elementary School. With 58% of the votes for the Red Team, he and other members of the team were exempt from the Pressure Test.
Episode 6[]
Lynn's dish was not chosen in the Japanese themed Mystery box challenge.
He was also not chosen to be tasted in the cupcake elimination challenge.
Episode 7[]
Lynn was chosen to join the blue team, led by Bethy to cook 101 New York strip steaks with a sauce and two sides of fresh produce for firemen. With 68 out of 101 votes, he and his team won and were exempt from the pressure test.
Episode 8[]
Lynn appeared in this episode joining the other surviving home cooks to taste the burgers made from both the blue and red teams which were comprised of Natasha and Beth (blue) and Luca and Kathy (red) at Gordon's BurGR restaurant in Las Vegas.
Episode 9[]
Lynn's Tartare dish was not chosen in the Foreign Foods Mystery Box challenge after being criticized by Gordon for the lack of seasoning on his dish despite having a beautiful plating.
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. He and James were also chosen by Eddie to sit out of the demo. After the cook, he made a Short Rib Agnolotti with a Charred Leak and Brown Butter Sauce. His agnolotti was under seasoned and had an inconsistent thickness to it, sending him to the bottom 4 with Jonny, Beth and Howard. Jonny and Beth were the first 2 saved, leaving him and Howard as the bottom 2. With both of their performances being poor in this challenge, it was up to either him or Howard to voluntarily give up their aprons. Howard ultimately gave up his apron, acknowledging Lynn that he was a better cook than him and left Lynn to survive into the next challenge.
Episode 10[]
Lynn was chosen to join the red "beauty" team, led by Jessie to cook for the cast of Glee at Paramount Studios. His team won the challenge with 90 out of 127 votes and were exempt from the pressure test.
Episode 11[]
In the Pig Head Mystery Box challenge, Lynn made a Braised Pork Tongue and Cheek with a Parsnip Puree, Ginger and Scallion Oil and Fried Tomatoes. His dish was selected in the Top 3 along with Jessie and Jonny and he won the challenge.
For winning the mystery box, he was safe from elimination and given the advantage to choose a favourite ingredient from Season 3 winner Christine which were chicken, catfish and crab for the other home cooks to cook with. He chose the crab for everybody to cook with except Krissi who was assigned to cook catfish instead.
Episode 12[]
In thee macaron pressure test, he was tasked to make 12 macarons with Jonny. His flavours were comprised of Raspberry and Vanilla Bean. Despite some minor flaws, he was saved over Jonny from this pressure test after his macarons were deemed better than Jonny's.
Episode 13[]
Lynn's dish was not chosen in the Mexican themed Mystery Box challenge.
In the $5 Walmart bake sale elimination challenge, Lynn made a Baked Meringue with a Banana Puree. His dish was heavily criticized by the judges with Gordon deeming it the worst dish on a plate since the show began and heavily rancid. He along with James and Krissi were in the bottom 3 and was in the end eliminated, leaving everybody in shock over his elimination. Despite his shocking elimination, he said he was grateful of the opportunity in his season and was looking forward on life.
Episode 18[]
Lynn returned in this episode after being eliminated and was picked by Joe for a chance to be reinstated into the competition along with Bri and Bime. The 3 were tasked to cook as many perfectly cooked sunny-side up eggs as they could in 15 minutes. With Lynn plating the least amount of eggs out of the 3, he was eliminated again.
Episode 25[]
Lynn returned again in this episode cheering for Luca and Natasha in the finale.
Competition History[]
| Week 4 | In/In |
|---|---|
| Week 5 | Win |
| Week 6 | In/In |
| Week 7 | Win |
| Week 8 | Immune |
| Week 9 | In/Low |
| Week 10 | Win |
| Week 11 | Win/Immune |
| Week 12 | Pressure Test |
| Week 13 | In/Eliminated |
Post MasterChef[]
- After his appearance, Lynn was a photographer and UX designer at Illumina. He is currently Design System Engineering Manager at Workday.
Trivia[]
- He is the second Taiwanese-American contestant to compete on the show, following Felix (season 3).
- Lynn holds the record for most challenge wins from an 11th place contestant, with 4.
- He is currently tied with Francis L. (season 5) for this distinction.
- He is the first contestant in whose audition was not shown to win a Mystery Box in his season.
Quotes[]
- (After being eliminated) "I am not happy at all that I'm going home, but there's nothing in the world I want to do more than to work in food and to really apply everything that I know and I've learned from here. I have no doubt this is gonna put me further in life with food; what I learn here is gonna really propel me in the next stages of life. I'm not leaving depressed, I'm leaving grateful because my life will never be the same after this. The judges have given me all these opportunities and now I have this entire life to look forward to."
Gallery[]
Season 4[]
External links[]
Lynn Chyi on Instagram
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 |