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Michael Silverstein

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“ This is absolutely insanity to be standing here in front of Gordon Ramsay again. It's the greatest honor of my life, and I'm not gonna waste it. ”

Michael Silverstein was a contestant on Seasons 10 and 12 of MasterChef. On Season 10, he ranked in 15th place with Liz, and on Season 12, he was the co-runner-up alongside Christian.

Personality

In Season 10, Michael was a dark horse contestant, coming in strong early on, but ultimately being eliminated before he could show what he was truly capable of in the kitchen. Prior to his early double elimination with Liz, he showed the judges to have some good knife work in the season's first skills test, being able to work with a variety of ingredients like onions, fish, eggs, chicken, etc.; this allowed him to come to the front of the competition right out of the gate. Additionally, he was a top entry for the Latin American mystery box challenge, and he excelled in the following tarte tatin elimination challenge, where his dessert was deemed the best. However, he easily cracked under pressure, which was one of the main reasons he was eliminated so early on, being unable to work with Liz effectively during the tag team challenge. He was respected by most of the other contestants, but he had a brief feud with Sam when the latter didn't want to listen to the former about cooking crispy-skin sea trout properly.

In Season 12, Michael returned with the intent of surpassing his placement in his previous season, entering the competition with a far more confident outlook, and the skills and acquired experience to back it up. Initially flying under the radar, he soon came into prominence with the baking replication challenge, scoring a top entry that kick-started a high-roller streak in the kitchen for him. With four top entries in a row, one of them being a winning dish in Christine Hà's Vietnamese mystery box challenge, Michael landed in the forefront of the competition as one of the season's strongest, most determined, most confident, and most skilled chefs.

Season 10

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4/5

Episode 6/7

Episode 8/9

Competition History

Week 3 Win/Immune
Week 4 Lose/Pressure Test/Immune
Week 5 High/Win
Week 6 Lose/Eliminated

Season 12

Episode 1

Episode 2

Competition History

Week 4 In
Week 5 In
Week 6 Lose
Week 7 In
Week 8 In
Week 9 High
Week 10 Win
Week 11 Win
Week 12 Immune
Week 13 High
Week 14 Low
Week 15 In
Week 16 High
Week 17 Lose
Week 18 Low/Low
Week 19 Co-Runner Up

Post MasterChef

  • After his first appearance, he features Keto recipes and more on his website, has a Youtube channel, and released a cookbook, "New Keto Cooking: Fresh Ideas for Delicious Low-Carb Meals at Home".

Trivia

Season 10

  • Michael was the first losing team captain to be sent home in his season.
  • Michael was also the first contestant with more than one individual win to get eliminated.
    • He was also the only contestant to win an Elimination Challenge to not make it to London.
  • Until he got sent home, Michael was never on the bottom of any challenges.

Season 12

  • He is the lowest ranked contestant of their original season to return for Back to Win and get reinstated, at 15th place.
    • However, he is not the lowest ranked contestant of his original season to be in contention for an apron as a whole. Malcolm (Season 4) was, at 17th.
  • He is the first contestant, and the first male contestant, who made it further in the competition during his second run, ranking 15th in Season 10, and ranking as a finalist in Season 12.
  • He is the sixth contestant who received more bottom entries during their second run on the show. Following Stephen, Cate, Dara, Tommy and Brandi.
  • He holds the biggest jump in placement for a returning chef, rising 13 ranks from 15th to Runner-Up.

Quotes

Season 10

  • (After being eliminated) "To make it to the Top 16 of MasterChef, it was an honor and a privilege and this is an experience I'll never forget."

Season 12

  • "This is absolutely insanity to be standing here in front of Gordon Ramsay again. It's the greatest honor of my life, and I'm not gonna waste it."
  • "The minute I got out of the show last time, I left my job in real estate and started my own business as a private chef, and now I've published 2 best-selling cookbooks worldwide. I've walked away from everything that I'm doing to be here for this, so I cannot go home right now."
  • (After receiving his apron) "I didn't even make Top 10 my last season here and tonight, I just beat out the runner-up from my own season. So, yeah, I got a lot of pressure, but I think I can do this."
  • (During the Coast Guard team challenge) "Holy shit. Gordon just fired Alejandro. We need a real leader. This whole time, I feel like I've been right in the middle of this competition. This is my chance to step up and finally show Gordon the chef that I am."
  • (After the Coast Guard team challenge) "My team voted for me, which is good. I felt like in Season 10 when I was here last time, I was kind of the quiet guy in the background. I can't do that this time. I'm a chef. I know what I'm doing. I needed to take some leadership today. I tried to get this train back on its track. I'm not really sure if I pulled it off at the end, but we'll see what happens. I love every single member of our team, but when you serve steak that fell on the floor, I don't know if that's the behavior of a chef. I'm not sure if I can forgive that."
  • (During Gordon Ramsay's and Tiffany Derry's demonstration) "Watching these two legends cook right now is like watching a ballet duet. It's just harmony. They make fusion look easy."
  • (About the Baking challenge) "I have never seen such a display of such beautiful desserts, but baking challenges are infamous in this kitchen. It will send home even the best cooks."
  • (After being named Co-Runner Up) "Dara was unbelievable at any age, but at 20 years old, it’s ridiculous. She deserves this, and I had a blast cooking beside her."

Gallery

Season 10

Season 12

External links

References

MasterChef U.S. Season 10
Judges
Gordon Ramsay • Aarón Sánchez • Joe Bastianich
Contestants
Bri Baker • Fred Chang • Deanna Colon • Nick DiGiovanni • Sarah Faherty • Sam Haaz • Jamie Hough • Dorian Hunter • Keturah King • Liz Linn • Shari Mukherjee • Wuta Onda • Kenny Palazzolo • Subha Ramiah • Renee Rice • Michael Silverstein • Noah Sims • Evan Tesiny • Kimberly White • Micah Yaroch
MasterChef U.S. Season 12: Back to Win
Judges
Gordon Ramsay • Aarón Sánchez • Joe Bastianich
Contestants
Bri Baker • Fred Chang • Samantha Daily • Shelly Flash • Derrick Fox • Christian Green • Emily Hallock • Stephen Lee • Gabriel Lewis • Bowen Li • Cate Meade • Willie Mike • Brandi Mudd • Shanika Patterson • Amanda Saab • Michael Silverstein • Alejandro Valdivia • Tommy Walton • Shayne Wells • Dara Yu
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