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Season 9 of MasterChef aired on FOX between May 30 and September 19, 2018. Gordon Ramsay and Aarón Sánchez returned as from the previous season as judges, while former judge Joe Bastianich returned to the show as the third judge, replacing Christina Tosi. English teacher Gerron Hurt, from Louisville, Kentucky, was the winner of the season and was rewarded with the MasterChef trophy, a cookbook deal, and a salary of $250,000.


Top 24

Contestant Age Hometown Occupation Mentor Status
Gerron Hurt 25 Louisville, KY English Teacher Joe Winner September 19
Ashley Mincey 28 Opa-Locka, FL Professional Grocery Shopper Gordon Runners Up September 19
Cesar Cano 33 Houston, TX High School Teacher Aarón
Samantha Daily 20 West Des Moines, IA College Student Gordon Eliminated September 12
Bowen Li 24 Tianjin, China Pilot
Farhan Momin 25 Chicago, IL Dental Student Aarón Eliminated September 5
Julia Danno 43 Sales Manager Eliminated August 29
Shanika Patterson 34 Miami, FL Event Promoter Joe
Taylor Waltmon 30 Houston, TX Sales Training Director Gordon Eliminated August 22
Emily Hallock 28 Neenah, WI Food Research Analyst Joe
SJ Yun 21 Los Angeles, CA College Student Gordon Eliminated August 15
Chelsea Sargent 28 Houston, TX Sales Specialist Aarón
Ralph Xavier Degala 29 Senior Accountant Joe Eliminated August 8
Mark Ingraham 19 Rockport, ME Dishwasher Eliminated August 1
Ryan Cortez 33 Houston, TX Drummer Aarón Eliminated July 25
Lindsay Haigh 41 Orange, MA Trial Attorney Eliminated July 18
Matt Houck 28 Iowa City, IA Optometrist Joe
Juni Cuevas 28 Raleigh, NC Disability Analyst Aarón Eliminated July 11
Alecia Winters 30 Grand Rapids, MI Daycare Owner Eliminated June 27
Darrick Krause 34 Peoria, AZ Engineer Gordon Eliminated June 20
Stephanie Willis 32 Cherry Hill, NJ Bartender Eliminated June 13
Olusola Ogbomo 29 Columbia, SC Bus Driver Joe
Sal Maida 31 Los Angeles, CA Architect Eliminated June 6
Sid Hoeltzell 63 Miami, FL Food Photographer Gordon

Competition table

Place Contestant Episode
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22/23
1 Gerron IN IMM LOW LOW WIN IN IMM WIN LOW WIN LOW IN LOW IN WIN IN IN NPT WIN IMM WIN IN IMM PT HIGH LOW WIN IMM IMM LOW WINNER
2 Ashley WIN IMM IN IMM WIN IN IMM LOW IN IN LOW IN WIN IN WIN IN IN NPT HIGH IN PT HIGH IN WIN HIGH IN LOW WIN IMM WIN RUNNERS-UP
Cesar IN IMM IN IMM NPT WIN IMM WIN WIN IMM LOW LOW PT IN LOW WIN IMM WIN IN WIN WIN WIN IMM WIN HIGH IN WIN IMM IMM WIN
4 Samantha IN IMM LOW IN WIN HIGH LOW WIN WIN IMM IN IMM PT IN IN IN LOW WIN IN IN PT HIGH IN LOW HIGH LOW LOW LOW WIN ELIM
5 Bowen IN IMM HIGH IMM WIN HIGH LOW NPT WIN IMM IN IMM PT IN IN IN IN WIN IN WIN LOW IN IN WIN WIN IN LOW LOW ELIM
6 Farhan HIGH IMM LOW IN LOW IN IMM WIN IN IN IN IMM WIN IN IN IN WIN NPT HIGH IN WIN IN LOW ELIM
7 Julia IN IMM IN IMM WIN IN IN WIN IN WIN WIN IMM WIN IN IN IN IN WIN IN LOW WIN IN ELIM
8 Shanika IN IMM IN IMM LOW IN LOW HIGH IN LOW IN IMM WIN WIN IMM IN IN PT IN IN ELIM
9 Taylor IN IMM IN IMM PT IN IN HIGH LOW IN LOW IN WIN IN IN IN IN WIN IN ELIM
10 Emily HIGH IMM IN IMM PT IN IMM WIN IN WIN IN IMM PT IN IN WIN IMM ELIM
11 SJ IN IMM IN IMM WIN IN IMM NPT IN WIN WIN IMM PT IN LOW IN ELIM
Chelsea IN IMM WIN IMM PT IN IMM WIN IN LOW IN IMM WIN HIGH IN IN ELIM
13 Ralph IN IMM LOW IN WIN IN IMM NPT WIN IMM IMM IMM WIN HIGH ELIM
14 Mark IN IMM IN IMM WIN IN IMM WIN WIN IMM LOW WIN ELIM
15 Ryan IN IMM LOW IN WIN IN IMM WIN WIN IMM LOW ELIM
16 Lindsay IN IMM IN IMM PT IN IMM NPT IN ELIM
17 Matt IN IMM LOW IN WIN IN WIN NPT ELIM
18 Juni IN IMM IN IMM NPT IN IN ELIM
19 Alecia LOW IN IN IMM NPT IN ELIM
20 Darrick IN IMM LOW IN ELIM
21 Olusola IN IMM LOW ELIM
Stephanie IN IMM LOW ELIM
23 Sal LOW ELIM
Sid LOW ELIM
     (WINNER) This cook won the competition.
     (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place.
     (WIN) The cook won an individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge or Elimination Test).
     (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.
     (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the individual challenge but didn't win.
     (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in a team challenge but didn't win.
     (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge.
     (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in a team challenge.
     (IMM) The cook didn't have to compete in that round of the competition.
     (IMM) The cook was selected by Mystery Box Challenge winner and didn't have to compete in the Elimination Test.
     (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge and competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.
     (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, did not compete in the Pressure Test, and advanced.
     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, but wasn't the last person to advance.
     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, and was the last person to advance.
     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge and the only person from their team to advance.
     (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.

Ranking of Contestants Per Episode

Place Contestant Episode
4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22/23
1 Gerron 4 20 1 2 1 7 11 13 2 4 6 1 1 2 4 5 1 3 1
2 Cesar 4 3 11 1 1 1 14 11 11 1 1 2 1 1 1 2 1 1 2
2 (3) Ashley 1 3 1 2 17 11 11 1 2 4 6 4 5 3 1 1 3 1 2 (3)
4 Samantha 4 14 1 16 1 1 4 8 4 10 1 4 5 3 5 4 4 4
5 Bowen 4 2 1 18 12 1 4 9 4 4 1 2 6 3 1 3 5
6 Farhan 2 14 19 2 1 11 4 1 4 3 6 4 1 6 6
7 Julia 4 3 1 13 1 7 2 1 4 4 1 8 1 7
8 Shanika 4 3 18 16 10 14 4 1 1 4 9 4 8
9 Taylor 4 3 15 13 10 11 11 1 4 4 1 9
10 Emily 2 3 14 2 1 7 4 9 4 1 10
11 SJ 4 3 1 2 12 7 2 11 12 11
12 Chelsea 4 1 15 2 1 14 4 1 4 12
13 Ralph 4 14 1 2 12 1 1 1 13
14 Mark 4 3 1 2 1 1 10 14
15 Ryan 4 14 1 2 1 1 15
16 Lindsay 4 3 15 2 12 16
17 Matt 4 14 1 12 12 17
18 Juni 4 3 13 13 18
19 Alecia 22 3 12 19
20 Darrick 4 14 20
21 Stephanie 4 21
22 Olusola 4 22
23 Sal 23
Sid 23

Episodes

No. in

season

Title[6] Original air date U.S. viewers

(millions)

1 Episode 901 (U.S.) - The Judges Do Battle, Part 1 May 30, 2018 3.68[7]
  • Auditions Round 1: The judges open the series by explaining the new format. Each judge will award eight aprons to contestants and then they will mentor their respective contestants throughout the competition. If more than one judge wishes to award an apron to a contestant, the contestant is allowed to decide which judge will be their mentor. Jannie, Emily and Bowen are up first and must make a beef dish. Joe awarded aprons to Emily and Bowen, and Gordon awarded one to Bowen also. Bowen chose Gordon while Jannie fails to advance. Cynthia and Shanika next make desserts. Cynthia is not offered an apron while both Aarón and Joe offer aprons to Shanika; she chooses Joe. In a montage of contestants, Gordon awards an apron to Sid and Aarón awards an apron to Julia. Samantha and Mark are next and can make any signature dish; Gordon awards an apron to Samantha and Joe awards an apron to Mark.
2 Episode 902 (U.S.) - The Judges Do Battle, Part 2 May 30, 2018 3.68[7]
  • Auditions Round 2: Taylor, Ralph and Chelsea, who are all from Houston, next make their signature dishes; Gordon gives an apron to Taylor, Joe gives an apron to Ralph, and Aarón gives an apron to Chelsea. Olusola and Mark next make their signature dishes; all three judges award an apron to Olusola and she chooses Joe while Mark fails to advance. After another montage of failed contestants, Cesar, Matt, Ryan and SJ all make fish dishes. Aarón awarded aprons to Cesar, SJ and Ryan, Joe awarded one to Matt, while Gordon awarded aprons to SJ and Cesar. SJ chose Gordon and Cesar chose Aarón.
3 Episode 903 (U.S.) - The Judges Do Battle, Part 3 June 6, 2018 3.26[8]
  • Auditions Round 3: Farhan and Gerron cook their signature dishes with chicken. Joe gave an apron to Gerron while Aarón and Gordon gave aprons to Farhan who chose Aarón's. Alecia, Darrick and Tye were given 45 minutes to cook their variation of one of Gordon's signature dishes. Darrick won an apron from Gordon while Alecia received an apron from Aarón and Tye was eliminated. A montage shows Aarón reward an apron to Lindsay, Gordon offer an apron to Stephanie and Joe gave his last apron to Sal. Ashley, Chera, Juni and Nick are next to compete for the last two places in the Top 24. Gordon gave his last apron to Ashley and Aarón gave his to Juni.
4 Episode 904 (U.S.) - Home State Heroes June 6, 2018 3.26[8]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The Top 24 contestants each receive an ingredient that is native to their home state to cook their dishes in one hour. The judges each pick their respective contestant to name the top three dishes. Ashley, Emily and Farhan have the top three dishes and Ashley wins. Alecia, Sal and Sid are chosen as the bottom three by their mentors.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Ashley Mincey
  • Bottom three: Alecia Winters, Sal Maida and Sid Hoeltzell
  • Elimination Challenge: The bottom three must cook their version of steak and potatoes.
  • Alecia is declared safe, both Sid and Sal are sent home.
  • Eliminated: Sal Maida and Sid Hoeltzell
5 Episode 905 (U.S.) - Gordon Ramsay Masterclass June 13, 2018 3.92[9]
  • Skill Test: The Top 22 were given a demonstration on how to properly prepare a dungeness crab in 30 minutes. Chelsea was the winner of the challenge and pronounced safe, while Darrick, Farhan, Gerron, Matt, Ralph, Olusola, Ryan, Samantha and Stephanie all failed to impress the judges. The remaining chefs were declared safe and immune for the next challenge.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Chelsea Sargent
  • Immune: Alecia Winters, Ashley Mincey, Bowen Li, Cesar Cano, Emily Hallock, Julia Danno, Juni Cuevas, Lindsay Haigh, Mark Ingraham, Shanika Patterson, SJ Yun and Taylor Waltmon
  • Elimination Challenge: The remaining chefs were tasked to recreate Ramsay's crab eggs Benedict dish, with a warning that two chefs would be eliminated. Gerron, Olusola and Stephanie were in the bottom three.
  • Bottom three: Gerron Hurt, Olusola Ogbomo and Stephanie Willis
  • Gerron is declared safe, both Olusola and Stephanie are sent home.
  • Eliminated: Olusola Ogbomo and Stephanie Willis
6 Episode 906 (U.S.) - Trouble Brewing June 20, 2018 3.65[10]
  • Team Challenge: The Top 20 contestants were taken to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Van Nuys, California where they are split into teams. Chelsea captains the Blue Team while Bowen captains the Red Team. Chelsea elects to choose her Blue Team members which are Alecia, Lindsay, Taylor, Juni, Darrick, Farhan, Cesar, Shanika and Emily; all other contestants are assigned to the Red Team. Both teams must cook dishes for 101 employees that have beer as an ingredient and the employees will choose the winning team. The Red Team wins the challenge.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Ashley Mincey, Bowen Li, Gerron Hurt, Julia Danno, Mark Ingraham, Matt Houck, Ralph Degala, Ryan Cortez, Samantha Daily and SJ Yun.
  • Pressure Test: Chelsea is allowed to exempt three members of her team and she chooses Cesar, Alecia and Juni. The remaining chefs must make a banana cream pie in 60 minutes. Farhan, Shanika and Darrick have the bottom three dishes.
  • Immune: Alecia Winters, Cesar Cano and Juni Cuevas
  • Bottom three: Darrick Krause, Farhan Momin and Shanika Patterson
  • Darrick is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Darrick Krause
7 Episode 907 (U.S.) - World Cup Dishes June 27, 2018 3.81[11]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The Top 19 contestants are given one hour to cook a dish with walnuts. Bowen, Samantha and Cesar's dishes were in the top three. Cesar was the winner of the challenge.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Cesar Cano
  • Elimination Challenge: Alexi Lalas joins the show to introduce this challenge. Cesar gets to choose one of three dishes inspired by the judges' favorite soccer snacks and he chooses Aarón's churros with chocolate sauce. Cesar also gets to pick ten other contestants to make immune; he chooses Chelsea, Ashley, Emily, SJ, Ralph, Farhan, Gerron, Ryan, Lindsay and Mark. The remaining eight contestants have 30 minutes to cook. The best dish belongs to Matt, the bottom four dishes are Shanika, Bowen, Alecia and Samantha.
  • Immune: Ashley Mincey, Chelsea Sargent, Emily Hallock, Farhan Momin, Gerron Hurt, Lindsay Haigh, Mark Ingraham, Ralph Degala, Ryan Cortez and SJ Yun.
  • Challenge Winner: Matt Houck.
  • Bottom four: Alecia Winters, Bowen Li, Samantha Daily and Shanika Patterson.
  • Shanika and Samantha are saved first, and then Alecia is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Alecia Winters
8 Episode 908 (U.S.) - A Gordon Ramsay Wedding July 11, 2018 3.31[12]
  • Team Challenge: The contestants cater for the wedding reception of season seven winner Shaun O'Neale. They are required to prepare a scallop appetizer and a duck entrée. Juni is appointed to the Red Team captain, and Julia the Blue Team captain by the judges. Julia chooses Lindsay, SJ, Taylor, Ashley, Ralph, Bowen, Matt and Shanika; while Juni chooses Cesar, Mark, Farhan, Gerron, Samantha, Chelsea and Ryan. Shortly after the teams are picked, the judges abruptly force the captains to switch teams, making Julia now the Red Team captain and Juni the Blue Team captain. The Red Team wins the challenge. Afterwards, the judges save Shanika and Taylor. Back in the MasterChef kitchen the bext morning, the judges announce there will be no pressure test and the contestants would face immediate elimination, being judged on their performance. Ashley and Juni are announced as the bottom two.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Cesar Cano, Chelsea Sargent, Emily Hallock, Farhan Momin, Gerron Hurt, Julia Danno, Mark Ingraham, Ryan Cortez and Samantha Daily.
  • Immune: Shanika Patterson and Taylor Waltmon
  • Bottom two: Ashley Mincey and Juni Cuevas
  • The judges save Ashley thus eliminating Juni.
  • Eliminated: Juni Cuevas
9 Episode 909 (U.S.) - The Big Not Easy July 18, 2018 3.60[13]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The Top 17 contestants are given one hour to cook a dish with Cajun seafood, with Aarón cooking next to them. At the end of the hour, Joe announced that the chef with the worst dish would be eliminated. Taylor, Gerron and Matt were in the bottom three.
  • Bottom three: Gerron Hurt, Matt Houck and Taylor Waltmon
  • Taylor and Gerron are spared, and Matt is eliminated. After Matt left, the judges name Bowen, Samantha, Ralph, Mark, Cesar, and Ryan as the top six of the Mystery Box Challenge.
  • Eliminated: Matt Houck
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Bowen Li, Cesar Cano, Mark Ingraham, Ralph Degala, Ryan Cortez and Samantha Daily
  • Elimination Challenge: The remaining chefs were tasked in making a fresh version of a Salisbury steak dish, while the six immune chefs had three minutes to decide how much cooking time each person had. Shanika received 40 minutes, Emily received 35 minutes, and Julia received 30 minutes while the remaining chefs had 45 minutes. The best dishes belonged to Emily, Julia, SJ, and Gerron. The bottom three were Shanika, Lindsay and Chelsea.
  • Challenge Winners: Emily Hallock, Gerron Hurt, Julia Danno and SJ Yun
  • Bottom three: Chelsea Sargent, Lindsay Haigh and Shanika Patterson
  • Lindsay was eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Lindsay Haigh
10 Episode 910 (U.S.) - Rise or Fall July 25, 2018 3.71[14]
  • Team Challenge: The Top 15 contestants pair up on their own to create a dish featuring five ingredients. The teams are Cesar and Mark, Julia and SJ, Farhan and Emily, Bowen and Shanika, Samantha and Chelsea, Ryan and Gerron, and Ashley and Taylor. Ralph is left out of the pairs, so instead he gets to pair with his mentor, Joe, and he is also safe from elimination. The winning team is Julia and SJ, while the teams of Ryan and Gerron, Ashley and Taylor, and Cesar and Mark must face the elimination challenge. The remaining teams are safe.
  • Immune: Ralph Degala
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Julia Danno and SJ Yun
  • Elimination Challenge: The remaining six chefs must create a cheese soufflé in 40 minutes. The best dish belonged to Mark. Cesar and Ryan are called as the bottom two.
  • Challenge Winner: Mark Ingraham
  • Bottom two: Cesar Cano and Ryan Cortez
  • Ryan was eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Ryan Cortez
11 Episode 911 (U.S.) - The Kids are Alright August 1, 2018 3.54[15]
  • Team Challenge: The Top 14 contestants are split into teams, with Julia and SJ the team captains for winning the last challenge. SJ captains the Blue Team and he selects Mark, Gerron, Cesar, Samantha, Emily and Bowen. Julia captains the Red Team and she selects Ralph, Farhan, Taylor, Chelsea, Ashley and Shanika. The teams are assigned crates of ingredients to choose from, and will have 90 minutes to cook a meal for special guests in the MasterChef restaurant. The winning recipe will also be featured in Family Circle magazine. The winning team will be chosen by the restaurant diners. During the cooking process, it is revealed that the restaurant diners are children. The Red Team wins with 66% of the vote.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Ashley Mincey, Chelsea Sargent, Farhan Momin, Julia Danno, Ralph Degala, Shanika Patterson and Taylor Waltmon
  • Pressure Test: Former judge Christina Tosi returns to judge this challenge, and she will be the only person judging it. The Blue Team members must make a box of 12 cupcakes in 75 minutes. Mark and Gerron are the bottom two contestants.
  • Bottom two: Gerron Hurt and Mark Ingraham
  • Mark is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Mark Ingraham
12 Episode 912 (U.S.) - Frying Tonight August 8, 2018 3.70[16]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The Top 13 contestants have 45 minutes to make a dish featuring something that is deep fried, and all three judges cook alongside them. The top three dishes belong to Shanika, Ralph and Chelsea, and Shanika wins the challenge.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Shanika Patterson
  • Elimination Challenge: The remaining contestants must cook a dish featuring citrus fruit, and Shanika gets to decide who must make a savory dish and who must make a sweet dish. Shanika assigns savory dishes to Gerron, Taylor, Emily, Chelsea, Bowen and Samantha, and sweet dishes to Cesar, SJ, Ralph, Farhan, Ashley and Julia. The two best dishes belong to Gerron and Ashley, while SJ, Cesar and Ralph are in the bottom.
  • Challenge Winners: Ashley Mincey and Gerron Hurt
  • Bottom three: Cesar Cano, Ralph Degala and SJ Yun
  • Cesar is saved then Ralph is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Ralph Degala
13 Episode 913 (U.S.) - Just for the Halibut August 15, 2018 3.42[17]
  • Skills Test: The Top 12 contestants are shown how to properly filet a halibut by Gordon and then have just 20 minutes to do the same. Cesar and Emily are deemed the only contestants to have met Gordon's level.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Cesar Cano and Emily Hallock
  • Elimination Challenge: The other 10 contestants are given 45 minutes to make a dish of their choosing using the halibut they had fileted. Farhan has the best dish of the night, while Chelsea, Samantha and SJ are in the bottom.
  • Challege Winner: Farhan Momin
  • Bottom three: Chelsea Sargent, Samantha Daily and SJ Yun
  • Chelsea is sent home first and then the judges also eliminate SJ.
  • Eliminated: Chelsea Sargent and SJ Yun
14 Episode 914 (U.S.) - Sky's the Limit August 22, 2018 3.25[18]
  • Team Challenge: The top ten contestants are split into teams, with Emily and Cesar the team captains for winning the last challenge. Each contestant chooses what team they want to be in. Shanika, Gerron, Ashley and Farhan join Emily's Blue Team and Julia, Taylor, Bowen and Samantha join Cesar's Red Team. The teams are assigned crates of ingredients to choose from, and will have to serve 100 Air Force members a dish. The winning team will be chosen by the restaurant diners. The votes tie, however the judges pick the Red Team to win because the feedback was better.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Bowen Li, Cesar Cano, Julia Danno, Samantha Daily and Taylor Waltmon
  • Pressure Test: The Blue Team must make a four layer Black Forest cake in 75 minutes. Emily is given the choice to save herself and let the other four team members compete against each other, or to compete one on one against another member of the team. Emily chooses to cook against Shanika.
  • Immune: Gerron Hurt, Ashley Mincey and Farhan Momin
  • Bottom two: Emily Hallock and Shanika Patterson
  • Emily is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Emily Hallock
15 Episode 915 (U.S.) - Tag Team August 22, 2018 3.25[18]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The top nine contestants first have one on one time with their mentors before cooking. They have 45 minutes to make a dish featuring a different classic American ingredient. The top three dishes belong to Ashley, Gerron and Farhan, and Gerron wins the challenge.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Gerron Hurt
  • Elimination Challenge: The remaining eight contestants have 60 minutes to make a Mediterranean platter in pairs with the teammates switching out every ten minutes in a tag team challenge. Gerron gets to decide the pairs. Cesar is paired with Bowen, Samantha with Shanika, Julia with Taylor and Ashley with Farhan. The winners of the challenge are Bowen and Cesar while the bottom pair is Julia and Taylor. The remaining pairs are safe.
  • Challenge Winners: Bowen Li and Cesar Cano
  • Bottom two: Julia Danno and Taylor Waltmon
  • Taylor is eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Taylor Waltmon
16 Episode 916 (U.S.) - American Heroes August 29, 2018 3.39[19]
  • Team Challenge: Bowen and Cesar are the team captains in this challenge where they must serve a meal to 25 firefighters. Bowen won the coin toss and has the option to select the protein or select his team; he selects the protein. Cesar selects Julia, Gerron and Farhan to form the Blue Team, leaving Ashley, Samantha and Shanika for Bowen and the Red Team. The Blue Team wins the challenge with 72% of the votes from the firefighters.
  • Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Cesar Cano, Farhan Momin, Gerron Hurt and Julia Danno
  • Pressure Test: The losing team had to recreate three pasta dishes in one hour after a demonstration by Joe. Samantha and Ashley were declared safe.
  • Bottom two: Bowen Li and Shanika Patterson
  • Bowen was announced safe, leaving Shanika eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Shanika Patterson
17 Episode 917 (U.S.) - Waste Not Want Not August 29, 2018 3.39[19]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The top seven must cook a two-course meal in 45 minutes with food scraps, while Gordon cooks alongside them and makes a three-course meal. Samantha, Ashley and Cesar produced the top three dishes and Cesar wins the challenge.
  • Challenge Winner/Immune: Cesar Cano
  • Elimination Challenge: The other contestants must make a dish in 45 minutes using the whole ingredients of the same scraps they cooked with earlier. After the cooking dishes are finished, Cesar then gets to save one other contestant to be sent to saftey and he selects Gerron. The bottom two is between Julia and Farhan.
  • Immune: Gerron Hurt
  • Bottom two: Farhan Momin and Julia Danno
  • Julia was eliminated from the competition.
  • Eliminated: Julia Danno
18 Episode 918 (U.S.) - Restaurant Takeover September 5, 2018 3.37[20]
  • Team Challenge: The judges will decide and form the teams and the team captains for this challenge which will be a restaurant takeover. The Red Team is Cesar, Bowen and Ashley who leads the team. The Blue Team is Farhan, Samantha and Gerron who leads the team. The teams must prepare two appetizers and two entrees for the restaurant diners with Gordon expediting. The Red Team wins.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Ashley Mincey, Bowen Li and Cesar Cano
  • Pressure Test: The losing team had to cook three desserts that each featured chocolate in 60 minutes. Samantha and Farhan are the bottom two.
  • Bottom two: Farhan Momin and Samantha Daily
  • Samantha was announced safe, leaving Farhan eliminated.
  • Eliminated: Farhan Momin
19 Episode 919 (U.S.) - Cooking with Heart September 5, 2018 3.37[20]
  • Mystery Box Challenge: The top five must cook a dish inspired by their loved ones as they are visited by members of their family. All five contestants were called up and Bowen wins the challenge.
  • Challenge Winner: Bowen Li
  • Elimination Test: The judges decide that Bowen must also cook in the elimination test which involves cooking different types of hearts. Bowen's advantage is deciding which type of heart everyone will use to make a dish. Samantha and Gerron are called out as the bottom two.
  • Bottom two: Gerron Hurt and Samantha Daily
  • Samantha was announced safe. The judges also save Gerron, thus no one was eliminated.
  • Eliminated: None
20 Episode 920 (U.S.) - Battle of the Beef September 12, 2018 3.63[21]
  • Skill Test 1: The final five are put through three skills challenges with beef as the main ingredient. For the first test, the five chefs were tasked in creating a beef kebab in 30 minutes. Gerron and Cesar advance.
  • Winners: Cesar Cano and Gerron Hurt
  • Skill Test 2: The remaining three chefs were tasked in making ground beef meatballs with marinara sauce in 30 minutes. Ashley advanced, leaving Bowen and Samantha to face the elimination challenge.
  • Winner: Ashley Mincey
  • Bottom two: Bowen Li and Samantha Daily
  • Skill Test 3: For their final test, Bowen and Samantha had to cook three filet mignons in three different temperatures (well done, medium, and rare) in 30 minutes. Samantha did the best, eliminating Bowen.
  • Eliminated: Bowen Li
21 Episode 921 (U.S.) - The Semi Final September 12, 2018 3.63[21]
  • Team Challenge: The contestants are split into two teams. Cesar gets to form the teams for having the most Mystery Box wins. He selects Ashley as his teammate, leaving Gerron with Samantha for the other team by default. The judges are joined by Jonathan Waxman, Lidia Bastianich and Daniel Boulud who will serve as the sole judges for this challenge and the teams are allowed to cook whatever dish they want. Cesar and Ashley win the challenge.
  • Challenge Winners/Immune: Ashley Mincey and Cesar Cano
  • Pressure Test: Gerron and Samantha must cook three different dishes; an appetizer, an entreé and a dessert, for the judges.
  • Bottom two: Gerron Hurt and Samantha Daily
  • Gerron defeats Samantha two dishes to one, thus eliminating her.
  • Eliminated: Samantha Daily
22 Episode 922 (U.S.) - The Finale, Pt. 1 September 19, 2018 3.56[22]
  • Finale: The judges visit their respective mentee contestants at their hometowns before the finals begin. The three finalists will have one hour for each course to prepare three portions of their best appetizer, entrée, and dessert.
  • Appetizer: Ashley serves a pan-seared red snapper with conch salad, malanga fritters, and ají coconut sauce. Cesar serves a squid ink infladita with lobster, dragon fruit salsa, caviar, and roasted poblano sauce. Gerron serves a Nashville hot quail with fingerling potato salad and poached quail eggs.
  • The entrées begin cooking as the first hour ends.
23 Episode 923 (U.S.) - The Finale, Pt. 2 September 19, 2018 3.56[22]
  • Entrée: Ashley serves a pan-seared guinea hen with black-eyed pea and collard green ragout and quince cognac sauce. Cesar serves a pan-seared duck breast with charcoal roasted vegetables and almond mole. Gerron serves carabinero prawns with heirloom grits, shellfish au jus, and crispy shallots.
  • Dessert: Gerron serves an amaretto chess pie with raspberry coulis and popped sorghum. Cesar serves a flourless chocolate cake with taramind caramel and spicy pepita brittle. Ashley serves an orange genoise with smoked chocolate ganache and glazed cherries.
  • Final Three: Ashley Mincey, Cesar Cano and Gerron Hurt
  • Winner Revealed: Gerron is named the winner of this year's MasterChef, winning him the $250,000, the trophy, and the cookbook deal.
  • MasterChef Winner: Gerron Hurt

Trivia

  • Casting call auditions were held in November 2017. Filming began in late January 2018, and filming the finale taping wrapped up in late March 2018.
  • This is the only season so far to introduce a new format whereas the three judges each selected eight contestants to give aprons to and mentors their respective contestants.
  • This is the third season in a row, to be won by a male contestant.
  • This was the first season to feature an African American male winner, Gerron Hurt.
    • At 26, he was also the youngest male contestant to ever win the title in the American version.
  • This is the only season so far where each home cook is mentored by a different judge.
    • This season's three way grand finale showdown had all three finalists each representing and mentored by a different judge.[1]
  • This season features the most contestants, with 24.
  • This is the first season ever where a field team challenge ended in a draw with the VIP guest diners voting in a 50-50 tie.
  • This is the first season where Joe Bastianich co-hosted as a main judge, since Season 5 and guest-starring in the Season 8 three way finale.
  • This season marks the fourth time where a contestant gets eliminated in a Mystery Box Challenge.
    • This was also the first time a male contestant gets eliminated in a Mystery Box Challenge.
  • This is the second season where the black apron-themed replication "Pressure Test" didn’t occur following a Team Challenge.
  • Christina Tosi guest starred as a guest judge in episode 11, the cupcake Pressure Test, appearing on the show for the last time.
  • Future Appearances:
    • Emily, Shanika. Bowen, & Samantha returned in Season 12: Back To Win, Lindsay & Julia also returned but failed to get an apron.

References

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