Shelly Flash

  

“

When you come to this country, you don't always win. That American Dream, they say it a lot. But people come here and they're dishwashers, they clean hotels, and being a first-generation American, it's hard. I have a bachelor's degree and I'm making ten dollars an hour. If you give me the apron, I will work my ass off, because this is gonna change everything if this happens for me.

”

Hometown	Brooklyn, NY
Age	32 (Season 6) 38 (Season 12)
Occupation	Kitchen Assistant (Season 6) Pop-up Kitchen Owner (Season 12)
Statistics
Mystery Box(es) Won	0 (Season 6) 0 (Season 12)
Elimination Test(s) Won	1 (Season 6) 0 (Season 12)
Team Challenge(s) Won	2 (Season 6) 1 (Season 12)
Pressure Test(s) Survived	2 (Season 6)
Top Entries	0 (Season 6) 1 (Season 12)
Bottom Entries	3 (Season 6) 2 (Season 12)
Placement	9th (Season 6) 14th (Season 12)
Episode Eliminated	A Little Southern Flare (Season 6) Cooking for Horse Town U.S.A. (Season 12)

Michelle "Shelly" Flash was a contestant on Seasons 6 and 12 of MasterChef. On Season 6, she ranked in 9th place, and on Season 12, she ranked in 14th place.

Personality

In Season 6, Shelly was a strong fighter with a lot of determination and passion, since she came from a background only making ten dollars an hour in a rough New York neighborhood. While she came into the competition being fierce and hardworking, she gradually began to show her ugly side by not taking responsibility for her mistakes and starting to throw her teammates under the bus for no reason during team challenges. Her attitude worsened when she began to act cutthroat by targeting the strongest competitors for elimination, which backfired. After that, she slowly dwindled into a downward spiral and became terribly inconsistent with her performances, leading to her elimination. She didn't get along with too many people, and was disliked by Christopher, Claudia, and Derrick, with the former thinking that she should have gone home during the steak pressure test.

In Season 12, Shelly returned with the same passion and determination but without her ugly attitude. She was not shown much for the first 3 challenges but seemed to have improved her attitude from Season 6. After being in the bottom of the Vegan Challenge after making a dish that she cooked for her daughter daily due to not managing her time, she bounced back by finishing in the Top 3 of the Southern Fusion Challenge, only to fall back in the bottom of the "Bake to Win" Challenge after overconfidently picking a hard dessert. Despite her getting a chance to make up for it by being Team Captain in the second Team Challenge, her lack of accountability ultimately returned as her not owning her role and mistakes as Team Captain lead to not only her Team losing but also her elimination. She initially seemed to bury the hatchet with her former rival Derrick, but ended up subtly still not respecting him after not choosing him in the Second Team Challenge despite her saying that she picked people that she worked with in the last Team Challenge.

Season 6

Episode 20

Shelly returned to the finale to watch Derrick and Claudia battle it out. As the finalists went into the pantry, she said it was 5-star dining versus a melting pot of amazing, rustic Mexican food, and didn't know who would win. During the appetizer round, Ramsay asked her how it looked from the balcony. She said Claudia was putting her culture and heritage on a plate, every plate she had put out since Day 1 had been with love, and she would win if she did the same today.

Competition History

Week 3	In/Immune
Week 4	Win
Week 5	In/Win
Week 6	No Pressure Test
Week 7	In/In
Week 8	Lose/Low
Week 9	In/Immune
Week 10	In/Low
Week 11	Pressure Test
Week 12	Win
Week 13	In/Eliminated

Competition History

Week 4	In
Week 5	In
Week 6	Win
Week 7	Low
Week 8	High
Week 9	Low
Week 10	Eliminated

Post MasterChef

• After her first appearance, Shelly was an Executive Sous Chef in the Upper East Side and cooked at James Beard House before becoming a Chef Instructor in Brooklyn. She is co-owner of Two Girls & a Cookshop, serving Jamaican Tacos and street food in pop up events in New York.

Trivia

Season 6

• She is the highest ranking contestant in her season to not be in the top group of a Mystery Box.
• She and Stephen are the sixth and seventh contestants to receive their aprons after the second chance auditions, following Leslie, Gordon, Astrid, Francis L, and Elise (all Season 5).
• She is the second contestant to put a MasterChef logo on her dish, after Cutter (from Season 5) and before Mark (from Season 8).
  • However, she is the first contestant to not get criticized for doing so.

Season 12

• She was the lowest ranking contestant of Back to Win to ever be in the Top 3 of a challenge, at 14th.

Quotes

Season 6

• {About her daughter before her audition) "She want me to do so good, cause she know we don't always win, you know? It's hard, it's so hard. Being a part of something like this, it's huge for us, we need this."
• (After losing her audition battle) "I will never forget the words that came from Gordon Ramsay's mouth, and this is a man that knows me from nothing. But he saw something, he saw potential in me, and that meant the world."
• (After Claudia refuses to be saved) "Claudia passed on the save. The first thing I think 'Are you crazy?'. If I've learned anything being a single mom, is like when someone gives you a helping hand, you better take and shake it and go with them."
• (After being eliminated) "This defeat, it stings, but I like looking at the glass half-full. How many people can say they made Top 9 on MasterChef? I know my daughter's proud of me. She's my biggest cheerleader, so I work hard to lead by example. Food is not for substance, food is my heart. I thank Chef Ramsay for seeing something that I had yet to see in myself and to igniting something in me that will not burn out, that will not die out, and that will be brilliant."

Season 12

• Before I came to MasterChef, I was a kitchen assistant, but I knew that I wanted to have something that was my own. So after MasterChef, I went to culinary school and I started my own business with my daughter. I'm coming back with a vengeance. My plating is up to par, I know more ingredients, I've matured so much more in the kitchen, they're not gonna know what hit them."
• (After the Southern Fusion challenge) "I see the worry going over people's faces. The biggest thing that is sticking with me is they said make sure you're creating fusion and not confusion. You gotta make sure that it's balanced and still show respect to all of these countries and the history of the South. Good luck with that."
• (After being eliminated) "My MasterChef: Back to Win journey is over and the reason why I'm going home today is 'cause I didn't prevail as a leader. I'm walking off into the sunset a little bittersweet, but blessed with this amazing opportunity. Everyone doesn't get a second chance and I think this has opened up another door. I don't know what it is, but I'm excited to see what it's gonna be."

Gallery

Season 6

Shelly's Confessional

Shelly's Audition Dish

Shelly failing to receiving an Apron

Shelly's Wild Card Dish

Shelly receiving her Apron

Shelly in the Blue Team

Shelly in the Red Team

Shelly in a Black Apron

Shelly's Corn Dish

Shelly's TV Dinner Dish

Shelly's Pressure Test Birthday Cake

Amanda, Shelly, and Charlie in the Birthday Cake Pressure Test Bottom 3

Shelly's PB&J Dish

Sara and Shelly in the PB&J Bottom 2

Shelly's Pressure Test Fruit Tart

Shelly with her Daughter

Shelly's Chicken & Waffles Dish

Shelly and Claudia in the Chicken & Waffles Bottom 2

Shelly Eliminated

Season 12

Shelly's Confessional

Shelly's Audition Dish

Shelly & Gabriel Reinstated

Shelly in the Blue Team

Shelly’s Failed Vegan Dish

Shelly, Samantha, and Fred in the Vegan Bottom 3

Shelly's Fusion Dish

Shelly, Emily, and Christian in the Fusion Top 3

Shelly’s Failed Dessert Replication

Shelly’s Dessert Comparison

Tommy, Shelly, and Bri in the Dessert Replication Bottom 3

Willie, Shelly, Christian, Shanika, Emily, Amanda, & Brandi as the Losing Cowboy Team

Shelly Eliminated (2nd Time)