I don’t like it when reality shows bring eliminated contestants back to win their way onto the program. To me, if you have been cut, you weren’t good enough in the first place and don’t deserve another chance. And you certainly don’t deserve another shot at winning the MasterChef Canada title and $100,000 over someone who has been in the trenches every single week.
So I went into Sunday’s latest episode, “Walking on Eggshells,” with a bad taste in my mouth. To me, Andrew, Cody and Kevin were nothing more than a dramatic twist that didn’t need to be there. This season has been filled with enough twists to keep me interested, so why this overkill? Regardless of my thoughts, the trio competed in the first challenge of the week, to prepare the perfect egg three ways.
The judges didn’t make things easy on Andrew, Cody and Kevin—they had just eight minutes to make a three-egg omelette, poached egg and soft-boiled egg—and the trio sweated it out. Kevin, who always seems to be a bit of a bull in a china shop in the kitchen, broke his poached egg yolk and was out of the running early, leaving the door open for Cody and Andrew. Cody ultimately won a spot back in. I won’t spend any more time whining about it.
Instead, I’ll spotlight Cody’s bonehead move of giving David a pass for the week. He is one of the strongest chefs in the kitchen and instead of making him battle, Cody let David off easy. Armchair David indeed. I understand Cody’s reasoning of putting David up there so he’s not competing with him, but he’ll have to face David sooner or later.
As for the rest of the finalists, they had an almost insurmountable task in recreating a sea scallop mousse. I’m sorry, but how can the judges expect the home cooks to master a dish that Michael Bonacini messed up the first few times he tried to construct it? Making things worse for herself was Jennifer, who forgot to grab eggs from the pantry. Kudos to Michael for taking time out to talk her off the ledge, but she had a tough road ahead of her. And yet she pulled it off by using a roux to thicken the custard and snagged a special nod from the judges.
Jon’s double shot of whipping his mousse too much and leaving a chunk of lobster cartilage in the finished dish put him firmly in the bottom next to Cody and his chunky mousse and Michael’s puddly creation. Jon’s two mistakes were enough to send him home and keep Cody in the competition.
Notes and quotes
- “I’d rather cook what lays the eggs.” — Kevin
- “It’s one of the most attractive poached eggs I’ve seen.” Uh, thanks Alvin.
- I love that the finalists refer to David as “Armchair David,” because he’s always in the gallery watching others compete.
- “I don’t get a mousse. Why would you do that to food?” Amen, Jon. Amen.
- Does anyone have time to sit in that little library/study at the back of the kitchen?
MasterChef Canada airs Sundays at 7 p.m. ET on CTV.
