MasterChef Recap: Finale, Finally!!!


By Dangerously | | 7:00 pm | 14 Comments

Alright, then. Here we are. The “Largest Culinary Showdown of the Season.” Don’t sell yourselves short, guys, it’s been over a year since last season’s finale…

Bastage reminds us that 

There can be only one…

So who is that one? Will it be second chance Josh? Would they really do that? Or is it DareDevil? Do they still try to make it appear that she’s totally blind, and she wins this by sheer force of will and comic book sonar vision?

After a quick recap of the path we’ve taken to get to this point, Gordie introduces our two finalists. First is Josh. Fiercely competitive, robust flavors, yadda yadda. They neglect to mention that he was eliminated once. 

So, will he go home with the title and the cookbook? Or will it be DareDevil? Her introduction basically depicts her as the underdog. The clips keep showing issues caused by her vision impairedness. She’s making her claim to the title with her instincts and palate. 

So, as with previous years, the contestants will be squaring off head-to-head. With no pomp whatsoever, the other 16 contestants head out onto the balcony and cheer. 

They ask Josh if he can believe that he’s made it this far. He says he can – I’m sure Becky can’t. They then ask what his family would say if they were here. Surprise, they ARE here!!!

Everyone’s crying except DareDevil, but that’s probably just because she can’t see and not because she’s a cold-blooded competitor. 

So, of course, in a shocking twist, DareDevil’s husband is also brought in. And apparently a bunch of other people we didn’t even know existed. 

Who are these people?!? Did they just find random Asian people on the street and bring them in so she didn’t feel inferior to Josh?

So, the families are sent upstairs as well, and it’s time to get down to it. The two finalists get two hours to cook a full meal. An appetizer, an entree, and a dessert. They have to work in the same tiny space as the previous finalists have. 

I like to call it the Spaceship Kitchen. Why? Because I imagine that if I had a spaceship, this is what the kitchen would look like. Duh. 

I wonder if those tight quarters will become an issue. Like if DareDevil will accidentally bump into Josh because she doesn’t see him, or Josh’s gigantic arms will knock her over. 

They wish each other luck, both say their obligatory “I’m gonna beat your” trash, and the finale has begun! The contestants both walk confidently to the pantry. They have 2 hours so I guess there’s no rush, huh? 

While they’re gathering ingredients, the contestants give us a little insight. Josh is first. He says that he thinks everyone is surprised he made it this far, because everyone just saw a southern boy…but he doesn’t think today is a good day to play it too safe by sticking to his roots. So he’s making lobster and grits, a rack of lamb with a green curry spice for his entree, and a pecan pie for dessert. He’s gonna punch the judges in the mouth with flavor. 

Dangerously

Dangerously is a Southern boy misplaced in windy Chicago. He spends most of his time wandering around Chicago hoping for a random encounter with Graham Elliot...(I bet that guy gives the best hugs!).

14 Comments

  1. 1
    Bobbi
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    She was my winner of choice since the first time I saw her. It took a lot of courage on her part to even compete. Why should Josh have won? He had lost and was off and came back. No way should he have been the winner and if he had won, I would have cried FOUL. Good going Christine, :-)

  2. 2
    annie Annie
    Posted September 19, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    I developed a huge crush on Chef Bastage, Looked good in the suit / sneaker combo…sarcastic attitude.
    *** swoon***

    oh yeah, Christine….YAY!!!!!! So happy for her!!!!!

    Now, back to Bastage…did I mention his dreamy eyes?

  3. 3
    JimbobJones Jimbob Jones
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 12:53 am

    Daredevil’s thoughts during the confetti: “Where’d all these f***ing moths come from?”

  4. 4
    JimbobJones Jimbob Jones
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 12:54 am

    And Annie, you need help. Not a psychiatrist, but a psychologist — you’re gonna need some drugs. (Thank you, “Joy Ride”)

    ;-)

  5. 5
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 3:07 am

    I can’t even lie though, Bastage is kind of hot.
    If he emotionally abused me and glared at me menacingly the way that he does to everyone else on this show, I’d probably melt with happiness.

    But yeahhhhhhhhh Daredevil!!
    Josh’s food was hoity toity and all, but Christine’s looked absolutely yummy. I wanted to roll in her pork belly and that dessert looked so banging. When Gordon said that the smell of lime was wafting all over the table, my eyes like rolled into the back of my head imagining it. Is her cookbook out yet? If I get it, I’ll have to leave the fish sauce out of all the recipes.

    But what warms my heart the most is that Becky did not win.
    Hallelujah.

    And thank you Dangerously for a wonderful season of recaps! If you’re not recapping anything else, I hope you enjoy your time off!

  6. 6
    Pegalicious
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 4:40 am

    Wahoo! At last I’m happy with a winning cheftestant!

    I’ve been pulling for Christine since the beginning, and IMO her win was well-deserved. I’d much rather have a cookbook from someone who can explain to me how to take lowly ingredients (such as pork belly) and elevate them rather than someone who’ll tell me how to prepare a ridiculously expensive ingredient (e.g., lobster or rack of lamb). I look forward to her cookbook.

    @Dangerously, to echo chaosbutterfly, thanks for your recaps this season. They have, dare I say, “elevated” my viewing experience.

  7. 7
    chaosbutterfly
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 6:54 am

    Oh, and I found this blog post by Christine: http://www.theblindcook.com/thoughts-on-winning-masterchef-usa-2012/ that I think is pretty interesting, if really really long.
    She shares some interesting tidbits on her helper too.

  8. 8
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 8:29 am

    I don’t know why Gordon doesn’t seem to know anything about American food culture since he has about 3 million restaurants and 18 different shows based in the US.

    Because they’ve been braising pork belly on Top Chef all along and I don’t remember Tom or Gail or any guest judge sniffing their noses at the lowliness of the ingredients. It’s not posh but it’s not uncommon in fine dining, either.

    But his obsession with pricing dishes to convey the chef’s success, touting Michelin stars, which barely even affect American fine dining since only three cities are reviewed by the Michelin organization, and Los Angeles is no longer one of them, and judging the perceived luxury of ingredients rather than the chef’s skill with them always strikes me as a much more European way to approach cooking.

    At the very least, you’d think the “Michelin starred” chef who uses POP ROCKS on his menu would school Gordon on what is and is not relevant to American food culture.

    Still, I’m glad Christine won, not just because Josh didn’t even belong there, but he’d become much less likeable as the season progressed.

  9. 9
    LAC LAC
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 9:28 am

    YAAY!!! Becky didn’t win…. I mean, Daredevil won!!!

    She had me at pork belly…

    Josh didn’t bother me nearly as much as Becky “Flick”.

  10. 10
    Pegalicious
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 10:14 am

    @chaosbutterfly, thanks for the link; if possible, I have even more respect for Christine after reading her blog.

  11. 11
    crankyguy crankyguy
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 11:17 am

    I stopped watching this about mid-season because I could not stand seeing Becky and Josh. I noticed this recap and had to check the winner, and I am so relieved. It’s nice when things ultimately work out as they should.

  12. 12
    AmyOops AmyOops
    Posted September 20, 2012 at 4:35 pm

    “I like to call it the Spaceship Kitchen. Why? Because I imagine that if I had a spaceship, this is what the kitchen would look like. Duh.”

    Dammit, Dangerously! Now I can’t have a cig while reading the rest of your recap because for some reason this caption made me laugh so hard I choked…and no, I am NOT ready to quit; this was not “a sign” – for those who may be thinking it. But thanks :-)

  13. 13
    Dangerously Dangerously
    Posted September 21, 2012 at 6:01 am

    Thanks for sticking it out with me, guys…especially with how late these last few recaps have been. Once labor day arrives it becomes a lot harder for me to find the time for these….here’s hoping next season doesn’tfollow a similar schedule… I am still planning on writing a recap if Dragoncon for those interested…but otherwise don’t think I’ll be recapping anything until MC next summer. So…if I don’t see tard….good afternoon, good evening, and good night

  14. 14
    zerocool
    Posted September 22, 2012 at 9:05 am

    Late to comment, but I just saw the episode online. Glad Christine won, it seemed as though they were really favoring Josh there so I was worried he would win. I do think Josh got the shaft when he was originally eliminated, the fault his team was there was Frank and he didn’t even have to cook in that elimination round. But I really liked Frank so it didn’t bother me too much. And given the option of having the “flavor elevator” return, I’ll take Josh any day. At least the boy had talent.

    Ideally, I would’ve liked to see Frank & Christine in the final two. But very glad Becky didn’t win.

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