MasterChef Season Premiere

One show that I look forward to watching every summer is the new season of MasterChef! The reason why I enjoy watching it is because I enjoy seeing all the creative dishes the contestants come up with. In recent years, each season has had a theme regarding its format or how the contestants are grouped, and this season is no exception, as the theme of this season is Dynamic Duos. What this means is that all the contestants this season will be groups of two, from couples, to mothers and daughters, to siblings, to best friends, to even divorcees, and for the first time, they will be crowning two MasterChefs. There is also a new judge this season, as regular judge Aaron Sanchez didn’t return, so Tiffany Derry took his place. 

This season’s format is already interesting, as during the episode, a total of three duos got aprons, and at the end of the episode, Gordon Ramsay said that only five more duos would be getting aprons, which meant that a total of eight duos would be getting aprons, which would make it the shortest season yet, which also didn’t make sense because the season is presumably going to end in September. So, after reading some theories on Reddit, I figured that how it will work is that once they have given out all eight aprons, and because a total of twelve teams have been seen as part of the competition in trailers, they will give aprons to four more teams as a way of giving everyone else a second chance. What I feel supports this theory is that in a trailer that was released a few weeks ago and the opening of the episode that featured footage of the season, it showed two groups from tonight that did not win aprons clearly wearing aprons. And funny enough, since I wrote this part of the post on Thursday, I officially found out the answer on Friday. The third episode of the season will consist of Second Chance Battles, at which point four duos will redeem themselves, and join the other eight duos, giving us a top twelve consisting of a total of 24 contestants. 

The first battle of the season was between a dating couple named Jesse and Jessica and a married couple named Zach and Michelle. 

Zach and Michelle presented their dish first, and they made a chili spiced chicken leg with mascarpone polenta, blistered tomatoes, and breadcrumbs, which is a dish that I would be willing to try. The judges really liked their dish, and humorously, Joe Bastianich’s only complaint was that the chicken was almost too moist for him.

Jesse and Jessica then presented their dish, which was a crispy skin salmon with roasted broccolini, aji verde green sauce, and pickled fresnos, which I am not sure I would want to try as I am not the biggest fan of fish. After they finished describing their dish, Joe commented that it took a lot of courage to not put a single carb or starch on the plate. When the judges tasted their dish, they said the salmon was cooked beautifully, but it could have been seared just a little bit longer. 

After this, it was time for the judges to announce who got the first aprons, and the first duo in the competition was Zach and Michelle, which did not surprise me as their dish seemed to have no complaints from the judges. 

The second battle was between an aunt and a niece named Tina and Aivan and cousins named Shanda and Asa. 

Tina and Aivan presented their dish first, which was Vietnamese steamed bass with black bean sauce, glass noodles, and herb salad, which is another fish dish so I feel that it would take a long time for me to want to try it Lol. The judges loved it, as the bass was cooked perfectly and they thought the noodles were perfect, with the only criticism being that the dish needed a little more acid. 

Shanda and Asa then presented their dish, which was a pan seared duck breast with pistachio risotto, which is a dish that I might be willing to try, as I like risotto, but I have never had duck breast before. As soon as I found out what they were making, I knew they were taking a huge risk, as both duck breast and risotto are some of the hardest things to cook. The judges agreed that the duck breast was juicy and seasoned beautifully, but the risotto was a little too rich and undercooked. 

The judges then announced that the duo that won the aprons next were Tina and Aivan, which didn’t surprise me with the criticism of the other team’s risotto. 

After that, it was time for the final battle of the night, which was between divorced exes Azu and Javier and newlyweds Athena and Timothy. 

Athena and Timothy presented their dish first, which was curried lamb chops with mashed potatoes, candied asparagus, and mint chutney, which I would be willing to try. The judges loved the dish, especially the cook on the lamb, but they didn’t think that the asparagus was perfect. 

Azu and Javier then presented their dish, which was Oaxacan chicken roulade stew with rolled chicken breast, tomato, plantain, raisin, and almond sauce. The judges said that the chicken was cooked perfectly and the sauce was delicious, but the stew was too firm and not liquid. 

The judges then announced that the last duo that won an apron in this episode was Athena and Timothy, which did not surprise me, as I felt the criticism for the chicken dish was almost too much to earn an apron.

Overall, this was a great start to MasterChef Season 15 with lots of great dishes, and I’ll see you all next week when the auditions continue!