Gordon: Previously on "masterchef"...
This is "masterchef: Generations."
The big question is which generation is gonna win it all?
So far, ten home cooks have earned an apron...
I'm only gonna say one thing-- yes.
- From the millennials... - That is so delicious.
- And the baby boomers. - All: Yes!
- Yeah! - Age is just a number.
My mom always believed in me, always thought I could do this.
- It's a yes. - Thank you.
This is a dish that you could see in any restaurant that I own.
For me, it's an absolute yes.
Can I teach an old dog new tricks?
Tonight on "masterchef: Generations,"
The audition rounds continue...
Cooking tonight is gen z, ladies and gentlemen.
- Let's go! - Please welcome nick digiovanni.
This isn't online anymore. This is not on your phone. This is real life.
...As another generation battles it out for a white apron.
To the other generations, I wanna say I love you, but watch out.
Everything I make, I make for the camera first and myself second.
- Is it giving chef? - It's giving chef.
All those flavors are there. There's no two ways about that.
I think there's so much more to come from you.
The lamb is the star of this dish.
Those indian spices that you have in there, delicious.
There are just some amateur moves here
That don't give me a lot of confidence.
Maybe this is just so gen z
That I don't get it.
( muter chatter )
I'm so excited. This is wild.
I don't know who that is.
My sauce better not break or else I'm gonna cry!
Gen z is here to win. I'm here to win.
All other generations, they don't have all the skills
And resources that we do, so we're coming for 'em.
Definitely gonna ruffle some feathers and stir the pot a little bit.
You guys have "masterchef junior."
Some of the old guys over here, I mean, you guys should start,
Like, a "masterchef senior," because I don't know
If they're gonna be able to keep up by the end of the competition.
( cheers and applause )
- We good? - ( cheering continues )
Thank you very much.
We are excited!
This is "masterchef: Generations."
- Whoo! - Right.
It's time for another generation to show us what they've got
As our incredible audition rounds continue.
So far, ten aprons have been given out.
We've seen the millennials and the amazing baby boomers cook.
There are two more generations to go.
Auditioning tonight is...
- Gen z, ladies and gentlemen. - ( cheering )
Let's go!
You guys were born around the turn of the 21st century.
You're the tiktok generation.
You were born with phones in your hands, right?
Tonight we will be joined by a very special guest judge,
Someone from your generation.
He is a young man
With over 30 million subscribers
Across his social media platforms,
Seven guinness world records,
And most importantly, he got his start right here
Inside the masterchef kitchen.
Please welcome nick digiovanni.
- Oh, my gosh! - How you doing?
- Good to see you. - Welcome.
- Wow! - Good to see you.
- How are you? - Welcome back.
What's going on?
Nick, welcome back to the masterchef kitchen.
Thank you. It's incredible to be back.
I missed everything about the masterchef kitchen.
It is so impressive for all of us to witness
How you turned your time here on "masterchef"
Into an entire career in food.
- Nick: Yeah. - Gordon: And now,
Literally one of the most prolific
Food creators on the internet.
You're a perfect example
What "masterchef" can do to a career.
- Thank you. - In terms of advice,
Gen zs, what would you be giving them tonight?
This isn't online anymore. This is not on your phone. This is real life.
Think fast and make sure everything is how you'd actually want to taste it.
Don't care so much about how it looks today.
I would go more with the flavor, because at the end of the day,
When we all taste it, that's what's gonna get you the apron.
- Yeah. - Yeah.
Now tonight, you guys have all got 45 minutes
To produce your signature dish.
And to get one of those white aprons,
You'll need at least three yeses from the judges.
Your time starts when the clock starts.
The very best of luck. We'll see you in the restaurant.
- Here we go. - Joe: Here we go.
That youthful energy.
- Nick, welcome to the other side. - Thank you.
- How you feeling, brother? - It's great to be on this side.
Well, you've earned it, by the way.
- It's a lot less intimidating. - Is it really that bad
When you were walking in for the first time?
Well, it's a dark room.
You see all you guys lit up in here.
You guys all have serious faces, sitting straight up.
- What do you think, you know? - Yeah.
It's scary.
This is gonna be a super competitive generation.
- Joe: Yep. - I think it's a generation
That can sometimes be impatient,
But I think we make up for it in our creativity.
I think the gen zers are gonna impress you guys. Just wait.
- I hope you're right, nick. - I hope they bring it.
- ( music playing ) - go, becca!
- Get the chocolate chips. - Go, girl!
Okay.
Okay, here we go.
I love being gen z.
It's a perfect storm of learning from generations before us,
But also being ambitious. We're the young guns.
My name is becca, I am 24 years old,
And I do customer and user experience
For a running event company,
But cooking is my passion.
Like, if I could do cooking my entire life, I absolutely would.
- Looking nice. - It's melting!
My style of cooking is rooted in comfort food.
That's what my mom made growing up.
But I learned from watching youtube videos
Of how to cook, and I was reading blogs.
And I think it's my cooking what it is today.
To the other generations, I wanna say I love you,
I appreciate you, but watch out, 'cause it's our time.
( laughter )
( crowd cheering )
- Okay. Okay, smells good. - Yeah, it does.
- It smells very good. Good evening! - Hello, hello!
- How are you? - I am so good. I'm becca.
- Becca, nice to see you. - Nice to see you.
- Who's with you tonight? - So I've got my husband joel
- And my wonderful parents. - Nice to see you all. What are you cooking?
- 'cause this looks, uh-- - fantastic?
- Dessert. - It looks very sweet.
Yes, it's called the fancy turtle.
Growing up, we would make turtle candies with my grandma,
Which is pecans, caramel, chocolate covered.
So I wanted to bring that and elevate it like any gen z would.
So it's molten chocolate lava cake
With a pecan caramel drizzle,
Candied pecans, and a vanilla whipped cream.
- Nice. - I love that. So how old are you now?
- I'm 24. - Nick was standing in your shoes a few years back.
I watched it. You were fantastic.
I got yelled at a couple times along the road though.
- You know that, right? - Hey, it's part of the journey.
Joe's such a ( bleep ).
Isn't he?
This things need to be liquid in the center.
Absolutely. I've got things set in place
To make sure that it's lava for you.
Are you staggering the cook in terms of first one in?
I'm putting them all in,
And then I'm taking two of them out,
Checking them, and if they're not
What I want them to be, taking the other ones out.
- Smart. - You see, as an old fart, I'd do it differently.
- Right. For sure. - This is a gen z thing though.
No, but it's just like being back at home arguing with the kids.
- Right. - I would put one in first,
- Wait a minute, put another one in. - Right. Absolutely.
- Right. - I tried to explaining that to you, nick,
- Four years ago. - And we never listen,
- And we still succeed, so we're good. - Exactly. Good luck, girl.
- Thank you so much, chef. - Nice to meet you. Amazing.
- Nice to see you. - Thank you, nick.
- Go! Let's go! - Come on, becca!
- Put it in there. You got this. - In they go, becca.
Good luck in there!
I am not disillusioned to the fact
That a lava cake has very high expectations.
Those are ready. Ahh.
If they cut into it and it's not lava, I'm done.
All: Five, four, three, two, one.
- Yeah! - ( cheering )
When I was six, everyone wanted to be
An astronaut or a ballerina.
- I wanted to be a chef. - Let's go, girl!
- Yeah, becca! - This is how I get there,
And I just hope I get that apron.
Welcome, welcome, welcome.
Becca: Thank you so much.
My name is becca, I am 24 years old,
And I have made for you a fancy turtle.
This is a molten chocolate lava cake.
It has a caramel pecan drizzle, it's topped with candied pecans,
And it has a vanilla whipped cream on the side.
Now this dessert is packed with jeopardy.
Why come in with such a difficult dish to nail?
I think for gen zs it's all about, you know,
We're the youngest generation right now.
We've gotta prove ourselves, and so that means taking risks.
- Shall we, gents? - Yep.
Visually, it's beautiful.
This is actually my favorite dessert.
But I will say that's a good and bad thing,
Because I have extremely high standards.
And the risk here is that we cut it open,
- If it's not molten, we're not even tasting it. - Absolutely.
So you're playing, like, super high-risk game here.
- Yep. - Gordon: How long was it in the oven for, becca?
11 minutes.
- If it doesn't run... - We're done.
Becca, you chose to come with the most high-risk dessert.
And the risk here is that we cut it open,
- If it's not molten, we're not even tasting it. - Absolutely.
Good news for you. Let's hope it tastes as good as it looks.
Gordon: And what chocolate did you use?
Becca: Bittersweet. I'm a dark chocolate girl.
I would've loved if you'd cut those nuts up a little bit smaller.
- It's hard to take that big of a bite sometimes. - For sure.
It almost cuts your mouth. But the lava was perfect,
And it was just the right amount of sweet and bitter at the same time.
- I think you crushed it. - Thank you.
- For me, it's a yes. - Thank you.
The cake is flawless. It's everything you expect.
It has the right texture, consistency,
The chocolate is well-tempered.
It's soft, ooey-gooey.
- So for me that's a yes. - Thank you so much.
You know, it's good, but there's a lot of good molten cakes.
At this point, I'm more evaluating, like, do you have what it takes?
- Absolutely. - You willing to fight?
I may be a part of the youngest generation,
But that doesn't mean that I should be underestimated.
I've been underestimated my entire life.
It's driven me to fight harder,
To be stronger, to be more determined than ever.
That's exactly what I'm gonna bring here.
- Joe, what's it gonna be? - Yeah.
It's bold to cook the molten lava cake.
- Yeah. - For that boldness, congratulations.
- Thank you so much! - Well done.
- Thank you so much. Oh, my gosh. - You're welcome.
- Don't get eaten alive out there. - It's an honor, all of you.
- It's an honor. Thank you. - Gordon: Congrats.
And just from my point of view it was a yes as well.
- Congratulations. - Thank you so much.
( cheering )
Becca: I'm beyond excited.
- I got four yeses, which is crazy. - Nice!
They loved it. I killed it.
I'm so excited. Yeah, it's fantastic.
- We knew you would kill it. - All: Yay!
- I thought you guys were tough cookies. - Nah, not tough at all.
It's great we've got no dress code in the masterchef kitchen.
No, he got a new t-shirt for us.
What are you-- you got your dress up t-shirt?
You guys didn't tell me ahead of time.
Do you wanna borrow one of my jackets?
I didn't get the memo.
Joe: Good start. Strong.
Keep going, violet. Nice and smooth.
- Keep going. - I feel great repping gen z.
I feel like I'm making a very tiktok authentic dish, and I hope gen z sees it.
My name is violet, I'm 23 years old,
I live in san francisco, california,
And I am a full-time content creator.
On tiktok, I have 2.2 million followers,
And I'm one of the top food content creators for my age.
Shroomies are good.
I'm making kind of a take on steak and eggs.
Everything I cook, I think about how it would look
On social media, and I can't even erase that from my head.
It's phone-y, it's first.
Everything I make, I make for the camera first
And myself second. Having such a huge following,
I feel like I need to prove myself to my followers.
They're going off my word alone that my food is good,
And I wanna show them that other people in real life enjoy my food, too.
- I think it slays. - It's fantastic.
- Is it giving chef? - It's giving chef.
( laughter )
- Keep going, violet. Nice. - Keep on the plating.
- Yep. - All: Three, two, one.
On tiktok, if I cook something wrong, I can throw it out.
I can redo it and no one has to know about it.
But on "masterchef" it's one shot, one take,
So it really makes me nervous.
My name is violet, I'm 23,
And this is a new york strip steak with chimichurri,
A goat cheese mushroom stuffed omelette,
Along with some crispy potatoes.
- I have 2 million followers on tiktok... - Wow.
...And I hope people will see that what I am on tiktok
- Can be translated into real life. - Incredible.
And the viral videos, was it with dishes like this?
It was strangely not dishes like this that made me blow up.
My really viral video had 35 million views for a kale salad.
- Kale salad? - A kale salad.
- I was shocked people liked it that much. - Amazing. Shall we?
- Yeah. - Uh, right.
Listen, there's great color on the steak,
Potatoes look delicious, but I wouldn't associate this dish to gen z.
- This for me looks more like a baby boomer? - Oh, my gosh.
I thought I was gonna see something a little bit more attractive.
It does look a little old now that I'm looking at it.
- Yeah. - Shall we?
Um, temperature, violet, on the new york strip,
- What have you gone for? - I was hoping for medium rare.
Gordon: The steak is more towards a medium.
And just a technical thing, you didn't render
At all the fat part of the steak.
- Nick: Yeah, this part right here. - Joe and aarón: Yeah.
It was kind of a mess up on my part.
Okay, so being gen x, maybe this is just so gen z that I don't get it.
It's an omelette and a steak and potatoes.
It seems like you're just kind of putting down
The greatest hits of bistro dishes
Without having a clear idea
Of what the dish is.
For me, it's a no.
Aarón: Yeah, I mean, for me,
The chimichurri is as textbook as it gets.
But some of the potatoes are very greasy and overdone.
So I'm sorry. For me, it's a no.
- Okay. Thanks. - Joe: Sorry about that.
- Gordon: Violet, that's two nos unfortunately. - No worries.
Continued success.
Hey! It's okay.
You guys.
I really appreciate the feedback they had.
I think it was super valid and helpful.
I might be leaving without an apron,
But it's giving growth and opportunities.
( crowd cheering )
Go, fatima! Go, fatima!
( cheering continues )
Hello.
- Hello, hello. - Hi, hi.
- How are you? - What's your name?
- I'm fatima. - What are you making there?
That looks delicious.
I'm making mashed jasmine rice
- With a black-eyed pea soup... - Okay.
...And lamb chops.
This is actually a nigerian dish,
- But I'm fusing it into a nigerian-indian dish. - Nice.
- Is that your ethnicity? - Yes, I'm nigerian.
- And what do you do in life? - I'm a doctor.
- You're a doctor? A medical doctor? Wow. - Yes, I am. A medical doctor.
I mean, being a doctor, I imagine you're-- how old are you?
- I'm 26. Yes, I am. - So you're a young doctor.
How do you integrate the passion for cooking in your life?
I honestly believe that we are what we eat,
And I see a lot of similarities in cooking and medicine.
So you've kind of done it all already.
- Yes. - And now you're here at "masterchef."
This is the last thing I need to do.
- You need to do this? - Yes.
- To win this competition? - To win this competition.
Aarón: I'm excited about this.
Joe: I like it, too. I like it, too.
I mean, look, she's obviously smart.
Can you bring the smarts of being a doctor into the kitchen?
Yes, I'm not only bringing my smartness here.
I'm also bringing my passion for food.
- Your passion for food. - Ooh!
- I'm sorry. - Just start it slow.
- Start it real slow. - I'm so sorry.
- No, no, no, no. We're good. - It's okay.
This is the risk of being in the kitchen. It's all good.
- Good luck. - Well, I'd like to see more of it.
- Fatima: Thank you so much. - Thank you.
In the nigerian culture, our parents really like to push us for success.
They believe that success is when you become a doctor, an engineer, a lawyer.
And I love being a doctor,
But I've cooked all through my life.
I never stopped cooking, and I don't think I'll ever stop.
All: Five, four, three, two, one!
- Welcome. - Hi.
My name is fatima. My food is inspired by my background.
I was born in nigeria.
This is a traditional dish-- tuwo gbegiri.
It's made out of lamb chops,
Fragrant mashed jasmine rice, and black-eyed pea sauce.
Gordon: Shall we?
Fatima, I'm a big fan of nigerian cuisine,
But I love this gen z twist, the modernization of it,
Because I think you've gone all posh.
It does look like a good sear on the lamb.
- I'm excited to dig in. - I hope you like it.
Gordon: Do we have a temperature on the lamb?
- Both: Medium rare. - Aarón: Man, that is a great.
- Joe: That's a good medium rare. - Gordon: Mm-hmm.
Fatima, you've nailed the lamb. Sauce, beautiful.
Rice just needs seasoning.
Even a touch of heat in there,
A whole chili or something, just to perfume it.
Yeah, I think there's so much more to come from you.
So on that note, it's a yes from me.
- Thank you. - Nick: The problem with gen z
Is we often focus too much on the visuals.
I think what you've done here instead actually
- Is focus on the flavor. - Right, the flavor. Exactly.
And you've nailed the flavor. So, for me it's a yes.
- Thank you. - All right, that's two. And you only one more yes.
- You don't look concerned. - ( fatima laughs )
Right? Because if I say yes, you get the apron.
And you think that I liked the dish, right?
- You sound like you like it. - Right.
- But I know you. - What does that mean?
- I've seen you. - Have you ever seen me be dishonest?
No.
Well, fatima, congratulations.
- Thank you. - Doctor, it was delicious.
- Congratulations. - Good job.
Thank you so much.
( crowd cheering )
( laughing )
I got the "masterchef" apron!
Congratulations, fatima! We love you so much.
- We're so proud of you, fatima! - Thank you!
- You got this, matt! - My name's matt. I'm 27 years old.
I'm an air force captain and space force program manager.
When I was in the air force academy, the mess hall,
It's not typically the best food.
So I had to teach myself how to cook
And I just fell in love with it.
It's looking really good, matt.
That's a beautiful piece of fish right there. Yeah.
( crowd cheering )
- Young man. How are you, man? - Glad to see you, sir.
- First name? Matt, welcome. - Matt.
- Matt, how's it going? - Nice to meet you, nick.
- What's the dish? - This is gonna be
A parmesan crusted salmon with whipped potatoes.
I love the towel over the shoulder.
That reminds me of myself in the kitchen here.
I may have learned a thing or two from your tiktok.
As long as it's not from gordon's, and you're looking at my stuff.
Wow, yeah. I mean, I do need more followers.
- We're at 40 million now. What are you on now? - Okay.
- Oh! - All jokes apart, salmon-- skin side down?
I've got it in the oven right now currently cooking skin side down.
- It's in the oven already? It's not overcooked? - Uh, no, it's got about--
- Well, I'll check right now. - Nick: Better hope not.
Wow. Right, young man, don't overcook that salmon.
- Great meeting you. Great meeting you. - Thank you.
- That looks beautiful, baby! - Looking good, baby.
Dude, you got a minute and a half.
A lot of flavor, baby. You've got this. Let's go, matt!
All: Three, two, one.
- Whoo! - Let's go!
Let's go!
( cheering continues )
I'm matt, I'm an air force captain...
- Nice. - ...Active duty,
And this is a parmesan crusted salmon
With tomato and cilantro chutney
On a bed of whipped potatoes.
All right, let's take a look, guys.
Let's see, let's see.
Listen, it's simple, and not too sure
How that tomato chutney and that whipped mash are gonna work.
Let's hope it tastes a lot more exciting than it looks.
- Shall we? - How long did you cook the salmon for, matt?
The salmon was cooked at 350 for a little over 15 minutes.
Gotcha.
And that's the bit there that I'm sort of frustrated about,
Knowing full well that you took such care
And attention cooking it skin side down
And getting that really crispy,
And you've stuck it in the whipped mash.
I wanna start by saying thank you for your service,
And it does look like you know your way around food.
There's no question about that.
The salmon is the star of this dish right here,
And you could tell right off the bat that it's overcooked
When it starts to turn that white as opposed to that lighter pink.
And I'm sorry to say, but it's a no from me.
You're disciplined. I can see it.
Just the way you present yourself is so respectful.
If that salmon was cooked four minutes less,
I'd be putting the apron on you. I just--
Professionally, I can't,
And it pains me because you're so close.
It's a no from me
With the hope that the door stays open
- And you'll come back. - Yes, sir.
It's the salmon!
Person: Let's go, adam! You got this!
Adam: That's done.
All right, all right.
- Hey, hey, hey, what's your name, brother? - What's up, guys?
- So I'm adam. - What's happening, bro?
So I'm doing an za'atar spiced lamb souvlaki.
I'm doing a homemade bread because I love to bake,
And doing a lot of fresh components like bright acidity.
Joe: What you're doing is overcooking that lamb.
Yeah, yeah. You gotta be careful with that.
Yeah, you like a hard sear? Okay, cool.
Adam: I like the hard sear.
Take it off, take it off, take it off.
- You think so? - You can always put it back in.
Take it off, bro. That is medium well to well.
I don't know how you wanna cook that lamb,
- But we're gonna judge it, so. - Okay.
So what's the day job, brother?
- I work on a dude ranch. - A dude ranch?
- Yeah. - So it's basically a horse ranch, right?
- Yeah. - What do you do?
- I work in the kitchen there. - You cook?
- Aarón: Oh, nice. - I don't think I've ever been to a dude ranch.
I grew up in the city. For me, that was like going to the bronx zoo.
Yeah, he'd go to a dude ranch in his suit like this
And then we would make fun of him.
Well, continue the fight, young man, okay?
- Yeah, absolutely, thank you so much, guys. - Good luck.
Thank you. Time?
Two minutes and 50 seconds.
So the dude ranch where I work, it's all pretty much gen z.
Everyone is just out of college,
And they are very hard workers six days a week.
So I'm excited to kind of show that to the older generations
That gen z is passionate and gen z is ambitious.
All: Five, four, three, two, one.
Let's go.
Welcome.
My name is adam hart, I'm 23, I'm a dude rancher from colorado.
Today I've prepared for you a za'atar spiced lamb souvlaki
With a homemade flatbread, a garlic confit tzatziki sauce,
A pistachio mint tapenade, and then a greek salad
With a lemon mint vinaigrette.
- Let's go to greece. - Let's do it.
So visually, listen, there's a lot going on here.
- Did you make those flatbreads? - Yes, yes.
How'd you get them done in such a short period of time?
So instead of using yeast, I used baking powder, baking soda.
- Smart. - Yeah.
I just love the technical ability of what you've done
And what you've managed to achieve in 45 minutes,
But I'm slightly concerned about the lamb.
It looks dry, young man.
How long did you cook that lamb for, adam?
I would say it was in the pan about eight minutes.
So the idea is to get these little pockets.
- A little bit of this? - Gordon: Yeah.
This plate is ambitious.
All those flavors are there, there's no two ways about that.
The tzatziki, beautiful, love the bread,
But you need to be super careful when you cut that lamb
'cause it's all inconsistent.
Some bits are medium, some are medium well, some are rare.
I was actually fortunate enough to get a pink bit.
- It actually tasted delicious. - Thank you.
I thought that marinade you did worked really well.
The only thing I would've loved is a little bit more acidity
In the tzatziki, just a bit more.
Okay, okay.
I think you did a good job, all things considered,
And I think there's a lot of great, delicious things there.
Thank you.
Here's the issue. It's good.
My question is, is it good enough for "masterchef?"
I believe so.
Even though this lamb is slightly overcooked?
Yeah, I'm hoping that the flavor comes through enough.
First time being in there, it's a lot going on.
So, I think that was the hard part, for sure.
That's just the beginning, bro.
If you stay here,
There's a lot going on every minute of the day.
Absolutely.
Well, you need three yeses for an apron. Aarón?
For me, I just think the ambition,
The amount of work you got accomplished shows me promise.
- So for me, it's a yes. - Thank you.
- Gordon: Nick. - I know there's a lot going on,
But you did a lot, so for me, it's a yes.
Thank you.
For the reasons I previously stated, it's a no.
Wow.
So that's two yeses, one no.
That leaves it to you, gordon.
Yeah, it's a tough one, this one.
So...
Adam, it's-- it's a no.
It's a no to the dude ranch,
And it's a big yes to "masterchef."
- No way. - Welcome. Congratulations, bro.
- Thank you so much. - Get that on. Well done.
Appreciate it. Thanks.
- Thank you, joe. - You gotta study up, bro.
Absolutely. I will get on it.
( crowd cheering )
This is my absolute dream to get an apron.
It really is a good confirmation of my passion and my skill,
And it's really exciting to be on the next step.
Congratulations.
- The pita bread was good. - I think he's trainable.
- I think he'll be a great sponge, definitely. - I hope you're right.
So three aprons down. Two to go.
Let's do it.
Knead that dough, knead that dough! You got it!
"little chef."
Woman: You got it, sophie. Look how beautiful that filling looks.
Sophie, sophie! Yeah!
Oh, my god.
- Good evening! - Oh, my god. Hello.
Not me turning on the wrong burner as you guys come.
I get so nervous. You guys are literally my icons.
I've been watching your videos forever, nick,
So this is kind of crazy to see you in person.
This is crazy. Well, first tell us your name.
- I don't even know your name. - Oh, yes, okay.
So I'm sophie, I'm 23 years old, and I currently work
As a software engineer in virginia.
- Gordon: And what's the dish? - So today I'll be making
Pork and shrimp dumplings with homemade wrappers.
And are you making everything homemade?
Yes, so I have dumpling skins over there,
- And I'm actually rolling it through a pasta machine. - Wow.
But yeah, I'm honestly hoping to slay in the kitchen, do my thing.
So sorry. "sleigh?" is it christmas time?
Have you never heard the term before?
Have you ever heard the term "speed up?"
Yes, I'm going.
Listen, get your timing right, roll that dough thin enough.
Trust me. You will slay, girl.
There we go, there we go! There it is!
- You like that? - I love that.
- Good luck. - Thank you!
Woman: Here we go, here we go. You got this, you got this.
Beautiful, beautiful.
All: Sophie, sophie, sophie, sophie!
All: Three, two, one.
Good job!
Welcome.
My name is sophie wang,
And today I have made pork and shrimp dumplings
With spicy cucumber salad on the side
And a spicy chili dipping sauce.
Well, it looks like a restaurant plating for sure. Can't wait to try them.
Yay! Okay.
I think that the construction of the dumpling is very good,
And the sauce is really good. It's not mind-blowing,
- And this is a tough competition. - Right.
But I like it enough that I'm gonna say yes.
Aarón?
Yeah, I think for me, it's a straightforward dish.
Everything when you have a dish like this
Has to be rolling on all cylinders,
And right here, the cucumber's a little bit boring.
The sauce is the best part about this dish.
I just don't see enough there.
So I'm sorry. For me, it's gonna be a no.
Okay.
One yes, one no. Gordon?
Gordon: So the crimping is done beautiful. You absolutely nailed that.
The dough is a little bit thick,
But the intensity has slightly dried out the filling I had.
And unfortunately, for me, it's a no.
Gotcha.
Aw.
It's okay. Come here, come here.
It's okay. I'm so proud of you.
Just not enough.
Gordon: And where's her twist?
I think back to your original signature dish, the personality.
Yeah, yeah. Where's the boldness?
- You remember his signature dish? - Gordon: I do.
Today I brought you a handmade lamb ravioli.
Gordon: Wow. Delicious.
Making fresh pasta from scratch is definitely an a-star.
That's top notch.
Nick, I feel like gen z,
That you guys orientate towards cooking
Out of your natural wheelhouse or your culture
And experimenting a lot more.
For us gen zers, we have a huge amount of pride
Behind part of gen z,
And I think we have a lot to prove as well.
Yeah, that's true. That's what we need to see.
Absolutely.
Let's go, z!
- Pour that water! - Yeah, jake!
I think being gen z honestly helps so much
Because anytime you're confused,
You do not have to drive 40 minutes down to the library,
Walk up and down a hill two times both ways
To get the library to know how to do something.
You can just look at it on your phone.
My name is hallie, I'm 24 years old,
And I'm a cornhole queen from alabama.
Me and my fiancé have been playing cornhole
For about two years now.
Of course when I first started, trash.
Could not make it on the board.
But now I'm really proud to say
I'm the 40th in the country at the moment.
Perfect, perfect, perfect.
I'm known as the chef
Out of all my friends when it comes to cornhole,
So if I walk into any tournament,
They're like, "did you bring me a plate?"
- How are you feeling timewise? - I think I'm pretty good.
Good evening! How are you?
Hallie clark. Nice to meet you.
- Both: Nice to meet you. - Gordon. Nick. Welcome.
Gordon: Tell me about the dish.
I'm making teriyaki stir-fried lamb.
We had it on one of our dates when would travel the country playing cornhole,
And we have loved it ever since.
- Cornhole? - As in... Gotcha.
- Do you play that a lot? - We play competitive cornhole.
We travel the country doing it.
- For a living? - For a living, yes.
Would you like to play? I made you some bags.
What?
- Look, come here. - Okay.
While this is rendering, we have a second.
- Hallie: Take a bag. - Gordon: Right.
- Take a bag. - Are you kidding me?
- I'm so serious. - Right.
So you're gonna step up to here,
And then you just throw it.
And that's it. Go, nick, you go next.
- No, you go next! - Okay.
- You, go, go, go. - Okay, all right.
Here we go.
See if y'all can do it.
Oh.
( screaming )
My bag.
So sorry. Excuse me.
Oh, my god.
I would suggest no more cornhole playing during the cooking here.
- No, please. - Yes, sir.
They smell delicious.
Get a really good sear on those lamb chops.
Lock in that flavor and render that fat down.
- Good luck. - It was pleasure meeting y'all.
Gordon: Likewise.
- How far out do you think you are? - Not very far.
Let's finish up.
All: Six, five, four, three, two, one.
Whoo!
Being a gen zer typically means
The internet is gonna tell you you're not good enough.
Seeing people live these lives that you aim to live,
Of course you're gonna sit here and doubt yourself and think,
"I can't cook that dish. I'm not good enough."
But I really hope this competition
And me getting this apron confirms
That I am good enough.
My name is hallie, and I made teriyaki stir fried lamb
With rice and vegetables.
Visually, joe, what do you think?
Visually, it doesn't really blow my mind,
But I'm really curious to try it.
Shall we?
What's the rub on the lamb? What have you done?
Hallie: The rub is just salt and pepper,
And then I glazed it with the teriyaki sauce.
- Wow, that's beautiful. - That's good.
- Cooked beautifully. - Nick: Cooked perfectly.
- Joe: Good job. - Thank you.
The lamb is the star of this dish,
And that was a beautiful piece of lamb
When you cut it open there.
It's not easy to do, so for me, it's a yes.
Thank you.
There's just some amateur moves here
- That don't give me a lot of confidence. - Okay.
Aarón: Incorporate the rice with the veg
And then have something to bind it.
You're seasoning it with the soy.
Season it with something else,
- And that would make it really magical. - Yeah.
So for me, I'm gonna say no. I'm sorry.
Thank you.
So I'm gonna go beyond the dish.
I mean, the dish is fine. You know how to cook.
I think that your challenge is you're un-ingredient savvy.
I don't think you have a lot of experience with spices,
But that's good news for you because that's teachable.
I'm gonna say yes to your potential.
Thank you.
Wow. One no, two yeses.
So lamb's cooked beautifully. Let's get that absolutely clear.
I mean, it's just restaurant quality,
But the bit that lets this dish down for me is the veg
- Because it's watery. - Yes, sir.
Gordon: So when you think of a stir fry,
We sort of caramelize those vegetables,
It needs heat. But I agree with joe.
I think you are teachable, so it's a yes from me.
- Congratulations, well done. - Thank you so much.
It's a big yes for me.
- Ah, thank you so much. - Gordon: Put it on.
The journey begins. Get ready to learn.
Yes, sir. I'm stoked to learn.
Man: Hell yeah!
Whoa!
This apron means the world to me.
I'm one of the most competitive people you'll meet.
I cannot wait to rep gen z and win this all.
Yeah!
Let's go, murt!
- Murt: Oh, my goodness. - Come on, murt.
There we go. It's not your first rodeo.
- Yeah! - Whoo-hoo!
My name is murt, I'm 27 years old,
I'm from fort lauderdale, florida,
And I'm a gen z, baby. I'm a gen z.
- Oh, yeah. - Aw.
So thing is, we grew up learning about the internet
And we kind of find our recipes from that.
So these old people, the boomers,
I don't think they're as intelligent as we are when using the internet.
That's not my problem. That's gonna work to my advantage.
And I don't know if the boomers are gonna last the entire thing.
So I hope they have their life alerts on, I'm gonna be honest.
I am the most unique person you're ever gonna meet.
I have a wild personality. I'm a country boy that lives in south florida.
So pretty much I'm on a boat almost every weekend.
I love being on the water, I love being in the boat,
And I love getting a tan, so why not?
I think I look better with my shirt off.
I guess you guys will probably see that later.
Maybe put a little picture here if you guys want to,
But anyways, yeah, you being shirtless on a boat
And being able to cook the fish afterwards
Is kind of a no-brainer and the ladies are gonna--
They're gonna slide into your dms. Come on now.
Mmm, a man that can crack an egg. God.
I came into "masterchef" now because I'm at the peak performance of my cooking.
Boom.
I feel bad for the other people who I'm up against.
Ooh, that is burned.
Ugh, god, it did burn.
I burnt my butter.
Person: You got this, murt.
We pivot, we pivot! You got this!
You're doing great. Keep doing what you're doing.
I'm gonna re-cook the lobster. How much time I got?
Man: Just about ten minutes.
Shnikes, man.
I'm frazzled, anne.
- You're good. - It's okay.
( blows raspberry ) all right, here we go.
- Beautiful. Deep breaths. - Pace yourself.
Looks good. There we go.
Chef's kiss. Chef's kiss.
I'm shaking like a leaf.
You've got it in.
All: Five, four, three, two, one.
I am losing it right now. I mean, I am not gonna lie.
There's a lot of things that went wrong that I didn't think were gonna go wrong,
But I'm happy I bounced back. That's the biggest thing.
I wanna win. I put my blood, sweat, and tears into that.
I'm sweating. That's why my hair's a mess.
Here it goes, man.
- Gordon: Welcome. - What's going on, guys? What's going on?
My name is murt,
And today I made for you guys
A florida lobster tempura roll
With a lobster slaw, and a spicy mayo.
Joe: Yeah, let's take a taste.
Murt, it looks good. I'm amazed you got that done in 45 minutes.
Murt: That was the most stressful thing I've ever done in my life,
But I live by the fact that it's not how you start,
It's how you finish,
And I'm pretty proud of what I put on the plate.
- What kind of batter did you use? - So I did a tempura batter,
And I think the thinner the tempura batter, the better.
You want that crunch to it.
But also the problem with cooking lobster twice
Is the second time around, especially fried,
It could be seriously rubber.
Talk me through the layers.
What's in there?
So you have cream cheese, you have asparagus for a crunch,
Avocado, and you have cucumber,
And on top you have a slaw that includes some of the spicy mayo.
Right, murt, the lobster's cooked beautifully.
- Thank you. - It's incredibly sweet.
Sadly, I'm not getting the crunch from the sushi roll.
I'm getting more crunch from the undercooked asparagus, and I'll be honest with you,
I am not a big cream cheese fan inside a sushi.
- Really? - Yeah, really.
But listen, I've always been a big advocate of adventurous cooking,
- And then there's dangerous cooking. - Mm-hmm.
Sadly, you fall in the dangerous cooking bracket
Because I don't think you're fully understanding what you're putting together.
- Okay. - For me, it's a no.
Okay.
Murt, all criticisms aside,
I'm feeling your energy.
I put my blood, sweat, and tears into that dish.
No, I get it, man.
Maybe this dish is ahead of them.
They don't even get it.
Gen z, we're paving the future.
Absolutely, dude. I feel you.
- Thank you, thank you. - Me and you, bro.
Murt: Thank you. There it is, there it is.
For me, you are what we're looking for.
- It's a big yes from me. - Thank you.
One yes, one no. Aarón?
That sauce is really the saving grace in this whole thing
'cause it actually does bring everything together.
So I appreciate that. There's a lot of expert cooking
And a lot of promise, and for me, it's a yes.
Oh, man. All right, two yeses.
So, murt, fate lies in nick, gen z.
I saw the dish, I loved the look of it,
I tasted it, and then in my head right away I sort of felt like
I would've rather had that lobster tail just nice and clean
Fresh out of the ocean with just some simple butter
Brushed on top after it had been grilled.
But I also love that you've been bold
With taking some of those flavors,
And playing around a little bit here.
So I'm really not sure.
Joe: Think about it. It's a big decision.
It's what you came here to do, nick.
Come on.
Aw.
Aah!
Let's go, baby, let's go! Whoo!
- I made it happen. - Oh, my god.
I put something on the dish that was incredible,
And edible, and delicious I guess!
So yes, we have the apron. The top 20, baby, top 20.
Wow. What a night.
Final apron has gone to gen z. Tremendous cooks.
- Yeah. - Amazing.
- I told you guys. - You're absolutely right.
Listen, it's been an absolute pleasure having you back.
- Continue success. - I love it, I love it.
- Thank you. - Great job.
- You make us proud, brother. - Thank you, thank you.
Rock on, bro.
Gordon: Next time it's the final round of auditions
With generation x.
Please welcome christine ha.
For gen x, we strive under pressure, so let's bring it.
We didn't really have the internet to find recipes.
As more home cooks battle it out...
Marie: We're the generation that's supposed to be seen
And not heard, but you gonna hear from me today.
I've got to put flour in this. ( bleep ).
Aw, ( bleep ).
Gordon: ...For the last five aprons.
I like the different textures in here.
Gordon: The shrimp are cooked beautifully.
- They've got the right amount of heat. - Thank you.
This is a great example of frying something the wrong way.