MasterChef 2016 -blurb, Season 7, episode2 1 and 2 bring it down to 20 contenders

Bone marrow, waffles and tacos, lots of grits…all on MasterChef as this show begins its Season 7.


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I do quite enjoy cooking shows but MasterChef is not one of my favorites. I for sure like it better than Hell's Kitchen but they both feature Gordan Ramsey, who loves to make risotto.

In the first two episodes of MasterChef it wasn't clear how they were working the elimination.

After one full episode I could see that there were 40 contenders, culled down by whatever system they used before the challenges are televised.

Then various "contests" were featured during the first two episodes that brought the total contenders from 40 to 20. Not every contender got a chance to get a lot of air time. Some of the challenges just showed a quick view of the winner receiving their apron.

It also appears, though I am not sure, that the contenders were grouped by their alleged expertise. For example, in the first episode they had what was called "the battle of the firehouses" and it, coincidentally, featured four firehouse cooks.

I'm thinking the most TV appealing contenders were chosen to get lots of view time as it, after all, a television show.

On the second episode they had the battle of the tacos, of all things. Contender Dan Paustian whipped up fish dipped and fried in a beer batter and he was deemed the winner. His challenger, Takella, made tacos AND waffles, an odd combination that didn't quite work.

Then there was "the battle of the grits" which did not feature strictly southern cooks but they all could make grits. I couldn't make grits if you held a gun to my head.

Tanorria made grits with fried okra, Shawn from Las Vegas used maple syrup in his grits, Brittany used a beer batter for her grits, and Neco used four cheeses. Tanorria and Brittany will be in the final 20 would-be MasterChefs.

Then there was "the battle of the surf and turf" from two Las Vegas chefs. Shaun actually used bone marrow in his concoction and he won!

We'll be keeping an eye on this cooking series, come back weekly and read our take.

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