‘MasterChef’ season 5, episode 6 preview: Canning it

When it comes to “MasterChef,” one of the biggest complaints that we consistently have is that there are so many challenges that really just feel like we are watching something that we have already seen play out many times over in another season.

This is why we’re reasonably excited about the Mystery Box Challenge that we are going to see in the new episode Monday night. The theme? Using tin cans full of ingredients that are also a mystery. This is like the Russian nesting dolls of challenge, and a mystery wrapped inside an enigma. There have been “back to basics” challenges in the past (see the camping trip), but we really prefer the show in the kitchen, doing these sort of things that test creativity.

There are still some home cooks in this competition who are somehow still feeling pretty good about themselves despite the unusual ingredients. For example, Willie thinks that growing up around these sort of canned foods all of his life is going to be an advantage for him, since he already knows a little bit in terms of how to deal with them. Meanwhile, there are some other people (see Ahran) who are used to being around fresh food, and are therefore going to have a much bigger challenge.

Here is the irony of the challenge. Any good chef wants to emphasize cooking fresh food as much as possible and avoiding cans and frozen product; yet, this is a task that requires some skill in them. The only argument that you can still make about why this particular challenge is important is that it allows for a chance to have the cooks show that creativity that any good person in their position needs.

What do you think about this challenge? Let us know below.