‘MasterChef’ season 5, episode 11 review: Did Daniel, Willie, or Francis suffer pasta pandemonium?

Monday night’s “MasterChef” continued to prove that sometimes, these Mystery Box / Elimination Challenges are the best episodes. We don’t need those crazy episodes where you have a massive challenge in the middle of the desert. Just give us good food and great contestants and we’re fine.

We knew that this one was going to be great the moment that we saw Leslie win the Mystery Box, which in turn gave us an opportunity to see him completely try to screw over his opposition Daniel in many ways. Not only did he force him and the others to cook some form of pasta that we’ve never heard of, but Daniel had to do it with only a roller and not a pasta machine. The irony here is that he wasn’t in danger thanks to that; it was his idea. This breaks the tradition of contestants with an extra challenge rising to the occasion.

The thing is here that we really like it when these cooks go outside of the box. Being creative is what ultimately makes you a chef. However, you have to be able to ground that in some sort of reality. Francis’ dishes were often so far out in orbit that he forgot about the fact that there needs to be something in there recognizable. We are still really sad that he is going home, given that he was one of our favorites, and one of the most likable contestants this season. Right now, we feel like Elizabeth, Victoria, and Willie (who also struggled tonight) are the three who are the easiest to root for. Meanwhile, most of the others are there just for comedy. We hope Leslie makes it far, mostly so that he can fight with people. Grade: B+.

What did you think about tonight’s “MasterChef,” and did the right person go home? Share below.