‘MasterChef’ season 7, episode 5 exclusive preview: See reigning champ Claudia Sandoval’s big return!

It certainly appears that for the Mystery Box Challenge on Wednesday night’s new episode of “MasterChef” is going to be themed around some sort of Mexican cuisine, given that we have a pair of people coming aboard the show who are certainly familiar with the ingredients.

Let’s start with the guest judge in Aarón Sánchez, who is notable for a number of different things, whether it be his Johnny Sanchez establishments or his time on “Chopped.” He’ll be helping Christina Tosi and Gordon Ramsay figure out who is the home cook who best uses the ingredients. We weren’t sure how the guest-judge concept was going to work going into the season, but we like it since it gives these Mystery Boxes a little more zeal and reminds us even more of the Quickfires on “Top Chef.” (Ironically, “Top Chef: All-Stars” champion Richard Blais is a guest judge coming up this season.)

Meanwhile, we’re also going to have the return of someone else who helped to curate these Mystery Boxes in reigning champ Claudia Sandoval. The exclusive sneak peek below is all about her arrival into the kitchen, and the enthusiastic responses that come from many of the contestants to see her there. She’s someone who can be sympathetic to their plight much in the way that Nick was at the wedding this past episode; she will understand the stress that they are under, and could give them a few tips as to how to best take advantage of the experience and cook in the moment.

Come back on Wednesday night, as we’ll have a full review of everything that transpires!

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