‘MasterChef’ season 7, episode 12 preview: Fine dining; also, who’s the main contender?

After the conclusion of Wednesday night’s “MasterChef,” we saw the field narrowed down to what was the final nine contestants of the season. All of them have a great degree of talent, but in the end, there can only be one winner. (Yes, it’s a cliche, but this is a show clearly not about changing the rules.)

The preview for the next new episode wasn’t quite that substantial, other than that there will be a contest all about elevated ingredients. With that in mind, we certainly suspect that we’re going to see Shaun have a good track to the winners’ circle given that he seems familiar with many of these ingredients and was successful using some of them during this past elimination challenge.

One thing that we can tell you right now that is rather depressing is that there’s not going to be a new episode for a couple of weeks. Why? Blame the Olympics. Nobody wants to air new episodes against one of the biggest sporting events in the world, so we definitely do understand the logic.

So when the show does return, who should you be looking at as the favorite? While there is plenty of time for things to change, we feel like for the first time since season 3, there is an extremely-clear favorite at this point in Terry. He’s routinely been great, and while he took some time to win a Mystery Box, we’ve seen him as a capable leader, someone who handles the pressure of the competition well, and a great brand ambassador who is likable and easy to root for. You could make a case for Shaun or Eric as a potentially runner-up; meanwhile, don’t discount Brandi or Dan. They had some bumps in the road in the early going, but may have improved the most over the course of the competition.

Interested in getting some other news on “MasterChef”? Then head over here, since that is where you can read some more reviews from Wednesday’s episodes! Also, sign up over here to secure some other TV news on all we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Fox.)