MasterChef season 8 episode 2 review: More White Apron showdowns
Also, remember that if you’re you there getting hungry, we’re probably one of those people who is right there with you. Consider us a major advocate for eating before sitting down to watch the show.
Battle #1 – Josh the “political consultant” is looking to get to his true passion — hey, anything to get away from having to cover politics right now, right? Hilarious, the producers put him up against a polar opposite contender in Dino, the blonde, tattooed ballet dancer you saw briefly last week. Dino is a CHARACTER, and if the producers were a judge they’d throw him into the kitchen tomorrow and leave him there the rest of the season.
Here’s the twist — Dino is a vegan. His parents gave him a ton of meat all growing up, and he’s got a Sicilian background. Pretty perfect for a veal parmesan battle, no? The good thing about Dino is that he’s cognizant of the fact that his dietary choices won’t dictate what he does this season.
The winner here was Dino, which made a lot of sense just from a personality standpoint alone. With that said, his food looked DELICIOUS. That sauce that he put on the veal? Sublime.
Battle #2 – It was the battle of the returning home cooks, otherwise known as the battle to break somebody’s heart given that they will be turned away for a second time from the competition. Taylor and Kate were both turned away from the kitchen last season. Taylor’s looking to embrace her Colombian roots more this time; meanwhile, Kate is apparently a hunter who is not afraid of anything. Taylor’s the one from Texas; ironically, Kate is the one who had on the cowboy boots.
Like the first battle, the two dishes were very different. Taylor went with something close to her heart, while Kate went far out there bringing Indian flavors to salmon. Surprisingly, Kate was still the winner! The show edited this in a way that made you think that Taylor had it, and the result wasn’t that close.
Still, we do have to say that entertainment-wise, neither of these two really bring that much to the table. They seem very nice and very normal, which is not typical for reality TV at all.
Battle #3 – He is a business executive, but more than that, he is an expert at martial arts. That may be good given that he is going to have to face off against Brien (why the E?), whose job seems to be “professional tool.” This is a four-person battle, so throw in there Daniel (amazing hair) and then Aakash, a guy who spent more than a decade in India.
The dish? Making the perfect seared steak with a flambe to go along with it. Basically, you set stuff on fire and create a great sauce.
Let’s be real: Brien is the MasterChef contestant we deserve in 2017 — big, bombastic, and willing to name something after himself regardless of whether or not he knows it’s good. He was a lock to move on. The second choice was Daniel / his amazing hair, which is probably great just from the standpoint of having a creative guy with a different vibe in the next round.
Battle #4 – Newton is the token meat-loving, ranching, Southern Texas dude. He is up against Tom, a Hawaii guy with about a billion different tattoos who loves meat. So this is going to be a meat-related showdown, right? Well … LOL. The show did a cupcake showdown instead, which was hilarious. We love it when this show trolls us.
These two guys surprisingly made some really good cupcakes! Newton’s was cooked beautifully, while Tom actually got a little bit of cream filling wedged into the cupcake.
This is one of those cases where it’d be great to see them both go forward just because they’re both older guys who clearly are only here because they want it and aren’t looking to be famous. In the end, these guys trolled us with a fake-out reveal, too! Tom got the apron, and he moseys along to the top 20.
Final Verdict
A really fun audition episode. While it was more of the same for MasterChef, it was also entertaining, creative, and stuffed full of great personalities. We’d only say that one of the showdowns was a miss insofar as entertainment goes. Grade: B+.
As always, we want to hear from you! Sound off with some of your thoughts in the comments below!
Meanwhile, be sure to also click here to get some other news right now when it comes to MasterChef this season. That includes exclusive previews leading up to every episode. (Photo: Fox.)