‘MasterChef’ USA season 4 preview: Family visits and a chat with Savannah Sturgess
After a pretty exciting episode of “MasterChef” last week, one that included a heck of a crazy challenge involving an outdoor competition, we are returning now to some of the series’ roots for Wednesday night’s installment: A mystery box challenge, and then an elimination one. One more chef will be eliminated on the show, and then we will be left with what has to be the biggest contenders to win the entire title.
But one thing that will stand out in the upcoming episode? Seeing loved ones at home. Think of this as the family visit episode of “Survivor,” minus the part where everyone smells awful. This will be a kinder, gentler version of that, since we also would be surprised to see the family members involved in what transpires (save for Jessie’s mom, judging from the promo below).
Before you watch it, we also talked to the eliminated cook Savannah Sturgess a little earlier this month. Check out some of her thoughts on her time on the show below.
CarterMatt – What has the reaction been like since no longer being on the show?
Savannah – I’m sad that I’m not on ‘MasterChef’ anymore, but there have been a lot of people who have said really nice things about me, and that has been really great.
What I was curious about with you is that as a teacher, you already have a job that is pretty well-respected. So was there a certain level of nervousness about being on TV and having the judges not like your food, or being embarrassed in any way?
Well I have a passion (which) is really my creative side, and my career as a teacher is more of my professional side. I just wanted to see how far my passion could take me, [and this was that opportunity].
Was there any judge that you were the most afraid of? I know Joe [Bastianich] strikes fear into the hearts of many.
I was more nervous around Gordon. There was something about Joe that I wasn’t afraid of. I know that he’s supposed to be the scary judge, but I [found him nice]. Gordon was someone that I was always intimidated by.
Did you prefer some of the mystery box challenges where you got to stress some of that creativity you mentioned more than the other tasks?
I liked the mystery boxes; I mean you weren’t eliminated during them, but there was always this feeling of what was going to be under there, and ‘what am I going to make?’. It’s cool.
How in the world did you handle being surrounded constantly by so many enormous personalities all season long?
I’m a teacher, so I’m used to dealing with lots of different personalities and handling conflict. For me, these characters were kind of a piece of cake … You didn’t see me get involved in the drama. It wasn’t hard for me [to avoid it].
So what happened with the chicken competition: Is there one reason why you struggled with the fried chicken?
I’d made fried chicken once, and I knew how to make it, but in that moment I just [blanked]. I was so focused on the other [two techniques], I could not remember how to make fried chicken.
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Photo: Fox