MasterChef interview: Brien O’Brien discusses surprising elimination
Alas, it just so turned out that a cannoli-themed Pressure Test was Brien’s undoing. He was eliminated at the conclusion of it, meaning that one of the favorites is gone from the kitchen — that’s probably good for the sake of unpredictability, but it’s still tough to lose one of the more memorable people at this point.
We were obviously curious to get Brien’s take on both on his elimination and the show as a whole; hopefully, you enjoy the email Q&A below, where he dishes on all things MasterChef and what’s ahead for him.
CarterMatt – Going into last night’s episode, you had done really well almost all season long. Did you feel as though you were a favorite?
Brien O’Brien – After the first two challenges, I felt that I was the guy to beat in the kitchen. At no point during the competition did I feel intimidated by any of my competitors as good as they all are. Going in to last episode I had all the confidence in the world that I was the one to beat.
In the end, what was your biggest problem in the Pressure Test?
Time as it always is. My biggest problem was getting the cannoli dough to roll out as thin as I needed it to be. It kept shrinking back to size which made it extremely difficult to get the challenge done in the time allotted.
You seemed to say [on this past episode] that you wanted Eboni to leave during that challenge. Were you targeting her as a threat?
They ask that question to every home cook during every challenge on the show. They only show a few during the season, but I wasn’t surprised they picked this one. When you are asked a question in the kitchen like that you need to have an answer right away or you look weak. Eboni was right in front of me that day so I picked her. That was all. She is a great cook.
Was it hard for you to move past the elimination at that point, especially when you had people like Adam saying that he was so threatened to compete against you?
I thought when Adam picked me I wouldn’t have to cook in the pressure test and I was happy about that. As much as Gordon Ramsay likes to tell us competitors that it is better to compete in the pressure test than watch from the balcony, that balcony view is my favorite. The cannoli challenge was an incredibly difficult one, but at the end of the day my dish was the worst and I deserved to go home.
What was your standout moment this season?
The two biggest stand out moments for me were the first Mystery Box Challenge which I won and the first Team Challenge which I won as Captain on the Red team. I won a lot early on which was fun. It was incredible to start out so strong against such great competitors. It was a dream come true.
What’s next for Brien O’Brien beyond just having an incredibly catchy name?
Tons of things to come in the very near future!! I’m working on a video series which will come out soon and have a bunch of private dinners planned. Tickets to my first private dinner since the show can be found on EatWith.com. All of my future fun activities will be displayed on all of my Social Media pages including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and SnapChat (@ChefBrienOBrien).
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As always, be sure to head over to the link here in the event you want to get some additional news, whether it be full episode reviews or previews for what’s coming next. (Photo: Fox.)