The home cooks faced one of the wildest challenges

in MasterChef history...

There was lamb over here, lamb over there--baa-aaa!

As those who won an apron,

had to fight to keep them.

I want to hold on to this apron so bad.

You have to put them out of their misery.

Wwhen the judges thinned out the herd...

We've seen enough. Time to go home.

Only the strongest survived.

- Congratulations. - Yeah!

- Jonny. - It's Bri.

You've made it to the MasterChef kitchen.

Now, the best home cooks in America

take their place in the MasterChef kitchen.

Oh, my goodness, this is our home now.

This is the kitchen of your dreams.

And it isn't long before sparks begin to fly.

You underestimated the wrong person.

Keep cooking. Shut your mouth.

- She hates me. - She hates you?

Who will be the first eliminated?

If that's the best you can do, I'll put you out of your misery.

It all happens right now on...

Ecch! This is a waste of time.

MasterChef.

Thousands of cooks have already been eliminated,

and only these competitors remain in the battle

to become America's next MasterChef.

Now, it's time for these top home cooks to take their place

in the MasterChef kitchen.

So I'm the first to walk through and all I can see is

the beautiful kitchen.

I'm thinking, "oh, my goodness,

this is our home now."

The first thing I noticed was the wine room.

I just wanted to lock myself in there

for, like, a couple hours.

I'm looking at the equipment room.

Man, they got top-notch mixers, pressure cookers.

They got top-notch everything.

I want to become a great chef, and the only way I can do that

is by being here in the MasterChef kitchen.

I see a restaurant.

It looks like there's a nice plushed-out V.I.P. section.

'cause, you know, I'm V.I.P. type of girl,

so I'm familiar with those type of areas.

Let's go.

The MasterChef kitchen is insane.

It's just so picturesque.

The judges are standing there, you can see the side rooms,

and anything and everything you could ever think of--

It takes your breath away.

Welcome.

This is the kitchen of your dreams.

All you need to do now

is to beat every other home cook

in here, and one of you will win

$1/4 million.

And most importantly, you will walk away

with a title that cannot be bought,

can never be taken away.

It's yours forever,

to become America's next MasterChef.

And to find out who that is,

you need to start cooking.

Please, go to your stations.

It's time to find out who has what it takes,

and who just can't cut it in the MasterChef kitchen.

Are you ready? Because it's time

for your first mystery box challenge.

You'll each have to prepare,

cook, and present one amazing dish

using only the ingredients hidden under those boxes.

With every mystery box challenge, you'll have the use

of a staple pantry box to help you make one stunning dish.

The person with the best dish will get a huge advantage

in the next stage of the competition.

We will be watching your every move.

There's no faking it in here,

Nowhere to hide.

On the count of three, you'll lift those boxes.

One, two, three.

Lift.

Oh, [bleep].

Bacon!

Simply amazing.

I'm going up, and I thought this was a joke.

I was hoping for a big nice fish, some steak.

What do I have to do with this?

One tomato, some amazing bacon,

handful of chocolate,

and the most incredible single potato.

You need to prove to us

that you can work with the basics

before you move on to greater things.

As soon as I lifted up the box, I thought to myself, "like,

this is so easy and so difficult at the same time."

Your 60 minutes...Starts...

Now.

Where are the measuring cups?

- Exciting. - It's great.

You know they all feel the heat right now.

they want to make a good impression, first mystery box.

They know that we're expecting a lot.

So, Gordon, what would your strategy be?

I would take the bacon, the potato, and the tomato

and do a stunning chowder, and then finish it

with a really nice basil-infused oil.

- Which ingridienat is the devil in the box? - Definitely the chocolate.

The devil in the box is the ingredient

these contestants should steer clear from.

Today, I'm going to be making a seasoned potato puree.

I'm gonna sun dry some tomatoes.

I'm gonna do a riff on a mole sauce

as well as a spicy bacon sauce.

I want to show the competition to watch out for me,

so this is the perfect opportunity to do it right away.

Hit 'em hard and hit 'em fast.

I'm making a potato and bacon frittata.

I feel like I got this in the bag.

I'm hearing a lot of people making

really plain-sounding breakfasts,

and I'm doing mine just a little bit bigger.

I figured out my other sauce just a moment ago,

so I think that'll be pretty killer,

when I get that on the plate.

Mm. Tasty.

Get creative. Halfway, guys, let's go.

Right, Jonny, how you doing? What are you making?

- Tomato and egg potato cake. - Ugh, what's in there?

Chocolate mashed potatoes.

Just trying to be creative

- something different. - Creative or stupid?

I've never, ever seen chocolate and potato together.

I'm trying to present it in a different way.

- Savannah. - Hi.

Walk me through what you have.

I'm making a spanish tortilla de patatas

with a bacon-tomato marmalade.

It's simple. Do you think it's creative enough to win this?

Well, I think it's gonna look beautiful and,

you know, I want the competitors to feel like

I'm someone to watch out for.

- All right, Howard. - Hello, Gordon. - How you doing?

So you're melting the chocolate directly in the pan,

- coating it in bacon? - Yes, I am.

And baking a little bit of potatoes,

and seeing if it works out.

Holy crap. What's the dish?

I haven't figured it out yet.

I'm working as I go, and, hopefully,

it will all come together.

I'm gonna do a lemon tart with a bacon ganache

and then do a whipped cream on top with vanilla.

Everyone's competition here for me,

but Kathy and Krissi are the biggest talkers here.

They don't know what they're doing,

and they should just go home.

- Hello, Krissi. What have you got for us? - Hello, boys.

- I made a frittata. - It's pretty simple.

I make this for my kid all the time--he loves it.

- You have a big personality. - I do.

How does that come across with your

fellow contestants in the kitchen?

Do you think some people like you and some people hate you?

Oh, Howard, Natasha, they hate me.

- Are they afraid of you? - I think so.

Start visualizing that dish.

Think of your presentation. Come on.

I'm making a potato hash with a poached egg over the top

with a little bit of gremolata on the side.

Trying to make sure I get it all done in time.

Just over five minutes to go.

Time is what's kilLynng me right now.

Start thinking of plating, finishing your dishes,

and making something incredible out of that mystery box.

Some amazing stuff out there.

Yeah, some tasty, tasty dishes.

Natasha's tart, though, you should see the pastry!

- I mean, beautiful. - Yeah.

Bethy, she's already made gnocchi and bread.

Wow. On the other hand, I am seeing

- some disastrous combinations. - Really?

- A chocolate mash. - Right.

Chocolate-coated bacon. Trust me, that is not the way

to get yourself noticed in this competition.

- 60 seconds to go. - Finishing touches, guys.

This challenge can be won or lost in the last 30 seconds.

Presentation is key.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six,

Five, four, three, two, one...

and stop.

Let's go. Move.

Five, four, three, two, one,

and stop.

Well done.

In this year's first challenge

in the MasterChef kitchen, our home cooks were given

the most basic mystery box ever to create one stunning dish.

After observing and sampLynng throughout the challenge,

the judges now take one final look

to identify three standout dishes.

There are three dishes that looked amazing,

tasted incredible, but really stood out.

One of these three cooks will be the winner,

and that comes with an amazing advantage

in the next stage of the competition.

The first dish that we would like

to look at again...

That dish belongs to...

Bime. Great job.

Yes! Whoo!

That bell has rung, and I'm coming at you,

and you better have your guard up, because if not, pbbbt,

I'm knocking out the competition.

Explain the dish, please.

A poached egg over potato hash

with a tomato and basil salsa with a gremolata on the side.

So the secret of this is to slice through the egg,

- and you wenriching the potatoes? - Yes.

Let's just see if you poached the egg perfectly.

Wow, I mean that is absolutely sublime.

The dish has got finesse. It's seasoned beautifully.

- Great start. - Thank you, chef.

Well done. Thank you.

There's acidity, there's sweetness

from the caramelization on the potato,

the smokiness with the bacon... I'm very excited.

Thank you, chef.

You know, this dish smells a little bit like a fake to me.

You're a boxing coach from Eastern Massachusetts?

Where did you experience food like this before?

- I haven't. - You saw it in a book?

Where'd you come up with this?

Truthfully, yeah, I go through books,

and I just look at pictures and get ideas for plating.

Does this represent you on a plate,

or are you trying to deceive us?

It represents where I want to be as a chef.

- Where you heading looks good. - Thank you, chef.

I just hope, now that you throw up a big flare like this,

that you can walk the walk.

- Well done. - Thank you.

- Well done. Great start. - Thank you, chef.

All right, the second person that made it

into the top three,

they cooked a delicious, scrumptious dessert.

It looked like any dessert that you'd find in our restaurants.

That dish belongs to...

Natasha.

Well done.

Of course I'm proud of myself. I'm not here to just

look pretty on camera and chop some basil.

Like, I'm here to be better than everyone.

Hi. How are you?

I'm awesome.