13x20 - Finale: Part Two

[bunniefuu]

Gordon: Previously
on "MasterChef"...

Welcome, everyone, to "MasterChef:
United Tastes Of America" finale!

- Yeah!
- ...the final three began the epic battle

for the title of MasterChef.

- You must make a full three-course meal.
- Yes, Chef!

First up, appetizers. Go!

- Come on!
- All right, Jennifer!

If this egg yolk breaks in this raviolo,
I'm done.

- You got it, Kennedy.
- Show us your artistry, baby girl.

I've made for you
a lobster succotash.

- Absolutely love this dish. It's delicious.
- Thank you.

Grant, it's delicious. It's everything
you want from an egg yolk ravioli.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Kennedy, it looks absolutely stunning.

Like a cover of a
famous chef's cookbook.

And the flavor pairings create
something that's really magical.

- Thank you, Chef.
- Next up, the entrée round.

Y'all ready for some venison?

Kennedy's attempting
to cook a rabbit.

I've never even worked
with rabbit before.

Get that wrong, it's game over.

With Grant's pork tenderloin,
he hasn't even started

searing them yet
and we're halfway.

It's stressing me out.

Gordon: Tonight,
the grand finale continues...

You're one course away from being
crowned America's next MasterChef.

...as the three finalists
finish their battle for the title,

the trophy,
and a quarter of a million dollars.

- My snow's not working.
- I've never seen her like this before.

Jennifer is a little bit in
panic mode right now.

- Oh, my gosh.
- Uh-oh.

- It's getting intense.
- This kind of dish floats around the dining room

in our restaurants
and it's a head-turner.

This is a full-flavored dish

that is the perfect
ending to your menu.

America's next MasterChef is...

Gordon: Just over


- Let's go!
- The big question now for Grant

is when does he start
cooking that loin of pork?

- Yep.
- Within the next five minutes.

- Got to.
- Yeah.

- Grant: Yeah. We're good.
- There you go, Grant.

- Perfect, Grant.
- Atta boy.

Pickling the cherries.

Kennedy over here going on a
huge high wire act with this rabbit.

And then she's gonna use
beet root and the pickled cherries

- to also be a big part of it.
- Does she have too much going on?

- Is her dish too ambitious?
- Gordon: It's all about the taste.

It's a difficult protein to get right.
It needs to be cooked perfectly.

So fingers crossed she
gets that absolutely nailed.

- Jennifer, watch your sauce.
- Got it.

Jennifer has her
venison rack in the oven.

And on her venison Jennifer is
proposing a bordelaise sauce,

a red wine sauce,
which can't be too sticky, too thick.

- It can be too liquidy.
- Aarón: You're right.

I mean, the idea of the consistency
of Jennifer's sauce is gonna be key.

- Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
- A little multi-tasking here.

- Yeah!
- Come on now!

Come on, friends!

Grant: Looking nice.

Kennedy: Whew! Perfect.

Just need this to be done.

- Venison looks beautiful.
- Right, how are we doing?

- What do you think?
- Yeah, good. It's still quite rare there.

- I'm gonna give it another minute.
- You want it rare or mid rare?

- Where are we going?
- Mid rare.

- Mid rare, okay. So another two minutes.
- Yeah.

- Yeah.
- What's the oven on?

It is on 450.

Right,
I love that. Sauce is delicious.

Really good indeed. Just be
careful to not over-reduce it.

- Jennifer: Okay, yes.
- How are you gonna bring it together on the plate?

You know,
my goal here is to plate it

as if you were sitting in
a Michelin star restaurant.

You know,
I want you to get a bite

of that nutty cream purée

with this rich sauce
with my venison.

Love that. You realize
slicing venison too hot

is gonna put blood
all over the plate,

- which does not look good.
- Yes.

So it needs to rest,
okay? So be smart.

- Okay, yes, Chef.
- Good luck, come on.

- Great job, Jennifer!
- Let's go, Jennifer!

There you go.

Doing good,
doing good, doing good.

- Go, Dad!
- Sav: Pour it over.

- Yes, that part. That part!
- There it is.

- Beautiful, Kennedy.
- Whoo!

Last ten minutes,
guys. Ten minutes to go. Come on!

Here we go.

Jennifer: Oh, beautiful.

Kennedy: Whoo, baby! Okay.

Grant: Look at that,
look at that. Let's go!

- Grant's pork is out of the oven.
- Aarón: Nice.

- Gordon: Baste, baste, baste.
- Yes, Chef.

- How's that temp, Jennifer?
- Looking beautiful.

So there a lot of meats resting.

Pork loins are resting
and the rabbits rest up.

My big worry is that
Jennifer's venison rack,

if she hasn't rested
it before she slicing it,

honestly,
that plate is gonna implode with blood.

She has not net now because she
doesn't have time to cook another one.

- No.
- So whatever the temperature on that venison rack is,

- that's what she's gonna serve.
- That's right.

Okay. Come on.

Here we go. The moment of truth.

- Whoa!
- Yeah!

It's pink. It's good.

- Whew.
- You got this, Jennifer!

We're coming down to our last five minutes,
guys.

- Gotta start thinking about slicing your meat!
- Beautiful!

- God, every single one of these...
- I know.

- They are all so good.
- It's a crazy fight now

between Jennifer,
Grant, and Kennedy.

They are bringing something
different to the table.

Slice that meat thin! Yes!

Oh, my God, Ken,
those look so good.

There's so much at stake
for these three tonight.

There the title,
there's the money,

there's the trophy,
and at this point,

it's not just getting
to the next day.

It's changing
their lives tonight.

- Shake it up!
- Yeah! Go, G, go!

- All right!
- But we all know it really lands on the entrée.

This is where they prove themselves
that their menu makes sense,

that they're bringing all
of their skills to the table,

and I don't even think I envy
them for a minute tonight.

It's so tough. That pressure?
I can't even imagine it.

Gordon: Last two minutes,
guys. Here we go. Two minutes!

Grant's gonna have to start
thinking about slicing his pork soon.

Come on, Grant.

Look at that. That's medium
pork right there, baby.

- Uh-huh. Yeah!
- Oh!

Jennifer: Perfect.

- Yeah, Jen.
- Plate, plate, plate.

Things are about to get messy,
y'all,

so if you're in the front row,
I apologize.

Dang, girl.

Yeah!

- Go, Ken!
- Yes!

Look at Kennedy's plate. Oh,
my goodness me.

k*lling it. Literally.

One minute to go! Come on!

- Aarón: Homestretch!
- Go, Dad!

- Whoo!
- You got it, Jennifer!

- Let's go, Kennedy!
- Let's go, Kennedy!

All: Ten, nine,
eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

And stop!

Love you.

- Oh, my God.
- They all look fantastic.

Jennifer: Bring it in. Love you,
guys.

Grant: Great job, guys.

- Kennedy!
- Kennedy, you got this.

Kennedy: I'm feeling
very emotional.

My story is really true and
dear to who I am as a person.

I put my heart and my
soul on every single plate.

I'm just happy that I really pulled
it all together in the end, so...

Well done. What an
amazing performance.

All of you, please,
make your way around to the front.

Yes!

Now for the most exciting
time of the evening,

to taste your delicious entrées.

Grant, can you please bring
your entrée forward? Thank you.

Grant: I think I did
great at my entrée,

and I think I really
stepped it up.

I really wanted to make sure
that I could put Iowa on a plate.

This dish hinges on the pork,

and if I didn't nail
it like I think I did,

then I could have
one foot out the door.

Grant, can you please give us a
little insight on what you prepared?

Absolutely. We have
pork loin medallions

with a salmoriglio sauce,

an agrodolce celery root purée,

and beer-braised
fennel and onion.

What I like about
this dish aesthetically

is the progression of the menu.

'Cause I'm thinking
about the raviolo al uovo

as an appetizer,

and this is like a
really nice follow-up.

And the plating style is really,
really beautiful.

- Can't wait to taste it.
- Thank you, Joe.

Shall we?

Pork is delicious. You've
cooked it absolutely spot-on.

You know, it's moist, it's pink.

If I was a vegetarian tonight,

I would literally just OD
on fennel cooked in beer,

'cause it is
absolutely delicious.

You have some really
exceptional elements

of this dish that are
just so memorable.

This agrodolce with the raisins,

you could put that on
a dirty boot and eat it.

You know what I
mean? It's that good.

- But the pork is a little bit simple.
- Mm-hmm.

I don't know if you could have done a
little spice rub with fennel pollen perhaps.

But with that being said,
I think it's delicious.

Thank you so much.

Everything on this
dish has a purpose,

and it is done with a
high degree of flavor.

- Good job.
- Aarón: Thank you, Grant.

- Thanks, Grant.
- Good job, baby.

- Listen, he's cooked it beautifully.
- Yeah.

Each of the plates
look identical.

And that's a tough call,
loin of pork.

- It's true.
- Yeah.

Joe: Okay,
the next entrée we'd like to try

comes from Kennedy.
Please bring it down.

Yay!

I've taken a huge risk by
doing rabbit for my entrée

because it's a
difficult protein to nail.

But I'm really
confident about the dish.

- Smoke it, baby!
- Oh, my God.

It might be a little too
avant garde for the judges,

but this dish is 100% Kennedy.

I'm kind of a shocking
person in general.

Okay, Kennedy,
what did you make for us?

I have made rabbit saddle,
seared rabbit liver,

pickled cherries, beets,
and a juniper berry sauce.

- Joe: Wow.
- I wanted to paint a whole picture here with my entrée.

It's a foggy night and you're
going hunting for rabbits.

Kennedy, you always bring this
sort of uncertainty to this competition,

'cause we never know
where you're going.

- And, I mean, I'm just dying to dig in.
- Thank you, Chef.

You know, a lot of the times with these
very whimsical, highly artistic dishes,

you raise the stakes on yourself
because I think that what we're gonna eat

and the flavor behind it has to be
at the same level as the concept art.

Gordon: What's the mousse
inside the saddle, please?

So,
I took the extra parts of the rabbit

and I put a little bit of
cream and some herbs.

Oh, boy. Kennedy,
it's go big or go home right?

And you've gone big.
You took a big risk tonight.

The rabbit,
it's a difficult protein to get right.

Dangerous move. I don't know
what it is with you and danger.

Kennedy,
it's go big or go home, right?

And you've gone big.
Took a big risk tonight.

The rabbit,
it's a difficult protein to get right.

Dangerous move. I don't know what
it is with you and danger, but, uh...

I love it. I really do love it.

Rabbit's delicious. It's
moist and it's beautiful.

But be careful with the garnishing,
please.

Because you've got so much
earthiness going on here.

But the hero, as the rabbit,
is absolutely nailed.

- Great job. Really good.
- Thank you, Chef.

For me,
the most sort of memorable

and compelling elements
of this dish is the gravy,

and juniper was
such a smart move.

And I love the fact that
you celebrated beet.

I agree with Chef Gordon,
it needed to be shaved thinly

and make a little
sort of a salad.

But other than that, great job.

Thank you. Thank you, Chef.

- Oh, boy.
- The technique and the flavor

really do kind of support the narrative
that you're bringing to the table.

The cook and the flavor and the
seasoning on the rabbit is perfection.

The greens are amazing.
The juniper sauce is incredible.

Those three components-- perfect,
simple excellence.

Gordon: Good job. Thanks,
Kennedy.

Yeah!

Right, Jennifer,
please make your way down, thank you.

- Go, Jennifer!
- Let's go, Mom!

Jennifer: After the
appetizer round,

I've got some ground to make up.

The main thing that
counts here is my venison,

and I really hope it shines
as the star of the dish.

I have made for you a
rack of venison persillade

with roasted root vegetables,
a parsnip potato purée,

- and a bordelaise sauce.
- It's beautiful.

I mean, it's pink, it's rested correctly,
and you've nailed it here.

It looks very high-end. It
looks immaculately curated.

The crusting looks
even and well-seasoned,

and also very
restaurant-y looking.

I'm just wondering
on the consistency.

We got center cuts, and Aarón,
you left an end cut on his.

- Is there a strategy?
- No, no, I just sliced them every two pieces.

There is some inconsistencies as far as,
you know, just the cutting.

The Chef's looked
a little bit sawed.

- Gordon: Shall we?
- Yep.

Thank you.

I would love for you to
taste a bite of the purée

with the bordelaise
and the venison--

I love the fact you tell
us how to eat now as well.

But don't worry about
that. We know how to eat.

Thank you.

Listen, um,
the venison you've nailed.

The cook on the venison
is absolutely beautiful.

It's melt in your mouth,
and it's just-- yeah.

- Absolutely spot-on.
- Great job.

Obviously, with a big rack like that,
it just needs a touch more seasoning.

Bordelaise sauce
slightly over-reduced,

'cause it's just
gone a little sticky.

But I'm just so pleased
that you cooked the venison

that we were all worried about

to absolute, utter perfection.

- Really good job.
- Thank you. Thank you, Chef.

For me, the vegetables are just a tad
underdone, but they're well-seasoned.

There's a lot of really great
things that you accomplished

with a very difficult protein,
so--

- Thank you. Thank you.
- I commend you.

The flavor profile
is quite delicious.

And, really,
the bite of the crust venison,

purée, and red wine sauce
together is quite magical.

So very, very, very good job.

- Thank you so much.
- Thank you, Jennifer.

- Whoo!
- Love you, Jenifer.

- Great job!
- Okay.

Listen, you three, well done.

Please head back
into the kitchen

and start clearing down.

Yeah!

Interesting. Now
we start to combine

their appetizer
with their entrées...

- Yep.
- ...and how is this menu shaping up?

- Jennifer, I mean, venison cooked beautifully, right?
- Aarón: Yeah.

But how does that compare now with
the lobster followed by the venison?

- I think she's going decadent.
- Classical French, right?

- Yeah, and she also understands how to go big.
- Yeah.

Joe: I have to think
that Grant's menu

is the most evolved as
far as being on theme.

From the appetizer to the entrée,
I agree.

Joe: The raviolo, I loved it.

It's just too bad he didn't
boil the ravioli a little bit more.

But I love the boldness on
Grant's agrodolce with the raisins.

But the pork was very simple.

Kennedy was consistent
with the appetizer to the entrée,

the sort of flashiness
of the plates.

Joe: The steelhead
trout was delicious,

but it was almost a
competitor of the rabbit,

- not a predecessor of the rabbit.
- Interesting.

Does her need to tell a
story and create art on a plate

- subvert the basic flavors of what we're eating?
- Yeah.

- These guys aren't making it easy for us.
- Nope, not at all.

- Gordon: Incredible.
- Let's see what dessert brings.

Let's go. Amazing. Amazing,
amazing, amazing.

Okay. Wow. Well done.

You three,
please make your way back to the front.

Give them a round of applause,

ladies and gentlemen, please.

Great job. What a night!

Three phenomenal entrées. All of you,
well done.

Now, it's time for the final
course across this epic season

of "MasterChef: United
Tastes Of America" finale.

One course away from being
crowned America's next MasterChef.

- Yeah!
- Gordon: It's anyone's game.

- You guys ready?
- Yeah! Let's go!

Yeah!

So,
it's time for the dessert course.

Now, listen closely. This might
be the hardest course of all.

And most importantly, it could be
the knock-out punch to your rivals.

And let's not forget, there's a
quarter of a million dollars on the line.

Guys, you will have 60
minutes to make your desserts.

Please tell us what
you'll be making. Jennifer?

For my dessert,
I'm making my I Love You cake.

It's the cake that
my husband served

on the night that he
told me he loved me.

It is a chocolate
raspberry mousse cake

with a Chambord
raspberry coulis,

crystallized raspberries,

and a beautiful
chocolate mirror glaze.

Love that. Amazing. Grant?

Keeping with my Italian heritage
and then into my Midwest roots,

I'm gonna be doing
a play on an affogato.

So you'll have a torn stout
cake with a coffee stout mousse,

a coffee ice cream,
and a chocolate pizzelle.

Wow.

Kennedy,
what will you be making for dessert?

I really want to show the
Colorado night sky with my plating.

It's called Moon Shadow, and I'm
going to be doing a black sesame cake

with a dark chocolate ganache,
blackberry mousse,

and a yuzu white chocolate snow.

Love that. Right, well done.

Here we go. This is it!

- All right, y'all!
- Are you three amazing chefs ready?

Yeah! Let's go!

Good. Your 60
minutes starts now!

- Let's go! Come on.
- All right, let's go!

Let's see, I need chocolate.

Reagan: I'm rooting
for all three of them,

but of course I
want Jennifer to win.

- She's from the South!
- Blackberries.

- But I do believe that Kennedy is leading.
- Black sesame.

I know that Kennedy is under
a lot of pressure right now

because this is not her area.

She is not known as a baker.

I think that Grant
is taking a risk.

I don't know how I feel about
beer being in my sweets.

So we gonna see
how this turn out.

- Go, Mom!
- Thanks, honey.

This is Jennifer's wheelhouse.

She pulls this dessert off
the way I know she can?

She's walking out
of here a MasterChef.

- Great job!
- Let's go, Jennifer!

Thank you, friends. Go, South!

- Let's go.
- Whisk, whisk, whisk. Whisk, whisk, whisk.

The jeopardy of working with
any dessert is about the chemistry.

You can't be too grams short
of sugar. It needs to be exact.

Sav: Jennifer,
are you making a mirror glaze, girl?

- Oh, you know it.
- Whoo, I respect you for that.

Jennifer's, you know, that I Love You cake,
there's a lot going on there.

That raspberry mousse
inside that chocolate mousse,

and then finished with
that beautiful sheen,

that's a lot to
accomplish right?

- Aarón: Yeah.
- Joe: Yes.

There we go.

We're good, we're good.

- All right, Grant.
- Booze it up.

Nice and chocolaty. Nice and stout-y,
baby.

Grant, um,
playing to his strengths. Beer in dessert.

What do you think about the
heaviness and the richness of stout?

It's hoppy, it's yeasty, so you have
to be careful what you pair with that.

Joe: Coffee's bitter,
chocolate's bitter, stout's bitter.

That's a whole theme.

- Uh-oh.
- You got this, babe.

Ooh, extra dark.

Yeah,
I want it to look like the night sky,

so I'm putting
extra black in it.

- Kennedy, how cool does that black sesame seed cake sound?
- Aarón: Yeah.

- Sounds amazing.
- But I think she's got the hardest job tonight,

Kennedy, because those first
two courses had the wow factor

in terms of presentation
and the flavor profile.

How do you lift a dessert better
than the previous two courses?

I just hope that Kennedy's
dessert is not too whimsical.

Because we can't just hear
the story and look at the plate.

- We have to eat it.
- Yeah.

Y'all making great time.

Yeah, y'all are moving so fast.

Tonight, 60 minutes is not
long for a phenomenal dessert.



whatever cake you're gonna have

- has to be in the oven.
- Exactly.

- All right, JJ!
- Get it in!

Get it in the oven.

Let's go,
baby. Cake's in the oven.

Whoo!

- Set that timer, Ken.
- Gordon: Final course, guys.

Come on, 10 minutes gone,
just over 50 minutes to go.

- Yeah!
- Come on!

Y'all got it!

- Final hurdle, how you feeling?
- I feel great.

In terms of the actual cake,
what's the shape?

Where are we going with this?

So basically I have
my snow laid out

in the shape of a crescent moon,

and then my cake is in a circle

representing the
shadow of the moon.

And then the garnishing,
is this like a fake snow?

You get caster sugar
actually up to 275 degrees

and you add yuzu
white chocolate to it

and it turns it into
a snow consistency.

- Mm-hmm.
- It's delicious, too. Yeah.

I haven't seen your dessert
work in this competition so far.

- No!
- Is it a weakness? Is it an Achilles' heel for you?

It definitely is. I would not
consider myself to be a baker.

I don't even
personally like sweets.

But if I were to eat a dessert,
this is what I would eat.

Keep up that momentum,
girl, please. Good luck.

- Thank you so much, Chef.
- She is k*lling it.

- Grant, is that your ice cream?
- Ice cream, yeah.

- Nice.
- Yum.

- Smells good.
- We can smell it from here.

- Yeah, it smells awesome.
- Lot of coffee, huh?

- Whoo.
- Jennifer, how we doing?

Hello, I'm doing good. I'm
just rotating my cake here.

So,
this idea of the I Love You cake,

did he capture your heart with the
cake or vice-versa? How did that go?

He had the table dressed with rose petals,
a bottle of wine,

had the beautiful cake and beautiful card,
and said, "I love you."

So did he wear, like, a smoking
jacket or something with leopard print?

He is an Italian stallion,
you know.

Orale! There we go! Watch out!

- Hey!
- Oh, boy.

Do you feel that everything is
going to play a very instrumental part

in the overall
flavor and result?

- It is. Absolutely, you know?
- Okay.

And also, Arkansas,
we have beautiful berry farms,

and so I'm representing
my home state here as well.

I appreciate the fact that
you're taking it to the next level.

You're gonna continue this theme

of the South meets France
and all that decadence.

And this is an opportunity
to really show off.

So best of luck, okay, Jennifer?

- Thank you.
- Come on, give it up for Jennifer, y'all.

- Yes.
- Great job, honey!


last 30 minutes remaining.

Halfway, guys! Come on,
keep it going.

All right, Grant. So,
we're going with the great tradition

- of Italian coffee desserts.
- Absolutely.

A really simple dessert.
You're elaborating tonight.

So I'm gonna incorporate
all my favorite things.

We have cake, we have mousse,
we have ice cream,

which is my absolute
favorite dessert,

and then I'm gonna have
that beautiful crunchy pizzelle

that will bring some
extra texture to the dish.

You're making ice cream
with liquid nitrogen, right?

- I am, absolutely.
- You've done it before?

I haven't done it before. This is gonna
be the first time that I'm doing it today.

But I feel like
it's worth the risk.

- Best of luck to you, Grant.
- Thank you so much, Joe.

- Go, Grant!
- Good job, Grant!

We're now down to 20
minutes. The final 20 minutes.

- Whoo!
- Come on! Keep it going.

- Kennedy, you making some snow?
- I'm making some snow, baby.

- Ooh!
- Oh, I didn't get it hot enough!

Nope. Didn't get it
hot enough. Redo.

- No snow. It didn't snow.
- It wasn't hot enough.

Kennedy's first attempt at
making that snow did not work.

You got it, Ken.

- Gordon: She's going again.
- Oh, we've got goggles.

- Mad scientist time.
- There you go, Grant.

Grant The Science Guy.

Whoa! Yes!

Gordon: So, Grant, he's pouring in that
liquid nitrogen now to his crème anglais.

That's what turns
it into ice cream.

Too much and it's gonna turn
the ice cream grainy and granular.

Grant: Just a little
bit more. Yeah!

Looking good, Grant.

Mmm, so good.

Gordon: The jeopardy
behind Jennifer's dessert

is that raspberry mousse.

'Cause she's setting a raspberry
coulis inside the mousse, right?

- Aarón: With gelatin.
- With gelatin. That's hard.

Yeah, and the temperature
needs to be right on point.

- Perfect.
- Looks so good, Jennifer!

- How you doing, Ken?
- I don't know what's going on.

- You good.
- I'm a bit confused.

You're gonna figure it out.

Kennedy is still trying

to make that faux snow with
the crystallized sugar work.

Wow. Pivot and move
on if it's not working,

- especially with a dessert.
- But think about what an integral part

of her dessert is
the snow aspect of it.

She's painting this picture of the
Colorado night and you need snow.

Ooh,
I hope the snow works this time.

Come on, snow. Come on, snow.

- My snow's not working.
- What?

- It's not working.
- What do you think it is, Ken?

Hey, take a breath.

It just won't go. I don't know
what she's trying to get it to do,

- but it won't do it.
- So, Kennedy always portrays this very strong exterior,

but she looks nervous
for the first time.

Yeah,
you're right. For the first time.

Never seen her like this before.

Kennedy's starting
to do the snow again.

This is the third time. Stop it.

Ah, come on,
Ken-Ken. Come on, Ken.

Gordon: Kennedy's
starting to do the snow again.

This is the third time. Stop it.

- That's only a garnish, right?
- Aarón: Exactly.

But I think to tell the story,
it's such an important element.

All right, Kennedy,
you got this.

You got it.

Oh, God. Come on.

You can hear a pin drop.

We got snow!

White chocolate snow is done.

- She didn't give up.
- I love it!

- Wow.
- You gotta be a fighter.

- Aww, I'm so proud of her.
- I was nervous.

Whew! I was nervous.

Never give up!

Last 10 minutes, guys, come on!

- Let's go!
- Come on, come on, come on!

Come on.

All right, let's do this.

Okay,
Jennifer's going with the liquid nitrogen,

- this time over the raspberries.
- Aarón: Okay.

Which freezes the raspberries,
then she's gonna break them up,

- which will be an amazing little garnish.
- I love that idea. Yep.

- Freeze those berries!
- Okay.

- Careful, Jennifer.
- Is that a little waffle maker?

It's a pizzelle maker.

A little Italian
chocolate cookie for ya.

Kennedy: Looking good, baby.

Kennedy's got her
cakes out of the oven.

- Joe: They look dense.
- She had her cakes in there,

Kennedy, for 36 minutes.

Gordon: That's
a really long time.

I'm a bit worried those cakes
are gonna be dry and overcooked.

Aarón: Yes.

Last five minutes
guys. Five minutes to go.

- Five minutes. Let's go.
- Come on.

- Let's go, let's go!
- Gordon: Last five.

Aarón: Yeah, yeah.

Ooh, they're going down
to the dang wire on this.

- It's getting intense.
- Jennifer is running way behind right now.

She has to get the ganache
on that chocolate mousse.

- Jennifer's a little bit in panic mode right now.
- Yeah.

Sav: Pour it. Pour
it on. Yes! Yes!

- Yes, Jennifer!
- Nice!

You're doing great,
Kennedy, you're doing great.

- Beautiful.
- Gorgeous!

Gordon: Good. Well done,
Kennedy.

- Yeah. Oh, yeah.
- Let's do this.


guys. Come on!

Let's go, Jennifer!

- Sav: One minute! One minute!
- Stay focused, Jennifer.

- Let's do it, Grant!
- Okay. Oh, my gosh.

Kennedy,
you can do it. Let's go!

- Beautiful.
- Yes, Kennedy!

Yeah, Ken.

- You got this, babe.
- We're good, we're good.

- Let's go, Grant!
- Let's go. Come on, Grant.

Let's go. Finishing touches.

All: Ten, nine, eight,

- seven, six...
- There it is.

...five, four, three, two, one!

- Gordon: And stop!
- Aarón: That's it!

- Man!
- Ken! You got it.

- Really good.
- You got it.

Whoo!

This journey's been really
hard. It's been a long journey.

That being the last cook
was just really intense,

and, um,
I got everything I wanted on the plate.

It looks as I envisioned,
honestly.

I'm just happy I got
to be here and do this.

And I'm happy, yeah.

I have my mom and my
wife and my dad over there.

They sacrificed a whole
hell of a lot for me to be here,

and, you know,
I just wanted to make sure

that I put my best foot forward

to show them
that it was worth it.

And I'm just so
damn proud of myself,

so I just hope the
judges really see

this passion coming
through as well.

Jennifer: There's
$250,000 riding on this dish,

and I'm just hoping
that the judges enjoy it

as much as I enjoyed making it.

Okay,
it's time for the final tasting

of the evening.

Please make your way
around to the front. Thank you.

Let's go, Mom!

- Well done!
- Well done!

- Whoop, whoop, whoop!
- Okay, Kennedy,

- please bring your dish up.
- Yeah!

- Let's go, Ken!
- All right, Kennedy!

Good job, Kennedy!

- Ooh!
- Looks so good.

Sav: Yeah,
it does. You got it, honey!

Kennedy,
what did you make for us?

This is really concluding
my story across my menu.

I really wanted it to look
like the night sky in Colorado.

So I made a black sesame cake
with a dark chocolate ganache,

blackberry mousse,
and a yuzu white chocolate snow.

I mean, just admiring it
as a work of art on a plate--

the spheres,
the shapes, the colors--

it really is quite beautiful.

I just hope that the flavor

can stand up to the
beauty that's on the plate.

- Yeah, thank you.
- Shall we?

Kennedy,
this is a hard dessert to get right.

I'm gonna be honest, I think tonight
is the first time I've seen you struggle,

and I'm gonna deal with the
elephant in the room first off.

Unfortunately,
the chocolate cake is really dense.

But I love the saltiness on
the outside with that ganache.

So, really smart move there. I'm
so glad you stuck with the snow.

That really works
with the blackberries.

I'm just not a big fan of
the texture inside, Kennedy.

- Okay, okay.
- More than dense, it's dry.

It has more of the
consistency of bread

- than it does of a cake.
- Okay.

Conceptually,
the dish is nice and the white snow's nice,

but unfortunately
in this scenario

it's the main protagonist
of this dessert,

so it's kinda hard
to get around it.

Aarón: Yeah,
it almost looks like a bagel,

and sadly it tastes a little bit like that,
Kennedy.

I like the concept of
black sesame cake,

I just think it
needed to be realized

in a different style of cake.

- Okay.
- Thanks, Kennedy.

- Thank you.
- Appreciate it. Thank you.

- Jennifer: Love you. Hey.
- Don't worry about it.

You did really good.

Right, Jennifer,
please step up and present us your dessert.

- Thank you.
- All right, Jennifer!

Jennifer: When the judges
take a bite of this last dish,

I hope they taste a representation
of a woman who's given it all,

who's become strong, and who has
a bright future in the culinary industry.

Jennifer, describe your dessert.

This is my I Love You cake.

It is a chocolate
raspberry mousse cake

with a Chambord
raspberry coulis,

crystallized raspberries,

and a beautiful
chocolate mirror glaze.

Jen, congrats. It's stunning,
it's decadent.

This kind of dish floats
around the dining room

in our restaurants
and it's a head-turner.

Let's just hope it tastes
as good as it looks.

- Shall we?
- Yes.

Jennifer, um,

honestly,
I'm not exaggerating when I say...

Jennifer, um, honestly,

I'm not exaggerating
when I say...

I love you.

- Um...
- Yes!

Chocolate's
delicious. It's rich.

The sponge is
light. It's incredible.

The raspberry coulis,
just a touch more lemon juice in there.

But the actual cake's
exceptional. Really well done.

- Thank you. Thank you.
- Seriously.

Yeah, I hope you can see
all the beautiful layers there

and how well it's constructed.

I'm so glad that
you put this forward

because a dessert should
be thought-provoking

and at the same time
easy to understand.

- Great job.
- Jennifer, we have a situation here.

We have the I Love You cake.

We have Jennifer loves Brian.

Joe loves the I Love You cake.

So we have a very
sticky love triangle.

- Joe.
- I'll take that from you any day, Joe.

All kidding aside,
the highlight is the actual cake itself.

It's kind of like you
don't taste the break

between the cake and the
chocolate and the cream,

and that's
something that's very,

very difficult to execute.

The coulis and the sauce itself

is a little more amateurish,

but this piece
here is perfection.

- Well done, Jennifer. Thank you.
- Thank you so much.

Great job, honey!

All right, Grant, could you
please bring your dessert forward?

- Thank you.
- Yes, Chef.

- Come on, Grant.
- All right, Grant!

You go, Grant!

Grant: You know,
I'm nervous right now.

But I know I put my
heart on a plate today.

In each of my dishes, my appetizer,
my entrée, and now into my dessert,

I did everything I could.

And so I think this was an
absolutely perfect ending

- to my menu.
- Thank you, Grant.

What did you prepare?

Grant: Tonight I
have a torn stout cake

with a coffee stout mousse,

a chocolate pizzelle,
and a coffee ice cream.

This is gonna encompass
all those flavors

that you would
see in an affogato,

but you don't have
to do it yourself.

I did all the work
for you today.

Listen, Grant,

you took a big risk tonight.

There's not many lovers
of stout for a dessert.

It's sort of a
little bit maverick.

It's who I am. I'm
a beer salesman.

And so I really
wanted to show you

beer belongs on
fine dining menus.

- Shall we? Thank you.
- Yes.

What's salty? The gelato?

Yes, a little black sea salt

- on top of the gelato.
- Bravo.

Grant, you know,
it's delicious. It's you on a plate.

The gelato ice cream
is just exceptional.

It's rich, it's indulgent,
it's delicious.

Have to be careful when
you tear something warm.

It dries out on the inside.

But even individuals
who don't drink,

I'll still recommend
they take this cake.

Wonderful.

Aarón: Grant, for me,
I think desserts

have to be anchored
in inspiration.

And you took the
idea of an affogato

and you embellished
it in a really cool way.

I think this could
have had the possibility

of being very
one-note texturally

'cause the cake is soft.

The ice cream
and this little wafer

really provides a
nice respite from that.

And it's super unique
and I really enjoy that.

- Awesome. Very cool.
- Joe: I would have to say,

just the gelato deserves a
commendation because it is excellent.

Thank you.

The salt is a brilliant touch.

This is a very,
very full-flavored dish

that is a perfect
ending to your menu.

- Thank you, Joe.
- All right!

- Good job.
- Good job, Grant!

- Good job, baby.
- Oh, thank you.

All right.

Gordon: Right, Jennifer, Grant,
and Kennedy, well done.

Please head back into
the kitchen. Thank you.

- I'm nervous.
- I know, right?

Right?

Right, now that we've tasted

all of your dishes,

we now need to focus

on who put out the
best menu of the night.

It's time for us to have
a very serious discussion

and determine who
has earned the title

of America's next MasterChef.

Thank you.

Whoo!

- All right.
- How exciting was that last round?

- Oh, my Lord.
- Come on, seriously.

Let's start at the beginning.

So,
Jennifer's theme was French fine dining

- meets the South, right?
- Absolutely.

So she started off
with her appetizer

with the poached
lobster with a corn...

Purée and a caviar vinaigrette.

I thought the
lobster was delicious.

But it was very acidic.

You weren't a fan of that,
were you?

No,
I wasn't a fan of the vinaigrette.

I thought there was a lot of it,
first of all.

And I know that we were
screaming out for beurre blanc.

Yeah, but to follow lobster
with venison? Smart move.

The rub, beautifully done. Sauce,
slightly over-reduced.

- The venison was well-cooked, and that's not easy.
- Beautifully done.

What let her down the most was her
butchering and cutting was amateurish.

- Yeah. Her dessert?
- Beyond reproach. Excellent.

- Gordon: It was her best dish out of her menu.
- Aarón: Yeah.

That sphere of cake
and cream and chocolate,

- it was really top-notch.
- Yeah, the best dessert.

So, Grant,
his menu was a nod to the Midwest

with the Italian influence.

You know, Grant takes that
huge risk with that egg yolk ravioli.

I liked that, but I thought the
pasta was slightly undercooked.

Joe: It wasn't perfect.

But he had a lot of
technical precision

when it came to the
construction of the actual ravioli.

You know,
the big highlight for me

is when he pulled it back
with that tenderloin of pork.

- He did the pork loin simply.
- Yes.

- Just perfectly cooked.
- Yeah.

Brazing the fennel
with the beer,

the fennel was delicious.

I'm sorry, I'm gonna take that

in one of my restaurants.

Beer-braised fennel.

And then he knocks us back

into the premier
league with that dessert.

You know,
the stout cake, the gelato

with the salted
finish. Delicious.

Honestly,
Michelin star restaurant dishes.

- Right.
- Oh, unbelievable.

Joe: So Kennedy's theme is
her life in the Colorado mountains.

- Kennedy confirmed tonight she's an artist.
- Yeah.

The steelhead trout, I was blown away.
I was like, "This girl's got it going on."

Aarón: And Kennedy
went for it on that.

Gordon: The skin was crisp,
the cook was just pink and unctuous.

It was like a completely
modern authentic restaurant dish.

- She came out the gate strong, come on.
- Yep.

And it's the first time ever
in the history of "MasterChef"

across 13 seasons
we've ever seen anyone

cook rabbit in a finale.

It was a tough
protein to get right,

and I thought she did a
great job with that rabbit.

It tasted delicious. The
beet roots were undercooked.

- Joe: Yep.
- But it was still a very tenacious, ambitious dish,

and it was her on a plate,
right?

The boldness of
taking a saddle of rabbit

and cooking it properly.

Kennedy's dessert, Moon Shadow.

I mean,
I've never tasted a cake so dry.

I looked at it,
it looked like a bagel.

But she put herself as an
artist on the canvas tonight.

And I thought
she did a great job

'cause it really did
match her personality.

- Love you guys.
- Love you guys.

We asked for elevated,
Michelin star restaurant dishes.

Which menu from those
three amazing finalists

delivered the best overall menu?

It's like the longer we stand,
the more my nerves build.

If I win this,
it would mean everything to me.

It would be literally
life-changing.

I have transformed
from a home cook

to someone who could be a
chef in their own restaurant.

To make it to this point,
I am just so proud.

- Are we allied on the decision?
- I think it makes sense.

- Shall we?
- Let's do it.

Aarón: There we go!

Oh, about to die.

- Love you, Dad.
- I love you, bud.

This is probably the most
pressure-filled moment of my life.

All I see is that trophy,
and that's what I want.

This is everything that
I've been working for.

I feel like I deserve it,
and I just really hope

that I hear my name
when that confetti falls.

Jennifer, Grant,
Kennedy, well done.

What an extraordinary finale.

In your own individual ways,

you all deserve the
title of MasterChef.

Even though you are three distinct,
talented cooks

from different
corners of the country,

you all put your heart
and soul on the plate

every step of the way.

You three are truly the
pride of your regions.

Let's go!

Now, at the end of the day,
this is a competition.

Only one of you can leave here
as America's next MasterChef.

And only one of you can win
a quarter of a million dollars.

- Wow.
- And only one of you will be able

to proudly place this trophy
in your own home kitchen.

Kennedy: I want this so badly.

I've been so consistent
in the competition,

I've been working my a*s off.

That quarter of
a million dollars

and the title of MasterChef

is right there at my fingertips,

and it just means
absolutely the world to me.

It would change
my life entirely.

Will it be Jennifer taking
it home to the South?

Will it be Grant taking
it home to the Midwest?

Or will it be Kennedy
taking it home to the West?

America's next MasterChef is...

Congratulations...

- Grant!
- Oh, God!

- Oh, my gosh!
- Yes!

Wow.

- Whoo!
- Whoo!

Okay,
go back to your mama real quick.

Gordon: Come here.

Ladies and gentlemen,
America's next MasterChef,

Grant! Come on!

Grant: I've worked
so dang hard for this.

Just to be able to
share it with my family,

have my wife Emily
here and my son Grady,

it means the
absolute world to me.

My whole goal for
this entire endeavor

was to show Grady that,

you know, if we try hard,

we work hard,

and we believe in ourselves,
we can do big things.

And look around, Bubba.

I did big things.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please give it up for
our amazing runners up,

Kennedy and Jennifer! Come on!

- Yeah!
- Whoo!

Jennifer: I am just thrilled
with this experience,

everything that I learned,
how it pushed me...

- Jennifer.
- Oh, I'm gonna cry. I'm so happy.

- God, I love you.
- I'm so happy for you.

I'm just so proud
of Grant as well.

He is so deserving, and I'm truly
so happy for he and his family.

- Well done. Seriously, well done.
- Thank you.

I showed uniqueness
and I showed art.

And that's all I want to
be. I want to be a chef.

I want to be an artist.

And this is just the beginning,
honestly.

- I love you so much.
- Oh, I love you.

I'm so happy for Grant.
He is literally the purest,

most sweet man you'll ever meet.

So if I were to lose to anyone,
I would want to lose to him.

Can you see up
there? Who's up there?

Dada.

I am the next MasterChef!

Now,
"MasterChef" is casting for next season.

We are looking for
home cooks nationwide.

Now,
if you think you have what it takes

to become America's
next MasterChef,

then please apply now at
MasterChefCasting.com.

Thank you for
watching. Good night!