This week’s episode of MasterChef: Global Gauntlet stayed true to the World Cup crossover theme as the competition turned into a high-stakes game-day cooking showdown. The other home cooks had to reimagine classic sports-viewing fare into fine-dining dishes based on a backyard watch-party setup sponsored by Home Depot.
The pressure was on with an immunity pin and safety for an entire territory up for grabs and a $2,500 Home Depot gift card. Contestants had just 60 minutes to wow the judges with their creative takes on comfort food.## Dave Gets the Mighty Red Card Advantage
Dave had won the last team challenge and his prize was a special benefit called the “Red Card”. At the halfway point in the challenge, he was awarded a power that meant he could remove one cook from the competition for good, saving that person from elimination.
But the twist had its consequences. If Dave picked someone from his African country, the other two African cooks, Heidi and Peter, would automatically be the representatives for the best and worst dishes from their region.# Contestants Get to Work on Elevated Game-Day Classics
When the challenge started, the competitors rushed to prepare ambitious dishes in a limited time.
Rita represented Africa with a filet dish spiced with Nigerian suya. Peter chose steak with fried plantain, and Heidi made a fancy surf-and-turf plate with scallops and New York strip steak.
For the Asia-Pacific territory, Jaime created a traditional Malaysian Roti Canai curry inspired by her father, whose relationship with Home Depot made the dish particularly significant.
Julia went for the seared scallops with leeks and Nico tried the chicken skewers at Europe.
For the Americas, Tkaiya served Jamaican fish, coconut rice and festival bread. Maria picked steak with mashed potatoes but ran into execution problems during the cook.## Dave’s Risky Move During The Challenge
At the end of the first half Dave realized that Rita hadn’t started cooking her steak. He thought she was in deep trouble and pulled the Red Card to save her from possible elimination.
Rita was now guaranteed automatic safety, and so the move immediately put added pressure on Heidi and Peter, who now had to carry Africa’s hopes for both the top and bottom dish evaluations.## Jaime Whips Up the Dish of the Night
The judges sampled all the entries and chose Heidi, Jaime, Tkaiya and Julia as the night’s top performers.
Jaime was the winner among the top contenders. Her Malaysian Roti Canai curry impressed the judges with its execution and personal story. The dish was a beautiful tribute to her father, and won her the challenge and some important immunity for the next round.# Nico and Maria Don’t Impress Me
Peter, Nico and Maria were singled out by the judges as the worst performers of the night.
Peter is in the bottom group because of the challenge twist but his steak and fried plantains were good enough to keep him out of serious danger.
Maria’s plate was lacking in finesse and aesthetics, and Nico’s chicken skewers had several technical errors. Nico had been in the bottom group for three challenges in a row, and finally ran out of lives.# Nico the Latest Contestant to Be Eliminated
The judges decided at the end of the episode that they could no longer ignore Nico’s repeated struggles. His inconsistent performances and technical errors resulted in his elimination from MasterChef: Global Gauntlet.
With the World Cup-themed programming wrapping up, and the series back with fresh challenges, the remaining cooks will be looking ahead to the next phase of the contest as the competition carries on.