'MasterChef US' Season 6 Episode 12 Recap: Family Reunion Gets Christopher Eliminated

In this week’s episode of “MasterChef,” the top 10 home cooks got a big surprise in the team challenge. Judge Gordon Ramsay has invited one family member of each chef to form the judging panel. After the team challenge, the blue team faced the pressure test and Christopher fell short.

The judges informed the contestants that for the top 10 team challenge, they have an opportunity to serve a family-style meal at the MasterChef Restaurant. They were not immediately told who they were cooking for. The only thing they knew was that they were cooking for a very special family chosen by Chef Ramsay.

In this week’s team challenge, the judges chose Derrick to lead the blue team and Claudia to lead the red team. Each captain chose chose Stephen, Katrina, Hetal and Shelly. With the teams formed, the judges told them they had 90 minutes to prepare a main dish with two sides and dessert.

Blue team captain Derrick decided to go full Italian with a rack of lamb paired with Nick’s baked ziti, a caprese salad and a chocolate mousse pie. Ramsay came over and pointed out that both the salad and the ziti contain tomatoes and mozzarella. Olivia stepped up and volunteered to make a strawberry and tomato salad instead. Everything went well except for Christopher’s pie. The crust was underbaked and the presentation looked terrible.

Over at the red team, Claudia chose to roast whole chickens. They complimented the main dish with rustic mashed potatoes, broccolini and a strawberry shortcake. The team struggled to get their chickens in the oven quickly, but luckily, Stephen suggested that they split the birds in half to allow them to cook in half the time.

The contestants’ loved ones tasted both meals without knowing who made them. In the blind voting, the red team came out on top with six votes against the blue team’s four votes. That landed Derrick, Christopher, Nick, Olivia and Tommy in the pressure test.

The judges decided to save Derrick from the pressure test and left the other four team members to battle it out in a gnocchi challenge. Nick was delighted to be making yet another Italian dish. He was confident, and it showed in his cooking. He was able to plate up with over five minutes to spare.

Tommy struggled with his dough and decided to make a fresh batch with only two minutes to spare. He managed to plate the dish but made a big mistake in the end by pouring way too much browned butter on top.

The judges tasted the dishes and pronounced Nick’s perfect. They then tried Olivia’s and were convinced that she was able to do even better than Nick. With the two of them safe, it was all between Christopher and Tommy. Ramsay tasted Christopher’s dish and said it was underseasoned. Christina noticed Christopher rolling his eyes at the balcony and immediately taught him a lesson on respect.

The judges then tried Tommy’s dish and pointed out the obvious mistakes. His dough was sticking and he put in too much sauce. However, the judges agreed that the flavor was spot on.

In the end, the judges decided that Christopher would be sent home. Ramsay pointed out that his failure to taste the food while cooking has left him out of the competition.

Next week, the remaining nine contestants will battle it out in a fiery flambé challenge. “MasterChef” airs every Wednesday at 8 pm EDT on Fox.