11 Times The Judges Got Angry On MasterChef
According to BBC One, "MasterChef" has been validating and dashing the hopes of home cooks for 22 years. Although the format and fiery rhetoric ramped up and shifted throughout the years, one thing remained the same. Home cooks with promise and innovation got sent on to the next round. Those with puzzling or straight-up disgusting dishes got disqualified promptly.
The U.S. version of "MasterChef" is wildly popular, spawning tons of spinoffs, and was renewed for a 12th season, according to Deadline. Aside from the heart-pounding competition and parade of tantalizing dishes are the unpredictable reactions of judges Gordon Ramsay, Aaron Sanchez, and Joseph Bastianich. Ramsay, especially, is famous for his creative and crushing insults and unleashing a tsunami of rage on contestants that don't make the cut under fire. If you watch "MasterChef" for a big helping of drama with a side of haute cuisine, you'll remember these famous times when the judges lost their cool on "MasterChef."
1. Bime's liquid lemon meringue pie
Although Albaya "Bime" Cruz was one of the more likable contestants on "MasterChef's" Season 4, he made Gordon Ramsay's blood boil by serving him a liquified lemon meringue pie in the pressure test. Cruz's Achilles heel seemed to be the mounting stress throughout the entire season, and when he swapped out corn starch for cream of tartar in the pie, the rookie mistake sent him home. Ramsay famously poured the failed pie into a martini glass and slurped it down, making Cruz do the same.
The tragic part of Cruz's downfall was that the only reason he was in the pressure test was that his teammates threw him under the bus. Although Ramsay put him on blast for his gross, unset pie, he did acknowledge that Cruz got a raw deal. We're sure that was cold comfort for Cruz, who will always go down in "MasterChef" history for being the world's worst piemaker.
2. Randhy Twyford's funeral potatoes
Sometimes the best outbursts don't happen during the show but in the middle of the auditions. The very first season of the U.S. version of "MasterChef" started off with a sour cream, mayonnaise, and cheese choked bang with a dish that Gordon Ramsey referred to as "cow dung with cheese" (via State-Journal Register). Randy Twyford's funeral potatoes not only sounded grim, but they tasted like a heart attack incarnate, according to the less than enthused judges.
Although Twyford's casserole seems like the ultimate hangover food, with tons of butter, cheese, and thick slices of potatoes, it was clear from Joe Bastianich's epic scowl and Graham Elliot Bowles's condemnation of "I weep for the future" (via Eater) that he very obviously missed the mark. Although Twyford's Funeral Potatoes failed to impress the "MasterChef" team, we're sure that they'd be a massive hit at a tailgating party or a college rager.
3. Cecilia Vuong's strange tribute
Across the pond in Australia, aspiring MasterChef Cecilia Vuong made the strange decision to stuff a parsnip with lamb and write her son's name below. Although the tribute might have started with the sweetest intention, it read as flat-out weird and elicited not only shocked reactions from the judges but the internet at large. According to the Daily Mail, Twitter lit up with criticism about Vuong's odd tribute with biting comments accusing the Aussie chef of bringing the playground to a cooking competition.
Vuong's parsnip mishap wasn't the only thing that put her on the "MasterChef" map. In 2014 she briefly competed in "MasterChef" before succumbing to a brain injury that took her out of the competition (via Daily Mail). However, her comeback in 2016 was widely celebrated, even in light of the parsnip snafu, and she's one of the more popular "MasterChef" contestants in Australia.
4. Lynn Chyi's wall insulator meringue
Although Season 4 contestant Lynn Chyi made some truly inspired food during his tenure at "MasterChef," there's one unfortunate reason why he'll go down in crash and burn culinary history. His banana puree meringue was a bust, infuriating the judges and making Gordon Ramsay decry the dish as the worst he'd seen in four years of "MasterChef" and reminiscent of wall insulation. It is hard to argue with Ramsay's take, especially when you see the pale yellow and bright orange meringue studded with haphazard chunks of banana.
Chyi's dish didn't win viewers over and has even been compared to a plate of cat vomit with blood inside (via Buddy TV). It's also a stunning downfall for the contestant whose artfully presented, whimsical plates of food previously delighted the judges. Still, everyone makes mistakes, and although Chyi's was an actual failure of the imagination, it's hard not to admire his creativity. Maybe next time, he'll just use some more conventional ingredients and color pairings.
5. Slim Huynh's passionfruit fondue
Although Lynn Chyi might always be remembered for his banana-flavored meringue, the first season of "MasterChef" had its fair share of fruity disasters and shenanigans. Take Slim Huynh, the youthful contestant whose skill in Vietnamese cooking made her one to watch. But, after wowing the notoriously hard to impress Gordon Ramsay with an innovative chicken and mandarin orange dish, Huynh fell hard from grace with her passionfruit fondue.
Huynh's passionfruit fondue, a deconstructed dish that ultimately failed to incorporate the key ingredient, was a bust and invoked the ire of prickly judge Joe Bastianich. He refused to taste the dish and tossed it straight into the trash in a dramatic gesture that would soon become one of his signature moves (via Insider). Joe Bastianich's pet peeve is when contestants try to outsmart the judges on "MasterChef," and he might have passed on Huynh's passionfruit for the very reason.
6. David Mack's raw pork chops
When you're serving America's finest, it's essential to make sure that the food is cooked correctly. Unfortunately for David Mack of "MasterChef" Season 3, he didn't quite get the memo. During an outdoor challenge for a pack of hungry Marines, Mack's team undercooked the chops invoking the ire of both Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich. While David Mack and his team might have thought they were serving up something special, their too-thick chops were really giving the Marines a raw deal.
Astonishingly, Mack's team was able to course-correct by flattening their chops, and they actually avoided elimination. While his team undercooked their first round of pork, the flavors were more spot-on than the other team's food (via Reality Wanted). As such, David Mack and co. got to cook another day, but we're sure that they won't forget Gordon Ramsay and Joe Bastianich's ire anytime soon and will always cook their meat thoroughly.
7. Luca Manfe and Kathy Prieto's still moo-ving burgers
Season 4 of "MasterChef" took the aspiring home cooks to Sin City with a gourmet burger competition that made Gordon Ramsay see red because the burgers' inside was too. Contestants Luca Manfe and Kathy Prieto ran into significant problems with time management and got lost in the weeds during service. Unfortunately for the doomed duo, this led to vastly undercooked burgers that started coming back from the tables in droves.
Gordon Ramsay had one of his famous kitchen meltdowns, screaming at the pair to get a grip and cook their food properly. Gordon Ramsay is notorious for his crippling one-liners and condemnations, and his takedown of Kathy and Luca was no exception. Fortunately, the pair recovered and were able to start putting out palatable food before Ramsey completely lost it (via AV Club). The still moo-ving burger escapade was only one of several times in Season 4, where Ramsay was horrified by the food.
8. Marc Raffaeli's raw flour mashed potatoes
"MasterChef" Season 2's Mark Raffaeli made the rookie mistake of adding raw flour to his mashed potatoes, leading to his early departure from the show and angering Joe Bastianich beyond belief. Although flour will thicken potatoes, it can also change the consistency dramatically, leaving you with goopy, gelatinous potatoes instead of a fluffy pile of mashed. Some home cooks swear by the flour trick, but such shortcuts don't fly on "MasterChef," and Joe Bastianich called it out immediately.
Tragically for Raffaeli, his flour-heavy potatoes were enough to send him home after getting a stern talking to by Bastianich. Joe Bastianich is one of the world's top restaurateurs, working with acclaimed celebrity chefs like Mario Batali to perfect high-end Italian cuisine. Serving him mashed potatoes full of raw flour is a horrible sin, and it's absolutely no surprise that Raffaeli's fate was sealed the second the fork passed Bastianich's lips (via TV Guide).
9. David Martinez's terrible corn creme brulee
Joe Bastianich and "MasterChef" Season 3 contestant David Martinez sparred over the latter's unique take on creme brulee. The corn and rice dessert with caramel sauce looked completely unpalatable, at least to Bastianich's trained eye, and he told Martinez so. Although Martinez initially defended the dish, he was quickly shot down by Bastianich's withering criticism. Of course, by this point in "MasterChef," almost every contestant had experienced either Bastianich's trademark plate tossing or a terrible comment about their food, so Martinez was in sound and nearly universal company. Still, it was an "ouch" moment to see him torn down.
Fortunately for David Martinez, Felix Fang's profiteroles (via Big Island Now) turned out to be slightly worse than the unappealing and culinarily muddled creme brulee, so he went on to compete another day. We're pretty sure that he will never forget Bastianich's grimace of disgust and cutting words, though.
10. Dan Wu and Cutter Brewer's underwhelming surf and turf
In "MasterChef" Season 5, Dan Wu and Cutter Brewer invoked the rage of Joe Bastianich by serving up a slapped together surf and turf dish. Unfortunately, the underwhelming dish was the end product of tons of bickering between the pair. When they couldn't decide how to fuse their two proteins, they ran out of time and had to throw something together on the plate at the eleventh hour. Since Joe Bastianich doesn't suffer fools ... ever ... he immediately called out the pair with his classic move, trash canning the plate and berating Wu and Brewer (via Observer).
Although Wu and Brewer faced the pressure test for their subpar surf and turf, they managed to eke out in the end, thanks to some nasty spring rolls and a bit of luck. Although Brewer's arrogance and lack of teamwork made him a fave villain on the show, he managed to get through quite a few more rounds before being eliminated.
11. Alvin Schultz's coffee blood clot
Alvin Schultz was one of "MasterChef's" Season 2's most promising contenders whose fall came in the form of a failed molecular gastronomy incident. Schultz's culinary know-how and artistry in the kitchen was eclipsed by his failure to execute a coffee gel. According to Digital Spy, Gordon Ramsay referred to it as a "coffee blot clot" and decried the gooey, gelatinous substance as bitter and inedible. Fellow judge Graham had similarly harsh words, saying that Schultz's dish gave his profession a "bad name."
Having your food compared to a blood clot certainly constitutes a horrible day in the "MasterChef" kitchen, but Schultz took it in stride, thanking the judges for the opportunity. We have to hand it to Shultz; it takes a lot of culinary cajones to play around with molecular gastronomy in the kitchen, and we're sure that he will perfect his coffee gel someday.