Ben Starr – The Ultimate Food Geek

Tag: Challenge

  • MasterChef 3: Breakfast and Lava

    (Please note that all opinions in this blog are exactly that…opinions. I have no inside knowledge about how this season was filmed.  My words should not be treated as fact, only as opinion.) So we start off Monday’s episode with the judges waking up the contestants in their hotel room at 3:30am.  Just like Tanya,…

  • MasterChef 3: Offal and Crab

    Before I get into last night’s episode, there were a few noteworthy things I wanted to chat about from the Marines and Pie episode.  I didn’t take notes on that episode because I was watching at Christine’s house, along side Michael, who got eliminated at the end of that show. I’ve noticed a lot of…

  • MasterChef Top 9: Scallops and Pigs

    I think, by now, we’ve established the fact that I hate mystery boxes.  So you can imagine that I’m less than thrilled that it’s time for another one. We lift our boxes and I see 3 massive, gorgeous scallops, still in their shells.  “Diver’s scallops,” announces Gordon.  That means these scallops are each foraged, by…

  • MasterChef: Mothers and Benedicts

    So they drive us to Pasadena and drop us off at this MASSIVE swanky hotel, and I’m immediately afraid.  If I have to cook cuisine that matches the sophistication of this place, I’m screwed. It’s a team challenge with Tracy and Giuseppe as team leads.  I couldn’t be more conflicted about whose team I want…

  • MasterChef: Giant Lobsters and $500 Truffles

    If I’ve learned anything on MasterChef, it’s that you can be on top one day, and out the door the next.  So even though I’m coming off a pretty triumphant week, winning the catfish challenge, being a team leader, and making a 6-layer pumpkin carrot cake that Gordon Ramsay said was one of the best…

  • MasterChef: Baa Baa Black Sheep

    Another day…another mystery box. Man, I hate mystery boxes. I don’t know why, I guess it’s the pressure and the time limit. But last week, I was the worst of the bunch on the mystery box challenge with my strawberry-balsamic glazed salmon and pistachio crusted fennel and potato cakes. This week, I’ve got to redeem…