Ben Starr – The Ultimate Food Geek

Tag: MasterChef

  • MasterChef: Michelin Stars and Massive Salmon

    We’re dropped off at the Walt Disney concert hall, a Frank Ghery monstrosity in downtown Los Angeles, and we can barely look at it because its curvilinear aluminum panels are gleaming like a mirror in the midday sun.  And my mind is flying from place to place…are we catering for the LA Philharmonic?  Making green…

  • MasterChef: Surf ‘n’ Turf and Childhood Faves

    Fresh off a group win normally means that a member from the LOSING team gets eliminated, and the winning team is safe from taking that hit.  However, due to exceptional soufflés created by Christian, Jennifer, Adrien, and Derrick last night, the judges couldn’t decide WHO to send home, and decided to send no one. So…

  • MasterChef: Kid’s Block Party and Cheese Souffles

    It’s time for another team challenge, and when we get dropped off in this Stepford-like neighborhood, with its perfect hedges and gabled houses, and see that big “MasterChef Block Party” sign, I figure it’s gonna be a barbecue challenge. THANK GOD!  I’m not a cocky person, but NOBODY left on the show could stand up…

  • 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…