MasterChef kicks off the road to the end with a Fire and Ice semi-final

It’s time for the semi-finals of the MasterChef: Back to Win season. And the theme is Fire and Ice! And while there are five chefs left, only three will make the final. That means two challenges in order to determine which chefs will be finalists.

In their first challenge of the MasterChef semi-final, the chefs must create the perfect fire and ice inspired dish – a Baked Alaska. It’s the ultimate challenge, considering how precise the chefs have to be in order to make magic happen. And of course, this is one of the hardest desserts to make in the world, leaving the chefs with so many things that could go wrong.

With all of the MasterChef contestants having to make the same dish (even if they get to add their own spin to the dessert), this is truly about making the very best Baked Alaska in order to get one step closer to the finale. Why? Because after this challenge, one chef will be sent home.

So what did the chefs make? Dara presented a Peach Melba Baked Alaska (with some great reactions from the judges). Shanika gave the judges a Strawberry Lemon Basil Baked Alaska. Up next was Christian with his Praline Pecan Baked Alaska. Then we had Emily who brought up a Goat Cheese Cherry Baked Alaska. Finally it was Michael’s turn to present his Bananas Foster Baked Alaska.

Dara and Christian had the best Baked Alaskas of the night and with a variety of reactions all around, which chef has reached the end of their MasterChef: Back to Win season? Ultimately, the chef who was sent home following the Baked Alaska challenge was Emily.

MasterChef hits the semi-final round with two challenges to determine our final three

Following their Baked Alaska challenge, the remaining four MasterChef cheftestants will have to take on the “Keeping Up with Gordon” challenge. It will truly be a make or break challenge for the remaining semifinalists, as they will have to keep up and be precise in order to be a finalist

After Emily’s elimination, the four remaining chefs were brought back to front of the MasterChef kitchen to wait for Gordon Ramsay to return to the kitchen after running out for a quick change.

So what are they making? It’s a signature dish of Ramsay’s of course – Lobster Tortellini.

It’s as much about recreating the dish perfectly as it is keeping up with Gordon Ramsay as he cooks and calls out each step of creating this dish. During this cook it seemed like the chefs were keeping up and making things come together with ease. But it quickly becomes clear that there is one chef struggling. And sadly, it is Michael who is struggling with his pasta dough.

While Michael seems to be able to course correct, Shanika also found herself struggling with her dough. And once we get to the actual forming of the tortellinis and boiling them, this is where all of the chefs seem to struggle a bit.

Once Gordon wraps up his dish, our cheftestants have just 30 seconds to finish up their dish and plating. And by the end of the challenge, more than one chef seems to have missed something.

Now it is time for judging with Michael going up first. He does get some criticisms from the judges, including on things like presentation and taste. Next up is Shanika who is told her dish is unfinished and missing a major component (the lobster at the center of the dish).

The third chef up is Dara, who is told her dish looks beautiful. And that’s not all, as she is also told that her dish reminds Joe of Gordon’s in term of flavors. Finally we have Christian. And much like Shanika and Michael, his dish gets a mix of criticisms and compliments.

Following this challenge, one more chef will be sent home. So which chef will end up coming up just shy of the finale?

Unfortunately, the cheftestant sent home at the end of the Keeping Up with Gordon challenge is Shanika.

This means that our final three chefs are Dara, Christian, and Michael.