MasterChef has asked its home cooks to cook for royalty, for critics, and for Gordon Ramsay. Tonight it asks them to cook for the algorithm.
The Top 11 return to Fox for the “Global Feed” episode, where celebrity chef and MasterChef alum Nick DiGiovanni challenges the cooks to turn their cultural roots into the next viral food sensation — authentic enough to mean something, photogenic enough to travel. The winner lands a collaboration with DiGiovanni himself.
Nobody in the kitchen needs the reset more than Jaime Tan, representing Malaysia on the Asia-Pacific team, who came within a name of going home in last week’s “Royal Wedding” episode after Ramsay singled her out as one of Team Red’s weak links. In an exclusive preview clip (below), Ramsay and DiGiovanni stop by her station to see what the second chance looks like.
“Jaime, you’re active on social media, all those platforms,” Ramsay says. “How many followers do you have all together?”
“I have two million across all my social media,” she answers.
It’s a number DiGiovanni can appreciate — and one he didn’t have at her stage. “I did not have anywhere close to two million when I was standing right where you are,” he says. “I actually remember being on this exact station and getting yelled at by [Gordon]. I had zero followers.”
Jaime’s plan is a pandan surprise in a coconut cup: five layers of it, served in the shell. “Pandan is like a grounded vanilla,” she tells DiGiovanni. “It’s more subtle and earthy.”
Ramsay wants to know how she’ll elevate it. Her answer is dry ice. “To really get that viral effect,” she says. “And that way the dessert will stay cold as well.”
Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT (and check out Gold Derby’s recap) to find out whether Jaime’s dessert earns her the collab — or whether her second chance fizzles.
‘MasterChef’ Season 16 cast: Meet the home cooks competing in ‘Global Gauntlet’
