MasterChef (U.S. season 5)

MasterChef (U.S. season 5)
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	19
Release
Original network	Fox
Original release	May 26 – September 15, 2014

Season 5 of the American competitive reality TV series MasterChef premiered on Fox on May 26, 2014.

This season marked the first time that the final two home cooks were both female. Courtney Lapresi was the winner of this season.

Top 22

Contestant	Age	Hometown	Occupation	Status	Winnings
Courtney Lapresi	25	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Aerial Dancer	Winner September 15	10
Elizabeth Cauvel	31	Brooklyn, New York	Advertising Executive	Runner-Up September 15	12
Leslie Gilliams	56	Malibu, California	Stay-at-home Dad	Eliminated September 15	5
Joshua "Cutter" Brewer	33	Beaumont, Texas	Petroleum Landman	Eliminated September 8	4
Christian Green	29	New Orleans, Louisiana	Sales Rep		2
Jaimee Vitolo	23	Queens, New York	Bakery Assistant	Eliminated September 1	5
William "Willie" Mike	25	Houston, Texas	Church Music Director	Eliminated August 25	3
Daniel McGuffey	32	Los Angeles, California	Former Video Game Designer	Eliminated August 18	2
Ahran Cho	18	Palo Alto, California	High School Student	Eliminated August 11	4
Victoria Scroggins	35	San Angelo, Texas	Bartender		4
Francis Legge	34	New York City, New York	Music Video Director	Eliminated August 4	4
Christine Silverstein	31	Yonkers, New York	Investment Director	Eliminated July 28	3
Elisa "Elise" Mayfield	28	Birmingham, Alabama	e-Learning Administrator	Eliminated July 21	2
Daniel "Dan" Wu	39	Lexington, Kentucky	Unemployed	Eliminated July 14	1
Francis Biondi	25	Orlando, Florida	Server	Eliminated July 7	2
Tyler Viars	27	Wilmington, Ohio	Hunting Sales Manager	Disqualified June 30	1
Jordan Kaminski	19	Muskego, Wisconsin	College Student	Eliminated June 23	0
Kira Novak	31	Youngstown, Ohio	Medical Recruiter	Eliminated June 16	1
Gordon Houston	30	Irvine, California	Law Student	Withdrew June 16	0
Stephani Syfax-Shepherd	25	Detroit, Michigan	Server	Eliminated June 9	0
Whitney Bray	28	Columbus, Ohio	Call Center Rep	Eliminated June 2	0
Astrid Lavenia	41	Mandeville, Louisiana	Food Sales Rep		0

Elimination table

Place	Contestant	Episode
		2		3	4		5	6		7		8	9		10	11		12	13		14		15	16		17	18		19
1	Courtney	WIN	IMM	PT	IN	LOW	WIN	IN	WIN	IMM	IMM	WIN	HIGH	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	NPT	IN	IMM	WIN	IMM	PT	HIGH	WIN	WIN	IN	PT	WINNER
2	Elizabeth	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	IN	IMM	WIN	HIGH	WIN	WIN	HIGH	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	IN	IN	WIN	WIN	IMM	WIN	WIN	IMM	RUNNER-UP
3	Leslie	IN	IMM	PT	IN	WIN	PT	IN	IN	IN	IMM	PT	IN	IN	LOW	WIN	IMM	PT	WIN	IMM	HIGH	WIN	WIN	IN	LOW	PT	IN	ELIM
4	Cutter	LOW	IMM	WIN	IN	LOW	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	LOW	LOW	IN	LOW	PT	IN	IN	WIN	LOW	PT	IN	IN	WIN	IN	HIGH	ELIM
5	Christian	IN	IMM	NPT	HIGH	IN	NPT	IN	IN	LOW	PT	WIN	WIN	IMM	PT	IN	IN	NPT	IN	IMM	HIGH	LOW	LOW	HIGH	ELIM
6	Jaimee	IN	IMM	PT	IN	IN	NPT	IN	IN	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	LOW	LOW	IN	WIN	ELIM
7	Willie	HIGH	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	IN	IMM	PT	IN	IN	PT	IN	LOW	WIN	LOW	PT	IN	ELIM
8	Daniel	IN	IN	LOW	IN	IN	NPT	IN	IN	IN	IMM	NPT	IN	IN	WIN	IN	LOW	WIN	LOW	ELIM
9	Ahran	IN	IMM	WIN	WIN	IMM	NPT	HIGH	IN	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	WIN	PT	IN	IN	ELIM
10	Victoria	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	IN	WIN	IMM	NPT	IN	IN	WIN	HIGH	IN	ELIM
11	Francis L	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	WIN	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	IMM	NPT	IN	IN	WIN	IN	ELIM
12	Christine	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	NPT	IN	IN	WIN	IMM	WIN	IN	IN	ELIM
13	Elise	IN	IMM	LOW	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	IMM	WIN	IN	ELIM
14	Dan	IN	LOW	NPT	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	LOW	LOW	ELIM
15	Francis B	IN	WIN	WIN	HIGH	IMM	LOW	IN	IN	LOW	ELIM
16	Tyler	IN	IN	WIN	IN	IN	NPT	IN	DSQ
17	Jordan	IN	IN	LOW	IN	IN	ELIM
18	Kira	IN	IMM	WIN	IN	ELIM
19	Gordon	IN	IMM	NPT	WDR
20	Stephani	IN	LOW	ELIM
21	Whitney	IN	ELIM
22	Astrid	ELIM

     (WINNER) This cook won the competition.

     (RUNNER-UP) This cook finished in second place.

     (WIN) The cook won an individual challenge (Mystery Box Challenge or Elimination Test).

     (WIN) The cook was on the winning team in the Team Challenge and directly advanced to the next round.

     (HIGH) The cook was one of the top entries in the individual challenge but didn't win.

     (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in an individual challenge.

     (IN) The cook wasn't selected as a top or bottom entry in a team challenge.

     (IMM) The cook didn't have to compete in that round of the competition and was safe from elimination.

     (IMM) The cook was selected by Mystery Box Challenge winner and didn't have to compete in the Elimination Test.

     (PT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge and competed in the Pressure Test, and advanced.

     (NPT) The cook was on the losing team in the Team Challenge, did not compete in the Pressure Test, and advanced.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, but wasn't the last person to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in an individual challenge, and was the last person to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge, and they were the only person from their team to advance.

     (LOW) The cook was one of the bottom entries in the Team Challenge, and their team was last to advance.

     (WDR) The cook withdrew from the competition due to illness.

     (DSQ) The cook was disqualified due to a violation of the competition rules.

     (ELIM) The cook was eliminated from MasterChef.

Episodes

Episode 1

• Original Airdate: Monday May 26, 2014
• Auditions Round 1: The top 30 contestants were each given an hour in which to cook their signature dishes and be awarded a MasterChef apron. They were also warned that anyone guilty of any severe errors would be eliminated before the hour was even up. The judges then tasted the dishes and awarded aprons to 17 contestants (Ahran, Christian, Christine, Courtney, Cutter, Dan, Daniel, Elizabeth, Francis B., Jaimee, Jordan, Kira, Stephani, Tyler, Victoria, Whitney, and Willie). The remaining 9 contestants (Amy, Astrid, Chandis, Corey, Elise, Francis L., Gordon, Leslie, and Michael) were all called down and told they would all get a second and final chance to cook a dish worthy for some or all of them to receive a white apron from the judges and advance to the next round.
• Auditions Round 2: Each contestant was given another hour, along with a refrigerator full of common ingredients as well as a MasterChef staple box. When the hour was up. the dishes by the home cooks were tasted in three groups of three, where each contestant would either earn an apron or be sent home for good. In the first group, Gordon and Leslie both earned aprons while Corey was eliminated. In the second group, Astrid earned an apron, while Amy and Michael failed. In the third and final group, Francis L. earned an apron. Chandis was eliminated. Finally, Elise' was awarded an apron as well.

Episode 2

• Original Airdate: Monday June 2, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 1: The top 22 contestants were faced with their first Mystery box Challenge, which was dessert-based. Joe Bastianich stated that at least one person will be eliminated from the competition at the end of this challenge. The cooks had 90 minutes to prepare their dishes. After the time was up, the judges selected Cutter, Astrid, Courtney, and Willie. Cutter and Astrid were deemed to have the worst dishes. Astrid was eliminated.
• Bottom two: Astrid Lavenia and Cutter Brewer
• Eliminated: Astrid Lavenia
• Willie and Courtney were deemed the best dishes. Courtney was deemed the winner of the challenge.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Courtney Lapresi
• Elimination Test 1: For the Elimination Test, Courtney was given the option of choosing three ground meat based dishes: meatballs, meatloaf, and hamburgers, and she was also immune from the challenge. She chose for everyone to make meatloaf, and she also got to choose 10 contestants to receive immunity. She chose to save Leslie, Jaimee, Gordon, Elise, Cutter, Francis L., Kira, Ahran, Elizabeth, and Christian. The remaining had to make a stunning meatloaf dish in 60 minutes. The decision for the best meatloaf came down between Francis B. and Willie, with the judges awarding Francis B. the win and an advantage for the team challenge.
• Immune: Ahran Cho, Christian Green, Cutter Brewer, Elise Mayfield, Elizabeth Cauvel, Francis Legge, Gordon Houston, Jaimee Vitolo, Kira Novak and Leslie Gilliams
• Winner: Francis Biondi
• Bottom three: Dan Wu, Stephani Syfax-Shepherd and Whitney Bray
• Dan was sent back to his station. Then the judges left Stephani and Whitney to face the second elimination of the night. Whitney was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Whitney Bray

Episode 3

• Original Airdate: Monday June 9, 2014
• Team Challenge 1: The 20 remaining contestants were brought to Mojave Desert's US Army base Fort Irwin to participate in their first team challenge of the season. Francis B. would be a team captain in this challenge and could choose his entire team. Leading the Red Team, he selected Cutter, Tyler, Victoria, Francis L., Willie, Christine, Elizabeth, Ahran and Kira. The remaining contestants (Christian, Courtney, Dan, Daniel, Elise, Gordon, Jaimee, Jordan, Leslie and Stephani) formed the Blue Team, and they elected Daniel as their leader. Each team had to serve a meal consisting of one grilled meat, one sauce, and one side item to a group of 500 U.S. Army soldiers. The Red team received 329 out of 500 votes and won the first team challenge.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Ahran Cho, Christine Silverstein, Cutter Brewer, Elizabeth Cauvel, Francis Biondi, Francis Legge, Kira Novak, Tyler Viars, Victoria Scroggins and Willie Mike
• Pressure Test 1: Because they lost the Team Challenge, the 10 members of the Blue Team had to face the first Pressure Test. Daniel was told he would get the choice of three members of his team he would like to exempt from competing in the challenge and he chose to save Christian, Gordon and Dan. The remaining seven members had 75 minutes to bake a perfect blueberry pie with a lattice crust.
• Immune: Christian Green, Dan Wu and Gordon Houston
• Bottom four: Daniel McGuffey, Elise Mayfield, Jordan Kaminski and Stephani Syfax-Shepherd
• Jordan and Daniel were saved leaving Elise and Stephani as the bottom two. Stephani was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Stephani Syfax-Shepherd

Episode 4

• Original Airdate: Monday June 16, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 2:
• Withdrew: Gordon Houston
• At the beginning of the episode, the judges announced that Gordon had withdrawn from the show due to illness. The 18 remaining contestants were required to cook using a collection of live seafood. The top three dishes were Francis B.'s, Ahran's, and Christian's. Ahran's was declared the best, winning her the challenge.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Ahran Cho
• Elimination Test 2: For winning the Mystery Box Challenge, Ahran was given immunity from the next challenge, which was based around sweet treats; she was given the choice of muffins, cookies or donuts; she chose donuts. The judges then told each contestant that they would be required to cook twelve donuts and present them in a box. After the challenge ended, Ahran was given a third advantage, picking a further contestant to be immune, and she chose Francis B. The two best boxes of donuts were Leslie and Francis L., giving them the role of Team Captain in the next team challenge.
• Immune: Francis Biondi
• Winners: Francis Legge and Leslie Gilliams
• Bottom three: Courtney Lapresi, Cutter Brewer and Kira Novak
• Cutter was sent to safety, leaving Courtney and Kira to face elimination. Kira was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Kira Novak

Episode 5

• Original Airdate: Monday June 23, 2014
• Team Challenge 2: The contestants were brought to a beach in southern California, where it is revealed that they will be cooking for a wedding party of 120 guests. Leslie captained the Red Team and chose Christian, Francis B., Tyler, Daniel, Christine, Ahran, Jordan and Jaimee. Francis L. picked Willie, Courtney, Cutter, Victoria, Elizabeth, Dan and Elise for his Blue Team. The teams were then told that the bride and groom requested a scallop starter and a seabass entrée, which they had two hours to cook. The Blue Team were named the winners, sending the Red Team into the pressure test, who were then sent to clean the kitchen.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Courtney Lapresi, Cutter Brewer, Dan Wu, Elise Mayfield, Elizabeth Cauvel, Francis Legge, Victoria Scroggins and Willie Mike
• Pressure Test 2: The nine members of the Red Team were told that only three of them would have to take part in the pressure test, and Leslie was asked who he would choose to take part; he chose Christian, Daniel, and Ahran. However, the judges then told Leslie that the decision wasn't actually his to make, and that they would choose. Gordon selected Leslie, Graham selected Jordan, and Joe selected Francis B., with Ahran, Christian, Christine, Daniel, Jaimee and Tyler sent to safety. Leslie, Jordan and Francis B. were told to each cook a portion of steak frites, with the steak's temperature being specified as medium rare.
• Immune: Ahran Cho, Christian Green, Christine Silverstein, Daniel McGuffey, Jaimee Vitolo and Tyler Viars
• Bottom two: Francis Biondi and Jordan Kaminski
• The judges first sent Leslie to safety. Between the remaining two, Francis B. was deemed to have the edge resulting in him being sent to safety, and leading to Jordan being eliminated.
• Eliminated: Jordan Kaminski

Episode 6

• Original Airdate: Monday June 30, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 3: Under the Mystery Box was another mystery: 52 unlabeled aluminum cans containing various processed vegetables, fruit, meat and seafood. The cooks were tested on their ability to elevate cheap canned ingredients to restaurant-quality dishes. The top 3 were: Elizabeth's, Victoria's, and Ahran's. Elizabeth was chosen as the winner and received the advantage in the next challenge.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Elizabeth Cauvel
• Elimination Test 3: MasterChef Season 4 winner Luca Manfè and MasterChef Junior Season 1 winner Alexander Weiss returned to the MasterChef kitchen, each bearing one of their signature dishes. Luca presents a veal dish, while Alexander had made a passion fruit panna cotta. For her two advantages, Elizabeth receives immunity from elimination and selects who cooks which dish. Elizabeth assigns the panna cotta to Cutter, Christian, Jaimee, Christine, Ahran, Francis, Victoria and Tyler, leaving Courtney, Dan, Daniel, Elise, Leslie, Willie and Francis L. to cook Luca's veal. When Tyler is called on to present his panna cotta, the judges reveal that he had actually taken Jaimee's third panna cotta out of the blast chiller rather than his own. Tyler is immediately disqualified for not serving his own meal to the judges.
• Disqualified: Tyler Viars
• No bottom three is selected. Courtney is declared to have cooked the best meal and gets an advantage in the following episode.
• Winner: Courtney Lapresi

Episode 7

• Original Airdate: Monday July 7, 2014
• Team Challenge 3: The judges informed the contestants that will be working in pairs. The bottom two pairs would then have to face the Pressure Test. As Courtney had won the last Elimination Test, she had the advantage of choosing the teams and was also safe from elimination.
• Immune: Courtney Lapresi
• Courtney paired up: Christian and Francis B., Cutter and Dan, Jaimee and Elizabeth, Willie and Daniel, Victoria and Christine, Ahran and Leslie, leaving Francis L. and Elise as the final pair. The pairs had to cook a surf and turf dish. The contestants had one hour of cooking time. Christine and Victoria's dish was named the best of the night, giving them immunity from the Pressure test and a spot in the Top 14. Ahran and Leslie, Jaimee and Elizabeth, and Willie and Daniel were also sent to safety, which left Francis L. and Elise, Francis B. and Christian, and Cutter and Dan as the bottom three teams. Elise and Francis L. were sent to safety. Christian, Cutter, Dan and Francis B. were therefore sent into the Pressure Test, this time as individuals.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Christine Silverstein and Victoria Scroggins
• Immune: Ahran Cho, Daniel McGuffey, Elise Mayfield, Elizabeth Cauvel, Francis Legge, Jaimee Vitolo, Leslie Gilliams and Willie Mike
• Pressure Test 3: Each contestant had to make six perfect spring rolls as well as a dipping sauce.
• Bottom three: Cutter Brewer, Dan Wu and Francis Biondi
• Dan was the first to be sent to safety, while Francis B. was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Francis Biondi

Episode 8

• Original Airdate: Monday July 14, 2014
• Team Challenge 4: This season's Restaurant Takeover took place at Dinah's Family Restaurant in Culver City, California. The judges selected the two team captains themselves from among the cooks who had not previously been team captains, Christine and Willie. Then they announced that the teams would be boys versus girls, with captains as expediters, but with an additional twist: both teams could choose a member of the opposite sex to join them. Christian and Victoria were chosen to switch places. Christine captained the Red Team with Courtney, Christian, Elise, Elizabeth, Jaimee, and Ahran, while Willie led the Blue Team with Victoria, Cutter, Daniel, Francis L., Dan, and Leslie. The Red Team received more tips with $87 compared to $82 for the Blue Team, ensuring them safety from the pressure test.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Ahran Cho, Christian Green, Christine Silverstein, Courtney Lapresi, Elise Mayfield, Elizabeth Cauvel and Jaimee Vitolo
• Pressure Test 4: Willie was given two options: save three members of his choice from his team or save only himself and let everyone else cook. He chose to compete in the pressure test and save Daniel, Francis, and Victoria. Cutter, Dan, Leslie and Willie had to bake a three-layer red velvet cake.
• Immune: Daniel McGuffey, Francis Legge and Victoria Scroggins
• Bottom two: Cutter Brewer and Dan Wu
• Dan is eliminated.
• Eliminated: Dan Wu

Episode 9

• Original Airdate: Monday July 21, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 4: The contestants are tasked with creating a dish using Alaskan king salmon in sixty minutes. The top three dishes were Christian's, Courtney's, and Elizabeth's. Christian is named the winner of the challenge, earning him the advantage for the elimination challenge.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Christian Green
• Elimination Test 4: Christian is safe from the elimination test. The judges then select some of their favorite ingredients, and Christian selects Joe's Italian-themed basket for the other contestants to prepare in another sixty minutes. Christian has a third advantage: he will get to decide which contestant will only have thirty minutes to cook their dish, and he chooses Courtney. The judges named the dishes by Elizabeth and Ahran the best, and they would be team captains for the next team challenge.
• Winners: Ahran Cho and Elizabeth Cauvel
• Bottom two: Cutter Brewer and Elise Mayfield
• Elise is eliminated.
• Eliminated: Elise Mayfield

Episode 10

• Original Airdate: Monday July 28, 2014
• Team Challenge 5: The top twelve chefs have to create romantic dinners for seventeen couples, including Gordon Ramsay and his wife Tana. For having the best dishes in the previous elimination test, Elizabeth captains the Blue Team, and Ahran is the Red Team captain. Elizabeth chooses Francis, Jaimee, Victoria, Courtney, and Daniel, while Ahran takes Willie, Christine, Christian, Leslie and is left with Cutter. The blue team wins with more than 75% of the votes, leaving the Red Team to the pressure test.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Courtney Lapresi, Daniel McGuffey, Elizabeth Cauvel, Francis Legge, Jaimee Vitolo and Victoria Scroggins
• Pressure Test 5: For the pressure test, the red team was required to make nine chocolate truffles with at least three different flavors. The team members were also told that all members of the team would be required to participate.
• Bottom two: Christine Silverstein and Leslie Gilliams
• Christine's truffles were deemed to be the worst.
• Eliminated: Christine Silverstein

Episode 11

• Original Airdate: Monday August 4, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 5: The judges provided the remaining home cooks with two Mystery Boxes: one containing everyday ingredients, and another containing more fancy high-end version of the same ingredients, and the chefs were allowed to pick which box they would use to make their dish. The top three consisted of Elizabeth's, Victoria's, and Leslie's. Leslie's dish won the challenge.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Leslie Gilliams
• Elimination Test 6: For winning the Mystery Box Challenge, Leslie was granted immunity, making him the first contestant to reach the top 10 of this season. He then got to pick between three different types of stuffed pasta: Joe's tortellini, Graham's caramelle, and Gordon's raviolacci. Leslie decided on the caramelle, and the chefs had one hour to make their dish. Leslie also had the advantage of removing one person's pasta machine and make them use a rolling pin to make their pasta; he gives Daniel the rolling pin. The top two dishes belong to Jaimee and Courtney, making them team captains for next week's Team Challenge.
• Winners: Courtney Lapresi and Jaimee Vitolo
• Bottom three: Daniel McGuffey, Francis Legge and Willie Mike
• Francis was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Francis Legge

Episode 12

• Original Airdate: Monday August 11, 2014.
• Team Challenge 6: The top ten home cooks arrive at a football stadium where the team challenge will take place. Jaimee and Courtney were team captains for having had the best dishes of the previous week. Jaimee, having had the best overall dish, gets to pick first, however Gordon tells her that she will instead be picking Courtney's team and vice versa. Jaimee chooses Leslie, Christian, Ahran and Victoria for Courtney's Blue Team, and Courtney chooses Cutter, Daniel, Willie and Elizabeth for Jaimee's Red Team. The teams must create two dishes of a turkey burger and fish tacos to be served in a concession stand to hundreds of people attending the football game. The Red Team won the challenge with 51% of the votes while the Blue Team, who had 49% of the votes, will now face the pressure test.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Cutter Brewer, Daniel McGuffey, Elizabeth Cauvel, Jaimee Vitolo and Willie Mike
• Pressure Test 6: Courtney is told that, as team captain, she has the option of saving herself. Courtney accepts. Christian was then saved by the judges.
• Immune: Christian Green and Courtney Lapresi
• The first dish is a ceviche, followed by a prawn tempura and lastly stuffed prawns. The home cooks have just one hour to complete their dishes. They are told that only one person will be saved and the remaining two will be sent home.
• Bottom three: Ahran Cho, Leslie Gilliams and Victoria Scroggins
• Victoria was the first contestant to be eliminated, Ahran was the second to be eliminated.
• Eliminated: Ahran Cho and Victoria Scroggins

Episode 13

• Original Airdate: Monday August 18, 2014.
• Team Challenge 7: The contestants were put into teams of two, though this time they were allowed to decide among themselves on the pairings. Elizabeth agreed to have Leslie as her partner, Daniel paired up with Jaimee, Cutter agreed to work with Willie, thus Courtney and Christian were left as the final pairing. The objective was to take a cut of chicken and create a dish with it, though the teams would not find out what cut they would get until after they had picked their ingredients. Cutter and Willie got the breast, Courtney and Christian got the thigh, Daniel and Jaimee got the wings, and Elizabeth and Leslie got the oysters. Elizabeth and Leslie were deemed safe from the pressure test for having the best dish of the night. The judges decided to save Christian and Courtney from the pressure test.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Elizabeth Cauvel and Leslie Gilliams
• Immune: Christian Green and Courtney Lapresi
• Bottom four: Cutter Brewer, Daniel McGuffey, Jaimee Vitolo and Willie Mike
• Pressure Test 7, Part 1: In a twist, this episode's pressure test was broken down into three smaller tests, with the best performer in each test being sent to safety. All three tests had eggs as the main ingredient, and the first one required the four contestants to perfectly poach an egg. Willie's egg was deemed safe.
• Safe: Willie Mike
• Bottom three: Cutter Brewer, Daniel McGuffey and Jaimee Vitolo
• Pressure Test 7, Part 2: This part of the test required the contestants to each make an egg yolk ravioli. Cutter managed to make the best ravioli of the three, saving him from elimination.
• Safe: Cutter Brewer
• Bottom two: Daniel McGuffey and Jaimee Vitolo
• Pressure Test 7, Part 3: Daniel and Jaimee were each told to make and present a cheese soufflé. Daniel was eliminated from the competition.
• Eliminated: Daniel McGuffey

Episode 14

• Original Airdate: Monday August 25, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 6: The top seven each found their Mystery Boxes to be full of apples, but were told the dish they cooked had to be an entrée, not a dessert. The best three dishes were Christian's, Leslie's, and Courtney's. Courtney's dish was declared as the winner of the Mystery Box.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Courtney Lapresi
• Team Challenge 8: The contestants were grouped into teams of two, though this time for the relay challenge. The teams would be required to prepare five dim sum dishes, and for winning the Mystery Box, Courtney was safe from elimination and got to pick the teams. She paired Cutter with Elizabeth, Christian with Willie, leaving Leslie with Jaimee. Jaimee and Leslie were deemed the winners and sent to safety first. Cutter and Elizabeth were also safe.
• Team Challenge Winners: Jaimee Vitolo and Leslie Gilliams
• Bottom two: Christian Green and Willie Mike
• Willie was eliminated
• Eliminated: Willie Mike

Episode 15

• Original Airdate: Monday September 1, 2014
• Team Challenge 9: The top six will prepare dinner at a restaurant under the supervision of Gordon and Graham, with Gordon expediting. Leslie and Jaimee were appointed as team captains. Jaimee captained the Blue Team and chose Christian and Courtney to join her, while Red Team captain Leslie chose Elizabeth and was left with Cutter as the last pick. The following morning, the Blue Team were named as the losers; the winning Red Team was therefore safe from elimination.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Cutter Brewer, Elizabeth Cauvel and Leslie Gilliams
• Pressure Test 8: Courtney, Jaimee and Christian were all tasked with creating a croquembouche in 90 minutes.
• Bottom two: Christian Green and Jaimee Vitolo
• Gordon and Graham decided that Jaimee had the weaker of the two desserts, resulting in her elimination.
• Eliminated: Jaimee Vitolo

Episode 16

• Original Airdate: Monday September 8, 2014
• Mystery Box Challenge 7: In this challenge, the top five met their loved ones, and were then asked to create and elevate their loved ones' favorite dish. Courtney's, Christian's, and Elizabeth's were named the top 3 dishes, and Elizabeth's was singled out to be the winner of the Mystery Box.
• Challene Winner/Immune: Elizabeth Cauvel
• Elimination Test 7: Elizabeth was safe from elimination, giving her a guaranteed spot in the final four. She also got the opportunity to assign an offal protein to each remaining contestant. Elizabeth gave buffalo testicles to Courtney and veal brains to Christian, leaving lamb tongue to Leslie and ox heart to Cutter. Courtney's dish was the winner, Cutter was also deemed safe.
• Winner: Courtney Lapresi
• Bottom two: Christian Green and Leslie Gilliams
• Christian was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Christian Green

Episode 17

• Original Airdate: Monday September 8, 2014
• Team Challenge 9: The remaining four cooks were divided into two teams of two. Courtney got to choose who was on her team because she made the best dish in the last challenge. She chose Elizabeth. Each pair had to choose a box of ingredients from one of their home states. Courtney and Elizabeth chose Pennsylvania, and Leslie and Cutter chose Texas. Each pair then had to make an appetizer and an entrée based on what was in their box. Elizabeth and Courtney were narrowly judged as the winners, leaving Cutter and Leslie going head to head in the pressure test.
• Team Challenge Winners/Immune: Courtney Lapresi and Elizabeth Cauvel
• Bottom two: Cutter Brewer and Leslie Gilliams
• Pressure Test 9: For the pressure test, Leslie and Cutter were assigned to use a California box of ingredients for the challenge, and the judges introduced three different dishes they would make from those ingredients. The challenge was to replicate all three of the judges' dishes in ninety minutes, with each judge evaluating the dish to see whether Cutter or Leslie did a better job of replicating it. Joe felt Leslie did his dish the best, while Graham felt Cutter had the edge on his dish. The results came down to the last dish. Gordon ultimately sent Leslie to the final three, eliminating Cutter.
• Eliminated: Cutter Brewer

Episode 18

• Original Airdate: Monday September 15, 2014
• Individual Challenge: Gordon informed the final three home cooks that their final challenge would consist of creating an amazing dish for 50 chefs representing the 50 states in only 90 minutes to secure a spot in the final. The top dish would advance to the final right away, and the bottom two dishes would face off in a pressure test. Six of this season's best cooks had returned to help out their fellow competitors. Leslie got the help of Ahran and Christian, Courtney got Daniel and Willie, and Elizabeth got Jaimee and Victoria. Elizabeth was deemed safe and moves on to the finals of MasterChef, as 39 out of 50 chefs voted for her dish.
• Challenge Winner/Immune: Elizabeth Cauvel
• Bottom two: Courtney Lapresi and Leslie Gilliams
• Pressure Test 10: Leslie and Courtney had to make three different cakes from three different regions in America within two hours. Courtney was deemed safe and joined Elizabeth in the finals, while Leslie was eliminated.
• Eliminated: Leslie Gilliams

Episode 19

• Original Airdate: Monday September 15, 2014
• Season finale: The top two home cooks, Elizabeth and Courtney, had to each create an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert.
• Appetizer: Elizabeth made a grilled octopus with chickpea and chorizo salad. Courtney made a crispy pig's ear with dandelion and fennel salad.
• Entrée: Elizabeth made a spiced rack of lamb with red quinoa and carrot purée, while Courtney made a sumac duck breast with spring vegetables and farro.
• Dessert: Elizabeth made a grapefruit and olive oil semolina cake with poached plums and ground pistachio, Courtney made a cherry meringue with salted chocolate and almonds.
• Final two: Courtney Lapresi and Elizabeth Cauvel
• Winner Revealed: The title of MasterChef US 2014, a $250,000 cash prize, and a cookbook deal went to Courtney Lapresi.

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• MasterChef Winner: Courtney Lapresi

References

1. http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/the-insider/Catch-Phillys-Courtney-Lapresi-on-MasterChef-finale.html
2. http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/09/courtney_lapresi_masterchef_winner_stripper_geneva_ny.html
3. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/tv/philly-stripper-courtney-lapresi-wins-masterchef-article-1.1940486