‘MasterChef: Dynamic Duos’ Contestant Is Overwhelmed by Tough New Challenge

The competition continues to be hot and heavy on MasterChef: Dynamic Duos. Season 15 of the Fox culinary series brings a fresh theme pairing home cooks together. Teams made up of mothers and daughters, siblings, aunt and niece, best friends and even those divorced. On the line for the teams is $250,000, a trophy and title of MasterChefs. 

Throughout the weeks they’ve been working to impress Gordon Ramsay, restaurateur Joe Bastianich and new judge, James Beard Award-nominee Tiffany Derry (Top Chef, Bobby’s Triple Threat, Great American Recipe), The Top 9 remain in the game including: Top Chef Juniors friends Kayla Mitchell and Ryan Kate Brandenburg, married couple Rachel Sanchez and Julio Figueredo, newlyweds Timothy Cartwright and Athena Phillips, aunt and niece Tina Duong and Aivan Tran, mother and daughter Tonna and Cait Jacobson, and husband and wife Zach and Michelle Lamb. The July 9 episode saw the elimination of animal ER nurses during the Mystery Box Pressure Test. The judges were not feeling their cannoli with sweet chocolate cashew ricotta filling and whiskey raspberry coulis. 

The upcoming July 16 episode features a MasterChef first where the remaining twosomes face a brand-new competition “Recipe Telephone.” The challenge is built around a culinary relay where each duo will be split up. One teammate begins cooking while the other waits in a separate room. 

Halfway through the challenge, they swap places, and the second teammate must complete the dish. It’s a high-stake, high-pressure challenge that tests just how well each duo really knows each other. Teamwork and intuition will need to be enough for the duos to plate a winning dish. 

We got a taste of what’s to come thanks to an exclusive clip above provided to TV Insider. The time crunch is felt with Ramsay pushing the duos. “You’ve got to move guys,” he said. Michelle feels the weight of the task at hand as she peels a carrot. “I don’t like having my other half here, so I’m feeling overwhelmed,” she confessed without having her husband Zach to lean on for support. Derry checked in with the Minneapolis native as the 30 minutes ticked away. 

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Michelle prepares a crispy skin salmon with roasted vegetables and Israeli couscous that is going to sit on some white wine broth with herb oil over the top. “That’s a lot,” Derry reacted. She asked her what’ needed to get done at this point. Derry felt the couscous should be priority because it’s something she believed Zach “would have known to do himself.” On if the husband will see her vision, she is crossing her fingers. Derry’s advice is to make it as convenient as she could with what the steps are in her vision so Zach could pick up her ideas and complete them. Will Michelle’s strategy play out successfully? We’ll have to find out by watching. 

MasterChef, Wednesdays, 8/7c, Fox (Next Day on Hulu)

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