Who Will Win 'MasterChef' 2023? West Serves Up New Favorite
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"MasterChef" has a new favorite after the West served up an audition episode full of flavor.
Season 13's "United Tastes of America" twist sees wannabes from four regions of the United States - Northeast, West, Midwest and South - aiming to impress the judges, and it was the West's turn on Wednesday night.
Regular judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Aaron Sanchez were joined by guest panelist Susan Feniger for the episode, and she admitted flavor is "the most important thing" in the contestants' cooking.
The Too Hot Tamales star said: "I mean, the West is everything. We just love the West. We've got this amazing agriculture, we've got the ocean, there's such great diversity here. I think because of that, it gives you the opportunity to be incredibly creative."
Several wannabes impressed on Wednesday night, including Madame Donut, who stood out with her bright blue and pink hair and unusual name.
Salmon Queen Gigi even had a tattoo of the word "salmon" in the inside of her bottom lip.
While the inking left the judges stunned, they weren't quite so impressed with her cooking abilities, with Ramsay describing it as more of a snack, and she was sent back to the West without one of the show's white aprons.
Contestants have 45 minutes to make their signature dishes, and they need at least three yeses from the judges to be handed one of the coveted garments and progress to the next round.
The season 13 winner will land a $250,000 prize as well as the title of "America's MasterChef."
With these hypothetical odds provided by industry sports betting experts, we've looked into which remaining "MasterChef" contestants could have what it takes to be the show's winner.
Kennedy On The Top
"MasterChef" contestant Kennedy is the new +300 favorite, with a 25% implied probability, to win season 13 after impressing in the West episode. The Denver native cooked up a sumptuous dish of elk tenderloin with rainbow carrots and blueberry compote.
Ramsay was particularly impressed with her efforts, admitting it "pops" visually, and he gave her an "absolute yes."
Kennedy received four yeses in total, with guest judge Feniger also rating her dish, describing her plate as "gorgeous."
Following her episode three exploits, Kennedy has now edged out episode two star Charles, who wowed the judges with his amok dish, and episode one's Purvi, whose vanilla bundt cakes also earned her four yeses from the judges and some rare praise from Bastianich.
Charles and Purvi are now +350 joint second favorites to win the competition, from +300 last week.
Bastianich 'Dumbfounded' By Lizzie
Like Kennedy, Lizzie also received four yeses on Wednesday after the judges loved her roasted Alaskan halibut with cauliflower puree, pan-seared mushrooms and fresh herb oil.
Bastianich was "dumbfounded" by just how great Lizzie's dish was, which is huge praise from the usually hard-to-please panelist.
Feniger also described part of Lizzie's dish as "gorgeous," and the Alaska native sailed into the next round.
Lizzie is now +400 third favorite to win the series, ahead of +450 joint fourth favorites Brynn and Wayne.
James is +500 to triumph on this year's "MasterChef" after his Glorious Gloria crab cakes with tartar sauce and sauteed squash went down well.
He named the dish after his late mom, who taught him everything he knows about cooking.
While Feniger admitted she would've liked to have eaten a crispier crab cake, James did enough to progress to the next round.
He is narrowly ahead of Ryan, who also had an emotional backstory when he took part in episode one.
Ryan, who is +550 to triumph, had some viewers in tears as he told how his cooking passion has helped him to overcome previous addictions.
His fellow episode one competitor Kyle is +600, the same price as Richie.
Donut Hits Back At Bastianich
Hawaii native Madame Donut proved to be a popular contestant on Wednesday night's West episode.
Ramsay was particularly surprised by her moniker, and the donut shop owner admitted she had changed her name to Madame Donut. The "MasterChef" judge said, "Normally, I'm calling individuals 'donuts'. Now you're being asked to be called a donut."
She laughed about this and also provided a comedy moment of her own when she had the audience laughing after comically interrupting Bastianich.
He said: "You're cooking against maybe cooks from Southern California or Portland, Oregon. And then you have Hawaii, which is cool, but it's not the first place I think of when I think of food quite frankly, because ..."
Donut then said, "Joe, look at this. I'm here to change your mind!"
The audience applauded her interruption, and Sanchez was also a big fan, giving her a high five and saying, "Excellent! I like that. That sass."
Madame Donut is now +700 to win the season, after her ahi tuna musubi with crispy sushi rice and soy gastrique did just about enough, despite Bastianich questioning why she didn't manage to get everything on her plate.
Amanda Goes Through
She is just ahead of Amanda, who also progressed in episode three after cooking up an herb crusted halibut with sautéed tomatoes and fennel and ppckled purple cauliflower. But not all of the judges were impressed, with Sanchez saying "no" after commenting that she had put too much olive oil on her dish.
Despite the one rejection, Amanda received yeses from the other three judges and is now +800 to win the contest.
She is in front of +1000 chances Nina, who made venison and bok choy dumplings in episode one, and Grant, who landed an apron thanks to his roasted corn agnolotti with lemon, butter and chives.
The pair have drifted in price from +800 last week, while Sarah is at +1200, from +1000 last week.
Midwest contestant Sarah received some negative comments, with Ramsay describing the sauce for her Springfield cashew chicken as "so bland."
At the end of episode three, Ramsay said: "Three regions down and one to go. This is it."
Next Wednesday will see the final regional auditions episode, as cooks from the South take on one another in a bid to win one of the coveted white aprons.
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