Forty-five minutes to make a Gordon Ramsay signature dish, with possible elimination from the “MasterChef” kitchen on the line?
Dang, Caitlin Jones is good under pressure.
The Peters Township and Carnegie Mellon University grad pulled one out in literally the last minute Wednesday night, acing a one-on-one challenge in order to cook another day. She and Harvard University student Adam Wong were thrown into the elimination challenge after working as a team earlier in the episode.
They’d made an Asian-inspired chicken-and-potatoes dish Mr. Ramsay deemed “disgusting.” And so, in 45 minutes, they each had to replicate his storied poached chicken supreme with truffle croquettes, wilted spinach, charred endive and truffle jus.
With two minutes to go, Ms. Jones, 24, discovered, to her horror, that the chicken was pink in spots. She was able to pan fry it, and a butter baste helped finish the dish. Off to the side, Mr. Ramsay and fellow judges Aaron Sanchez and Christina Tosi flipped out, quietly cheering Ms. Jones as if she were a figure skater who’d just landed a quad.
Earning effusive praise for the completed dish (“Here’s the thing: It took me years to perfect this dish. You’ve just pulled it off in 45 minutes,” Mr. Ramsay said), she waited through Mr. Wong’s critique. He also did a nice job but apparently did not check to see if the chicken was thoroughly cooked. Raw throughout, it was his undoing. Amid hugs and tears, he left the competition.
Next week: the eight remaining chefs tackle the always amusing tag team challenge.
In other reality news:
• It was the end of the “America’s Got Talent” road for Murrysville twins Trent and Colton Edwards this week. After singing from the Queen songbook and dancing to “Poison” and “Jump,” the Franklin Regional High School juniors failed to elicit enough votes to reach the semifinals.
• She’s baaack.
Few personalities on “Hell’s Kitchen” made more of an impression over 16 seasons than Woodland Hills High School grad Elise Harris, and that is really saying something.
Six years ago, Ms. Harris finished third in season nine using her maiden name, Wims. She went on to make appearances on other TV cooking shows and has built a brand as “The Diva Chef.”
This is Fox’s first stab at an all-star version of the Gordon Ramsay mainstay. The usual women-vs.-men format takes the screen Sept. 29. Let the in-fighting begin!
• Another ginormous Neil Lane ring is back in circulation. “Bachelor” Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi decided there will be no wedding and announced Friday in a statement obtained by People: “We gave this relationship our all, and we are saddened that we did not get the fairy-tale ending we hoped for. We will continue to be there for each other, no matter what.”
The engagement ring, reportedly valued at $100,000, will no doubt be going back to the jewelers, or perhaps ABC can recycle it.
• Season 25 of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” reveals its latest celebrity cast on “Good Morning America” Sept. 6. In the past, keeping the list a secret has been notoriously hopeless. So far, HGTV “Property Brothers” star Drew Scott and professional “Total Divas” wrestler Nikki Bella appear to be signed on.
The list of returning professional dancers was announced earlier this week: Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvintsev, Emma Slater, Gleb Savchenko, Keo Motsepe, Lindsay Arnold, Maks Chmerkovskiy, Mark Ballas, Peta Murgatroyd, Sharna Burgess (former partner of Steeler Antonio Brown), Val Chmerkovskiy and Witney Carson.
• And speaking of dance …
The season 14 national tour of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” moonwalks into Greensburg’s Palace Theatre Oct. 8. The 34-market tour begins in Chicago three days earlier. More information and ticket link are available at fox.com/dance.
Maria Sciullo: msciullo@post-gazette.com or @MariaSciulloPG.
First Published: August 25, 2017, 4:25 p.m.