July 23--South Loop fashion designer Tommy Walton made green beans with bacon in Wednesday's "MasterChef" challenge, but he appeared to spend more time giving fashion commentary than cooking.
The 10 home cooks were taken to a ranch about 70 miles north of the "MasterChef" kitchen in California, and they watched as the three judges arrived wearing ranchwear to announce the challenge.
"I can't believe what the judges are wearing. (Judge) Gordon Ramsay was made to wear blue jeans," said Walton, who wore a leopard-print shirt to the ranch.
The judges told the home cooks they would be split into two teams to make a steak meal with two side dishes and a sauce for 101 cowboys and cowgirls who would vote on the best dish.
Milwaukee administrative assistant Katrina Kozar and former business developer Hetal Vasavada were named team captains because they had the best dishes in last week's peanut butter and jelly challenge. The twist was that they picked team members for each other.
Walton was the third pick, an improvement over a past challenge, when he was picked last.
Vasavada said she gave Walton, 53, to Kozar because of his negativity.
Kozar gave Walton the task of cooking green beans, but it's unclear how well he made them. The show focused more on Walton's fashion comments, especially when the cowboys arrived to judge the dishes.
"I'm just totally getting into their outfits. I got to get some chaps with some fringe, honey," Walton said.
There wasn't much drama on Walton's team, which easily won the challenge with its New York strip steak with fire-roasted red pepper sauce, white sweet-potato mash and green beans.
Vasavada's team was slow to cook the zucchini for its dish of hanger steak with chimichurri and warm potato salad.
Vasavada and three of her teammates went into the elimination challenge, where they had to make a fruit tart.
No one was eliminated in Wednesday's episode because subpar tarts, made by Los Angeles restaurant manager Christopher Lu and California urban gardener Stephen Lee, had similar flaws, the judges said.
Next week the 10 home cooks will be tasked with making a family-style dinner. Meanwhile, Fox announced Wednesday that it will hold a casting call for the next season of "MasterChef" on Sept. 26 in Chicago with details to come.
The winner of "MasterChef" gets $250,000 and a cookbook deal. The show airs Wednesdays on Fox.
