Aug. 06--South Loop fashion designer Tommy Walton started at the top of Wednesday's "MasterChef" episode, and he ended at the top.
Walton, 53, served a top-three dish in the mystery box challenge, which tasked the nine home cooks with incorporating flambe into their dish.
Walton served a bananas Foster with apples and maple bourbon cream. He was called first to present his dish.
"Yes, baby, I've been called first. The judges are going to be quite impressed today with Tommy Walton," Walton said.
"It smells incredibly fragrant," judge Gordon Ramsay told Walton.
Walton landed in the top three but did not win the challenge after Chicago judge Graham Elliot told him the apples seemed out of place in the dish.
California urban gardener Stephen Lee won the challenge and picked chicken and waffles for the 60-minute elimination test.
Walton created a duck-fat fried chicken with a pecan quinoa corn waffle. He oozed confidence as he worked in the kitchen.
Ramsay called the dish authentic and delicious.
"That is righteous stuff, Tommy," Elliot said.
Walton served one of the top two dishes, so he will be a captain for next week's vegetarian challenge along with former business developer Hetal Vasavada, a vegetarian who had the other top dish in Wednesday's episode.
Kitchen assistant Shelly Flash went home for undercooked chicken and a lackluster fruit side dish.
The winner of "MasterChef" will receive $250,000 and a cookbook deal. The show airs Wednesdays on Fox at 7 p.m.
