by Gina Scarpa

 

Last night, on MasterChef, the contestants competed in a high pressure challenge, where they had to replicate a dish made by Iron Chef Cat Cora. Faruq found himself in the bottom three against Slim and Mike and was headed home. In the next hour, Tony's losing team competed in a Pressure Challenge, naming as many ingredients as they could. Tony named the least amount and was eliminated from the competition. Today, the two aspiring chefs spoke to RealityWanted in an exclusive interview about their experiences on the show.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What made you want to do MasterChef as opposed to other reality cooking competitions?
A. Faruq: For me, I didn't even know what the prize was until we actually started the show. I just wanted the ability to cook for Gordon Ramsay and learn from the judges on the show. I wanted to get in there and have Gordon Ramsay taste my food and see what he thought.
A. Tony: Personally, I had just left a 10 year career in radio to go to cooking school. I ultimately wanted to open up a personal chef business. I made it to the show. I didn't do the school thing. I think this kind of helps me fast forward things.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which contestant stood out to you as your biggest threat?
A. Tony: I would say Jake. He can bake, he can cook a piece of meat, he can cook fish. Just from talking shop with him off camera, he's so well rounded and intense about food that I was like, "Man, Jake is gonna be tough!" He's the most talented guy in the kitchen.
A. Faruq: I would have to agree with that. Talking to him off camera, his knowledge of food and his desire to learn more and question more was great.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Faruq, what went through your mind during the cupcake challenge?
A. Faruq: With the cupcake challenge, I was confident because I know how to follow directions. I had some cupcake ideas in my head. I never baked a cupcake where I didn't have to just open up a package, add some eggs, and some oil. The biggest problem I ran into was all the ingredients. All the stuff kinda looks the same! I actually swapped out baking powder for confectioner's sugar and I didn't realize until it was too late!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Tony, how did you feel about Sharone getting the opportunity to go all the way to the final four?
A. Tony: I was blown away about that. I thought I had a pretty good cupcake. I wish I had been a little more careful pouring my mix into the tin because I poured too much. I couldn't believe it though. Watching it last night, he tried to change up a perfect dish. He's throwing scallions and shallots in there. It's like "Come on man, you should emulate her dish to a T."

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It seems like there's a lot of pressure on MasterChef. How did you handle it?
A. Faruq: Handling the pressure on MasterChef... one of the things I realized was that I can cook. Cooking under pressure is another story. When that clock is ticking and you are worried about the competition and you're worried about other people, they get in your head and take you out of your comfort zone. That's what happens to me. I didn't cook the way I know how to cook when I'm home. I was trying to be more fancy and more technical than I needed to be. That's what ultimately caused me to be eliminated.
A. Tony: The pressure wasn't too bad. When I was cooking, I know I had done it a million times. It didn't really get to me until the real Pressure Test, when I had to be in that test taking atmosphere. My whole life, I've been a terrible test taker! I second guessed myself. I don't know what I was thinking!

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was there anything said by Gordon, Graham, and Joe that helped inspire you to continue cooking?
A. Faruq: They gave me a lot of "keep your head up, don't let the dream go away" comments and I definitely won't. Just being able to cook for those guys and cook on that stage was amazing for me.
A. Tony: Gordon called my signature dish "tenacious" which gives me confidence that I might know what I'm doing. At the end, when I made the halibut, they said it was great. It's little things like that. Even after my elimination, Gordon said I could call him. I wish I could've taken his phone number with me!

 

MasterChef airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on Fox.

 

(Image courtesy of Fox)

 

Follow Gina at twitter.com/ginascarpa

 

For more MasterChef links, visit SirLinksALot.net