"MasterChef (US)" - Season 12 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Twenty

This season, "MasterChef" returned in full form with its 'Back to Win' season, pitting past home cooks who made it to the MasterChef Kitchen against each other once more with the aim of taking the top prize at last. Some of these competitors came from the same seasons and some even made it all the way to the finale.

The first three episodes of this season saw them face each other for a chance to get back into the game. Ultimately twenty would proceed to the main competition with the earliest being from Season 5, airing back in 2014.

Answer: Two

Though they were too young to compete in the main show during their first appearances in the franchise, Dara, Shayne, and Tae-Ho were brought back with the chance of joining the big leagues in the second episode of auditions, facing off against each other for white aprons. Ultimately, Dara and Shayne made it through to the main competition, becoming the first-ever home cooks to cross over into the adult version of the show. Dara previously appeared in "MasterChef Junior" Season 1 while Shayne showed for Season 5. Dara was 12 and Shayne was 13 when each first competed.

Answer: A pin

When competing in a non-team challenge, the home cooks would win the opportunity to wear the Immunity Pin, allowing them to avoid elimination entirely in the proceeding challenge regardless of how bad they fared on the task at hand (if at all). The first of these went to Emily in Episode 4, the first challenge back in the MasterChef Kitchen, when she made a redemptive deconstructed black forest cake. She was subsequently spared from needing to cook in the Mystery Box Challenge in the following episode.

As an additional new rule, all home cooks were required to make three identical dishes every round-- one for each judge-- as opposed to a single serving.

Answer: Whitney Miller

These Mystery Boxes were brought on by season 7 winner Shaun O'Neale, season 3 winner Christine Ha, and season 9 winner Gerron Hurt.

Shaun came in with his Las Vegas-inspired cuisine for the Top 19, bringing in boxes containing spirits to infuse into the dishes. Christine brought her Vietnamese stylings, telling the home cooks in the Top 13 to use all eleven ingredients in her traditional Mystery Box (and a limited pantry). Gerron was last of the three, coming in for the Top 9 and telling them to use hot peppers to cook spicy dishes.

Answer: Beef wellington

The episode, featuring the top 17 home cooks, began with Gordon claiming his recent love of vegan food (after decades of disdain for it). What this meant was recontextualizing the traditional beef wellington, one of his signature dishes, as a 'beet wellington', showing off how vegan food could be elevated to a MasterChef level.

Amanda won the challenge (and an immunity pin) by creating her traditional falafel and pita dish. Samantha was sent home, fumbling her pierogis to make potato pancakes with mushroom filling and vegan sour cream-- a dish Joe Bastianich called 'mysterious' when tasting its elements at her station.

Answer: The U.S. Coast Guard

After a season marred by COVID-19 protocol forced MasterChef contestants to stay in the kitchen, the 'Back to Win' season saw the return of formal Team Challenges in which the home cooks were split into groups to serve large groups of diners. The first of these was early on in the season and saw the chefs split into teams based on their seasons (earliest contestants and the "Juniors" vs. the later contestants) to serve the U.S. Coast Guard.

The second of these took them to a rodeo to serve more than a hundred ranch people.

Answer: Cast iron ribeye steak

It was the Top 12 who had to split into teams of two (of their own choosing) to participate in, likely, the most difficult Tag Team Challenge yet, finding themselves tasked with cooking Gordon Ramsay classics in a difficult three-course meal. To begin, the pairs had to create a mushroom risotto for their appetizer. Secondly, they had to make Gordon's classic beef wellington recipe per his standards. For dessert, they had to make a technically difficult tarte tatin. On top of all of this, they had only seventy-five minutes to finish the challenge. Whole some teams excelled, others struggled.

The judges sent Gabriel home after this one, leaving eleven.

Answer: Two

The Top 8 walked into the MasterChef Kitchen to find The Wall, previously seen in Season 11, and were set up in teams of two by the winner of the previous round, Emily, who didn't hide her intentions as she intentionally sabotaged her competition (or at least tried to. For this challenge, the partners needed to make identical dishes of their choosing-- even down to plating-- as they communicated through and over a large wall. Both cooks from the losing team, Amanda and Derrick, ended up getting sent home, mainly because they pair elected to slice their duck early enough to diminish the quality of their dishes.

Answer: Spago

The Top 6 faced the traditional restaurant takeover Team Challenge and were split into two teams led by the winners of the previous challenge (The Wall, specifically Willie and Christian), and the both had to lead their teams in the kitchen of Spago Beverly Hills, Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, with Gordon expediting at the pass. Teams ended up making Crispy Scale Bass and Pan-Roasted Scallops as appetizers and Duck Breast and Pan-Seared Veal Chop for entrees, facing technical troubles with each one.

It was Willie's blue team that lost, serving not only raw duck to a VIP table, but raw veal to Puck himself. Willie was sent home for the loss, leaving five for the semifinals.

Answer: Dara

The three finalists returned to the finale of "MasterChef" to complete one appetizer, entree and dessert course each, fighting it out for a $250,000 grand prize, the MasterChef trophy, and a full Viking kitchen (with range and appliances). Each course, completed in an hour each, needed to follow the chefs' full theme and vision and wow the judges who, for the entree and dessert courses, brought in past judges Graham Elliot and Christina Tosi to help weigh in on the decision.

In the end, it was Dara Yu's three-course meal based on her childhood that won her the 'Back to Win' season, improving her second place finish in the first "MasterChef Junior" season with a full victory this time around.