"MasterChef (US)" - Season 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Onions

Entering a warehouse, the thirty semi-finalists were told that they would never be a MasterChef unless they proved themselves to be good at handling a knife. There were given a truck-full of onions and told to chop and dice the vegetables until told to stop.

After an instruction session from Gordon Ramsey, they started. Four people cut themselves in the first minute. Some were kicked out early for poor technique, bad chopping, leaving too much solid onion, etc. Some were saved from the task early for proving their skills. Some, however, were left chopping for ninety minutes. Ultimately, six were cut from the competition.

Answer: Egg

Immediately after the onion challenge, the twenty-four semi-finalists were introduced to their first cooking challenge-- they were given a single egg (no replacements) and thirty minutes to cook a dish to wow the judges. They were allowed to choose from a wonderful array of additional ingredients, but the egg needed to be the hero of the dish. During the creation process, the judges were disappointed by a lack of three-star, restaurant caliber dishes.

While many poached and baked eggs, some baked, deviled, scrambled, made egg rolls, and even created a dessert with their ingredient. Some, however, were daft enough to put eggshells on the plate.

When cuts were made, fourteen were left: Slim, Tracy, Jake, Sheetal, Lee, Tony, Faruq, Mike, Sharone, Jenna, David, Sheena, Whitney, and Avis.

Answer: Mandarin oranges

Arriving in the MasterChef kitchen, the home cooks were immediately thrown into their first challenge-- a Mystery Box Challenge. With forty-five minutes and a box of mixed ingredients (including double-cut pork chops, chocolate, a granny smith apple, ciabatta bread, vine tomatoes, cognac, and cinnamon) they could us as much or as little of their supplies as they wished. Although the judges claimed that the chocolate was the devil of the box Sheena created a Cognac-Flavoured Chocolate Mousse (with Candied Lemon Peel). Despite this deviation from the norm, the winner was Whitney, who'd never cooked a pork chop before, with a minimalistic, but perfect Southern-Fried Pork Chop and Coleslaw.

Because she won the Mystery Box Challenge, Whitney got to choose the ingredient used for the Elimination Challenge to follow (giving her an advantage). Choosing between Chinese mushrooms, mandarin oranges, and duck, she needed to strategically pick the one needed to make a Chinese dish. She chose the oranges. Mike won the challenge with Nutty Orange Chicken with Peppers while Avis was sent home for a dated Chinese Orange Chicken and Vegetable Stir Fry. The contestants were soon shocked, however, when the judges decided to send Sheena home as well for her Warm Mandarin Salad and Pickled Cabbage (considered put together in five minutes by Chef Ramsey).
The contestants were all chastized for playing everything too safe and boring. Joe Bastianich, specifically, asked the contestants to get into the spirit of the competition.

Answer: Chili

For winning the previous Elimination Challenge with the best dish, Mike was able to choose his team for the next major challenge, an off-site cook-off in which two teams (red and blue) had to feed and serve one hundred U.S. Marines. While Mike's Blue Team was considered to have a lesser menu (Pork Loin, Corn, and Mashed Potatoes) to the Red Team's (Steak and Homemade BBQ Sauce with Potatoes Gratin and Vegetables), they ended up winning by cooking enough to serve all of the marines.

As a result, the Red Team had to participate in a Pressure Test, testing their knowledge of food. For this, Sharone, David, Whitney, Slim, Faruq, and Jenna had to identify the twenty ingredients used in a pot of chili using only their taste buds. Jenna was eliminated during this challenge for identifying the least (with seven of twenty).

Answer: Cat Cora

For their second Mystery Box Challenge, the eleven remaining home cooks had to create cupcakes from scratch; the judges ultimately went with Sharone, whose Hazelnut and Pistachio Cupcake narrowly defeated Whitney's Coconut Cupcake with Lemon Glaze.

Following the Mystery Box Challenge, the chefs were introduced to renowned chef Cat Cora who would be joining them for the next challenge. Sharone, who won the cupcake challenge, was given the chance to catapult himself into the final four, but only if he could best one of Cat Cora's dishes (his choice). The choice was between her Truffled Halibut, her Bass, or her Marinated Lamb Chop. He went with the halibut. All of the other chefs, after watching her make the dish, needed to replicate it to stay in the competition. Jake won while Faruq was sent home.

Answer: Burgers

Winning the previous Cat Cora challenge, Jake was allowed to pick his team, the Blue Team, for the off-site challenge, preparing one hundred burgers for one hundred truckers. The Blue Team made a 100% Beef Burger with Old Fashioned Coleslaw while the Red Team started with a 100% Beef Burger containing Blue Cheese with Bacon. When this proved problematic, they switched to a simple burger with chipotle barbecue sauce. With thirty minutes prep, the Red Team ended up switching their idea, adjusting, and improvising to win the challenge by appealing to more than half of their patrons.

As a result, the Blue Team headed into a Pressure Test. For this one, the five members of the team were given twenty-five unique ingredients and were told to identify them, in a row. Whoever got the least without getting one wrong would be sent home. This was Tony.

Answer: Crab

With only nine home cooks remaining, a Mystery Box Challenge was held in which most of the ingredients (including asparagus, prosciutto, and others) were shown before the challenge. The only thing inside the boxes were live Dungeness crabs, the hero of their respective dishes. The winner of this challenge was Lee, whose Dungeness Crab Salad with Fresh Avocado and Gazpacho Andalouse Sauce gave him the advantage going into the Elimination Challenge.

The theme of the proceeding challenge was 'Romance', and Lee got to select the main ingredient (between chocolate, passion fruit, and burrata cheese). He ultimately forced the cooks to use passion fruit, resulting in several uninspired dishes. All four remaining women had the worst dishes and Slim was eliminated for her uninspired Passion Fruit Fondue with Lamb, Shrimp, and Fruit-- a platter Joe Bastianich actually threw out during judging.

Answer: Venison

The final eight were split into two teams to cater for a wedding containing two hundred plus guests. Lee, who won the previous challenge, was asked to create the Blue Team (who inevitably lost). Due to faults in the kitchen, two of the judges needed to jump onto the line to assist the home cooks in their set menus. Following this, a Pressure Test was held in which the losing team needed to cook fresh pasta and sauce dishes and after, two cooks (Tracy with her Ravioli and Bolognese Sauce, and Jake with his Stuffed Calamari and Marinara over Fettuccine) were eliminated.

The final six ended up receiving a Mystery Box Challenge, their final one. This time around they had to cook and prepare a dish in one hour using a rack of venison, blueberries, bacon, quail eggs, and more. Sheetal won this challenge creating Roasted Venison with Blueberry Wine Sauce and Creamed Brussel Sprouts. For the subsequent Invention Test, Sheetal got to choose between honey, berries, and vanilla for a 'Dessert' themed test. She chose vanilla. After ninety minutes, Whitney's simple Profiteroles with Chantily Cream and Bananas Flambe won while Mike's Poached Pear Trifle with Vanilla Infused Brandy contained raw eggs, much to the judges' disappointment. It was tossed out and he was sent home.

Answer: Sculpin

The remaining home cooks headed out onto the ocean to go fishing for their next major dish-- Sculpin, also known as California Scorpion Fish. They then needed to cook a dish with it at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel for three major food critics: Jeffrey Steingarten ("Vogue" food editor), Tanya Steel (editor of Epicurious), and Barbara Fairchild (Bon Appetit, editor-in-chief). Whitney, for winning the previous Invention Test, had an additional fifteen minutes to cook. The dishes were rated out of twelve stars and David received a score of eleven and a half from the critics for his Saffron Butter Sculpin with Israeli Couscous and Roasted Peppers. The bottom two, Whitney and Sharone, were forced to compete in one final Pressure Test.

Back in the MasterChef Kitchen, the ingredients for pressure test included eggs, milk, butter, cream, and others. The dish? A souffle. To create this technical dish, the two had ninety minutes to make as many as they wanted and place only one in front of the judges. Whitney, who only made a single batch of two, won by baking hers to perfection, placing herself into the final four.

Answer: Whitney

The first stage of the finals split the final four into duos to battle head-to-head. For the semi-final round, the pairs had to create prescribed dishes for the judges. Sheetal and Lee were eliminated in their respective battles against David and Whitney, bringing them into the final round. For this face-off, the home cooks were allowed to make a three-course meal consisting of whatever they wanted.

The judges ranked each dish and the winner would be announced. When it came down to it, Whitney Miller beat out David for her overall technical prowess and she won the MasterChef title, a cookbook deal, and a cheque for $250,000.

Her first cookbook, "Modern Hospitality: Simple Recipes with Southern Charm", ended up on store shelves the year after the airing of the show.