The winner of the third season of MasterChef was finally revealed last Monday night (Sept. 10) after judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich, and Graham Elliot reconvened out in the MasterChef kitchen and officially announced who the winner was in the season’s competition.
It all came down to a final cook-off between 33-year-old grad student Christine Ha from Texas, and 24-year-old Army contract specialist Josh Marks from Mississippi. As usual, the two finalists were tasked with cooking a complete meal: an appetizer, an entrée, and a dessert.
For appetizers, Christine presented a Thai Papaya Salad with Crab and Mixed Vegetables served cold, while Josh made a Butter Poached Lobster with Grits and Sweet Potato Puree. In summary, the judges thought Christine’s appetizer was balanced and delicious but not “luxurious”, whereas Josh’s was a work of art and bold but the lobster was half cooked.
Entrées: Christine went back to her Vietnamese roots with a Braised Pork Belly with Rice, Crispy Kale and Maitake Mushrooms, whereas Josh served a beautifully plated Rack of Lamb with Green Curry Sauce, Spring Peas and Carrots. Judges said Christine’s entrée made up for taste what it lacked in appearance, which basically means it could go either way, while Josh’s was almost a complete ”symphony” of components.”
Last but certainly not least, the desserts. Christine came up with a Coconut Lime Sorbet with Ginger Tuile, and Josh with a Bacon Crusted Pecan Pie with Vanilla Cinnamon Ice Cream. The judges thought Christine’s sorbet was just right and that it perfectly complimented the entrée and Josh’s ice cream was loved by all three judges.
In the end, it was Christine who was declared the winner and who took the trophy to become the season’s MasterChef winner. The balance and the impeccable execution of her meal was said to be the deciding factor that earned her the win, with the judges praising her final menu for its cohesiveness.
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Here’s a look back at Christina Ha’s Masterchef USA Audition:
Boy did those judges love that vanilla ice cream or what? I was sure that was the clincher for Josh, and I bet he did too! Christine cried so hard when she discovered she won. It must have been grueling, without a single day off for 11 weeks and no husband with her. To her credit, she memorized many recipes, and expanded beyond her comfortable home cooking her mother taught her. To me, it seemed fitting she go back to what she started with. The season was riveting though, to say the least. I started having my Dish coworker over to watch since he introduced me to the show and we made a big event out of the finale. Instead of the commercial breaks, we used the Auto Hop on my PrimeTime Anytime recordings to watch commercial free, and then took food breaks. Everything took an hour anyway, but we enjoyed the time we would have been watching commercials by loading our plates!