Thai Fettuccine with Grilled Ciabatta bread and Tomato Soup, by John. He cooked this dish because it is a hardy dish with all four food groups. John is a self taught cook. If John won Master Chef, he would become a private chef, cooking meals for people within their home.

Thai Fettuccine with Grilled Ciabatta bread and Tomato Soup, by John. He cooked this dish because it is a hardy dish with all four food groups. John is a self taught cook. If John won Master Chef, he would become a private chef, cooking meals for people within their home.

Thai Fettuccine with Grilled Ciabatta bread and Tomato Soup, by John. He cooked this dish because it is a hardy dish with all four food groups. John is a self taught cook. If John won Master Chef, he would become a private chef, cooking meals for people within their home.

John ready for his close up.

Dried Morel & Thyme Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Tarragon Buttered rice, by John. John is a culinary school drop out. Needing money, John left school to join the Army and was stationed in Germany. John would call home every night to ask his mom how to cook all her dishes. John would like to open up a restaurant in Tacoma for the 25 and older crowd if he won Master Chef; restaurant that cooks elegant Italian food, has Cabaret, drinks and no smoking. John says Tacoma needs a good restaurant with some entertainment. Seattle already has everything.

Michael tasting his dish for the first time.

Pork Tenderloin w/ sauteed swiss chard chanterellel mushrooms, by Michael.Michael hasnaE™t cooked this dish before. In fact, he hadnaE™t even tasted it by the time I took this picture.

Armon feeling good about the interview.

Shrimp ala Armon. When asking Armon why he decided to make this dish he said, these were the only ingredients i had in the house. It was his fourth time making this dish and he felt like it would best hold up in the car ride from Eugene. Armon says he does 95% of the cooking in his house and his wife is constantly bringing food in for her coworkers who love it. They all urged him to make the drive to Tukwila to compete for Master Chef.

Berry Cobbler with Vanilla Custard, made by Carry. Carry loves to cook comfort food. Her grandmother taught her how to cook pies at a young age. She loves to utilize local farmers markets in her cooking. It makes her feel good to know where her food is coming from.

Thayn talking about his dish.

Here we have half-eaten Foie Gras with pomegranet reduction, by Thayn. The first time he tried making Foie Gras, he melted it completely. Thayn has a blog moonlitkitchen.com and is currently shopping around for a publisher for his 300 page concept book on how to prepare your own 12-13 course meal for guests.He didn’t have time to plate his bitter honey herb Jelly.

Contestants have three minutes to plate their dish. What doesn’t make it to the plate within that time cannot be considered.

Rachel with her dish

Five Spice Duck by Rachel. The duck gets a 5 spice dry rub down and sits over night. Next day the duck is steamed and deep fried for a crispy crunch. This is RachelaE™s version of a dish her and her husband love at their favorite restaurant in Seattle, Wild Ginger. Rachel thinks her version is WAY better AND cheaper. Rachel said she looked at a few different recipes online but what was important for her to find was a recipe that took on less grease. It’s always been a dream of Rachel’s to pursue cooking. She went to culinary school but soon got pregnant and hence became a stay-at-home mom. If she won, she’d use the money to get back on her path of cooking.

Jeremy with Lasagna

Lasagna, made by Jeremy. Jeremy has been cooking seriously for 4 years and has been perfecting this recipe for 10 years. This truck driver is always cooking for family and friends. Jeremy recently got into baking and now does cake decorating on the side. He loves it because it allows him to tap into his creativity. When he was younger, he wanted to grow up and be an artist for Disney.

Howard contemplating his dish and wondering if he’ll make the cut.

Tartiflette, made by Howard. Howard was in Captain Kangaroo when he was younger. With the right amount of money he’d like to open a restaurant in either Eugene or Portland.

Carry and her Cobbler