MasterChef United Tastes of America: Dugouts, Strike Outs, and Kiddie

Oof, while they took us to the ball game, there wasn’t exactly a home run anywhere.

There was another field challenge on MasterChef Season 13 Episode 10, and it was as disastrous as the previous ones, with the red and blue team, comprised of two regions, struggling.

And while there was more than a couple of contestants who should’ve been riding the bench during this challenge, only one person bit the dust.

Let’s ease up on all the baseball puns and dive into this installment.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

Nothing was more amusing than seeing Wayne’s face light up like a child’s when he realized their bus ride was taking them to Dodger Stadium.

Apparently, in addition to all the other little things that he does, he’s a baseball fanatic who dabbles with the game too.

Is there anything Wayne can’t do? Well, we’ve learned some things, but you get the picture.

The challenge was pretty simple: they had to devise a menu and execute it to feed roughly 100 hungry kids.

Regarding challenges, you’d think it would be easy since, with children, the more straightforward the menu, the better.

Hot mama Jennifer damn near has an entire baseball team’s worth of children. There were a few moms and dads remaining in the competition and honorary parental figures like Lizzie, the school teacher.

It would seem like they’d all have a grasp on the type of food that kids would love and move from there. However, that wasn’t necessarily the case.

The opener of Joe, Gordon, and Aarón donning baseball gear and goofing off on the field was fun and reminiscent of the many skits they’d do on Masterchef Junior.

Draft Picks and Fair Trades

It didn’t amount to much for Kolby to have an advantage after his win during Masterchef Season 13 Episode 9 since the teams were struggling.

The Northeast and South were combined again to serve as the Blue Team, and the Midwest and West became the Red Team.

Kennedy moving to the Blue Team was pleasantly surprising but generally worked out for the best.

When you consider that they pitched their menu and did a test run of Chicken sandwiches with cheese and coleslaw, the sauce used for both was the only thing that judges liked.

Brynn hated going to the Red Team the second Kolby announced it, and her instant disdain for James and what he represents as a leader was notable.

The Judges were onto something by making people who have flown under the radar team captains. James and Sav fit the bill in that regard.

And there’s an argument to support that they needed that experience to highlight how challenging that was for them.

Neither of them was on their leadership A-game.

But James’ Red Team was in shambles. He’s not assertive enough, and it allowed people to walk all over him.

Grant had a serious beef with James, and there were a few times when he flat out wouldn’t listen to him, and they paid for it, but it was as if Grant didn’t respect him as a leader right out of the gate.

And James never put his foot down when necessary and then retreated into himself and let people like Wayne and Charles take over rather than step up his game.

James was also that leader who only got vocal and started shouting things out when one of the judges would say something to him. Jame’s leadership skills need some work.

It was a flaming hot mess.

Sav was more attentive and on it and probably said “Heard, Chef” more in one hour than all the characters in both seasons of The Bear combined.

Sav was self-aware of where they screwed up, and she attempted to make things better here and there, but it got beyond her and what she could do to salvage the team.

Strike Out

The menu was everything for this challenge, and the Red Team got ahead after falling apart completely the entire time they were cooking because they had classic cheeseburgers or “smash” burgers and (sweet potato) fries.

Kids outside, sitting on a baseball field, the logical food choice was akin to burgers and hot dogs.

The Red Team were the closest to that with their dish, even though the kids weren’t mincing words and had a lot to say about the sweet potato fries.

The Blue Team’s menu was more complicated than it needed to be with that dull, dry-looking “reverse-seared” chicken sandwich, and it would’ve been nice if anyone listened to Reagan about frying the chicken instead of whatever the hell that Kendal was doing.

They could’ve easily made some chicken nuggets, cooked them faster, and given the kids something they’d enjoy eating.

They kept thinking about food from their perspective instead of that of the kids, and it was their downfall.

The Red Team won by the skin of their teeth, and had they not, James would’ve gone home, for sure.

It would’ve been a far more interesting deliberation. James’ entire team seemed to loathe him by the end of the challenge, and he seemed none the wiser about how he failed as a leader. Bless his heart.

Instead, the Blue Team lost, and only one person deserved to go home, Kendal.

Grilling and barbecuing is his area of expertise, but he failed during this one.

Joe said that Kendal Kamikazed his team — it was far too accurate. His complex way of making chicken sandwiches didn’t do them any favors, and they still came out dry on occasion.

Kendal was killing it in this competition for a while. He was one of the strongest competitors, and it’s interesting to see so many of the frontrunners going home.

The competition is getting fierce, but who comes out on top?

Over to you, Masterchef Fanatics.

How disastrous was this challenge? Did the right person go home? Who are you hoping takes it all home? Sound off below.

And for all your food-related content, you can check out our sister site, Food Fanatic.

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on Twitter.

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