It all came down to a panna cotta-off on the Season 4 finale of "MasterChef." Finalists Natasha Crnjac and Luca Manfe battled in the kitchen thunderdome -- who emerged victorious?
After a hard-fought battle, Luca was declared the winner of "MasterChef" Season 4. He is the first male home cook to win the coveted title.
The two finalists put forth amazing dishes in the finale:
Appetizers
Natasha: Pan-seared scallops with seaweed salad, couscous and an heirloom cauliflower puree
Luca: Pan-seared duck liver with toasted french brioche
Entrees
Natasha: five-spice monk fish with infused jasmine rice and a coconut curry sauce
Luca: Tamarind and balsamic braised short ribs with chanterelle mushroom puree
Desserts
Luca: Basil panna cotta with tomato jam and mascarpone honey cream
Natasha: Coconut panna cotta with passion fruit coulis
In the end, it comes down to Luca's "wacky" dessert that the judges say could not have represented who he is as a chef any better.
After a hard-fought battle, Luca was declared the winner of "MasterChef" Season 4. He is the first male home cook to win the coveted title.
The two finalists put forth amazing dishes in the finale:
Appetizers
Natasha: Pan-seared scallops with seaweed salad, couscous and an heirloom cauliflower puree
Luca: Pan-seared duck liver with toasted french brioche
Entrees
Natasha: five-spice monk fish with infused jasmine rice and a coconut curry sauce
Luca: Tamarind and balsamic braised short ribs with chanterelle mushroom puree
Desserts
Luca: Basil panna cotta with tomato jam and mascarpone honey cream
Natasha: Coconut panna cotta with passion fruit coulis
In the end, it comes down to Luca's "wacky" dessert that the judges say could not have represented who he is as a chef any better.
- 9/12/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
“I’m gonna get into the kitchen and kick his ass,” said blue-haired Natasha Crnjac of her MasterChef season 4 finale rival Luca Manfe, a blue-eyed prince from Queens. “I wuhhhhhk. So hahhhd!” yelled Luca re: his journey from the rugged fields of his native Italy to the sparkling counters of the Stunning! MasterChef kitchen. The two sweated out their final three-course meals for the salivating judges. And the season 4 winner…. is…. coming up! After the break.
It’s Luca! A man has won MasterChef!
“Boom! On da mahhh-hnee!” the restaurant manager, 31, had boldly predicted in a preview of the stunning!
It’s Luca! A man has won MasterChef!
“Boom! On da mahhh-hnee!” the restaurant manager, 31, had boldly predicted in a preview of the stunning!
- 9/12/2013
- by Annie Barrett
- EW.com - PopWatch
Welcome to Thunder-kitchen! MasterChef's season four finale pitted two highly-skilled and competitive chefs against each other to battle it out for $250,000, a cookbook and the title of the best home cook in America. Luca Manfe, 31, an Italian restaurant manager, and Natasha Crnjac, a 26-year-old stay at home mom from San Diego, cooked a three-course meal for the Fox reality hit's judges Gordon Ramsay, Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich. Three courses, two finalists, but only one winner emerged by finale's end. So who took home the season four trophy: Luca or Natasha? Meet your winner: Luca, who is the American version of MasterChef's first male winner! But it wasn't an easy win...
- 9/12/2013
- E! Online
The finale of "MasterChef" Season 4 airs Wednesday night (Sept. 11) on Fox, with Natasha Crnjac facing off with Luca Manfe. The two finalists tell the press that the final challenge is definitely filled with pressure.
"We really worked very hard," says Manfe. "The finale itself was probably the toughest because there was so much at stake and the emotions were doing a big, big part on it because you know that that was the last chance that you had to go for the title. There was no comeback from that one. You really had to put more than 100 percent."
"I definitely say it was a lot of pressure, it's very hard," adds Crnjac. "Just being in that finale and being against a strong competitor as Luca, it's definitely really hard. ... it's a very emotional experience and it's just something that you kind of have to be there in the moment and...
"We really worked very hard," says Manfe. "The finale itself was probably the toughest because there was so much at stake and the emotions were doing a big, big part on it because you know that that was the last chance that you had to go for the title. There was no comeback from that one. You really had to put more than 100 percent."
"I definitely say it was a lot of pressure, it's very hard," adds Crnjac. "Just being in that finale and being against a strong competitor as Luca, it's definitely really hard. ... it's a very emotional experience and it's just something that you kind of have to be there in the moment and...
- 9/11/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
Will Natasha's elegant entrees outshine Luca's authentic Italian cuisine in the Season 4 finale of MasterChef?
We're counting down the days until MasterChef judges choose the nation's best home cook: Luca Manfe or Natasha Crnjac. The regular season rewards consistency, but the final battle will be a 2-hour sprint to the grand prize of a cookbook deal and $250,000. All that matters is three dishes: one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert.
Is your favorite chef even among the Top 2? See if you agree with our predictions.
We're counting down the days until MasterChef judges choose the nation's best home cook: Luca Manfe or Natasha Crnjac. The regular season rewards consistency, but the final battle will be a 2-hour sprint to the grand prize of a cookbook deal and $250,000. All that matters is three dishes: one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert.
Is your favorite chef even among the Top 2? See if you agree with our predictions.
- 9/9/2013
- by editor@buddytv.com
- buddytv.com
Krissi Biasiello from Philadelphia, Pa and Jesse Lysiak from Social Circle, Ga are eliminated from MasterChef Competition - Season Finale Airs Wednesday, September 11, on Fox Season Five Open Casting Calls Begin in Phoenix and New Orleans on October 5 Last night, judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot announced the Top Two finalists on Masterchef: Natasha Crnjac, a stay-at-home mom from San Diego, CA, and Luca Manfe, a restaurant manager from Astoria, NY. Krissi Biasiello, a paralegal from Philadelphia, Pa, and Jessie Lysiak, a yacht stewardess from Social Circle, Ga, were eliminated. Next week, on the one-hour season finale airing Wednesday, Sept. 11 (9:00-10:00 Pm Et/Pt), the Top Two finalists have one last chance to...
- 9/5/2013
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
Things got very hot in the kitchen last night on MasterChef (2.0/6) as the last four contestants were sliced to the final two. Not sure if it was “The most. Explosive. Episode in history” as Gordon Ramsay’s voice-over promised, but for wannabe winners Luca Manfe and Natasha Crnjac it must have been a nail-biter as they head toward next week’s Season 4 finale. The two-hour MasterChef dropped 13 from its August 28 show, a season low for the fourth cycle’s two-hour block. Even so, Fox took the top spot in adults 18-49 on Wednesday with a 2.0/6 rating. That marks the 13th of the past 16 Wednesdays that Fox has won the demo with MasterChef this summer. On the viewership side, NBC was No. 1 with 6.519 million watching. NBC came in second in the key demo with a 1.6/5 rating, while CBS took No. 2 among viewers with 5.681 million. It was results night on America’s...
- 9/5/2013
- by DOMINIC PATTEN
- Deadline TV
In another double episode of MasterChef — “The most. Explosive. Episode in History!” claimed a stunning Gordon Ramsay voiceover — we saw the Top 4 become the Top 3 following a dreaded pressure test that had me digging desperately through my cabinets to find even the oldest, grossest shavings of chocolate to snack on. I shall never learn. I need to just slather cookie butter on top of, like, six Twix and nibble on them gradually throughout the two hours. Boom. MasterChef.
Then, the judges narrowed it down to just two home cooks to compete in next week’s fin-ah-lee. And they are (Spoilers...
Then, the judges narrowed it down to just two home cooks to compete in next week’s fin-ah-lee. And they are (Spoilers...
- 9/5/2013
- by Annie Barrett
- EW.com - PopWatch
The results are in for Masterchef tonight: James Nelson Eliminated from Competition All-New Two-Hour Episode Airs Wednesday, September 4; Season Four Winner Announced on Season Finale, Wednesday, September 11, on Fox From Fox Tonight, judges Gordon Ramsay, Joe Bastianich and Graham Elliot announced the Top Four contestants on Masterchef: Krissi Biasiello, a paralegal from Philadelphia, Pa; Natasha Crnjac, a stay-at-home mom from San Diego, CA; Jessie Lysiak, a yacht stewardess from Social Circle, Ga; and Luca Manfe, a restaurant manager from Astoria, NY. James Nelson, a retail salesman from Victoria, TX, was eliminated. In the first part of tonight’s two-hour episode, the judges got some help from their sons, who stopped by the kitchen to judge the mystery...
- 8/29/2013
- by April Neale
- Monsters and Critics
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