on Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Masterchef US Season 5

I don't think I made an attempt to actually make sure I watched all the episodes of a season of Masterchef until this one. Why? I'm not quite sure myself, but I would think Graham's incredible transformation may be one of the factors. Another would probably be the fast-tracked way they started the season compared to previous ones where they showcased the "audition" stages.

Season 5 began with 30 home cooks entering the Masterchef Kitchen. And in the first few minutes of cooking, I immediately handpicked some of this year's contestants that looked promising:

Christian, Elizabeth, Victoria, Jamie, Willie, Daniel and Leslie.

That said, while I had to hand it to Courtney, she just seemed so... Rachel Berry pre-season 4.

In the end, I decided to root for Leslie, even if he came off as a pain in the ass for most of the other contestants.

As the season progressed towards the Top 5, I saw a few of my favorites get sent home, and I think the Top 3 was just such bad luck for Leslie, who clearly had a shot at the Finale if he just got his white stuff right. At least that 7th Pressure Test got him a good record, and snowballed into my wanting Cheesecake more frequently now.

Anyway, by the Finale, I was definitely rooting for Elizabeth until the end. But things just didn't want to cooperate with her. So I'm pretty sure it can be deduced who eventually won this season.