'MasterChef: Generations' Season 14 contestant Becca Gibb fears she can't 'duck' elimination
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'MasterChef: Generations' Season 14 contestant Becca Gibb struggled during the 'Age is just a number' where she had to create a dish using various aged and fermented ingredients. She prepared dry-aged duck breast.
She presented the duck breast alongside prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, cheesy mashed potatoes, sautéed kale, and an aged balsamic gastrique. Becca focused on crisping up the duck breast to render down the fat, banking on her technique to deliver a standout dish. She added in the confessional, "I'm really really struggling. I've never cooked dry-aged duck." She said, "It's really really tricky."
The Fox show contestant added, "No one wants to eat uncooked fat, and without the duck done right, I don't have a dish." She notably feared elimination as she struggled to remove the fat. However, Becca came up with a Plan B and manually removed the first layer of the duck which made it edible.
'MasterChef: Generations' judges sparks concern about Becca Gibb's dish
'MasterChef: Generations' Season 14 judges, Joe Bastianich, Aaron Sanchez and Gordon Ramsay expressed skepticism about Becca Gibb's approach to removing fat from the duck breast, pointing out concerns that the fat might not render properly and could boil or steam instead.
They were concerned that Becca might ruin her dish if she didn't have any other plans. Joe said, "It's gonna be inedible." Gordon Ramsay suggested, "She should render that fat in a real way or else it's gonna be like rubber." Joe added, "And 'cause it's so dry-aged, you can't remove the fat 'cause it's connected."
Did 'MasterChef: Generations' star Becca Gibb advance to the next challenge?
'MasterChef: Generations' contestant Becca Gibb turned her setback into triumph, as her dish emerged as the best of the night. She reflected on her achievement, "This was such a long chaotic cook. I had to pivot so many times, and so I'm proud of what I did.
The judges praised the dish and its presentation. Joe Bastianich remarked that the dish was cooked with maturity and praised its proper execution. Gordon Ramsay complimented, "Duck is delicious. There's a melt-in-the-mouth moment. The thing's seasoned beautifully, it's crispy and it just really is good." He added, "The gastrique reduces the richness and the fatty and the game that duck delivers."
Catch the new episodes of 'MasterChef: Generations' Season 14 every Wednesday at 8 pm ET on Fox.