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'MasterChef: Legends': Alejandro risks his life to cook shellfish, fans say 'please don't die'

Alejandro Valdivia had a completely different challenge on his hand at 'MasterChef: Legends'- his shellfish allergy

Jonathan Waxman, the culinary legend was featured as the guest judge on 'MasterChef: Legends'. When the home cooks saw this iconic California cuisine king in the kitchen they were determined to impress him. Waxman brought a mystery box filled with quintessential Californian ingredients such as grapefruit, wasabi, avocado, prawn, and sea urchin. The top ten contestants had to whip up a dish using all the five ingredients from the box to not only avoid getting eliminated from the show but also to win a dinner for four at Waxman's flagship restaurant in New York.

With stakes so high, the contestants were willing to give it their all to impress the legendary chef and the judges- Gordon Ramsay, Aaron Sanchez, and Joe Bastianich. . Although the five ingredients in the mystery box would make a great dish individually, combining them all in a single dish was certainly a challenge that threw off the contestants. Since its the season of legends, the homecooks immediately began to envision a dish that would embody all the features of a California dish- simple yet elegant. While the contestants were busy coming up with ideas on how to use all the components of the mystery box ingredients in their dish- Alejandro Valdivia had a completely different challenge on his hand, his shellfish allergy.

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Alejandro revealed that he was allergic to shellfish which meant that cooking with prawns would be a challenge for him. But he was determined to impress Waxman so he put on a pair of gloves and tried his best to crack open the prawn, but when his gloves kept coming in the way he pulled them off and began handling it with his bare hands. Due to his allergy, he couldn't taste the dish he was cooking,so he relied on his fellow contestants to taste his dish and give him feedback. Somehow Alejandro managed to put together a dish with all five elements from the box.

Unfortunately, that dish didn't impress the judges. The judges pointed out to him that although he couldn't taste the prawns, he could have tasted the other elements of his dish such as guacamole and focussed on making them the highlight of his dish. They were disappointed with his plating and everything about the dish. Luckily, his fellow contestant Tay forgot to include one of the components in his dish, so he was eliminated from the show. 

Fans were upset and nervous watching Alejandro handle prawns despite his allergies. Many fans felt that the showrunners should have taken his allergy into consideration while designing the challenges or given him some special provision like a sous chef to work around his allergies. A fan tweeted, "I always feel bad for folks with allergies on MasterChef. #Masterchef." Another fan wrote, "HE TOOK THE GLOVES OFF?!? No, dude! NO! Don't risk your own health! Seriously, can't someone help Alejandro??? It's not his fault that he has a food allergy! #MasterChef."

"Um, could #masterchef not require the home cooks to use shellfish when a contestant has an allergy? It's dangerous," wondered a fan.

Another fan added, "They must sign a tall building stack of waiver paperwork. Next to a nut allergy, I'm surprised they allow anyone who is allergic to shellfish on the show. Be careful dude. #MasterChef." "Poor Alejandro! I feel like in situations that they have deadly food allergies, they should be allowed to have a sous chef who can at least do the cutting/prepping of the ingredient that can harm or even kill them. #MasterChef," expressed a fan. Another fan shared, "Please don't die Alejandro #MasterChef." 

'MasterChef: Legends' Season 11 airs every Wednesday at 8/7c on FOX.