Courtney is one of the most controversial and polarizing contestants in the show’s history. In the kitchen, she’s been one of the strongest and most consistent chefs so far this season, consistently excelling in both individual and team challenges, making her a well-deserved front-runner. However, their attitudes are quite two-sided and somewhat contradictory.
While she is friendly, friendly, and develops friendships with most of her rivals, some of her rivals find her insincere and often annoy her because of her dry voice, smug and stingy. She had a one-sided feud with Christian (because he felt she wasn’t as nice and conceited as she thought she was, even though he projected a lot of jealousy towards her), although later the two seemed neutral to each other and that Alain and Elizabeth disliked.
She disliked Leslie and Carter, the former because of their chatty nature, and the latter because of his stubbornness, excuses, and inability to handle criticism of any kind. She got along well with Christine, Francis L., Jaimee and Victoria (though she especially admired the excellent leadership of the first two) and developed a close friendship with Willie.
Courtney was the first to receive the apron. The few remaining got a second chance at aprons, and most did. Courtney was an immediate frontrunner.
Ahran told Joe Bastianich she thought the judge favored Courtney. Ahran chose the knockout, a box of 12 donuts. Courtney forgot to add the eggs when making the first batter and had to start from scratch. Her lack of excess yeast forced her to ask for more and gave Francis L a kiss on the cheek as he graciously handed her extra yeast packets. During the tasting, while her doughnuts looked beautiful, Gordon spat them out because she mistakenly seasoned them with salt instead of sugar. She was one of the last two entries, and while her doughnuts were considered the worst of the night, Kira Novak’s lack of enthusiasm brought her home and spared Courtney.
Attendees were taken to Southern California beaches for a wedding reception of 120 guests. Courtney joined the blue team selected by Francis L. The team had to cook the scallop appetizer and the sea bass appetizer, and they had two hours to cook. The blue team is declared the winner and will not be eliminated.
Christine and Courtney advised Francis Biondi to make compound butter for his steak during the stress test because they didn’t like Leslie’s. Francis L. told them not to help the enemy.
Beneath the mystery box are 52 unlabeled aluminum cans containing a variety of processed vegetables, fruit, meat and seafood. Chefs were put to the test to see their ability to turn cheap canned ingredients into restaurant-quality dishes. Elizabeth won the Mystery Box Challenge.
Season 4 winner Luca Manfè and MasterChef Junior Season 1 winner Alexander Weiss return to the MasterChef kitchen with a signature dish each. Luca prepares a veal, while Alexander prepares a passion fruit pudding. To her advantage, Elizabeth can choose who cooks which dish. Courtney was assigned to Lucas Veal. She cooks the best food and gains the upper hand in the following episodes.
