MasterChef Episode 2.09 Top 13 Compete

Thirteen cooks survived last week's epic team challenge in the competition to become "MasterChef," but judge Gordon Ramsay cautions them that there are still many hurdles to overcome. He introduces the next Mystery Box Challenge, in which the contestants will prepare a dish with only the ingredients supplied in the wooden crate. This time it's all about the vegetables.

Judge Joe Bastianich instructs them to prepare a solid, well-conceived vegetarian entrée — not a salad or a side dish. The contestants are given purple potatoes, green tomatoes, beets, Japanese eggplant, paprika, Moroccan spices, and curry powder. As usual, the judges will taste only the three best-looking dishes, and the winner will gain an advantage in the elimination challenge.

As the competition heats up, the contestants are getting on one another's nerves more and more. Christine wishes that Suzy would "shut the hell up," and she calls Esther "stupid." Christian calls Jennifer a "bitch"; Jennifer, in turn, says that she just wants to prove to the others that she's not the "silly blonde."

The judges pow-wow and admit that this is the most difficult Mystery Box Challenge to date. Joe says, "We're asking them to perform and think like a restaurant chef." Judge Graham Elliot describes what he would make with the ingredients: a beggar's purse of phyllo filled with goat cheese, tomato, and eggplant with an herb pesto.