MasterChef Episode 4.04 Top 16 Compete, Part 1 and Part 2

Luca, Kathy, Beth and Natasha failed the last Pressure Test and now will face another challenge in a real restaurant - Gordon Ramsay's BurGR at Planet Hollywood Resort in Las Vegas. These four contestants will be split into two teams of two to serve the patrons a signature burger that they create.

The diners will bet on their favorite burger, and the two players on the team that loses will go head-to-head in a final battle to determine who is leaving the MasterChef competition. Beth and Natasha make up the Blue Team, while Luca and Kathy put on Red aprons. They have 60 minutes to prep before the diners arrive.

Beth and Natasha will be making a beef burger with prosciutto and goat cheese. Luca and Kathy will serve a beef burger with caramelized onions and arugula.

In addition to making a delicious burger, the teams must deliver their orders to the tables within one minute of the other team. Partway through service, the Red Team falls behind, and Luca fails to deliver medium burgers to the pass in time. As a result, Table 23 gets only Blue Team burgers, and the Red Team automatically loses the point.

Judges Graham Elliot and Joe Bastianich spend time in the dining room getting feedback from the patrons. Joe finds the Red Team has delivered raw burgers and sends them back.

As service winds to an end, some VIP guests arrive. Gordon asks the four chefs to remove their aprons to cook their final 12 burgers. The special guests are actually the other players. Removing their aprons keeps the teams anonymous and guarantees a fair vote.

Luca decides to pick up the pace in an attempt to trip up the Blue Team by making them fall behind and lose votes. Beth and Natasha try to rush their order to the service window, but when they burn their buns, their final four burgers are not delivered to the VIP guests. They have lost four very important points.

When service is over, the diners cast their votes for the burgers. The judges then announce that the Blue Team cooked the most popular burger. Luca and Kathy will now go head-to-head in another Vegas challenge.

The two cooks go with Gordon, Joe and Graham to the top of Caesars Palace, which has been transformed into the MasterChef kitchen. They need to prepare a butter-poached lobster and a side salad to perfection. They taste a sample of the ideal dish and then have 45 minutes to replicate it.

After preparing the water and the butter, Luca is the first to grab a lobster. But he makes a big mistake by cutting the meat and leaving a large part of the tail meat in the shell on the cutting board.

With 15 minutes left, Kathy still has not pulled her shellfish from the tank. When she does finally prep the lobster, she uses the correct technique to remove the tail. She gets the lobster boiled but has trouble removing the meat from the shell to poach it and get it plated. She fails to perfect the presentation.

Both chefs bring their dishes down to the judges. Kathy's lobster is cooked perfectly and is seasoned properly, but her salad is overly acidic. Luca's presentation is beautiful, but the taste does not match up. His salad is delicious and crisp.

The judges confer and decide to send Kathy home. Luca will return to Los Angeles and the MasterChef kitchen. But before Kathy leaves, Gordon offers her a job at one of his New York restaurants.