‘Masterchef’ Season 6 Episode 12 Spoilers: Top 10 Contestants Cook For Their Families

In this week’s episode of “MasterChef,” the remaining 10 best home cooks in America will be facing a special group challenge.

The episode, titled “Family Reunion,” will see contestants form two groups who will prepare a family-style meal for surprise guests. In order to lessen the pressure, the contestants are unaware that they will be cooking for their own families.

According to the episode synopsis shared by TV Guide, the top 10 contestants will be told that the meals that they will cook during the team challenge will be served to mystery VIP diners. These diners will eventually turn out to be their own families.

Fox shared a clip from the team huddle that will take place in the MasterChef pantry. This quick and intense meeting will be the opportunity for the teams to decide their menus and delegate work. Here’s how the contestants will be grouped as well as their chosen menus:

Red Team: Captain Claudia

Members: Shelly, Hetal, Stephen, Katrina

Menu: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, broccolini and strawberry shortcake

Blue Team: Captain Derrick

Members: Christopher, Olivia, Nick, Tommy

Menu: lamb rack, caprese salad, baked ziti with grandmother’s sauce and chocolate mousse pie.

For the red team, Claudia tells her team that she thinks roasted chicken is synonymous with family meals. Everyone agrees and they immediately discuss side dishes. Stephen suggests making a potato dish and Claudia chooses a mash over gratin. Claudia then suggests a broccolini side to complete the savory aspect of the meal. Hetal suggests a strawberry shortcake for dessert and the red team menu is set.

For the blue team, Derrick decides to stick to his Italian roots. Team member Nick also has Italian heritage so he feels it’s the best direction for the team. He chooses lamb rack as the main protein and pairs it with caprese salad. He then orders Nick to make baked ziti based on his Italian grandmother’s recipe. Still playing on his team’s strengths, Derrick decides on a chocolate mousse dessert because Christopher has already made some phenomenal pie crusts earlier in the competition.

Both teams appear to have chosen good menus but the pressure in the MasterChef kitchen always makes things very difficult. In a preview video also shared by Fox, the red team is at risk of serving raw chicken. The team members get overwhelmed while preparing their chickens and they struggle to get them in the oven in time.

Over at the blue team, not everything is going smoothly either. In another video shared by Fox, Christopher is second-guessing himself and asks Olivia for an opinion on his pie crust. He takes it out too soon and Derrick is outraged. With both teams meeting some obstacles in the team challenge, it remains to be seen who will end up in the pressure test.

The synopsis states that the losing team will be making the classic Italian dish of gnocchi with brown butter sage sauce. After a surprise move last week where no one was eliminated, the possibility of having a double elimination this week is not far-fetched.

“MasterChef” episode 12 will air on Wednesday at 8 pm. EDT on Fox.