By Elaine Piniat
The first ever finale of MasterChef aired on Fox Wednesday night, and Whitney Miller was crowned the winner.
The finale pitted David Miller, the 29-year-old software-engineer from Boston, against Whitney, the 22-year-old student. Both duked it out for $25o,000, a cook book deal and the coveted title of Master Chef.
The contestants had to cook their three best dishes: a tasty appetizer, a mouthwatering entrée, and a delectable dessert.
Whitney decided on a crispy corn cake, country fried chicken, and a bread pudding for dessert while David made scallops ceviche, beef wellington, and nectarine crepes.
It was a close call until Whitney dropped her chicken with just ten minutes left but she made a turn for the best as she got her chicken cooking with seven minutes to spare.
The judges were worried about Whitney’s buttermilk chicken and creamed collard greens believing it was “virtually impossible” to cook in seven minutes. Whitney proved them wrong as it was cooked perfectly.
For dessert, the judges thought David’s nectarine crepes suzette were “very good” but Miller’s bread pudding with raspberry coulis and white chocolate sauce put her on top.
Typically surly host Gordon Ramsay told both contestants that they “have a future in the business.”